Day 31

Let's Do This! : : I completed my first run today since getting pregnant with my daughter. It felt great to finally get out there and do it. I'd been dreading it a bit. True, it feels as if all the muscles in my legs are gone, but now that I've made the first step, I feel as if I've accomplished something. I'll get back on this....one step at a time. :)

Day 30

Peek-a-boo : : My husband and my daughter were playing peek-a-boo tonight. She's already catching on that you hide your face, even though she can't say 'peek-a-boo' just yet. (I was in a hurry to capture this little moment so I set my camera to auto without flash. It set the ISO at 3200 so it's a bit noisy. Is there a way to fix this?)

Day 29

Bathtime Rituals : : I love to rub my daughter's little feet with lavender lotion after her bath in the evening. It helps are calm down and relax. (This is a bit of a cheat because I didn't take any photos today but this one was post-processed today.) 

Day 28

Birthday Carnations : : My husband gave me these lovely flowers for my birthday. Carnations are my favorite flowers. I think he picked the best of the bunch. :)

Day 27

Telling Stories to Daddy : : My daughter is starting to coo and babble a lot now. She loves to 'tell stories' to Daddy. I caught them conversing after dinner tonight. 

(What do you think about the amount of 'space' between the two heads? Too much. I'm thinking a little less would be better, but their interaction was too cute to pass up this photo.)

Day 26

Catherine's Boston Cream Pie : : My friend made this fabulous cake in honor of my birthday. It was as delicious as it was beautiful. I overexposed the photo to really highlight the sheen of the ganache.

Day 25

Golden Light at Golden Gate Park : : Took this as we were walking back to our car from the de Young Museum yesterday through Golden Gate Park. Love the sunburst that resulted.

Day 24

Towel Wrestling : : After her bath tonight, my daughter was fighting with her towel, chatting away. I captured a quick quiet moment....

Day 23

Hiding : : Now that she is learning to grab things, my daughter's favorite game is hiding up to her nose behind her blankets with just her two little eyes peeking out.

Day 22

Daylight : : Awoke to the light streaming in through the window blinds this morning. Love the shadows it created.

Day 21

Coldstone Celebration : : My birthday is at the end of the week. I've been receiving coupons for free food and drinks from a variety of restaurants over the past few days to celebrate. For our Monday date night tonight, we used my free ice cream coupon at Coldstone to get a headstart on my birthday celebration.

Day 20

Polka Dot Kind of Day : : I'm cheating on this one as obviously I didn't take it. (But my husband took it with my camera...does that count? ;)) My daughter and I were both in polka dots today and I just love this photo of us together.

Day 19

School Spirit : : My daughter was showing support for my husband's new school. He just started the MPA program at the University of Southern California and we're both very proud of and excited for him. 

Day 18

Confederate Soldier : : My brother is a Civil War nut and does re-enactments in full uniform. He asked me take some portraits of him so we captured a few good ones today. I changed them into sepia tone to achieve that old-time effect. 

Day 17

Lunchtime Expedition : : So there's an irony to this photo. This was the only photo I took today. I had packed my camera to go out for a lunchtime photo walk with my daughter in tow. But when I arrived at the path, I discovered I had left my memory card in the computer. Bummer, as I have to consciously make efforts to carry DSLR camera out and about with me since carrying a little one too requires a bit more coordination with that camera. 

Day 16

First Shots : : My daughter received her first set of immunizations today. I think it was more traumatizing for Mommy than her. 

Day 15

You Are My Sunshine : : This is the only photo I took yesterday. It is the album cover of my daughter's new CD by Elizabeth Mitchell. We love listening to it together. Some children's song collections get old really fast, but I love the folksy tunes on here just as much as she does (maybe more?). Plus, it has two recordings of my favorite song to sing to her -- You Are My Sunshine.

Day 14

Afternoon Boddingtons : : We stopped at the Yard House in Long Beach for a beer or two before catching our flight home. This was my first draft beer since being pregnant. I enjoyed every drop.

Day 13

Roses at the Huntington : : I had to post two photos today as they are of a piece. I was practicing my depth-of-field with these beautiful roses at the Huntington Library Gardens. F/4.5 was the smallest I could go with my lens. I can't wait to get a lens with a smaller aperture in order to achieve an even shallower depth-of-field.

Day 12

Self Portrait at the Getty : : My daughter and I went exploring at the Getty Museum while my husband was in his orientation classes this weekend. This was taken in the mirror of one of the French decor rooms. 

Day 11

Gettin' Bible Thumped at Biola : : We visited my husband's undergrad this weekend. This famous painting on campus has a rather dramatic effect. (Look out below!) ;)

Day 10

Beautiful Day : : Although chilly, the sun was shining bright this morning. I captured this photo as I loved the light reflecting off the clouds.

Day 9

Forgotten Lunch : : My husband forgot his lunch on the table this morning. I used it as my subject for practicing some new functions I recently learned. First, I used an incandescent filter for white balance (due to ugly yellowish lighting) and, then, underexposed the photo to bring out the brown details in the photo. 

Day 8

Beautiful Baby : : This is one of many pictures I took today with my daughter for her 2 month portraits.  We had fun shooting. It was certainly hard to pick just one, but I think this one is my favorite. She's discovered she has a tongue and likes to stick it out a lot.

Day 7

Coffee Date : : I went on a coffee date with my husband and daughter this afternoon. We enjoyed our time out after being in so long with our colds.

Day 6

Soft Tissues : : Our family has colds right now so this box of tissues is our best friend. When you have a cold, there is nothing better than a box of lotion tissues. (The regular ones make your nose raw from the frequent wiping!) 

I love the composition of this photo. 

Day 5

Lamby : : My daughter's favorite toy right now.

Day 4

No Nap : : When I went to take this shot, my daughter was sleeping peacefully. But as the shutter clicked...well, you can see that peaceful state was over in a moment. She has her first cold and it's made her a bit moody today.

Day 3

      Our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree : : It was funny to see the pattern of lights strung on the tree. Sparse branches led to a rather helter-skelter hanging.

Day 2

Looking in the Mirror : : My daughter has become fascinated by this mirror recently. She loves to gaze into it. She's also beginning to grab things.

Day 1

New Year Confetti Pancakes : : Celebrating the beginning of 2013!