I betcha thought you saw everything from our christmas celebration.
I lied.
I lied and now am asking for forgiveness.
PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
I KNOW NOT WHAT I DO.
PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
I CAN’T STOP LOVIN YOU.
DON’T DENY ME
THE PAIN I FEEL IS TRUE
PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
um…
uh….
(line)
Nevermind. Anyway. You must forgive me immediately and tell me that we are BFF all over again.
Why? Well, because I want to share with you a early present I forgot to share…and a late one too.
Thanks to my wishlist, my darling boyfriend knew exactly what was on my WANT radar this year. So when I saw this beautifully wrapped present under the tree. Well, you know that Will was like “MOM! STOP JUMPING UP & DOWN. I AM GETTING SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME.”
And that was just the beginning. After I opened the gift, it was like a club up in my belly because of all the poppin & lockin.
Wanna see what was inside?
Yay – I knew you did….
It was this 1.8 Canon lens. Straight off the wishlist. And straight into my ever lovin’ craddling fingers.
Although it has taken some getting used to – once you get the hang of it, it can take some amazing photos.
Like this one where I was able to focus on the button in my ornament bowl.
It only took seventeen tries but eventually it worked.
And this one of Lilley that I shot outside – love how it fades the background. It actually looks like she is in a studio instead of outside on our driveway sitting on a torn white blanket.
So that was my early present. Jeremy got a ReadyWrench & I got a lens. One hundred points Santa.
And that late present I was bragging about?
Yeah. It is amazing.
It’s this here stroller from Phil & Ted’s.
Basically this stroller is the Bower version of a Cadillac. It kicks some serious diapered tooshie. It’s an inline stroller – so that when baby #2 comes along (please dear Lord, I’ll promise to be good) we will be prepared to push em both without getting a doublewide. And it is all-terrain…so I won’t be giving up the beach just because my arms are too weak to carry Will once he hits like five pounds. PLUS….it has an attachment for our carseat (which we don’t have yet) to clip right in. That means Baby Bower can go from car to stroller back to car again without being rebuckled.
The only problem with this sucker is that it costs one pretty penny.
Enter Baby Fund.
Way back in October, Jeremy suggested getting a piggy bank for Will’s gear. I pulled out a jar. Cause I am thrifty like that. And hence, the Baby Fund was born. Ever since, we have stashed our extra change in there, any money we got from Christmas and thought twice about purchasing Bacon Double Cheeseburgers so that we could save every little bit. And guess what?
It worked!
Our baby fund had enough inside so that we could pay cash for the stroller of our dreams!
(Imagine me celebrating by doing the Truffle Shuffle here)
Plus, by shopping around online, we scored free shipping and an extra doubles seat for free. That on top of a pretty great price! So now that we know the Baby Fund works….and the wishlist does too….I just have one little thing to say:
you could be a hand model! but alas, that would mean no more DIY, no more working with your hands.
your reflection in the ornaments really shows off your growing belly! (in the best way!) i love the baby fund idea, will have to keep that one in mind when we start procreating. and your oh so subtle hint at the end is hilarious and golden at the same time! i adore every post, so keep ’em coming!
Forgiven. Best friends forever….
Wait, my name is Megan …NOW we can be best friends forver!
Awesome presents…. thanks for sharing!
Baby Funds are a great idea! Ever since we got married in 2007, my husband and I have always had 2010 as the year we wanted to have a baby (not pregnant yet). In May of 2008 we started a baby fund, it’s been so hard not to use that money, but I know it will be worth it at the end!
I’m a pro photographer, and although I shoot Leica & Nikon, the 50mm is my favorite lens ever. When I die, you will have to pry it from my cold dead hands
Katie,
I bought the Phil & Ted’s after I had my second…and three other strollers before it. This one is awesome…it does everything. You don’t need another stroller! It is better in the mall than any of my other more compact strollers. It’s perfect on the beach. It’s great for navigating city street, and for walks in suburban neighborhoods. It does it all. It’s far from perfect (there are quite a few things I’d change about it – which I listed in my Amazon review of the stroller), but it’s definitely the best doubles stroller out there.
You and Jeremy are wise to buy it for your first baby. If your really do end up having as many babies as you want, you’ll get so much use out of it. Even just with two, you’ll use it a ton.
Enjoy!
I love how YOU add the blue/teal color to the photo of the ornament bowl. It is so cute!
