4 months: Big changes they are a'comin'

Hazel got her 4 month shots right on the nose and I tried to do pictures that same day. She wasn't having it.

Screaming Dalek baby.

She wasn't a fan of any positioning this time and too much fussing over moving her around was making her cranky.

Cranky.

So NOT having the full costume.  I wanted to do How to Train Your Dragon. My original idea was to dress her up as Astrid and get a Stormfly plush. But Astrid was movie only, not book, so I was torn on a purity level that I likely didn't even need to worry about. So instead I made Hazel into a dragon. I had a dragon costume after all!

Well... dragon costumes in August, even in air conditioned houses, are not appreciated by 4 month olds. In case you ever needed that information.

So the next day, after letting her aches fade a bit, and trying the dragon costume ONE LAST TIME just in case... I decided the wings alone would have to be sufficient.  Diaper decorated babes are adorable right? So that's what we went with.

She has a little Toothless to play with.

I'm pretty proud of those wings, by the way.

Made entirely with fabric and wire by hand.

Books are delicious. But eating out of a bottle is impossible. Obvi

Wing Creation

I picked up this pretty, spider webby teal fabric

And this shimmery tulle like stuff

At first I was going to go with one layer of each but realized it might not photograph well. So I sandwhiched the teal between two pieces of the tulle.

Then I cut them into wing shapes

And sewed together. I didn't do all the little wing details in sewing, just made a triangle. I was suprised I could sew this stuff.

Then I wove wire into the fabric, in and out. One piece did the main structure of the wing and then each point got a wire.

I got two different gauges of wire. I didn't realize this immediately. I added the thicker gauge to the outer structure for support so I had enough of the thinner for the inner wing

Assembled

I bent the wire into a harness to fit on Hazel's back and covered the wire ends with black duct tape. 

And in other news... I got the job offer!  The pay/schedule isn't ideal to start, i.e. I won't be making much profit after daycare and gas cost is taken out, but I'm looking forward to being back in the lab!

3 months catch up!

Wow I got behind and never posted those photos? I mean, a bunch of you are on facebook anyway, but still... I like having the blog up to date.

3 month photo shoot

I did "Lord of the Rings" for a theme and painted the Eye of Sauron free hand. I'm pretty damn proud of that.

My precious....

Her outfit is felt pieces sewn onto a white onesie. The One Ring is a wooden ring covered in gold duct tape.  Her leaf is also felt. The pants I had. The cape is a halloween black webbing table runner. 

"Oh no! The Eye!"

Omonomnomnom

"I want to match Hazel!"  But she doesn't like sun so getting a photo was hard.

So my mom sent matching dresses and again we had to dress up and take pictures. This time, I planted them in the shade to avoid complaints about the sun.

I feel like I got glamour shots here. I'm no professional photographer, but I love when I can catch some nice moments.

I feel like this one could be an advertisement for the dress.

My kid is gorgeous. Disagree and I'll fight you. 

Camera backlog Part 1

I finally, FINALLY, got my computer fixed enough to be able to log on and get pictures off my two cameras (the SLR and Point and Shoot)

Have some photos from the moment Hazel was born.  Many of them came out blurry, a result of giving a non-photographer the SLR but I do like the ones that are good.

Warning:  Nipples and Brand New Gooey Baby

Happy 8th Anniversary!

We did not get each other traditional gifts. I'm likely getting a lilac bush at some point and I bought REALLY nice steaks for dinner for us since there's no way we're going out to a nice dinner as has been tradition.  Usually this tradition also involves us discussing the State of the Marriage and future possibilities. We've agreed to rain check the discussion, especially now that we're near a Melting Pot again (the majority of our State of the Marriage Addresses have taken place at Melting Pot)

But on this day, 8 years ago, we were married* in front of our friends and family on the water in Connecticut. It was a perfect day.

All our guests and wedding party

Branford House at UCONN Avery Point. That's my brother playing the trumpet.

Our Reveal. 

My flowers were the bomb-diggity. I was not a hands on bride. I told the florist our colors and general theme and said "I'd like it to be like I went out into a field of wildflowers and collected a ton. I trust you. Surprise me." They were perfect. I don't think I could have described this exact thing and gotten it.

That attitude was how I approached wedding planning in general.

Notice the feet? I ditched the shoes VERY early on. Like before the ceremony.

So a general State of the Marriage

In 8 years we have:

Lived in 3 states (Florida, Washington and Michigan)

Had 2 kids!
Bought a horse

Bought 2 houses

Sold 1 house

Acquired 2 donkeys (and given away 1)

Had a fucking blast!

Here's to many more!

*Technically our legal marriage date is sometime around January.... shhh, neither of us remember the exact date, lol