StudioMAMA

 That morning, instead of reaching for one of her many clothes,
The Little One actually pulled one of Mama's clothes, a mango coloured tank top.
Ah well, since it does not get much use, why not?
And so it happened that when the Little One ran to hide behind the curtain, she was still in that mango coloured top
And this Mama thought, what a pretty picture!
And she went SNAP SNAP SNAP...

Well, the photos did look good on the tiny eeny weeny camera screen
On the computer screen.... well, they still have potential
So... after some editing on Picnik...
Presenting...

StudioMAMA photos:

And some notes while you are enjoying the photos:

 The Idea
You know how people likes to have studio photos of their kids?
Baby in the cup, baby dressed up as something, etc etc etc.
Well, now I have one too.
Just that instead of having it done in a professional studio by a strange photographer,
It's done at home, by Mama

Ah well, in any case, given such an opportunity,
Great lighting, beautiful vibrant colour, absolutely natural expressions...
I can't simply let the opportunity pass, can I?

The Editing

So we had some potential photos.
But they need editing. Lots.
So what do we do?
Well, we have Photoshop, but one look at the complicated panel convinced this Mama that it will take WAY too long to use Photoshop, learning process and all.

And so it was back to Picnik.
Some effects (Ortonish, a bit of sepia, softener), some stickers, some fancy fonts, and some fancy frames...

VOILA!

The Editing Time

Well, the photos were taken Sunday.
Editing was done by Monday,
Only left the writing.
Ha! Let's just see how long it will take.

Anyway, do you actually read the text, or you just enjoy the visuals?
I tend towards the latter, actually.

 

You did good, Mama!

The Comments?

Ah, ya. Of course Mama would LOVE to hear your comments.
So, just one comment from this Mama, and then please feel free to use the comment feature below.

The Mama comment?
Ahm, actually these pictures somewhat remind me of pre-wedding pictures.
You know, those of the bride?
Especially the first photo in the blog. Kekekeke...
What do you think?

The Dog & the Baby

Did anybody notice the high incidence of doggie-&-baby photos lately?
Yeah, I thought so too.
But then, this Mama thinks, why not go the whole mile and post photos from days when Baby was still a wee baby? So, here goes. Quite a trip down memory lane, I'd say so myself.

The Wee Baby & the not-so-wee-Dog

When the Baby first came home, we were a bit hesitant to bring them together cause we weren't sure if they will get along. Ha! It turned out the Dog quickly took it upon herself the honor of guarding the Baby. On the Baby's feet at night (when the room is cold), and under the bed in the afternoons. I still remember the Baby's Eyang complaining that she got growled at for checking on the Baby. To think that we were all staying at Eyang's place then.

Good friends

Well, then the Baby grew a bit, and sat up, and learn to scold the Dog. Well, she's bossy, even when she was still a wee Baby. Thank God for such a patient, loving Dog.

And so they got along. Thank goodness.
In fact, the Dog is so protective of the Baby that not only she growled at the Baby's Eyang, but whenever the Baby cried (read: bawled), ahem, you'll hear a counter-howl from the Dog.
Those baby-dog howl chorus did not really make for a smooth learning experience for this Mama. But boy it was interesting. That's what counts, right?

The Dog had to stay back at Opa Oma's place while we got settled Singapore. Oma even got a special gate made for the Dog. But at least the Baby still got to see the Dog on her trips to the grandparents' house. And she remembered enough not to be afraid of the Dog! But then I suppose maybe from her point of view, the Dog is simply one huge furry soft toy which happen to be alive. Soft fur, to occasional wet, slobbery licks... hmm... what to be afraid of? None, as far as the baby is concerned.

I'd say the Baby is not satisfied with the gate separating her from the Dog. Haha..

The Shepherd and her Charge

And so the Dog made it to the Philippines, and the two were reunited. By the way, the picture above is very misleading, as still images often are. It may look like an image of a shepherd (boy! thanks to the short hair and the attire) and her (his) docile charge. But see them in action and you would see that the truth is more of the Dog roaming the yard followed by the Kid. It's still a shepherd and her charge, just not sure which one is the shepherd and which one the charge.

Water spray bottle!

But of course the Baby grows like every day. And she learned that Mama's spray bottle plus the Dog make for a fun game around the house.
So the Dog gave a HUGE sigh, make her move away from the Baby, got sprayed, and move again, and sigh again, and gave Mama a forlorn look. Ah well, as long as the Little One is happy.

Walkies time

Nowadays, the Little One is big enough to hold the Dog's leash.

Yah, well, I guess kids do grow up, even if it seems like forever when it's happening. I might think differently next time, you'll never know. Ask me again in a few years.

Walkies

The Dog, as you all know, is not a puny dog that gets enough exercise simply by running around the house.
She needs daily walk, and so we take a daily walk everyday, the Dog, the Little One, and the Mama.

Luckily the housing complex where we live is pretty enough, with space to walk, some greens to shade us on our walks, and scenery to take in. So we wait till it's not so hot, and off we go for doggy walkies.

This is the ideal case. The Dog holds point, followed by the Little One, and Mama just follow at the back.

The reality?
The Dog needs to be leashed.
The Little One's legs, although marginally longer than the Dog's, do not come with capability to walk that far yet.
Then of course, there's the other purpose of doggie walkies, to pee and poop.
All of which means there are tools and supplies to be brought along.
Not to mention of course the camera phone to take all these pictures, haha.

