Photo Studios are Great But...

...I think the best pictures come from home:

Happy Feast Day

This painting is called "The Calling of St. Matthew" by Caravaggio. St. Matthew is sitting on the left of the painting, and Jesus is in the shadows on the right. Notice how the source of light in the painting is from the Lord. Also, notice how Jesus' hand is shaped: an homage to Michelangelo's "Creation" in the Sistine Chapel. Jesus imparts life to Matthew, like the Father imparts life to Adam.

Today, September 21 is the feast day of St. Matthew, the patron of our youngest boy.

St. Matthew followed Jesus at the simple request of our Lord: "Follow me."

And he did.

May our little boy and all of our chidren follow his example throughout their lives and follow Jesus.


Happy Feast Day, little Matthew! We love you so much and can't wait to meet you soon!


P.S. I hope you enjoyed the Espresso Chocolate Truffle Latte Mommy got you for your feast day!

I got a new camera

A few weeks ago, I got a new camera.

Wow.

I didn't deserve it. I didn't expect it. In fact, I had been purposely puiting off getting a new camera out of my mind until I learned to master the camera that I had.

But Michael came home and surprised me with it.

And wow.

Of course, in my limited creativity, I seem to have a limited subject matter.



But I don't know who really minds that.

This was done in automatic, so the focus and what-not is not by my doing (it was my first day with it!), but I do like the composition. The light is good and I can't beat both subjects :). I like Michael Sr's expression.

I have noticed even from the day I have gotten it until now, there is improvement in my photography.

It's not anywhere near great, or even mediocre. Still downright amateur.

But it's fun to learn, and look at my pictures and figure out how they could be better, and what I feel like I did right.


I will be hopefully including you in the learning process, but it takes time, so no guarantees I will have a ton of posts. I mean, just loading the pictures and going through them, looking at the ones I like, and deleting the ones that were a bust took me a long time tonight...but I will do my best.


Most of the time, I am just in full-on automatic, but I am starting to experiment with aperture, shutter speed, etc.

I like this one a lot. I am happy with the composition, and I like how Michael is in focus, but the equipment isn't. And i even like that there is a guy in the background. I don't know why. I'm happy there is stuff going on: the cart, the baby, the equipment, and then the sky and grass in the way back. This one was full-on manual setting of aperture and exposure. It was easy because he wasn't moving around much, and there was lots of light.

Even though his smile is funny, again, I like the different "depths." Michael's face is in focus, but the branch in front of him is not. It's a little overcast, so I guess the color isn't as "warm" but it's still a good shot for not being processed and being manual.

I really like it.

A Fun Getaway

A few weeks back, Michael and I celebrated our second anniversary!

It has been an eventful two years!

Photo courtesy of Michael's dad

We want to thank both our families (aunts, uncles, grandparents included!) for their love, and generosity. First and foremost, for their generosity for our whole lives that have helped prepare us for marriage. We constantly talk about what a grace it is to come from good families to show us how to be a good family. This includes my sister and her husband who provide such a wonderful example of a happy, loving family as well.

Secondly, for your generosity for the wedding. Without your sacrifices, monetarily and in your time, we had a fun-filled day that we will always treasure.


Third, for your generosity to us in our marriage, and ALL your support, especially helping as our family grows, and always ready to come down, at a moment's notice and lend a helping hand, or even just a wonderful visit.



Finally, thank you to our family for their generosity this anniversary! We sure had a great one!

To start, my mom and dad came and swooped up baby Michael from our apartment so we could have a little get away and not worry so much about the details that include caring for a baby. We love our little boy and cherish all the time we get. But, we didn't mind that he got to have a great time with Grammy and Poppi while we got to live life the way we did before having kids.


We drove up and picked up a rental car. Why a rental car? Well, because our "family car" is a pretty basic Corolla. She's a good car and gets the job done, but, if we're going to drive around a little, might as well do it in style!






So our little Mustang convertible was our ride for the weekend.


We really just spent the weekend reliving many aspects of our dating relationship. It was so fun! 1) We drove: and we did a lot of driving when we were dating!

A typical California shot: traffic, tall buildings, and fires.

2) We went to Universal CityWalk...a fun hangout where we used to go during the summers and watch a GREAT 80s cover band called the Spazmadics (which we saw on Saturday night of our weekend!). At CityWalk, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, and just walked around, enjoying being footloose and fancy free.

3) We stayed in Long Beach at the same place we stayed after our wedding.


