in his eyes

Aidan said to me on the way to the bus stop today:

"Mom, i know all about how to use my camera now. i know all of what it can do."

i am so not surprised.




his face has that concentrating look like i get when i'm taking the "perfect shot".



not too often do i post a photo of myself here.



an action shot. supper right before soccer this week.



stuffies dangling from the staircase. artistic? scary!



we had some neighbours over for supper one evening. too funny that he didn't come outside to take the picture.



this one REALLY IMPRESSED me!



so did this. they found some gigantic mushrooms near our house. i wonder what kind they are?




we also did some group shots with the timer. if it hadn't been for my camera strap, this would have been THE BEST photo of the day.


there were plenty more photos of toys and Kiara dancing. some self-portaits. even a lifestyle shot of his room....real life too. he did not bother to tidy it up before taking the shot! he does talk a lot {any idea who he gets that from?!} and we hear a lot of what he thinks of life. but it is fun to see what is important in his day too. it would be tempting to send the camera with him to school and see his day from his perspective.



i just finished a layout of Kiara from 2008. we were so glad to close the door on 2008 and welcome 2009! it was one of those years filled with far too much sadness and grief. it has been hard to scrapbook some of the photos that remind me of the pain. but we're moving on and finally able to celebrate the joy that the year also brought. finally. anyways....back to the point! if you think i ramble when i write, you should watch me ramble when i'm working on a layout! the kids change in leaps and bounds some days. and sometimes the growth and changes are so subtle that it is only visible in photos. thank goodness for photos!! when Kristian saw the photo of Kiara he didn't recognize her at first. here are a few that i took of her that same day. it's so easy to forget how little she was. to think she was just learning how to blow bubbles....now she is nearly ready to ride a bike without training wheels. the title on that layout?

"if only time could stand still for a moment...."

so true. at times.

we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo....

seriously, it's Wednesday already?

time flies when you are having fun.

Sunday brought us to the local zoo to meet up with family. i hold my sister-in-law in much higher regard after that day. she is about to give birth to a nephew or niece any day....and she walked the zoo with as much energy as the rest of us. did i mention it was at least 30 degrees Celsius? she is amazing.





i like this one of the group reading the info sheet....




then looking for the animal.

a glimpse of the maturity we've seen growing? recognizing that words and pictures have real meaning?




ah. here are the kids we know!

another new exhibit?

what healthy kid can resist a perfect climbing tree?



they really enjoyed this exhibit of animal skins and parts. kids learn so much more when they can experience knowledge like this. i too am amazed at how much i can learn along with my kids.



you have no idea how THRILLED i was to capture this! it is tough enough to catch the tigers being active and playing. never mind the weekend crowd. or the double chain link fences.

{there are 5 evenings the zoo offers to photographers. an opportunity to participate in some special photographic activities. hmmmm....might be fun to learn tips from other photographers too!?}

their are a few exhibits that my kids love to see. Lucy the elephant. the Siberian tigers. the snow leopards. anything related to the monkeys. ducks.



who can resist the sprinklers on a hot day?



i got some more camera practice yesterday. i can't wait to share those photos! i got to go to a local farm with Aidan's kindergarten class. sadly, next year will be the last year they will host programs for kids. i take it for granted the lack of exposure city kids have to farm animals. the zoo does have an area with goats, rabbits and chickens for the kids to pet and interact with. however it just can't compete with a genuine farm.


i used the 'colorized' and 'quick edge burn' actions from Pioneer Woman on these photos. neither of them at 100%, i just adjusted each photo to an individual setting. i liked the real colours that came out on the camera. but it was fun to change them up even more! it helped that Monday morning was cloudy and cold. ha!

genetics

so many times i'll look over at Aidan.

then i'll look at Kristian.

like Father, like Son.

same expression on their face.




or in this case, the same stance. i have photographic evidence of this since Aidan was 21 months old.

the two of them love to ride bikes. if they could, i think they could do it for 8 hours each day. minimum.

they love to "learn new ideas". in other words, Aidan seems to have the same thirst for knowledge and love of research as his Dad. since Aidan has been able to read he has begun to take research books from the library. the human body and the solar system being the most interesting at the moment.

the best part is their sensitivity. it is already pretty apparent that Kiara and i will never be at a loss of hugs from these two. which is really good.

truth be told, i do try to sway Aidan towards thinking that teaching is the best occupation. he seems to think that engineering is where it is at. it really is a losing battle. for me.


i took a lot of photos this weekend. amazing what some great weather will do! it's good because i am needing some great photos at the moment. correction. MORE great NEW photos! ha!!


good memories.