Kids and Q & A.

First things first!

It's been awhile since I've updated on how the baby is doing. And, honestly, she's not (sniffle) a baby (sob) anymore. She's a 19-month-old opinionated little spitfire of a girl who thinks her daddy is a god.

(Case in point:

Here she is, playing on the slide, ignoring me. She's really good at it, too.

Then she sees daddy pull up.

And she starts to scream with excitement. If there were an audio with this photo, your ears would be bleeding.) 

She is pretty outgoing and is not above working a crowd - she can turn on the charm, this one, and she's a shameless flirt. She loves to run in that head-first, heavy-footed way that toddlers do, and it's adorable to watch. She's off the bottle and almost-kinda-sorta off the binkie unless I've had enough of the whining and fussing (the binkie is my preferred mute botton). She loves fruit (apples, grapes, blueberries, raisins, watermelon, prunes and dried apricots(she's also really regular)), vegetables (carrots, cauliflower and edamame) and whole grains, but our little lady can put away the chicken nuggets with reckless abandon (five is her record). She still fingers most of her meals but is getting a bit better with the spoon.

She can say, with varying clarity, apple, up, juice, airplane, light, bye-bye, night-night, love you, and step-on-the-gas-you-son-of-a-bitch, though I have no idea where she picked up that last one. 

Nadia is the light of our lives and the perfect finale to our growth as a family. We continue to see her birthmother and bio siblings about every two weeks and it's been joyful beyond words what a remarkable thing open adoption has been for us all. God is thanked many times a day for the many blessings in our lives.

I'd also like to say a very special Happy Mother's Day! to all of you, and especially to my own amazing mommy.  You, mother dear, are the reason I am who I am and where I am today. Were it not for your unfailing love, support, gentle criticism and encouragement, I wouldn't be the confident, strong and loving woman, wife and mother that I think I turned out to be. I had a great role model in you. Really. Despite everything you think you did wrong or coulda-woulda-shoulda done differently over the years, my love, respect and admiration for you has never waned nor has it ever been undeserved. You are my hero, my rock, and you'll always be my mommy. I love you!

(This concludes the sappy part of this broadcast. We now resume our regularly scheduled blathering.)

Okay! It's time to hit me with your questions! Bring 'em on! 

I'll be away from the computer over the weekend but I'll be back on Monday to start the answering. Me and a few of my friends are heading to Palm Springs (yeah, baby) for some spa time, girl time, pool time and kid-free time, then it's back on Sunday for some family time.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Comments

[bcre8uv]

That last one on the vocabulary list made me laugh out loud.

~T.

[laura]

She is beautiful, Tina...and apparently has a pretty smart mouth. ;)

[Jessica Fulkerson]

Wow- so not a baby is right!!! What a cutie :) Happy Mothers Day! xo

[AllisonK]

Tina, she is adorable!!
The toddler run is one of my favorites!

[cathy]

happy mother's day to you! what a sweetie! my 21 month old has perfected the word sh**. i have no idea where she got that from...i'll just add it to my list of things to feel guity about. then i'll go eat a piece of chocolate. thank god my husband isn't a SAHD. i don't even want to imagine the words that would be coming out of her mouth! yikes!

[TLuu]

Happy Mom's Day to you too.
Question: What are your "must have" props/accessories for your newborn photo sessions? Bean bag, black blanket, etc.....

[Jenn G.]

First of all--Happy Mothers Day, hope you had a great weekend!

My questions are:
1)what is 'noise'/'noise reduction' when it comes to photgraphy?
2)what actions do you use on your photos? (lost of people really ham it up on the color, but yours are realistic and beautiful).
3)If you had a wish list when it came to photography equipment what would it be?
4)Did you take any photography classes, or are you more self-taught?
5)Which Photographer(s) do you look up to for inspiration?
6)Did you always have an 'eye' for photography, or did you have to learn as you go what works?
7)When did you start photography?
8)Is most of your pictures taken on Manual, or do you use AF?
9)I know that you are more of a natural light photographer, but when you are indoors do you use a flash, and what is your ISO settings indoors?
10)Did you start scrapbooking first, and then get more into photography, or was it the other way around?

Okay, I think that's about enough--answer the ones you want, you don't have to answer them all!
Thanks Tina!

[Christy]

Happy Mother's Day sweetie! Hope you're enjoying a wonderfully, relaxing weekend!

I am serious about learning photography so my question to you my friend is, did you take any photography courses or are you self taught?

TIA!

[Aleida Franklin]

Happy Mother's Day Tina.

[Lisa]

Wow, she sure isn't a baby anymore. Adorable photos and she's sooooo cute!

[tiffany]

I was rolling on the vocabulay she says! She is so cute!

[stephanie]

she got big quick!!! wow.

[Mandy]

I also have a question about which actions you use. I love the color of your photos. They're amazing. Also, how did you learn photoshop? Which books do you recommend? THANKS for doing this.

[Kelli]

Love the pictures!
The things Nadia can say crack me up. My daughter could say "Ah, we're going to die" when ever dad ran an yellow light.

[Celeste]

:) you make me smile. happy mother's day!

[cindy]

how do you get your pictures ready to go on the web or blog....like do they have to be 300dpi or is that just for printing off of a cd...

thank you so much for all the info you give to us...