Tuesday, January 31, 2012

30 Weeks Beautiful

My wife is now 30 weeks pregnant...or, as I like to say, 30 weeks beautiful.

It seems like just yesterday, we were telling everyone that we were pregnant with our second child. also it seems like just yesterday that we posted our announcement video.

Now, we look up, and there are fewer than 10 weeks until we get to meet our little girl, Anne Marie. And that is if she waits until her actual due date. It might be that long if Alan was any indication though...he waited to come until a day before his due date.

Well, Rebecca carries pregnancy very well and looks good doing it. I'm proud of her for her strength through such a trying time.

2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

A New Look

I'm going for a new look. Afterall, I've had the same look for many years now...as far as eyeglasses go.

I'm not sure if you have heard about a company called Warby Parker yet. They are an innovative company that is really shaking up the way people buy eyeware. You can do virtual try-ons by taking a webcam photo of yourself and then virtually fitting some of their frames on your own face. That was pretty effective, but I wanted to take it a step further. Their second method is the Home Try-on. In this, they send you five of your top picks....actually to your house. They ship them to you to try on and decide...for five days. That way, you can get your friends and family to help you decide. Oh, and for every pair you buy, they donate a pair of glasses to someone in need across the world. I think that's a pretty neat concept. They are very involved in social media and allow customers to post photos of just about anyone wearing Warby Parker Eyeware.

Here's where you come in. I want to know what you think. I think I've narrowed it down to two or three of the five, but I'm curious what you think.

Vote for the styles you think look best on me. (Again, these are very different than the ones I currently wear.)

 

The Wiloughby in Striped Chestnut

2012
2012
2012
2012

------------------------------------------

The Sibley in Amber

2012
2012
2012

--------------------------------------

The Digby in Whiskey Tortise Matte

2012
2012
2012
2012

---------------------------------------

The Fitz in Whiskey Tortise

2012
2012
2012
2012

------------------------------------------

...and some just for the fun of it. Alan wanted to get in on the action.

2012
2012
2012
2012
2012

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Those Sweet Eyes

Not only did I get to shoot some shots of this little cutie right after she was born about two weeks ago, I was able to do a follow-up shoot with her at her home only a week after she was born. There's one thing I know, she will get used to a camera...very quickly.

The camera likes her too though. She just looked at me, grinned at me...and showed me a few sweet yawns as we carted her all over the house.

Take a peek and see just why these parents are so very proud of their little Mary Love.[[posterous-content:pid___0]][[posterous-content:pid___1]][[posterous-content:pid___2]][[posterous-content:pid___3]][[posterous-content:pid___4]][[posterous-content:pid___5]][[posterous-content:pid___6]][[posterous-content:pid___7]][[posterous-content:pid___8]][[posterous-content:pid___9]][[posterous-content:pid___10]][[posterous-content:pid___11]][[posterous-content:pid___12]][[posterous-content:pid___13]][[posterous-content:pid___14]][[posterous-content:pid___15]][[posterous-content:pid___16]][[posterous-content:pid___17]][[posterous-content:pid___18]][[posterous-content:pid___19]][[posterous-content:pid___20]][[posterous-content:pid___21]][[posterous-content:pid___22]][[posterous-content:pid___23]][[posterous-content:pid___24]][[posterous-content:pid___25]][[posterous-content:pid___26]][[posterous-content:pid___27]][[posterous-content:pid___28]][[posterous-content:pid___29]][[posterous-content:pid___30]][[posterous-content:pid___31]][[posterous-content:pid___32]][[posterous-content:pid___33]][[posterous-content:pid___34]][[posterous-content:pid___35]][[posterous-content:pid___36]][[posterous-content:pid___37]]

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Little Something New

I tried something a bit different this year when it came to shoot photos of the fireworks on New Year's Eve. I purposefully made the lens go out of focus, and tried to capture the different colorful explosions in the vibrant bokehs that they gave off. (In case you don't know, a bokeh is when the lens is out of focus when looking at a light of some kind, and you see it take on a hexagon-type shape. It can be very beautiful to look at...even though it is technically out of focus.)

