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Thursday, April 29, 2010

52 Weeks

When you say it like that, a whole year doesn't sound all that significant. Weeks go by at the speed of light these days so it's easy to see how 52 of them can pile up, one on top of the other, creating a whole year.

Throughout this past year, I've been recording Charlie's growth each week. To show how he's changed, I've photographed him with his first teddy bear once a week for the past 52 weeks. This bear is a huge, blue creature that my dad bought for us on the day we brought the baby home. This is a gift that has particular significance in our family because my dad also bought one for my nephew, Nick when he was born, 16+ years prior to Charlie.

When we got home from the hospital last year and I finally got to see the beautiful nursery my family had decorated for our new baby, the sight of this big, blue bear is what brought me to tears. I couldn't believe my dad had been able to find the exact same bear for Charlie that he bought for Nick so many years ago. Needless to say, this stuffed animal is a keeper for us. As you can see below, it's doubled as a great prop/size comparison for our regular photo shoots over the past 52 weeks.

(click on the image to enlarge)

A 12 x 18 version of this collage is something I've been working on a lot this year, particularly lately. Now that I'm finally done, it will serve as a decoration for Charlie's birthday party this weekend. I love to look at how much our son has changed in only 52 weeks but I have to say that it makes me a little sad to be done with this huge project.


10 comments:

joyce said...

Hi Melba!

This is a fabulous idea and one I may steal once we're placed with our baby (fingers crossed), due in six days.

Charlie is absolutely adorable!

Michelle said...

That is just amazing! I wish we would have stuck with our guns when we said we do this same exact project.

Anonymous said...

Impressive! I did it monthly, but every week!

It is a little sad, mostly happy and definitely amazing the way the year has just flown by and how much he has grown!

Bri

Brooke said...

I did something similar with a stuffed pig for T (she was born in the Chinese New Year of the pig, and it was a gift), but I did it on a monthlt basis. Wish i would have done weekly like you! You can really see how much he changed weekly. Great job!

Rebekah said...

Melba this is AWESOME! What a special project to display at his party. So sad I'm missing out.... :(

I'll be thinking of you as I'm pulling my hair out trying to orchestrate and direct faculty and graduates down the aisle....

M.B. said...

This is so awesome! Love it... it will be so special to have years from now. I see it displayed at his graduation party... and maybe his wedding... Ha!

Denver Jen said...

That was ingenious. I should have done something like that with Nora. I wasn't even organized enough to do the cute month by month pictures with the numbers. It's so amazing to see how he's grown. I also love that every photo isn't all smiles.

Jamie said...

that's amazing!! :) we just had a garage sale and sold some of milo's clothes (not very many though :)) as i held some newborn clothes up i couldn't believe that he was once that small. times sure flies faster than i'm comfortable with. :)
i love the collage ~ what a wonderful and creative way to capture his growth. :)

Anonymous said...

That is incredible, great job!!! I think it's amazing how smiley he is in all of the pictures...Evie is such a stinker about smiling for pictures these days.

Clickin Mama J said...

Wow! This is a fabulous idea Melba! Good for you. Amazing how much difference even a week makes that first year.