I’ll be the first to admit that while messing around in manual modes, I’ve messed up big time! Mostly with lighting. It really sucks when you’ve gotten a great shot, but it’s too dark. Or too light. Or the colors just look funky.

Enter black and white. With black and white, you can correct for this without it looking bad! Take this picture for example:

I cursed myself when I saw it! I could tell it was a cute picture, but I had the shutter speed too high and the ISO too low and the picture ended up being way too dark. I haven’t found a way to correct a picture like this (in color) without making it look really strange. Increasing the exposure just looks weird in color. But in black and white?

Well it’s still pretty grainy, but at least you can now see the people in it! And more importantly, the cat’s butt and breast pump in the background. Ha. Ok, so it’s still not the perfect photo, but it’s a good example of how you can have a way over-exposed picture that, in black and white, actually looks half decent! I have a ton of these, but somehow I always manage to delete the color version once I’ve converted to black and white.

So this is the only example I had on hand. You’ll just have to trust me on this one. And next time you take a picture that ends up looking bad in color, don’t immediately discard it. Try it in black and white first!

Take this little outfit for example:

Nathan’s mom says this was the precursor to the “onesie.” You can open up the snaps like this:

for easy diaper access. You’ll also note (if you can see it) that there are two snaps on each side. This way, it can grow with baby! Snap the top one to make it smaller and the bottom one to add a little bit of length. Pretty clever, no?

So maybe baby clothes haven’t come so far after all where this outfit is concerned!

However, the footie pajamas have definitely improved. Now there are actually shapes where the feet fit right in, whereas when Nathan was a baby, you had this:

Sealed in pants, but no designated space for the feet.

One thing that hasn’t changed? Carters.

I guess they cornered the market a long time ago!

Speaking of baby fashion, am I the only one who thinks that babies in onesies with pants over the top look like little old men? I’d much prefer just regular shirts with pants, but then you have the problem of the shirt constantly riding up and creating quite a draft for baby’s back and belly. My solution? Onsie over the pants!

So much cuter if you ask me!

And if I had to guess, I’d say that Annabel agrees with me!

Wouldn’t you say?

kid

really

loves

her

daddy!

I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual….

]]> http://chasingfulfillment.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/theres-no-denying-it/feed/ 0 adrepoe http://chasingfulfillment.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/sunshine-y-day/ http://chasingfulfillment.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/sunshine-y-day/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:53:18 +0000 Adrianne http://chasingfulfillment.wordpress.com/?p=1583 ]]> I’m so behind on my blog! There’s been plenty to write about and share, but not enough time. What with the sleep deprivation, I have no energy whatsoever to do much of anything in the evenings after Annabel goes to bed. I’m lucky to get her bottles ready for the next day, my lunch put together and a shower. Beyond that, I’m pretty worthless. Then the weekends feel like a mad dash to get everything done. Laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning, errands, sleep catchup (when possible) and of course some quality time with my two favorite people. It feels like there’s little time to relax and just have fun on the weekends these days.

Today was a nice exception.

The weather has been beautiful for the past several weeks, and we had a chance to meet up for lunch with a couple of friends who were in town.

We went to a restaurant that is right on the lake, Hula Hut if you’re familiar. It was the perfect day for it!

It wasn’t really cold enough for it, but Annabel got to try out her Longhorn hat.

Annabel even learned to fly!

After lunch, we did a little shopping and then headed home. It was just the kind of Saturday that I needed after three weeks of being really stressed out by being back at work and adjusting to our new chaotic schedule.

With the external flash:

Annabel doesn’t look too sure about it, but in time she will learn to really appreciate the awesomeness.

The pictures above were taken while she was playing on the floor in her room. Speaking of her room, I think she likes it! All of that hard work paid off. She especially loves staring at her fabric wall art while having her diaper changed. Or after.

How great is the lighting in that picture?! I know I’m being a huge photography/camera nerd, but I just really love my new flash! It’s so nice to finally be able to take indoor pictures that aren’t all blurry and dark and grainy.

The End.

For the first three months of her life, Annabel slept in a bassinet next to our bed. I needed her there. I needed to be able to hear her, to know that at any point, I could sit up and look in on her. She made a lot of noises in those early weeks and months, and it kept me up. That wasn’t ideal, but it was still better (to me) than the thought of her not being beside me. As she got older, she started to sleep lighter and I noticed that anytime Nathan rolled over (very loudly I might point out!), she would stir. If either of us got up to use the restroom, she would stir. When Nathan snored (I’m certain I never did), she would stir. Now neither of us were getting good sleep.

