Sadie… sometimes there simply are no words for you. No words for your boundless energy, your love for your sisters, and how you are growing up into a “big girl” right before our eyes. No words for how you are so much like me, but so much like Daddy too. No words for how easily frustrated you get, how “super-silly” you can be, and how much of a big helper you are (you love making our coffee).

Even when words fail, my love for you does not. You are the most amazing first-born any mom could ever ask for and I constantly thank God for allowing me to be your mommy. This weekend will be the 4th Mother’s Day that I get to celebrate as a Mom, and I have no doubt it will be just as special and emotional as the previous three, mainly because of the reason WHY I get to celebrate it… you.

You make me laugh, you make me smile, and sometimes you make me want to pull my hair out, but you’re mine, and I’ll love you forever. — Mommy

That roll sat loaded in the camera for months… until one night when I just couldn’t let it sit there anymore. We were going out to have a family night at Bridgestreet. The weather was perfect, the girls were in good moods, and I figured that now was as good as any time to try it… so literally on my way out the door I grabbed it! And I shot the entire roll that night. I’ll admit it was weird not being able to chimp and see what my results were, but it was exciting too! No more trigger-happy fingers shooting off 6 frames per second… I would wait, and wait, and then click! And then we would move on. There were times where I really wasn’t sure if I got the shot that I wanted, or if my focus was in the right spot, or if I had my settings right. But. it. was. fun. It was so different than shooting digital, and I loved it!

As we got in the car that night I rewound the film and dropped it off at Walgreen’s one-hour lab and picked it up the next morning after church. It felt like Christmas morning opening up the envelope of prints (also included a disc with digital files on it). As I flipped through the pictures I know that I was smiling ear to ear, so proud of myself. They were perfect… and I took them. And then it hit me that it doesn’t take special moments to shoot film, the act and art of shooting film will make them special.

All images were shot using a Nikon F100, Nikkor 50mm 1.4, Fuji Superia Xtra 400, rated at box speed, processed at Walgreens.
With the exception of the 3 images converted to black and white, all images below are straight scans.

(I actually had the negatives reprocessed by Indie Film Lab to see the difference in a local lab and a pro lab, and I actually prefer the Walgreens scans.)

WHY PHOTO BOOKS?
For the last 3 years I’ve ordered a photo book of all my pictures from the previous year. Before I was a mom, I was a scrapbooker, but scrapbooking just isn’t practical for me anymore. Not only do I not have the time to do it, but I prefer a much cleaner look, where the images can really shine. So after my daughter was born in 2009 I switched over photo books.

WHY BLURB?
I ordered my 2010 and 2011 albums/photo books from MyPublisher and while I really like their books, I was limited to only 100 pages. Yes, I know, a hundred pages sounds like a lot, but to me it isn’t. I want my yearbooks to include EVERYTHING… pictures taken with phones, artwork, and other mementos, in addition to photos taken with my dSLR. I am still disappointed that my 2011 book doesn’t include ANY iphone pictures, but I simply ran out of room. I knew that for my 2012 book I needed a new option that offered more pages. I came across a post that Ashley Ann had written about her 2011 12″ x 12″ Blurb book and I was in love as soon as I saw it. I wanted a book just like hers! Her post was extremely helpful in determining what I wanted so I used it as kind of a guide. Like Ashley Ann, I went with Blurb’s Large Square 12″ x 12″ hardcover book with image wrap cover. I love everything about it… the size, the big beautiful images on the front and back, how substantial it feels.







BLURB BOOKSMART SOFTWARE
I used the Blurb Booksmart program for my book. It was easy to download and install on my computer, and I never had any issues running the program. It was pretty intuitive to use and I plan on using it again for my 2013 book. I didn’t add any design elements to the pages and used a plain white page background and no borders on the photos. I ended up using the same templates over and over again… full page, single image but not full page, grid of 4, grid of 9, grid of 16, and occasionally a few others.

