Mr. Aidan and I had a little mini photo shoot on Friday, despite the cold. The child loves to be outside – he doesn’t care how hot or cold it is, it doesn’t bother him. So we bundled up, and I let him run around for about 30 minutes. Isn’t he cute in all his winter apparel? Love me some Baby Gap hats! They’re a weakness.
Here’s the full sneak peek you guys. What a fun shoot! I hope you guys enjoy these as much as I am! It was my very first maternity shoot, and they made it soooo easy. I think I love maternity shoots! If anybody else out there is pregnant, give me a call to set up a shoot!
Jason + Janine are going to be parents in about 6 weeks. I’m totally thrilled for them, and I can’t wait to meet baby Orf.
I’ve been dreaming of cooler weather from the time I moved to Texas more than 5 years ago. Now that we’ve moved back to St. Louis, I’m getting what I asked for it! I couldn’t believe how freezing it was outside today. I suppose I should dig my coat out of storage if the temp is going to be in the teens…Eh?
So Aidan had his second haircut of his life. Let me tell you it was a MUCH better experience the second time around. I’m not sure if it was the bubbles, the jeep chair he got to sit in, or the Thomas the Tank Engine show they had on the tv, but he sat just there happy as could be. Now, if you’ll recall, during his first haircut back in May, he screamed and had a fierce grip on Mama. It was awful, and he kept saying “All done! All done!” What a relief this time. Now our child won’t be sporting mullets. We can go to the barber more often. Yay Aidan! I totally give props to the crew at the Hairy Elephant in O’Fallon. They were sooo fast and really great with Aidan.
Nighttime is slooooooowly getting better. He’s still waking more times than a newborn in the night, but actually getting him to go to sleep is getting better. We started by converting his crib to a daybed of sorts. That didn’t work because it didn’t have a guard rail, and it was too high. Then we tried this cheapo Elmo bed from Toys R Us. Hated it! It looked so cheesy and totally didn’t match. So I had Dan take it apart – he’s SUCH an understanding husband. Then we bought a cheepish white toddler bed from Wal-Mart. The thing was such a piece of junk that the pieces really didn’t even fit together. Rather than fight about it, we just stopped and took that back. Tonight we made a trip to Babies R Us and found a nice toddler bed made by the same company that made the crib. Let me tell you how relieved I was when I got it together in about 30 minutes. I was so excited, as were the Welch boys.
Now Aidan walks around the house saying “New New Bed!?” He’s very excited. And he told his crib bye bye. I told him it was for babies. Since he’s “tall and strong” (some of his favorite words) he needs a big boy bed. He’s so proud! And best of all, it has a guard rail. Hopefully I’m not jinxing myself by saying this, but I have high hopes that he’ll sleep through the night tonight. Please cross your fingers, too. The 3 of us desperately need SLEEP!
And…If you’re a client or a potential client, I plan on having a post in the next few days that will show pictures of some of the products I offer. It’s about time, right?! So stay tuned. And, I’m in the process of ordering a new flush-mount album that will serve as a sample. Can’t wait to show you guys everything I’ve been working on. It’s going to be gorgeous!
Hey everyone! I just wanted to share a slideshow – I just realized I never posted it! Check it out:
http://www.nicolewelchphotography.com/slideshows/Tysa_Wedding/
In Aidan news, we’re still struggling through our nights. He’s waking more now than when he was a newborn. It’s really tough, and we are all sporting bags under our eyes. I’m seriously thinking about giving up on the convertible crib or toddler bed idea and just buying one of those crib tents to keep him contained. I’m not sure how much more we can take!!!! Aaaaaahhhhhhh.
Ok, so we went to Columbia more than a week ago, and I’m just now posting – but that’s ok. Right? Aidan’s been keeping me on my toes, people!
Despite the crazy cold weather, Aidan was enthralled with Truman the Tiger, the lights, the screaming fans, the band, and……the cheerleaders. Go figure. Already a ladies’ man, I tell ya!
Maybe Aidan will go to Mizzou and be a Tiger like his mom. I wouldn’t mind an excuse to visit good ‘ole CoMo. I love that town.
Anyway, here are a few shots with the point + shoot.
Yup, we’re still here. We’ve been busy and sleepy, and I’ve been a downright horrible blogger. Sorry. Right now we’re propping our eyes open with toothpicks.
On Friday night, Aidan learned to climb out of his crib. (Yes, when we lived with my sister he climbed out of her baby crib once, but since we got our own place, he NEVER has climbed out). Anyway, so we converted the crib so it’s like a daybed. Well he screamed and would run out of his room every single time. I’ve seen Supernanny and I knew she suggested just returning the child to bed OVER AND OVER AND OVER. Well, that’s what we did. Except every single time, I’d put him in the bed, and he’d IMMEDIATELY run out of his room laughing. We literally did this at least 50 times. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I really did try to outlast him, but my child is stronger willed than I am, I suppose. So I snuggled him in my bed and when he fell asleep, put him in his own bed. He went to bed about midnight and woke at about 5 a.m. He didn’t take a nap the next day either. Tried to rock him, snuggle, read books – nothing worked. He normally gets about 15 hours of sleep. During that 24-hour period, he had 5.
