The Passport

Jackson's adorable new hat!!! We love it!
He was a little cranky after his long day.


To live in a foreign country, you are required to have a United States Passport. In order for Jackson and I to come home for a visit in the spring, he is required to have one. Even though he is just a tiny baby. So today we sat out on an adventure, him and I, to get his paperwork and pictures for his very first passport. And what an adventure it was.

Baby passports are just like adult passports, they are required to have a picture. I'm not sure why, because in a few months he wont even look like the same kid. In this picture Jackson's eyes have to be open, he cannot be crying, and he has to be looking at the camera. A tough feat for a one month old. The only place to get a passport picture is a tiny photo booth on base. You know, the kind you see in the mall or at the carnival? The itty bitty booth with the curtains that you make funny faces in. It's exactly like that. Only I have to sit and hold Jackson and duck down out of the cameras field of vision. I can't show in the picture at all. Because the booth is so small I practically had to sit on the floor. He was right in the middle of his nap time. He was not interested in having his picture taken. He cried when I took his binkie away. He cried when I had to hold him in the air to get the perfect shot. I fed the camera with yen and had to hold Jackson's body just so for it to work. It took 45 minutes, $20, and about 18 tries before we finally got the perfect one. Now I have all of these print outs of Jackson making funny faces and crying with my arm or the side of my head in the picture. I guess I can put them in his baby keepsake box. Then we also had to go and get all of his paperwork. I can't turn any of it in until Brandon gets home. We of course need his signature. But at least we will be ready to come home when we want to.

While we were on the base running errands, we stopped to get the mail. And to our surprise there was a package waiting for us. Oh how fun! Sherri and Rhianna sent Jackson a fun gift. Several adorable outfits, and Sherri knit Jackson a great hat. We are thrilled about all of it. Thanks ladies! Your gift was wonderful and we really appreciate it. I will post pictures of his fun gifts soon. My camera is acting up at the moment.

We also ran several other errands today, but none really worth mentioning. It was pretty busy for both of us. We came home tired and ready for our afternoon nap.