thelindners.org

David and I are very excited to announce that Lindner Photographic, our new photography business is ready to accept clients! We have been working hard for several months preparing for this new venture. It has been a lot of fun working together, and getting to explore our creative and business senses.

Lindner Photographic was started out of the desire to provide high quality photography along with high quality customer service. We feel that there’s no reason the process of getting your pictures taken can’t be enjoyable. Pictures create memories, and we think they should be happy ones!
We specialize in customer service and client-centered premium portraits. In our business, the client comes first as we seek to tailor your portrait experience to the needs of your family.

For your customized portrait session, plan to spend approximately one to two hours with us. At Lindner Photographic, we believe in capturing real moments, rather than creating forced ones. In place of unnatural and awkward poses coupled with fake smiles, we believe in taking our subject matter’s lead and finding those moments that are unique to them.

We believe in using nature, local architecture, and our community as the backdrop for your portraits.

At Lindner Photographic, we use the highest quality digital enhancement services to maximize the appearance of your portraits, and bring out the very best in you and your family.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support as we are beginning this new venture. Pray for us to book clients, and please feel free to refer your friends! =) You can check out our website and see a few examples of our work, check out our specials, see some of our on-location shoots, etc.  at www.lindnerphotographic.com

We are still building our portfolio, so check back often to see new examples of our work. We have had one shoot already, have one on Thursday, and one scheduled for next week.  We are excited for the work we have found, and feel blessed to be doing something we both enjoy together. Again, thank you for your prayers.

The week before Halloween, we decided to take the kids down to BiZi Farms Pumpkin Patch. Hannah was very excited and talked about it days before and after! It was a beautiful fall day, and David and I had so much fun watching our kids be happy and enjoy the experience.

We first stopped to look at the antique tractors. ( I think this was mostly for David.) Then we headed over to the giant hay bale pyramid. David and I expected Hannah to be too afraid to go near it, but she proved us wrong right away. Our little fearless one climbed right up to the top all on her own, amidst the kids much older than her. She loved it. Then we headed over to the little tractors for the kids to ride on. Hannah got a kick out of that. We went and did the hay maze, and Hannah had it solved in no time! She didn’t take a wrong turn even once. (All the while, Henry was just being content, go with the flow Henry situated comfortably in the baby Bjorn.) He was just taking everything in with his ever-content way of living. We went to see the farm animals. Hannah especially liked the chickens and the baby pigs. She even got down and touched the pig all on her own. The hayride was probably one of the things Hannah had been looking forward to the most. She just loved it. It was so much fun to watch her smile as we bumped along. When we got to the actual pumpkin patch, she quickly picked out a small pumpkin…very proudly. She loved that little pumpkin and was happy she could carry it all by herself. We ended our day with cups of apple cider ( a first for Hannah). It was a really fun trip, and we loved being able to do it with the kids.

Tomorrow, (10/22/08) Henry will be six months old! We cannot believe how quickly time has passed. He is growing and changing every day and is such a wonderful boy. Henry is nearly always happy and content, and can be counted on to give you a giant smile whenever you talk to him.

Speaking of talking…Henry is saying “ma-ma”!!!! It is wonderful and I haven’t gotten tired of hearing him say that yet!

Henry is desperately wanting to crawl. He can really get around with rolling, and is close to crawling. To be on par with Hannah, Henry would need to be crawling by mid-December…however, we think he’ll crawl before then. He can get his little bottom up in the air, and holds his body up really well….He just can’t quite figure out how to move himself forward. He is VERY fast with the rolling though. He is also close to sitting up by himself. He can “tripod” sit (sit while holding himself up with his hands), and can  walk backwards while sitting in his walker.

He is eating some solid foods now. He loves homemade bananas and applesauce, and also likes pears. He is slowly getting used to taking carrots, and will take two or three spoonfuls of sweet potato. He instantly threw up green beans.

He continues to sleep really well for us. Henry will sleep from 7:00 pm until around 6:00 am, have a bottle, and then sleep until around 8:00. He takes 2-3 naps during the day as well.