4) We visited Fr. Peter, Michael's uncle, who said the wedding Mass. We had a fun breakfast/lunch with him, and got a blessing from him before we headed on our way.



5) We drove! We went all the way up to Camarillo with the top down and the music blasting! We drove down the 1 back to Long Beach, enjoying time together and not having a schedule or being any particular place at a particular time


6) We had dinner at a restaurant we went several times when we were dating. In fact, it was the first dinner date he took me on. We talked, ate good food, and indulged on some great dessert!



7) We saw the Spazmadics (an awesome 80s cover band)...at, of all places, a night club, filled with people who seem to make a lifestyle out of the night club scene. Some of Michael's sisters and his cousin came out and it was clear that we were ALL a little out of place there. We were all fully clothed, we didn't troll around to hook up with folks, and none of us were drinking. Yeah, we didn't really fit in. But we had a fun time people-watching, musing at this weird culture of night clubbing, and of course, we loved the music.



8) We went to Mass at Sacred Heart, where we were married.



9) At noon, our Mustang turned back into a pumpkin (or, a Corolla, as it were) and we journeyed to meet our parents to pick up our little boy. We were so happy to see him! He was happy to us...or rather, he was happy to see his dad :)


We drove back home, and our little getaway ended and we were back to the normal ins and outs of everyday life.


But you know? We love our every day life! Every now and then, I think back on it, and it seems a little surreal. But it did lead me to savor every moment of our little getaway, and at the same time, be very grateful for our happy life...grateful for family that supports us, grateful for Michael's job that enables us to splurge a little like that, grateful for our little boys who we look forward to taking with us on family vacations in the future, and grateful for our marriage, which has been two years of bliss. We keep asking each other, "Now, the second year...that was supposed to be the really hard one wasn't it?" and then we laugh because it just keeps getting better.

Where's Your Ear?

Babies are fun to train :)

They are so smart and really can pick up on things quickly. Among things we have gotten Michael to do are:

• Point to his ear
• Point to his toes (only while he's in his high chair)
• Open his mouth
• Stick out his tongue
• Make sounds for cows, monkeys, lions, and I think even a horse
• And answer the question: How old are you? At which time Michael will stick up his index finger (credit to his dad for teaching him that).

Now do you think he will do any of these things if he's asked to bysomeone other than me or Michael? Could you, having read this post come up to him and make a request and have him demonstrate? Of course not! I just sound like a crazy mom who over exaggerates her kid's repertoire.

But, it's true! I promise!

So we have fun teaching him silly things and enjoying him enjoying our reaction to them.

13.5 Month and 2 Month BB Update

Geez...when I don't blog for a while, I feel so overwhelmed with how much to report. First, I'll do a kiddo update and maybe I'll get in a few more posts this week!

Well, let's start with Michael since I think I did Matthew first last time :)

Michael is 13.5 months old. Doesn't feel like a month and a half since his birthday, but, lo and behold, it has been.

Michael is a busy, busy boy!! He got a shopping cart from the McKinney's for his birthday and has been walking up and down the hallway in our apartment, with a big smile on his face the whole time.

He calls the shopping cart "Yay!!" Because that's what we shout when he gets walking, so he thinks it's just called "yay" when he walks. He'll crawl up to the cart and say "yay-yay!" and then go walking.

At first, he was timid of it, and I admit, so was eye. I just imagined him pulling up on it, and then the wheels go without his legs catching up and he would fall on his face, or hit the handle or something...but he didn't! He picked it up pretty quickly after Daddy had the courage that Mommy didn't to just let him go with it!

Now he tears all around the apartment (what little space we have) and goes crazy! One of his favorite things to do is go back and forth between Michael and I if we sit on opposite ends of the room. Once he reaches us, we turn him around and send him on his way to the other parent. He doesn't ever seem to get tired of it!

Today, I don't think I am exaggerating when I say he made the tour of our apartment in the neighborhood of about 20 times!

I took him to the park with it, and that was great fun because he actually had space, but then he saw the sandbox and crawled full-speed ahead to get to it. But he liked walking on the grass with his cart.

