Photo Shoot

We took Kate to Shaw Nature Reserve last Sunday to do her one year pictures that we have been meaning to do for, oh... about 4 months!!! It was her 16 month birthday and we were LONG overdue!

It started a little rocky. Before one photo was snapped, she took a spill on the concrete walkway, skinned her knee, and hit her little forehead. She screamed LIKE CRAZY!!!

We went on to this house they have on the premises there, skinned knee and all. It adds character to the pictures, right??

Then, we played with some rocks and sticks. I use the term "we" very lightly. More like Kate brought us sticks and rocks.

We went inside the house and it was a really neat "museum" like place. Lots of photos and information. The kicker was that at each little station, there was a telephone that you picked up, pressed a little button, and it told you about the pictures you were looking at. Could that be ANY more up my little girl's alley? A phone?? Buttons to push?? Someone actually talking to you on the other end?? She was in toddler heaven!

That picture makes my stomach do flip flops... she is getting so big!







After all the indoor fun, we headed out to the back porch.



That sign will eventually be edited out...

... kinda like her skinned knee was in this picture.

She got a little silly when Daddy was asking her to look at the camera.

I just LOVE the look of this porch in the pictures. Very classic.

























We brought along her little rocking chair. We weren't exactly sure what we were going to do with it, but at any rate, it lasted all of about 2 seconds. With all the room to roam, she was NOT going to sit still in a chair for any amount of time.

After another tumble on the concrete, we put her shoes on and held hands just in case.

And, of course, we had to stop and investigate everything.

Hey Mom and Dad, I found a rock!!



Wanna see what I can do with it???



JUST KIDDING!



And, she really was! It's a fun new game she made up... I call it Fake Out. She pretends to put stuff in her mouth, watches me go crazy, and then runs away as fast as she can, squealing all the way. I'm sure that was a run- on sentence, by the way.

After all of the exploration, we took her down to the water.





















If you are still looking, WOW! You must really love us... that was a lot of pictures!

Cooking with my girl

Last weekend, I wanted to make this. From the Pioneer Woman, of course. I'm sure I have linked it on here before, because oh my goodness... be still my heart... it. is. incredible. I always make it with blueberries because I'm not a fan of blackberries. Too seedy or something.

So, seriously, go make it. Like, now. And then go run on the treadmill for three hours! OK, there's my Pioneer Woman plug for the day (literally, it happens daily!).

Kate wanted to see what exactly I was doing up there, so I plopped her up on the counter thinking she would be more of a bother than anything else. Nice Mom, right??

But, she got so into the pouring and stirring that it ended up being so much fun having her help me!

She did stop for some kisses along the way, though.