A Month of Wally-love: Day 9

Just a short and sweet snapshot today. We had 10 minutes between my morning session and my afternoon engagement, so we took Wally out onto the deck in his hooded sweater to catch a smile.

Day 9: January 31
Blue, blue, blue! Happy boy.

A Month of Wally-love: Day 8

Bath time! Wally had fun clapping and splashing in the tub with big sis today. We even added some bubbles! Wally loves his baths and has since his very first bath in the sink of our cabin on Orcas.

Day 8: January 30
Love the wet lashes, the smile, and the water droplets flying.

A Month of Wally-love: Day 7

Wally started clapping today! I don't know what made him decide to try it -- I didn't think we were big clappers in our house, but apparently we clap enough for Wally to pick it up. He clapped during his pictures this afternoon and clapped on the dressing room floor while I tried on a dress (not a winner). Now he's clapping on the floor of our living room as he watches me edit photos. Next step, signing! He already gets excited when I sign "milk". It won't be long...

Day 7: January 29
A simple, sweet shot of my boy (and his bum). Apparently putting peanut butter on Wally's nose wasn't enough to entice Grandma's dog, Sophie, to get in on the photo action. That's ok. I like this the way it is.

A Month of Wally-love: Day 6

I thought the hardest part of this photo a day thing was going to be making sure I take pictures every day. It turns out that choosing just one is the hard part. I finally narrowed today's post down to this one.

Day 6: January 28
I love his profile and his open mouth and the curled up toes on his left foot. But just as I decided on the photo of the day, I was called on to get the camera out again for this.
Wally's first taste of solid food. While grocery shopping, Trev suggested we pick up an avocado for Wally. It sounded like fun, so I agreed, but I started having misgivings shortly after. He's my BABY and so far he has grown on 100% breastmilk. It makes me so happy to say that and see such an accomplishment. Especially after the difficulties we had with Abby gaining weight, seeing Wally's perfectly chubby thighs and dimpled hands brings huge satisfaction and pride.

All this is to say that we went ahead and gave Wally his first food tonight, and he seemed to do ok with it. I'm not anticipating any further experimentation for a while, though. It is just too much for Mama. It would be wonderful to be able to leave Wally when I go to photo sessions or preschool meetings or, gasp!, mom's night out, and not worry about how much pumped milk I've got, but those days are still a ways off. There's no hurry for Wally to get his nourishment from anywhere but Mama.

A Month of Wally-love: Day 5

More weeding outside on this gorgeous January day. (I was pretty busy with a newborn and lots of photography sessions at the end of the summer, so weeds were allowed to swallow our garden whole.) I brought out the wagon to amuse Abby, and of course snapped a few with Wally in it as well.

Day 5: January 27
There are shots with Abigail and with Wally smiling at the camera, but Trev and I both thought that this one stands out as the most interesting. Wally is holding Abby's Madeline doll (which he LOVES), and I think it is terribly sweet. Yes, I want Wally to love and care for dolls, just like his big sis does.

A Month of Wally-love: Day 4

We had a busy day. Wally spent the morning in the Ergo while we followed Abby around the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett (love that place!) and when we came home, he sat on a blanket outside while Abby and I weeded. Wally did some thatching of our grass/moss himself. Lots of fun shots to choose from today, but I chose this one to highlight his gorgeous lashes. They just keep growing and growing and pretty soon I think he'll give Abby some competition. Lucky boy.

Day 4: January 26
Swoon!

A Month of Wally-love: Day 3

I tried to get a shot of Wally sleeping today, but big sis had other plans for us. So instead, here's Wally's monthly headshot.

Day 3: January 25

See his TWO teeth! He's learning how to use them, too. I just wish he wouldn't practice while nursing!

Meeting Mia

Mia was due on Christmas day but kept her family waiting until January 7th to make her arrival. I think her parents would say that this little one was worth the wait. And I'll bet that after you see these sweet blue eyes, you'll agree.

At just over two weeks old, Mia was more of a catnapper than a deep-sleeper. It's amazing how quickly those sleep patterns change. We did catch some sleepy images though. Love the hands curled by her face.

Proud mama and daddy.

Even though her sleeping periods were brief, she stayed pretty calm while she was awake.

And then she'd drift off again. It's hard to resist the heating pad and my constant shushing. This is one of my favorites from the day. I'd love to see this on a big canvas.

And oh! Awake again. Is she stretching or surrendering? Either way, it's hilarious.
Trying to eat daddy's nose.

A new mom and baby favorite. Sheryl and Mia smiling together. Gorgeous!

And at the very end of our session, we did some shots in the dress Sheryl came home with her parents in. I think every girl in my generation had a dress in this fabric, and one for her doll, too. Feeling safe and cozy in Grandma's arms, Mia drifted back off to sleep. Isn't this the definition of peace?

