It's Official

I started this blog back in March 2009 as a way to document my family happenings. I used photography to document what we were doing and to tell cute little stories to go along with the photos of my kids. I had no idea at the time really that my little hobby could turn into something that I feel is such a part of me now. I love photography - love that I can take pictures of my kids - love that I can preserve a memory forever - love that I can do this and feel, well . . . loved.

I've been toying the the idea of MAYBE one day doing this as more than a hobby - something that I could actually get paid for - something that I could see myself doing for ever and ever. And while I don't feel like I'm remotely there yet, it sure is fun to play.

I've created a new bolg site to help me along with my photography journey - a place to showcase my photos (and not just of my kids hopefully). A place that will hopefully allow me to grow as a photographer and push myself to do new and interesting things.

My new Photo Blog site is ALMOST fully functional, and if you want to
check it out, then just click the link below.

I don't know where this journey will take me, but feel free to follow along with me as I try to figure it out!

http://marladekeyserphotography.blogspot.com/

:)

I ♥ Faces Challenge: Blue

So I don't think my little man looks blue here - he looks hopeful, sweet, dare I even say it . . . angelic . . . .



I was playing around with a black and white conversion, and thought I would add some deep blue to the mix so that this photo would qualify for this week's theme.

If you'd like to see more "Blue" themed photos, head on over to I ♥ Faces and check them all out!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

These two little munchkins hope you are having a great Fall!





And of course, I wish you the same!

Brothers

And not just any brothers . . . TWINS!!

And not just any twins . . . COOL twins with mohawks!!

And not just any cool twins with mohawks . . . Well, I could do this for a while here, so I'll spare you from that.

These boys were fun to work with. They are such typical 4 year old boys - they had me and my camera running around snapping like crazy!

Meet Trevor.



Trevor liked my camera.



Trevor was a little ham.



Trevor looks like a little punk rock star with an attitude here. I love it!



Meet Carson.



Carson wasn't so sure about me.



Carson was a little more cautious than his brother.



Carson looks like a pint-sized version of James Dean here.



Look at these two together. They were kissing each other back and forth and over and over. Their dad and I laughed that these photos may come back and haunt them one day. When they are older of course. Like when Trevor steals Carson's girl friend (or Carson steals Trevor's, or Trevor steals her back, or . . . again, I digress), and they need to be reminded that YES, they actually did love each other growing up. Or maybe, Dad just needs to pull these out to remind himself that YES, they did actually get along at one point . . . when they are older of course . . . as you can see, they get along swimmingly right now.



And kudos to Dad for hauling his kiddos down to a not so fabulous part of town so I could get some pictures of them. Hope you like these guys! Thanks for letting me play!!

A Little Man

Seriously, this munchkin isn't even a year-and-a-half, but he was such a little man in his bluejeans and long sleeved shirt.



It's always fun to see Stephanie and Ryder. Stephanie, we can do this anytime you want!

A Photo for A Rainy Monday

I took this back in March when I was first goofing around with editing software. This is one of the first edits that I ever did, and although I've toned things down just a bit, I still love the vibrancy of this image - maybe it has something to do with my guys in there.



I'm entering this image into a photo contest at Greeblemonkey. There's no theme this month, and if you'd like to play along, just visit the blog listed below.

I ♥ Faces - Completely Candid Challenge

I love this picture.

I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I just love this photo. He's playing by himself, and she's drinking water out of that little fish toy. They are together, but in two completely different worlds. The majority of the photos that I do manage to take of my children are candid photos. Let's face it, if you wait for a 1 and 2 year old to stop and pose for you, well . . . you'll be waiting a long time. Hey, I was lucky just to get them both in the same frame. :)



This week's challenge at I ♥ Faces is completely candid photos. To see more candid shots, go visit I ♥ Faces and browse around.

Play On Little Lady

The sound is much like an accordion slowly moving in and out. . . in and out . . . in and out . . . all in the same chord. To me, it's beautiful - to anyone else that's not related to us it sounds like she's breathing through a harmonica . . . . wait a minute, she IS breathing through a harmonica . . . I'll be danged!



