Pictures!

You may have noticed that there hasn't been as much updating of the blog as usual going on lately. That's just because we have a lot going on at the Howie house! Besides it being a busy time of the year anyway, we have a million things happening. Home inspections, termite inspections, picking out paint colors, and starting to (finally!) think about packing are just a few of the things we've been dealing with. In the midst of all our busyness we had a picture day today! We finally got around to having Aubrey's one year pictures made now that she's 14 months old. I have to say that this was the toughest photo session yet. Well, maybe not... that prize would probably go to the newborn session where she screamed pretty much the whole time, and our poor photographer had to leave the room three times so I could nurse Aubrey in an attempt to calm her down. Yeah. But anyway, I digress. Because Aubrey is now mobile, it was impossible to get her to pose for even .25 seconds. And she was so fascinated with the studio and the lights and the flashes that she wouldn't even smile. Our photographer said she thought she got some good shots, but I have my doubts ;o) She is supposed to have them up maybe as soon as tonight, so I'll be sure to share the link when they're up!

This afternoon my mom was sweet enough to come take some pictures of David, Aubrey and me for our Christmas card picture. We went to a local park and it turned out to be a great location and the lighting was great. It was late afternoon, so we didn't have to squint. The only problem is that two of my brothers came with my mom. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Aubrey is obsessed with my 11 year old brother, Joel. I mean she LOVES him. As soon as she saw him all she wanted was for him to hold her. When David or I would take her away from him for a picture she would absolutely have a fit. Joel literally had to go sit in the car where she couldn't see him. She still wasn't overly happy -- she just wanted her uncle! It's cute that she loves him so much, but come on! Mommy and Daddy are just chopped liver when Uncle Joel is around. Here are some good examples of the kind of pictures we were able to get.After we had snapped about a million, we motioned to Joel that he could get out of the car and come join us. As he was walking towards us, Aubrey saw him and immediately started smiling and cooing. Look how happy she is to see him coming.Out of the million pictures we took, we got two cute possibilities for the Christmas card. I will definitely post the winner after it's already been revealed on our card ;o) Thanks, Mom, for taking the pictures for us! But next year, please leave Joel at home. Ha!