Quick post.....

before I hit the bed! It's been a long week with Lillian being sick, even though you can hardly tell that she's sick!! It doesn't really get tough until right before her bed time. Hopefully the little germs will leave her little body soon! We headed over to Pat's today for a little get together. Lindsay got her this adorable little broom set that she just loved and was usually sweeping everything but the floor. In this shot below she was sweeping when she all of the sudden walked into the light and stared at the setting sun.....


And this is Lilly and Kylie sharing a big hug....

We're going to Huck Finn's tomorrow which is this huge warehouse in Albany that has everything under the sun, including carpets which is what we're going there for. I want an area rug for underneath Lillian's table and chairs and play kitchen since the tile in the kitchen can get a bit cold. Hopefully we'll be able to find something. Not sure what we'll do on Monday and Tuesday with Dan, but we always figure something out!!!

My little one....

has her very first real cold :( Lillian is a little under the weather today and has been coughing and sneezing. She's trying to make sense of it all and you can tell she really doesn't understand what's going on when she starts to cough......poor thing! So while she naps I've been catching up on the laundry and cleaning all of the odds and ends from Christmas. Anyways, lots to do.......so here's a couple of pics from yesterday.....

Had to share....

just a couple of shots of Betsy and Justin.......and of course Betsy's bump! I'm supposed to wait to post these until she see's them, but I just had to share a couple. I'm still editing , but will do most of it tomorrow. The lighting wasn't the greatest, but I did what I could with what I had since I wasn't in the mood to set up the lighting I received for Christmas.....especially since it didn't come with ANY instructions!!! Anyways, I'll post about Christmas in Syracuse tomorrow, time for bed for now!!

As good as it gets......

So this is as close to a smile as we got on Friday!!! I had a feeling that she wasn't in the mood to sit on some strangers lap, but I knew I'd be upset if I didn't at least try! I've got a couple more pics that I'll share tomorrow of her crying. At least she'll have something to laugh at when she's older! We had a good time at the company Christmas party......lots of people and me asking lots of questions since we went into the manufacturing part of the building which I've never been into before. They had a HUGE fireworks display and it was just so nice to know that Dan works for a company that cares so much about their employees.

Anyways, got lots of things to do but thought that I would share a quick pic!

My little snow bunny

Isn't she the cutest!!! I thought that since we finally got enough snow to cover up all of the grass that it was time to play in it! So after dinner tonight we headed outside and Lillian played in the snow for the very first time! She absolutely loved it! I know I'm using a lot of exclamation points, but it was just so much fun seeing her reaction to it. I realized that I HAD to capture this moment, so I went inside and grabbed my camera, flash, Lightsphere and umbrella......had to protect the camera of course!!! She made her first snow angel with a little help of course and she loved running her hands through it.

Tomorrow Lillian gets to see Santa too for the first time! I was a little afraid of bringing her last year since she was a preemie, but now that she's a big girl, it's finally time!! I'll bring my camera of course to capture it......can't wait to see her reaction to it! Dan's work is having their Christmas party tomorrow and there's supposed to be a big fireworks display so that should be fun too!! Anyways, hope that everyone has a wonderful Friday. I "may" post another freebie.....not sure when so be sure to come back!

Have you seen this.....

Seriously ladies.....head on over to Tara's store and check out all of her great stuff!!!

Please meet.....

My new car!!! Last night when I was talking to Dan I realized that I needed to give her a name. My grandfather named his cars, so I thought why not! So this is Dorothy. Dorothy was my grandma's name, although my grandpa called her Anastatia. I was trying to decide between the two of them, but thought that Dorothy fit better. I think that my grandma would get a kick out me naming my car after her, after all, grandpa did name some of his cars Betsy (my sisters' name!) Now all she needs is some little ruby red slippers dangling from the mirror and she'll be all set!

