Opening Presents

Brent here...hope everyone had as great a Christmas as we did. I put together a little montage of Sarah enjoying her new gifts. She is quite the gift-getter, and she wanted me to tell everyone how much she appreciates her presents. Watch closely and you can see her signing "Thank you". Happy New Year to all!

more wagon! more wagon!

She's all about her new wagon. We took her down the street today to try out some sledding and she was SO not into that. But the wagon, oh yes, it's the bomb. So we looped around the block in her shiny new wheels instead. We were planning to head to the mountains today with Rich and Amy to veg out and try some cross country skiing but it seems Mother Nature has other ideas. Apparently there's another winter storm headed our way and while the Shertzer's opted to be snowed in up in Winter Park, we decided it would be easier for us to be snowed in here. So here we are with 5 days of togetherness stretching out ahead of us. Nothing better than that.

Christmas in pictures...

We had a warm, cozy, quiet Christmas day at home yesterday. Rich and Amy came down for brunch and present-opening and then we trekked up the hill to their house for dinner, pulling Sarah's brand new red wagon from MamaJo and Papa. I have to say, I was immensely pleased with her gift-receiving ability. She hugged every gift that was huggable and played with every gift that was playable. Even though most of the givers weren't there to enjoy the opening I was able to get photos of her with almost every gift and Brent even captured a video clip of her signing "thank you" to Uncle Tory and Aunt Parmy for the super-fun balls. Christmas was definitely a hit for the Pigbear!

Now that Christmas is over it's officially time to wish my honey a GREAT BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! As I type he should be at work making the final decision on where we'll dine tonight for his celebration. Last I checked he had it narrowed down to Wahoo's Fish Tacos, La Casita, or FatBurger. He's got high-class taste, let me tell you!

So, after you wish Brent a happy day, make sure to head over to the kodak gallery to vote for the Pigbear. We're in the final days...voting ends December 31st and the winner should be notified by January 8th. I'll be sure to blog it as soon as I hear anything!!!

to you and yours...

Pigbear says...Have a very merry Christmas!

Bing Crosby is overrated

Hi all, this is Brent blogging. Pretty much anytime you see a video, it's me, because Erin's about as good with the video thing as I am with the camera. I know that some of you, especially our Southern friends, are anxious to see what happened along the Front Range during the past few days.

I will say that I'm disappointed with myself. I had "White Christmas" (Elvis' rendition, of course) all ready to go with this video clip, but I forgot to add it. Hopefully you'll enjoy it anyway, and a very Merry Christmas to all of you. Oh, someone just asked me to mention that you have 8 more days of voting left--no holiday vacations allowed.

I'VE BEEN PUBLISHED!

Okay, well, sort of. Check out the article I wrote for our local newspaper about Sarah's Baby Gap Fame...it's award-winning, for real. I'm thinking they'll be contacting me anyday about my Pulitzer (someone please tell me that's the right award).

Anyway, here are some fun shots of me and Pippy at the park last week. After this little jaunt we headed over to McDonalds for Sarah's first Happy Meal which should be a joyous occasions except that halfway there I realized that she was in the back seat playing with her carseat straps because she wasn't buckled in. Okay, it's out. Call me Brittany and then call DHS. I deserve it. But I bet I'll be the only mom interviewed by DHS with a Pulitizer. So there.

And one of her new favorite signs: "help me"...

I just got an email from a friend saying Sarah was featured on the Channel 9 news in Denver...check it out here! If you click on the little video camera you can see the video.

naughty or nice...you decide

The Shertzer's invited us over for a wondeful pre-Christmas celebration this weekend. The babies exchanged gifts and the mommies and daddies did lots of eating and drinking. Have you heard about the new Lucky dog? Well, Sarah got one from Ms. Amy and Mr. Rich and we all had a BALL playing with the little spunky guy. He sits, rolls over, stands on his head, says "I love you", and all kind of other cool stuff. Unfortunately, saying the Pigbear is terrified of the thing would be an understatement. As long as he's not moving, she's all good. But the minute the mechanical whirring sound starts and parts start moving you'd better watch out because Sarah is screaming and darting for the closest pair of grown up arms or legs to cling to. We're hoping she'll learn to love him since it's the closest thing she'll get to a real dog for a long, long, long (possibly forever) time.



So here are the little girls dressed up in their Christmas finery. And, no, even though Baby Gap might be in Sarah's future, we're definitely not considering featuring her in a Brittany Spears video. But isn't the plaid cute?

Early Steps

There's been a call for more Sarah video--sorry it's taken me a while to post something. This should make up for it. All I can say is watch out...Pigbear's on the prowl!

-Brent

two things

1. Have you ever seen such cuteness as the likes of these two?














2. If you are a photographer then RUN (or whatever the web-surfing alternative is) to this site and beg her to include you. I'm not positive who the "wonderful photographer friend" is that she speaks of but I've got a pretty darn good guess and I know it would be worth your while (and your $$$) to learn the amazing stuff this pro has to teach you. I'm just sayin.

neglecting the Pigbear

I feel like I've been terrible at photographing Sarah lately. I've been so busy taking photos for others that I've barely had the energy to photograph my little muse! Plus, I think her sole incentive for learning to walk is getting away from me and my camera. Those two things together don't make for much picture taking. At least not pretty pictures! Anyway, I did manage to snap a few today while she was playing with her super-fun, brand spankin' new dolly bed from her oh-so-amazing Aunt Lori.

And a couple of notes...

