Leah's 15 months appointment.

So it's time for Leah's 15 months check-up with Dr. Balcarek. Me and Leah arrived at Dr. B's office pretty happy and relaxed. For some reason I forgot that Leah is going to get three shots. I thought the next shots will be at 2 years. Anyways, as soon as my little girl saw Dr. B, she bursted into tears. She didn't even want to look at Dr. B making it difficult to perform her check-up. Gosh this behavior is so girls like :) Noah was never acting this way. He loved Dr. B and was always happy to see her. Yes-he didn't like his shots and he cried a bit but not nearly as much as Leah :) She just doesn't like the strangers forcing her into anything, not even into something as simple as laying down and checking Leah's ears. Forget about the throat :) So when Miss Leah got her shots one after the other, I just stood by helplessly and held her hands. It was such a nerve wracking experience for me (and I'm sure for her as well) so I am glad I asked Dr. B for some cereal for Leah to munch on afterwards (they didn't have lollipops) and she immediately stopped crying :) Just feed my girl and she is good to go! According to Dr. B Leah is doing wonderfully. Leah is right on track developmentally and she is a healthy and happy kid. Dr. B said that if all kids were as healthy as mine, she wouldn't have a job :) After we left the doctor's office, we stopped by Whole Foods and picked up four fresh, green juices, some healthy snacks and sushi for lunch and we headed back home. I was very surprised to see that Leah tried her green juice lemonade few times made with spinach, carrots, kale and lime. My juice wasn't too tasty but I drank it all for my well-being. Noah and babcia also drank all their juices after we came back home. Yeah!!! I am so glad we are drinking them now regularly.

 Here are Leah's stats from her 15 months appointment:
Height: 32 and a half inches long (that's 95%)
Weight: 27lbs.4 oz (95%)
Head Cir: 47cm
Noah's states were similar (he was little bit behind Leah :) He weighed: 26 lbs.6 ounces and was 34 inches long. I am so grateful that i have such healthy and wonderful kids! Here is Leah at 15 months:
Comparison picture between Noah and Leah:

Dramatic Lighting

This week's assignments were all about ratios and different types of lights. I really like the dramatic light and I am just in love with my results. They convey my feelings and add a little dramatic effect to my images. I am so happy that i finally have a studio and can take pictures of my kids when the weather outside is not permitting. These pictures I will always cherish. They speak so loudly to me and really tell a story of our family. They are moody but they warm my heart so much and bring peace to my soul.
 Love this so much.
 
Me...:)

Nostalgia.
 
LOVE!!!

Strawberries!

It's this time of the year when we usually go to the strawberry farm to pick up fresh strawberries. Yeah!!! This year we have already been twice on the farm and I am sure that we will be back there next week as well.  I love fruit farms and strawberry farms are by far my most favorites. It's such an awesome experience for the kids. They had a great time just walking around and picking strawberries. I regret that we didn't start earlier this year because the farm was open in mid-March. I had no idea that strawberries were ready for harvest so early this year so we waited all the way to May 1st. Next year i will know better and we start harvesting in March :) Anyways both times we chose two huge buckets and filled them up completely. The farm doesn't spray any pesticides on their strawberries so they are ok to eat. I don't know how much i ate both times but it was a LOT :) Nothing better than a home grown strawberries straight from the field. Mniam Mniam.

Noah with the hose and popsicles...

Ever since I remember Noah loved playing with the hose. He can spend hours playing with the hose and spraying water everywhere. Leah is no better. I bought a new plastic pool for them couple weeks ago and you can't keep her out of the water. Every time she goes outside, i turn around and next thing i see is Leah sitting in her clothes in a pool. Most recently Leah had her very first popsicle and she LOVED it! Now there is no way that somebody can have an popsickle if she is not also eating one. Both of my kids are ice-cream monsters (just like their mommy :) At least couple times a week, we sit outside (mostly naked or at least half-naked:) and enjoy some form of ice-cream. Of course i prefer to get the sugar free version but many times we just get a bluebell and enjoy it to the fullest! I love summer :) I can't wait until our pool is open so we can fill our days with daily visits to the pool. Last year Leah was too small to really enjoy the pool but this year she will have much more fun i think.

