Susan & Brad + 2: 8 Months Old

My angel is 8 months old today. Where has the time gone? Today I put my ipod in her room (she has a really cool, retro-looking ipod dock in there) and we were dancing to some music. She kept looking down at a framed set of ultrasound photos that I have of her on her bookshelf - the ones where she had her finger up to her lips. I showed it to her and told her that they were pictures of her. I don't think she believed me. I can barely believe it myself! I remember tearing up in the ultrasound studio when we had those done - it feels like yesterday. She's the light of my life.

She's got SUCH a personality to her. She's as stubborn as an ox. If we're seeing that already, we're in for it when she hits 2! I can already tell. Heck, I knew that time that I asked the OB why she kicked like CRAZY whenever I'd lay on my left side and keep me up all night. I was thinking I was crushing the cord. Nah, he said it was because she just flat out didn't like it! I should have known! She definitely makes her wants and needs known. If those Gerber puffs aren't coming fast enough, you'd better watch out! If you aren't feeding her fast enough, she'll scream (not cry, scream!) to complain in between every bite!!

Now that I've gotten the bad traits out of the way, she has some pretty sweet moments too. This past week we were at my parents' house. I was sitting in their rocking recliner holding Emma and patting her on the butt while I talked to my mom. The next thing I knew, she laid her head down on my shoulder! She NEVER does that anymore! She just kept it there, and would push herself back to look into my face, smile, and lay her head back down. It was honestly the sweetest thing she's ever done. It was the first time she really showed affection intentionally. Be still my heart!!

I hate to say it, but I've been battling a nasty cold ever since last Thursday. Brad took Friday off to help with Emma so that I could rest. It may sound like a fun thing to do, but he HATES to miss work, and it was a big thing for him! He was an incredible help and I'm finally starting to feel better after resting all weekend.

With that said, we didn't do much this week! We DID venture out on Sunday to JCPenneys to have some portraits done of Emma. We take a LOT of photos of her (I have thousands, literally), but haven't had professional ones done since she was one month old. It went pretty well. She wouldn't smile for ANYTHING! We finally got a few cute smiles out of her in the end, but she wasn't sure she was really happy in the smocked dress with the strange lady and the camera!

I ordered several 8x10s and 5x7s, thinking that none of them were SO awesome that I wanted a bigger one to frame and hang. And then they sent me the proofs. The girl worked some photoshopping magic and made 2 collages that I love. I can't decide between the 2, so I thought I'd post them and ask your opinions - you'd better not leave me hanging!!! They are NOT my photos to distribute, as I don't have the copyright. They are the property of JCPenney portrait studios. However, the website did have a "download" option, which is what I did, so I'm assuming that it's legal that I share them?? They're really low resolution, so they don't look great anyway. Oh well. You've been warned. Don't copy them!

They're exactly the same, except for the bottom picture. I'm not going to tell you which way I'm leaning, but give me your honest opinion. Are they good enough to get a large print of, or should I wait until next time??? And, if I should, which one?? Please click on "post a comment" below, or just email me your choice. Thank you blog readers!!

Choice #1