Congratulations Sheryl and Armando on your beautiful baby girl. She is picture perfect, and I had a wonderful time with you and your family. Enjoy!

A Month of Wally-love: Day 2

Day 2 and I'm already cheating by hooking two photos together. (Is it cheating if you are making your own rules?) We spent the afternoon at a house on Lake Sammamish celebrating my grandma's 80th, my aunt's 50th, and my cousin's 25th birthdays. I was so looking forward to shooting a ton, but the rain had other plans, so we did a quick couple of shots on the covered patio.

You may notice a drastic difference between these photos and every other shot you've seen of Wally. Know what it is? CLOTHES! I've made a deliberate effort to capture as much nakedness as possible and to keep Wally looking as BABY as possible. When I do dress him, it's usually in sleepers or one-piece outfits that only a baby can wear. But now that Wally is a whopping six months old, I suppose it's ok that I bring out some big boy clothes once in a while. He sure does look cute in them! Thanks Auntie Lisa and Uncle Nick for this whole outfit. Tomorrow we'll be back to baby boy clothes because Mama can only handle so much of this.

Day 2: January 24
I've also been putting Wally in as little blue as possible because it's just so typical for a boy. But wow, it sure makes his eyes pop!

A Month of Wally-love: Day 1

Wally turned six months old today. He's in the prime of his babyhood, and that makes Mama happy and sad. I'll say it again -- I can't believe he's getting so OLD! To celebrate these fleeting baby days, I've decided to do a photo a day for a month. (Not my idea -- I've seen other photographers do similar things with their children or just with photos in general.) I'll still be doing his regular six month photos (when? still not sure), but I'll also have my camera out every day to document things that might not ordinarily make it to the blog.

Day 1: January 23

I love the drool on his chin, the hint of bum, and the reflection on the floor. He didn't mind sitting on the cold floor with his naked bum, but as soon as I tried to put him on his tummy, he let me know that wasn't going to happen. Not that I blame him. Happy 6 months, Wallyman!

And the winners are...

With the most votes, first prize goes to #22, Sadie, for favorite image of 2009. Congratulations! She's won a free session to use before June 1st.
Our runner up is #8, Emmeline (3 months), who has won $50 to apply to her next session. Yay!

And finally, our random comment winner was chosen by the random number generator.

The ninth commenter (not counting duplicates) is itskacie. Email me at jessica@onetreephotography.com to claim your $50 toward a One Tree Photography session.

Thank you to everyone who voted and who said such nice things about all the images. What a great way to start 2010!

Favorites of 2009

What a year! In some ways 2009 was the most challenging of my life, but in many more ways, it was the best. Two distinct highlights for me were giving birth to Waldron and growing One Tree Photography. My clients are amazing and they make what I do so rewarding. Thank you to everyone who invited me into their lives this year. I'm honored to have been there to capture your joys.

To celebrate 2009, I chose one image from each session as my favorite and we're going to have a little contest. It's time for the blog readers to choose their favorite image of last year. To vote, simply leave a comment on this post with the number of your top pick. One vote per person, please, but feel free to pass the link on to your friends so they can vote, too.

And there are prizes! The image that receives the most votes by Friday, January 8th, 2010, at 11:59pm PST, will receive a FREE session to use before June 1, 2010. The first runner up will receive a $50 gift card to use toward their next session. And one random commenter will also receive a $50 gift card for their next session. Sound good? Here are the images (the numbers are above each photo):

#1 Angel and Eric
#2 Noelle
#3 Reece, Chase, Kate

#4 Angel and Emmeline

#5 Emmeline

#6 Sarah and Jackson

#7 Graham

#8 Emmeline (3 months)

#9 Cienna

#10 Aida

#11 Abigail (votes for this one won't count, but I wanted her to be represented)

#12 Shelley

#13 Lee, Nick, Addie, Ben

#14 Charlie

#15 Lisa and David

#16 Lily and Amy

#17 Saundra

#18 Waldron (again, votes for this guy won't count -- did you know he has a tooth and is sitting now?)

#19 Emmeline (6 months)

#20 Breanna

#21 Cooper

#22 Sadie

#23 Calum and Jennifer

#24 Dawne and Sawyer

#25 Ronan

#26 Ryleigh

#27 Sophia

#28 Cole and Tony

#29 Wyatt

#30 Felix and Stella

#31 Kelly, Naomi, Lance

#32 Peter, Kelly, Lance

#33 Nolan

#34 Emmeline (9 months)

#35 Reese and Julie

#36 Colton, Patrick, Jacqueline, Angela #37 Charlotte

#38 Heather, Meghann, Amy

#39 Osa #40 Peter

#41 Noelle

There you have it! Now spread the word so your favorite will win!