Playing with a New Lens

I have a new love in my life:  the Canon 100mm macro lens.  :)

I know you're probably thinking, "Why in the world does she need ANOTHER lens?!"  Well, I shoot with prime (meaning non-zoom) lenses and each different focal length serves a different purpose.  

A wide angle lens, like my 35mm, can capture more in the picture and is great for indoor shots, spaces where you want to capture as much as possible but don't have much room to back up, and more lifestyle images.  It's on my camera the majority of the time at home.  This lens isn't as great for portraits because it can cause some unflattering distortion of people's faces if you get close up.  

The 50mm I have is most like what your eye sees as far as what can fit in the frame.  It's on my camera for about 90% of each newborn session (I bust out the 35mm for family shots if I don't have room for the 50mm) and about 75% of my portrait sessions.  

The 100mm macro I got will serve two main purposes:  close-up macro shots during my newborn sessions (think squishy lips, tiny fingers and toes, faint eyelashes) and outdoor portraits (a longer focal length like the 85+ is a dream for outdoor portraits as it really compresses the background and makes it all smooth and buttery).  It's not as practical for me to take outside with West, for instance, because you have to stand so far back in order to get more in the picture.  I love that even though this lens is technically a macro lens (vs the non-macro 100mm lens), it can be used for beautiful portraits as well. 

Without further ado, here are some images I've taken my new lens since I got it a week or two ago...

These shots were taken within an hour of getting it in the mail.  I was so excited to bust it out I didn't even wipe the powdered donut remnants off West's face before snapping these shots.  Plus, he's not even wearing any pants... but thankfully these shots are so tight you wouldn't know it.  :)

 We get this look ALL the time... this is his look when he's trying to be silly.  

 Telling me a story about trains.  I had to stand back about 6 feet in order to get these shots.

 Just being cute.  :)

And here are some more shots I got the other day. 

 It is nearly impossible to get any in-focus shots of him while is playing (or awake for that matter).  I managed to get a few close-ups in focus.  SOOOO excited to use this on baby brother when he arrives!  I'm sure he'll be a much more cooperative subject, that is, until he starts moving too.  ;)

A Saturday Afternoon Walk

We headed out to Smithville lake on Saturday to check out a new trail and take advantage of the gorgeous weather.  Between this pregnant, picture-taking momma and a toddler who insisted on pushing the stroller the majority of the time, we were pretty slow going.  :)

This is what I get when I say, "West, can you stand still for a second so I can get a picture of you?"  Please note the tongue sticking out because he KNOWS he's ornery.

 "No, West.  Seriously, I want you to stand here for a second."  "Fine... cheese."

 But then just 30 seconds later he runs back over and says, "I want to try again!  Mom, take a picture."

 Trying to spot an airplane.

 There it is!

 Man I love these guys!

 And then they were off.  

He was cracking us up how he was really pumping those arms while he was running!

So thankful for the gorgeous weather we've had lately and sooooo ready for it to stick around!  Come on spring!

Going Stir Crazy at Home

West had a stomach bug/virus last Sunday-Thursday so we were stuck inside all week.  It's really too bad that the weather wasn't half as nice as it was the week before!  We were trying to get creative to keep from going completely stir crazy.  Painting and playing with trains to the rescue!

It's a special treat when he gets to pull the train track off the table and build on the floor.  He made everything pictured all by himself!

(I still can't get over how big he looks when I see his underwear peeking out.  I mean, seriously, stop my baby from growing up!)

 This image is almost the exact same as the one above, but moving just a hair to the right allows the light to hit the sensor on the camera, producing that lens flare + haze that I love.  :)

January Happenings

Yes, I am entirely aware that it's almost March, but I'm still proud of myself for getting our pics from January up here at all!  :)

Stuck Inside

We are SO ready for spring.  West and I really don't like the cold, so we have had lots of time inside to paint...

clean...  (he totally insisted on cleaning the toilets.  It's one of his favorite ways to help me clean the bathrooms!  Don't worry, I just use vinegar and baking soda to clean it - no harsh chemicals.)

play make believe...  (these are West's favorite stuffed animals.  The dog on the far right he affectionately named Rocko after I told him some stories about my childhood dog.  The polar bear is Rocko's dad and the panda bear is Rocko's mom.  He takes them all over the house and plays with them - here they were running from the big bad dinosaur in the foreground, and then he asked me to take a picture of them all.)

and lots of hide-n-seek...

Big Boo-Boo
While we were watching cousins Silas, Atticus, and Elias one night, West fell from his chair at the table and broke his fall with his forehead.  :(  It was definitely the worst he's ever been hurt and left a nice goose egg for a few days.

Built-Ins

Before we can start in on baby brother's nursery, we have to make room for everything that needs to be cleared out of there.  One big project is creating built-in bookshelves downstairs so we can get rid of the old, unstable bookshelf that is currently in the future nursery.  Thankfully Papa Johnie and Grandma Dee came down for the weekend to help us out.

Here's where we started:

 After the shelves are up:

 After adding some trim boards to beef it up a bit.

Unfortunately, we haven't made much more progress than this.  We've been stuck on the caulking/spackling stage, and then we'll prime and paint it.  I think we're going to go with the same white as the trim throughout the house, so that it doesn't look too busy once we fill it with books.

Small Group Murder Mystery
Our murder mystery theme this year was an old west poker tournament and thankfully we were able to borrow pretty much everything from Brad's co-worker.  Once we came out in our costumes, West just had to get the cowboy hat that Grandpa Kenny got him for Christmas.  Such a cute little cowboy!