The way it works is you just post any question you have in a comment and other readers can comment with an answer to your question or post one of their own..it can be about parenting, photography, or just whatever you feel like throwing out there!
So, what’s on your mind?
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I haven’t had a chance to blog about it yet, but I got the Canon 100mm L IS Macro a few weeks ago.. LOVE IT! I bought it because I had to do some food images for a friend (blog post coming soon), but I am so excited to try it with a newborn, but I have none booked at the moment.
After 2+ years we finally decided to break our self-imposed plane trip embargo and book a trip to the west coast with Jasper! There are several reasons I thought it was the right time. One is that Jasper has FINALLY become manageable in a car seat, so I *think* he’ll be able to deal with the flight without a complete freak out. Another reason is that he’s OBSESSED with airplanes, so I think the novelty of being ON an airplane should provide enough of a source of excitement that we will be able to get away with statements like “sitting in your seat is what people who ride airplanes do” sort of thing.
The other reason is that my sister lives in LA and we’ve been really wanting to collaborate on some photography template designs, a few hours together will get us a lot farther than sporadic emails and skype sessions!
Jeff travels to Hong Kong a lot for his job, so in the past few years he’s racked up tons of frequent flier miles that have thus far gone unused.. which means that Jasper’s first plane ride will be business class!! I find this pretty amusing, since in all the years I’ve been flying I’ve only ever flown business class once, and that was because the airline overbooked and had to bump me up. Jasper, apparently, travels in style!
So we’ll be in LA from Saturday until Wednesday evening at which point we’ll be headed to San Francisco until Saturday. I’m so excited that in this ONE trip I will have a chance to meet both Kari AND Shane & Ava, who I already feel like I know so well that it’s almost unfathomable that we HAVEN’T actually met yet!
We also will be visiting our friends Sara & Mando and Jasper’s long lost love Lola of this fame:
They only recently left us moved to SF where Sara opened up a wonderful new boutique called Tractors & Tiaras which sells educational toys and has amazing art & music workshops for kids (if you live in SF, you should definitely check it out!!.) If you recall, I did a whole photoshoot with Jasper and Lola and a tractor for Sara and am incredibly proud that these images are now hanging in her shop.
According to Sara all the moms ask who did the photography, so there has been some interest in my coming to do some mini sessions which I *think* I will be doing. I say I think because a) it’s very short notice and b) we have so few days there that I’m wavering as to if it makes sense to give up a whole afternoon to shooting. It’s very tempting though to be able to subsidize some of the hotel/rental car costs as well as make the whole trip a giant business write off :) Plus, I love shooting, and the idea of doing so in a great new location is pretty exciting.. so I’m leaning towards yes if there is enough interest.
So, that said, please let me know if you are in the SF area and and are interested in a “mini” session with me and I’ll send you the details!
Now, I have to get on the ball and figure out what exactly to bring with us. Our trip to cape cod we loaded up pretty much the whole car with gear which is obviously completely impractical! For those of you that have flown a bunch before, what stroller do you take? Our Uppababy is too heavy I think, but we don’t have a good umbrella stroller. Maybe now is the time to invest in one (recommendations for one that travels well?) because Jasper is getting too big for the Uppababy anyway. I guess we will have to bring the travel cot, no way of avoiding that..
I think I will bring my laptop for Jasper to watch movies on the plane, I just have to hope to God that they have a power plug in Continental business class!
Any other plane travel tips are greatly appreciated!
(PS, anyone know if there is a rental car company that provides a convertible carseat? That thing is a beast and I really don’t want to bring it!)
He may be short but my baby has skills.. check him out getting three in a row!
So far this is his favorite b’day present, thanks to Auntie Diane and Uncle Peter.
In other news, I finally released my second Wall Display Template set! I posted a discount code “finally” on the facebook fan page for 25% off. I’m going to leave it active for another day in case any becoming-mom readers want to take advantage of the sale.
There’s lots of info on the facebook page about the new set including pictures, video and a few wall posts about how to upgrade from set I to set I&II to get the bonus kitchen template. Let me know if you have any questions if all of that is a little confusing.