First of all, yes it is much too cold here to be wearing a sundress but it's not too cold to be wearing a sundress for a photoshoot.

Second, if Sarah's hanging out in her room her closest friends aren't far behind. Hence, Rae Rae appearing in all four photos. Yes, he is in #1...just not in the field of view.

And finally, while it may appearing that she's bowing to the diaper gods in that last shot, she's actually contemplating whether or not to dig into this pile of no-no's. I'm happy to report that she made a very wise decision.

(Julie, it's not a border, but I edited my blog template to post the photos that way...thanks for the question! If anyone else wonders anything, random as it may be, bring it on! I'll try to answer!)

The Best of 2006 (according to me)

Some of my online photog friends are taking part in a blog challenge to post their favorite images from 2006. (those of you who are laughing that I have "online friends" please take a moment to collect yoursleves...okay...now we can continue) I tried and tried to overthink this and hem and haw over which were more technically correct, which had the correct white balance, blah, blah, blah. I finally threw all of that out the window and the chose the images that really mean something to me. So here they are, with some explanations...

First, my sweet little Pigbear in an almost-too-tight hat. This was the first time that I had the "oh my goodness I am going to LOVE these" experience AS I was pushing the shutter button. I barely had time to pull Sarah down from the dresser she was perched on before I was racing to the room next door to upload them. I also adore this photo because it was the one that first connected me to Wendy who knows more about photography than I will ever know about anything. And being mentored by her is the thing that has single-handedly changed my photography for ever. No joke. Not to mention she's just a cool girl. I would link her blog here but she would kill me. So I'll abstain.

Next, my first neice. I adore the way she's looking at me with sweet baby eyes and raising her hand as if to say that yes, she really is the cutest newborn on the planet. And God bless her mama who said to me the other day that the reason she thinks my subjects always look so much older than they really are is because I capture their souls. So, here you go big sis...Charlotte's soul.



Then, Sweet Caroline. (commence singing, you know you want to...go ahead, bug the guy in the cube next to you). Her eyes just pull me in. And the thing I love about this image is how Caroline seems to have been captured in such a quiet baby-with-a-book moment. In reality it was SO not that way (remember, Sam?) She was really past done with the photo shoot by this point and was squirming all over the chair until Samantha threw the book into her hands, just long enough to get this shot. But isn't that what the art of photography is about sometimes? Capturing the ideal. Even if it is only for a fleeting moment.



Next, the pouty Pigbear. I love how her hair and the hat frame her face. Again, it's all about the eyes. It was our first fall day and barely cool enough for a hat but there was no way I was missing this chance...and I'm so glad I didn't!



Finally, does this shot really need an explanation? Besides the fact that I love it more in b/w. I just do. So there.



There you have 'em folks. My faves from '06.

playgroup under siege

Why is it that the only things toddlers know how to share are germs? Maybe because the mommies refuse to listen when the playgroup hostess politely advises everyone that a slight stomach bug hit their house earlier in the week. All I heard was "pumpkin soup will be served" and made the decision that we would definitely be there. Poor Sarah is paying the price for my love of Wednesday playgroup lunches.

Consequently, here's how we spent our day today...

Munching on crackers to try and hold off the vomiting, cuddling on the mommy/daddy bed, and trying fruitlessly to convince Sarah to watch a baby video for more than 2 minutes at a time. That's what I get for never having let the child watch television ever before in her life.

I hear the other playgroup families aren't fairing much better. But you know, jammie days are good every now and again, aren't they?

baby book club

These pics are a couple weeks old but I just remembered them and thought I'd share. We were having a little reading session while I was trying to finish up The Memory Keeper's Daughter for book club. In case you can't tell, Sarah is an avid reader. No, seriously. She can't get enough of books. We read about 10-15 books every time she wakes up...and she's still taking 2 naps a day. Add in morning wake-up and 3 books before bed and we're averaging almost 50 books a day! It's a good thing I've got thousands stock-piled in the garage! (Jodi- I hope your mom is reading this...I know she loves my book posts!)





How's the voting going everyone? Are you still going strong? Only 3 weeks and 3 days left...and, for me, it can't come soon enough! The waiting is killing me!

mmmmm...cookies

While we were waiting for Brent to get home for lunch Pigbear and I had a little snack together. I like the Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs because they're just the right amount when you need a sweet thing. Sarah likes them because they're small enough that she can get about 6 in her mouth at a time. Good thing mommy is standing by to relieve any choking that might ensue.

On another note, we recently celebrated Sarah's one year anniversary of becoming "the Pigbear". It was the weekend of Brent's surprise birthday party last year when Tory and Parmy snuck into town for a visit. We were all in stitches watching 5-week old Sarah explode into a little fit while wearing her sweet pink hooded BABY GAP (!) jacket. It had little ears at the top that made you think "bear" but the color screamed "pig". Amidst the tantrum we dubbed her pigbear. And the rest is history. Happy Anniversary, Princess Pigbear.

Baby Lily, enjoy your name while you have it because your obnoxious nickname is just around the corner. I'm quite sure of it.

wanna see a pretty baby?

Meet my new niece...Lily Sundari...

She was born on December 1st and has stolen many hearts already...Aunt DeeDee's included!

T and P: we're SO excited for you guys!

Her Royal Weirdness

See this spot?

Any idea where it came from?

Her Royal Weirdness, of course!

Apparently it's really fun to lick the fireplace hearth just to see the spot you can make.

And, another fun thing? Playing in the bathtub without any water...

I sure hope Gap likes weird!