Hamra Time: 2/1/15

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Snow Day

It has snowed ALL day! Saturdays are Sawyer and Mommy day and after going to see Paddington, we decided it would be fun to brave the snow and play. We finally got to make a snowman, it was a little one but Sawyer picked out M&Ms for the eyes, a carrot for the nose and a twizzler for the smile. We even made snow angels and went on a snow hike. We finished with hot chocolate and the movie Frozen. While winter stinks, today was super fun! Now I'm ready for sunshine.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Sawyer: 3 Years

I am a little behind but wanted to make sure I posted a Sawyer update after his 3-year checkup this week. He is a healthy and happy 3 year old with the vocabulary and sass of a teenager. He surprises us daily with what comes out of his mouth!

For example on the way to his doctor's visit he asked me why we were going.
I said, "She will check how big you are getting and see if you're healthy and eating right".
His response, " Well, I don't like salad, but I do like bread sticks. Do doctors eat salad?"
Very valid question.

Sawyer Stats

Height: 3 ft. 1 in. (56th percentile)

Weight: 36 lbs. (95th percentile)

Sleeping: still loves to sleep. Takes 2-3 hr naps every afternoon and usually is in bed by 8 pm and sleeps until 6:30 am.

Potty Training: 100% potty training in the day since November, still wearing a pull up at night to be safe. Is dry about 80% of the mornings.

Favorite Foods: Turkey dogs, chicken nuggets, yogurt, lucky charms (we do Mom's Best), turkey sandwiches

Favorite Books: Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Little Critters On My Own, and anything about Christmas

Favorite Songs: Currently Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk", it is adorable to watch him sing and dance. Still a huge "What Does the Fox Say" and "What do the Cards Have" fan. Also loves "Let it Go" from Frozen

Favorite Toys: Thomas the Train, anything sports related (hockey, football, baseball), Lego's, puzzles and Play-doh

Favorite Shows: Super Why, Thomas the Train, Chuggington, and Bob the Builder

Favorite Movies: Despicable Me, Annie, Frozen, Sandlot, Cars, and many more.

Favorite Item of clothing: Tie between his snow boots and his Blues gear.

Favorite Activities: Loves to have "dance parties" to videos in our living room (see video link below), he also loves to ice skate and go to breakfast...he asks every Saturday and Sunday for Jimmy's Egg and Gailey's

Sawyer's rendition of History of Rap Part 4 by Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake (yes I know there are some choice words, luckily he hasn't picked those up...yet!)

http://youtu.be/AXOqWX5CHPU

Recent Sawyer Photos

Birthday dinner at Nakato's

painting

finger painting

skate lessons

Dr. Seuss day at Discovery Center

loves eating snacks and watching his shows

Family photos from Thanksgiving

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Behind the camera

A little over a week ago I returned from the O’Reilly Managers’ Conference for my second year. My primary role at conference is photographer but this year I also was involved in preliminary planning which was I really enjoyed and really forward to next year as well.

I don’t talk about photography much because I am by far not an expert and am still trying to get to a comfort level. But over this past year in my new role, I have learned so much about the art and love being behind the camera. I took photography classes in college but I was rusty to say the least, plus the advancement of cameras since my time out of school has been huge! Luckily, I have a wonderful mentor at O’Reilly, Mark Frazier, who has taken me under his photo wing and not only refreshed me on the basics but guided me in what type of equipment is right for my needs. It was like photography boot camp for my first conference last year as I started less than month before the event. He set a goal to get me off automatic mode and I have been on manual ever since. I also have an awesome partner in crime, Cheryl Maddox, who joined me this year to assist with photography. It is a hobby of hers but she is also still mastering her craft, so we strengthening our skills together.

Since last year, I ordered a new camera and lens and brought along our Canon Zoom lens (EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6) that I have wanted to experiment with. The camera is a Canon EOS 60D DSLR and the lens I got is a Canon EF-S 17-55 mm f/2.8. We also use our older camera that is a Canon 20D with a Canon EFS 17-85 mm f/4-5.6.

I was very pleased with the images I snapped of Kellie Pickler using the zoom lens, what an impressive piece of equipment. Also below are some images I shot of the talent, musicians and celebrities that were kind enough to join us as well as people pics of our fun conference crew who helps plan the event.

Already looking forward to next year!

BEHIND THE CAMERA