Stage Fright

Happy Halloween!!! What an exciting day! Two parties, costumes, lots of candy and some tears. Addie's school had a Halloween Sing today and all of the kids lined up and paraded into the gym for the moms and dads. Addie entered the room and burst out into tears, crying "mama!!!" Literally crying. She did not participate in the sing - but watched her little classmates. I guess you can do that if you're the Queen Bee.

Jack was a cute pumpkin. Both kids enjoyed going trick or treating to a few houses in on the street. Addie wasn't shy about ringing doorbells and exclaiming, "Trick or Treat!" She also loved watching the kids come to our door. She held the candy bowl for them and sometimes even showed them different pieces of candy and asked if they liked that particular kind.

On a non-Halloween related note, Jack has yet another ear infection, so the tube surgery scheduled for next week is a firm deal. I hope it brings some relief to the little guy.

bridal bouquet

bridal
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

We did an awesome wedding this weekend at the flower shop (www.thebackyardgarden for those of you who don't know). I made the bridal bouquet, of which I'm pretty proud! I thought it was gorgeous - the colors and textures were so pretty. The poor bride got rained on all day today, though.

We took a family jaunt to Rochester last night. Kevin and I saw Death Cab for Cutie in concert (we hadn't been to a concert in years!). The kiddos stayed at the hotel with our dear babysitter Patti (thank goodness for Patti!!). It was a quick trip and we're going to make another trip back sometime to visit the Strong Museum (http://www.strongmuseum.org), which we've heard is AWESOME.

The rain will NOT go away and it's rather annoying. ENOUGH ALREADY!

Addie is trying out "3" fingers

One month to go until we're finished with the "terrible twos," although I've heard that the threes aren't much easier at times!

Addie was practicing her fingers the other day- getting ready to hold three of them up. What a big girl!

Jack wakes up from a nap

IMG_9393retouch
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

I love it when the kids first wake up from their naps. Rosy cheeks, big eyes, not sure what's going on or where they are....
here's Jack.
Still playing with the new lens and loving it!

The possibility of snow...

And, I'm only talking a dusting to an inch or so on grassy surfaces... but, the talk of it has made Addie go into a snowy tizzy!!! She told me tonight that she "loves snow" and is "going to dream of snow tonight!!!" Thought that was kinda cute. Here she is getting ready for a major snow storm. Good thing I just washed all of the winter stuff!

I was excited to buy a new lens for my camera today! I had debated whether or not to get a whole new camera ("out with the old, in with the new!!!!"), but the salesperson at Johnson's Camera had some good words of wisdom for me.. "The body essentially just controls the shutter. The glass is what is important" (meaning lenses). I bought a Canon 50mm 1.4, which is a pretty inexpensive lens. I have read good things about it, and have heard that it is a great basic lens to have. Of course I went right home and put it on the camera and started shooting away. So far, so good!!!!

"Bob" and Kerrianne visit CNY

Our friends, Jim (aka, Bud and BOB) and Kerrianne visited us this weekend. We were all so excited to see them - they're a lot of fun and so nice. Kevin and Bud went to the SU game and enjoyed feeling like co-eds again. We ate great food, drank good wine (all of us except Kerrianne, who is expecting in Feb 07!) and laughed about funny times. Addie and Jack had a lot of fun, too.

Trying to learn Photoshop

I have been so curious about Photoshop, wondering if it would be a wise investment for me. I went to the Adobe website and downloaded a free 30-day trial of CS2... I'm hoping to get the most out of the 30 days, but boy, is it involved! I guess I'm a better learner if someone is showing me how to do something. My friend and mentor Genevieve (www.genphotos.com) loaned me a book, but it's still somewhat confusing to me to get some of my photos to look the way I want them to look. I suppose I should just try to realize that this is learning process and I shouldn't expect too much to soon. Perhaps I'll take a class!

For now here is a cute picture of Jack that I tried to alter in CS2. He is "talking" about and pointing to an airplane!