Me and Lilly took her for a drive today. First we dropped of Dan's lunch since I forgot to make one and then we headed to the bookstore in Manchester. I picked up some potty training books for Lillian and I picked up a knitting book with hat patterns in it. I thought it'd be nice to have some cute hats on hand for some shoots.....plus I'd like to learn some other stitches so this will be perfect!

Since I'm so happy.....

about getting my new car, I thought that I would spread the love by sharing an unreleased kit that I made for the next 48 hours. I will take down the link on Friday at 10 am (est) so be sure to get it while you can.....

Sorry you missed the links!

This is what happens.....

When you turn your head around for a few moments!!! I seriously almost lost my breakfast I was laughing so hard!!! Yesterday when we went to her doctors appointment, Dr. Orton said that I shouldn't watch her like a hawk when we give her new foods because it tends to send a warning signal like "hey why are they watching me!" So although Lillian has had yogurt before, she's never had the brightly colored yogurt. So I turned my head and cleaned off the kitchen island and this is what I found a few moments later. She was having an absolute blast and since she was already dirty, I let her have some more fun. At least I know to take all of her clothes off from now on!!

In other news we picked up the car tonight and I absolutely LOVE it!!! It's so nice and it's just so nice to have the car that I always wanted. I think that even if I had all of the money in the world, I'd want this car! Me and Lilly are going to go for a drive tomorrow and test it out some more in the daylight and get used to all of the little buttons and what not!

YAY!!!!

I'm getting a new car!!!!! I've got lots of stuff to do, but I'm so excited!!! When I woke up this morning I thought it was all a dream! We're getting a silver Subaru Outback with all the bells and whistles, which is basically everything that was broken in the Impala. It's such a sharp looking car, or wagon I guess I should say! I'd never be able to get a minivan......not my style.....and I also didn't want an SUV. So for me this was the best choice. And with all-wheel drive, it'll come in really handy in the winter! We're picking it up later today, so I'll take some pics if it's still light outside. If not, me and Lilly will go for a drive tomorrow.....gotta break it in after all!

Anyways, if you're a digi scrapper, be sure to come back tomorrow morning. I'll be posting a super duper big treat for everyone to share my happiness!!!

My big girl

It's so hard to believe that Lillian is 18 months.....where did the time go?!! She had her checkup today and everything went wonderful! She weighs 24 pounds and is 33 1/2 inches tall.....average weight but in the 90% for height!!! She also had her last immunization for awhile and her next checkup isn't until she's 2. I must admit that I was a little afraid about going today because I didn't want to hear what I've been fearing since her last check-up.......that she's behind developmentally. Dr. Orton put my heart and mind at ease by letting me know that Lillian is offically caught up since she was a preemie!! She's doing everything right on time and she was REALLY happy with how well she's doing. Our new things that we're going to start working on is potty training......specifically putting Lillian on the potty when she begins to grunt......she always grunts when she poops!!! And we're also going to continue to read to her daily and teach her new words. I'm just so happy that she's doing so well!!!

In other news, send happy car vibes our way!!! The dealer got a new vehicle on their lot this past weekend while we were gone......a silver Outback......what I always wanted!!! Dan is getting out of work early and we'll head on over........the suspense of it all is killing me!!!

So......

I'm about to go to bed, but thought that I would point you in the direction to my new photography website......

www.carrieannphotography.com

I still have lots of work to do, but for just buying my domain and purchasing the template today, I think that it's coming along okay!! Guess this means it's really gonna happen!!

Big Day!

Well we started the day off with taking some more Christmas pics so I can make my cards and send them out before the day actually gets here! I thought that I'd make her happy first by getting her into her costume....


I'm using the paper background today.....although it took quite a beating from Lillian! So then I put her in her Christmas outfit....


This was at the end of it all (don't want to waste the surprise for the Christmas cards!) She didn't smile, but I was able to get some good shots. I'm done torturing her though by getting her all dressed up and putting the headband on her!

