(New Video) Sophie sings Halloween songs!

Sophie Lu had so much fun learning Halloween songs this year, so here she is singing her favorites! I was wearing Sasha in a baby carrier, so you can hear her sneezing and cooing in the beginning... And I think it's so sweet the way Sophie was conscientious about the 'loud part' of her song and whether Sasha would like it. You'll also notice that Sophie is messy- hair and all (for those who always ask me if my kids ever get messy)... lol.:)

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!

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..


3
This is SOOC (straight out of the camera)... no post-processing. I like the way the light illuminates her...


4


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


6


7


8


9


10
Experimenting with a little texture here...


11


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- :)

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 :)

In my faux fur hat...

There is nothing quite like her smile... I think this photo really captures the essence of my sweet Sophie Lu (and it may be one of my all time favorites of her)! Click here to really see it...


Precious, perfect little face- I still can't get enough kisses each day...


Silly girl!


One day last month, Sophie grabbed this faux fur hat (I used to wear it on the slopes back in the day-lol) so she could play dress-up again. I can't decide whether she reminds me of a Russian snow princess or a little Eskimo girl- but either way, it seems to frame her beautiful face just perfectly~ :)

Silly Pirate Girl!

I am still sooo behind on both Sophie & Ollie's blogs (and I'm trying really hard to stay within a week of being current w/ Sasha's before I get behind there too)! I took these photos way back in July! Sophie Lu is constantly coming up with the silliest outfits. She love to play dress-up and just cracks me up with her fashion choices. I thought this pirate get-up was particularly funny! She really knows how to make me laugh! :)

My Pettiskirt Princess!

1


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


10


11


12


13

New Camera & practice B&W w/ Sophie Lu

Michael surprised me with the Nikon D300 for our anniversary last month. It's much more sophisticated than my other cameras and doesn't even have an automatic setting, so it's forcing me to learn more about photography. These are a few of the first photos I took with it. I'm still learning & need lots of practice, but I think there's something so different and special about Sophie Lu's little face in these (my favorite is the 1st one). She's such an angel- I just love her so much and pray that she'll be patient and understanding when the reality of having a newborn baby sister sets it. I probably shouldn't worry too much, though. My precious girl always has a way of exceeding my expectations. :)

Sophie Lu's 1st Ballet Recital (w/ video)!

Sophie Lu and her best friend Megan both got to be kitty cats in their first ballet recital (held in a classroom at their preschool)! They were both sooo serious!

This shot cracks me up- it doesn't even look like ballet- more like she was boogying down!

And this is the shot of the day. I like to call it, "Sitting like a proper little lady"!!!

So here is some video footage of the recital. I edited it and cut out about half of the performance so it wouldn't be too long. The video was shaky because I was holding that camera in my left hand while taking photos with my right hand. Oh, and of course I could barely see through my tears! I'm so proud of my little "Rina". :)

Slip & Sliding Sophie Lu

My Sophie Lu is so joyful, and it's so easy to get lost in her joy... Her smile always lifts my spirit and warms my heart~

Sophie Takes Ballet!

Here Sophie Lu is at home just minutes before leaving for her very first ballet class. With a little help from Mommy, this is her first plie! She was sooooo excited!



Sophie & her best friend Megan (so sweet together)! Until she goes to Kindergarten (in a year), Sophie will take ballet at her pre-school in an informal setting. After that she will take proper ballet classes at the ballet academy (same teacher, though). She's enjoys her ballet classes so much- she really seems to take ballet seriously! She also loves classical music and starts dancing whenever she hears it. Sophie Lu is very excited because she recently got a piano and should be starting piano lessons soon as well! :)

Happy 3 Year Anniversary, Sophie Lu!!!

1


2

My Darling Sophie Lu,

It's been three whole years since the most magical, wonderful day of my life- the day you were finally placed in my arms. You had been living and growing in my heart for quite some time, but actually having you in my arms and knowing that it was forever felt so perfect and so very amazing. You were so calm and snuggly and loving with me from the very start. Just as I had already known your precious soul, you somehow knew mine and you knew I was your Mommy. Though I had loved you from afar, I had missed holding you and kissing you for your first 13 months; so I held you close, and I never let you go. I carried you everywhere and didn't let anyone else ever hold you (except Daddy after a few days & even then, not for very long). You slept right between us, and I remember Daddy and I looking at your sweet angel face, listening to you breathe, and watching you sleep. We still do that, you know... and we still smile at each other the same way we did those first few nights with you. We realize that you are such a miracle- our beautiful gift- our very first child together. You have brought so much love and laughter to our lives. We love you so much, sweet Sophie Lu; and we thank God and all of the angels in heaven for the blessing of your love.

You have grown and experienced so much in our third year together! And you've managed to make us laugh every step of the way. Here are just a few special memories that come to mind:

* You still wake me up with kisses, but this year you added your "sunshine face" (the biggest sweet morning smile ever). You greet each day with such wonder and excitement, and you love it when I say, "Good morning, Sunshine!" Sometimes I have to try to coax you to go back to sleep though- because it's too early. To that, you always reply, "But Mommy, listen... the birdies are awake, so it's time to wake up!"

* Sometimes after we wake up and shnug shnug (snuggle) in bed for a while, we play the "favorites game". You always start with, "Mommy, what was your favorite float in the New Year's Parade? And then you proceed to tell me your favorite, Daddy's favorite, and even Ollie's favorite. Then we move on to other kinds of favorites- I think you could play that game all day long!

