conquering tummy time

quest for mediocrity

You've heard the story before: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage...And Then comes dropping some serious $$$ at Costco for a fancy camera because if you don't take pictures of your baby, you are like totally a bad parent.

So, I now have this great camera, but because I have never before been interested in taking pictures, I seriously have no clue how to us it. Simple things that seem intuitive, are for me, not intuitive. Just ask my husband, who really experiences the worst of it, or any of my fellow grad students that have been in a technology class with me. And this isn't a moment of comedic self-deprecation---I am really bad at figuring out how to get things to work.

But I am determined!! For the past four months I have been on a quest to become a mediocre photographer. It would seem that mediocrity would not be that hard to obtain (I'm not even going for good or amatuer), but it turns out that there is a lot that goes into taking pictures. And it probably didn't help that I tried to figure it all out on very little sleep.

Without further adieu, I present my first picture that I am really proud of. He is four months old here, so yes, it took me four months to produce, but whatever. Both photo and subject were worth the wait.

the reaper reaps

One of our many nicknames for Zachary is Grim Reaper----Reaper for short. He earned this nickname, and continues (regretfully) to maintain it, because he brings death and destruction at nighttime.

The name is multi-functional and we often use it as a verb: Did you get reaped? How bad was the reaping? He reaped me while I was on the phone, trying to eat, sleep, etc...

Caution: This is the face of the Reaper. This is the face that nightmares are made of.

Consider yourself warned.

Perfection

How did I go 28 years without this sweet baby?

I came across this photo the other day, and could not believe it. How were my abdominals once so flat?!! I stared in amazement for at least five minutes.

Oprah always asks her super famous guests what they would tell the younger version of themselves. So, what would I tell this completely unassuming and naive girl in the photo?

Wear a bikini!!! Everyday, wear a bikini!! Rain or shine, work or play...Dress it up with heels for church, a scarf for cold weather, and a great set of pearls for a night out.

And what would I tell this poor muffin top girl that stands in for the current state of my midsection?

I'm so sorry, but you should have worn the bikini when you had the chance.



Amidst all these sad changes to my figure, there has been a silver lining in the post-partum body. Yep, that's right folks, I finally got myself some boobs...and they were completely free.
This is the one thing that I wouldn't mind keeping from the whole experience. It seems only fair that I should get a souvenir.

The whole family has benefited. I finally get the whole bra thing, Clint has taken to singing Adam Sandler's Yes, you have a nice rack!! And how does Zachary feel about the girls? I think the photo speaks of that quite accurately:

rolls

While I've been working so hard to get rid of my rolls, Zachary has been working equally as hard to pack some on. Gotta love that baby chub!