Chuck-E-Cheese!

We've visited Chuck-E-Cheese once before with Brenna.  Mawmaw and Pawpaw took her during a visit, but it was a weekend afternoon and it was jammed packed.  Barely any room to walk.  Brenna did enjoy the games, but not the craziness it took to move through the crowds to get to the games.

While Jacob was away, we met some friends for a playdate at Chuck-E-Cheese one weekday morning shortly after it opened at 9 AM.  For all you moms with preschoolers, this is the time to go!  We had the entire place all to our selves.  Jamie and I both had coupons, and we ended up with a ton of tokens.  The girls freely hooped from one game to the next.  The biggest fun was a little four horse carrousel.  I'm certain they made at least 100 laps on that thing.  As soon as the music would stop you would hear one of them say "Let's go again!"

Chick-Fil-A with Abby Cadabby!

One of our local Chick-Fil-A's is really good about sponsoring children's activities.  Not just Family Nights, like most, but also a Children's Playtime during the mid-morning for all us stay-at-moms.  They have Gymboree come out and put on crafts, singing, and storytime for the kids.  Earlier in the year, we met Elmo there and this time Abby Cadabby was visiting.  So we met some friends there for fun with Abby Cadaddy.  It's always hit or miss on whether kids get into these life-sized animated friends that they love so much on TV.  We went with my friend Shellie and her little boy John and met our friend Kristi with her kids, Grace and Elijah.

Well, Abby was a hit with Brenna and John.  John seemed alittle fascinated.  He would walk over and just stare up into her big pink face.

Big hug!  "Oh Abby!  I'm so excited to see you!"

A Few Comments on Our Time While Jacob was Away......

Well it was a long, hard week.  I don't know how singles moms do it, especially if they have more than one child.  After I spend all morning, afternoon, and night running around behind Brenna I'm exhausted.  There's really no such thing as effort free entertainment anymore.  She's at an age where everything is hands-on, which means constant supervision.  We managed some fun playdates and good shopping and overall stayed very busy to make the time pass faster.

A Few More Hobby Shots!

Just a few more hobby shots, because I thought they were cute.  Now that Jacob's home, things are settling back into the normal routine, so not as much time for camera play.

Love those lashes!

We Miss You Daddy!

Well, I've already mentioned that the only good thing that comes from Jacob's overseas trips is no cooking.  Brenna missed her daddy and wanted to do something special for him.  So, in an effort to stay active, I decided there was no point in baking a cake or making his favorite dessert (that would just negate the "no cooking" advantages).  Not to mention this would be work for me, not so much for Brenna.  So we settled on a crafts project.  We try to incorporate craft time into everyday, this one spanned 3 days and Brenna had a blast.  We started day-1 with the letters.  First she would pick the letter she liked, then she would pick the color she wanted to paint it, and finally she would choose the paint brush she wanted to use (thanks to Aunt Jodi we have alot to choose from.)  On day-2 we glued.  Oh how she loves her glue sticks!  I can't tell you the number of times I've been hunched over my kitchen table with a tooth pick digging dried glue out of the cracks, despite the layers of protective paper that was provided for the project.  Day-3 we decorated with markers and stickers.  I thought she did a very impressive job.  After we were all done, I snapped a picture (with my new lens, of course!) and we emailed it to Daddy, so he would know Brenna was missing him!

The Rest of the McAlister Clan

Well, I want to start this post by saying that I bought a new lens!  Yay!  I know what your thinking "Jacob's flight was barely over international waters and Kawanda runs outs and buys a new ($$$) lens!"  It's true he wasn't enthusiastic when I told him I was considering adding a new lens to my collection, especially when he saw the price tag.  But, shame on you for thinking I'm the type of wife who would live by the old tale "While the cats away, the mice will play!" I am a frugal woman (I know some of you call me cheap!) and I came across a really great lens for sale on Craigs List.  When I say great thats code for cheap, but the lens actually was pretty good and it was a whopping cost of 10 BUCKS!  It's manual, of course, not automatic, but that just means I get to continue to improve my skills.  I didn't pray for a lens, naturally there's lots more pressing and significant issues that make the list, but God is Good and he threw this old girl a bone.  A $10 lens that generally matches what I was looking for can't be anything else but a gift from Heaven.

So, I've put it to use the last couple of days.  Especially with Jacob being away, I traded cooking dinner for camera practice (the only benefit to Jacob overseas trips, is I get 7 straight days of no cooking, Brenna and I live off McDonalds and frozen pizzas!)

I decided that this post will be dedicated to the rest of the McAlister Clan, the kitties!  I used them for practice, because Brenna had fun playing camera assistant and trying to make them "Smile!"

Of course we have Pickles and Moose, but some of you may not know that we've acquired a 3rd cat which Brenna named Abraham.  He's a stray that showed up on the front porch one days and decided to adopt us.  He's a tomcat that lives outside and roams the neighborhood and comes home when he's hungry.  With Jacob away I depend on the cats to guard and protect.  That's being said, its a good thing I know how to shoot Jacob's pistol.

I'm Taking Pictures for No Good Reason at All!

