"I'm Ready for My Close-Up!"

I decided to get Rachel's picture taken professionally while she is still a "newborn." I found a good deal at a studio called Portrait Innovations, which is a place my sister loves to have my nephews' pictures taken. She has tried other places, but never really likes the poses they get. So even though this studio is a bit pricier, she said it is well worth the money in the end.

So on Friday, Rachel and I ventured out to Graceland. I was quite worried that she would end up crying through the entire photo shoot, so I worked hard to make sure she was well-fed and sleeping on the way there. When we arrived, the woman at the desk made a great point of telling me I was 10 minutes late. I thought to myself, "Obviously you have never had a newborn." I scooped Rachel up out of her carseat and she didn't blink -- she was still snoozing.

I can't tell you how proud I was when my little girl slept through the first half of the photo shoot and then, when she did wake up, she was a little angel for the second half! We ended up getting so many awesome pictures that I spent waaaaaaaaay too much money because I couldn't decide on just one or two poses! It also didn't help that Rachel decided it was time to eat just as I was choosing which poses to order, so I began to blindly agree to whatever the guy was trying to sell me just so I could speed things along and get her fed! (Note: Take another adult with you if you go, because they can help care for baby/child while you pick the poses you want.) Now I have about 300 pictures to give away!

The best part was that I got a CD of all her poses, so even though I didn't get some of the funnier faces as prints, I have them forever to share with people. And where better to share them than my blog? The last one here is very similar to a picture of me when I was an infant, so I was really happy to have that one!!

On another note, Rachel has gotten 10 times better with her sleeping habits. Although she has grown accustomed to sleeping in bed with mommy, which we need to break her of. But she pretty much sleeps in 3- to 4-hour stints now, and occasionally she will go for 5 hours. We are taking walks a little more regularly now, when the weather permits it, and we are getting ready for vacation in a couple of weeks. My family is going to upper MI, and Duane can't wait for vacation! It will be interesting, with a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and an infant! But as excited as Duane is to go on vacation, it will mean the end of my leave, and I am not excited about that!!