...

so i don't remember when exactly my parents got me my first camera.  i do have a lot of photos from my dad's funeral and not much before then, so i am guessing it was that last christmas we were an entire family.  my next camera came after i met jeb.  and i think i can really thank him for awakening the love of photography in me.  he almost always had a camera and really pushed me to see things differently and photograph them.  granted he usually wanted photos of him and his red hat, but still.  jeb pushed and nudged me in so many ways to be more creative and more sure of my creativity.  and that is an invaluable thing to be pushed and nudged into.  jeb was sure of himself and if he thought you were awesome, then there was no question about it.  i digress.  i started taking tons of photos, partly as a way to express myself, partly as a way to make sure i could hold on to a moment.  i have but one photo of my dad.  and i think my mom only has one of the four of us together.  my dad hated having his picture taken.  but i so wish i had more.  i digress again.  i'm kind of a rambler.  so in college i took every photojournalism class i could without having to be a fine arts major.  because, for some reason, i lacked enough faith in my abilities to be an artist.  but i found another passion in social work and am so glad i followed that.  in philadelphia i got the awesome opportunity to work under devon john, who is a good friend and an amazing photographer.  she taught me so much just by letting me do, with gentle criticisms and suggestions for improvement.  so for as long as i can remember i have had a camera attached to me in some way.  i love it.  i feel like i come alive when i am out shooting photos.  it awakens a part of me that doesn't often get expressed.  i think i have a unique perspective as a photographer and a social worker.  i have been trained to deal with emotional situations, generally traumatic, but not always.  as a photographer i have been trained to capture moments.  put the two together and i have to admit, to myself mostly, that i am pretty darn good.  so i am taking the plunge.  with ben's encouragement i am going to start pursuing a career in photography again.  why not?  i love it, i'm good at it, and it makes me happy.  it's a little scary for me to be putting myself out there because i think it makes me vulnerable.  but a little scary can be a good thing.  so i am in the process of collecting my portfolio and organizing it, getting the word out, and jumping in head first.  ashley jones photography is alive and well.  i'll keep you updated.  if you need a good photographer, give me a call.  i am open for business.

stats

so we went for our well baby visit on monday.  both are looking good.  marley is 31.5 inches tall and 32.4 lbs.  davis is 26 inches tall and 23.5 lbs.  but the doc thinks they didn't straighten davis's legs out, so she could be taller.  she was screaming something fierce and i think the nurse just wanted to be done.  the doc is happy with them both.  davis is heading back towards the charts with her weight, so no worries there.  the only concern the doctor had was that she is still not sleeping through the night.  that would be a concern we both have.  =)  but she is getting better, going a little longer between mid night snacks.  so, hopefully we'll get there soon.  i think if she would just roll over to her tummy already she wouldn't wake up.  but she just gets up to her side.  during the day she flips around real quick, but for some reason at night she has never rolled over.  anyway.  all is good.  no concerns.  spending the  weekend in the yard, attempting to regain control.  which means i am spending the weekend sneezing.  but the weather is beautiful.

my beautiful big helper.  we attacked the weeds yesterday.  some of them anyway.

girl has attitude.  already.  i mean if she can pull this look at 9 months what is 13 years going to look like?  (i can hear you laughing mom)

the first of the canines is almost here! 

so, at 715pm, when i came out from putting the girls to bed, looking forward to spending some time with my hubby, what do i find?  a very tired, hard working man sound asleep.  and i do mean sound asleep.  if you know ben, then you know when he's asleep there ain't no waking him.  he needs it though.

we went swimming today.  davis LOVES the water. 

a hot date

so ms marls and i had a hot date this week.  it was looooong over due.  since she has turned three we have had some behavioral issues.  nothing major, as overall ms m is the best behaved kid i know.  but still i was starting to get worn down always having to discipline.  so we took a time out and had a fun afternoon together.  and it was wonderful.  sometimes the best thing to do is just have fun.

 so what does every good girl's date include?  a pedicure, that's right.  marls loved it.  she had to stand up in the water to get the scrub and soak.  it was very very cute.

 she choose the colour and design for us.  purple sparkle with flowers and polka dots.  of course.

 ice cream!

me and my special girl.

no such thing as too many sprinkles for this girl

we ended our date with a nice stroll around downtown and some window shopping. 

bluebonnets and horses

it is that time of year again.  the wildflowers are blooming like crazy.  so i took my girls and thew them into them and took a couple photos.  ok, more than a couple.  and the antique carousel, marley's favorite thing, was open this past week for spring break.  so we enjoyed the heck out of that too.  davis got her first taste for the ponies and she loved it. 

this is marley's WAR face.  grrrrr.

...

babes in bluebonnets are coming soon.  but not today.  today here is a quick picture of our first swim of the season.  both girls were very hapy to be in the water.  davis especially. 

giggles

http://youtu.be/jcTIZ1-HW6Y

i love my girls.  the above link is to a video of them.

.

another hat.  she didn't like this one either.  but it came with strings she could chew on, so she didn't yank it off right away.

learning how to build guitars.

something about the outdoors makes for a great nap.

first wagon ride for d

she loved it

ben just finished this custom tele style guitar. 

marley bought her first house

benny and davis

we had a play date with friends from high school yesterday.  three babies about a month apart and then two older ones, both three.

davis has her game face on.

the gang

davis is a little jealous of london's hair.

thursday

on thursday we spent the day at jackson street park.  we were expecting 80 and sunny but didn't get it.  and we thought there might be enough wind for a kite, but not really.  marls just wanted to run and play. 

on your mark, get set, go!

kirby spotting marley

marley spotting kirby

teaching marley about kites.

it is hard work being a baby in all that fresh air

who needs wind when you have a toddler who loves to run?