So you may be wondering about the title of this post. Today was a big day because I picked up my domain name at godaddy.com!!!! I'll probably get the template tomorrow or early next week and start getting my info and gallery up! My very own website......YAY!!!!

So you know how when you met the person that you're in love with and you knew it was right......this is the way that I feel about photography. I'll be the first to admit, my mind tends to drift. I went to college for nursing, changed to forensic chemistry, considered elementary ed and then dropped out. I then went to work in the business world landing a run of the mill job at RSA (remarketing services of america.....I think it's named something different now if I recall!) Then we moved out to Massachusetts......or as Dan likes to call it......Assachusettes. Well I didn't get a job there, probably should have, but I didn't. So I thought that I'd give Medical Transcription a try. Another bust. And then, I got pregnant and my career path didn't matter anymore.....at least to me it didn't. Then when I got my SLR in May, everything changed. I found my creative outlet. All of those things that I was chasing before, denied me of my creativity. So photography for me has endless opportunities. I can be creative, enjoy what I'm doing, while at the same time, contribute to my family (which I know Dan will love.) It's gonna take some work, but I think it's worth the fight!

Well....

Apparently Lilly wasn't in the mood to take Christmas pics this year! I spent quite awhile setting up and ironing the backdrop and she was clearly more interested in walking all over the place in her pretty little dress. Not that I blame her or anything.....sitting still and smiling can get rather boring after a couple of minutes. Sadly I didn't get any shots of her smiling. I think that tomorrow I'll use the paper backdrop and we'll give it a try again! It was great practice though which I really needed!!

Another busy day!

Today I worked on cleaning out the 3rd room and cleaning out some of the shelves and moving around my stamping supplies. I'm not getting rid of them, but I'm certainly not adding any to my collection! I'm going to finish up tomorrow morning and finish up cleaning all of the odds and ends out of the kitchen so I can set up the backdrop and take some Christmas pics of Lilly. I was planning on doing it today, but I got sidetracked when I thought about making up a new "logo" for my business. Just basic for now, but I like the way it turned out....


And then I've also got the new watermark for the pics.....

Lilly decided she wanted to check out the snow outside today and I caught her like this and thought that I would grab the camera really quick before I pulled her down! And what's up the weather dudes?! We were supposed to get like 10 inches of snow here and I don't think that we even have an inch. Oh well! The snow will come and Dan will get a chance to test out his new skis and bindings......and we'll be at the lodge making snowmen and taking pics!

Tell Dan.....

the reasons why I need a new car and you can get this alpha for free....

My time with the Impala is hopefully drawing to a close and the Subaru dealer has a 2007 Outback with my name written all over it!!! I think he's about 85% convinced, but I thought that he could use a little help. I have two main reasons at this point for saying goodbye to my car..........1) I don't have keyless entry and with a toddler in tow, getting into the car can be a real pain in my you know what 2) I just hit 90,000 miles and I know from working at RSA that I need to get rid of it before it hits 100,000. So........tell Dan why I need a new car! Leave a comment below and be sure to include your email address so I have a way to email you a link to download. You MUST include this info to get the link. And please do not share once you receive it. This will only be available until Wednesday at 6 pm (est) so comment while you can!!!

We're back....

and happy to be home! It was a long week in Syracuse, filled with colds, a long to do list, a toddler that liked to get into EVERYTHING and a baby shower! I still have to edit the pics from the shower, but thought that I would share some pics from the long week of Lillian....

I now have my backdrop, reflector, and bench so other than the lighting I'm just about set to go on the equipment side of starting my business. I'm sending in the paperwork to the State of Vermont to register my business name today and then next week I'm going to head out to some of the town offices to get some more info. It's just the legal side of things that I need to work on over the next month or so......I want to make sure that everything is in order before I start accepting clients. But if you're located in my area, keep me in mind if you're in need of some photos next year!!! Anyways, lots of unpacking and such today.....hope everyone has a great week!!