Here is Lola's hilarious passport picture - just too good not to share! Michael and I think she looks like a member of the mafia here. Something about the double chin, the white ribbed tank top underneath... all she needs is a gold chain!
It turns out getting a passport picture that meets U.S. immigration requirements is nigh impossible for a newborn (white, smooth background, open eyes, both ears, forward facing, bright light and no shadows) and we finally settled for this picture after the photographer took at least 60 or 70 shots.
It was a rather tiring ordeal because we took her to get her picture taken right after she had fed and decided that that afternoon (of course) would be the day she would sleep like the dead. No matter what I did (tickling, blowing raspberries, kissing, stroking her feet, changing her diaper, calling her name, rubbing a cold towel on her neck), I could not wake her up. So we grimly sat in a cafe and waited for the little one to wake up. Two hours later, she finally decided to emerge from her slumber (but of course she woke up because was hungry... and cranky)!
The trick here is that I held her in my lap with my hand behind her head, and the photographer whitewashed my hand out of the photo. I blame this photo for the onset (or acceleration) of my currently excruciating "Mommy's thumb" in my left hand. For some odd inexplicable reason, the photographer had me unzip her cute, colorful onesie, to reveal her tank top underneath. So much for the cute outfit I had planned!
We opted to get her U.S. passport first. It was annoying in that we had to make an appointment and get to the embassy, then wait as the paperwork got reviewed and submitted, but Lola was on her best (sleepiest) behavior. They insist that Lola be there in person for the consular officer to see her. Even though they quoted us 4-5 weeks for the passport process, we ended up getting a notification and getting all of the paperwork in 2 weeks!
Then the H.K. passport process was pretty smooth also. We also had to make an appointment and go to the immigration department, then wait as the paperwork got reviewed and submitted. I ran into a little trouble with one of the immigration officers because they insisted I signed the form incorrectly (but I had to insist that they told me to sign it that way)! Thankfully it was all smoothed out in quick order and now we are waiting to pick up her passport on March 1. Lola was also on great behavior, only waking up briefly to give the immigration officer a few inquisitive stares.
We dressed her up nicely for her interview with immigration in her little navy peacoat:
The government offices of Hong Kong are located pretty close to our apartment, so I could walk over with her stroller. On the way home, we took the scenic route by the water. It was brisk and cold, but very sunny.
It was a rather tiring ordeal because we took her to get her picture taken right after she had fed and decided that that afternoon (of course) would be the day she would sleep like the dead. No matter what I did (tickling, blowing raspberries, kissing, stroking her feet, changing her diaper, calling her name, rubbing a cold towel on her neck), I could not wake her up. So we grimly sat in a cafe and waited for the little one to wake up. Two hours later, she finally decided to emerge from her slumber (but of course she woke up because was hungry... and cranky)!
The trick here is that I held her in my lap with my hand behind her head, and the photographer whitewashed my hand out of the photo. I blame this photo for the onset (or acceleration) of my currently excruciating "Mommy's thumb" in my left hand. For some odd inexplicable reason, the photographer had me unzip her cute, colorful onesie, to reveal her tank top underneath. So much for the cute outfit I had planned!
We opted to get her U.S. passport first. It was annoying in that we had to make an appointment and get to the embassy, then wait as the paperwork got reviewed and submitted, but Lola was on her best (sleepiest) behavior. They insist that Lola be there in person for the consular officer to see her. Even though they quoted us 4-5 weeks for the passport process, we ended up getting a notification and getting all of the paperwork in 2 weeks!
Then the H.K. passport process was pretty smooth also. We also had to make an appointment and go to the immigration department, then wait as the paperwork got reviewed and submitted. I ran into a little trouble with one of the immigration officers because they insisted I signed the form incorrectly (but I had to insist that they told me to sign it that way)! Thankfully it was all smoothed out in quick order and now we are waiting to pick up her passport on March 1. Lola was also on great behavior, only waking up briefly to give the immigration officer a few inquisitive stares.
We dressed her up nicely for her interview with immigration in her little navy peacoat:
The government offices of Hong Kong are located pretty close to our apartment, so I could walk over with her stroller. On the way home, we took the scenic route by the water. It was brisk and cold, but very sunny.
If you need to do more passport photos, having her sit in a car seat with a white sheet covering it also works and won't hurt your hand (so it goes car sheet, white sheet, lola on top of both). Also lying her on a white sheet on the ground and standing above her, if the shadows don't get in the way, can be an option. We also have a 1m old double chin passport photo. My dude looks like Winston Churchill. It's hilarious.
ReplyDeleteToo cute! The car seat is a brilliant idea! We tried using her bouncer but the sheet was too wrinkled and the angle cast all kinds of shadows. We tried putting her on a white sheet and taking a picture while standing above her, but we couldn't get her head to stay facing forward (it kept lolling to the side) and we couldn't get rid of pesky shadows, try as we might! However, we are not very good photographers, so it is entirely possible the fault lay completely with us...
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