In other areas, Michael is such a joy, as always. His vocabulary includes the ever-steadfast "Hi!!" which sometimes emerges at less than appropriate times...like in the middle of Mass. Earlier this week, right during a very quiet time at Mass he rattled off about 10 "Hi's" in a row very loudly. I was trying to encourage him to be quiet, but was laughing so hard, it wasn't really helping to get the message of reverence across. It was cute, but it is something that may not be as cute to everyone trying to pray. :)

He also says "Key" and "cheese" and, interestingly, though he doesn't make the "ch" sound right yet, it does sound different than his word for "keys." He loves to say "keys" and knows right when to say it. If he hears keys jingling, he'll say it, but also, if we get out of the car, he knows that I am going to get my keys out of my bag, so even as I'm unloading him and am not yet looking for my keys, he'll remind me that I need to get them out!

Though it sounds nothing like "on" or "off" he does have a sound that he makes just for those words. I know what it means, and for anyone who doesn't, his emphatic pointing at the lights or the switches will get the message across pretty darn quickly.

He is great at "car" (still kind of "cah!" but there is an "r" kind of forming), and he is starting to develop sounds for foods. Again, to a mother's trained ear, it sounds like a word, but to anyone else, it's indistinguishable. But I know his word for "bread" and "grape" and "yogurt." He even makes "wah!" sounds for water and "muh" sounds for milk. Oddly, his favorite fruit, blackberries, does not have a sound...but he doesn't really need one because of his fierce pointing and insistent grunt...

I've gotten a few good "mama's" out of him, which is fun, and he is resuming his "dada" habit, but now, it seems like it comes most often when he looks at a picture of his dad, instead of just calling random things "dada."

A few times, I'm sure I've heard him say "bath" when he knows a bath is coming. It sounds really cute, "BAF!" and he gets all excited because he likes a bath.

His eating is doing well, but I find myself stressing a bit about making sure he gets his proteins. He LOVES fruit, but sometimes gets a little unpredictable when it comes to meats. He used to be quite the meat eater, but I found lately that I have to wrap meat-type items in bread in order to get it in him. He still likes eggs, so that's good, and he is pretty good at drinking milk and eating cheese and yogurt, so he is still getting some proteins.

Michael is, as I've said before a very determined little boy. If he wants to do something himself and you try to get involved, he will very sternly remove your hand, making it clear he doesn't want your involvement. Today, I was playing with him while he was spinning the stroller wheel, and thinking I was making it more fun for him so he could feel the wheel spin with his finger, he looked at me, furrowed his brow, and moved my hand away so he could spin it himself. He wasn't whiny or mean about it, just direct.

He sometimes does that with Michael playing the guitar too: "No thank you, Daddy, I want to play the guitar myself," he seems to say.

Michael is becoming very affectionate. He is always coming up to me, pulling himself up to standing by using my pant legs, and looks up at me wanting me to pick him up. It's so irresistable that even when I am busy, I can't help it, I have to pick him up.

He is VERY affectionate with Michael. He loves to burrow his head into his dad's shoulder and rest there comfortably. He is so attached to his father...it's so beautiful (though I have to say, it's kind of heart-wrenching when I take him from his dad and he winds up screaming like I am some baby-torturer until I give him back to Michael). Ah well, it's cute and Michael Sr. doesn't mind it too much, so neither do I :)

Michael loves to sing. He loves spinning wheels on anything that has them and he insists you sing "the Wheels on the Bus." I must sing that song, oh, thirty times in a day. It's so funny, he grabs the wheel, looks at you and kind of "howls" until you sing.

He loves Patty-Cake (or Pat-a-Cake as I have also seen spelled) and the Eensy-Weensy Spider. Good heavens, if I start singing that song, I find myself committing to those songs 10 times in a row each. He loves those songs, and before I'm even done, he'll give me his little "again" word, very insistently.

He is getting some practice eating with a spoon. It makes meals go way longer, but eventually, he'll need to learn, so we take them time. But he loves to practice and is actually getting good at it! He puts the spoon in the bowl and, after a bit of encouragement, is able to get it in his mouth. I cheer him enthusiastically when he does it, and likes the praise. Sometimes, he gets a little eager for the accolades, so he'll scoop whatever is in the bowl, and before he puts it to his mouth, he'll applaud vigorously, not sure why I'm not doing the same. But he'll the hang of it!

Michael loves to entertain! If he finds something that he thinks you think is funny, he'll keep it going as long as possible. Whether that be a goofy look, or, his favorite, a funny way of drinking his bottle. When he drinks his nighttime bottle (we're down to just one...yes!) he will drink it normally, then look at Michael and me, get a mischevous look on his face, then flip the bottle upside down and pretend to drink out of the bottom. We always give him a good reaction, "No!! You're silly! You're doing it wrong!" and he just eats that up. He plots and plans and waits for the right time to do it. It's so funny.