I mainly used the Blurb Booksmart templates, but on some pages I had to change the size of the boxes to fit my photos.

HOW MANY PAGES?!?
I initially started out thinking I could keep my book under 200 pages… double the size of my previous books sounded reasonable. But before I knew it, I had gotten halfway through 2012 and my book was already at 150 pages! When all was said and done, my book ended up being 378 pages (Blurb maxes out at 400 so I just barely made it). Because my book was over 250 pages I had to go with the Standard paper, but since I’m not a glossy kind of girl standard was perfect for me.

This photo is slightly underexposed to show Blurb’s Standard Paper. There is no shine or gloss on it.

MY PROCESS
I put together my entire book in February of this year. I am organized, but not organized enough to work on it throughout the year. In theory it would be nice to work on pages immediately after editing the images, but I don’t. I just wait until I’m completely done editing photos taken that year, and THEN start working on my book. It’s a lot of work jammed into a few weeks, but I’m just lucky to get my images edited each month. :)

I organize all my photos by month, so that’s how I imported them. I started with January and imported all images taken that month – it didn’t matter where the photos came from (dSLR or iPhone), they all got imported. I did not pre-select the images I wanted in the book before I imported them. I am a visual person and have to see how things look on the page, and I move images around a lot. So I just import all of them from that month, use the ones that I want, and delete the rest of them from the Booksmart program. (A good way I found to do this is after you use all the ones from a specific month, select “show all unused” and delete those – that way you know you aren’t deleting images that you actually used.) Once I got through all the images for January and deleted the unused ones, I imported all the February images the same way. Importing and placing all the images for the year took me a long time, multiple late nights and I actually took a day off work (my full-time job) to work on it… these books are THAT important to me.

There were a couple of pictures that I knew I wanted in the book that I didn’t take. I sent out some texts to family and friends asking them to email me the images so I could include them in my book. DON’T forget this step because images that other people took will probably include YOU, and YOU want to be in your book as much as possible.

For me, there really isn’t a rhyme or reason to how I build my pages. In general, I like themes/event/holidays/similar images to stay on a page or spread but I don’t obsess over it (an example is Halloween — you can see a spread below where all the pictures I took of Sadie on Halloween are organized on a spread). If there are pictures that I want included, but in order to fit them in they have to flow onto the next page or spread then that’s what I do. It’s more important to me that they are in the book, than to cut them just because they didn’t fit perfectly.

WHAT ELSE DID I INCLUDE?
When I got to the end of December, I imported all the artwork that I had taken pictures of throughout the year and added them whereever they “fit” calendar wise. I tried to get artwork close to photos of the matching holidays or as filler when I needed an image or two to round out a page. I used to scan in artwork using a flat bed scanner, but it took too much time. Now I just photograph it. To photograph the artwork, I took a large piece of cardboard, wrapped it white paper (I used wrapping paper that I already had). After a month or two I would have a big stack of artwork ready to archive. I would get near a window, lay each piece of artwork on the cardboard, and then take a picture with my iPhone. Nothing fancy, and I didn’t photoshop or edit the images at all, I just used them as is. They don’t have to be perfect — the most important thing is that you’re preserving it. Even if you choose to throw it out down the road, you will have already done the work of archiving it, so there will be nothing to feel guilty about.







In addition to photos and artwork, I included lots of other things that I wanted a visual record of… the girls’ growth chart, an obituary of a very dear family member who passed in 2012, a Q&A session I had with Sadie on her 3rd birthday, growth statistics from a girl’s doctor appointment, and a photo of the first Bible verse that Sadie memorized. All these little mementos make up our year — try to think of things you can include outside of photos.







WHEW! NOW WHAT?
And then… I took a breather and a break and stepped away from the computer. Up until this point I had worked on the book on and off for about 2 weeks, and I was tired of looking at it! After a few days, I came back with refreshed eyes and went through it page by page looking for issues and eyesores — things that didn’t line up, out of order pages, images that were cropped wrong, etc. I looked at pages individually and then I zoomed out and looked at spreads. I tried to keep pages as a spread if they went together so sometimes that meant moving pages around, but still trying to keep them in chronological order.

