You guys have asked some questions about taking our own newborn photos, making Teddy’s birth announcement, taking Clara’s four year photo & making her annual video, and what I got for Mother’s Day (spoiler alert: it’s a super sentimental photo book of kid quotes from Clara), so this post is a smorgasbord of all that documentation. As I wrote this I thought “maybe John and I are more ‘document-happy’ than most people” – you know, to take so many photos and make a yearly video, etc. But then I realized that most people with a blog probably lean towards a love of capturing things, and a ton of our non-blogging friends and relatives have phones and computers full of videos and photos of their kids. So I think it’s just easier than ever thanks to cell phones, and maybe we’re not that unusual after all.
We did stash our phones and break out the good camera to snap some casual newborn photos when Teddy was just a week old though, so here’s our favorite one on the cover of his birth announcement. We just used a template from TinyPrints, added the picture, and bought a few dozen.
As is the case with most photoshoots, it gets a lot less glamorous when you zoom out. Yup, we snapped the photo above while John stood between a giant box and a plant in the office.
Teddy was just seven days old when we did this, because we wanted to capture his sweet squishy newborn stage. Our amazing brother-in-law Todd (who’s a professional photographer) also offered to take some family & baby photos for us, so it was nice to know that the pictures we took wouldn’t be the only ones. It took the pressure way down, and made it nice and fun. John and I both got in on the shooting action, and we even got some sweet pictures of Clara and Teddy together.
As for the tools we used for our casual little shoot (professionals we’re not, so these really came in handy), we used the diffuser I got John for Christmas, a soft surface that we created with a pile of blankets and a Boppy on our office desk, and a step stool to help us take some shots from above.
The difference of the diffuser was pretty dramatic. The shot on the left is one we took without it – and then we held up the diffuser to even out the light and took another picture. These baby-in-a-basket shots make us laugh because he straight-up looks like he’s in the womb. I think good pro photographers can pull off setups like these, but after snapping a few we moved on to simpler shots of him sleeping, John holding him, Clara looking at him, etc.
We took these photos with our Nikon D3200 and our nifty fifty lens (it’s an AF-S Nikkor 50mm lens that we’ve had for a few years now). It’s great for shooting detail shots and creating that blurred background, but we never use it for full room shots (we use the stock lens that came with our camera for those).
We also tried to include things with meaning to us in the photos…
… like this sweet blanket that my brother’s wife Ali knitted for us (it was the first one she ever made – and it came out awesome!).
Baby foot intermission. I still contend there is nothing cuter.
I love this photo that captures Teddy’s cute hair and John’s wedding ring with a simple light background. I still can’t believe how much hair he had at birth since Clara had hardly any for a while.
Here’s one with eyes, was a total coup for us since he was still pretty sleepy and squinty at seven days old.
We also wanted to get some shots of Clara with him, so we used our bed as a casual background.
This one melts my heart. This girl LOVES her brother.
We liked these shots so much that we used a series of them on the back of Teddy’s announcement.
These photos were taken the next day, just randomly when they were laying in our bed.
They’re a pretty hilarious pair, these two.
Which leads us to Clara’s latest photo project picture. A bunch of you started asking where her four year shot was after we shared her birthday party (thanks for the reminders! It had completely slipped our mind between party stuff and general newborn happenings).
It’s pretty crazy to see how much she has grown since we started the project. One of our favorite things to do now is to take Teddy’s weekly photo and then look back at Clara’s photo from that same week. She loves studying his photos next to hers, and it’s fun for us to pick out a few similarities and differences.
We also got some pretty great outtakes from Clara’s four year photo. The one on the right kills me. She saw it and said “I look like a flamingo!”
And now for my mother’s day gift. It made me full on ugly-cry. John secretly put together a little photobook full of Clara Conversations for me.
Every page had me doing that smiling-with-tears-running-down-my-face thing. It’s one of my favorite things ever. And such a huge surprise. I have no idea when he snuck the time in to make it.
