We were very bored today, so we decided to venture outdoors and see if we could find some pumpkins. Merrifield Garden Center never seems to fail us. They had a small collection of pumpkins both for baking and decoration. We of course got Olivia her small pumpkin, which she screamed over when we tried to take it away to put into the car. We snapped a few shots outside. Last year it wasn’t such a big deal, because we only had the little point and shoot, but Merrifield’s staff doesn’t like people with pro cameras coming on site to take pictures. I was trying to hurry up the snapshots before someone saw us and booted us from the property.

Olivia was babbling a lot this morning according to Maurice, who usually struggles to get her changed and dressed up for school in the mornings. This morning she was very cooperative and had a mouthful to say. She threw her legs up to help out and even handed him a clean diaper. Weird. I’m trying to clean out my camera to get some of the remaining pictures off from our trip to NC last weekend. I’m also working hard on getting the images of Natalie’s birthday party up too. They’re coming along nicely. I’m down to 30 left I believe

Here are some cute shots from my mother’s back yard while we waited for Natalie to come out:

(Fun fact about the body shots here: There was actually a set of redneck white sheds behind her in the woods back there that I magically got rid of in Photoshop)

And here’s one I took in our own back yard against the fence. I’ve been working on full body shots (as you can tell from above), but I really do prefer close-up headshots like the one below:

Here’s a couple more shots from the Seminary trip. I love these. We’re thinking the one of her sucking her thumb is the one to blow up, but I’m also wondering if she’ll want to kill us when she’s older and that’s on display Decisions decisions decisions. I only get 1 free gallery wrap to test this print lab out, so we need to be careful about our decision. Thoughts?

In other news, we’re well on our way to walking. Olivia walked across the yard with me this evening while only holding one of my hands!

This weekend we trekked to Wake Forest, NC to see family. It was Grandma Ruth’s birthday last week and Natalie’s birthday this week, so we had a birthday extravaganza! Thankfully I pulled off a miracle. We got a good shot of Natalie and Olivia together! Technically speaking this isn’t the world’s greatest shot, but it is decent enough. Olivia’s dress is distracting (too bright) and it annoys me. It shouldn’t, but I’m a perfectionist. We enjoyed seeing family for the short time we were there. Olivia did as well, but I think she hungered to get home and see her own things. She’s turning out to not be so great at traveling. We’re not sure what’s up with her as of late, but she loves to whine and fuss. She’s a little explorer and hates being confined, so forget about holding her to the couch or putting her in someone’s lap. Oh no! She will have NONE of that.

We also took Olivia up to the Southern Baptist Seminary for pictures on Sunday. I’ve been neglecting to take pictures of my own daughter, which is pretty sad if you think about it. This is a special place for Maurice since his father attended the Seminary (small world eh?). I’m still working on all of the pictures, but here’s a few:

We’ll be getting one blown up to 16×20 on a canvas stretcher frame. I’m not sure which one. What do you think?