Is that the macro lens? The 60mm is on my birthday wishlist for next month! Do you really think it is worth it?
I got the same lens for Xmas and am LOVING IT!
Yay for early and late gifts!! That’s the best! I’ve seen that stroller out and about a few times, and knowing me, I’d be the mom who constantly knees her kid in the head. Can’t wait to hear how well it works for you! Awesome photos with the new lense, one day I’ll be half as good as you!
I have this lens and it pretty much never comes off my camera – I LOVE it! Best hundred bucks I ever spent on photography equipment. It will be great for le bebe, enjoy it!
Hey Bower Crew!
When you have a chance, head over to my Etsy shop and pick out any hat y’all like as my baby gift to you! (www.armchairdesign.etsy.com)
Hugs and belly rubs (if you’re cool with that sort of thing),
Noni
i totally have the phil and ted stroller and i have to practically wipe my drool off of it everytime i take it out of my car. i love it, and it was totally worth the gazillion dollars that it cost. so great choice!!
Hi Katie!
This is kind of random, but I was just watching Unwrapped on the Food Network and the episode was all about bacon! It immediately made me think of you! Did you know they make bacon cupcakes?
Anyway, I really enjoy your blog and check it first thing every morning. Keep up the great work!
Stacy
You will absolutely LOVE this pram/stroller. I live in Melbourne, Australia & we have had ours for just bordering on 5 years now. We have 2 daughters (not quite 5yrs and 3yr old). We no longer use ours, but the condition is still great and it is one of those prams that is a life saver when you have both children, and zipping in and out of shops.
Enjoy it !! You will no doubt have other parents coming up to you in public asking what pram it is. All the best
My sister has a similar Phil & Ted’s pram and loves it. A wishlist is such an excellent idea. I get annoyed every birthday and Christmas when my boyfriend asks what I want. I want him to (telepathically) just know. Is that too much to ask?? A wishlist would probably solve both our problems.
I got that lens for Christmas too! My Christmas pictures have never been so beautiful. I got some great ones of my nieces and nephews
I just noticed it that last photo that your birthday is Febuary 5th! I knew you were an awesome gal and I love your decorating style, but now I just discovered that we share a birthday! I am exactly one year younger than you so we weren’t seperated at birth or anything, but how crazy is that.
I have a miter saw on my birthday list this year. I never thought I would be asking for power towels, but my hand saw an miter box just aren’t cutting it anymore. I’ve been wanting a Canon DSLR for a long time too, just hasn’t made it into the budget yet. Your photos are great.
“After I opened the gift, it was like a club up in my belly because of all the poppin & lockin.” You’re hysterical – I laughed out loud! (I think my officemate wondered what the heck I was up to.)
Now those were some great gifts! I knew I liked you for a reason other than your humor and the fact that you live in Atlanta. My birthday is Feb. 6th!
Oh and that stroller….Girl you are going to love it! I had the HUGE double stroller that you don’t want and I could barly get on an elevator!
As a do-it yourselfer gal myself, I love reading your blog! It is giving me great ideas for my new house (with tons of white walls and empty rooms that need a creative touch!)
I just noticed on your wish list that the breastfeeding covers are on there- if you sew (or know someone that does!), you can do them yourself for super cheap! I made a pair of reversible ones for my best friend and it took about an hour and only cost about 16 bucks for two (including hardware from the fabric store)! Here is the link where I learned how to make them!
http://www.blisstree.com/breastfeeding123/free-pattern-to-sew-your-own-nursing-cover/
The nice thing about making them yourself is that you can really customize them (well that, and also saving a bunch of $$!)
Looking forward to more postings!
Katie,
Do you have to buy a particular car seat to use with this stroller or will most work?
Anne
The picture of Lilley is gorgeous! Great shot!
Quick photography/lens question… (I love reading your photography stuff because I have the same enthusiasm, but much less skill, for photography as you) I’ve been coveting (bad!) the Nikon 50mm lens for a while (we even have our own version of a baby fund for it (so horrible)) but just today I read a post about the versatility of the 35mm lens and ugh… now I’m so torn. Did you consider other lenses before choosing the 50mm?
What great gifts! I got the exact same lens for Christmas to go with my new camera and I love it as well!
My husband also got me that same lens for Christmas. I love it too. Thanks for blogging and sharing your life. Your blog is really fun to read.