His favorite things are definitely Hannah, musical toys, and anything he can put in his mouth. We are having so much fun with him, and feel really lucky to have a son like him. Enjoy the pictures!!

We took another family trip down to Steamboat Landing this past week. It is a beautiful spot right on the Washougal River, and is just a short drive from our house. It was one of the last sunny and warm days of summer, so we decided to take the kids on a walk. Both of the kids love to be outside, and David and I enjoy taking in the scenry and exploring photography. We are truly lucky to live where we do.

We started our walk down the Steigerwald Trail. It is a treed area, with lots of fallen logs. It was just right for a leisurely family walk. Next, we headed down to the dock. Hannah enjoyed looking out over the water. Then we headed down the ramp to the floating pier. Hannah really thought that was neat. It was peaceful…until Henry let us know that he needed to go home! It was a great day. Enjoy our pictures! (Several of the pictures will require you to click on them to see the full image.)

It has been a few weeks since I posted anything significant…We have been busy around the Lindner house. Fall seems to bring with it a new set of opportunities, workloads, and tasks to accomplish. However, we have been taking little scenic “field trips” as a family over the last few weeks. This past week, we went to Dougan Falls just north of Washougal. It is so amazing to us that there is so much natural beauty so close to our home. We love it here!

We weren’t sure at first about taking the kids down the rocky trail to the falls, but with David and I each taking one of them, it worked out really well. Hannah was pretty into the waterfall at first…but you’ll see from the pictures that by the end, she was fairly done with the experience. Both kids were great though, and David and I had a chance to mess around with the camera. It was a beautiful day and it was neat to share such a pretty spot with the kids. Enjoy the pictures!!

I thought I’d post these  pictures for everyone who has said that Hannah and Henry don’t really look that much alike…The kids are about three weeks apart in age in these photos, (Henry is older in his…) So, who is who??? Hannah didn’t know…do you?

Here is just a glimpse into what might have been had David and I had been born a bit earlier…

Friday night, David and I continued a tradition that has been in my life since I was Hannah’s age. We took Hannah to the Vancouver Sausage Fest at St. Joe’s School and Church. Having gone every year as a child, this festival has always been special to me, and I was excited to get to share it with Hannah for the first time this year. Henry stayed with his grandparents, so Hannah had an extra-special night, as all of Mom and Dad’s attention was on her.

When we got there, we headed over to the rides area. My grandparents had bought Hannah some ride tickets. Hannah’s only prior ride experience involved a very tearful turn on the merry-go-round at the mall (we had to ask them to stop the ride), and a little train ride at the mall where she clung to David for dear life. All that in mind, we weren’t exactly sure how eager she would be. She had expressed interest in some rides at the Clark County Fair, so we were willing to try. We spent some time just walking around and watching other children and families enjoy some of the children’s rides. At first, she really did NOT want to go on anything. She was very hesitant, but knowing how fearless she can be in other circumstances, we decided to make the choice for her.

We started her ride adventure with the merry-go-round. She and David rode on the “special bench”, as she seems to be genuinely afraid of horses. She was pretty emotion-less right at first, but quickly began to have fun. She liked to look for Mommy each time around, and would wave at me with her little tongue sticking out. I could hear her saying, “Fun! Fun!” as the merry-go-round swirled around. You can see how quickly she went from scared and unsure to full-on having a blast in the next two pictures.

Next to the merry-go-round was a hot air balloon ride. It went around in circles, and went up in the air a bit. We asked her if she wanted to ride it, and she quickly said, “Okay!” She and I rode on this one. We went on this ride two times in a row. The first time around, she held my hands the whole time. The second time, she was fine, and was having fun waving to Daddy. She was calling out to him from the balloon, “Daddy fun!” the whole time. She was laughing and just looking all around. It was so much fun to get to share that with her.