Painting pumpkins

Addie is getting very interseted in Halloween this year. We were invited to a friend's house to paint pumpkins! Here is Addie's beautiful masterpiece. The goal was to get as much paint on the pumpkin as possible. And then more paint. And still more! She had fun and that's all that matters, right?!

brother and sister kiss

brother and sister kiss
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

Another afternoon spent outside. Today wasn't quite as beautiful as the past few days, but at least there wasn't any rain. Addie is so excited about raking the leaves and jumping in them, and Jack just loves to be outside. Addie is becoming more "cooperative" about having her picture taken (with my direction), and she even likes to see it on the LCD screen. Thought this was a cute picture of sibling love!

feet

feet
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

It was a gorgeous late afternoon so I called KQ from work who will periodically say, "you should take pictures of my kids" to see if the whole gang would be home. Not only were all 4 kids there, but so were 3 cousins. What a fun group of kiddos and so darn photogenic. I will have to practice on them more often.

More visitors!

Busy, busy weekend. Quinn and Christi visited from Washington and of course Ms. Shelby got to come along, too. Ruby was very excited to see her.
The weather was absoultely perfect so we took advantage of an SU football game, a pumpkin patch (with a long country road drive), the playground and a well-deserved adult dinner at the Mission. Yummy.

being pulled by a princess

being pulled by a princess
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

We had fun yesterday playing outside. It rained on and off yesterday, but the evening was beautiful. Addie was running around in her leotard and she actually agreed to put her new tutu on! Jack is now walking all over the place and seemed to enjoy testing out his new legs outside. Fall is such a great time of the year - I love the colors and the air. Our trees haven't quite turned yet (some have), so we have several more weeks to enjoy this weather. I wonder if it will snow again this year at the end of Oct. When we moved here 4 years ago it snowed on our move-in day (Nov 1). Oh my!

A visit from Nini and Papa

We had a nice visit with Nini and Papa this past weekend. Addie liked playing Playdough and going apple picking. Jack had fun showing off his new trick, walking!

Ruby shaking

Ruby shaking
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

We took a stroll down the Erie Canal today and Ruby was DYING to jump in. She had fun and the kids liked watching her swim and shake.

laughing up in the air

laughing up in the air
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

I wanted to have a photo shoot with our friend Baby Riley today---- my thoughts were to put her in an adorable pink tutu up against the blue wall in Angel's kitchen (by the window with lots of light). I thought the blue wall would compliment the blue in Riley's eyes... well, nothing really went as planned. I have so much to learn!!! Riley HATED the tutu!!!! I was able to get a couple of pictures that were pretty cute, though. Here is one.

A day at the park! It's always fun to go to the park. We left the house with bright blue skies and by the time we got down the road the dark clouds started to roll in. Addie was afraid we'd get "caught in a rainstorm," but it didn't rain after all.
We had fun.

peekaboo jack

peekaboo jack
Originally uploaded by stephanieantshel.

What a cutie!

Friday!

Well, wish I could say the work week was over, but that doesn't happen being a mom!
Fall is in the air - still have lots of flowers blooming in the yard so I thought I'd snap a picture of this beautiful cosmo that I grew from seed.

Don't you wish you could dress like a toddler?

Addie may become a famous fashion designer one day - or I guess it's just normal for toddlers to wear WHATEVER they can get their hands on???? Anyway... she found her princess
costume from last Halloween and HAD to go outside with it.!







Here's a pic of Jack and Ruby hanging out on our bed. Can't quite figure out what each one is thinking!

New Haircut and first day of nursery school

I did it! I got my hair cut to a recognizable shorter length today. I was cracking up with my stylist about how I'm never going to have the hair I did when I was 16 years old --- long, lush, flowy... that's just not life anymore! My hair dresser and I were able to sort out the difference between "hip, young mother" and "old bag" hair styles, though.. and it was a great laugh! I will try to take self-portrait soon and post for all to see! I know you're waiting by your computers.

Addie started her first day of nursery school today. Here is a shot of Dada with Addie and her braided pigtails!