Me, Jack and the Camera Just... Click.

Has summer arrived?

It's been a gorgeous week with temperatures in the 70's. Next week they are calling for the 80's. Hopefully this means we can officially pack away the sweaters and coats and pull out the shorts and T-shirts. It's been great how much of our afternoons Jack and I have been able to spend outdoors. We get much less irritated with each other when we can sit outside rather than being cooped up in the tiny apartment. He even got some outdoor nakey time yesterday (well, mostly nakey. He still wore a diaper)

Being outside with Jack is becoming much easier now that he is old enough to understand the concept of boundaries.  He knows where the limits of how far he can go in the yard and usually obeys them. If he wants to go past them, he'll ask. If I say no, he'll get this sweetest little smile on his face and ask again... and again... and again. I think he knows it's hard to resist such a charming face. But when I hold my ground and say "no" every time, he eventually gives up. And on the rare cases that he doesn't listen, all I have to do is say "Jack, do you want to go inside?" and he'll come running back. Even he knows that being confined to an area outside is better than being confined to the living room.
A couple of days ago, Jack had Buzz outside with him. He likes to glide Buzz through the air and make "swishing" sounds like he's flying. Buzz got to fly all over the yard.

After dinner, Jack came up to me holding out his sandals. I put them on for him and he bolted for the door. Apparently he wanted to back outside. I told him that this time he had to put some clothes on, so he ran to his room, grabbed a Super Man T-Shirt, and held it out for me. Apparently he thought that was enough.

Unfortunately for the both of us, spending so much time outdoors has it's consequences... ALLERGIES. Poor little Jack couldn't escape the inevitable. At his last check-up he was given a prescription for them, although it doesn't seem to be helping much. 

Jack is a great little test subject for me to practice different photo techniques with. In this next set I was playing with shooting into the sun, emphasizing the contrast between light and shadow. I love how the grass looks in each of these.

I've also been practicing pre-focusing on a spot in front of a moving subject and then taking the picture when they walk into the frame, rather than trying to focus on them as they are moving. Last night it worked spectacularly. I love this photo.

And just because Jack is so cute, here are some more photos to wrap things up. Sorry this post is so long. But when my internet time is very limited, times between posts become longer.

Jack loves sniffing those flowers!