I also added a video on how to use the File > Place method of inserting images into clipping masks, it’s a great trick because it lets you go back and upsize an image if necessary without losing any quality. That’s a good thing to know even if you have no interest in my templates.
Wt: 27lbs (and five grams, but who even knows what that means?)
Ht: 34.5″ (Does this mean he’ll only be 5′9″ as an adult?)
Head Circumference: 50cm
Which puts him, for the first time in his life squarely in the 50% percentile for height and weight!! Yay! Well, except head size which is 75-90%..must be why he’s such a smartypants :)
I was kind of shocked about both the weight and height, height because he’s always been around 25%, and weight because he barely eats. Which lead to the next interesting discussion with the Pedi: milk intake.
Turns out, Jasper is drinking too much milk. In fact, by our calculations he’s getting about half of his daily caloric intake in the form of Milk. I had suspected this might be a problem with suppressing his appetite, but now it’s confirmed. I guess I was just so THRILLED that he went from not wanting anything to do with it to actually wanting it that I let it get out of hand. So we’ll be limiting milk until AFTER all meals are finished and see if that allows his appetite to kick in.
The Pedi also gave me a much needed kick in the pants regarding potty training. He basically said that once you hit 2.5 with boys its hopeless! His advice was to do the whole naked at home for a few days bootcamp thing to get on it NOW. Sigh. I really don’t know who’s less interested in potty training, me or Jasper LOL! I guess it’s time to get it in gear, so get ready for the fun times to follow..
Lastly, he suggested we say bye bye to paci..which I had also sort of known we should start thinking about. I’m sort of missing one at this point to be honest!
On another note, I have noticed SUCH a change in Jasper just in the past week. It’s like some sort of “big boy switch” got flipped and I’m living with a tiny adult instead of a baby. First of all, he started saying “I” instead of “Jasper” as in “I need help Mommy” instead of “Jasper needs help Mommy” etc. According to Waldorf principles this is a big milestone, and it does feel like an important shift.
He has also become an attention monger.
If I so much as shift my gaze away from him it’s “Look mommy!”, or “I need help Mommy” or more dramatically he’ll lay down on the floor and say “Jasper fell down mommy” (or I fell down lately) because he know we’ll come “pick him up.”
To illustrate what I mean about being a little person, this morning we were eating breakfast and our dog Sammy was outside going to the bathroom and Jasper said “Sammy is outside pooping mommy.. or peeing”. I had to laugh, imagining the possibilities of what exactly Sammy was doing going through Jasper’s little brain. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him use OR like that before to offer two different options of possible events. It felt different, like who is this kid I’m having a conversation with and where is my baby boy??
OK, so that’s the video highlight reel, here are all the details: In general, the colors were kraft paper brown with blue highlights because blue is Japer’s favorite color! There were other touches of red like in the red bandana napkins and red checkered table cloths.
The invitations..
Sunflowers were a great decoration, $7.99 a bunch at the supermarket, stuck in a water pot:
I designed a wanted poster and had two 16×20s printed at costco for $6 each. We put one on the front door and one out back above the drinks. The cow skull decoration was from Party city. You can also see the cow print balloons we ordered from shindigz, I tied them with natural color raffia as well as a teal ribbon.
The birthday banner was incredibly easy to make, much easier than last year’s. I just bought 8×5x11 cardstock in a color called “paper bag” from the craft store. I printed directly on it (no cutting, yay!) and then attached them to hemp twine with clothes pins. Easy Peasy.
The table was decorated with mason Jars full of peanuts:
I used design elements from the invitations to print out fun little labels for some of the snacks, including Trail mix as pictured here, “BBQ Spuds” for the BBQ potato chips, “wagon wheels” for the round pretzels and “kettle corn” for the popcorn. I just cut out the rectangle and then used a glue stick to attach them to a larger rectangle that I cut out of some Amy Butler scrapbooking paper I bought ages ago and never found the use for until now!
