Our Valentine's Day was great! Anthony and I have still yet to officially celebrate, since Valentine's Day is a very busy night in the restaurant business. He surprised me with flowers and chocolate when I got home from my long shift! It was my first time getting a traditional valentine, with roses and candy, so I was a happy girl!




I took these photos the morning after, and the kids were just beside themselves at the sight of all this candy! They had to touch every one over and over again, and I had to let them, since they were doing it under the guise of practicing counting. :)


I love how much Anthony knows me. I've never understood spending 5 bucks on a card that has impersonal sentiments and ends up in the trash, so he made me a custom card out of the kids' construction paper. I love it.


My gift also included a bath set. Very exciting, since I had been using shampoo as bubble bath. :)


You would be proud of me! Usually I am THAT mom whose kid trick-or-treats with a bucket from McDonald's instead of a hand-made bag with their name on it that matches the costume that they will only wear for one year. I always feel bad about this, but I'm still learning how to keep up with the Momses (a very difficult task, especially with all these Utah crafty moms). I knew that Connor's class was doing a Valentine exchange, but the flyer said nothing about how we were to transport them. I ALMOST sent them in a grocery bag, but, refusing to be the lazy. uncrafty mom, transformed the box they came in into an understated but cute valentine box! Yay me! However, I was the only mom who made one. So much for fitting in. Oh well, at least I was on the other side of the fence this time!


And now for the yearly heart sunglasses photos. First one: 2009. Alaina just liked sucking on them. I don't have a photo of Connor with them, because if my memory serves me right, I had just given these glasses to Alaina to keep her quiet while Connor napped.


Last year:




This year:

I had to share that one so that you can see the difference in her hand. Much less baby-like, but still hanging on to those "edamame" fingers. I will be crushed if they slim down in the next year.



Much more attitude than last year! :)


It's fun for me to see the difference in my photography from a year ago. Last year's photos were the first time I broke out my 35mm 1.8 lens, and I had no idea what to do with it. I actually put away the lens for a couple of months after that because I was so clueless as to how to use it and how to achieve how my photos were "supposed" to look. I look at the older photos and see too slow of a shutter speed, weird color casts, too much post-processing, and it makes me happy that I'm progressing. Until next time!

I've been trying to get out of my photography slump. I got really burnt out in December when I had my busiest month at work and tried to shoot and edit five sessions on top of that (throw in a family reunion, family party, anniversary, and Anthony's birthday, too). January was spent avoiding my camera, and pretty much everything else at all costs. :P I've been trying to document our daily lives better, since I am a nostalgia junkie. I have journals starting from when I was in first grade, notebooks passed between my friends and I in middle school, and emails from years ago. I love looking back and remembering what was important in my life at that time. I forget the details sooner than I would like, and I'm trying to be better at documenting the nitty gritty (aka boring), because what's boring now usually becomes a fun memory if given a couple of years to age.

Tax time! Dependents make tax season fun!


This picture sums up Anthony's life...doing an assignment that translates to a webpage about Thomas and James racing. I love how his two worlds are perfectly described on one screen.


This is why we can't have nice things. :)


I'm loving our new schedule. I get more closing shifts because I'm not working doubles. Those shifts translate into more money and more hours, so we get to actually have at least one day a week at home as a family! It's awesome. Aside from the weird February patio shift, this schedule is suh-weet.


This laundry basket is the most coveted real estate in our house right now. I know I will miss it so much when my kiddos can't fit in a laundry basket with a pillow pet and their favorite blankies.


I caught Connor singing Alaina a lullaby in the basket. Cutest. Thing. Ever.


Forgive the terrible music in the background (why, oh why, must you insert the weirdest songs into my playlist, Pandora?). Connor's singing things like, "Go to sleep. Enjoy your dream. When you wake up it will be nice and comfy." And then Alaina begs for water, like she does every time we put her to bed. :)

Oh, January. How I will not miss thee. We haven't been up to a whole lot around here, other than avoiding the cold and hanging out in the kids' bedrooms all day. Those two rooms get the most sun and they're so WARM, a nice contrast from the weather we've been having. In short, it's been the same ol' scene in the Dietrich household.

Connor has been getting into video games lately. Who would have thought that a three year old can play games that I won't even attempt because they have too many buttons? My only excuse is that I feel like there are enough buttons to learn on my camera.


Fancy abstract of the boys playing the Playstation Move.


I volunteered at Connor's preschool the other day, and Alaina spent the afternoon playing at Grandma's instead of taking her daily nap. I knew she was tired, but you've got to be pretty exhausted to fall asleep with your book still propped up in your hand.


My mom keeps asking for portraits of the kids, and I am officially the worst person to keep her updated with current pictures. My excuse is that the cutest photos I take of my kids are always situational, such as this day, where Alaina was potty training. She does so much better sans clothing, but I'm so wishing she had a shirt on in the photo. It would have been frame-worthy!