My FAVORITE pages are the ones where the images go edge to edge!

THE IMAGEWRAP COVER & SPINE
When I had everything in that I wanted to include and all looked good, I spent some time trying out some cover images. I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to use, but needed to make sure they looked right… and they did! It turned out exactly what I had pictured in my mind (thank you Adrienne Moon Photography for taking the wonderful images used on the covers!) I added our family name and year information to the spine, just like how I had done for the previous 2 books… simple sans serif black text on a white spine. Oh, and word to the wise… if you are ordering your book well into the next calendar year (I ordered mine in February) make sure you put the previous year on your spine, not the CURRENT year! I didn’t even realize I had put the wrong year until a few days after I had received them. I couldn’t help but laugh when I realized it. All that work and time and I make a silly mistake at the very end!

Don’t be in such a hurry finishing up your photo book that you put the wrong year on your spine!!

UPLOADING & WAITING
I uploaded it to Blurb on February 13th and received a “Delivery By” date of February 28th (I just did the standard $10 shipping). When I saw the Blurb box delivered on my doorstep February 19th I did a little happy dance! I’m a firm believer of under-promising and over-delivering and I LOVE that I received my book 9 days early. Originally my book cost $207, but I used a 20% off coupon that I found online which brought the cost of the book down to $166. Much more expensive that my previous 100-page books (around $70 each) but once I opened the box and saw it, I knew it was well worth the time and money I had spent. I also purchased the $5 PDF download of my album, which is something I’ll archive and keep safe on my computer and backup devices.

MY BOOK
All in all I LOVE my book. I love the size and weight, the paper, the way the photos printed, and the impactful cover images. I love the way is sits on the easel I bought for it, just waiting to be picked and up flipped through. A lot of people have looked at the book and most of them are in awe that it includes so much… and that is what I love most about it. It includes everything. We (parents, photographers) take all these pictures, so it just makes sense that we should do something with them, even if it is as simple as including them all in one book. My hope is that after I win the lottery :) I’ll go back and buy additional copies of all my photo books so each of my daughters will have copies of their own.

I bought this black wooden easel at Hobby Lobby. It holds the book perfectly.

WOULD I CHANGE ANYTHING?
If I had to pick one thing to nit-pick about, it would probably be the binding. Because the book is so thick, the pages don’t feel as secure in the binding as I think they could be. And actually, one night shortly after getting my book, one of my younger daughters was sitting in my husband’s lap and they were looking at it. And before I even knew what happened, she had clean ripped a page right out of the book. My jaw HIT THE FLOOR. It wasn’t the end of the world, but all I could think about were the hours I had spent on the book!! It came out so clean that it almost looked like the pages were perforated. I have since taped the page back into my book as best as I could, but the new rule is that the little ones don’t get to look at it again until they are a little older. But my almost 4-year-old LOVES the book and will randomly ask for me to get it down so she can look at it. I can’t even describe how happy that makes me.

Blurb’s pages lay pretty flat, even though it doesn’t currently offer lay-flat pages.

Well, I think that’s about it for my review. If you have any additional questions about my process, the Blurb Booksmart program, or the actual book I received, just leave it in the comments!



DISCOUNT ALERT!
Blurb has given me a link that will get you $20 off a photo book of your own. Just use this link http://bit.ly/14wYRVM to start making your book!

DISCLAIMER:
The opinions in this post are all my own. Blurb did not ask me to write this review, and I am not getting anything from Blurb in return for this review.

