I am seriously in love with my new camera. I have only touched the tip of the iceberg with it so far, but I like my pictures better already.

I took this one of my mother-in-law with Simon today. She would absolutely hate it if she saw it because she looks her age in it, but I love it. It is my favorite of all the pictures I have taken of her with any of the kids. It is simply her radiating love as she kisses her darling grandbaby. Part of me wishes that I had caught Simon's face in this one, but I had framed it this way on purpose and I think I am glad I did. I wanted the focus to be more on Carmen and her expression, and I think my sweet Simon's eyes would have detracted from that.

Simon enjoys playing rougher than the other children did as babies. Consequently, he adores playing with my father-in-law. I can also tell that Jose has relaxed over the last 9 years and is more comfortable playing with the babies. He has a really special spot for Simon, and I think he actually spends more time playing with Simon that Carmen does. For the first time with any of the kids, Jose will grab the baby away from Carmen to play with Simon himself. Simon lights up with a smile when Jose is around and interacting with him.

Since I'm sharing Simon photos, I must share some of the other kids too. Softball and baseball are now over for the year, but the kids had a great time during the season and are already looking forward to next year. I can tell that Abigail is getting older. She is becoming more serious and focused during the games, starting to lead off base and trying to score runs or make outs. She is paying attention to what is happening on the field, rarely waving to us in the stands. I had to call her name in order to take this picture. She glanced back at the batter a second later.

Isabella is my wannabe model. If the camera comes out, she must get her pictures taken. If I am shooting a picture of anyone, she wants to be in the shot too. She thrives on me focusing the camera on her and immediately strikes a pose. It can be frustrating when I am trying to catch her in action because if she sees the camera, she loses all ability to be natural and ignore it.

Vincent is the polar opposite these days. He used to love to have his picture taken, but lately he has been shying away from it. I have to catch him off guard or he may run away or hide. Of course, he'll shock me sometimes and demand that I take his picture, but that is usually only for action shots, things like him riding his bike. Of course, that is an extension of who he is right now. He doesn't want me calling attention to him when other people are around unless he is doing something he feels is "macarena cool" (he picked that up from the movie RV, much to our amusement).