The best part about potty-trained kids are the pinchable bums!


I will be one heart-broken mommy when that thigh roll disappears. It's on its way out. :(


If you're wondering why all my pictures are of Alaina lately, it's because Connor runs from the camera and Alaina says, "Doe det your damra and tate pitchers of meeeee!"

Her squish is slipping between my fingers. We're trading diapers for panties. She sleeps in a twin bed, a whopping two feet off the ground. She asks for makeup and when I put eyeshadow on her, she says, "Look, Mama! I beautiful!" She's not a baby anymore. :/

My, my, my. These children are getting more and more entertaining every day.

I have a tendency to throw away toys that are too messy (e.g. playdough or sets with too many parts). I don't know what I was thinking when I bought the kids art sets for Christmas. They loved snapping their crayons and markers in and out of the plastic carriers, but I could only handle a few days of that. I put all of their crayons, markers, and colored pencils in a bag and put the bag up high. Connor has shot up in height recently and knows that he can access anything by pushing a chair up to something. Thus, crayons and markers have been making their way out of that bag, one by one.

Connor is fine with them and asks to, "do art". Alaina will wait until I am not watching and kamikaze color.

Exhibit A: On the wall above the kids' table.


Exhibit B: On the inside of the toy closet door.


Exhibit C: On the landing at the top of the stairs.


Exhibit D: On Anthony's closet door.


Exhibit E: On our bedroom door.



Purple appears to be her color of choice. Being the creative thing that she is, she is not held back by artistic mediums. Her range includes purple sparkly nail polish (conveniently on beige microfiber chairs).


At least I have a little robot. Now if only this robot would learn to clean, ala Rosie from the Jetsons.

Where to begin after three months of not blogging? I thought about doing a recap of the last three months, but man, have they been busy. Halloween, Thanksgiving trip to Colorado, Christmas at home, family reunions, dabbling a little too much in paid photography. If I were to sum up our current state of mind and current goings-on, I'd use one word: home. Our new family schedule (Anthony in school four days a week, Connor in school two days, and me upping my hours at work) in conjunction with the wet and dreary weather has kept us home...a lot. Anthony and I like it, the kids...not so much.

Connor has been saying and doing a lot of cute and funny things lately. A few days ago, he brought me an english muffin with Altoids on top. "I made you a birthday tate, Mama!"


Although we've had mostly rain this winter, when we do have snow, Connor asks to "doe outside and fwow snowballs"! I don't know if Alaina could be any more like me, as she stands still in the snow and complains that her boots are wet. When Anthony eggs her on and softly tosses snowballs at her, this is the reaction we get. NOT INTERESTED.



Connor, on the other hand, loves being pelted by Daddy.

I love this series:






Connor made his first snow angel!


A long day of playing in the snow (more like 20 minutes before Connor said that it was too cold and that he didn't have any fun) leaves my boys pretty tired.


I wish I could say that we've had more exciting things going on, but actually, I'm quite enjoying the slowdown after the whirlwind that was December. Anyone else ready for spring?!

Phew! It seems like time is flying by relentlessly! I feel as though I haven't had a chance to breathe since we've moved, nearly a month ago! Here are a few photos of what's been going on with us lately.

Is bedtime bittersweet in every household? My kids know the art of behaving their very best right before bedtime in hopes of gleaning a few more minutes of play. Man, they play me like a fiddle! I'm always so ready to put them to bed, but that's when I can get all the hugs and kisses I ask for.


Alaina has been insisting on lots of bows in her hair every night. We often find stashes of bows under her blankets. She gets very upset if one falls out.


Apparently, the lights on my flash are AMAZING! :) I love the toothpaste remnants on his enthralled face.


Who gets sick of her hair and cuts seven inches off with eyebrow scissors on a whim? This girl!


I rented a pair of dream lenses for a wedding that I am lucky enough to shoot tomorrow. I took the 70-200 2.8, also known as "The Monster" to the park to try it out today. It is a beast! It is so heavy that after a short while, you have to use your monopod just to hold it up. I'm sure I looked like an idiot taking pictures of my kids from twenty feet away with a big lens and monopod, but you have to practice somehow, right? I love the swirly bokeh and I'm so excited to use it. Also, don't you just love Alaina's squished face?


When I got home, I took advantage of the wide angle lens to take some shots of our new place. It always amazes me how wide angles can make a room look comically huge. I love love love this kitchen.


As for tomorrow, do I have some nerves! Wish me luck!

I emailed Photobucket about the reds issue. Apparently, my files are too big for optimal viewing, so they recommend I pay for a pro account or resize every image. Blah, that's a chore for another day.