it's the little things: family
We spent Christmas in Austin with Nick's family. We sure enjoyed getting to spend some time with them! Nana worked tirelessly in the kitchen to prepare many meals for us while we were there. Caroline watched intently as she peeled potatoes, and it was one of those sweet little moments I knew I needed to grab the camera for. It's just Celeste and me for our blog "circle" this time! Head on over to her post to see her beautiful work!
so serious
from 12/13 Practicing deliberate underexposure this day. I love the tones created with her dress, the walls, and her eyes.
the girls' school christmas program
I was saying to Nick how strange it would feel that we'd be in the audience without a squirmy Caroline in our laps... they would BOTH be up on stage this time! Famous. Last. Words. Caroline cried and cried when her class got up on stage, and finally a teacher brought her down and she sang the songs from my lap. We were so surprised! Caroline seems like the type who would enjoy the spotlight. Maybe she was tired and overwhelmed! ??
Kate VOLUNTEERED to be a townsperson. Shocker, huh? When the teacher told me she volunteered for a part, I was pretty sure she'd gotten Kate mixed up with someone else. I was SO proud of her for coming out of her shell and trying something new. She did very well, but she didn't like her costume. It wasn't quite up to her princess costume standards!
And here's a video from Nick's phone of the kids singing "Happy Birthday, Jesus." Such a sweet song!
sparkly trees
12/10 The ice was starting to melt, and the sun was just SO pretty glittering through the icy trees! This was my first attempt at using my new Lensbaby Composer w/ Edge 80. I definitely need practice!
ice!
Day two of "Icemaggedon!" Caroline ventured out immediately while Kate needed some processing time. :) We weren't exactly well-dressed for the weather. Kate's wearing a 2T snow suit! (LOVE the high water pants!)
Video- again, with my big camera. I'm not so good at focusing with it!
s'mores
12/6 That time we roasted marshmallows in the fireplace to make s'mores and then the girls wouldn't eat them.
35mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 sec. | ISO 25,600
christmas cookies 2013
from 12/6 The girls had such a fun time making Christmas cookies this year. I let them pretty much destroy the dough. Kate decided they would be making pizzas instead, and I was having too much fun watching them play to salvage the dough. I did end up re-rolling it and baking them, but they were hard as a rock! Better luck next year!
Here's my post from last year.... what a nice sunny day that was! These were taken the first day of the ice storm, so there was very little light coming in.
And here's an insanely long video. I was having so much fun watching them play that I had no idea how long I'd been recording. :) Also, I took it with my camera, and since I don't really know how to use the video capabilities, there's a lot of re-focusing. You've been warned!
kate's christmas dance recital
From 11/30 Kate's "official" Christmas dance recital was held on Dec. 21 at the high school auditorium, but I took an untested zoom lens with me (BAD results), and Nick's iPhone video didn't turn out either. Fortunately, Kate had another performance of her recital piece ("Run Run Rudolph") just after Thanksgiving in the McKinney square for the "Home for the Holidays" event. Unfortunately, not all of her class was able to attend this performance, but you get the idea. :)
These were taken with my 85mm f/1.8 lens. It's so sharp, but I need more reach! I'm thinking about getting a (reliable) zoom lens for these types of events.
Strike a pose!
Here's that face, at 100% crop! 
Here's the video. I was taking pictures with my big camera AND trying to video w/ my iPhone at the same time, so it's really bad quality. Sorry if you feel like you're being tossed around in the dryer! (Oh, AND I didn't get the video started on time, so you miss the first little bit. I'm guessing you won't mind.) :)