January 31

The first month is complete! It's amazing how much I think about what I would like my picture to be ahead of time. I had plans to take something outside, I just wasn't too sure what it would be. I took a lot of pictures today... some of the cats, some of Sophie playing at the park, but it was this tree with the bright blue sky that made the cut. I loved how bright and beautiful it was today, and took a few quick shots that I thought turned out pretty good. I love the way the light hits the tree on the side. It just seems peaceful.

January 30

I had the day off today, and spent some time taking pictures of Sophie. After that, we saw Grandma and then went to the mall. Sophie hadn't played in the mall play place before, so we tried it out. She had a great time! Will showed up with his parents later on and it was so fun watching the two play. I love this picture of the kiddos... it looks like young love to me!

January 29

I tried to get a shot of the moon tonight because it looked so cool, but I just don't have a zoom large enough! I had to settle on my cute little daughter, yet again! Both Matt and I felt crummy when we got home from work tonight, but Sophie was in a great mood. She wanted to read books with us and then kept herself occupied with her school bus while I played with my camera. She is such a sweet little girl!

January 28

Sophie has her own drawer in the kitchen filled with toys, sippy cups, and various kitchen utensils that I don't use any longer. Sophie knows exactly where it is and will head straight for it when I start making dinner. She enjoys pulling everything out and putting it back in. The drawer usually occupies Sophie for a few minutes while I try to get dinner going before Matt gets home from work. Ah... the little things!

January 27

I probably took a few hundred photos today, just playing with the new Nikon. I deleted most of them because, boy I can take some crummy photographs! Plus, I still have so much to learn! Matt and I got 18 free classes to take at Kits when we bought the camera, so we're going to start next week. I am anxious to learn some tricks of the trade and to find out what those fancy words Karen uses all the time mean! I loved this candid shot of Sophie, just playing around this afternoon.

January 26

I got a new camera, I got a new camera! I met Matt at Kit's Camera to purchase the Nikon D40 and walked away with the D60! How did that happen? Well anyway, I'm extremely excited and happy about my purchase. By the time we got home, Sophie needed to get a bath and into bed, so Nikki was my subject tonight (she's very uncooperative though, much like a toddler would be!). I thought I'd do a little comparison between my "old" Canon Powershot and my new Nikon. Can you guess which one is which? By the way, I didn't do any photoshopping, I just cropped the pictures a bit.

January 25

I have spent the weekend deciding on which new camera to buy, so this will be my last Project 365 shot with my Canon Powershot SD1000. I have enjoyed this little camera and I will keep it for a small point and shoot, but I'm ready for something better. I have settled on purchasing the Nikon D40 and will hopefully get it tomorrow! Yippee!!

January 24

We spent our afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa Jones. We enjoyed a dinner out even though Sophie is quite the challenge in restaurants now. We came back home and Sophie was showing off left and right for her grandparents! It was the cutest! She also talked Grandpa into reading her a few books, so I couldn't resist snapping a few shots.

January 23

Mom's night out... whoo hoo! Becky Lee, Karen Daily, and I went out for a much needed evening without kids. We had a lovely dinner with wine at Casa Mia (my personal favorite restaurant) and saw the movie, Revolutionary Road. The company was wonderful and the movie was amazing - just a tad on the depressing side.

January 22

I went to a meeting this afternoon and got done early, so I picked up Sophie and we went to the park! It was a bit chilly out, but we were bundled up. Now that Sophie is walking, she enjoyed climbing on the big toy, particularly going up and down the stairs. We finished our time at the park on the swing, one of Sophie's favorite things to do as you can tell by the smile on her face. We walked away from the park a bit sad that it was over so soon...