This was a big glass jar of iced tea and lemonade:
The party favor bags were from Oriental trading. They came with the boot bags AND the goodies to go inside for $4 each. I added in a blue bandana for boys and a pink one for girls and the sheriff’s badges so I could put each child’s name on it to personalize the bags:
The cake was the same recipe from Last year (thanks again to Kimberly!) but thank god this year I learned to delegate and had my mom bake the cake and make the icing. I still had to assemble and frost the cake and make the marshmallow fondant shapes. I was SO glad I posted the recipe and Kimberly’s tips on my blog last year because I referred back to them OFTEN. The black fondant was a PITA because it took like half the bottle of Wilton’s coloring to get it black, and even then it didn’t look so black:
It looked better from far away and with a cowboy carrying it :)
I’m including this shot because you can see how the red, blue and kraft brown colors work together with the napkins and plates and table cloth:
At the last minute I had a panic that even doing the double recipe that the cake was too small to feed 40 people, so we also bought giant cupcakes from costco that I made these cupcake toppers for:
I say “made” rather than “used” because I had my friend Jen help me finish these just before the party and then of course I totally forgot to use them :( This shot was staged for the sake of the blog! The J*J is for “Jasper Jack.”
OK, now on to the fun & games!
We used Jasper’s rocking horse and a wood wreath thing that I found at the dollar store to play “coral the horsie” where the kids had to toss the hoop around the horses neck. I don’t have a picture of the game, but here is Jasper and Daphne enjoying the horsie:
I WANTED to do a “shoot out” game with water pistols where you would line two kids up and see who could squirt a plastic cup off the ledge first, but the kids were enjoying themselves so much just running around I sort of gave up on doing organized games altogether. I couldn’t even FIND water gun pistols anywhere, only these spaceship looking ones that the kids enjoyed playing with:
I also had a hot potato like game with a plastic snake lined up, but again we sort of just let things happen. I’m posting about it here just in case anyone was looking for cute cowboy game ideas!
Now, onto the photo fun..
This was a cheap plastic banner from Shindigz that we couldn’t figure out where to hang so that the opening would be accessible. Then I realized Jasper’s playhouse was a great spot because it has a low doorway!
Here is a pullback. You can also see the prop table for the “photobooth” which I am about to explain…
PHOTOBOOTH:
I used my 53″ savage sky blue seamless and my backdrop stands and put them on the side of the deck. Out of the way, but still part of the party. I put out a table with props including cowboy hats of course, a red feather boa I bought at party city, a Melissa & Doug cowboy guitar I bought a while back at HomeGoods and these adorable props from Maro Designs.
As I would mingle and greet everyone, I would eventually ask them to step over to the photobooth to get a picture.. which is why it was nice that it was close by. Here is a pull back that shows the area I had it setup in, you can see the setup on the left:
And here are some of the pictures:
There are soooo many more, here is a link to the full photobooth set on flickr. I love them all! I ordered 4×6 “proof prints” with black borders that only cost .25 each and I will include the prints with the thank you cards. I will also make a little album for Jasper to remember everyone who came to celebrate his second birthday party with him!
Whew! I think I covered everything.. let me know if you have any questions. Oh, one last thing, ordering Pizza instead of cooking or doing BBQ for everyone like last year was the BEST decision we could have made. I was able to enjoy this party so much more than last year where I was stressed beyond belief.. we also got incredibly lucky with the weather, all in all it was an amazing day and I thank everyone who helped make it happen. My mom for baking the cake, my cousin Ryan for helping out with the decorations and party games and Jen for her expert cupcake topper making skills.
The only downside to having the perfect party is how to top it next year? :)
I say Birthday “day” because this is a post about his birthday last Thursday, a post about the party (Saturday) will be next!
Daddy bought Jasper the COOLEST shwinn trikey, red and chrome with flames and a wood ride on board, a bell AND a horn.. and of course, a harley davidson helmet to match:
Later, mommy and mum-mum brought cupcakes that Auntie Alexis (and recent culinary school grad!) made him. Blue of course!!
jasper and his daycare teacher carol
Not sure what the head on the hand was all about, but he looks sort of like “Another birthday mom? Yawn.”
