Day 31 - Photo shoot

I've had this adorable headband for a while, so today we took advantage of the sunlight, and did a little photo shoot!

Brian also picked up the camera, and took a shot of me with Jamie!  Yay!!

Day 30 - Little Bear goes for a Walk

It was chilly today, so Jamie was all bundled up in her bear outfit and we were about to go out for a walk when I looked at her, apologized to my partner, and pulled out my camera to snap a few shots....

Day 29 - Playtime

I took some photos the other night of cupcakes I was baking... it was a total fail (the photos, not the cupcakes).  So this morning I returned to my favorite, though active, subject.

 

This photo is completely unedited, but I wanted to show the new "play zone" that I've created in out living room.  Jamie's play zone takes up about a 1/3 of the room, and this is the new little corner where her exersaucer is... plus I've taken out my photo albums and cook books from the shelves and replaced them with Jamie's books and toys.  

Day 25 - Strange places to sleep

The last few weeks our cat Todd has found himself a new spot for his evening naps.  Tonight I took the opportunity to document it.

In terms of the actual photo quality, it's definitely not my best shot, but I feel like it tells a tale... a tale of the kitty who thinks the baby's changing area in the bathroom is a great place to chill out.

Day 24 - Catching Up

I've been a very bad blogger over the last few days... excuses could be provided, but the reality of it is, I'm bad at putting up posts on the weekends.  That doesn't mean I wasn't out taking photos though!

I caught B unaware one evening and snapped this shot while he was deep in thought.  Even though the lamp is really over exposed, I like the overall dark feel of the photo.

On sunday a friend and I went to the local wedding fair to check things out.  We were there late in the day, and as the booths were shutting down, one of the ladies asked if I would like one of the bouquets that they had on display.  Score!  So I was able to bring home this lovely collection of flowers. 

This is a shot of "the ring" ... no, not THAT ring! ... this is the ring that B gave me for Christmas that I finally got back after sending it in to be sized.  Isn't it lovely?  It's our daughter's birthstone.

And finally, my trusty side kick.  She's getting older and older by the day, but if I'm puttering around the house doing something that might be even moderately interesting she's near by.  (and hence a very handy subject for my photos!)

Day 20 - a focus on a new toy

This toy was given to us as a hand-me-down from Megan (thanks Megs!) and has been sitting in a closet until the time was right.  Today, I brought it out for Jamie to play with, though I think she's still a little too young, and all she did was grab at it and bang it around.  

Before shelving it again, inspiration hit, as I realized it would be a good subject for today's photo!

Day 19 - from a tired mom

Granted, I took this last night as the wee one refused to go to sleep (she's teething).  Of all the shots I took, this is my favorite because I feel like it was a stolen moment.

Day 18 (and making up for lost days)

I took a bit of a break from my camera over the weekend, mainly because I was on the go and had all my stuff packed up, including my laptop!  So today I would like to make up for it.  Our little girl seems to be back in the throws of teething pain, and when she's not holding her jaw and moaning, chewing hard on her fingers, she's a happy little, drooling, camper.  

I also wanted to play around a little on my new version of Photoshop.  Having an absolute attraction to eyes, I tried to highlight Jamie's baby blues...

And finally, I also played around with adjusting the image in Photoshop... which do you like better?

Day 14

Still hanging at the hotel and all week I've been watching two eagles who perk on of this tree just outside our window and swoop down to the bay to catch their meal.  So today I decided to camp out and take photos of them, in hope I would catch them in action.  But it grew wet and cold, and I grew weary.  Here is the best shot of the day.  One straight out of the camera, the other a close up crop.

Day 13 of 365

Another busy day.  As we were winding down in the evening, we let Jamie try out her new inflatable bath.  She splashed and giggled and had a blast....

Day 12 of 365

I wasn't able to post my photo last night because... well, the subject of my photo refused to let mommy have any time to herself.  So, finally, late in the evening, as she struggled to eat yet another bottle in an attempt to fall asleep, I snapped this shot.

She doesn't look to tired, does she?

Day 11 of 365

Today was a busy day spent getting possession of the new cottage, navigating the snow, and watching the work men start to rip apart the new cottage.  So I wandered about outside for a few moments looking for the right subject for today's photo.  The whole time I was being shadowed by our contractor's dog, Tyson.  I turned around to talk to him and ... presto... there was my photo!