So then last night we bought a gate thinking it would solve our problems. We’d let him cry a little, and surely he’d go to sleep. The kid was exhausted. Put the gate up, he completely freaks out, and after about 5 minutes, hops the gate. Lovely. So we did the same thing as the previous night. This time he wakes up twice in the night, I’m thinking he fell off? It’s not a long fall, and I had pillows on the floor, but it was enough to wake him up and not let him go back to sleep. So then tonight, I thought it might be a little easier. It’s night 3. Nope, worst night of all. And today he didn’t even jump the gate. Again no nap. He had a bath, we read a million books, had some milk, rocked, etc. He says “ni-night” over and over. I know he’s tired. He knows he’s tired. He just stood at the gate and cried for an hour. I couldn’t take it anymore. I rocked him for maybe 2 minutes and he was out – snoring and all.
I just don’ t know what to do. He’s always been a great sleep. I’ve always just put him in his bed and he went to sleep without any problems. So that’s what we’ve been up to lately. And in his rare moments of sleep, I’ve been keeping up on my business side, too. Eeeeeek!
Anyway, I’ll try to post some photos of Aidan’s first Mizzou game tomorrow. We made a trip out to Columbia, MO to see the Tigers play on a cold, frosty Missouri night. The 3 of us had a BLAST!
For those of you who don’t know Aidan well, the first thing you should know is he loves, loves, loves Barney. It all began back in March when the 2 of us made that horribly long + dreadful drive from the lovely (not) Fort Hood, Texas, to St. Louis. I knew it was going to be awful, and I did everything I could to be prepared. This included stocking up on snacks, a bazillion toys, and, for the first time in his life, a few movies. I bought a portable DVD player and hung it between the seats of the Pathfinder in case of an emergency. Well once we hit Joplin, MO, the emergency had come. Aidan, who was just about 15 months old at the time, was getting extremely irritable. He was so sick of being in the car. It was time to pull out the big guns. First we tried Sesame Street. It was ok for a few minutes. We tried Thomas the Tank Engine. It was ok for a few seconds. Then came Barney + Friends. There it was. We had a winner. And that, my friends, was where it all began. Watching a Barney movie is a morning tradition in the Welch household now. Dan and I aren’t particularly fond of it, but we know how much he loves Barney. And you know what’s funny? I was totally going to be one of those moms who does everything in the books the exact way you’re supposed to. They say no TV until 2 – at all. Well, sorry. I guess I’m horrible. But if you saw how excited Aidan gets, you would understand. And he’s even learned a few numbers and colors from watching. And the song about cleaning up totally rocks, if you ask me, because it really works.
Anyway. That’s enough Barney talk to last a lifetime, wouldn’t you say? The point of the story is that I saw a sign while shopping at the Galleria in St. Louis looking for a winter coat for Aidan. As soon as I saw that Barney was coming to St. Louis, I knew I had to take Aidan. The line ended up being realllllly long, and we waited a couple of hours. But it was worth it to see the excitement on my little guy’s face. He hugged him and gave him a hi-five. And then I took this crappy picture. And I must say, I’m so glad to have this crappy picture. Just because Aidan loves him.
Ok, so her birthday was really yesterday, but that’s ok – right? I’ve been a little absent from blogging this week – for which I apologize. I think my family is just recovering from the craziness of last week. We’re about to have some good downtime this weekend, and I’m very excited about that.
Last Saturday, while Dan was in Jefferson City for the Army, and Aidan was with my mom, I went to Janine’s baby shower. She and her husband, Jason, are expecting their first baby. And though I don’t know how they can even stand the anticipation, they aren’t founding out the gender of the baby. I can’t wait to know! 
Anyway, you’ll be seeing more of Janine on the blog in a few weeks when I do her maternity shoot. It’s going to be so much fun! Oh, and I should mention that yours truly came in 3rd place on the word scramble at the shower, and I am looking forward to spending my $5 at the Bread Co. Watch out, here I come!
Here are just a couple snapshots from the shower…I’ll do some more blog updating later.
Isn’t she an adorable mama-to-be? I can’t believe she’s 30 weeks! She’s so little. Lucky!
Janine’s sister reading a super sweet poem she wrote.
I thought this was so adorable. It was a letter Janine wrote when she was a little kid. They passed it around the room for everyone to look at. So cute.
© 2012 St. Louis wedding photographer Nicole Welch
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