Sophie's Halloween Tutu & "Scott"

This adorable Halloween ballet tutu ensemble was a gift from our dear friend Teri (aka Auntie Teri). The tutu and headpiece say "Boo!" and are adorned with cute little ghosts! Sophie loved showing off at ballet class during the week of Halloween, and she loves you, Teri!!! (Teri loves and completely spoils our kids! She will be their Godmother at their upcoming triple baptism!)


I'll have to post separately about the shoes... ;)


Again, here is Sophie Lu in her daytime costume she chose for her school parade. She and best friend Megan were both ballerinas (Sophie was the kitty variety)! The deal is, she got to choose one costume (this one), and I got to choose one (the "Peacock Princess" below). Of course, she loved that costume too!

Okay, now for the story of "Scott"... lol. I WISH I had photos, but since I only saw the scene once (since Michael is mostly still doing school drops/pickups), I'll just have to describe it...

So, all the students in Sophie's class were asked to bring a small/medium sized pumpkin to school to decorate the week before Halloween. When I took Sophie to ballet, I had a chance to see hers and her classmates' decorated pumpkins on display. I saw the beautifully decorated pumpkins of her classmates: a cute kitty, a scary bat, a ghost, and even a witch- all elaborately decorated with black felt, paper, pipecleaners, etc. When I asked Sophie Lu where her pumpkin was (fully expecting a black kitty pumpkin), she directed me over to the end of the display and pointed to her pumpkin which had been painted bright purple and sprinkled with silver glitter. It was so different than the others (not sure why I was surprised).... anyhow, Sophie proudly pointed to her pumpkin and said, "Mom, this is Scott!!!" I asked her why she named him "Scott", to which she answered, "Because that's his name, Mama!"

She really cracks me up!

The Kitten (part 2... 8 weeks)

The Kitten's Halloween Costume (1 of 2)

Since we've always called her "The Kitten", of course I wanted Sasha to be a kitten for Halloween! I ordered this costume- but even though it was size 'newborn', it was about 6 inches too long... so I ordered a 2nd costume which turned out to be too long as well. In any case, I was glad she had two kitten costumes, because this one matches Sophie's daytime costume (she had to be a ballerina kitty to match her friend at school). Also, Michael saw her in this costume and thought she was a skunk! Thank goodness for the cute purple kitten costume I found (clearly not skunk-like)... cute photos of that to come!


My two beautiful kitties!


Big sister kitty gives the kitten a kiss!


And I finally caught Ollie for a few photos. Believe it or not, this was the best of them all... lack of smiles, Sasha's yawn and all! :)

Sophie Lu, the Peacock Princess (and one of The Kitten)

1 The prettiest peacock ever! (click on any photo to see it larger)


2 My beautiful girls' first Halloween together! More photos of baby sister Sasha on her site soon, and photos of Ollie and all three together coming to his soon..


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This is SOOC (straight out of the camera)... no post-processing. I like the way the light illuminates her...


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5 Sophie's smile is so beautiful, but I love her pouty look too!


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Experimenting with a little texture here...


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12 There's that smile I love so much! Happy Halloween my sweet Sophie Lu!!!

I'm SO behind!!!

Sweet, silly Sophie Lu is always coming up with the craziest outfits! When she wears sunglasses, she calls herself "Movie-star Fi" (one of her nicknames is Fifi Lu) :)

I apologize to those whose answers I still need to respond to below (I promise I will this week)... I am SO behind on everything! Not just being busy with three kids now, but also we have just started a big construction project at our house and I've had to relocate my computers, etc. and have barely had any chance to get online. It's been crazy around here- lots of jack-hammering noises, etc... and I'm soooo tired! I haven't even gone through my Halloween photos yet! But I did manage to get a few of all three kids together, so that's good! We'll be relocating my computer to my new temporary room, so hopefully I'll be catching up with everything and everyone this week- :)

Sasha- 7 weeks!

Sasha is 7 weeks old here, and she's getting so big! But on this sofa, you can tell that she is still my tiny princess! (Click on the photo to read the comments if you're interested in how I used Photoshop CS2 to edit this photo)...


Oh how I love her smile! :)

Halloween photos coming soon!

More Sasha at 6 weeks (some of my favs yet)!

My pretty baby girl at 6 weeks old... wrapped in damask secured by one of my antique brooches. I used Photoshop to change the color (the original color is green), and voila! :)

Sasha at 6 weeks!

Baby Sasha at 6 weeks old... revealing her precious little belly button for the very first time!


Chubby legs, knee dimples, & a new belly button... Oh my!!! (Gosh, I love those knee dimples!)


And... (drumroll, please)... Sasha SMILES!!! This is one of her very first smiles! She has so many different smiles, and I love them all... :)


Here's a better idea of what Sasha's hair looks like- but in person it looks a little lighter. Michael, his bio kids, my siblings, and I were all blonde as kids... so we are predicting that Sasha will end up with blonde hair too. Either way, her hair is SO soft that I can't help but touch it all the time! She is such a sweetie... more 6 week photos and video of her smiles to come!

