Thursday, May 13, 2010

My Baby As a Baby: Memory Lane.




This week, Luke came home from school with an assignment.

For me.

Look through old photos and burn them to a disc so he could make a Power Point presentation of his life; Power Point is the current lesson in his computer skills class.


Now there's an assignment that will make a non-techie mom sweat.

I only have digital pictures for four of his fourteen years. I was a digital holdout for longer perhaps than I should have been. The other ten of his years are on prehistoric film...taken with a mechanical camera. And not all of those are in an album...

Daylight (in which to take pictures of pictures
without flash) was totally non-existent this week!

So...since sunshine was rare and we could hold out no longer, we got out the old albums from their hiding place, and we flipped through them last night, trying to agree on which ones I'd photograph to convert to digital.

I extracted enough that could save me (and Luke) from being a flunky, and for hours I took pictures of pictures and edited and cropped and saved and burned that disc.


It almost killed me.

I sat here at the computer and cried like a baby.

Looking through old pictures is at once uplifting and sad at the same time.

Do you know what I mean?
(Please say yes!)

Uplifting because I realize and am thankful for the fact that I've had a really good life, a great husband who is loving, kind and good and three great kids and a life in the country that we've all enjoyed immensely.

And..
Sad, only because I wonder...

Where did my babies go?

Instead of boring you with the 217 files I made, I will post the photos I feel have value as goodl photography.

I'm taking a trip down memory lane. Wanna come?

The photo above, besides being totally adorable because he's my baby, is beautiful because of the light that day on our front porch, the colors and the subject. And did you spy the kitty? She was with us for eighteen years, and is now gone...sweet Sugar Pie.



I took this picture of my baby as a baby one morning when he was still wearing this pair of white fuzzy pajamas. I spotted a similar white blanket lying on the couch across the room in the sunlight, and something went off in my head and I had to run grab the camera.

He had just awoke. The proof?
Those sleepy, puddle eyes.

Love the newborn fingers and the thumb in his mouth, the sunshine behind him.






And who can't like seeing once again the chubby little toes pointed straight at you, and a setting in red, white and blue? Little hands on fat little roly-poly knees...


And those eyes that say "Mommy, you are my MILK MACHINE!"

This was another day where the light was right and he could finally sit up by himself to have his picture taken.


He had just woken from a nap (which to me is the perfect time to photograph babies...they're still a little dazed and a bit more cooperative).

It was a Sunday, thus the little romper he wore to church that's undeniably adorable, just right for the hot afternoon that it was.

I quickly put his hat on him before I snapped this. This kid always wore a hat, even though we was NOT bald, he had his first haircut at three WEEKS of age! But I knew at some point, he would reach up, grab his hats and throw them off. I had to take hats while I could get them!





This one captures my little farm boy in his excitement about books. The little "work boots", blue jeans, and flannel shirt are kind of cute, too.

This photo captures the excitement only a toddler can bring to reading a book, and the open mouth shows the innocent chatter that the first words and recognizing pictures bring out.

"Doggie!" "Kitty" "Twactor"!




Here we see the quiet concentration of a toddler as he studies the pictures very closely. I can almost hear the heavier breathing because when they're this age, concentrating is work.

I love the way his eyebrows are showing his effort, his chubby cheeks practically resting on the collar of his soft little shirt...

Well, that's enough for now. I'm in tears again.




Oh my.


Dimples.

This homework assignment would make you cry too, wouldn't it?



8 comments:

Faith said...

when I first saw the headline of your post..before I read it..was sad...I would cry alot...then I read your post...I cannot bear to look at their baby pictures.. it went so fast...and now one of them is 14...you know what I mean don't you..my baby is now 8...litlle boy enough still there..but I cannot look at those videos or pictures it makes me so sad...you are not alone.

Laura said...

Great pictures! Adorable beyond words. Love the thumb-sucking one the most...
I've been so emotional about my babies growing up lately. My son turned 21 in March and my daughter will be 30 in July. If those aren't milestones enough, I will be 50 in the fall!!

Donna said...

Those are just adorable and tug right at your heart! All great pictures. The one of him in the crib is breathtaking.

Bloggin bout my Boys said...

OKAY...You finished me off!! My oldest is 16 today and I am just a TAD emotional already...then I see this!!!! He isn't even my kid and I'm blubbering like a baby looking at his widdle cootsy baby face and those eyes my those eyes!! There is a little guy on TV that does commercials and looks JUST like him at the age he is in the last couple photos!!! Now I will be a mess o' mush the rest of the day. But it was worth it...He is growing into a handsome young man and was a BEEEUUTIFUL little guy!! Hope you are recuperating ok. Cold cloth on the puffy eyes, happy thoughts...

Elenka said...

What sweet photos. Imagine time before photography! (Maybe less mommy tears, tho.)
Anyway, regarding the homework assignment, at least you KNOW HOW to burn the photos onto a disc.
I would get an F= for that homework assignment, sheesh. That teacher was assuming WAY too much.
At least you were able to do it! Kudos to you.

LeaderOfTheChickenParade said...

Oh no.. there is my wittle baby! (He was mine too... we all raised the little terd! hahaha) Now he is a big terd... we was so cute, me and Mark sitting there trying to get him to make tractor sounds before he could talk when Nick would drive by on the tractor... with his hair sticking straight up, Alfafa style -- you should add that picture!
And Sugie.. my sweet Sugie, looking at Lukie thru the window... wasn't he showing her a bug? She loved bugs... Now I am crying about my kitty...
Great, I am going to be all mushy like you one day looking at pictures of the cutest red headed baby in the world, "Earl".... I love all the old pictures of Luke, I get mine out and look at them sometimes too. He got so big so fast.

Anonymous said...

I've been taking my own trip down memory lane. I've been scanning old photos to put on my computer and disk. The happy memories, tears and sadness at how fast time does go by overwhelms me at times! But, I am still glad that we do have these pictures to look back upon and remember as they make us smile or even shed a tear or two.

I enjoyed yours! My two favorites are the newborn baby one and the one where he is dressed in red, white and blue. Adorable!

Thanks for sharing!

Ali said...

Ooooh what sweet photos, he was a cutie pie!! My Jimmy is just 2, but it still made me think of him as a newborn, so sweet! I love the pic at the beginning with the kitty cat in the window, that picture has Jimmy written all over it! Thanks for sharing your precious memories =)