 
 I love this one. LOL

 
Noah had already finished two when Leah was working on her first one (He did end up eating half of Leah's)

Mother's Morning out petting Zoo

This week Mother's Morning Out program had a special surprise for the kids and instead of going to the playground like they normally do, all kids and some of the parents got together to watch and pet on different kinds of animals such as snakes, giant turtles, lizards and crocodiles. I had so much stuff going on right now that i completely forgot about this event and i didn't bring my camera with me (i bet babcia and Leah would have a blast-my fault). I had to rely on a mercy from other moms to take couple shots of us but we don't have pictures with all the animals. Nevertheless we have some and I am happy that i was there with Noah. All the kids were super excited and had the best time in the world seeing all these strange and unique animals. The animals were very well behaved and didn't mind being held or petted on. I especially liked the snakes. They had different kids of snakes there but the cutest one was this huge, green python that was like 15 feet long and it took ten people to line up and held him (me and Noah included). What a great and educative morning for the kids and mommas!
Getting a kiss from a giant lizard :)
Noah petting on a lizard.
Noah petting on a real crocodile.
I am holding a baby crocodile. The guy had to hold his face in case he would snap :)
Snake...He was kind of cute :) We all held this huge python (i don't have pictures of him) and he was not slick at all. I always thought that snakes are slicky but he was soft and kind of rough.
My brave Noah :) However he didn't want to put the snake around his neck :)

Swimming classes.

Couple weeks ago Noah started to take swimming classes for beginner tots. He wasn't too happy at first but after a first lesson he eased into it and he now loves it. The class runs twice a week for 30 minutes. I cannot even tell you how proud I am of Noah. He is a leader in his class and although he has some problems with paying attention to the teacher (doing his own thing like splashing other kids with water or basically wandering off to another corner of the pool when everybody else stays with the teacher) he always does all exercises correctly and he is definitely the best swimmer in the whole group. Some kids take this class for the third time in a row but this won't be a case with Noah. He is very natural and confident in a water (yeah he is a Scorpion so naturally he should like the water). When i tried to teach him to submerge his head under the water while we were taking a bath together not too long ago, he refused it and didn't want to try it. I thought he was not getting the idea of holding his breath under the water. Well, in a class he got it almost instantly. When all the other kids (the same age)just blow bubbles in a water, Noah is already under the water with his hands stretched out like an airplane and he does it over and over again. The teacher is very impressed with him and Noah is now presenting how to get under the water for all other kids :) Soon he will be teaching me how to submerge under water without holding my nose. I swear I cannot do it but want to learn at some point. Anyways, i think Noah is very motivated to swim so he can swim with dolphins one day :)I promised him a while back that one day, I will take him to Florida and we will swim with dolphins. Not sure if i will ever be able to afford it but I will come up with money somehow for him. We went to the aquarium the other month and we saw a dolphin show and Noah was just mesmerized by the dolphins and the people who swam with them. I know he would have the time of his life if one day he actually had a chance to swim with dolphins...and he will. I promise... and when i promise something, I ALWAYS keep my promise.



Blowing bubbles.



Noah  floating under water :) I am sooo proud!

Like an airplane :) My little leader!

Studio Lighting Class

I just started a new workshop this week "Studio Lighting for Beginners" and I have already learned so many cool things i had no clue about last month. I have purchased a new studio equipment and I can now use the Softbox, meters and wireless triggers. I am soo excited! This weeks class was about getting a nice catchlights and after trying to make all my equipment work for hours and hours I finally produced my first professional images :) They are not the best (best are yet to come :) but I am very proud of them. Noah modeled for me (in order to get an ice-cream). My favorite part of those pictures are Noah's scraped up knees . . . .O'h how I love love love little boys. The picture says it all . . .the hair . .. the knees. That's my boy and I am soo proud of him (and guess what, he was bottomless on these pics :)LOL Check out those fancy rectangular catchlights :)