She laughs and giggles and looks to us for approval and praise when she's finished - like she's just performed the recital of a lifetime. After much cheering and applause, she gladly gives us an encore. Play on, Little Lady . . . Play on!

Just Because

Just a little photo montage of the kiddos being cuties and playing in the boy's bed.



Happy Wednesday!

Location! Location! Location!

That's what they say in real estate, right? Well, it's pretty much the same in photography. I found the COOLEST spot, and I am DYING - let me say again DYING - to take some cool pics with some of this graffiti in the background. AND . . . I'm taking this cause to my blog . . . .

If you know anyone (yourself included) that would like to have some portraits done - kids, senior photos, rockin' babies, hip and happenin' pups, families, engaged couples or even the married kind, just let me know. I wouldn't charge a thing - you (or they) would just have to be willing to spend a few hours with me and be patient with me as I play with some camera settings. And, even better - I'd give you all the fully edited photos on a CD and you can do whatever you wish with the photos - facebook, print 'em out - whatever!



Seriously, I LOVE this background, and I've been dreaming of using it ever since I found it last week! There's lots of cool doors, fire escapes and old brick in the same area that would make for some really cool photos. Please pass this along to anyone that might be interested or leave me a comment if you'd like it too!!!!

The Crying Giant

I'm thinking about today and how sad it was for our country a mere 8 years ago. We mourned. We grieved. Our hearts ached for our fellow Americans who lost friends, family, and the normal way of living life. As I was out and about today I came across this guy. He made me stop and think. He made me sit down and remember. He made my heart ache all over again.



Such sadness and emotion from a simple structure of metal. There he sits with the sun beating down on his head on this beautiful day and he is weeping. I can't help but think that this is what America had become after 9-11 - a crying giant - sitting strong as metal, but emotionally tender and sad.



I'm thankful for artwork that can evoke these emotions. And, I'm thankful for this day - a mere 8 years after.

CoffeeShop - Why I Love It

I love CoffeeShop. Wait, let me say that louder . . . I LOVE COFFEESHOP!!!! What is CoffeeShop you ask? Well, it's a great blog that offers TONS of great advice for digital photographers - from blogging to Photoshop, it covers everything. What's great is that Rita - the mastermind behind CoffeeShop - is so generous with everything she knows about photography - she posts all kinds of free actions, templates, storyboards - you name it! I credit this site for a lot of what I've learned about Photoshop and photo editing in general. I've learned so much from her and look forward to reading this blog daily for any new hints/tips/techniques that she has posted.

She has recently been getting her feet wet with blog design, and she is holding a contest for a free blog design. It would be awesome to win. If you are interested, just click the button below and follow the rules to enter the contest. Even if you don't win or even enter the contest, you will find this blog to be such a helpful resource. Enjoy (and keep your fingers crossed that I win!)! :)

Tractors

If you have a baby boy, then go ahead and start getting yourself prepared. I recommend purchasing a book with all the tractors/construction vehicles/emergency vehicles in it and start memorizing the names of these right now. Before you know it, he will know them all, have them memorized, and talk constantly about each of these things.

My little guy lives for these things. A great day is when we are driving and see an excavator or a roller or a backhoe loader. Don't know what these things are? Well, you will if you have a little guy like mine. Not only does he like to watch construction vehicles, but he likes to play with them as well.

He's an expert backhoe driver . . .



We went to the library earlier this week, and guess what he picked . . . . no shock here . . . .



Two cute little books - one about a dirty backhoe loader, and another about ancient dinosaur-trucks that ruled the prehistoric world. Both with some great illustrations.



This is his favorite page in the DinoTrux book. I think because the Cementosaurus is pooping, and that seems to be a source of both anguish and relief in our house right now.



Yes, little boys love their toys. But be careful if you have a little girl that's younger than your little guy - because she watches and takes mental notes and loves what her brother loves. AND - she happens to be an expert driver of this backhoe as well. . .

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Who is the fairest of them all?



Who's the silliest?



My munchkins enjoy playing in their hand-me-down towels from their cousins - Claire, Matthew and Emma. This is how we spent Labor Day - bathed, clean and shiney, dressed as Mickey and Pooh, and enjoying our reflections in the mirror. . . . (the kids, not so much me these days . . . )

:)

Lovely Little Lady

Oh sweetness. She's my little one. My baby. My love.



