Smiles!

When Genevieve first came into the world, she cried a lot.  Not surprising as she was a newborn, and that's what newborns do.  But as she grew older and began to temper slightly, Hannah and I waited in joyful hope for the best thing in the world to new parents: the smile.  We read books to find out when we might expect this small miracle, and kept our fingers crossed.  As the weeks progressed, we waited and waited, but all that seemed to look back at us were scowls and grimaces.  We began to lose hope.  

No matter how well her needs were met, no matter how much she was cuddled, swaddled, kissed, hugged, sung to, spoken to, fed, burped, carried, rocked, or left to nap, her only response was this:

But just as we had given up hope, when we thought all was lost, it happened!  She let forth the most beautiful thing we'd ever seen!  Our little girl has the most gorgeous and infectious smile ever, and I glow each and every time she does it.  Below are a couple photos of her smiling, I hope you enjoy!

A harmless, yet shameless little plug

Not long ago, our little Genevieve was treated to her very first photo session.  It's not like we don't have enough photos of the little monkey, actually quite the contrary.  We have hundreds of candid shots we've snapped over the past few months.  Many of which I've posted here, and on Facebook.  But we wanted some professional looking photos we could send to family, and feel confident about putting up on the wall in the house.  Sadly, neither Hannah nor I feel qualified or would even know where to begin.

Enter our good friends Daniel and Galina Nisley.  Daniel is an accomplished amateur photographer who does some wonderful work.  After a quick phone call, plans were made for a Saturday morning session at our home.  How much more perfect could it get?  Well, as luck would have it, we got a much later start that morning than we would have liked, and Genevieve was not in the greatest of moods.  Two of the things she deplores most in her little world are getting out of the bath, and changing outfits.  Not only was she getting a hurried bath that morning, but would receive several outfit changes as we paraded her through all of the clothing picked out for the event.  Needless to say, she was not a happy camper.

As the session began, I was simply astounded by Dan's patient and calm demeanor.  It had a definite effect on Genevieve, and she began to calm down.  He brought out her beauty and personality in his shots, and we couldn't be happier with the finished results!

Below is just a sample of the shots he took.  If you like what you see, I urge you to visit his Flickr page, or contact him on his Facebook page, both are included below.

Thanks Dan!  We are absolutely in love with these photos!

Dan's Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danisley

Dan's Facebook profile:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000853444256

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Up until I became a father, St. Patty's Day was just another excuse to wear green and drink stout.  Now it would appear that the holiday is just another excuse to dress your little one up in green cuteness.  Thanks to Hannah's mother, we did just that!  While I did enjoy a pint of Murphy's in honor of the day, the highlight came when my daughter donned the outfit below.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

My little leprechaun!

Fightin' Irish!

Nothing says lucky like a 4-leaf clover on the butt!