Baby Sasha- 5 weeks old!

My sweet baby girl is 5 weeks old! I wonder what she's thinking about in this photo?


I love her chubbiness!


(Don't mind the finger-lol)


Precious little lips... :)

Answers to photography/camera questions...

First off, I apologize to everyone who has emailed or commented with questions... I'm SO behind on emails, etc. and have been very busy. So I will try to answer some in this post. If I don't get to your question, please leave it in a comment on this post- and I will answer with another comment. :)

1. "What kind of camera do you use?" Well, this is a tough one, since I have many cameras. My newest camera is a Nikon D300, and I love it! But I still use my other cameras, too. The photo above was taken months ago with my older camera- the Nikon D40X... this camera does a nice job but can't auto-focus with many lenses. So, if you are into more sophisticated lenses, I don't recommend it. I would go for the D80 or D300 in that case- or the D90 which just came out and does video too.

2. What lenses do you use? I have several lenses (all Nikkor), but those I use most are the 50mm 1.4, 50mm1.8, and 85mm 1.8. My favorite is the 50mm1.4... it lets in a lot of light, so I use it for my inside photos. I am very proud to say that I do NOT use flash any more! (except when necessary at night or for a snapshot) Otherwise, I'm totally into natural light photography (every photo of Sasha was taken with natural light from the window).

3. How do you get the blurry background? I am not an expert, but I get it in one of two ways. #1 Zoom way in on your subject, and the background should blur. #2 Use a lens with a lower aperature number (my 50mm 1.4 lens gives me the blurriest background). I'm sure some photographers who understand this better can give a more accurate explanation. :)

4. What program do you use to edit your photos? I use Photoshop CS2, and I really like it. There is soooo much to learn, and I learn something new all the time. I've heard that the simpler, less expensive version (Photoshop Elements) is great too.

5. How do you manage to take all these photos, blog, etc. with three kids? It's SO hard. But FYI, everything I've posted to Sophie and Ollie's blogs was taken way before Sasha was born. I had the posts all ready to go, knowing I'd be very busy! Also, I do have Edilia 5 days a week to help with cleaning the house (I rarely have her help with the kids). And Michael, of course, is such a helpful husband and awesome daddy! He's been taking Sophie and Ollie to school for me and so much more!

6. Can your kids take a bad picture? Ohhhhh, YES! One day, I should post what most of their photos look like- lol. I have to take LOTS of photos to get a few good ones! That's the secret!

7. You should become a professional photographer... Thank you so much for this and other compliments about my photography. I'm so flattered, but you should see some of the work the professional photographers that I admire do! Then, you'd see what an amateur I am! If you click on any of Sasha's photos, you will be taken to my Flickr page. If you go to my profile, you can check out my contacts- many of whom are amazing photographers (I drool over their photos, and so will you)! But I do realize that my photography has come a long way (I didn't even own a camera before going to China), and I appreciate the kind words!

Okay, if there are any other questions, please leave a comment- and I'll answer asap!

Hugs, Shana :)

Pretty in Pink (Sasha- 4 weeks)

click photos to see larger (I'm using this one for my announcements)...

More Sasha at 4 weeks!

Sasha at 4 weeks! Oh how I love her face...


Sasha has a nursing blister on her sweet little lips- it's no wonder she has it- she nurses like a champ!


Sasha's surprised look- I love how she purses her lips!


Serious Sasha... I found the hat (and some of the others) by searching on Etsy.com. (click the photo to see a couple more in this hat- including one where she has a hint of a smile!)

Dear Sasha (4 weeks old)

My Darling Sasha,

Today, you are already 4 weeks old... you are growing so quickly already, and more beautiful with each day. I took this photo of us last week, and I really must get Daddy to take some better photos of us soon. I only wish I could capture every moment of life with you... you are so tiny, but so very amazing.

Everything about you is precious... your little hands and feet, your kissable cheeks, your new little belly button, and especially your sweet little leggies- already showing signs of chubby rolls! And you have the softest hair- it's feels like silk. Recently, you have started to spend more of your time awake, and you love to look at me (I love that)... I talk to you and sing you the "I Love Sasha" song while we look at each other. I love to watch you sleep, too. You make the sweetest little sounds, and sometimes you even smile and giggle while you are sleeping. Those moments are most precious to me- they make me laugh and cry at the same time. One day soon, you will start smiling and giggling while you are awake; and I'm so looking forward to that. I hope that life keeps you smiling always...

Like our other children, you are such a gift, sweet Sasha. You are a gift from God- our precious little angel. Your big sister Sophie Lu said something so true yesterday- she said, "Mama, my baby sister and I came from the same place... we both came from Heaven where God lives." She is so wise, and she will teach you so much one day. I never grew up with a sister, so it's extra special to me that you will. Sophie is very protective of you also. When we say goodbye in the mornings before she leaves for school, she always says, "Have fun today, Mama! I will miss you! Keep an eye on my baby sister for me!" So very very sweet...

Happy 4 weeks, my precious kitten! I love you...

Love,
Mommy