Everything is going really well. We only have one little battle: teethbrushing. Geez, this is hard...but I suppose it's getting better. It really is important to not only teach him good oral hygiene, but in the mean time, making sure he gets it...but it is such a battle. He likes to brush his own teeth, but hates it when I intervene to make sure it's done well. Oh well...just something he'll have to learn! I just hate the thought of years of a battle until he gets old enough to do it well on his own....and hopefully by then, he doesn't have this totally negative association with the toothbrush!

Well, that's it for Michael....

Matthew seems to be doing well! Just getting bigger! Michael and I always say it feels like Matthew is kind of along for the ride. He just kind of hang out there, only making his presence known (well, aside from my huge stomach) from time to time during the day. At night, he definitely makes his presence known a bit more. Whenever I go to bed, I always say, "Time for the Matthew show!" because that's when he is usually most active: right when I try to go to sleep." On a few occassions, he wakes me up with the hicccups, but by and large, it's just about 10 minutes after I lay down that he goes crazy and then he is quiet.

The pregnancy is going great. By God's grace, no complications at all. Yeah, a few pregnancy-related discomforts, but nothing to complain to much about (though, I admit, I do complain more than I should). This morning the backaches I recalled having with Michael seemed to start. Ugh. It's tough especially when Michael wants to be held a lot. But it comes and goes throughout the day, so it's not totally constant.

I can't believe that in about 2 months, he'll be here! I was looking at some things I was thinking of doing with the Church, and we were trying to schedule a week each month to have a meeting. The last week of August, the last week of September: both busy. What about the last weekend of October. Geez...that may be my last weekend before the baby comes!! I haven't schedule the surgery yet, but it's likely it will be about two weeks before his due date, so it very well could be early November. Crazy!! That's two months away!

We are SO excited to meet Matthew. We always talk about what we think he'll look like (I'm thinking dark hair) and what his personality will be like. I can't really describe how I think he'll be, but I kind of have a sense. I think I was pretty right on with Michael...I just can't describe how I think Matthew will be in words...it's just a feeling or intuition I think I have of how he'll be.

One thing we talk about frequently is how crazy it is to imagine that another person will soon be born who we will love as much as we love Michael. I mean, when Michael was born and as he grows, we are just speechless at how much we love him. And to know that another love of equal enormity will soon be coming our way is a bit overwhelming. We can't wait! It's amazing that God is able to multiply our capacity to love so powerfully, essentially overnight, it's just beyond words.

Not that we don't love Matthew now...of course we do! But we know that the love becomes so tangible the moment the baby is born, and we see him, can kiss him, squeeze him, and get to "meet" him. He's not just a baby, but a baby with a look and personality we get to personally encounter after he is born. And the moment we encounter that person in that personal way, it's like a whole new heart, full of love for this little person suddenly comes into being and it just grows and grows each day. More than the sleepless nights, more than the hectic nature of juggling two babies, more than recovering from surgery, that what I am anticipating as the biggest change once November comes. Not all the peripherals, which I am sure will be exhausting and overwhelming, but the thing I am "bracing" myself for the most is being totally captivated by little Matthew and little Michael at the same time. Wow.

So, we are doing well in the Barber household! Just enjoying each day with our little boy and counting down the weeks until we get to add another little boy to our family!

First Haircut!!

We traveled up to Michael's family's house this weekend and had a ton of fun!

Among the fun things we did that weekend, Michael got his first (long overdue) haircut from Aunt Tracee.

She did an amazing job....and here are some before, during and after pictures!!

Here is a shot of Michael a few days ago. Look at that wild hair!

This is a shot just before the haircut!!

And now things are really underway!!

I liked this straight-down-the-middle style so much, I was almost thinking of halting the whole process, but I thought better of it!

The strategy for the cut was to feed him his favorite snacks so he would stay content long enough for a cut. We kept piling blackberries, cheese, and crackers. We tried Jello, but he didn't go for that.

Uncle Georgie and Aunt Noree' did a great job entertaining him too!!

Tracee is putting on the finishing touches!

Enhancing that little front curl!!

Almost done! He is looking so good!!

Checking himself out!

He likes what he sees!! So do I!

Such a handsome boy! A special thank you to Tracee for employing your talents masterfully!! Also, thank you to Noree' and Georgie for keeping him entertained through it all!