$70 down the drain

so everyone raves about "portrait innovations" as a great shop to get kids' pictures. for declan's 3 month shots it seemed to be the place to go, seemingly more progressive than "penneys" or sears and more instant than old-school olan mills. i don't want to pay a slick private photographer until he's older and we're more in control of the situation.

well, i feel a little scammed. i have the most photogenic, handsome baby and they could barely get 2 good shots of him out of 110 taken. 3 strikes: 1) the girl busted out a floral spring impressionist backdrop, a watering can and wanted to put him in a tin bucket... thank goodness he loudly protested sitting in the cold metal bucket because i was too embarassed to tell her i wanted something a little more "classic" in nature. what can i say, declan has good taste already too! he also protested about being placed in a straw basket though i wasn't sure what theme she was headed for with that one. point taken - simple is better when you have a cute baby. 2) after 110 pictures were taken, we viewed them together to select the best ones i wanted to buy. i was multi-tasking by also pacing & rocking declan to sleep after his hard work as a model. i couldn't believe after all my time selecting two adorable yet simple outfits that the only ones that turned out were the naked ones. 3) here's where it is my fault, i somehow spent $70 on 9 sheets of pictures that i don't even like because it felt wrong leaving with nothing. i kept telling the girl that i get better pictures of him at home, but i don't think she liked that. they "throw in for free" the CD containing all the (amateurish) images as well as a cheesy 10x13 with a special finishing... you know the ones like when you were 7 with an image superimposed in the background? yes.

enough of my rant. after all that, i think i'm going to go back next monday with the same outfits and demand only the black or white backdrop and see if we can't find a few keepers.

here are some of the best of the worst for your viewing enjoyment!

chris farley look-alike. not his best angle (although i'm sure my mom will disagree saying every angle of him is cute)

carmel gang sign

"lady, i think the holding your head up while on your tummy is next month's milestone" she took 10 like this and they all looked just as stupid


something is just a little off with the slinky satin sheet pose

he would not smile in any of these, no wonder

just dumb

the baby whisperer

here is "uncle" rory meeting the little guy for the first time. he and erin gave him baby tevas and chicago bears crocs, can't wait until he can wear them! it was rory's 30th birthday when i found out i was pregnant. declan talked to him for quite a long time, they got along great. now if rory promises not to take him to yak-zies, maybe we can let him babysit sometime...

cousins

we were in chicago this weekend for a wedding and stayed a few extra days because tim had some meetings. it was great to spend extra time with family and friends. caroline, declan's 5 year old cousin, was so excited to see him that she slept over as well. here is an adorable photo of her holding declan when she first saw him in the morning. she had to put down her donut with sprinkles. she thought it was special that his pj's have "sweet peas" on them and hers have "sweet apples." the things kids say...

can i hold her?

mitch is declan's other big cousin, he's 2. he kept asking to "hold her" and we kept telling him that declan was a boy. when declan was on his lap, mitch said to me "don't take him, ok, just leave him." he really enjoyed holding him, so cute.


this one is priceless, mitch was fascinated by the hair and rested his hand on it while they watched "bob the builder" together.

this is not photoshopped

tim's mom encouraged me to get a picture of the back of his hair this weekend to remember how out of control it was at this age. this is for real, not a doctored photo in any way! notice not only the height on top, but the mullet down his neck in all its glory. as they say about mullets, his is truly having a party in the back!

look mom - both hands!

because declan is our first child, i am very into the "week by week" books to make sure he is developing at a proper pace. it is fascinating how these authors always seem to be right on with most of the typical milestones: smiling, cooing, reaching, grasping, sleeping longer, etc. proudly, declan was early for everything furthering our notion that he is advanced and special. the only one he missed was noticing his hands by 10 weeks. i was literally placing his hands in front of his face, playing patty-cake, anything to get him to notice them! well, he noticed them this week and has more than made up for being late with this development as he now tries to shove both hands in his mouth simultaneously. it usually buys me 15 minutes of free time while he does this! it is very funny to watch.

grandpa doug & mimi visit

grandpa doug and his new wife shelly visited us this weekend. shelly is "mimi" to her two granddaughters olivia & avery so she will be declan's mimi now too! they were so kind to babysit while tim & i had a date night downtown. tim spent his gift card dad & shelly gave him to the capital grille for his recent birthday. we enjoyed a decadent meal which included, but was not limited to: steak tartare, surf and turf, kona encrusted filet, lobster mac 'n cheese (to die for) and coconut cream pie. in case you noticed three beef dishes for two people, it was my carnivore husband! tim's appetizer was steak tartare followed a few minutes later by a kona encrusted filet! we'll be signing up for an extra workout or two this week.