Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Here are the aforementioned "enhanced" shots from Wednesday. If you want to order them, they're still available (for a limited time, of course). Just let me know.

A Picture is Worth...

Overheard at our house recently:

Me: I think I'd like to get some photos of Brooke.

Matt: You have. Our computer is full of photos of Brooke.

Me: I know, but it'd be nice to have some pictures of her by someone who knows what they're doing. To really capture her personality.

Matt: Okay, sure.

Me: I was thinking of going to (name of photographer). It'd probably cost about (not cheap), but their photos are AMAZING. And they get some great out-of-the-box and candid shots.

Matt: Are you kidding?!? I guess I don't get it. So we're supposed to spend THAT much to really "capture her personality" every six months? Can't we go somewhere that will take decent pictures for much less money? I mean, they may not be the best pictures in the world, but we're bound to get a couple of good ones. We can save the expensive photo shoots for bigger milestones.

Me: Fine.

This conversation is a perfect example of why I don't win many debates around our house. It's also an explanation of how we ended up at JcPenney yesterday with our coupon for a free sitting fee and free 8 x 10.

I explained to the photographer that we weren't really interested in any gimmicky photos. All I wanted was a plain white background. That didn't stop her from showing us how we could make Brooke's face the "O" in a "LOVE" picture or how we could add "vignettes" (colored edges) to some of the shots to show us how "fun" they could look. The best one was a digitally added cartoon fairy sitting on Brooke's nose. Um...no thanks. No offense if you like pictures like this, but I was just looking for some simple shots of my Little Lady at 7+ months.



I was actually pretty happy with how they turned out. Despite waiting for 30 minutes, Brooke was a little ham. We probably just caught her at a good time on a good day, but it's like she knew what to do as soon as she got in front of the camera. And, for not much money at all, we got some photos that are much better than any I could take. I also like that we got a couple with Brooke's signature tongue-action.



I did concede to a couple of baby bathtub shots, which I actually thought turned out kind of cute.




Maybe Matt will let me spring for the cool, expensive photos when she graduates college.

Go Hawks!

Remember this post? Turns out the bandwagon was a good place to be last night!


That's Jonathon Toews in the background, celebrating with the guys. Unfortunately, Brooke missed all the scoring due to bedtime, but we filled her in on what she missed this morning.

Flo-rida

We went to Florida for the last time for awhile over the Memorial Day weekend. Brooke did a great job on both flights - she was super-flirty while we were in line to board.



Once there, we met up with my family (again, we're very blessed that Matt's parents are so gracious to let us use their condo). We spent a couple of days at the beach, did some shopping, and of course enjoyed some good food.




It was really fun to see Brooke and Lexi getting to know one another better. These last few pictures are courtesy of Krissi and her cool new camera (the matching outfits are courtesy of Grandma).

Celebrations

We've had a couple of family parties up here recently. The first one was a housewarming party for Mike and Jane.



Then last night Matt's parents had a party to celebrate Jamie getting back from Australia. We're so happy to have her back!


I was debating about having a party for my being finished with work for the summer, but I think we'll just head to the pool instead...

Baby Pat???

As Brooke hair has all but completely fallen out, my options for bows are limited these days. Do I stick a bow on to the remaining shock of hair that she has on top of her head and risk a few of those hairs falling out, or do I embrace the ambiguity that comes with a bald baby?


I don't think it's fair that girl babies be required to wear pink ALL the time or risk being mistaken for a boy. While I don't mind the color pink, I'd like her to have a little variety in her wardrobe. However, while I'd like to think that Brooke is feminine enough to look like a girl even in brown or blue, when I'm objective about it, it could really go either way, ala "Pat" from SNL. So, I've decided to not be offended when people call her "him" (like the lady at the airport last week when Brooke had a giant freaking flower on her shirt that happened to have a green stripe on it). But come on, when commenting on a baby, just leave the pronouns out, people!


(Case in point, Brooke and Matt inadvertently wore matching outfits the other day.)

The "Little" Things

I like to think that working in a preschool with children with special needs, I'm able to appreciate Brooke's health and typical development. But when my dad recently told me about this video, I realized how much I still take for granted. While I thank God every day for Brooke's health, I don't know that I fully appreciate the "little" things - which are actually big things - like her being able to see and hear us.


There's nothing quite like the response that you get from a baby who recognizes you. I felt this for the first time with my niece, Alexis, and it's multiplied by about a jillion with Brooke. It makes me not so exasperated that Brooke is at the stage when someone else is holding her and she cries when she hears my voice (because she wants to be with me, not because she's scared of me -haha). It also makes me SO thankful that we live in a time and a place where medical advances like cochlear implants are possible. I'll leave you with a shot of my adorable niece on the beach last week. I'll post about that great trip later.