* Every night, you are still the first to find the moon. You love looking at the moon, and Daddy and I tell you how we longingly looked at the moon each night while we waited for you. We always felt you were looking at the same moon, and now we are sure that you were...

* One night, none of us could find the moon. It was very dark and cloudy, but we did manage to find one star. You were so sad you couldn't say goodnight to the moon, so we showed you how to wish upon a star. This was your wish... "I wish my moon would come back." And the next night it did.

* You started pre-school, and you love it! You learned how to write your name many months ago, and now you can spell and read several words. You only go two mornings a week, but I miss you like crazy when we are apart. You tell me that you missed me each school day too. Picking you up is so exciting though- because when you first see me, your face lights up, you say, "Mommyyyyy!!!!!" and you run into my arms. That's the best feeling ever!

* You also started ballet! You love to dance, and we all love watching you! Your favorite part of ballet class is when you get to dance "Madame Butterfly". You flutter all around the room with a huge smile on your face (I always peek through the glass door to watch you)!

* While your sentence structure can still be a little baby-like (so cute), you started using very sophisticated words for a 3 year old, and your vocabulary seems to grow each day. When you finish eating a popsicle, you will say how "refreshing" it was. And when you are reading a book or working on an art project, you will insist that we all quiet down because you are busy "concentrating". When you get a new toy, you politely ask Daddy to "assemble" it for you, and when you hear thunder, you will tell us how the clouds are making a lot of "commotion". You love to use the word "distinguished", and you make me laugh when you use the phrase "I think not"! You are always trying to learn the meanings of new words- you recently asked me to explain the definitions for "sentimental" and "intuition". But you still have your own cute names for certain things, and I love that. Some of my favorites are "frigifrador" for refrigerator and "soaped" for soaked, "TD" for TV, and "DDD" for DVD. Oh, and I love how you call hula hoops "hooly hoops"!

* You've inspired me with your positive outlook on life. When presented with a broken popsicle, you said, "Look, Mama! Two popsicles!" And once you made a drawing of lots of tiny sad faces. When I asked you why you made all the faces frowning, you said, "It's upside-down day, Mommy... turn the paper around and you will see all the faces smiling at you!"

* You love putting coins in your piggy bank and your kitty bank. Recently, you were presented with a handful of coins and asked to choose some for your piggy bank. You kept choosing pennies. I tried to explain that the nickels and dimes were worth more, but you looked up at me and said, "Yes, Mommy, but pennies are lucky!"

* You have developed an appreciation for magic, and you love doing magic tricks. You use a magic wand sometimes, but you never say "Abra Cadabra". You say, "Moonakiss Joonakiss!"

* You have become very thoughtful- always asking, "How was your shower, Mama?", "How was your meeting, Daddy?", or "How was your nap, Ollie?" You are so sweet that way.

*You have also become a bit mischievous! I sometimes catch you sneaking out of the pantry with something hidden behind your back. When I catch you with the bag of marshmallows at breakfast time, you always explain, "But, Mommy, I had to follow my heart!" It's funny how your heart always leads you to marshmallows! lol

* When I talk to you about going to the dentist, you sweetly say, "Mommy, I like to go to the beauty salon better, okay?"

* You love to find dandelions to blow the seeds from and make wishes on. You almost always wish to make a chocolate cake or bake cookies with Mommy. Recently, though, you wished that you could go trick-or-treating with your baby sister. Then you told us how she would be too little to eat her candy, but that you would kindly eat it for her.

* You love to cook with Mommy or Daddy. You call yourself a "good cooker" or a "helper chef" or sometimes a "good cheffer". :) You are very good at helping Daddy make omelettes. You crack the eggs perfectly and you love to sample all the other ingredients. And when you bake goodies or make dinner with Mommy, you can always recall and recite every single ingredient.

* Somehow you learned the tune to "Here Comes the Bride". You take a pail of rocks and dirt and skip through the yard sprinkling it like a flower girl would. The interesting part is the words you sing... "Here comes the bride... big, fat, and wide. Here comes the groom, dirty as a broom!" Now how did you ever come up with that? Funny girl!

* Unlike most other children, when presented with choices A and B, you always choose your own C. You are quite the negotiator!

* You are also very good at sharing- especially with your brother Ollie. After you finish your popsicle, you always insist on sharing the rest of Ollie's popsicle with him!

* Daddy was in the yard hedging one day, and you asked him what he was doing. He told you he was "giving the bushes a trim", and you said, "Lucky bushes!" We curiously asked why you would say they were lucky, and you said, "Because now they are going to get a balloon!"

* You love holidays and are always asking me which holiday comes next and which one comes after that. You are already planning your Halloween costume and looking forward to baking heart-shaped pink frosted cookies for Valentine's day.

* You frequently tell me how you love me because I give you "soft love". When I ask you what that means, you say, "Soft love- not like hard love". When I ask what "hard love" is, you say "Hard like rocks, Mommy. Hard and soft are opposites- you know!"

* When I say, "Hi Baby-love", you say, "Hi Mama-love!" Then I say, "Hi Baby-Lu," and you say, "Hi Mama-Lu!" And we go on and on- both of us giggling the whole time.

I could go on and on with examples of how sweet, funny, and enchanting you are, Sophie Lu! I just never want to forget a single moment of our precious time together. You are growing up so quickly- too quickly. But just like you always remind me, you will always be Mommy's baby girl- my very first baby. And very soon, you will have a baby sister of your own. You can't wait to help me take care of her, and I know that she will look up to you and love you very much.

Happy three glorious years together, my beautiful beautiful child~

I love you always and forever...

Love, Mommy
xoxoxo


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


10


11


12


13


14


15


16