Better Late than Never

I'm really sorry to those of you who check frequently to see the latest happenings. I've learned I'm not very good at holding a 1 month old and typing, so it comes down to me losing sleep (literally) to check my e-mail and make updates to my blog, boy, has life changed! I taught my grandma how to add my blog to her favorites (yes, my grandma is internet-savy, she also drives a Honda CRV, so not your typical 81 year old), so I figured I better get cracking on my updates. I wanted to post the pictures I took of Madeleine last week for her 4 week pictures, mention Andrew had his birthday, and also my most exciting news - I got Madeleine's 1 month photos taken this week (okay, so not so much for an exciting life - give me a break!).


4 Week Photos


Madeleine Turns 1 Month
So first things first, Madeleine turns 1 month!!! I can't believe it has gone that fast. She had her 1 month check up this week and for those into stats:

Height: 21 inches (+ 1 inch from birth - currently 50%)
Weight: 10 lbs (75%)
Head Circumference: 37 cm (she was 35 cm at birth)

It's so funny how you look forward to having your baby weighed - I dread myself being weighed at the doctor, I already think in advance what my excuse will be for my extra poundage (usually I blame it on my shoes or leaded jeans), but for my poor baby I actually look forward to seeing how much she has gained. Because we spend a lot of quality time together, it is hard to tell how much she is changing. So far I only could tell because she outgrew her newborn diapers.

Madeleine also got her 2nd Hepatitis shot. I was so worried how she would take it so before they came in to give her the shot, I started to sing to her (she loves primary songs and absolutely LOVES being sung too). She did cry a little but quickly quieted as I continued to sing and went right to sleep when we got in the car. What a champ!


Andrew's 28th birthday


For those of you doing the math, yes, Andrew is a year younger than me. He always gives me the jab, "I don't know if I'm ready to be ____" (fill in the year that I've already been enduring for the past year), 'snicker, snicker'. Ha, ha, ha aren't you original! Andrew always seems to buy his own birthday presents, this year I find he's bought another gun (like we really needed another one). We had a nice dinner out at a Japanese steakhouse celebrating his and our niece Kaitlyn's birthdays.

Labor Day
Our Labor Day was pretty quiet. We went up to Lake Lanier to spend some time with family and friends. I was recovering from a cold (thanks to sleep exhaustion), and Miss M hadn't slept well the day before so we were out of the water ourselves, but Andrew had a grand time playing with the nieces and nephews in the water. I take that back, I did get to go on a short kayak ride that was obviously very memorable :) Andrew's been working a ton so it was nice regardless of what we were doing to have him with us for the day.


1 Month Photo Shoot

I took Madeleine for her 1 month pictures this week. It has been so long since I've had pictures taken, that I was really a fish out of water. I went to Portrait Innovations because of Kayleen's reccomendation and was absolutely thrilled! They are running a $9.95 special for one pose you get a ton of pictures - so that was my initial plan, boy, did I fail miserably. I wasn't crazy about my photographer - he wasn't as engaging as the other photographers that were working that day, but come on, she's one month old, I wasn't expecting much. We went through the whole routine of taking pictures, changing outfits, taking more pictures, etc. At first she was such a good sport, I was surprised to even get a few smiles out of her, but as the outfits changed, so did her patience. Once all the pictures were taken they load it on a computer screen and you go through and pick your favorites and then you narrow it down, and narrow it down, and narrow it down. When all was said and done I walked out of the studio with $85 worth of precious memories (that's right you get your pictures when you leave) - I hope you enjoy the slide show, after all it was "free". Oh, and in case you were wondering, the slide show of pictures are not edited or cropped, the ones that were actually printed were more centered and closely cropped.


Things I've Learned About Photo Sessions:

• Be assertive of what you think you would like (I was clueless at first)
• If you don't like a background - say so. Now that I am a seasoned veteran of the photography studios (okay, haha) I know better than to let such a hideous background to be allowed at all, it was really just a waste of time. I'm referring to the "beach" scene if you didn't already pick up on that one.
• The sales team does not have to be pushy. My photographer didn't have to pressure me to buy anything, I was the hard-seller to myself. I just had to have enough money spent so that I could get the CD of all the poses for "free".
• If your husband doens't want you to spend a lot of money, he better be in attendance. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!