Well girls, ask and you shall receive. Warm weather is finally here and we have wasted no time enjoying it. I got home from work Monday evening and you guys were already outside with Daddy, jumping on the trampoline and swinging. It was torture trying to convince you to go inside for dinner, but immediately after dinner we were right back outside and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect evening. Daddy got the tee, balls and bats out and you took turns stepping up to the plate… you each got 3 turns and then switched. Sadie, I can tell that Daddy is grooming you already… and it’s ok, it’s kind of easy to see that you are a natural. Just have fun with it and do the best you can… that’s all we’ll ever ask of you. Sydnie and Sophie, you love putting the ball on the tee and hitting it with your little bats. We cheer really loud for you and you LOVE it!

Our backyard is broken up into little stations… sandbox, swingset, slide, and the trampoline. You love going from one thing to the other, and most of the time you want “down!” just as soon as I get you buckled in the swing. You can even swing in the middle swing (Sadie’s swing) all by yourself! Looks like we’ll have to transition the other two swings to “big girl” swings by the end of the summer!

I think I’m most excited to open the pool soon. Last summer you were learning to walk, so we chose not to open it. We were able to enjoy the backyard without the fear of someone falling in. But this year you are much more aware of your surroundings, have been introduced to the pool at the YMCA, and are big enough to wear floaties! I can’t wait until we can all get in together and play and enjoy our weekends poolside!

If this is what the rest of our spring and summer are going to look like, I am going to be one happy Mommy!

You make me laugh, you make me smile, and sometimes you make me want to pull my hair out, but you’re mine, and I’ll love you forever. — Mommy

“There simply aren’t any grand moments in life, and we surely don’t live in those moments. No, we live in the utterly mundane. We exist in the bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and hallways of life. This is where the character of our life is set. This is where we live the life of faith.” – Paul David Tripp

• The Ocean Voyager: If you catch it at the right time you can interact with the divers the tunnel and then watch a show where all the divers (around 5 or 6) come over to the big glass wall and talk to the crowd. My girls loved it!
• Deepo’s Undersea 3D Wondershow: Not only do you get 3D glasses and watch a movie in the 3D (about 15 minutes), but the 4D theater has interactive seats and unique special effects that are built into the theater itself. Sophie wore the glasses almost the entire time and would reach out to touch the fish!
• The Dolphin Tales Show: This was a great show and while the singing and storyline got a little slow at times, especially for our little ones, the dolphins are absolutely amazing and SO smart! (TIP: I think you have to get to the Aquarium early so that your entrance includes a ticket a to this afternoon show, because if they sell out you have to wait in a pretty long for any extra seats that aren’t filled right before the show starts.)
• The Asian Small-Clawed Otters: My girls particularly liked the sea otters. We got their right when it was feeding time and they did not want to leave… and that is saying a lot since Sadie’s favorite thing to say at an aquarium is “let’s go see something else!”

We opted not to take in our double stroller, so I was holding Sydnie or Sophie most of the time so I really didn’t have the opportunity to take a lot of pictures, but I managed to get a few treasures. They probably aren’t like interesting perspectives as most will interpret the theme, but when do you get to see whale sharks in the ocean, coral reefs like in Australia, and beluga whales only found in the Arctic Circle, (and 3 napping girls) all in a single day, in one place?

Sadie saw all the other kids with phones taking pictures so she would run up to me and say “mommy, can I take pictures with your phone?”

ahhh… the perfect way to end a great day at the aquarium! (Sophie was asleep too!)

Thanks for taking the time to look! Please continue the blog circle journey by visiting Natalie at the Mama Track see what beautiful images she has come up with for this month’s theme of interesting perspectives.

Sadie, Sophie, and Sydnie…

Well, it’s official… we are OVER winter and it’s cold weather! We may not live in sunny California or Florida but you girls love sunshine and spending time outside. It’s not fun being cooped up inside all day and I can’t wait for spring to get here so we can enjoy fresh air, warm temps, and outside activities. I thought it would be fun to compile some random pictures I’ve taken during these LONG winter months to show you how exactly we spend our time, impatiently waiting for 60 degree temps to grace us with their presence.

