I'm having so much fun with Black and White Wednesday.  Looking through my files I'm seeing photographs of our wonderful everyday moments.  I know these shots are the ones I'm going to cherish above all others.   This week I couldn't choose just one so I thought I'd share some of my favorites.   Whatever Magnolia is telling George here I'll never know but I sure do love the look he's giving her.  The next one is George and a ball.  He loves balls.  

Magnolia sleeping on the couch.  Thumb in mouth. I never want to forget this sight.   

This one could go down as my all time favorites.  Even though it's poor quality, it's a keeper for me.   I was upstairs with these two doing laundry while they played.  It suddenly got quiet and I couldn't find them anywhere.  I started to hear their voices but couldn't figure out where they were for the life of me.  Finally I opened the nursery closet and found the two of them laughing and playing in the pitch black darkness.   I grabbed my camera and captured their expressions getting caught.

Oh how I love her smile, her laugh, and her absolute sweetness.  I love her stories, her talking, and the way she sees things.  She delights us and anyone else who meets her.  She's a real gem and I'm so proud to be her mama!   She's a very happy girl with a wild imagination.  If she's not a dog named "Bark" all day then she's the proud owner of a small dog/brother named "Holly."  Sometimes when she's tired of carrying things in her mouth all day, she curls up in a nest and chews on green string because she's a dinosaur and that's her grass.  Bambi is another favorite, with little white spots and a tail that wags.  Sometimes she becomes the mommy and takes care of me or a little girl named Magnolia.  She's very interested in people's hair color, skin color, the story of China and how she came to be.  Equally as interesting is talking about the weather, noting whether it's windy or cloudy or sunny, she really likes to take note of that.  Her latest achievement is dressing herself for the day and that would include picking out her own clothes.  One day she dressed herself head to toe in black because that was her "suit" and she was going to work, just like daddy.   I wish I could bottle so many of our many exchanges during the day.  Sometimes she just knocks me off my feet with the things she says.  Life with a three year old is something else!

I thought I would share some of her recent artwork that so graciously adorns our walls.   It is our family; Mommy, Magnolia, Baby George, and Daddy respectively.

The Moment:

Friday, February 12th  

7:28 am

The sun was rising and coming through our yard showing off the ice covered branches.  It was so breathtaking and I desperately wanted to photograph it.  Being in my flannel pajamas with two kids crying for breakfast I could only step onto our screen porch and shoot from there.  Hard to believe that I spent many a summer days on that swing with both of my little ones.  It seems so far away but this picture reminds me that it is still there waiting for us.
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Happy Chinese New Year!  We had our celebration a couple of weeks ago with our local group, Families with Children from China.  We played Chinese bingo, had a tiger parade, and shared a Chinese dinner.  It was so nice to gather and catch up with families we don't otherwise see throughout the year.  Magnolia wore a dress I bought for her in China.  We were fortunate enough to have an outfit for George which was a gift from his Aunt Katherine who was in Beijing over the summer.  It was so much fun to see them both dressed in traditional Chinese clothing!   Gung Hay Fat Choy!

The Moment

 February 5

Early Afternoon

How did Black and White Wednesday come around so fast?!  I've been so busy around here, time is flying!   I'm glad I had this one to post that I took last Friday.  George and I were lounging on my bed having quiet playtime while Magnolia took her nap.  In this photo he propped his head on my leg to gaze out the window.   Like me, George is very sensitive to too much stimulation.  Here we are both relishing in the peace and quiet of the afternoon.
(click to enlarge photo)

George turned 10 months on Sunday!

He can stack two things.  The first time he did it was with two cans of food.  He can also drop objects into a bucket and get them out again.  He still doesn't say mama or dada.
He mostly growls.  Still a lot of fussiness too.  He's getting his 7th & 8th teeth.  His favorite toy is a ball by far.  I had no idea someone so little could catch and throw a ball.  I think ball will be his first word. 

I feel like I never have a smiley picture to post of him but I think that's just it, he's a pretty serious baby and this is his look most of the time.  Or maybe it's the 2nd picture. He does a lot of that too.  

Happy 10 months George!
I can't believe how close you are to turning one!
I really hope that 8th tooth breaks through soon so you can finally get a nice long break from teething.   
I also hope that means that you'll stop waking in the middle of the night too.  Please, won't you?  
xoxo

The Moment:

Saturday Morning

8:13 a.m.

George and Cheerios

I'm loving this Black and White Project!  I'm having so much fun thinking and shooting in black and white.  It's also so inspiring to see what others shoot too!  Thanks so much to everyone for all of their sweet and encouraging comments last week.  We just got a new iMac and we haven't decided on our photo software yet so I only have iPhoto to work with.  With that said, I'm shooting in manual and hoping for the best!  If anyone out there has any suggestions for software, let me know!