Camera Obscura

As much as I would love to blog about our weekend, The House is sleeping and I would really like to join them.  Magnum is snuggled up at my feet,  David has fallen asleep on the couch and my love bug went down in record time.  So that blog will just have to wait until tomorrow...or the next day.  In the meantime, here are a few fun pictures I've taken recently with some really cool camera apps {and one you can do at home as long as you have a webcam.}

The Roidizer:  Turns pictures into a polaroid picture.*  I love that it also allows you to "tag" the picture with your own caption.   I especially love that it even makes a cranky baby still look kinda cute.

I'm not listening....

This man doesn't need anything to make himself look better {not that Olivia does either}, but it makes for a cool concert shot as well.

You don't give up, You don't survive, Blackjack

The Retro Cam:  Pretty sure this is similar to the Hipstamatic app for iPhones.  Basically, it gives the picture a retro/vintage look.

{Repeat picture} I love the look of these pictures.  They are great for scenery, but less so for up close as they make your skin tone look a little less than flattering.

Case in point...

He is still pretty stinkin' handsome though!

So, the other thing about this app is that you are looking at it in your phone screen and it looks like you are looking through an actual camera viewfinder.  {Kinda hard to explain} The app isn't quite perfect and so sometimes you think you have your subject exactly in the frame, but when you see the final product you realize it was a little off.

Ah hem...

Kind of like a burqa, but waaaayyy cooler.

Photo Cabine: A photobooth for your computer. Try it out here.  We did.

The photobooth is just too fun...expect to see lots more of those from us in the near future!

Happy Monday from the Central Coast!

Kitty Kittyopolis

Yep, ten days after that orange and white ball of fur wandered through our yard and purred his way into Olivia's heart, he is still with us.  Well, sort of.  Our neighbor and I have been swapping care-taking duties since she is a TOTAL cat lover and Olivia likes having little Meow Meow to love on who will love her back.

In other news, our good friend Ken had his THIRTIETH birthday today.  Olivia and I made him some cookies and cream cupcakes to help him celebrate.  Oh my gosh - these cupcakes are SO good.  We had some for Olivia's birthday from Amy Bakes Cupcakes and I've tried to make my own.  The hardest part is not eating all of the Oreos first.

Happy Birthday, Ken!

Happy Thursday from the Central Coast!

While My Baby Gently Sleeps

Olivia is FAST asleep in my arms right now.  Not something I was planning on {as I would love a free hour or so to fold some clothes and put them away}, but something I am happily embracing since I am realizing how quickly she is growing up.  The clothes can wait.  Dinner can be late.  My bladder can stay full.  We're busy snuggling.

I'm trying to remember where we left off...Oh yes, I was standing third row locking eyes with My Other Dave.  And I'm counting down the days until we lock eyes again.

I'll see you soon, my pretty.

In the meantime, we've had Nana and BawBaw {Olivia's version of Poppy} here to help pass the time.  On Monday we headed up to our new favorite spot, the Avila Valley Barn and we lucked out this time with some hot hot hot weather.  It seems like whenever my parents come to visit the weather always turns cold, but these last few days have been so warm and beautiful!

Stunnas!

That donkey gets her every time.

Too cute for words.

No trip out here would be complete if I didn't put my dad to work.  I can't help it...that's what Dads are for.  He did a few things for me in the playroom {see, I'm still perfecting it, that's why I haven't put pictures up yet}, I had him fix Olivia's swing {metal on metal is almost as bad as fingernails on a chalkboard}, and I put his painting skills to the test.

Take a yucky wooden bird house...

...and start painting!

{Finished picture in a few days...I still need to paint the roof.}

And, did I mention that I made him rescue a turtle?  Yep, a cat and a turtle rescue in less than a week.  We're going to open up a clinic soon.

On his way to getting smashed.

After the turtle peed down my dad's leg, we decided to drive home with him hanging out the window.

He may not look it, but he was grateful.

Don't worry, I paid Dad back by treating him to lunch.  Any guesses as to where we went?

Their trip was way too short...only 2 full days here, but we still had a great time.  It is always nice to have an extra set of hands around to put Olivia down for her nap, feed & bathe her, or do a diaper change.  Poppy even changed his first diaper!  Sixteen months in....hard to believe he hadn't taken a turn yet.