So right around when she turned 3 months, we moved her bassinet into her bedroom and hooked up the baby monitor. I also insisted on some background noise because I’d heard wonders about babies and white noise while sleeping. It worked like a charm, and Annabel started consistently sleeping from about 8pm-5am. She’d wake up to eat, and then she was back asleep until 7 or 8, sometimes 8:30 or even 9am!

I had the audacity to complain about her 5am feeding, wondering how I would survive going back to work and essentially waking up at 5am since there would be no use in going back to bed after that. I needn’t have worried though. The night before I was scheduled to return to work, she didn’t wake up at 5am! Oh, no. She woke at 2:45. And then again at 4:50. And then again at 6am, meaning that we both had to get ready while she was awake. That wasn’t part of the plan. Apparently she missed that memo.

And so it’s gone. EVERY night since I’ve been back at work. The times vary, but she’s always up multiple times. Last night for example, she went to bed at 8:45pm, then woke at 12:45am, 3:45am, and then 6:30am for the day. And sometimes it takes an hour to put her to bed at night.

I have no idea what happened or how to fix it. I just know that I’m losing my mind and feel like I’m on the verge of a breakdown of some sort. I don’t think she’s hungry when she wakes all of those times, but inevitably, I end up feeding her because it’s the only thing that will calm her and get her back to sleep. And when it’s 1:00am and I’ve only been asleep for a few hours and I’m going on days of very little sleep, it’s exceedingly difficult to think rationally about the long term effects my feeding her might be having on her ability to sleep well. And even when I go in there with the notion that I’ll just get her back to sleep without feeding her, I always cave. Sleep always wins out over minutes and minutes of rocking, swaying, and bouncing her back to sleep while she cries.

I’ve even gotten into the bad habit of bringing her back to bed with me just to get a tiny bit more sleep after that 4 or 5am wake up. I know.

We’ve tried not going in there and hoping she’ll go back to sleep by herself, but all that seems to accomplish is waking her up further and making it even more difficult to eventually get her back to sleep. It’s all a vicious cycle and one I’m ready to see end. I am constantly reminding myself that with babies, everything is temporary. The bad stuff, but also the good.

So for now, I’m taking the bad with all of the good. And don’t get me wrong: there is SO much good! But sometimes it’s hard to concentrate on that, hell it’s hard to concentrate on anything with the lack of sleep!

In conclusion, who wants to keep my baby for a night? Just one?

She thought it was awesome.

I think it will be a while though before it’s long enough to put in a ponytail that could actually be worn outside of the house!

1.

2.

3.

4.

Somehow I didn’t get any without Pippa in her four month shot. But here they are sitting side by side each month:

They started off about the same size....

"Um, what is this bear doing in my chair?"

It’s hard for me to notice her changing and growing everyday because…well, I’m with her everyday. But looking back on the pictures, I can really see the changes! Not only has she physically changed a lot, but everyday now, her personality comes out a little more and more.

She’s so happy and talkative these days. I can tell we’re going to get along.

I go back to work tomorrow, and I can’t put into words how sad it makes me. Leaving my baby with virtual strangers and spending all day away from her are going to be the hardest things I’ve ever done. I can’t imagine how much I’m going to miss her. I just have to keep reminding myself that I’m lucky.

I’m lucky that I got four months of days like Friday, and lots of people don’t get that.

I’m grateful to have had the time I did have, to do nothing but be with Annabel.

But even knowing how lucky I was, and how grateful I am for all of those days, I still can’t help but wish for more. I still can’t help but feel overwhelming sadness….

I had grand plans for a long, beautiful post about 2011 and what it’s meant to me, but after writing, deleting, re-writing and deleting again, I’ve come to terms with the fact that there are just no words. 2011 will always be fondly remembered by me as the Year of Annabel, the best and most life-changing year of my life.

Most of the year was spent waiting.

Growing.

Hoping.

Dreaming.

We took a quick trip to Arizona.

A “babymoon” to Seattle.

We had an amazing baby shower thrown for us.

And then there was more waiting.

Preparing.

Wishing.

Assembling.

Loving.

More dreaming and imaging what my girl would be like.

Lots more growing.

And finally, meeting.

Holding.

Cuddling.

Strolling.

Kissing baby cheeks.

Staring into big blue eyes.

Smiling.

Sleeping…

and not sleeping.

Baby-wearing.

And loving more than I ever imagined possible.

Yes, 2011 will indeed be remembered as the most special of times….

]]> http://chasingfulfillment.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/say-hello-wave-goodbye/feed/ 1 adrepoe Week 20 img_7879 img_8604 pregnant-collage