Behold, the Tree

So after our ultrasound Friday, I was suddenly in the holiday spirit again. I had almost sworn off a tree this year, but we stopped at one last lot and found a beauty.  So I added the lights and then waited a couple days for the branches to settle before adding the decorations.  Here are some shots of our tree this year.

 (He was in NO mood for pictures....this is as good as it gets)

A Playdate.....with Santa?

Earlier in the week, I got an e-mail from Monkey Bizness that Santa would be making an appearance at Family Night this week.  With the chaotic nature of our schedules this summer/fall/winter, we haven't been to Monkey Bizness in quite a while.  My poor, deprived child.  So I couldn't pass up the {FREE} chance to see Santa - no way was this mama paying $20 at the mall for someone else's attempt at a picture.  So we paid the $5 fee for family night and played until our feet hurt.  My brother and his girlfriend joined us, and we had a great time!

Carter had to show his Uncle Dana the BIG slide.

And the BIG slide didn't disappoint.  That sucker will put your heart up in your throat in 1.2 seconds!  But Carter really loves it.

 No, really!  Let me zoom in on that shot for you:

 He may look scared, but he's ready to climb back up to the top the second he hits the bottom of the slide.

After we played for a bit, we got in line to go visit Santa.  There were lots of kids, so Carter made his way up and down the line, comparing Santa requests for toys.  Turns out, several of the other boys were also dinosaur freaks.  Carter made instant friends.  When it came time for our turn with Santa, it took some talking into just to get Carter up on Santa's lap.  But once he was up there, he chatted Santa's ear off, and the dog's!

It really was a great night - I'm glad he didn't go running off scared of Santa!

Start Buying PINK!

We had the big ultrasound today.  First and foremost, everything looked great.  Heart, kidneys, brain, etc. all got the a-okay from my doc.  So that's a big sigh of relief.  The tech didn't exactly give us a ton of pictures - in fact, we got TWO, so I really don't have any great pictures so share today. :(  I was hoping for some great profile shots like we had with Carter.  No such luck.  The tech was new to the office and wasn't familiar with the machine.  But we certainly didn't see any BOY parts, so she's going with us having a girl.  I couldn't be more excited!!! 

Time to start shopping!!!

Pregnancy Tracker - 21 weeks

This week marks 21 weeks.  No big changes from last week.....other than the big ultrasound tomorrow!!!!

Here is what babycenter.com says about 21 weeks:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Brandon & Amanda {Engagement}

Brandon and Amanda hired me to do their engagement photos and their wedding next summer.  They wanted winter/snow pictures for the engagement, so we went out into the snow last weekend.  Here are some samples from their shoot.

Dan, Becky & Little Avery {Family}

I did a winter shoot last weekend with this adorable family. Avery was really good with the camera, but we really weren't able to get any solo shots of her - she didn't want to be an inch away from mom or dad. So we made due with what we had.  Here are some samples from their shoot!