I spent this morning doing laundry and cleaning up in preparation for a couple of Olivia's friends to come over and play.  This time I got ZERO pictures.  I am horrible, I know.  I did get one of Olivia in her swing while we waited for them to show up.

Again, I have to thank my parents for driving all over California so we could have some fun.  I am lucky to have a great set of parents!

Happy Wednesday from the Central Coast.

Shake Me Like a Monkey

So many pictures and so little energy!

Will you guys forgive me if I only give a few details...as long as I promise to include the really juicy ones?

Awww, thanks.

We headed down to San Diego Thursday night and after hitting tons of traffic finally made it to our hotel and pretty much crashed.  But, Friday morning, I was like a kid on Christmas and was ready to get the day started.  

Breakfast at The Mission {again} and it was as yummy as I had remembered it being.

French toast with homemade cinnamon bread.  Oh so delicious.

We decided to head over to the San Diego Zoo and while the high was supposed to be 72, it felt more like 85.  But, it was gorgeous!  We only spent a few hours there, but it was enough to see so many exciting animals.

So cute, right?

She met the nicest little girl who kept taking her down the slide.

I can't even handle this...

We headed back to the hotel, took a quick nap, and freshened up for Part One of the Main Event.  Ok, so let me just say that I was SO excited to go see the Dave Matthews Band.  It had been two years since we had seen them last and we were so far away from the stage at that show that it didn't even feel like we were there.  I need to be close enough to feel the energy off of the stage.  The Chula Vista show was great...I got to hear Big Eyed Fish, #41 and Sister and even though our seats weren't the greatest, I was a happy camper just being able to enjoy the show and some one-on-one time with my other Dave {and by that I mean my husband}.  Saturday's show in Irvine was sooooo much better though!  We had pit tickets and ended up being 3rd row, center. And, yeah, Dave and I locked eyes on more than one occasion.  They put on such a fantastic show.  They opened with Minarets, they played Lying in the Hands of God {which is my favorite off the new album}, they did Grey Street, and two rare ones Rye Whiskey and Black Jack.  I'm stoked that we have one more show this summer because I did not get enough.

I have to say a very special thank you to my parents for driving over from Arizona to watch Olivia for us.  They were so great to let us sleep in on Saturday morning {after spending two hours driving 15 miles home the night before and getting to bed much later than we planned} and were there anytime we needed an extra set of hands.  And did I mention that I am SO ROTTEN and convinced them to drive a few hours more to stay a couple of extra days with us.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to cater to my DMB obsessions!  Love you both.

Happy Monday from the Central Coast!

My Sunday Smiles {Volume 8}

Lots to smile about this weekend, especially considering we got to see {my luvah} Dave Matthews and his Band on Friday and Saturday night, but I am going to have to post the excitements of the weekend tomorrow.  Staying up WAY too late both nights and waking up to being a Mom in the morning has made for one sleepy lady tonight.

"So there was this one time in Indianapolis where I saw this beauty of a girl at St. Elmo's and her big boobed friend came in and interrupted our eye contact.  I think about that girl every day."

UM, Hello!  Here I am!

Hope your weekend was full of smiles!

Happy Sunday from the Central Coast!

The Day in Randomness

Today was a play date/one nap kind of day, so I am beat.  I can't even try to make a cohesive or funny post out of my pictures, so here they are.  Enjoy this roller coaster of a post.

Remember how I said Olivia's new word was buggy?  Well, move over buggy, there's a new word in town.  That word?  Bee Yaaw.  Yeah, add the TCH to the end and you'll understand why it wasn't so fun hearing her scream that word all through the grocery store this morning.

Speaking of this morning, while I was getting ready Olivia continued her adventures in climbing up the tub and the countertops.  Check out that scariness here.

Little Mountain Climber from Amanda Michelson on Vimeo.

So, this is how I had to block her off this evening while I put away laundry.

That would be a bench blocking the entrance to the bathtub and a laundry basket preventing her from crawling under the bench.

So she found something else to occupy her time....at least if she falls off of this one she won't get hurt.

She's not posing like a pageant baby, she's doing the sign for pig!

We had a fun play date this afternoon with Sarah {and Kendall} and I guess it is a sign that we are having fun when I only take one picture!