January 21

Sophie is always learning something new and today we caught her wiping her own nose for the first time! I imagine she is doing this on her own since she's been so sick lately and we've been wiping her nose a lot. It only makes sense that she picked up the skill! Pretty soon she'll be dressing herself and doing algebra... *sigh*

January 20

What a historic day!! This morning as I was hearing President Obama being sworn in, I got a little teary. It is so amazing to be alive during this time. I am so excited for what the next four (or eight I hope!) years will be like! By the way, I did take this photo... of my TV!

January 19

Thanks to the great Martin Luther King Jr, I had today off! I had plans to take Sophie out and about to run some errands, but she had other plans. She had just recovered from a really nasty cold to an even worse fever flu. She didn't act sick, except for being pretty clingy, but her fever shot up to 103.4 in the evening. That is the highest I have ever seen with Sophie. The weird this is that her hands and feet were purple, but I guess that's normal when kids have a fever. It means that their blood is going from their extremities to their core. We see the doctor tomorrow, but hopefully the fever drops and she's back to normal soon!

January 18

Mom dropped by for a short walk and surprised me with this little gift. She said it was a thank you for helping her out when she had her procedure done last week. It certainly wasn't needed since I would gladly help her out in a second! I appreciate it though, I certainly could use a little more foliage in my house!

January 17

Today was a busy and productive day! I was up early to meet a friend for coffee, ran a few errands, Sophie took a 3 1/2 hour nap so Matt and I could do some work outside (which included taking down the Christmas lights - yay!), and we ended our evening with a fun fondue party at a friend's house! Phew! I was trying to capture a glimpse of Sophie when she awoke from her nap because I love her little red cheeks... Instead, I ended up with a totally accidental picture that turned out amazing! I put the lens through the slats in her crib to get the picture, but the light must have bounced off somehow to create this unbelievable color! I also played around with Rayna's amazing new Nikon D90 camera and got some great shots of Sophie and the yummy fondue pot. I REALLY want a better camera now... thanks a lot Rayna! :)

January 16

Grandma came over for a visit and Sophie convinced her to read her favorite books to her! Sophie sure enjoys her books and special time with Grandma. I thought I'd try the black and white feature on my camera. It is pretty grainy, but I gave it my best shot (no pun intended!).

January 15

"Good night butterfly!" Each night after Sophie's bedtime stories, she has to say good night to her little butterfly that hangs from her ceiling fan before we turn out the light. We started this ritual ages ago when she was mesmorized by mobiles. Now that's she gotten older, she can wave to butterfly, say "nigh nigh" to butterfly, and every now and then we'll hear her say "butt!" She still loves to touch the butterfly and I imagine one of these days she will truly pull it down! I love her bedtime traditions, and I think she does too!

January 14

Sophie loves her kitties! She will tackle Max any chance she gets because he lets her! He will lay there and take it until she gets in his face. It's so funny to watch the two of them enjoying each other!

January 13

Yum! After a hard day's work, Matt brought my favorite salad home from El Sarape! There's nothing better than not having to cook... my hero!

January 12

Poor Sophie was sick today with a terrible cold. This is probably the worst one she's ever had, and it's so frustrating because there isn't much I can do for her. I took the day off, made sure she drank a lot of fluids, kept her humidifier on, and gave her lots of TLC. My poor baby!

January 11

Happy 65th Birthday Mom!! We had a little birthday party for my mom at her house due to her recent surgery. Pizza, cake, and company always make for the best birthdays! Even though Sophie was under the weather, she still enjoyed climbing the stairs and helping Grandma open her gifts. I hope I look as good as my mom does when I'm 65!

January 10

Sophie developed a terrible cough and cold late Friday night, and so we spent most of today laying low. She ran a low grade fever and coughed a lot, but you would never know she was sick to look at her! Later in the afternoon, we thought we'd get out of the house for some fresh air (apparently the cold air is good for coughing like croup). We drove around and decided to end the mystery that is Cabela's. It has been in Lacey for awhile, but we had never gone in. Well, it's what I expected... and sorry to offend you hunters out there... a bit creepy with all of those taxidermy stuffed animals (the elephant was the worst)! Sophie did enjoy the aquarium and I caught a few cute shots there.