After the consecutive balloon rides, it was back to the merry-go-round for another ride with Daddy. Her great-grandparents got to watch her enjoy that ride as well. After she was finished on the merry-go-round, her Great Grandpa Bill paid for her to play the ducky game. She got to choose a duck out of the pool to see which prize she won. She won a medium prize, which turned out to be a stuffed penguin. You will be able to see the penguin in some of the following pictures, as he rode on all of the rest of the rides with her.

Hannah was ready to try some of the rides by herself at this point. However, we went on one ride as a family; a school bus ride. It was actually pretty fun, and Hannah enjoyed being so high up in the air. (And watching her have such a good time, helped me forget how terrified I am of heights.)

Hannah went on a little fish ride first. She liked getting to choose which color fish to ride in. She chose blue the first time. It was a cute little ride that went around in a circle. She looked around the whole time, and had a really good time. She looked like such a big girl on that ride. As much as I love rides, it was so much more fun to watch her on them. Next, she rode the bug-car ride. She chose a green bug to ride in. The cars all had little steering wheels, and she thought it was really fun to “drive” the bug around the track. She tucked her little penguin in next to her, and just “drove away” happily. She was having the time of her life.

Next, we headed over to the plane ride. Hannah quickly chose a pink plane. We thought she might be a little scared of this ride, as it actually went pretty high up in the air. She had a blast! She was just looking out over the carnival with a big smile on her face.

She ended her evening with another turn on both the fish and bug rides. When I asked her the next morning what her favorite part of her day at the “fair” was, she thought about it, and said, “go pink bug ride.” She had so much fun, and it was such a positive experience for us as a family. I can honestly say that in twenty + years of going to the Sausage Fest, this was by far the most fun I’ve ever had there. I can’t wait until next year. Neither can Hannah.

Hannah is so much fun. We look at her everyday, and can’t believe how much she is changing. She has so quickly turned into a “big girl.” She is talking up a storm, and has recently developed a love of singing. She only knows a few words to each song, but she’ll belt them out over and over. I will hear her up in her bed when naptime is over, just singing, “E-I-Farm, chicken here, cow here, hay here, kitty here, E-I-O.” or, “QRSUVNC Now sing BC, next time, with me.” It cracks us up, and we just love it. We are also working hard on potty training, and Hannah works to fill out a behavior chart each week. Her favorite toys right now are her dollhouse, Barbies, Legos, and BOOKS. Hannah loves to read, and will typically bring you a book (or a stack of them) within the first few minutes you are with her. She is caring and silly, smart and funny.

One day this last week, Hannah and I made home-made gummies. While I thought they were gross, she loved them, and had a lot of fun making the shapes and sprinkling them with sugar. She is still my little sidekick in the kitchen. She tells me all the time, “Hannah big helper.”

Since summer is coming/has come to an end, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and take Hannah to the park. The park is one of her very favorite places to be, and she hadn’t gotten to go in quite awhile. This was a special treat, and she had so much fun. Henry of course, was happy just to be along for the ride.

Hannah’s favorite activity at any park is the swings. She could swing all day long. While David was pushing her, he would reach around to tickle her. Just like in one of her favorite books (No David, by David Shannon), (and because she knows it is Daddy’s name) she would say, “No David!” Then she said, “Silly guy David!” We were both cracking up. It is just so much fun to watch her enjoy herself.

We of course had to try out the slides as well. She is becoming much more independent, and was only a little unsure about the tunnel slide. She had fun, and it was funny to see her hair standing up on its ends because of all the static.

The Lindner boys also enjoyed their time at the park. Both Henry and David love to be outside.

After awhile at the upper park, we headed down to the lower park. The playground is designed for kids older than Hannah, but she and I went on the “big kid” swings for a bit. She and Henry also went on the merry-go-round.

One of the neat things about Hathaway Park, is that it is situated right on the river. We walked down onto the banks and spent some time enjoying the scenery. Hannah and David had fun throwing rocks into the water. Hannah didn’t want to leave, and cried when it was time to go home! We will definitely be back, and feel lucky to have found such a neat park so close to our home.