Jan
27
2011
his new trick.
When you are spending every waking hour at your house you’ve got to come up with something to do (besides organizing your junk drawer)…which to me translates to…photo time 
I took advantage of a small window of sunshine this morning and took a few more pictures of Daniel. You know…cause I haven’t taken enough already. You aren’t getting sick of pictures of our chunky little guy are you (please say NO)?
I have eight full months of images to catch up on!
So our little guy has a NEW TRICK!
When we picked him up from Hannah’s Hope he had NO idea how to sit up. I don’t think anyone had ever shown him how to sit so he had no stomach muscles at all. Being almost 8 months I just sat him down on a blanket in the family room of the baby house assuming he’d sit…nope. He keeled right over and was none to happy with me about the little mix-up! Over the past couple of weeks I have been working with him a few times a day and he is SO proud of his newly found skill. He can sit unassisted now for a few minutes and is getting stronger every day. He can also pull up on my lap now too (he also didn’t know he had legs in Ethiopia).
I would have loved to try a few other shots this morning with my little set-up but I didn’t have an assistant. Actually that’s not entirely true. I had my 2 year old. And he wanted to help. Except he really isn’t any help whatsoever so it totally didn’t count.
I tried Daniel in a bucket. This is such a cute shot with newborns. And even though I kind of think of him as a newborn (to us)…this definitely did NOT work. Note to self: buy a bigger bucket. But it did give him a chance to notice something else new and exciting….his toes! He didn’t know he had those either and he was quite astonished with the discovery!
For the rest of the shots I just laid him on the floor to play. One of the things I really love about this little guy is all the different smiles he makes!
There’s the “I’m going to smile in just a minute” smile.
There’s the “aren’t I cute” smirk.
And of course the “my mommy is the funniest person in the whole wide world” smile.
There’s also the “I’ll smile for you if you promise to end this torture” smile.
As well as the “can’t wait til I have a few teeth” smile.
And then all the smiles are over…and out comes the thumb.
Daniel is our our fourth thumb sucker. See…it was meant to be!
Thanks for the smiles and new tricks little love. I’ll meet you at the same place tomorrow 
And for all those who love a pull back shot. I shot these in the family room in the back of our house. There is a wall of windows on the opposite side of those painted doors. Normally I would have moved all the furniture out of the way so I had plenty of room to work. But with only Sam as my assitant (and because I was just plain lazy) I just scootched things around a bit until I had a little spot to work. The doors are real doors that have been painted and distressed and are just leaning against the wall. The “barnwood” floor is a rug (like a giant mouse pad). It is NOT decking. I actually had a friend ask how I was taking all these shots out on my deck in this weather – HA! I shot these with my 24-70 lens at F3.2, Shutter 1/200, ISO 400 (I know some people like the nitty gritty). I didn’t shoot wide open because I wanted the cars in the first shots to be in focus too…although usually I do inside. The little metal cars are from his room. The diaper cover is a G diaper from Babies R Us. That ought to cover it but if anyone has other questions I’m happy to answer them!!
That plaid shirt was what I stripped off half way through the session when I was overheating….good thing no one came to the door!
Love the cute pics! The bucket had me laughing. So cute! And especially love the nitty gritty. I had no idea that was a rug, I assumed it was very unique fabric. You are so lucky to have that wall of windows. My next house has got to have a wall of windows!
Jenn!! I just LOVE reading your posts. LOVE. LOVE. I am having so much fun hearing all about sweet Daniel and the rest of the gang and how you are all adjusting!
He looks SO happy. SOOOO content and loved. What a beautiful baby boy!!
My baby girl turned 7 months today and she has figured out in the last week that sitting is much more conducive to playing than laying around! She crawls around to get where she wants to be and then just sits there and plays. It’s been funny this week walking in and seeing her just sitting there with her toys!
I had to laugh about your shirt!! “We” had a blowout yesterday that I wasn’t aware of and when I picked Brighton up, I got poo ALL over me. It resulted in taking off my clothes to give her a bath and not getting dressed until she was clean!! Motherhood!!
Oh – and by the way, your photos rock as always!!
LOVE the toes shot in the bucket! He looks so intent!
Love the pictures! You are an amazing photographer & he’s just precious! Thanks for sharing!
These are precious! Such a handsome kiddo! I noticed that Jai, also, cannot quite sit up. He can hold it for a second, and then he face plants… Funny though, he’s super happy with his face on the floor and will continue to play with whatever is in his hands while he’s in that position… I know I shouldn’t but it makes me laugh! Hopefully we’ll get those tummy muscles nice and strong!
thanks for the details…now where does one get a deck floor rug that’s like a mousepad or did you make that too? He is so beautiful. I sent you blog link onto another blogger who is awaiting her little guy too. Laura Kelley designs. Pitter Patter Art I think is her blog name. not that you have time to search out more blogs…
Love getting the nitty gritty and now I think I need some old doors. Won’t my hubby be thrilled to hear that?! lol I’ve been drooling over one of those rugs for some time now. sigh.
As for getting tired of seeing that cute face – never! What a handsome and adorable little guy!!
Chuckling over the bigger bucket comment.
These pictures are beautiful! It doesn’t hurt that he is so, so cute!!
i adore the many smiles of daniel! (how are you ever gonna tell this kid no? if he just flashed one of those smiles at me, i’d be liable to give him anything he wants…
)
i’ve been looking at faux flooring…everything from paper to a laminate remnant. do you love the rug? is it easy to transport? pricey or no? ha, sorry for the third degree here.
have the bestest weekend, sweets!
He is such a little sweetie, I want to hug him.
Great pictures as always. I love the nitty gritty…you know it helps me. I am getting one of those mats as soon as I get prego again.
Jenn!!! Love the Pull Back Shot…and the DETAILS.
Thanks so I didn’t have to ask (again). 
Now…I’m with Susan…where would one find a giant rug mouse pad thing that looks like a barn yard floor! I always thought you were doing that in photoshop. 
Your little man is SO adorable. My niece is over again and I had to show her your “new arrival”. She thinks he’s the cutest thing…but she’s still partial to Sam. 
She can’t get over that video you did of him saying the alphabet. She always says is this the lady with the cute little boy? Now you have two.
bob haircuts…
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I will definitely comeback….