But, I knew he was enjoying himself as soon as he finished his cupcake and started chanting “More, more, more!”
The next two days were filled with furious party preparations.. the party was AMAZING! Stay tuned for the details!
Today you are two. Or, “one, two” as you would say it, holding up just one finger from each hand because you can’t yet hold down your two little fingers to make two with one hand:
It seems impossible to me that in just two short years you went from being a little helpless lump to the impish and independent boy that you are today. In some ways it has FLOWN by, but in other ways those “dark ages” seem like, well, ages ago.. the screaming & sleepless nights seem like a bad dream now replaced with playing games, tickle fights and conversations about your day.
Of course there are still traces of that willful baby – some things never change! Like when we were SO excited that you finally learned all your colors, not anticipating that it would mean that you would pick a favorite color (blue) and insist that EVERYTHING must now be blue. Leave it to you to assert your opinion over every new milestone as it comes.
I can’t get you to march to the beat of anyone’s drum but your own (if everyone else at gymboree is doing a group activity I can be sure you’ll want NOTHING to do with it!) but by now I’ve stopped trying. You are your own little soul with your own ideas and as much as mommy wishes you could be a little more cooperative, a little less independent, I know those qualities will serve you we ll some day. I have no doubt that the world will fall at your feet when you put your mind to what it is you want out of life, if for no other reason than that you will not stop until you get what you want!
But most of all you are FUN to be around.
Sometimes because you are trying to be funny or doing something silly, but mostly just being you, or the way you express yourself. I wish I could video the way you talk right now so I can always remember how everything is like a question with the pitch of your voice rising at the end of every sentence (just like you did when you would point and go “eeeeeh??” before you could talk!). Or the way you say certain words, like “chicken uggets” or “Ailey IN in stead of alien, or Oport or airflane or how you still call a phone a “Lolo” (for hello, hello) even though I know you know the correct world for phone.
You are good at pretty much anything you try, you can hit the HELL out a ball with a bat, pedal your tricyle like there’ s no tomorrow, throw and catch and play a mean harmonica, and you can figure ANYTHING out if you just put your mind to it.. there is almost no child safety device you can’t outsmart (outlet covers? I’ll just take them off mom!) or door or latch you can’ t figure out how to open. I should have known there would be trouble when you started being able to twist a top on and off at barely 9 months!
But what people really remark on is your sweet nature. Adults and kids alike love to be around you, because you are curious, interested in people, sweet and mellow (so they tell me!) I can see it now that you are actually starting to play WITH other kids instead of along side. You RARELY steal a toy, are almost always willing to share or offer to share when asked, you never hit or are mean for no reason, you are a sweet boy that draws everyone in around you. Luckily that sweetness still includes a willingness to dole out long hugs to mommy & daddy, snuggles and cuddling before bed and kisses MOST of the time we ask. I think I try to store them up, wary of the day that they won’t be so forthcoming.
As I was preparing this little video for you (because you LOVE Jasper videos!) I was struck by how incredibly much you’ve changed just in the past 4 months, let alone past year. The baby fat neck rolls are gone, the wispy hair, the chubby cheeks. You are a BOY now, and mommy and daddy are so proud of you for everything you do. You may change, every minute, every day, every year but that my dear sweet son will never change.
I LOVE when becoming-mom readers book sessions with me… it’s like meeting a long lost friend, which was just how it was when I met Cathy and Maddox.
They had been through some difficult times, and Cathy wanted to document what I think of as finally getting to the light at the end of a dark tunnel.. and so how appropriate that we found the most BEAUTIFUL light to surround him in?
I have to say, it wasn’t easy. I had this session planned out perfectly in my head, we were going to meet at the Vanderbilt mansion in Poughkeepsie but at the last minute we realized that Chelsea Clinton was getting married in the area. Thank GOD we figured that one out, we would have been sitting at security checkpoints all day!
