F’s birthday was rather uneventful, as birthdays seem to be for us nowadays. Besides a trip to Otis’s pediatrician and a platter of cookies at work for everyone whose birthday fell in September, the highlight of the day was his dinner. He got to choose, like he did when he was growing up, and he got his favorite: BLTs with thick cut bacon, juicy tomatoes, and a rustic baguette from our local bakery. And I baked him a supply of brownies to keep in the freezer, which he taps into late at night while he’s working. I fixed ice cream sundaes with brownies, vanilla and mocha java ice creams, almonds, and this fantastically decadent Mexican chocolate sauce that our friend Lynna brought over for us. I literally felt sick after 2 bites and could not eat anymore. But F obligingly gobbled the rest of it up.

With the sleep issues, I haven’t had the time to dream up wonderfully clever and inventive presents for F. He’s received yet another shiso mama version of the “coupon” present (you know, like you give to your mom on Mother’s Day to promise “one breakfast in bed” or “one foot massage” ) – a homemade present. I made him a silhouette cut-out family portrait. I’m pretty pleased with the results, and it was easy, so here’s a tutorial in case you want to try one.

Take pictures of the subject(s) in profile and print it out in the desired size of the finished product.

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(Babies may need to be enticed to sit still by repeated viewings of ambulances on YouTube.)

Using tracing paper, trace the outline of the silhouette, catching some of the small details if desired (like stray hairs). Just trace up to a certain point on the neck.

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Place the tracing paper on the back of the colored paper. The direction your portrait is facing is the direction of your finished silhouette so if you want it to face the other direction, trace the back first and place THAT side on the back of your colored paper. Retrace the silhouette, so that the pencil lead is transferred to the back of your colored paper.

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Cut out your silhouette and glue. Here is F’s original photo, along with his finished silhouette.

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And here is the finished product. We just need to find a suitable frame for it, and we’re done! It’s amazing how much it looks like us (and how much Otis looks like a baby even though his head is the same size as ours).

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