– We’ve had quite a few visitors this past week! Not counting parents (because once their kid is born, they’re not that important anymore), Emily hosted such honored guests as Daniel, Tom, Elliot, Marina, and Luca. Also, making a special appearance at Chez Zamrycki was cousin Marli all the way from the US via a one-year teaching job outside Paris!
Tom & Emily
– A single smile from Emily has the ability to melt my heart. She didn’t smile for the first three weeks of her life and I found this particularly difficult. I was cracking jokes left and right and all I got in return was a vacant stare (usually slightly cross-eyed). Now, when I get home from work, I am greeted with the sweetest smile of recognition. It usually starts on one side of her face and then grows until her eyes are forced shut and her mouth opens wide revealing her gummy little smile. If it’s an especially emphatic smile, she holds her fists out and her shoulders go up in search of her ears. Sometimes she has happy fits for whole minutes on end. It’s the best. Plus, there’s this joke I tell her about a cat and a dog that she finds absolutely hi-larious!
– With the laughter comes the tears. Emily has recently acquired the ability to produce both tears and drool. The tears started just this morning when – as Jan would have us believe – Emily head-butted her nose into Jan’s chin. I have my suspicions. In any case, Emily proceeded to emit an unprecedented blood-curdling scream and, for the first time in her life, her eyes welled up with tears. It was actually quite scary. Of course, she was absolutely fine just 20 seconds later but she has since used this newfound glass-shattering scream two more times today: once when she was hungry and once when she had a belly full of gas. We hope this whole crying thing is just a phase.
Emily & Luca
– Emily is still loving her bath time. At the moment, I give Emily a bath about two or three times a week and she’s totally chilled out while I scrub her down from head to toe. She even smiled sometimes. We’ve got quite the routine worked out. I think she likes the fact that I narrate the process as we go through it. If I get the time, I wouldn’t mind documenting the procedure on video. If I get the time.
– Emily is still looking to her right about 85% of the time. I hope she straightens out soon.
The sheep and cow used to feel safe
but now receive the occasional smack to the head.
She gorgeous. Let her look where she wants. When there is something she wants to see on her left, she will look left. The kid is brilliant. Let her be.
Are you photoshopping your baby?
@Amanda – I’m not sure I understand your question. I use Photoshop with every photo on my blog: I adjust the color balance and the contrast and am forced to remove the occasional red-eye. Plus I crop the photo and add it to my pre-made photo template (that’s where that nifty drop shadow comes from). But I have yet to manipulate any photo of Emily with the intention of rendering her unrecognizable. I haven’t added an extra arm or anything. Why? Is there a specific photo that you suspect of being manipulated? You think I made up that Tom guy?
It appears that only the visitors cause wrinkling of the surfaces on which they lay. In the picture with Tom, you can see the wrinkles in the sheets and the slight indentation in the pillow, while Emily appears to be causing some sort of dip in the pillow she doesn’t appear to be effecting the sheet. There also appears to be a remarkable lighting difference between Tom and Emily, although it might just be due to the fact that Tom is a much pinker baby and his clothes are darker.
It might just be my eyes, but the second picture looks as though you super-imposed a picture of Luca on a pre-existing picture of Emily in the Moses basket. Even though his arm is above hers there is no shadow cast on her.
It must be all the natural light in your apartment, I do not think I have ever seen a picture of Emily with a shadow.
@Amanda: Duh. Emily is a vampire and the other babies are stock photos. Josh, Jan and Emily (the vampire) have no friends.