After a few hours of furious googling, I found what I THOUGHT was the perfect compromise, an abandoned Westchester mansion who’s grounds were open from dawn ’til dusk.. or so the park’s service website said. Of course, when we got there the sign said it closed at 4pm (it was 6pm at this point). So we missed out on the beautiful garden which was padlocked shut, but we did manage to find some other beautiful spots on the grounds, like the road to the house:
and a brick stairway that was almost as big as a small amphitheater:
This was also the first time I’d used my new (old) turqouise chair outdoors. You would not believe how hard it is to find a plain old wood chair around here. Seriously, I scoured Craigslist, ebay local, Goodwill and could not find anything like it. Finally, I heard that the Salvation Army store in Portchester had a floor dedicated to furniture which is where I finally found this one (for $7!)
All in all it turned out wonderfully, just as I had planned and the best part was hearing from Cathy how much she and her husband loved the images.. that’s the most rewarding part of doing what I do, and WHY I want to keep doing it as long as I can.
If you expose to the right (ETTR), which means the maximum number of pixels pushed right up to the right side of the histogram as much as possible without clipping, you may often find that you are blowing (value of 245ish +) the red channel in the skin highlights. One of the first things I do when I open an image up in PS is scroll over any very light looking skin areas and examine the info palette to make sure I’m not in the danger zone in the red channel.
It seems like almost all properly exposed images WERE in the red zone somewhere until I realized I needed to change the calibration settings all the way at the bottom of the develop panel from “Adobe Standard” to “Camera Neutral”.
Now, in all honesty this switch will at first glance, make your image look like crap! It will seem dull, lifeless and lacking in contrast, which it is, but that’s good because before this it had TOO much contrast and red in the skin. Much better to add back in contrast while preserving more neutral skintones!
Here is an example of an image set to Adobe Standard:
And now switched to Camera Neutral:
And here it is in camera neatural having adjusted the tone curve a bit to bring back some contrast (bring darks down, lights up a tad ) and also added a tiny bit of vibrance to keep skin from being too gray:
Now I would bring this into photoshop to polish (add some more contrast, maybe selectively level certain areas etc) but this is a much better starting point than the contrast and redness in the Adobe Standard version.
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So you may have noticed by my lack of posting on the subject that I am in complete denial that a) my baby is turning two on Thursday!!! and b) We are throwing a large party Saturday and aside from having ordered the favors/decorations I am completely unprepared. Ahhhhhh!!
The way it works is you just post any question you have in a comment and other readers can comment with an answer to your question or post one of their own..it can be about parenting, photography, or just whatever you feel like throwing out there!
Inspire Me Baby is a really amazing site if you don’t know about it already. Just today Zenia posted an amazing (free to use) what to wear guide for a maternity shoot, check it out:
The other thing is that I am gearing up to do either a long post or a series of posts about LR3, so was wondering if anyone had any specific questions about it that I can try to address?
Ariana (aka becoming-mom) is a 30 something self admitted helicopter mom with a habit of blurting out everything about infertility, pregnancy, birth, parenting and just about anything else to anyone who will listen. (read more...)
@nycscout have you ever been to merestead mansion in westchester? Was there this weekend.. Beautiful but the county has kind of let it go.. in reply to nycscout2010-08-03
I think #dell lost my new system. I don't why I never learn my lesson, they always manage to screw me somehow! 2010-08-03
Just saw a mom hit her kid and call him a f'n ahole :( 2010-07-15
Jasper put his pj pants on all by himself! They were backwards and inside out but still he got both legs in... So proud!! 2010-06-17
And now switched to Camera Neutral:
And here it is in camera neatural having adjusted the tone curve a bit to bring back some contrast (bring darks down, lights up a tad ) and also added a tiny bit of vibrance to keep skin from being too gray:
Now I would bring this into photoshop to polish (add some more contrast, maybe selectively level certain areas etc) but this is a much better starting point than the contrast and redness in the Adobe Standard version.
