Well, the internet. I've been terrible about keeping you up to date lately, huh? In my defense, I'm like 76 weeks pregnant, and we've had lots of company, and it's a kind of tough time of year at school, and we've been chasing little Charlie Danger around all day. And I had some cakes to make BECAUSE CHARLIE IS A WHOLE YEAR OLD NOW! (More on that later.)
We've basically been having too much fun and then been too tired from all of the fun-having to do any kind of online updating of the ol' blog. Oh well. If it makes you feel any better, we've also neglected things like cleaning the house or keeping up with basic personal hygiene.
I'll be back later this week (I promise!) to talk about Charlie's birthday party, and maybe even his haircut (Operation: No More Rattail), too. But right now I wanted to show you something I'm pretty proud of, which is the monthly (okay, bi-weekly) pictures I took of Charlie all year. I wanted to have some visual record of how much he changed, and really I did them bi-weekly because 12 pictures just didn't seem like enough. Remember, I do nothing in moderation.
These were super easy to do, too. I just took the pictures into Picasa (which is where I do all of my photo editing because it's super easy and I'm too cheap to buy Photoshop and even if I had Photoshop it seems a little too complicated for what I need), did a cross-process effect on them (basically an Instagram kind of look), and then did the Polaroid effect on them. Finally, I added the text. If that sounds hard, just know that it wasn't. It took approximately 1 minute for each picture. This approach seemed much easier than having something where I had to have him sit in the same spot or against the same backdrop every time, and I really like that the pictures kind of show what Charlie was into or doing around specific ages.
For Charlie's party, we hung up all of the pictures so that everyone could see how our little buggle had grown through the year. It was one of my favorite party details.
So, without further ado, here are way more pictures of my kid than you probably want to see:
We've basically been having too much fun and then been too tired from all of the fun-having to do any kind of online updating of the ol' blog. Oh well. If it makes you feel any better, we've also neglected things like cleaning the house or keeping up with basic personal hygiene.
I'll be back later this week (I promise!) to talk about Charlie's birthday party, and maybe even his haircut (Operation: No More Rattail), too. But right now I wanted to show you something I'm pretty proud of, which is the monthly (okay, bi-weekly) pictures I took of Charlie all year. I wanted to have some visual record of how much he changed, and really I did them bi-weekly because 12 pictures just didn't seem like enough. Remember, I do nothing in moderation.
These were super easy to do, too. I just took the pictures into Picasa (which is where I do all of my photo editing because it's super easy and I'm too cheap to buy Photoshop and even if I had Photoshop it seems a little too complicated for what I need), did a cross-process effect on them (basically an Instagram kind of look), and then did the Polaroid effect on them. Finally, I added the text. If that sounds hard, just know that it wasn't. It took approximately 1 minute for each picture. This approach seemed much easier than having something where I had to have him sit in the same spot or against the same backdrop every time, and I really like that the pictures kind of show what Charlie was into or doing around specific ages.
For Charlie's party, we hung up all of the pictures so that everyone could see how our little buggle had grown through the year. It was one of my favorite party details.
So, without further ado, here are way more pictures of my kid than you probably want to see:
I seriously stare at these things all the time. Which is your favorite? (I have like 20.)
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Hi Mandy!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is my all time favorite of any blogs I read. I think I've been reading it for 2 years now. One day I googled: "I hate Jillian Michaels" (because I was bored and I really can't stand her)..and that's how I found your blog! I love your sense of humor,and I used to teach high school too. I also love your style and creativity! Anyways, Charlie is just too friggen adorable for words and I love your whole family. I wish I had cool friends like you guys where I live! If I sound like a weirdo with no friends, don't worry- I'm not, plus I live far away!
My favorite pics of Charlie are the 8 month and 10 month ones. You should send the 8th month one to "Parents" magazine to be on the Christmas cover!
Thanks for writing your blog! It brightens up my day! Good luck with the last weeks of your pregnancy and getting through school. Can't wait to see Charlie's little sister!
Heather! Thank you so much for the sweet comment; it really made my day. Jillian Michaels is such a bitch. I decided long ago to stop listening to her and to eat cake and ice cream and to get super fat instead.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you teach in high school?
Thanks again! Hope you're having a great day!