I give you pictures

I've been busy...haven't we all??? I wish I had more time to blog!

I have been pulling out the camera more frequently lately and I actually downloaded all the images and reformatted my memory card. That was a huge step for me. I think there were more than 500 pictures...woah. Plus, I had pre-pregnancy pictures on that memory card! I still have not gone through them all, but at least it's a start. Next step is to back them all up and upload them to get them printed. I shudder to think of how much it's going to cost, but I want prints, not just digital images. I was given about five photo albums for Madeline and I know they will fill up quickly!

I'll do a brain dump post soon just to get some things out of my head, but I will leave you with some of my favorite photos. We're dedicating Madeline May 15th and they have requested one image of her and one of our family. I've realized that we only have two pictures of the three of us. One just a week after she was born and another quick snap shot when I was playing with my remote. There are also few, few, few pictures of Madeline and me...I am always behind the camera.

Now that Madeline can pull herself up, it's all she wants to do. She is not deterred by anything. She has bumped, whacked and hit virtually every part of her face. After a shocked look, maybe some tears or a cry, she's back at it. I find bruises on her face all the time.

I love this picture. This was after her morning nap (yes, I left her in her pajamas :-) She is always excited to see me, especially when I return her excitement. I love a happy baby, up from a nap!
I'm trying to get a good recent photo of Madeline for the dedication and these were yesterday's attempts. I have the camera in one hand and a toy in the other. I love this outfit, too. Makes it even more special since it's from her Aunt Kristina.

There were lots of outtakes! But there were lots of keepers.
Please excuse her boogers. She won't let me come near her with the snot sucker. Also note her top teeth!
This picture is a little older. Hutch is definitely more patient with Madeline. He will tolerate her for longer periods of time than Starsky, but he does have his breaking point. He's never lashed out at her. When he gets annoyed, he just scampers away. She always goes for the tail! Or the face. I try to teach her to be gentle, but it's going to be a while still. Starsky usually immediately moves away from her or strategically lays just out of her reach (like on the back of the couch cushions.) She will try and try to reach him with her hand and he just looks at her as if he's saying, "hahaha, you can't reach me! Yesterday, it appeared that she cornered him and he was doing everything to get away from her.

Ok, that's it. If you have a favorite picture for the dedication, let me know in the comments!