Then, since it was starting to snow, we ended up tucking back into our hotel room, where I did a little photo shoot with the baby.  This shot was captured while she and grandma were hanging out. 

Day 10 of 365

I'm on the road today, and even though I did find some time to take a few shots none of them are really blog worthy. Here's the best of the bunch.  I was trying to catch snapshot of a bald eagle fishing, when along came a dog who started chasing the poor eagle!

Day 9 of 365

Jamie got a belated present from her cousin, Nathan, this past weekend, and today I installed the mobile in her crib... and boy oh boy it was an instant hit.  After fits of giggles - both from Jamie and myself - I grabbed my camera and caught a few shots. 

 

Day 8 of 365

Today the sun decided to peek through the clouds, and I decided to play with my camera's manual settings while out and about.  I managed to take about 100 photos today, but have managed to whittle is down to just a few to share. 

Our youngest cat, Todd, decided to take in the warmth of the winter sun perked at our window.

Jamie relaxed in her bed watching the sunlight cause shadows to dance on her walls... luckily her buddy the doggy-rattle was close at hand to assure her all was right with the world. 

Then we decided to get out for a walk.  Our house is located just off the Galloping Goose regional trail.  It links downtown Victoria all the way out to Sooke.  For us, it provides an easy walk to Thetis Lake, so we took advantage of this, bundled up the baby and headed out. 

 

Lots of other people had the same idea, and the beach at the lake was full of people running their dogs off leash.  I thought this photo was cool because of how the foreground is in shadows and the dogs are in motion.  Usually you'll find dogs out swimming in the water, but the lake was starting to freeze over. 

Day 7 of 365 - Grandma's Here!

Mom showed up today, so I snapped some shot when we went over to her apartment for dinner! 

 

Day 6 of 365

Today I decided to capture some photos of a few of Jamie's favorite things. 

The first... she LOVES to play with the "other baby in the mirror"

Though she's a smart cookie and is starting to figure out that mommy and daddy are in the mirror too!!  Every time the camera would make a sound, she'd look at me, but via the mirror, rather than turning around.

And of course, what would life be like without her daily romp in her jumper.  Though she'd like everyone to know she's awefully fond of the rattle toy that she got for Christmas (that's in the foreground) and even was kind enough to share it with another baby at BabyTalk today. 

 

Day 5 of 365

Okay, I promise (to myself mostly) that tomorrow I will spend more time actually focusing on taking some nice photos!  After a quick jaunt around the house this evening, here is my documenting of life today...

So, what do the photos mean? Well,

Every time I'm in the kitchen these days I seem to be tripping over at least one of the cats.  Usually, with the baby in my arms, I look down and this is what I see.

The other thing about my day?  I successfully made it out for a workout and a swim.  This is my worn out gear waiting by our even more worn out front door.  Not pretty, but then again, going for a workout isn't always about being pretty.  Know what I mean?

Day 4 / 365

Today I decided to play around with focus, and used my messy kitchen as my muse.  I took many shots of everyday mundane messes (and a cute mess) and here are my three favorites from what I was able to capture. 

 

As I'm posting this quite late at night, I haven't had much time to photoshop them other than a few auto adjustments and a little cropping.

 

Day 3 of 365

Jamie helped me pack up the Christmas tree today.  Well, she helped by rolling around in the crinkly wrapping paper and pull apart old ornaments.  Regardless of the damage that ensued, it was a great chance for some photo taking!

This one was my fave of the bunch and has been edited through using Photoshop

 

This one is SOOTC (straight out of the camera) with only a little cropping

Resolutions

So, I don't tend to make 'resolutions' BUT I do like set some goals for each year.  So here's my list for 2011...

1. Take one photo per day for the whole year
2. Make the most out of the rest of my maternity leave
3. Travel outside the province with family in tow at least once
4. Lose the baby weight (and stop blaming any extra weight on the baby)
5. Learn how to use my DSLR camera

Day 2 of 365

Today I played around with a few shots and even ventured outside with Jamie in tow.  Challenge is... I can't bring myself to post just one shot, so here are a few favorites from the day.

 Hanging out in the frosty backyard

Catching Hallie mid-yawn during nap #2 of the day