Kate's Birthday Party!

Although Kate's real birthday isn't until the 28th, we had her birthday party today. Everybody was there (except Uncle Jaron), even Uncle Andy flew in from Utah to attend. We had a delicious lunch of pizza and soda, opened presents, and then had cake and ice cream. It was so fun and I just can't believe my baby is (almost) one!! Kate got blocks from Aunt Bethany and cousin Maddock, a pool toy from Aunt Sherice and Uncle Scott, a church bag filled with quiet books from Grandma Foree, a fisher-price lawn mower from Mom and Dad, and a super cute outfit and a play car from Grandpa and Grandma Watson.










Maddock loved pushing Kate in her car! He kept yelling "Turn the wheel Kate! 'Mon turn the wheel!"

This is the cake I made her. So cute right?





I think she liked it...

It was a fantastic day. Thank you so so much to everyone who came. We had a great time and Kate loves all her presents! You guys are the greatest!

Cousins

This is Maddock

This is Jaylee
Get them together with Kate, and you've got hours of fun!

Today they came over, and we played outside in the weeds and rocks.

Kate was most interested in eating the rocks and dirt. Yum!"Here Jaylee, it's good. Try it!"
Kate sure does love her cousins. We can't wait for the next one to arrive!

Round Two (it's pretty boring really...)

Today I spent the majority of my day cleaning. I have my brother coming into town Thursday, and the rest of my family on Saturday. Everyone is coming to celebrate Kate's birthday with us, and then are all going to stay at my house that night. So- I've been trying my hardest to keep on top of everything. But, I did make some time to play with my camera today. Maybe a little too much time. Oh well. I read a ton of stuff online all about aperture, shutter speed, white balance, ISO...there's so much to learn. So, here's round two of practice shots with my camera. I should probably start a separate blog for this shouldn't I? For all those not completely bored by pictures of Kate, read on.

I did as my friend Erin suggested and started shooting in RAW format. This is helpful! The only thing I don't like is that my version of photoshop is too old (we still have just CS) to handle RAW files. So after I edit them a little in my software that came with my camera, I have to convert them back into JPEG before opening them in Photoshop. I'm not sure if that's hindering me.


I tried really hard to grasp the concept of correct exposure while shooting in manual mode today. I think I'm starting to understand it. Kinda. I'll definitely be practicing this more. One major "oops" for today was that I set my ISO way too high. Before I went outside, I was trying to take some indoor photos (not so good) and I forgot so reset it. So all my pics are too grainy. Lesson learned.

Well, I hope this post didn't bore everyone to pieces. And as always, I save my favorite for last...

The bullet has been bitten

I finally did it. I bought the camera I've been wanting for approximately 5.75 years. It's a Canon Rebel XSi, and I friggin LOVE it! It came in the mail today, and I wasted no time in getting it out of the box and putting it to use.





This last one is my favorite. It totally captures her silly personality.
Obviously, I still have a lot to learn, so any tips would be greatly appreciated! I know there are at least 5 photographers out there who read this blog, and I am eager to hear any advice you might have!

Gratitude

Over the past week I have been feeling so grateful. Have you ever had one of those days where it feels like the Lord is giving you a big slap to the face and says, "Hey! Look at what you have you ungrateful child!". Well, that's the kind of week I've been having. It's days like these that make me realize how selfish I can be, and how blessed I really am. I am overwhelmingly grateful to have:

- a wonderful husband who loves me very much and works hard to support our family
- a beautiful daughter whose kisses remind me how wonderful life really is
- the gospel of Jesus Christ
- a beautiful home
- our families
- health
- financial means to pay our bills and feed our faces
- an eternal marriage. My grandpa passed away last week, and it's such an amazing thing to know that he is up in heaven having a joyous reunion with my grandma. What an amazing blessing this is! To not only have a marriage here on earth, but in the eternities as well!!
- an eternal family
- temples close by
- the opportunity to be a wife and mother


"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues" --Thomas S. Monson

I especially love this quote by our prophet. It so true! When we focus on the negative, we become very ingrateful. When we focus on the positive, and think about all that the Lord has given us we are very thankful. I love the Lord so much and I am so grateful for all that he has done for me and my family. He has always watched over us and has helped us out in our times of need. He's there to give me strength and peace whenever I need it, and I know that he hears and answers our prayers. I'm so grateful for the life he has given me, and I'll continue to live it the best I can!

Dish Detergent and a Scary Repo Lady

Random things that happened to me today:

Kate got into the dish detergent. I was on the phone trying to figure out what to do about consolidating my student loans when I realized Kate was being very quiet. I found her with blue stuff all over her hands and my carpet. I quickly realized that she had bitten into one of the gel pacs! I checked her mouth and didn't see any signs that she had ingested it, but I called poison control anyway. They said she would be fine, just to give her something to drink and that her stomach might get upset. So she's fine, but it was still a scare!

Right after my call to poison control my phone rings and it's a number I do not know. I answer it and a lady asks for a man that I don't know. I said, "I'm sorry you have the wrong number." She said "Are you lying to me?" then preceded to tell me that they are trying to collect collateral for this guy and he will be going to jail, and if I'm lying in the slightest bit, I'll be in big trouble as well. I said, "My name is Erin Watson, I think you have the wrong number, and I swear I'm not lying to you". She said if I wasn't lying that I would be fine, but that this number was listed as somebody he knew. Creepy! Does this guy really know my number? Or is this just the worst mis-dial you could make?

Easter

On Saturday night Dustin and I had fun playing the Easter Bunny and hiding the eggs.
On Sunday morning we got Kate dressed and took her downstairs to find her Easter basket. She was immediately excited and loved finding all the eggs.
She opened up her easter basket and found a stuffed lamb, a yellow dress (from Grandma Foree) and a lot of candy.


Okay so not all of it was for her, but she had fun playing with it.

That night we went over to Jaron and Bethany's for a delicious Easter dinner. We ate corn on the cob, potatoes, chicken, rolls and cake. But the majority of our night was spent finding and playing Minute to Win It games. It was so fun and so hilarious. I was so mad I forgot my camera! We had a great Easter, and I hope everyone else did too!