this week i'm grateful for:
-spending more time with Christian. although he takes out every toy and wants to pile them on top of me. :)
-a warm cup of tea of a rainy day
-date nights on friday nights :)
-little things around my house that make me happy, like beautiful dishes to make meals in, pretty places to keep my jewelry, and pictures of my boys hung on the wall.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
sweet girl
my friend karly and i went to high school together for only one year but really connected right away. after being out of touch for a few years, it was amazing to get in touch back in 2006 only to discover that we both were pregnant. it has been neat to bond over all the similar situations we've been going through as mommies.
now that we have several little ones it is harder to get together. thankfully karly's church held an amazing VBS this summer and it gave us a bit of free time to catch up.
naturally i asked karly if i could practice taking pictures on her little girl skylynn. skylynn was such a sweet, happy baby - and although she doesn't enjoy being on her belly, she didn't fuss or give me a hard time at all.
i really am learning so much. i'm trying to really pay attention to photos that catch my eye and decipher what it is that makes them special, out of the ordinary. i'll admit, it was pretty easy with skylynn - she has beautiful eyes, long lashes and a really cute smile.
now that we have several little ones it is harder to get together. thankfully karly's church held an amazing VBS this summer and it gave us a bit of free time to catch up.
naturally i asked karly if i could practice taking pictures on her little girl skylynn. skylynn was such a sweet, happy baby - and although she doesn't enjoy being on her belly, she didn't fuss or give me a hard time at all.
i really am learning so much. i'm trying to really pay attention to photos that catch my eye and decipher what it is that makes them special, out of the ordinary. i'll admit, it was pretty easy with skylynn - she has beautiful eyes, long lashes and a really cute smile.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
the best plans
i like to make plans without telling chris. its a little problem of mine. this past weekend? we were going to the fair.
i'm a sucker for fairs. bright colors, delicious food...
and the animals. especially the llamas. and the sheep. and the chicks. and the bunny rabbits.
and so we arrived early. rode only one ride - andrew couldn't decide and christian wasn't tall enough, so we took his indecision as an opportunity to make the decision for him, and then distract him with something else, ahem, cheaper. those rides are expensive.
i had these thoughts in my mind that i would be able to take some great pictures of all that we did and all that the day held for us, but my adventures don't usually work out that way. i had a very tired 2 year old on my hands, as well as a 4 year old who was very overwhelmed by all the options. thankfully i kept the camera out long enough to get a few pictures of my boys, and i tried to remind myself that my boys need my attention more than my camera does.
andrew got a batman on his face. christian did the same, because, you know, he has to have whatever his brother has.
and this guy wasn't too upset about my making plans without him. especially once he got his strawberry shortcake. sometimes the best plans are the ones you don't even know about. for him atleast.
i'm a sucker for fairs. bright colors, delicious food...
and the animals. especially the llamas. and the sheep. and the chicks. and the bunny rabbits.
and so we arrived early. rode only one ride - andrew couldn't decide and christian wasn't tall enough, so we took his indecision as an opportunity to make the decision for him, and then distract him with something else, ahem, cheaper. those rides are expensive.
i had these thoughts in my mind that i would be able to take some great pictures of all that we did and all that the day held for us, but my adventures don't usually work out that way. i had a very tired 2 year old on my hands, as well as a 4 year old who was very overwhelmed by all the options. thankfully i kept the camera out long enough to get a few pictures of my boys, and i tried to remind myself that my boys need my attention more than my camera does.
andrew got a batman on his face. christian did the same, because, you know, he has to have whatever his brother has.
and this guy wasn't too upset about my making plans without him. especially once he got his strawberry shortcake. sometimes the best plans are the ones you don't even know about. for him atleast.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
the first day
andrew had his first day of school last week. after many days of school being cancelled due to hurricane Irene, i was very anxious to get him into school and out of the house. maybe it is because he has been away from me before - last year in nursery school, sunday school, vbs.... but this child does not care that he is leaving me. i cried more than andrew ever did. in fact, christian cried more than the both of us, but that was because he wants to do everything his big brother gets to do.
you would also think that andrew would be excited to see me when school is over - but no. as i stood there with the other parents, so excited to see our little ones emerge from the school and tell us all about their day, i spied a little andrew giving me the look. head lowered, forehead scrunched up with a glare on his face. i immediately knew that he was not happy to be leaving school. a promise of a donut to celebrate made it all better, and needless to say we are working on giving a better response to mommy coming to pick him up.
so far i haven't gotten anything big done with my free time. i keep telling myself, tomorrow....
Saturday, September 3, 2011
calm. consistent. cautious. careful.
christian is slowly learning to do some new things. this includes going down the stairs to head outside. he takes his time, one step at a time, careful, so cautious. a few times he'll look back at me to make sure he's doing it right.
its funny that even as adults we sometimes do something over and over and still need to take that caution. parenting has been so, so hard this summer. andrew is 4 and for some reason i had thought that we were beyond some of the problems we'd had. well, to be honest, we were over some of the problems... but the others have come back full-force.
he's hiding from me when we go places, talking back to me, refusing to pick up toys or put on his shoes when he is told... i could go on. i get so frustrated and lose my cool at times. i never knew parenting would be this hard.
watching christian i had one of those aha moments. cautious. careful. the thing with parenting is that i'm never going to be 100% good at it. christian will eventually learn to climb the outside stairs quicker and someday he won't need to hold on to the railing. then one day he'll run up them and someday he'll even skip the steps because his legs will be so long. but with parenting, i'm never going to be able to run with it, even if i think i can. each kid is different, and what works one day is not going to work the next. discipline and teaching my child is something that i cannot take lightly.
so, i've returned to andrew with a renewed spirit. i'm desperately trying to be calm with him and only use my loud, frustrated voice when he's truly in danger. i've reminded him constantly that i love him, that he is special. i never want him to think that his disobedience changes the way that i feel about him.
calm, consistent. cautious, careful.
its funny that even as adults we sometimes do something over and over and still need to take that caution. parenting has been so, so hard this summer. andrew is 4 and for some reason i had thought that we were beyond some of the problems we'd had. well, to be honest, we were over some of the problems... but the others have come back full-force.
he's hiding from me when we go places, talking back to me, refusing to pick up toys or put on his shoes when he is told... i could go on. i get so frustrated and lose my cool at times. i never knew parenting would be this hard.
watching christian i had one of those aha moments. cautious. careful. the thing with parenting is that i'm never going to be 100% good at it. christian will eventually learn to climb the outside stairs quicker and someday he won't need to hold on to the railing. then one day he'll run up them and someday he'll even skip the steps because his legs will be so long. but with parenting, i'm never going to be able to run with it, even if i think i can. each kid is different, and what works one day is not going to work the next. discipline and teaching my child is something that i cannot take lightly.
so, i've returned to andrew with a renewed spirit. i'm desperately trying to be calm with him and only use my loud, frustrated voice when he's truly in danger. i've reminded him constantly that i love him, that he is special. i never want him to think that his disobedience changes the way that i feel about him.
calm, consistent. cautious, careful.
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