I grew up in a family of six kids. Five girls and one boy in a 3-bedroom brick house with shaggy brown carpet and a pink tiled kitchen.
I have many memories of that place. Of my childhood.
It's fun to think back on those times. To remember what we did (and what we didn't do - I don't have many memories of watching TV or going to the mall, for example).
And it's always somewhat fascinating to watch the few videos that we have from that "era." I look at myself - that little blonde-haired sunbeam with mischievous green eyes and a smile that filled a room - and I wonder how much of her remains in me. In many ways, she reminds me of my daughters. Innocent. Chatty. Outgoing. Kind-hearted. Wanting to be the center of attention...
I'm so glad my parents thought to pull out the video camera back then. It was probably a huge honking piece of equipment - difficult to carry, difficult to use. Yet they still managed to take some footage of our day-to-day life, of the "ordinary" (which somehow is quite extraordinary).
Technology has come a long way since then. I have a video camera too. But it's so tiny that I can slip it in my pocket.
Despite its' small size, the Vado HD ($229.99) is a power-packed and feature-loaded gadget. It records in HD resolution up to 1280x720p (If you don't know what that means in tech terms...you can take comfort in the simple fact that it takes high-quality footage). And you won't have to read the instruction manual to know how it works. It's super simple - only a few buttons to push. Of course, the biggest benefit is that it's so lightweight and portable. You can record everything one-handed...a big bonus if you have a baby in your arms, but want to capture the antics of older siblings.
The Vado HD is a fantastic gift option for a mama or mama-to-be - whether she's tech-savvy or not. I'm thrilled with mine. Now I just have to remember to use it more often...
After all, I have no shortage of available cuteness in my house:
YOUR TURN: Do you record your children? If so, how often do you pull out your camcorder...once a day/week/month?
I don't think there are any videos of me as a kid and because of that we bought a camcorder when I was pregnant. I'm ashamed to say that in Lily's 4 months we have maybe 10 minutes of video. We keep saying when she's doing stuff we'll video her. We'd better get on that soon.
I do have over 1000 pictures of her. So I feel a little better.
First off, yep, your smile still fills the room! That's how I recognized you when I found your blog.
As far as video goes, we seem to have petered down to taping only the big moments. Sure we have little video clips of day-to-day stuff, but we pull out the video camera only for birthdays and other big moments.
The best part though? We have a friend who faithfully offers to work the camera while we busy ourselves with the birthday girl(s) and our guests. And the video then includes us in the event, where we'd otherwise be behind the camera. I think her doing that is one of the most thoughtful things a guest/friend can do, and it is something I now try to do for my other friends, whether it is with a video camera or a regular camera.
There is practically no video of me as a child because my parents didn't have a video recorder, but I love watching my husband's old videos. Actually, we found after we got married that I'm in one of his family videos from before we knew each other! Anyway, now we video when we remember, which is probably every other week or so (or when something especially fun or cute is happening).
I'm an only child but hubby has 7 siblings. Family gatherings are crazy LOL
We don't have kids at home but I have recorded our pets. Looking in to doing some video for my blog so this would be cool to compare to my other video camera.
wow! lots of siblings. i remember climbing a LOT of trees, and "popping wheelies" on my huffy power puff bike. oh yes, those were the carefree days of childhood fun.
no camcorder to date. i have to resort to mini clips in our Canon powershot digi cam. not the greatest sound/video quality, and it saps memory like a sponge...but it's better than nothing.
i'd better remember to whip it out now that my son does some adorable sign language, especially when he's hungry and wants to eat or nurse.
You were such a cute little girl! Your oldest daughter looks exactly like you except for the blonde hair.
I take a few short videos using my digital camera. It does eat up the memory card so I don't take video very often
Look how cute you were! And I didn't know you were one of 6!
I use the flip camera and my nikon d40. I have tons of pictures and some videos.
Nell
SheSnaps.com
CasualFridayEveryday.com
I really need to start doing more of this... thanks for the reminder! I can't believe how quickly my little one is growing up.
Oh, wow, your older daughter looks so much like you! I thought she was more like her daddy but there is so much of mommy, too.
I don't record the kids as much as I should. It seems like they get wise and clam up if they notice me pulling out a camera.