Jake and Mommy

Jake is not a great napper. Usually they are around 30 minutes long and then that is it. By the end of the day he is a total mess (and so am I). On this day, Elise was still napping and Jake was up early so I decided to try a self portrait on a tripod and remote. Wow. That was hard. The focus was really off. I will try again, but thought I would show you the results. 

We both were cracking up.

Jake was so excited he tried to gouge out my eyes.

They are not technically perfect, but I love the moments that we caught. I definitely will treasure these. 

Jacob's Nursery Tutorial

Poor Jacob. His room is still not finished. I am such a bad mommy. I had it all decked out for Sophie and then our little miracle arrived. With the stress and exhaustion that comes from a newborn and 2 year old, I just never got it together. Well, I am changing that right now!

I have been obsessed with string art lately, and I decided to make an initial for Jake's room. Here is what I came up with!

I purchased a  wood canvas from Michael's Crafts and taped a printed "J" to the front. I used Pacifico font.

I hammered tiny nails around the J and then removed the paper and tape from inside the nails. 

I then taped one end to the wood board and wound embroidery floss around the perimeter of the nails. Once I had an outline, I filled in the J by winding the floss around the nails haphazardly. I ended the floss where I began and tied it in a knot.

Next, I cut and tore strips of paper to line the top of the canvas and glued the ends on the back side. 

 Since the nails came through the back of the wood canvas, I wanted to cover them up. all I did was cut a piece of cardstock scrapbooking paper a little smaller than my wood and then cut a rectangle where I would hang the piece. I glued the paper to the back and had an easy way to hide my unsightly back.

There you go! An easy decor idea for any room!

Jacob at 4 Months

I know, I know I am really late this month with these photos. I took them on time, but then when it came to editing and posting I really slacked off. We had the flu epidemic and then colds and then Christmas. I am just getting back on track, so expect a few more days of silence from me. Sorry, I am working on it! Anyway, enough chatter. Here is my adorable 4 month old:

At 4 months he laughs at everything. He has a great sense of humor (I don't know what else to call it) and grabs everything he can reach. Jake has a vise like grip and we have the bruises and scratches to prove it.  

The second we lay him on his back he flips to his tummy and checks out the world from that angle. 

He has found his toes and is very close to getting them in his mouth. I am so excited because I love when those tootsies start getting sucked on. I think it is one of the cutest things ever!!

He definitely is a watcher and likes to take it all in. With a big sister like Elise, there is a lot to process! 

It looks like his dark hair has left the building and we might (hope) we have a redhead! I can't say how much we love this little man. He is ridiculously fun and even Elise has really warmed up to being a big sister. We are a family of four now and sometimes it is still hard to believe!

Making of the Winterroth Christmas Card

We are on our third outtake of our Christmas card around here. I have been hating all of my photos lately and the noncooperation of this family is incredible. I mean, in one photo I actually caught Jake mid spit up (I'll spare you that one). All were either grainy, overexposed or just blurry. I am still not totally happy with the final one we chose, but I was darn tired of taking photos. That is why I made a commitment to myself in 2013 to educate myself more on taking perfect (or as close as possible) photographs. I don't want to forget these moments and what my cuties looked like. 

The best of our first shoot. Overexposed! I was shooting with a remote at the fussiest time of day for these kids, so really if I had done a better job of getting my settings right, this would be our Christmas photo! 

Second try: Elise looks good but Jake is so blurry! Wah- lets try again!

My third and final shoot was of them laying down. I thought that might be better because then Jake would be more comfortable. Well he was....

and I caught this gem. It cracks me up every time I see it. I thought she was exaggerating but then I saw the clump of hair he managed to pull out. Oops.  Anyway, the one I chose is still pretty grainy, but I am pretty happy with it. I hope it looks ok printed. 

Here is the one I used. Not perfect, but it kinda describes our life right now. Exhausting and fuzzy yet fun. What is your favorite favorite Christmas photo?

