As for Madeleine herself, I chose the photo that showed her most excited and animated. More and more of her personality shows through each day, and her arms and legs often get quite the workout when she gets really, really excited.
12 September 2012
Madeleine - Week 11
Today's photo shows how we are trying to suck the last bits of joy out of summer (despite writing just a few days ago that I'm ready for fall). After a few cool days, temperatures are on the rise again...at least during the day. It's a good thing, too, because Madeleine is finally fitting into the adorable outfit that some friends gave us when she was born.
As for Madeleine herself, I chose the photo that showed her most excited and animated. More and more of her personality shows through each day, and her arms and legs often get quite the workout when she gets really, really excited.
As for Madeleine herself, I chose the photo that showed her most excited and animated. More and more of her personality shows through each day, and her arms and legs often get quite the workout when she gets really, really excited.
09 September 2012
Weekend in Photos
This may have been the last weekend of summer in Seattle; we spent most of it being tourists in our own backyard. The forecast is calling for rain tonight, which will break a 40-some day "drought" just a few days before hitting the record for dry spells in Seattle. Temperatures are already in the 60s, and fall is in the air. It's been a beautiful summer, but I am not sad to move on to a crisp, new season.
It should be an interesting week at our house. By next week, perhaps I can finally share some news with you. :-) Did you get outside this weekend? What's on deck for the week ahead?
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| The things you notice when you (finally) return to the gym post-baby... |
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| George decided that Madeleine needed a little Bob Marley (Don't worry. Be happy.) to calm her down. |
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| Yum. |
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| Saturday's sky |
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| Beautiful (looking and smelling) Woodinville Lavender |
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| Wine tasting at Airfield Estates |
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| So much good sushi... |
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| Saturday night sewing...a step closer to project completion |
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| Sweet M weighed in at 11 pounds 4 ounces on Sunday morning. |
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| Freezing food pre-baby was a brilliant plan. Today's treat was buffalo chicken meatballs. |
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| My crush at World Market...M might need this for her nursery. |
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| Yes, those are Christmas decorations at Michaels. I'm both excited and sick all at once. |
It should be an interesting week at our house. By next week, perhaps I can finally share some news with you. :-) Did you get outside this weekend? What's on deck for the week ahead?
07 September 2012
Professional Newborn Photos
Now that Madeleine's birth announcements (artfully designed by Jamie at 13seventy-nine) have made their way to their recipients, I'll share two things.
First, there was a typo in her birth length - it should have read 19.5 inches rather than 15.5. Doh! We only proofed the announcement 83 times. Silly parents.
More importantly, I want to share with you some more of Madeleine's professional newborn photos. Normally, we go to Aaron and Meg of Evantide Photography for all of our photo needs (engagement, wedding, maternity), but they inconveniently decided to have a baby right around the same time as Madeleine was born. :-) (In all seriousness, when do I get to cuddle that beautiful Declan?!) In their absence, they put us in the trusted hands of Kelly from KCB Photography, who took some gorgeous shots of our sweet Madeleine. Enjoy!
First, there was a typo in her birth length - it should have read 19.5 inches rather than 15.5. Doh! We only proofed the announcement 83 times. Silly parents.
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
More importantly, I want to share with you some more of Madeleine's professional newborn photos. Normally, we go to Aaron and Meg of Evantide Photography for all of our photo needs (engagement, wedding, maternity), but they inconveniently decided to have a baby right around the same time as Madeleine was born. :-) (In all seriousness, when do I get to cuddle that beautiful Declan?!) In their absence, they put us in the trusted hands of Kelly from KCB Photography, who took some gorgeous shots of our sweet Madeleine. Enjoy!
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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Photo Credit: KCB Photography
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Three Generations Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Madeleine and Grandma Janie Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Happiest Baby on the Block is really effective for newborns. Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| This bonnet was made in England for the christening of Madeleine's 92 year old Great Grandmother (George's Maternal Grandmother) and has been worn by each generation since. Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| This is the quilt I made for Madeleine. Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
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| This is the quilt my mom made for Madeleine with scraps from my wedding dress. Photo Credit: KCB Photography |
Happy Friday!
06 September 2012
Barack & Me
George to Madeleine:
"That's Barack Obama. He's the President. He's the big boss - like Mummy, but for the whole country."
Uh huh.
"That's Barack Obama. He's the President. He's the big boss - like Mummy, but for the whole country."
Uh huh.
Adventures in Infant Passport Photos
It should come as no surprise that George and I are anxious to get Madeleine's US passport. Not only does she need it for international travel (gone are the days of baby traveling on mom's passport), but she also needs it to be her photo identification in order to apply for her New Zealand passport. What an international baby!
I was seriously dreading taking the required passport photo. These are the passport photo requirements for the United States. Of note, Madeleine's photo needed to be with her eyes open and a neutral expression on her face without anyone else in the photo. Several people told me that they took their infants to a store for the photo, but I wanted to at least attempt the photo at home first. Thankfully, I'm happy to report that it wasn't nearly as painful as expected, and the results were much cuter than expected.
I purchased a flat white sheet for the background, and dressed Madeleine in contrasting colors. The government's website suggests using a white sheet draped over the carseat, but the photos we took like that scrunched her face and created far too many wrinkles in the background. Instead, we got good results by laying her on the sheet flat on the ground and pointing our flash away from her face. I think this whole process would be nearly impossible with a baby who didn't have the neck strength to hold her head straight without support, and now that Madeleine loves to smile, it was rather difficult to keep that beautiful smile from showing through.
Without further ado, enjoy some outtakes:
We finally settled on this gem as the official photo:
We uploaded it to www.epassportphoto.com to get the proper cropping and proportions, and then had them print it to the local Walgreens for pick-up the following day. The whole deal cost less than $10.
We just submitted the application yesterday, so we should know within two months whether the photo has been accepted or rejected. If it's rejected, I guess we get to do this whole little dance all over again. Have any readers experienced infant passport photos?
I was seriously dreading taking the required passport photo. These are the passport photo requirements for the United States. Of note, Madeleine's photo needed to be with her eyes open and a neutral expression on her face without anyone else in the photo. Several people told me that they took their infants to a store for the photo, but I wanted to at least attempt the photo at home first. Thankfully, I'm happy to report that it wasn't nearly as painful as expected, and the results were much cuter than expected.
I purchased a flat white sheet for the background, and dressed Madeleine in contrasting colors. The government's website suggests using a white sheet draped over the carseat, but the photos we took like that scrunched her face and created far too many wrinkles in the background. Instead, we got good results by laying her on the sheet flat on the ground and pointing our flash away from her face. I think this whole process would be nearly impossible with a baby who didn't have the neck strength to hold her head straight without support, and now that Madeleine loves to smile, it was rather difficult to keep that beautiful smile from showing through.
Without further ado, enjoy some outtakes:
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| Not centered. |
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| Too excited. |
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| Eyes not open and too excited. |
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| Too excited. |
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| Tilted head. |
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| Not looking straight on. |
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| Not looking straight on and too excited. |
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| Too excited. |
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| Too excited. |
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| Too excited. |
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| Not looking straight on. |
We finally settled on this gem as the official photo:
We uploaded it to www.epassportphoto.com to get the proper cropping and proportions, and then had them print it to the local Walgreens for pick-up the following day. The whole deal cost less than $10.
We just submitted the application yesterday, so we should know within two months whether the photo has been accepted or rejected. If it's rejected, I guess we get to do this whole little dance all over again. Have any readers experienced infant passport photos?
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