Emily's Birthday

It's been a while since our last post. Sam is going through his 6 weeks growth spurt, so he's been a real handful nursing every hour or two.

We went to the Methods of Mothering class on Friday. Dana from Discovery Toys was there doing a demo. Their toys are educational, appropriate, and fun at each stage of development. After class I went to Cozymel's for lunch with some of the mothers where we discovered that we are all the same age -- speaking of which ...

Friday was my 31st birthday. Chris cooked dinner for me: filet mignon, garlic potatoes, Greek tomato salad, and Parmesan bread. We had a bottle of wine (Rutherford Cab) from Pine Ridge in Napa Valley from the year that we went there on vacation (2003). Chris had been saving it for me while I was pregnant. We had a chocolate mousse cake with raspberries and port for dessert. Everything was super yummy and better than what you would get at a restaurant! He also got me two watches: a digital Nike to keep track of Sam's nursing and a chunky pink Skagen which I've been wanting for a while.

We went to the mall for a while on Saturday, and Chris played with Sam so I could spend some time in the pool on Sunday. Chris has been in a management meeting in downtown Dallas for the last two days.

Here are some pictures of Sam playing with Mommy and Daddy from this weekend ...

-- Emily

Five Weeks Old

Sam is five weeks old today. He is starting to sleep for longer stretches at night (up to 5.5 hours). He is outgrowing his newborn diapers and the socks for 0-3 months (which is no surprise). He is starting to like his baths -- just the part with the warm water, not the actual washing part. He's starting to give us quick smiles, which I'm still trying to get on camera. But, most of the day is still sleeping and eating.

We went out to eat with Sam for the first time last night with Ian and Roya. We went to a Sushi restaurant in McKinney. Roya held Sam for the entire meal. He slept for a while, and then woke up and stared at the neon lights. He got a little fussy at the end right before they brought us the check, but he fell back asleep when he was put in his car seat.

The photos below are of Sam today in one of his outfits that swallowed him two weeks ago and barely fits him now! Two weeks ago his feet wouldn't even reach the footsie part -- they came out between the snaps.

-- Emily

Father's Day

As the sun set on Chris's first Father's Day, I was unpacking the suitcase from the hospital (finally) and ran across the scrubs that they had stamped with Sam's footprints. We never got a chance to take a picture of Chris in it since Sam was taken to the NICU, so I got Chris to put it on for a Father's Day photo. Hey, what can I say -- I wanted the photo!

Congratulations to our friends Lee and Amiee Methvin! They had their first son, Eli David, on June 14th. You can see the hospital photo of him here.

-- Emily


Father's Day


Sam napping

Photography Equipment

I've gotten a few questions about what Emily and I use for photography, so I figured I'd post something here.

Basically, there are two questions here. The first is "What do you use?" and the second is "What do I need to do to take better pictures?"

We use a Canon Digital Rebel XT (aka 350D) with a Canon Speedlite 580EX flash. Most of the time, a Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8 lens mounted on the camera. We also have a battery grip so it is easier to handle. The whole setup looks like this:



This is an 8 megapixel camera, but that's not the most important thing. As far as I'm concerned, the flash has had the biggest impact on the quality of pictures we take. Photography is about capturing light, so you should really pay attention to where the light comes from (sunlight, overhead light, flash, etc) and what you use to capture that light -- the lens. The flash we have has an adjustable head and we keep it pointed at a 45 degree angle to the ceiling to get a nice soft light.

The biggest problem with point and shoot cameras is their flash. Try turning your flash off and you'll be surprised at the results you get.

There's lots of advice on the internet about photography. Ken Rockwell has good advice about cameras and photography here.

The final bit of advice I have is to take a lot of pictures using the maximum resolution your camera offers. Memory is cheap on digital cameras and you'll probably run out of battery before you fill up a reasonable size compact flash card. You increase the amount of good shots you get by taking more pictures. The maximum resolution advice is given because when you do get a good shot, you'll probably want to print it. If you want something bigger than a 4x6, you'll need some resolution to get a nice large print.

-- Chris

One Month Old!

Mom and Sam went to the Methods of Mothering class at the Medical Center of Plano for the first time on Friday. This is a two hour class every Friday with a different speaker every week for eight weeks. This week's speaker was Dr. Baby Proofer, a child safety expert. It was nice to get out and meet other moms and babies. Sam was very interested in the other babies!

Sam is starting to focus on things. He was interested in the play mat today for the first time. He especially liked the ladybug which had a rattle in it. We also put him on his stomach for a while, and he is able to roll over on his back.

-- Emily

First Outing with Mom

We had our first outing yesterday with just Mom and Sam. We just went to Target for diapers and were gone less than an hour. It's miserably hot in Texas with most days near or over 100 degrees. I hate taking him out in that heat. He did ok though.

-- Emily


Sam sleeping in Mom's arms during the Mavs game.


Sam sleeping in Dad's arms when he got home yesterday.


Sam posing for a picture yesterday afternoon.

Snug as a bug...

Emily managed to coax Sam into the baby wrap. The first attempt last week resulted in tears, but it's amazing what a week will do with newborns.


Here you can see Sam peeking out of the wrap. Emily is happy to have her hands free!


Emily took this shot of me holding Sam after I got home from work yesterday. He's starting to hold his head up and look around when you hold him like this.

-- Chris

3 Weeks Old

Sam is three weeks old today. He is doing very well. He is growing a lot and is starting to fit into some of his 0-3 months clothes size. We are spending most of the day just sleeping and eating for now.

First Day Alone

Today is the first day that Mom and Sam are at home alone. Grandma Mary Lou left yesterday, and Daddy went back to work today.

We went to the pediatrician again yesterday to check his weight. He's at 8 lbs. 6 oz now. He gained 11 oz in 4 days! He must have been going though a growth spurt. Our next scheduled visit is July 12th for a Well Baby checkup and vaccinations. His umbilical cord fell off yesterday too, so he'll be getting a real bath today.


Daddy, Sam, and Cleo


Paul and Patty let us borrow their swing to see if Sam would like it ... we think he does!

Every 2 hours...

As the previous post indicated, our pediatrician would like to see Sam gain a little more weight. Couple that with the fact that we'd like to exclusively breastfeed and you get feedings every two hours day or night. As you might expect, this takes a toll on Mom, so we haven't taken many pics. We're hoping this pace will ease after we meet with the doctor again on Monday.

Picture below if of Mary Lou, Sam, and Emily taken yesterday evening. Sam was clearly "phoning in" this performance.


-- Chris