So now it's closer to reality.
The Dog is on leash (held by the Little One).
(She does that at times, and yes, the Dog is trained enough for me to let her do that. Not to mention the fact that the leash is a retractable one)
There are flowers in the Little One's hand. (That's the purpose of walkies according to the Little One, to collect flowers)
Mama follows at the back with the kiddie bike.

Is it the full reality yet? Hmm... not yet, I'm afraid.

This is more like it.
For one, the Kid is in the kiddie bike, which is the case 70% of the time.
Which also means that Mama needs to push the bike AND hold the Dog's leash.
And remember the peepee poopoop part? Mama also needs to bring a bag with plastic bags to clear Doggie poopoo.
Even the Little One is already into the practice.
Woe unto Mama should Mama have no plastic bag to pick up the doggie poop. The Little One would nag and yell and cry until Mama does something about that mess. Hhhh....

This is also why we like to control what the Dog eats to ensure easy 'mess-removal'. But I guess that's too much info ya? Back to the walkies then.

And of course you still haven't forgotten the flowers, have you? They usually end up in the bike's baskets, or on Mama's hair. Just for fun, you know. 

Now the walkies route are not quite fixed. Sometimes we go left, sometimes we go right. Sometimes we walked further, sometimes we walked shorter distance. It really depends on what time we start walking, whether Mama needs to do anything, if we meet any friends on the way, all kinds of factors. But yesterday, Mama needed to go somewhere, so it was quite a bit of walk, during which we had quite a few encounters. Before that, however, of course we have to collect a few flowers.

At the next house, the Little One met with this puny little friend who was equally excited at the sight of the Dog. Can you see the tail wagging in the picture? Hahaha...

That dog is cute all right, but Mama might have her reasons not to be overly fond of him in particular. The story was that Puny managed to escape (as seen in the third panel above), and followed us for a while. Right before Puny was taken back by his caretaker, he pooped. 

That in itself is fine, if not for the Little One's insistence that I clean up the mess. Harumph!

Next time Puny will do well to stay within his enclosure, thank you very much.

After a long walk, the sight of this puny yellow car parked under the trees is always welcomed. For it's a sign that home is near. Where the Dog can drink, the Little One can get off the bike, and Mama can rest a bit before preparing dinner. Maybe tomorrow we'll see you on another walkies. What do you think?

The Slope, the Baby & the Dog

Ah, the slope at the back of the house.

I'd say we have gotten very familiar with the slope all right,
Tracking the whole length and height of it at anytime during the day, be it early morning, midday, even after sundown,
All thanks to the Dog, and her accomplice, the Little One.

Let me explain.

A few weeks back, the Dog (being female) got her period, and somehow developed an attraction for a certain neighbour's dog who lived somewhere beyond that Slope.

Not wanting any pups, we try to keep the Dog in.
So she will sit by the back door, looking forlorn.
And the accomplice will come, and kindly obliged her by opening the door,
And WOOF! A big yellow cloud of fur will be seen shooting out.

So... the Little One would shout to call the Dog (to no avail, needless to say)
Followed with calls for her shoes and Mama to get the Dog.
And up the Slope we would go, looking for the Dog, who would usually be found that the said neighbour's house, waiting for her 'friend'.

I guess in a way it's good, the walking up and down the slope, for it kind of give us the opportunity to be outside, maybe get a bit of morning sun, fresh air, that kind of thing.
Just have to make sure that we don't break any of our collective legs (8 in total) going up and down the mildly treacherous terrain of the Slope.

In any case, the Little One also managed to discover some 'toys' while outside looking for the Dog.

A telescope.

Haha... really?

Nah, it's actually an abandoned boat/skiff or a water recreation thingy. I used to think it was some sort of decoration, but now that I know better, it's abandoned. For sure.

Here's a better picture of the abandoned boat/skiff/whatever that is.

Hmm.. it would seem that the Little One knows a thing or two about posing in front of the camera.

Mama knows only how to take picture.
Well.. at least it makes Mama's job easier.
I have to say that it looked as if she's advertising that bottle of milk, though.
(The pic must have been taken sometime in the morning while she's having her 'breakfast' and then let the Dog out)

This is the bus stop right across the house of the Dog's 'friend' where we usually ended up, especially during midday when the sun is REALLY hot.

The finger pointing?

Ah, that's the spot where Mama had been ordered to sit at.

And all of these, just so the Dog can have some time with her 'friend'.
(I guess there are deeper reasons, those that have to do with nature, but since this is more or less a 'baby' blog, we shall keep it at that, ya?)



So.. lastly, presenting, the Dog and her 'friend'.

A little end note, some of you might be aware that the Dog seems to be consistent in her choice of 'friend'. I remember around the time the Little One was born, the Dog was also falling for a similar looking dog that roamed the neighbourhood. What do you think?

Mama & Baby...

I guess it's not that easy to take photo of oneself.
Especially with factors like..
- never quite liking most of my photos
- having a beautiful specimen of a daughter to take LOADS of pics of

But if there is anything I learn, even Mama needs to have a space in front of the camera instead of just behind one.
And so Mama made the effort.
And there has been quite a few Mama & baby photos, some better than others.
Ah well....

To the rest of Mamas out there, may you have a space next to your beautiful babies as well....
Cheers...

 

 

Hmm... definitely not one of the best....

And still remember this old one?