The first thing you’ll probably realize when looking through these is that you spend a lot of time in your pajamas. They are comfortable, warm and have feet built into them (you won’t keep your socks on!) so unless we have plans, it just makes sense to leave you in these. Your nan first introduced us to pajama days and I think she’s on to something! And yes, sometimes you even wear them 2 days in a row… and I’m ok with that. :)

Another thing you might notice is that I take a lot of pictures. I’m sure you’ve realized this before (like when I’m sneaking around the corner like a ninja with a camera) but the truth is I CAN’T HELP IT. I love capturing all these sweet little moments in our life right now. Not only do I want to remember these moments forever, but I want YOU to know what our life was like right now. You are too little to remember all this, but these pictures ensure that you’ll at least know what this time in your life looked like. Because they are just quick little snapshots they aren’t photographically/technically perfect, but they are the perfect representation of US and that’s all that matters.

And the last thing that I hope you see when you look at these is the LOVE. You girls love each other so much, and for that I love you.

You make me laugh, you make me smile, and sometimes you make me want to pull my hair out, but you’re mine, and I’ll love you forever. — Mommy

… our day starts off when Sadie creeps into mommy and daddy’s room, crawls in bed, and plays games on mommy’s phone…

… babies start babbling soon after, so mommy or daddy heads in there to change diapers…

… we snuggle up together in mommy and daddy’s bed to watch a few cartoons…

… toddler teething is the worst and it seems we are happy one minute, then mega-meltdowns the next…

… we play a few more games and then breakfast time…

… the morning light in our living room is amazing so we ride the rockers and horse around for a little while (pun intended)…

…(we also humor mom when she wants to take our picture for no apparent reason)…

… because we wear our pajamas all day, sometimes it’s necessary to strip down and run through the house naked to cool off…

… we love playing games to pass the time… piggy bank, puzzles, operation, match game, connect four and candyland are the best…

… sometimes when we can’t take being inside any longer, we dash out to a movie for a little change of pace… this was monster, inc. in 3D…

… a fun go-to activity for us is coloring… two crayons at a time because that’s how we roll…

… when cousins visit we just stand at the backdoor dreaming of all the things we’ll get to do when it’s finally warm outside…

… one of our most favorite things is to tackle and tickle daddy, he simply can’t handle it!…

… dinnertime is lots of fun and usually leads to a warm bath…

… a quick skype chat to talk to more cousins, and then it’s time to settle down…

… milk cups and the Good Night show are our favorite before bed…

… and then it’s off to dreamland, filled with warm sunshine, swinging and sandboxes.

Extra credit… how many times did you spot Rascal (our rat terrier) in the pictures?

Please continue the blog circle and visit my friend Elicia Graves’ letter to her 2 daughters. Her oldest daughter is only 2 days younger than Sadie, and her youngest is only a few months younger than the twins. I wish lived closer to each other… I just know our girls would be fast friends!

Thanks for taking the time to look! Please continue the blog circle journey by visiting the crazy-talented Beth Ireland and see what beautiful images she has come up with for this month’s theme of food photography.

I always thought that Mardi Gras was a certain period of time leading up to Lent and that Fat Tuesday was the actual Tuesday before Lent… but I just learned that “Mardi Gras” is actually French for Fat Tuesday… so Happy Mardi Gras!

Our first month’s theme is “Close-up Portraiture” — While at first this theme may seem pretty easy, it was challenging. Some of us felt limited by our equipment (no macro lens!) so it required us to really push outside our comfort zone, which is the main reasons why I’m participating in a blog circle.

Meet Addie… my 6-year-old neighbor. My girls aren’t really at age of cooperation just yet, so this sweet girl was more than willing to help me out. She lost both of her top teeth on the same day! The tooth fairy was very generous and brought her cookies and a Monster High doll. She is so beautiful, inside and out… even toothless. :)

Thanks for taking the time to look! Please continue the journey by looking at our next photographer, Mickie DeVries of Fresh Modern Photography, and see what beautiful images she has come up with for this month’s theme of close-up portraiture.