I'm gonna keep kissing on her as long as she lets me!

Dirty, Dirty, Dirty

Why, on earth are these children so dirty?
Do I bathe them on a regular basis?



Did I spill a jar of spaghetti sauce all over them?



Well, of course I bathe them, and no, nothing was spilled on them. I made what I will consider the BEST ever tomato sauce that I have ever made. Mainly because it had OODLES of balsamic vinegar in it - which I could drink straight out of the bottle, but that's another post for another time. My little ones cleaned their plates (which is pretty rare thing these days).



Maybe it was the Mickey Mouse whole wheat pasta, or maybe it was the awesome sauce. Either way, I'll take what I can get.



Our garden is overrun with tomatoes - so many that it's hard to keep up with them. Usually we would just give them away, but I came across a recipe and thought I'd see what I could come up with. For the sauce I used about 2-3 lbs of tomatoes - cut into 4ths, about 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, about 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar, a whole heck of a lot of fresh basil - chopped, about 6 cloves of garlic - peeled and sliced, a few teaspoons of dried Oregano, and salt and pepper. I mixed all this together in a large bowl and then poured everything into a shallow pan (I used a 9x13 glass baking dish). Roasted it all in the oven for about 1 hr 30 min at 400 degrees, and then poured it all into the food processor, and Voila - best Tomato Sauce EVER!!!

If you find yourself with an excess of tomatoes - make this sauce. Make it, bottle it, freeze it, love it, but make sure that you don't sit there and eat all of it before you share it - it would be so easy to do.

Wildcats

He sees his Daddy's Tee-Shirt - he points to the powercat on the front and lets us know "That's a Wildcat!" I would say he loves the Kansas State Wildcats, but really, I think he just loves his Daddy. We remembered that his Grandma had given him a sweat suit for his birthday that was a wee bit too big at the time, so we thought we'd bring it out and see if it fit. He put it on, and was transformed into an Olympic track star. Really, we couldn't get him to stop running, and he kept saying "I'm a Wildcat, I'm a Wildcat!"



As we were pulling out his sweatsuit from the drawer, I found this jersey tucked away beside it - also a gift to my little man from his Grandma. He's long outgrown this little jersey, but my girl . . . it fits her perfectly.



Fall football season is among us, and I know my husband is REALLY wanting his beloved Wildcats to do well this year. Maybe my monkeys in full Wildcat gear can help make that possible!

Shewwzzz

That's what she calls them - her little "Shewz." And she says it in the cutest little Carrie Bradshaw type of way - pointing at her shoes, my shoes, her brother's shoes, Dirck's shoes. She's obsessed with them- it's adorable.



These are the shoes I'll remember as her first shoes. She's had other shoes before these, but these I bought when she was still a tiny little thing. I pictured her walking around in these shoes and playing in these shoes. And guess what? She does all those things and more in these shoes. She even pulls them off, brings them to me, and says "Shewz" in her proud as a peacock "I did this all by myself" kind of way.

Makes a momma smile, you know?

All Smiles

We had another special day - just me and my boy. We started the day at Story Time at the library and ended our day at the petting zoo before it was time to go home for a nap.



I love this little monkey so much!!

First Babies

Let's not forget our first babies. The first ones we cuddled and held when they were crying. The first ones we potty trained. The first ones we snuggled with all night. The ones that helped teach us how to love and love and love . . .



Yes, these are my fur-babies - Maddie here on the left, and Scout here on the right. Maddie will be 10 years old next month. That's hard to believe. She's my odd little girl - she eats, she hides, she comes out when she wants to - Dirck says she's our cat in K9 form. Scout is 8 now, and we still call her our puppy. She will let my little ones do anything to her. She just loves attention, and is happy to get it in any shape, form or fashion.

I owe quite a bit to these girls. They've taught me a lot through the years - like not to leave my shoes out on the floor when I'm away from the house. But seriously, I've learned a lot about the unconditional love of animals, and I think this transfers very well into the realm of motherhood.

My sweet little puppies. My sweet, sweet little puppies . . . yes, they will forever be puppies to me.