I was taking pictures of Annie yesterday when she suddenly was like, “Yo, Mom. I got something to say. Why don’t you grab that video camera over there and tape me like a good mommy, hmmm.”

When your six week old talks, you listen, you know? So here is Annabel’s unedited statement.

if you can’t see the video above, click here.

Hopefully this will clear up the rumors started by a vengeful daddy!

After Maddie passed away I didn’t know if I would ever pick up my camera again. The joy I took from photography was gone. I had to force myself to take pictures and when I did, I felt like I connected with Maddie. She loved to sit on my lap and look at the photos on the screen. Still, it was very hard to take pictures knowing Madeline wouldn’t see any of them.

I am so glad I have another tiny muse.

I am so thankful I have the thousands of photos I took of Maddie. I spend hours looking at them, remembering the moments surrounding them, reliving memories. One thing I noticed was, as the photographer, there weren’t a lot of photos of me and Maddie together. I vowed this time around to change that. So today, when I was playing with Annabel, I asked Mike to take some pictures of the two of us.

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In the day of digital photography, it’s so easy to take hundreds (or even thousands) of pictures. Trust me, you’re never going to look back and say, “gosh, I wish I hadn’t used up that room on my hard drive on pictures of my baby’s first year.” I have a picture of almost every single day of Madeline’s life, and I can say the same for Annabel. I tell everyone to keep their cameras with them in their purses, diaper bags, etc. You won’t regret it.

Some day, you’ll be able to look back on the days and moments that might seem mundane at the time, and be so glad you captured an instant.

A lot of you noticed the Diet Coke can collection in my last post. To answer your questions, YES, Mike drank all of those himself. Not a single one of those cans belonged to me. And that’s not all he drank that day! He’s always consumed too much Diet Coke (in his mom’s opinion) and it’s something I’ve been around forever – my parents used to be big D.C. drinkers in their day. Annabel doesn’t even flinch at the sound of a coke can opening (neither did Madeline). I think they got used to it in utero. I’ve grown accustomed to hearing the unmistakable sound of a soda can popping open at the start of each day.

He can’t function without Diet Coke, and he will actually drink a can and then go to bed. It baffles me.

I used to drink a lot of Diet Coke but I stopped a year ago. I still drink a cup of coffee every day, but that’s it. I know, it’s hard to believe after I admitted how hopelessly addicted I was.

My vices go in phases. When I was in high school I went through this kick where I only ate bread rolls at lunch (plain. Yes, weird, I know.). Off and on I have to drink raspberry iced tea (made from a mix). I’ll get stuck on a certain food (like tacos from Baja Fresh, mmmm) and then that’s all I want to eat for weeks. When I was pregnant, my cravings were crazy – avocados, chop suey, latkes, pie, and cheese, to name a few – but after I’d eat them for a few days I was over them (except for pie, because it is impossible to be over pie).

With Annie here I am still managing to keep to one coffee most days. I am being careful about what I eat since she is eating it too. The one thing I am indulging in like crazy? Apple juice. I have a low-sugar variety that I chug all day. I have to stay really hydrated and after a while, apple juice is the only thing I can stomach. I get tired of plain old water! So I’m looking for suggestions for tasty healthy drinks.

Oh, and my current addiction? Pretzel crisps and garlic hummus. Poor Annabel, she is constantly getting kissed by the garlic monster.

Every time I sit down to edit some pictures of Annabel, I am treated to a surprise. Not a “OH that shot turned out better than I thought!” surprise. No, these are of the “OMG I can’t believe he took a picture of me like that!” variety.

Mike has been picking up my camera when I’m sleeping. Not to take cute pictures of Annabel – to take embarrassing pictures of me sleeping.

As every parent knows, you just grab sleep when you can. I am always fighting it, because as every new parent also knows, when the baby is down, that’s when you actually get stuff DONE. But that means that my body kind of forces me to take little cat naps when I’m not expecting it.

Rigby is obviously very concerned.

Or sometimes I am really tired, but someone else is NOT.

thanks for stopping him, girls!

I also have a habit of falling asleep when I’m watching TV. My glasses suffer.

Mike isn’t much of a napper (I don’t know how he does it) but today! Today I got my revenge!

Stop taking pictures of me Mike!!