January 9

Sophie loves to read! She brings books to us all the time begging for us to read aloud to her. Each evening since she was a newborn, Matt and I have read board books to her. Tonight, after a fun ordeal of getting Sophie out of the bath tub, dried off, diapered and dressed, the one thing to calm her down was The House That Biff Built. It's a very simple book that was a favorite of Matt's when he was little. For some reason, it's Sophie's favorite too! She chooses to read that book over most of the rest. I imagine over the course of her childhood, her favorite books will change, but I have a feeling that The House That Biff Built will always be near the top!

January 8

My mother had minor surgery and I took off the day to support her. The surgery went well since my mom is a tough cookie and there was nothing significantly wrong with her. I enjoyed taking care of my mom as a small token to all of the years that she put up with me! I experimented with my camera for this photo. I was hoping I could fiddle with the focusing, and here is what I ended up with.

January 7

I went to my book group tonight and enjoyed myself! We had some dinner, drank some wine, and discussed the book, "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. I had read this book a few years back, but didn't reread it for book group, and regretted it. Rayna reread it and said that she had a very different take on it because she is now a mother. I would like to read it again, now that I am finally back to reading! During my pregnancy with Sophie and her first year of life, I have not had the time, nor the energy to read. I really have missed it and have forced myself back into it. I have devoured a couple of great books, and am looking forward to the stack I have on my bedside table!

January 6

"Elma, Elma" is a word I hear often nowadays. No, Sophie has not grown an affinity towards the small town in Grays Harbor County, but to her favorite toy, Elmo. Sophie loves that little red puppet from Sesame Street, even though she has never even seen him on TV! We introduced her to Elmo a few months ago when we bought her a "Tickle Me Elmo." At first she was afraid of him, but she has grown to love him. Sophie enjoys giving "Elma" hugs and it's a joy to watch her!

January 5

Why a crying picture of Sophie you ask? To be honest, I was short on photos from today, but Project 365 is supposed to depict my true life, right? Well, this is my real life! My daughter isn't always her shiny, happy, silly self as is usually shown in the pictures and videos of her. Sophie is 15 months old and really likes to get her way. Here she is upset because she wants the camera that I am trying to take her picture with. She loves to push buttons, and that's all she cares about with trying to get the camera. Being an indulgent mom, I let her push a few buttons (with the camera off of course) and then it went "bye bye!"

January 4

Today was Will Daily's 2nd birthday party. As usual, Karen outdid herself with the theme and decorations! The theme was Bob the Builder and it was too cute! Will loved every minute of his party, from taking a first glance at the decorations, to opening presents, to getting a kiss from his mommy. I tried to capture this picture for Karen because she had taken such a sweet one of Sophie and I at Sophie's first birthday. I cropped the photo a bit, fiddled with fixing the picture, and brightened Will's beautiful blue eyes. I still have a lot to learn with Photoshop Elements, but hopefully I'll get there!

January 3

Today we went to a memorial for Matt's grandmother, Virginia Marie Lawrence Hartley. She was a very special woman who touched numerous lives in her 92 years. I really loved the stained glass in this sanctuary and tried to bring out the colors along with Grandma Vi's picture. She will be sorely missed, but her legacy lives on through each and every one of those who knew her.

January 2

Matt and I took Sophie to the Hands On Children's Museum for the first time today. She is still wobbly with her walking, so she didn't get into everything, but she really loved the water table. I love this picture of her and daddy getting into the action! I can easily see how much Matt loves her simply through the joy in his face.

January 1

I love this look on Sophie's face. It's a simple look of pure joy while keeping herself entertained playing with hangers and a plastic bin. I feel as if she's going through a learning growth spurt right now and every new thing she learns is so exciting! I often need to remember to sit back and let her experience things... she teaches me more than I teach her I think!