John even thought to leave the last page blank so Clara could draw our family. Look at us, all holding hands. I also like how Daddy is smaller than Teddy. And the Easter stickers are a nice touch too.
Update: John made/bought the book through MyPublisher, which is also where we order our family yearbooks (although this book is smaller and thinner than those).
How are you guys documenting things these days? Is your phone full of photos? Have you make any videos with clips and pictures set to music (here’s a post about how we make ours). Is anyone else sending out birth announcements? Is it weird that I keep them? I have dozens of them, from every friend and relative who has ever sent them to us, and I keep them in a big stack next to the cookbooks in a kitchen cabinet.
jacqueline says
Thank you for posting the video! It made my day seeing your beautiful family. You are all truly blessed!!!
Sky says
Clara is looking more and more like Sherry every day! It’s so cool to see how she’s grown, especially in the last year. Also? I think a diffuser just jumped to the top of my christmas list- what a difference it makes!
Katie Barber says
What a perfect Mother’s Day Gift! I swear, if you published and sold the “Clara Conversation” book, it could be the next best seller!
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Katie!
xo
s
Alexis says
You guys are such a beautiful family. I can feel the love through my computer screen.
Allison says
Oh my godddd that video!! <3 Thanks for sharing so many sweet moments with us! :)
Amanda says
totally random, but where/how do you find the songs for your videos? I always find myself writing them down because they are great, but I have never heard of them!
And of course all the kid stuff makes me want more :) what a cute family!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Amanda! We check a site called Jamendo, which has artists who share their music with ‘creative commons’ rights, so people can use them with a credit. That’s where we found the first song. The second song is on the radio though (Clara loves it, so John tossed that in there too).
xo
s
Meredith says
Those photos of the two of them together are just the sweetest, most beautiful shots. And that video! What a fantastic family you have!
Diana says
LOVE pretty much everything in this post. Is that weird to say? I have a love/hate relationship with smart phones and all that but love how easy it is to document my son’s life!
mp says
The close-up of them on the bed: it looks like Teddy is telling Clara all about the stresses of being a few weeks old, and she’s reassuring him that he’ll get through it just fine. So sweet.
Raquel says
LOVE THAT BOOK. I am going to have to try MyPublisher! And yes my phone is full of pictures, lol
kim says
Quick question for you all – maybe it’s answered somewhere? How do you store all your phone pics and camera photos? Do you use a backup? Or maybe you have the iPhone so naturally use iCloud or whatever that is :) I have a Samsung so no auto backup to a cloud….but I desperately need something! Any easy suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kim! We do have iPhones and use iCloud, but we back up the photos and videos to our computer and then once a year we save them to external hard drives.
xo
s
Ana says
You can install dropbox in your phone, and configurate it to download all camera pictures, then you can access them anywhere.
Lissa says
SHerry,
That video made me want to cry!! Clara is beyond adorable (and so is Teddy)!!
rebecca smith says
Clara’s birthday videos always make me so happy!
Katie@ little house of four says
O.M.G those pictures are absolutely adorable! And the book of Clara’s conversations made me wanna cry! What a sweet sweet gift!
Amanda says
Love the photobook – that and FB are the ways I capture the funny things my boys say. Also glad to hear that others keep announcement and cards. I have a photobox full and filed by year – including Christmas/Holiday cards. I love to see how friends and their families are growing next to older versions of themselves! Also started a new thing with using their holiday card photo as their pic ID on my phone. I now get greeted by all kinds of sweet faces when I get calls or texts. Keep the creative ideas flowing for those of us that are semi-challenged. =)
YoungHouseLove says
LOVE that idea!
xo
s
Heather says
You all have such an amazing family. And you are doing such great things to document the special moments! Clara is also getting to be such a lovely young lady and an amazing big sister! Loved this post and just had to say I can’t wait to do this myself! Thanks for the fabulous ideas!
Briseidy says
adorable!