Sweet Kendall taking a dip.

She actually kept the sunglasses on for a long time!

Awww, and guess who came back to visit tonight?  I'll be taking him to the vet tomorrow in the hopes that they can find a home for him.  He is SO sweet...he loves Olivia and she loves cuddling up with him, but we are not cat people.  Allergies aside, I can't handle my pets jumping up on the counters and pooping inside the house.  Oh, but he is soooo cute. 

Happy Wednesday from the Central Coast!

Sweet 16

Happy 16 month birthday, Olivia!

You have been such a busy little bee this last month and we are amazed on a daily basis at how much you are learning.

Here's what you've been up to lately:

You are talking so much! 

Your favorite word to say is baby.  You love to point out the babies whenever we are out and your favorite books are the ones with pictures of babies in them.  Whenever you see a picture of yourself, you say baby and it is just the sweetest thing.  You are also saying Magna {and I am contemplating changing Magnum's name to this}, hat, hot, Da-Da, duck, bah {for bath}, wee {for swing} and Ma-Ma {and for some reason you hold your nose everytime you say it.}  You are also saying buggy and for the life of me, I can't figure out what you are trying to say.

Digital Short from Amanda Michelson on Vimeo.

You know what words mean.  

The other night, you picked up my hat, put it on my head and said, hat hat hat.  When you hear the microwave door close or the gas stove click on you say hot hot.  In the mornings when you hear your Papa getting ready, you look up at me and say Da-Da.

When you aren't talking, you are signing.  

You know the signs for eat, more, drink, banana, all done, bird, duck, dog, cat, horse, fish, frog, pig, bath, flower, baby, book, thank you, friend and help.  The signs for thank you and help totally blew me away.  We had been working on them with you a little bit, but we didn't think you really knew them yet.  You and I were in the parking lot of the store the other day and as I was putting you in the car seat I noticed that one of your shoes was missing.  I started to unbuckle you when a woman came up with your shoe.  I thanked her profusely for finding it and looked over at you and saw you signing thank you to her as well.  Yesterday morning, you were playing with the Lypsyl chapstick tube and were putting the cap on and then taking it off again.  You came up to me and did the help sign and I realized you couldn't find the cap.  I started looking all over the kitchen and family room only to find you standing in front of the pantry doors signing help over and over again.  I opened up the doors and sure enough, there was the cap to the chapstick.  Whenever you hear birds or dogs, you immediately do the sign for them.  We drive by a house with horses outside and as soon as we get near the house you start doing the sign for horse.  I am just SO incredibly amazed at how smart you are.

You are so adventurous.  

Yesterday morning as I was putting clothes away, you climbed the two steps by our bathtub and reached over to the radio and started changing the stations.  I turned my head for a second and when I turned back around you had climbed all the way onto the countertop  and were sitting next to the sink.  You LOVE climbing all over the car and have completely mastered climbing into it.

You love that swing. 

 Oh my gosh, I think that it may be your favorite thing right now.  Last weekend, we were saying hello to our next door neighbor and from 100 yards away you spotted the swing and kept saying WeeWee until I put you in it.  Once you are in, you do not want to get out.  You actually fell asleep in it yesterday morning.

What a difference a couple months makes!  You used to hate the swing!

You love animals.

Whether we are looking at pictures in a book or seeing them in person, you always get so excited to see the different animals.  It is so much fun watching you interact with them at the different petting zoos.  Last night, we had a stray cat come up in our yard and he followed you around everywhere.  You had a blast petting the kitty and listening to him purr.

{Signing the word cat}

You are really into sitting down on things.

It seems like wherever we go, you find a place to pop a squat!  Sometimes you open the pantry doors and sit on the case of Magnum's dog food and sometimes you sit on an actual chair or stool.  It is so cute watching you back yourself up and squat down to sit.

I had just taken off your diaper so we could go take a bath and you sat down on the box where your shoes are kept and opened up a book to look at.  

You are loved.

We love you more and more each day and are having so much fun watching you grow.  You and I are going to celebrate the day by hanging out in the baby pool, and yes, swinging in your swing.  Hopefully Kitty will make a little visit to wish you well today.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl.

Happy Tuesday from the Central Coast!