More Snowed in Fun.

First piece of news:

A plow arrived!

Whoohoo!

Monday was another day with streets covered with nearly two feet of snow, spent perfecting our gently sloped backyard sled run, and photographing Caroline in the dress intended for her baptism, which will not fit come April and the reschedule date.

Ellie coloring early Monday morning.

Blue eyed beauty in her baptism dress.

Sisters.

Sisters.

On Monday, Christina and I took a walk to make sure we could safely transport her to the other side of town, we sledded, we made pancakes, and we continued to make the best of the blizzard.  The girls were sad to see Christina go - they both took naps for over two hours!

Some phone photos:

Caroline fell asleep like this.

Sledding in the yard.

My big girl, so brave with shots and animals, is not usually brave with adventure-type activities.  (Which is weird, because as a baby she loved to swing high.  Those days are done.)  We loved seeing her sled!

#snowzilla #thestormnotthebrother #Jonas backyard sledding

A video posted by Megan Landmeier (@meganlando) on Jan 25, 2016 at 9:23am PST

The Girls.

Weather reports suggest we might get absolutely slammed with snow over the weekend.  We've had crazy wind chills, so lots of inside play.

But last weekend, we had family in town to celebrate Matt's birthday, and we took a walk around Old Town.  As the week got cold and windy, Caroline and I spent a lot of time inside playing.  She had some strong feelings about it!

Caroline keepin' it real.

Those eyes.  I can't get over them.

Ellie walking with Aunt Terri.

Ellie refusing to pose but happy to jump and spin and play!

30/52.

In the coming weeks, you'll be seeing a fun series of photos that were taken by Jessica Mellon of Ellie and me.

I did manage to take a few of Ellie myself, and I'm also sharing a picture of me that is NOT a selfie!  What?  Few of those exist.

Linking up at Practising Simplicity.

29/52.

All I have to say about this week is that there's something fun in the works between my photography business and The Crazy Kukla Boutique, all in the name of #ChangingTheFaceOfBeauty.

Linked up at Practising Simplicity.

28/52.

I had a photo session this week with two lovely girls in their Indian clothes.  Their mom invited Ellie along to dress up, because there's nothing Ellie loves more than pink and purple and sparkles.   I took a second between shots to snag this one of Ellie all dressed up.  The whole way home, she said, "We eat dinner and I wear a skirt.  Purple.  Pink and blue."  (I didn't get a photo of Ellie dressed in the purple outfit, but I assure you, she was adorable!)

Linking up over at Practising Simplicity.  Also, this is just a reminder of how much I love my community here and our friends.  This shoot was a blast!

27/52

Jump high.

Pool time.  Summer time.  Play time.

Linked up here.

A couple others from this week.

26/52.

This is week 26 of my participation in the Practising Simplicity weekly portrait/photograph of my daughter.

In 12 weeks or so, I will have a second daughter to add to these posts.

Wow.

Today's shot isn't a portrait.  This is a shot from swim lessons, and I grabbed my camera with my portrait lens still on.  I meant to grab my zoom, but that's okay.  I just had to stay back so Ellie wouldn't see me and freak out.

That's my kid.  She's high-fiving her swim teacher, just getting out of the pool.

She's not crying.

She's not yelling.

She's not a little barnacle.

In fact, she's happy.

Sorry for the small photo size.  I think it's totally worth it.

Happy weekend.

25/52.

Since summer vacation has started, we've been busy.

We've visited the spray ground, the park with the interactive fountain, the pool, and the bookstore.  We've seen friends and cooked dinners and stayed super busy.

I think Ellie hit a wall.

Today, she said, "I need a nap" and proceeded to lie down on the floor.  Unfortunately, she picked a spot right in front of the mail slot.  I hope she doesn't get a rude awakening with a shower of letters!

This post is part of my 52 project - weekly portraits or other shots of Ellie which are shared over at Practising Simplicity.  I've been so busy taking pictures of other people's kids that I've been a slacker with my own!  But summer is off to a great start, I'm thrilled to report that business is steady and when I'm not busy taking pictures of editing, it's nice to have time to play with Ellie.  She misses school and asked me to text her teacher today.

Happy, happy summer.

If you haven't seen it yet, Ellie has a Facebook page for this blog where I also share other interesting links, often about Down syndrome.

24/52.

Last day of school.

And for comparison....

I know I'm almost a week late, but Matt and Ellie were out of town over the weekend and then I admit, last week of school took over my life!  But now, happy summer!

And locals, check out this deal!  Summer photo specials!

Linked at Practising Simplicity.

23/52.

Jumping bean.

Is this really the girl who didn't walk until she was two and a half?

Linked up here.  In about 16 weeks, Caroline will be joining the weekly photos.  I can hardly believe it.

22/52.

Week 22.  A photo of Ellie, every week.  This week, matching dolly.  Linked up at Practising Simplicity.

21/52.

The pool is open!  Yay!

Week 21 of a weekly portrait or other photo of my little girl.

20/52.

Silly.  Opinionated, even more than normal.  Telling me not to take any more pictures.... But so cute.  Just so cute.  And those eyes.  Even if they are wide open at 4:45 am every day, ready to play!

19/52.

So busy with taking photos of other people's kids this weekend I didn't take one of my own daughter.

This morning I have a doctor's appointment, so I took a moment to grab a quick snapshot of a sight I rarely get to see - Ellie getting ready for school!

It looks super pixelated here, but click on the photo and you can see it's much sharper!

18/52.

Hello, mini-me.

More of my photos here.

17/52.

A walk to the new farmer's market on our way to church, including a stop at the playground.

Eight more weeks of school.  I can hardly believe it.

I officially launched my business website.  Lots of interested clients already, which makes me happy!  

Linking up over at Practising Simplicity with this weekly portrait project.

16/52.

Almost dropped the ball on my Project 52 - a weekly portrait (or other shot) of Ellie.

Tuesday is a bit late, but at least I did it.

 Playing with chalk outside.  Allergies are awful.  Sleepless and snotty and miserable.  Still singing nonstop, though.  (Currently singing about the five senses?)  And still wearing her flip flops on the wrong feet, of course.

Linking up at Practising Simplicity.

15/52

A week of back to school.

An overnight camping trip with Daddy and some friends.

An afternoon at the cherry blossoms with Mommy.

Linked up here.

14/52.

At the beach in the golden light.  Oh, Naples, your light always makes me happy.

Ellie is talking more about being a big sister, although she's apparently offered her new baby to a friend already.  She gives my belly kisses for the baby, although she gets very hesitant when we inquire about any sharing she'll have to do.

ISO 800, f5.6, 1/1250, 55-300mm@62mm as I learn to use my Nikon D610.  I'm in love with the camera.  Learning all the settings, etc, has been a challenge because I was so used to my D3100 after four years.  And that wave?  Look closely.  She's throwing sand.

This will post automatically while we're headed home.  Easter awaits.

Linking up with Practising Simplicity.  And at I Heart Faces.

13/52.

At the aquarium.  Loving every moment with sharks and shells and stingrays.