Kristin H. says
We not only hijacked your weekly photo project almost to the T (we just added a frame) but we also copied you by making a one year video of our little Madeline. Obvi I don’t expect you to watch it (it’s SO long, I don’t know how you guys are so awesome at editing!!) but thank you for sharing the amazing things you do. We are truly proud of how we documented our Maddie’s first year and we wouldn’t have been nearly as awesome at it without your guys’ incredible ideas :) <3 http://youtu.be/KxA9pix7rAk
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Kristin! And Maddie is adorable!
xo
s
Tammy says
These are my favourite kinds of posts. I love getting new ideas!
Sarah says
I should also note that he would gather his seconds and add them to the official video about once a month. Any longer than that and it became a chore that he didn’t look forward to. It was and is quite fun to see how it progresses over the year!
danielle says
We do yearly photo books also! I include sayings from my boys in them and they are awesome! They always make me laugh and cry!
Jillian (Her Split Ends) says
that video…totally balling!! You guys are just the cutest!! <3
~ Jillian
Vanessa says
I love everything about this post! <3
Jessica brown says
I’m an obsessive record keeper too. I have the blog pinted out in a book every year or two, I make a shutterfly picture book for each kid every year just after their birthday, and I make an annual family video with all the iphone clips set to music. We just had the opening night festivities a few weeks ago for “brown family 2013”
Kim S says
Such a sweet little family! I’ve been meaning to go back and look at Clara’s one-year video so I can start gearing up to make one for my little guy, who just turned 8 months. I set up a Shutterfly share-site shortly after he was born, and it’s been AWESOME. Any friends or relatives that take pictures on their own phones or cameras can easily upload to my monthly albums, and it’s really been awesome for staying organized. I’m hoping it makes it easier to create a video half as good as yours!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really cool! Good luck with it Kim!
xo
s
Julianne says
Love the Mother’s Day gift. So sweet and thoughtful & your photos look great! :O)
Brittney Everett says
I LOVE Clara’s dress in the first pictures of her with Teddy. Where did you get it?
YoungHouseLove says
That was from my mom, but she got it at Baby Gap.
xo
s
Missyt says
You Guys ROCK! I’m sure life can be overwhelming with a 4YO and a newborn BUT you make it look like so much fun! Thank you for letting the world have a peek inside your life and sharing your beautiful children with us. The music for this video is priceless. You are sure creating wonderful memories for your family, some families need to take a clue from YOU! Best wishes for many many more birthdays together!
jeannette says
earwax in your smoothie. she’s killin’ me.
Janelle says
You guys are so inspiring for how to be loving, patient, kind, and encouraging. I really admire you for that! Thank you so much for sharing. (The video, in particular, got some tears from me!)
Tina says
I love Clara’s 4th year video! What program did you use to put it together??
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s a post with that info for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/2012/09/video-replay/
xo
s
Laura M says
Oh my gosh, that Clara video made me cry so much more than I planned!
PS- the older she gets, the more she looks like her beautiful momma :)
Carla says
I love this post. It reminds me of some of your old posts in that it makes me feel very connected to you all personally. I would love to see this kind of post weekly with Teddy’s photo shoot and some outtakes. I know you have the link to Teddy’s photos on the side with a few outtakes too… but the kind of format you do with this type of post takes it to a whole other level. On the other hand I don’t know if you have intentionally chosen to share his photos in a less obvious wayl… and if you have, I respect your choice. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Carla! We definitely feel the best when we balance sharing family and home stuff, so it’s nice to have family updates in here along with projects, shopping, before & afters, and other home stuff!
xo
s
Sarah R says
Sounds like you have a lot of prego followers right now! I am one of them and I am curious about the cloth diapers you bought when Clara was born. I’ve read all your previous posts about them and I’m curious if you plan to use them again for Teddy (assuming he is probably still too small for them?) would you recommend that specific brand still? Do you think you need more/less than originally purchased? I am so overwhelmed by all the options these days!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, still planning to use them for Teddy when they fit him! They’re BumGenius All-In-Ones and we really liked them. Might buy 6 more to supplement our original 12 since we hear boys pee more! Ha!
xo
s
Evelina says
This post is so beautiful! I definitely got misty eyed and the video made me full out ugly cry. And I’m not even a mom! That book john made is amazing! Congratulations on such a beautiful family :)
Nelle says
Your Mother’s Day present!! Amazing! What a sweet thoughtful perfect gift!