Well, I've had my camera for nearly a month now, and it hasn't parted from my hand much over the last 30 days.  I've been snapping pictures like crazy.  Some ok, some good, some not so good, and then occasionally I get one I really like.  A big thanks to Jamie for giving me a crash course on aperture in 3 paragraphs or less and to Shellie for introducing me to the Pioneer Woman (I feel like she's a country girl after my own heart!)  I've been studying the Internet for all things photography.  I'm gaining confidence and moving into shooting in some of my manual modes.  I'm also beginning to realize what I like about pictures, my personal preferences on style, content, and exposure.  I recognize that I may not be following all the rules to a "T".  But, hey, their my pictures!  So all that matters to me right now is that I like 'em!

And for all of you who keep asking, "No, I don't intend to make a career out of this once Brenna starts school".  I'm not nearly that good and definitely don't intend to invest the amount of money it would take to be that good.  This is a very expensive hobby.  I'm already eyeing another lens to add to my collection and the new mac photo editing software, Aperture.  For right now this is just a hobby and I consider it another notch in my "Housewife / Mommy" belt, right behind cooking, home decor, and gardening.  That being said, I do love to take pictures, so for anyone who wants to take some pics for fun, birthdays, showers, whatever, I'd love to help.  However, that offer is only for friends and family, I'm not hiring out!

Of course, Brenna has been my guinea pig and, as you can imagine, she's also my favorite "content"!  The poor cats run and hide every time they see the camera come out of the drawer.  There is one thing I've noticed over the month.  Brenna doesn't like to smile for me.  She doesn't mind taking pictures, but she won't smile.  Not if its just me asking.

These are a couple of "for instance" shots.  I took these this week, just before Brenna's 2nd dance class.  She's just too darn cute in those pick leotards to pass up.  It was just me and Brenna on the front porch.

"Smile Brenna!  Smile Sweetheart!  Brenna, Please Smile!!!!!"

Brenna's First Day of Ballet and Tap

Well, we wrapped up gymnastics for the year at the end of July.  She had a great time with it and had mastered the all the moves for her level and a few above.  We decided rather than take another year of gymnastics, we would give dance a try.  Most dance schools only take children at age 3, so we just squeezed in before the Fall registration last week.

It's already been a learning experience for all of us.  We visited the dance studio for its Open House so Brenna could meet the teacher and get accustomed to her new surroundings.  Ms. Hillary (our new dance instructor) was very nice and spent some time talking to Brenna about what they do in dance class.  As soon as she pulled out the hula hoops, Brenna was sold.  We registered her for a combo ballet and tap class.  Jacob and I quickly learned there quite a few more bell and whistles associated with dance.  Of course there's the registration fee and the monthly tuition, but then there's recital fees, leotards, tutus, tights, ballet shoes, tap shoes........and don't forget the bag to carry it all in!  One week and an undisclosed amount of money later (tap shoes are disgustingly expensive!) we were praying that she really liked dance, because she was onboard for the year whether she liked it or not!

We spent the week talking up how fun dance class would be and how nice Ms. Hillary was.  She had a blast picking out her leotards and modeling each one for the sales clerk at the dancewear store.  We even had a few practice sessions at home so she could appreciate her tap shoes.  When we finally walked in the door of the dance studio, we had nothing to fear.  Brenna ran into the dance room and took her spot on the floor ready to get started!  The dance room has a mirrored wall on one side (of course) and the other three walls have viewing windows, so we can watch the girls.  I took a few photos and video before we left the house and then Jacob got some video of the dance class with his iphone (God bless technology!)

Let's Paint Outside!

We moved our little Piccaso outside with a little dab of side walk paint. One hour and three bottles of paint later this was the result.

More Camera Practice!

Sesame Street Faces are Fun!

So, since the sesame faces were such a hit with Brenna at the Birthday Party, we've carried it over to craft time for Brenna. She's made sesame faces two more times since the party and even created her own Sesame Street character, which we named Bedobbles (not sure where that came from, but given his facial characteristics, I thought it was a fitting name)!

I'm still tinkering around with the camera alot. I think I'm getting better, especially with outdoor shots, but indoors I'm still working to perfect the camera functions. As any photographer will tell you, its all about lighting, and I'm having a hard time making the indoor lighting work for me. But I sure am having fun trying.

Backyard Play Time!

After a hot week, we figured the best way to cool off was to break out the backyard pool! Brenna was looking stylish in her new bikini, which happened to be just alittle too big. The right strap kept falling off and I would keep pulling it up. Brenna finally told me "It's ok Mama, I don't mind!" Had it been her way, there would be no bathing suit at all.

Camera Practice!

Thanks for the Paint Aunt Jodi!

Brenna's 3rd Birthday Party!

Brenna's 3rd Birthday Party was a huge success. She had a fantastic time with all her friends. We celebrated with a Sesame Street theme this year and we went Sesame all the way! From the decorations, to the food, to the crafts and games, to wrappings, even Brenna's birthday outfit included Elmo and friends. We started off the morning with a few gifts. She had been patiently waiting since Friday when she found all the wrapped presents in the upstairs bedroom.