Passport photos: tried, done, success! 
First of all, my mom flew back to Seoul and I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired both physically and emotionally in my life. The most intense two weeks of my life. We all went to say goodbye to the airport (which includes a short subway ride to Stuttgart station, an hour and a half train ride to Frankfurt and waiting for my mom’s gate and of course, returning back home. So a total of eight hours out. Yikes.) and the trip itself was interesting. Note to future self and future moms: always bring more than you think.
The little one took the trip pretty well. No poop explosions, no serious breakdowns. The train ride was fine, she slept most of the time, drank milk at the airport and was very, very sad that her grandmother was leaving. No photos although I did bring the camera (what was I thinking?) because no time and energy for that.
지난 일요일 엄마가 가시고 가시는 길에 함께 갔다왔는데 생각보다 괜찮았던 여행. 집앞에서 전철타고 기차타고 한시간 반, 공항에서 기다리고 다시 전철타고 기차타고 집으로. 거의 8시간을 밖에 있었는데 (아직까지는) 몸과 마음이 괜찮다. 신생아를 데리고 나가지도 않는 한국과는 역시나 다른, 나도 어쩔 수 없었던 문화적인 차이. 응가 실수도 없었고 기저귀도모자라지 않았고 우유도 잘 마셨고 큰 문제 없이 지나간 “여행.” 그래도 다행히 제대로된 인사를 우리 모두 할 수 있어서 몸은 힘들었지만 마음은 조금이나마 가벼웠다. 전에도 느꼈지만 이번 짧은 여정에도 느낀건: 뭐든 많이 가져가자. 기저귀, 젖병, 옷….일단 가져가고 보자.
This week’s agenda: EU passport for A. We decided to take the photo at home, because a newborn who can’t sit up by herself and photo booths just didn’t seem reasonable nor safe. So we found the best spot, which is on our bed right next to the window for natural light, laid down a white blanket and plumped her on it. There were some simple requirements, like a clean, white or light grey background, no signs of a parent or other adult in the background and eyes open and focused. For really young babies, it was ok if their eyes were not fully open or focused. A lot of noises, toys and silly sounds were involved behind me and the camera, and in the end, we came up with some ok photos for the passport. (Also thanks to photoshop…) Not easy at all, I have to say. But so far so good.
이번주의 가장 큰 화제는 여권 만들기. 여권 자체도 중요했지만 여권 사진을 찍는 것이 문제. 주변 친구들을 물어보니 그냥 대충 찍었다거나 사진관 같은데 가서 찍었다는데 나는 일단 내가 한번 해보기로. 아기의 EU여권에도 조건이 있는데 생각보다 간단: 희거나 옅은 회색 배경, 두 눈은 뜨고 있어야되고 (신생아의 경우에는 눈을 꼭 뜨지 않아도 괜찮다고) 뒤에 다른 사람의 그림자나 모습이 찍히면 안된다는 것 정도. 생각보다 간단해서 찍어보긴 했는데 문제는 카메라를 똑바로 쳐다본다는 보장이 없… 몇번의 시도 끝에 괜찮은 한두장을 건졌는데 다행히 문제없이 여권 발행 성공!
Friday morning, we got up early and headed to the Italian Consulate, which is always entertaining. You would think Italians would take their time when it comes to working and, well, you would be absolutely right. For example, there are three people waiting to take care of their business, and the two employees start to talk about their day for at least 15 minutes. Wouldn’t it make sense to just take care of those three people and chat LATER? After some hiccups of “she’s not registered, woops, here she is,” success. We are now officially a threesome and free to travel abroad. Yay.
All photos by rachelsanghee. Bits and pieces of my little one, every week, in 2016. 8/52 weeks. 63 days old today.