Good work John!
Sally G says
I almost cried watching the video! Makes me think of how fast my littles are growing up. I can’t believe the difference in Clara from her 3 year pic to her 4 year pic. It’s like she has become a legit full-blown kid! Wowza, that went quick!
Sarah Ramirez says
I just can’t believe how big Clara has gotten! And her hair!…..it’s so long now! :) And John, big high fives to you on the conversations book! Well played my friend.
Lilly says
I love how Clara is such a combination of both of you! You look at her in pics and see parts of both of your faces, all uniquely her own now. It will be neat to see what Teddy ends up with once he’s not full on baby!
Lilly says
And, Btw, just saw the cloth diaper comment, a few above… buy more. Holy bajeezus, buy more. (coming from a mama of a 16 month old boy)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Thanks Lilly!
xo
s
Lindsay says
This post made me smile and cry! I love these ideas!!! Thank you guys, for cranking up the heat on my baby fever!
Jessica M says
Oh my gosh, that video was absolutely beautiful. My husband and I are hoping to start a family sometime this year and I got tears in my eyes while watching that, thinking how that could be us in a few years. You have a gift of capturing wonderful moments in your family and I’m sure it’s something Clara will cherish forever.
Suzanne says
the pictures are awesome… love love love Teddy’s wide open eyes, and the ones of Clara with Teddy.
Carrie says
Ok, love absolutely everything about this post!! Q: what are you going to do with Clara’s annual videos going forward? Will it turn into a Clara/Teddy video or will they each get a separate one? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Good question! We were just talking about this and we’re not sure yet. So many photos and videos are intertwined already that I suspect we might combine them and just make one big one each year that covers special moments for them each alone and together :)
xo
s
Jasmine says
What a beautiful post! Congratulations to you all with your beautiful family. I wish that we had been able to do this kind of thing when my (now grown-up) boys were little. I have photo albums of them and thought I was so organized! Technically challenged as well, so it might not have made that much difference! Haha!
Nat says
So in the photos of you taking a photo of the camera, what other camera did you use because it too takes great shots?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Nat, that’s just our iPhone 5!
xo
s
Briel K. says
I love the video! What a great year Clara has had! :)
Diana says
I have a 6 week old boy and I absolutely love Teddy’s baby clothes in his weekly photos. Would it be possible to let us know where the clothes are from each week? I would love that bc his clothes are so cool and my babe is pretty much living in baby gap!
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Diana! Pretty much every outfit of his is from Old Navy, Baby Gap, or Target (the only exceptions are the suspenders, which were a gift my mom brought back from England, and the fox pants, which were an Etsy gift from my friend KK).
xo
s
Kara says
Beautiful photos and beautiful mother’s day present! I have used Blurb for all my photo books but My Publisher now has me curious and raring to transfer digital photos stuck in my hard drive to beautiful books. Eeek, can’t wait! It’ll take forever with 2 kids under 4…
On another note, I loved your bedroom background. Could we see more of your bedroom and deers on where you got your sheets and shams please? Really loving how light, bright and airy it feels. Wish mine were that way.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Kara! We made that headboard a while back and those pillows were from a small shop in DC (they say Dermond Peterson on them if that helps). The sheets are just white ones from Target and the white duvet is Ikea.
xo
s
Rosie S says
Sweet video!!! And I am pretty sure Clara has done more in her 4 years than I have in my…ah hem…”29″ years!! :) Great fun, and what treasure to have….