I do have a lot of favorite pictures, but seriously, these two might be in the running for a very close first place.  I can’t believe I was lucky enough to get Carter during the miniscule amount of time between when I put them on him and when he ripped them off and stuck them in his mouth instead.  

And of course, since I was giggling so much, Brayden thought he would join in on the fun.  I think he wanted me to giggle at him too.  So I did.  How could you not, with a pair of silly Mr. Potato Head glasses on your child?

The UPS man finally showed up late on Friday.  I did a little jig when he pulled up, gave him a hug and exclaimed Merry Christmas! as I danced around my boxes in a circle.  Alright, so I’m kidding about everything but the little jig part.  

And it truly was just like Christmas (except I knew what was in the boxes).  I opened them with the excitement of a young child.  I was giddy.  I was in reverence.  I was in love.  I pushed all of those little packing peanuts to the side and took out my new baby.  A Canon EOS-1D Mark II.  That probably means nothing to most of you.  But to me. . . it meant possibilities.  It meant dreams.  It meant a match to my ambition.  

It also meant a lot to the person who owned it before me.  You see, there is no way that I would ever be able to afford that thing brand new.  So I happily settled on a very used one.  I can tell it was well loved. And the woman who owned it before me was an amazing photographer–I’m so excited to see where it will take me on this still unbelievable path I am traveling on.  

Inside the next box was a 50 mm f/1.4 lens.  All the pictures in this post were taken with it.  It makes delicious bokeh.  It shoots so well in low light situations.  BUT, you have to be extremely deliberate as to where you are focusing.  Eyes are best.  It’s a little tough with wiggly children!

We are all enjoying the company of good friends, when we can squeeze it in the continuously hectic schedules that we all try to keep up with.  Cramming in more things than humanly possible seems to be something that we destest–yet we all do it.  Brayden thrives on being social. . . he is overly extroverted . . . something he definitely inherited from his daddy.  He shares his thoughts enthusiastically with anyone in listening proximity. 

And then once they finally give him their attention, it’s all over with for them.  They have to cancel their plans in order to listen to him for the next twenty-five minutes, listening to a three-year-old explain something and then zoom around the room like Dash to erase any doubts that he truly was Dash. Or play along and put on a spiderman glove and shoot out some web.  Or listen to a story about how he went bowling with AJ and Riley.  Or went to the beach with Tobias.  Or went fishing with Papa.  

That boy can talk like no other.