chose the top 5 this week! Please go check out her blog! And, thank her for guest judging!

Now, on to the top 5 chosen by Joni:

• 1st: And then she snapped…

Why Joni chose this photo: “There is something about seeing a little boy and his daddy that is just so amazing to me.  I can see the bond and the love in this photo and it actually makes me a little teary eyed every time I look at it. Such a great moment that was captured!“

Congrats! Please feel free to grab a “fact: I’m awesome … #1 winner” button below. Because: you ARE awesome! And, thank you SO much for participating!

<a href=”https://thepapermama.blogspot.com”><img src=”http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4847449308_0ccb29e29f_b.jpg” alt=”The Paper Mama” width=”150″ height=”150″ /></a>

• 2nd: The Baby Blackbird

Joni says, “I wanted to be this little boy so I could experience his excitement for just one moment. Love this photo! It was a tough call between this one and the first one.”

• 3rd: A good life

Joni says, “I just want to scoop this little guy up and kiss him.”

• 4th: The Wishful Lamb

Joni says, “If i didn’t have six children, I would want a face like this greeting me every day!”

• 5th: Unofficial Mom
  

Joni says, “Adorable. Love the black and white.  Another baby I could scoop up and squeeze!”

Congrats to the top 5 winners! Great job, and please feel free to grab the top 5 button below! You’re all awesome!

<a href=”https://thepapermama.blogspot.com”><img src=”http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4846828687_512b90c587_b.jpg” alt=”The Paper Mama” width=”150″ height=”150″ /></a>

The Paper Mama’s favorite photos (in no particular order):

• A Beautiful Life for Us:

• Get Inspired Photography

• A good life 

• Linkie Lueville

• Love the Moment

Although I did not pick the winner this week, I did want to share my favorites. So hard to choose! If you’re one of my favorites you are more than welcome to grab a “Paper mama hearts me” button below!
 

<a href=”https://thepapermama.blogspot.com”><img src=”http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4847449116_38411d1fa1_b.jpg” alt=”The Paper Mama” width=”150″ height=”150″ /></a>

And, just for fun… Joni and I both have a couple of honorable mentions:

• Our Precious Jas

• RSVP Ink

• Blue Jeans and Pearls

……………………..

Winners so far:

• Flower: … A Pile of Pics …
• Self: … Simplicity…
• Excitement: … And then she snapped …
• Brown: … no one yet…

Please check out this weeks photo challenge: “Brown.”
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If you have an Etsy shop and would like to give away an item as a prize… please drop me a line! I ♥ sponsors and will show your shop some love for your contribution. 🙂
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Here you are. 8 and a half months. A LOT has changed since you turned 8 months.

Laureli,
You have now mastered rolling over from your back to your belly…
There’s still a struggle with trying to roll from your belly to back… but, you’re trying. You don’t like trying… lots of crying. 😀 TWO teeth have come in on the bottom row. I FINALLY got a photo of them. Every time I try and photograph them you try and lick me. Hard to see! Look below:

Have a closer look:

You started saying “Bah bah bah bah…” non-stop 2 weeks ago. Last Friday you started saying, “Da da da da.” Mike thinks that’s your first word. I tell him it’s not. “Da da da da da” is not Dada to me. You call everything “Da da da da”. I win! 😀

You like to whisper to your toys. Like your talking to them. It’s very silly! Your favorite toy at the moment is your stuffed doggy (seen here). When he dances: you laugh like crazy! It’s getting almost impossible to put clothes on you! You flip around and cry. Oh man.

We’ve been working on feeding you everyday now. It’s going alright. You mostly spit out everything. You’re trying though! What you like: Peaches, apples, nectarines, and carrots mixed with fruit. What you’re not liking: Bananas, peas, and sweet potatoes.

Love you boo.

– Mama

If you’re wondering: Ruari is wearing a bandanna bib and a heart headband from the Hi, Baby shop.

Pixel Perfect before and after (and my new action: Pacific NW Blend):

I’ll get this action up and ready a little bit later for you guys (on Paper Heart Camera)! I’m still learning how to set these up, so bear with me. 😀

Time for a little flashback:

This is you at 15 weeks old. You had just started staying put when I sat you up. 😀 Look at that bald head!

Chocolate Chip Cookie made by Mike!

Mike’s the chef here in this family… and he has a TON of kitchen gadgets like a couple dutch ovens, our RED Kitchenaid mixer, many frying pans, a ton of outdoor grill goodies… and many many MANY more.

I’m bringing this up because I like to plan WAY ahead for Christmas. He wants more kitchen gadgets. One thing he REALLY wants is a nice grill pan.

I think he wants this one:

BUT… that’s probably not happening because… well, it’s like $200. I just can’t imagine spending that much on a pan…

I’ll probably end up getting this one instead:

For one: it’s red! ;D And, it’s about $125. That’s a little better. Time to start saving!

Speaking of mike cooking: Would you guys be interested in Mike’s amazing cookie recipe? I think I’m going got post it sometime next week.

I’m also trying out a new comment form. Let me know if you like it! We’ll see if I even installed it properly. 🙂

{I’ve been playing with my camera a bit. On Sunday Mike and Ruari were playing on the floor, and the sun was blaring in. So, I thought I’d try out a few shots.}

{Happy Wednesday everyone!}

{If you have a Wordless{ish} Wednesday, please feel free to post it below. And, feel free to link up to these blogs too… (Wordless Wednesday HQ, 5 Minutes For Mom, 7 Clown Circus, Jolly Mom, Go Graham Go,  and My Wee View.). Happy Wednesday to all of you!}

{Don’t forget to check the announcements above the posts. Giveaways and the photo challenge: Excitement!}

I’m feeling SO guilty. I haven’t been visiting as many blogs as I used to. My blog has grown very fast, and I’m finding it so hard to visit everyone that comments. I know I shouldn’t be feeling guilty.. but, I can’t help it. I want SO bad to be able to visit everyone.

I have no idea how some people do it. Like the amazing Ashley Sisk. I see her leaving meaningful comments all over the place. I know she really reads the whole blog post.

I know I have a busy little crazy baby… but, I feel like I should be able to visit more blogs! I am easily distracted by pretty photos or interesting links…

ANYway. I just wanted to let you all know that even if I’m not commenting at the moment, I’m trying to read as many of your blogs as I can. Because, I really do enjoy visiting and reading about all of you!