it has returned

My camera is back!  Turns out it was back focusing and the lens was focusing incorrectly.  It was still under warranty so they fixed it for free.

Somehow we got sick.  Emma had me pretty worried for about a day, but she is doing much better and returning back to normal.  Poor Ella is feeling awful now.  TS has had it as well and has a bad cough at night.  But we're still waiting for the rest of us to get it (I think I might have gotten it...I'm not sure).

Here's some pics from yesterday:

I was at an odd angle and had my aperture at 1.8, so that's why his whole face isn't in focus.  :)  I was seeing if it did better at taking a pic this way than it did last time.  And it seems to!  You can tell he was very excited about having his picture taken.  hehe.  I put the focus on his right eyeball.

I don't know if it's obvious, but the pictures are a lot more in focus.  Turns out a LOT of new cameras need to be calibrated.  So, if you're having any struggles trying to get your pictures as crisp as you want, one of the things to check is that it's calibrated properly (lens and camera). 

Ella is a little walker now.  She's the cutest little wobbly walker ever.  I thought she looked cute here.

And, I love how younger siblings always seem to look at the sibling just older than them and want to follow in their footsteps.  It was cute watching Ella watch Rhys.  But, little Ella couldn't step over the step and go out.  haha.  Made it nice for me since she willingly stood there!

Peeking outside:

Miss Rhys' hair is growing in quite nicely!  It's almost normal now.  It's changing her look a bit.  Instead of a looking like a mix between a cute little two year old and a balding man...she now mostly looks solely like a little two year old.

She was pretty obsessed with picking up acorns:

Totally a bad shot, but he looked insane, so I had to post it.

Violet having fun on her bike.

Ella walking down the sidewalk for the first time.  hehe.

Violet being "helpful"...which usually ends up very opposite of helpful because Ella generally starts screaming and wants down.

She loved walking down the sidewalk.  It was adorable.

One thing that I never get tired of seeing is the love between siblings.  It's just so sweet.

I love how wobbly she is still.  Stopping and turning are still quite the challenge.  So cute!

 Then she decided it was time to sit down.  Good thing she didn't pick an inconvenient spot at all.

Can you tell our weather is nice and warm?  It's been perfect, actually!  Wish our summers were like this.  It's been in the 70's and low 80's.  Sometimes it's a touch too warm.  I do look forward to wearing winter clothes one day and not getting hot.

You know how I mentioned Ella was sick?  (I did mention that, right?  I've already forgotten what I wrote up top and don't feel like looking....)  She has watery eyes, runny nose, a cough, and is sleeping AWFUL.  Poor baby.  Being outside was the one thing that made her happy.

And, here she is last night, when she was supposed to be sleeping but apparently was having a tummy ache.  She was mesmerized by this little light thingy.  Until it stopped working ten minutes into it.

It's so nice to have a camera again!  I used my camera phone and point & shoot while this one was gone, and oh my goodness!  How did I ever survive with it?  It's so slow comparatively and you can't control much of it at all, even in manual mode.  Drove me batty.

When we started putting our Christmas tree up, and I didn't have my camera, then I turned into a whiny three year old.  Tyler looked at me like I was losing my mind.  He told the kids "It's alright, kids.  Mommy's just having a breakdown because she doesn't have her camera."  haha!  Now I feel happy knowing I can stalk my children again and document everything they do in their lives...hehe.

So...my current photography adventures is learning how to set the white balance better.  I haven't quite figured that out properly.  I bought FLAWLESS (it was on a pretty big sale) after hearing so many rave reviews and seeing a lot of before/after shots & being amazed at the difference.  While I'm becoming a fan of getting it right straight out of the camera, I think some proper editing can help portray the emotion that you feel when in the moment, that you can't always transfer to someone else who wasn't there, but that you can more easily do with a bit of editing.  I haven't had the chance to read/watch much of it yet, but it's already been quite informative.  Just mentioning if anyone out there is looking for something helpful for them. 

Several of you have contacted me, wanting help with your DSLR to get similar types of pictures.  I've emailed many back, but in case I missed anyone, or in case you're a chicken and haven't asked me, my first suggestions are to go straight to manual mode (just DO IT!  Nothing but manual mode) and don't use your flash.  Figure out how to use your shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to get proper lighting (look into your light meter and white balance as well) and you'll be on your way.

I should go tend to the kidlets now.  Hope you're all doing well!