These were a few of the shots I got while using this bokeh method. Also, I took a few others in focus...just for fun.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]][[posterous-content:pid___1]][[posterous-content:pid___2]][[posterous-content:pid___3]][[posterous-content:pid___4]][[posterous-content:pid___5]][[posterous-content:pid___6]][[posterous-content:pid___7]][[posterous-content:pid___8]][[posterous-content:pid___9]][[posterous-content:pid___10]][[posterous-content:pid___11]][[posterous-content:pid___12]][[posterous-content:pid___13]][[posterous-content:pid___14]][[posterous-content:pid___15]][[posterous-content:pid___16]][[posterous-content:pid___17]][[posterous-content:pid___18]][[posterous-content:pid___19]][[posterous-content:pid___20]][[posterous-content:pid___21]][[posterous-content:pid___22]][[posterous-content:pid___23]][[posterous-content:pid___24]][[posterous-content:pid___25]][[posterous-content:pid___26]][[posterous-content:pid___27]][[posterous-content:pid___28]][[posterous-content:pid___29]][[posterous-content:pid___30]][[posterous-content:pid___31]][[posterous-content:pid___32]][[posterous-content:pid___33]][[posterous-content:pid___34]][[posterous-content:pid___35]][[posterous-content:pid___36]][[posterous-content:pid___37]][[posterous-content:pid___38]][[posterous-content:pid___39]][[posterous-content:pid___40]][[posterous-content:pid___41]][[posterous-content:pid___42]][[posterous-content:pid___43]][[posterous-content:pid___44]][[posterous-content:pid___45]][[posterous-content:pid___46]]

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

A Sweet New Addition

There seems to be something in the water around here recently, because there are a lot of kids in my family...and it's growing constantly. My younger brother and his wife have been expecting child for months now, and Monday...their wait was over.

They went to the hospital January 15th to be observed and stayed overnight. That next morning, bright and early, they induced labor and Mary Love Ulrich was born at about 2:30 the afternoon of the 16th.

I've seen her twice and she's just precious. I'm so happy for them to welcome their first child into their fold. Congrats, you two!

2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012

Sunday, January 8, 2012

A Quiet Christmas

This year, Christmas was a bit different, both at our house and at my parents' house.

It started off quiet, with Alan waking at about his normal time. He cam in, only to find some things that Santa brought him (kitchen set with a bucket full of pretend food), as well as some other presents from Mom and Dad (us now...still seems weird sometimes).

He immediately saw a ball that had been wanting underneath the tree, unwrapped. I know, that sounds really funny that he had been wanting a ball, but it's true. We had one just like it out at Grammy and Pop-pop's house (my parents), and now, he would have one of his own.

To get him to notice the kitchen that Stanta brought him, Rebecca threw the ball toward it. As it bounced down the hallway toward the real kitchen...his eye caught his pretend kitchen...and lit up. He kind of smiled, and immedately took to it. He start turning knobs and pushing buttons....it was fun to watch. He even told us with his hand raised, "Hot, hot." He instantly understood what the oven was.

Mid-morning, we packed up and headed to my parents' house for brunch and then to open some gifts with them. We chose to only do gifts to the children this year, except for a few small "happies" that we gave them (our parents) and vice versa.

Brunch was delicious, as most food out there is. We have a tradition of eating some homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning that goes back at least a decade...probably longer. This time, rather than my mom preparing them, my sister made them. She is equally as good of a cook. She made the "Pioneer Woman" cinnamon rolls and they were delish!

Then, it was on to the presents. However, Alan had not had much sleep and needed a nap, as he was getting cranky. We just knew, with him being only a year and a half, he would not know the difference. We put him down for a nap and the rest of us decided to open gifts. It was just my sister's family, my family and my parents. Kind of a quiet Christmas Day.

Later, my older brother's family came over and we did kind of a "Round 2" of gift opening with their kids.

We all had a good time, watching the children revel in their gifts and enjoying each other's company.

2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011