Lemon

They're so delicious...in a painful sort of way:

my favorite face:










She ate the whole thing and then asked for more.

At 14 months, Grace is becoming a toddler, and it's throwing Steve and me for a loop!  When did she learn to say those words?!  ("again", "outside", "ball", "cone", "flag", "duck", "quack"...the list is growing, although admittedly the words don't always sound like English).  When did she learn to walk so fast?!  When did she start making that connection to reality?!?

It's been fun.  And it's a good thing this little baby is due to arrive in the near future, because now I'm starting to miss the baby stage already.  And my back hurts.  And my feet.  And we're getting waaaay too much sleep.  (Ha!  Just kidding on that last one).

Head on Over...

...to Heather Grace Photography blog to see a sneak peek of my recent family photo shoot in Baltimore~

Read This Blog

If you haven't been keeping up with my parents' adventures in England, grab a cup of Earl Grey and read this.  

They arrive back in the States today, and I'm sure they won't believe how much both of their granddaughters have grown in the past 10 days since they've been away.  My camera has been neglecting Grace since I've had two photo shoots this past week, but the pictures you've all been waiting for will be up soon.  

For now, here is a picture of Grace and Steve hanging out at Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore City.  It was the location of my last photo session on Saturday afternoon, and Steve and Grace had some daddy-daughter time while I wandered around with the family I was photographing.  Grace isn't particularly happy at this point because we were making her pose instead of letting her toddle around in the grass!

May

I didn't take my camera on our camping trip. Can you believe it?? The forecast called for rain, and I didn't want to worry about keeping a camera dry. Grace did a great job despite a very wet and cold Saturday morning; thankfully Kevin and Alison, our friends and fellow campers, were more than willing to help keep Grace away from the fire, feed her Gerber puffs, and walk around in the mud with her! The weather improved by lunch time on Saturday and we were able to take a short walk around the lake, have a picnic lunch, and spend a relaxing afternoon and evening around the fire. Just think, by the next annual Deterding-Sanders camping adventure, we'll have a two year old and a 10 month old (or so) to keep out of the fire!

Update on Steve: the Annapolis Area Christian School Varsity lacrosse team has made the playoffs! He's at John Carroll school up in my old stomping ground, Harford County, as I write this for game one.

Update on Grace: her new favorite things are flags and traffic cones. Luckily, we have both right outside our kitchen door. She has a word for flag, which sounds something like this: "edag". She spots them all the time, it's quite cute. She also is a very accomplished walker and can take long strides, walk uphill, and "run". She's learning how to gently stroke people's heads in preparation for meeting her little sister in three months.

Update on little sister and her incubator (Me!): I'm at 26 weeks. The baby should weigh about a pound and a half at this point, and measure a foot or so in length. I'm experiencing some rather frequent lower-back/nerve pain that I didn't have to deal with before, but all in all things are still pretty comfortable. We haven't settled on a name yet, and haven't planned the nursery, but I'm sure the summer will be busy getting settled in both areas! This week I have an engagement photo shoot and a family photo shoot (be sure to visit the photo blog!) and a baby shower and birthday party to attend, so we'll test the second trimester stamina!

I hear Grace is up from her nap...

Miriam and Aaron

Head on over to my new photography blog to view a mini slideshow from the wedding I photographed this past weekend!

They Make Beautiful Music Together

I came across these March 2008 pictures of Grace 'n Gus (...and Steve's sister Amy, and Steve's strong, protective left arm) when I was formatting my old D50 memory cards for the wedding I shoot tomorrow. Aren't they cute when they play together? I just love how Gus "takes 5" for a quick suck on his thumb in the second picture. They were playing a duet but Grace took over for a short solo in the middle of the piece.

I think Grace is already showing good form. I was once told by a fellow shopper at Safeway that Grace-- a few weeks old at the time-- looked destined to be a piano player due to her long, slender fingers. Maybe it's happening already...