15 Months

At fifteen months you…

Make me laugh every day
And for the record, YOU laugh very easily. I hope it remains this easy to snap you out of a bad mood.

Have a LOT of teeth – and really enjoyed brushing them for a little while until you realized that it’s more fun to shut your mouth in this little game we call “just try to get that toothbrush in”. All with a grin on your face of course.
Are getting faster. You are now officially walking and rarely crawling. I enjoy getting you out of the car, pointing you toward the front door and watching you walk up there all by yourself…
…Which is especially important because you are getting very heavy.
Love shoes. The shoe rack by the front door has not remained in order for more than 15 minutes in the past few months. You pick them up and carry them around the house, sometimes stopping to give them to me or Daddy or Thomas (and always the appropriate footwear for each). You also like trying them on.
Are very cuddly and always carry a blanket around. Monkey is becoming a close friend.
Enjoy playing with your brother. You two chase each other around the house, laughing along the way. It is one of my favourite sounds.

Love to dance and sing. I catch you humming to yourself sometimes – also one of my favourite sounds.
Are banned from holding a stick of any kind (includes drumsticks, chopsticks, stick sticks). It’s just too tempting for you to hit people with them – particularly your big brother. You also like to hit with your hands. We’re working on that.
Still eat almost anything and everything although I did catch you spitting out a green been the other day (I fear you have a bad role model in your big brother). Every morning you climb up on the stool your brother sits on at the breakfast table and eat his leftover granola. It’s a little gross (your mother is not a big fan of leftovers), but at least nothing is going to waste.
Have quite a dramatic flair, throwing yourself down on the floor when you’re unhappy. It usually takes one quick tickle to get you back to your normal self.

Love to blow raspberries – by yourself, on Daddy’s tummy and even Mummy’s arm. It is hilarious.
Are great at going down to sleep. Each night at 7pm I take you upstairs, read you a story or two and then put you in your crib. Then you wait until I put a blanket on you (despite 100 degree temperatures you MUST have a blanket), lie down and go straight to sleep. No crying, no fussing.
Staying asleep, not so great.
Are one of my very favourite people on the planet… and I’m sure I would say that even if you weren’t my baby boy.

Lots of questions…very few answers

Scene: Walking back from Peninsula Park Block Party. Sounds of the band playing “Billie Jean” in the background.

Me: It sounds like a Michael Jackson Tribute tonight.
Thomas: Why is it a Michael Jackson tribute?
M: Because they are playing lots of Michael Jackson songs.
T: Why are they Michael Jackson songs?
M: Because Michael Jackson used to sing them.
T: Why does Michael Jackson not sing them anymore?
M: ….because Michael Jackson is not around anymore.
T: Why is Michael Jackson not around anymore?
M:… ummm… (thinking I should just be honest) because he died.
T: Where did he die?
K: (Thanks for jumping in) In California.
M: (sigh!)
T: Why did he die?
M: Because his heart stopped.
T: Why did his heart stop?
M: Because he was sick.
T: Why was he sick?
K: Because he was older.
M: No one really knows.
T: So when you are sick, then you die?
M: Sometimes. Not very often…
T: Only Michael Jackson dies when he’s sick, right Mum? No one else.
M: Look! We’re home!

Of course now I am worried that the next time one of us gets sick, Thomas will assume one of us will die..or not. Apparently only Michael Jackson dies.

Can anyone recommend a good resource that provides answers to tough questions from four year olds? I feel like any day now I’m going to say the wrong thing and mess him up for life.

The Dirt Pile

Thomas has always been attracted to dirt.

If there’s a pile of dirt somewhere he will find it.

And THAT is why I have so much laundry to do every week. I’m sure little girls are not like this.

By the way, he is not in a jungle, it’s our backyard. Sad, but true.

I’m Going to Talk About the Weather

I know it’s a cliche to talk about the weather, and probably not a topic that will win me more readers, but this is seriously ridiculous. They are projecting that it will reach 105 degrees in Portland today. That’s above 40 in metric (i.e. makes more sense) temperature. Tomorrow may reach 104.

The problem? Air-conditioned daycare is closed and I am home with the kids on “vacation”. I had wonderful plans for the zoo and the park and other outings that would allow us to enjoy some summer weather. Instead we are going to head to the mall. If only Samuel was old enough to see a movie. I wonder if other parents would mind if I brought my squirmy 14 month old son to see Ice Age… it’s a thought.

Anyway – enough with the whining. A few things I am thinking about today:

Happy to support my friend Lauren who is having a printing GC giveaway on her blog. Check it out here.
Grateful that Samuel is now walking more than he is crawling. Time to buy some shoes (I know, bad mother).
Enjoying Thomas’ sense of humor and the way he laughs uncontrollably when we watch America’s Funniest Home Videos together. Although, I find myself constantly saying “Don’t try that Thomas. That’s not safe Thomas.”
Looking forward to editing some photos from a fun shoot on the weekend. No kids involved so this was a challenge, but I think the clients will really like the results.
Relieved that I finally have a backup system for my photos with our new Mac. I know it’s been way too long.
A little tired of Yo Gabba Gabba – the latest obsession.

And…Excited to begin going through photos from our weekend trip to Lost Lake. Here’s a preview.

Broken Hearted

He’s still tiny, can only say a few words (well, we think they’re words) and is not even walking (although has been teasing us for months), but this child has so much power over me.

For a few months now, he has been a Daddy’s boy. That’s not a bad thing – it gives me a bit of a break – but still, as a mother you secretly want you child to prefer you. In fact, it seems wrong if they don’t. I carried him in my belly, nursed him and spent every waking moment with him for the first few months of his life. Don’t I deserve to be the favourite for just a little while longer – at least until he is three when his strong personality and stubborness will make him the perfect daddy’s boy.

It hit an all time low the other night when Samuel would NOT come to me. He gripped onto Kei’s shirt so tight that I had to peel his fingers away just to put him to bed. He bent his back and squirmed in an effort to get out of my arms.

In the safety of his bedroom, between stories, we had a talk. I told him how much it hurt me and how much I loved him and he responded by pointing to a picture of a rooster and babbling something. (The kid makes no sense). Then the next morning as soon as we reached daycare he couldn’t wait to get out of my arms again and reach for his teacher.

Everyone tells me it’s a phase but a large part of me feels guilty – for giving up on breastfeeding at 7 months, for no longer having Wednesdays off which means he spends more time in daycare than with me, for being busy whenever we are together – getting ready for daycare, cooking dinner, getting ready for bed.

… But one more possibility crossed my mind tonight. My eyes were hurting yesterday so I wore my glasses for the first time since I had Samuel (I usually wear contact lenses). Maybe Samuel didn’t like mummy in glasses.

Still, I made sure I spent more time with Samuel tonight. I put the laundry on after he had gone to bed, and we had frozen pizza for dinner so I didn’t have to cook and had more time to play. I think it worked a little bit. He was not afraid to come near me and we had a few moments of bonding over play food and wooden blocks.

Just to be safe, though, I’ll be putting my contact lenses back in tomorrow.

9 Favorite Photos Of 2009

It was difficult to narrow it down to nine, but I work well with limits. I also limited them to family/life favorites and landscape. OK, I still couldn’t limit it to nine, but I did my best. I’ll post client favorites soon.