Project 366: 57 – 60, plus end of Month Round Up

57.

This really should have been a picture of my mum’s surprise 60th party, but I failed to get my camera out once during the festivities and my brother has yet to send me the photos I took with his camera.

But, on the other hand, this cake played a large part in the celebrations and will always remind me of the day.

(The cake was made by my good friend Lorna, who runs a cake-making business in London. She also made Arlo’s first birthday cake, see the big birthday post.)

Yes, we like dogs.

58.

The morning after and Arlo is still in his party gear.

We stayed at mum’s so I could drink. Arlo saved me from an early onset of my hangover by not waking once during the night. Star.

And how awesome is this belated Christmas present atop his head?

59.

Today, my trouser leg felt the brunt of the new tooth Arlo has coming through.

The good new is that he finally let me count his teeth and (providing I’ve counted correctly) this one is number 19 and that means only one more to go.

Does he win a prize?

60.

What extra-special thing did we do on our special extra day?

Well, nothing.

I had big plans, but early on in the morning at baby group Arlo made it clear he was not in the best mood. So we just had a standard day of naps and pottering about the house.

But hey, here is a picture of my little walker.

And it’s a sunny end to February, which means spring is well on the way. It’s practically round the corner.

Goodbye and good riddance to winter.

366 Thoughts and Observations:

As I did with January, I’m wrapping up February with some details on how I’m finding the project.

Sometimes it is so hard to pick just one shot for the project. (You may have noticed this by the fact that I’ve been sneaking in outtakes here and there!) I know that ultimately this is a good thing, as it means I will have a great collection of photos that I love at the end of it all. Photos that I will look back on for years and years.

There have been a few days where I felt that maybe I hadn’t captured the best part of the day, or even the essence of what our day was about. I’ve definitely been guilty of a late-in-the-day realisation, ‘Shit, I’ve not taken a photo yet’, and hastily snapped something just for the sake of having a photo. This is not what my project is meant to be about. It doesn’t really tell a story, and I try to steer away from this where possible. But at the same time, in accepting the demands of a photo-a-day project, I have also learnt to accept that these last-minute snaps will crop up now and then. And, actually, in a way they are just as reflective of our life, as sometimes our days are just like that – disorganised and unproductive.

I can’t stress how worthwhile it has been to embark on this project. I started because I wanted a record of a whole year. A year within which I knew Arlo would grow and change so much. I didn’t even think about the other advantages that have now become apparent to me. Like what a great motivation it has been, or that picking up my camera every day would improve my skills, not to mention immensely improve my awareness of the capability and limitations of my camera and lenses. Before the project, I could happily not pick up my camera for days. Now, it’s instinct to pick it up and to have it by my side wherever possible. And I have so many great photographic memories to show for it. A big statement seeing as we are a whole two months into the year, but it’s the best decision I’ve made so far this year.

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In case you missed my post about it, or the badge in the top left corner, nominations are open for the Britmums Blogging Awards. This blog doesn’t have a great deal of followers, so I’m happily expecting to get nowhere. But I would be extremely honoured if anyone thought that my photography was worthy of a nomination. That’s all I’m after really.

If you have a specific post of mine in mind and want to nominate me, click here for the BiB nomination form.

If you would like to have a browse through my photography posts, click here.