The Ketchup Series--Late November Camera Play

One afternoon in late November, I managed to find a snippet of time to just play with my camera.  It had been a while since I had taken pictures not to document life, but to really just enjoy taking photos.  In a rare turn of events, I had four mostly willing subjects too.  I was fairly pleased with the results and actually had more photos that I was pleased with than duds; that pretty much never happens.  This photo series and the joy I had in shooting them was part of the reason I jumped on signing up for an online photography course.  I realized that shooting in manual and really understanding how my camera works could really help me hone my craft.

The Ketchup Series-- And then she was 3!

At the beginning of November, our sweet and sassy Liliana turned three. Since her birthday fell on Election Day this year she got the added birthday treat of having her "Archduke" (otherwise known as "Daddy") around all day.  She got to enjoy some of the simple birthday traditions we have around here.  We decorated for her with a simple birthday rooster the night before, and she was delighted to find him in the morning. She also got to pick what she wanted for all three meals of the day.  I find it quite funny that she chose to have Kix cereal for breakfast, but as we rarely have cereal in the house, she thinks of it as a huge treat.  We spent a portion of the afternoon at her Lola and Dziadzia's house, and Dziadzia made her pancakes and bacon for lunch.  I made her a yellow cake with chocolate ganache buttercream  frosting which she insisted on covering in rainbow sprinkles.  She chose for us to sing happy birthday to the tune of "Old McDonald had a Farm" (a tradition we have adopted from some dear friends).


Happy belated birthday to my spirited girl!  Your wit, humor, and large heart are such a blessing to our family.  

The Ketchup Series-- A Robot, A Chicken and A Ninja Turtle

The Ketchup Series-- Cousins vs. The Leaf Pile

The Ketchup Series--The One With The Chicken Cake

In mid-October, we took a family road trip to visit my family in Massachusetts.  We specifically planned this trip to coincide with part of a visit from my California relatives.  We spent a wonderful afternoon with many of the aunts, uncles and cousins on my moms side.  The kids had a blast playing in the leaves with my cousins (many of them are closer in age to my kids than they are to me).  I did not, however, capture any photos that day as I was trying to make the most of my time catching up with loved ones.

The last night of our trip we had a small [early]  3rd birthday party for Lily.  She requested to have a chicken cake that was covered in sprinkles; she was very excited that my mom was able to grant her wish.  She especially enjoyed helping with the sprinkles.

The Ketchup Series--Rearranging Furniture

Early in October, one of my sisters in law headed up a major project to rearrange the rooms in Ish's parents' house while they were away (this was done with his parents' blessing, no worries!)  While grown ups moved furniture, cleaned, and transitioned items into their new homes, the many children who were around had a blast!