Brotherly Love

May 27, 2013

7 Weeks Old

May 29, 2013

Logan's personality is starting to come alive.  Above all, he is a snuggler; he LOVES being held.  He spends most of his waking hours in my arms or in the baby carrier while I try to get things done around the house.  This week he has started smiling much more, and he is also trying to grasp (mostly just the air).  Logan loves his big brother.  He totally wakes up and becomes alert around him.  And Owen loves him right back, always saying, "Hiiii, Logan!" and giving his opinion on how to get Logan to stop crying.  (Oddly enough, he is usually right.)

Chubby Cheeks

Logan LOVES his swing.  Unfortunately, it's also his favorite sleeping spot...not his port-a-crib.

All Lined Up

Owen thought of a different way to use his chalk-- lining them up in the crack in the cement on our patio.  The weather has been so nice that Owen has been playing outside and entertaining himself for looooong stretches of time.

Java Bean

I finally got to meet Robin & Matt's fur baby, Java!  What a sweet pup.

Sand Box

A bookshelf turned on its side and some sand = instant sand box; PVC pipe fitting = sand toy. Crafty Grandpa strikes again.  (I love Owen's new haircut and fauxhawk!)

Photo Shoot

I needed something for Logan's birth announcements, and I got to test out my new big-girl camera.  Love love love my Canon 6D!!!

11 Days Old

April 21, 2013
Logan is already being trained to love superheroes, as you can see by the quilt laid down underneath him.  The quilt, a gift made by a friend of Logan's Grammy, has fabric with vintage Marvel comic book covers.  Owen thinks it is theirs to "share," but he already got a Star Wars one when he was born.

Logan

April 10, 2013
Welcome Logan Davis, the newest arrival in the Saliba family.  This birthing experience was so much better (read: shorter and easier) than the first one, and to top it off, Logan was a pound and a half smaller than Owen was.  Once I had the epidural, I could almost say I enjoyed it.

Now our family is complete.  I can't believe I have two little boys!  I'm definitely outnumbered, and I foresee a testosterone-filled future full of superheroes, fart jokes, and weird smells, but I know my boys will take care of me.

10 Inches

April 1, 2013

BEFORE

AFTER

More than two years in progress, my plan to dramatically cut my hair and donate it to Locks of Love finally came to fruition today.  A few years ago, after having shoulder-length hair for awhile, I missed my long hair and I wanted to grow it out again, something I knew Jeremy would love, too.  I set a goal that I would grow it out until my next baby, and then cut off 10 inches to donate, which is the minimum required by Locks of Love.  I had some teary, anxious moments in the days leading up to my hair appointment; who knew I was so emotionally attached to my hair?  But instead of chickening out, I looked at the Locks of Love website and thought about kids who have lost their hair for whatever reason, and it put things back into perspective.  I almost cried at the salon, but once the first cut was made, I was fine.

Owen's Sick Day

After my 365, I needed a break. I barely picked up my camera for months. Now I'm a little rusty, but I realized that I kinda miss it. So here I am, attempting to catch up on the past few months. Starting with...

March 4, 2013: Owen's sick day Owen stayed home from daycare because he was sick, and I took the day off work to stay home with him. It started out as just a little cold and cough, and we spent a fun day playing together (here he was watching the landscapers outside). But things got worse and the day ended with a trip to the ER later that night when he couldn't stop coughing and wasn't able to breathe. The ER doctor said Owen was his favorite patient all day-- they talked superheroes and Owen got to ride through the room on a rolling stool. He got some steroids and we went home, but it took him the whole rest of the week to get better.

Day 366: The Last One

December 31, 2012: I thought it would be fitting for the last picture to be a self portrait, and in the true spirit of my lack of effort this past 3 months, it's nothin' special.

But the important thing is that this the last one.  I'm a little surprised at the bubbling up of emotions as I finish this project- pride, nostalgia, relief...I can't believe I actually accomplished this.  When I started, I didn't even have any clear-cut goals, just an interest in photography and an idea that sounded like fun when other people did it.  I thought it would be a good way to get back into a hobby I had set aside.  I also thought it would help me document Owen's life and not let months go by without picking up the camera.  (Mission accomplished.)  I also got some unexpected bonuses along the way, like learning to shoot manual, and taking some really inspiring photography classes, something I've always wanted to do.  I'm nowhere close to where I wish I was with my skills, but I think the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don't know. 

I can't say that I've enjoyed all the aspects of this project.  Some days I simply hated it.  Some days I cheated.  I never imagined the challenges I would have trying to think of new ideas of what to shoot in my little humdrum life, or the time it would take to take photos, edit, and blog.  And I will probably never do this again.  But now that I don't have to do it every day, I hope I can find the fun in photography again.  2013 is going to be a life-changing year; I'm excited to use some of what I've learned when the new baby arrives.  And I hope to still post on the blog.  Just not every day. 

Happy new year, and thanks for sharing 2012 with me.

Day 365: Gears

December 30, 2012: Owen's magnetic gears that he got for Christmas (he calls them "twisty twists")

Day 364: Toys

December 29, 2012: The new Christmas toys (and some old toys, too) have taken over the living room.  Time to go Container Store shopping? :)

Day 363: Slinky

December 28, 2012

Day 362: Sunshine

December 27, 2012: It's been winter for less than a week, and I'm tired of the cold.  Most of the trees have lost their leaves, especially with the windy storms we've had this week, but this tree in our neighborhood is still vibrant with its yellow leaves.  The sun was shining through, making the leaves look like they were glowing.

Day 361: Sparkles

December 26, 2012: I got a bokeh filter kit for Christmas, and this was my test run with the star-shaped filter.  I wanted it to still be obvious that it was a Christmas tree.

Day 360: Christmas Dinner

December 25, 2012: Christmas dinner was at our house.  This one is the silly picture; the serious one was boring.  I like all the details in this picture that will remind me of this Christmas.

Day 359: Christmas Eve

December 24, 2012: I love that Owen is such an appreciative gift-receiver.  This was Round 1 of Christmas gifts (Christmas Eve with the Averills), and to everything he opened, he exclaimed, "Whoooooaaa!" and played with it.  These remote control cars weren't even one of his gifts, but they still made him giddy.  They belonged to the Averill girls, but Owen and Grammy still had a fun, giggly time racing them around the room.

Day 358: End of the Rainbow

December 23, 2012: This photo was taken from the top of the parking garage at the BART station, and I like how the rainbow goes right into downtown Dublin.  It was one of those rainbows that you feel like you could chase and find the end of it.