Playing With Light

While I had Jacob "posed" for his 3 month shots, I decided to play with light. This is a concept I have been working with in my photography that I find really difficult. Good photographers look at how the light hits their subject when composing their photograph. Usually my photographs are made from a quick opportunity and I don't have the chance to think about light too much. But Jake is stuck where I place him, so I got a chance to look at light and where it was hitting his face.

Here is what I ended up with:

 

My personal favorite. Mostly because I can see myself really well in his eyes, which means I got something right in the settings!

 

I only shoot in manual mode, which is a struggle in itself. They say practice makes perfect, so here I am- practicing away. In a few short months this guy will be moving like his sister, so I better get my shots in while I can. Do you have any critiques or useful tips for me? I am a willing student.

Photo Vignette

Here is a shot of the photos on map that hangs in our dining room. These are some of my favorites, and I love to look at them every time I walk by.  

 

 

From top: Jacob, Elise and Brad at an icy spring, my parents holding me, Brad and his sister Brandy. The map is an antique showing the St Johns River and the city of Jacksonville, FL from my favorite antique show called Renningers. It takes place today and I am dying to go. It is amazing and happens only 3 times a year. My father and I always go because he is the only one I know that enjoys that sort of thing as much as me. I will photograph the whole map another day.

3 Months Old

Well its official, we have exited the 4th trimester. No longer a newborn, Jacob is really gaining a personality! He has started screaming, and I mean screaming, with glee. He is not rolling yet, but he is getting close. He is all smiles almost all the time. He mostly goes to sleep easily and weighs in at a whopping 15lbs 9oz. We are a happy family.

 

 

 

Several Scrapbook Pages 11-5-12

Here are some of my most recent pages. I hardly have any time for scrapbooking these days, so simple is the way to go!

 

I just love this picture of Jake looking at the camera. He is just so serious!

These enamel dots are just amazing! 

 

You can barely see it, but I used a starburst mask and light modeling paste on this page for a background. My new obsession is printing on vellum, and I just loved the look of this quote on it.

 

Thanks for checking these out!!

The Elusive Smile

I have determined that one of the most difficult things to catch on a baby is his first smiles. I'm not even talking about the absolute first- just the first several. I think it is because we are too busy cooing and excited that this little being is becoming a real person that we forget to grab a camera. Or the second we put that lens up to our face, we disappear and the baby has nothing to smile at! In any case, I have been trying to get Jacob to smile at my camera for weeks and I finally caught him smiling in his little bouncy chair the other day. This will have to do until I can get him to look directly at me and smile. Do you have any tricks?

 

First he smiled...

 

Then I moved in for the close up, and he stuck out his tongue. Anyway, how sweet are those first smiles? I don't know anyone who wouldn't melt at the sight of one...

Jacob Turns 2 Months

Our little mouse turned 2 months old on the 6th of this month. He is still a mellow guy and has regularly been sleeping 7-8 hours at night. We can hardly believe our luck! He started smiling at 6 weeks and loves to do so at his family and the ceiling fan.

 

 

 

He has chubbed out and we can already see his eyes turning from grey to brown. He still doesn't nap well during the day (20 to 30 minutes at a time), but if we get a full nights sleep, we will take the short naps.

 

 

We are loving this guy a little more everyday. We are really a family of four and are having fun! It can only get more exciting from here on out.

 

 

 

A Sunday Morning Walk

The whole family took a walk this Sunday morning.

It was a feast for our senses, the morning dew sparkling on the avocado plant.

 

 

The hum of bees on a flowering tree.

 

 

The hard road conrasting with the airy dasies.

 

Some black seed pods coming up waist high.

 

 

Highly satisfying morning.

Jacob's Room Part 2

We are still deciding how to decorate Jacob's room and I am loving these slingshots. Nothing says "boy" like a big slingshot! The paint on these make them so appealing to me, the gold is gorgeous! These are from Hella Slingshots- go check them out!

My Babies

My babies are getting bigger and are starting to love one another. Jake watches Elise as she runs around the house and Elise, although she sometimes tries to poke his eyes out, likes to show Jake what she is doing. We have gotten used to "Hi Baby Jacob, Hi". It is so adorable! I am so excited to see how they continue to grow and become friends.