photos don't lie

It's easy for us to maintain ignorance when it comes to our changing appearance. Whether it's gaining weight, losing weight, having facial hair gone wrong, etc., it's easy for us to not realize how dramatically we may be changing. I first realized how true this is in 2007 when I saw a picture of myself from a wedding shower. I first posted this picture on my blog a couple years ago, but let me remind you how bad things had gotten for me:

215-220 lbs of pure goo.

When I first saw that picture, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was clueless to how much weight I had put on. I think this is made obvious by the fact that I was clearly still wearing my old clothes. This is not one of my favorite pictures, but it serves as a constant reminder to me.

I was recently reminded of the truth of the non-lying nature of photos thanks to my daughter. Polly and I have come to realize what people have told us all along: babies change quickly. They grow so fast! To illustrate my point, here is a side by side shot of Genevieve wearing the same outfit at 4 days and then again at 4 weeks.

Hopefully this picture clears your mind of the previous one.

Look at how much better she fills out the outfit 3 1/2 weeks after the first picture was taken. Her head fits properly in the hood in the second picture. If you look closely at the first picture, you'll notice that her arms don't come close to filling out the sleeves, while the fit appropriately in the second.

It's crazy how much Genevieve has already grown and changed. On the one hand, I love it! But on the other hand, I feel like she's already growing up to fast.

Have you changed much in recent years? Compare a recent photo of you with one from a couple years ago. You might be surprised (for the good or bad).