Circles

The perfect photo for one of those days where I feel as though I want to run but instead find myself going around and around in circles. One thing’s for sure though, the ride is always colorful.

Wordless Wednesday: Bathtub Swimming Lesson (Floating)

The Boys

I love capturing images of my boys together. It happens so rarely that it clearly takes a bathtub to ensure they stay in the same place for more than five minutes. Of course this photo only came about after about 100 other shots, but it was worth it.

These are my favorite faces for February and my entry in this week’s I heart faces challenge.

Right now…

THOMAS is…

A great big brother – looking for lost toys and making sure his brother is doing the right thing.
Sensitive – we’ve been dealing with moments of sadness and insecurity. Not sure if this is a five year old thing or just the musings of a very sensitive and thoughtful little boy.
Curious – right now we’re in the process of identifying every single sign we see on the street (that’s 35 limit, mummy) and reading – numbers (above ten) and putting together letters. It’s all coming together.
Smart – Being sick means staying at home, too many toys means it’s too much for him to possibly carry… Thankfully Mummy is still a little smarter.
Learning – How to swim. He’s done so well with swimming lessons over the past few weeks. Our timid little boy is now put his head fully under water without fear until we count to 10.

SAMUEL is…

Funny – he will do just about anything to make us laugh these days – and do it over and over if it makes us laugh just once.
Musical – Drums, guitar, singing. One of my favourite things at night is to sing a few songs with him before he goes to sleep.
In Awe – of his big brother. If Thomas does something, you can count on Samuel trying to do the same thing just a few moments later.
Slow – OMG – it takes this kid soooo long to finish a meal. He’s often left at the dinner table by himself.
Making choices – his favorite color is blue, his best friend is Bowie (and then it’s Maggie, and then it’s George…), his favorite book author is Mercer Mayer (although he doesn’t know that, he just likes the critters), his favorite food is still blueberries (thankful they’re coming back in season).

Looking forward to, and a little frightened about, all March will bring, including travel (for Kei and then me), a big change with Samuel’s daycare, MORE photography (a promise to myself) and, most importantly, SPRING!

Bring it on!

Wordless Wednesday: Behaving Like Animals

Happy Monday…Oh and Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s day is one of those Hallmark holidays that I can give or take. Actually, now that I have children, it is actually quite inconvenient. Or maybe it’s just because I have small children – one of whom can’t yet write his own name and so I am forced to manage the entire valentine-writing myself. Then I have the other child who can write his own name but sees a pile of 30 valentines on the table and feels overwhelmed by the workload. We managed to finish them up in shifts throughout the day yesterday. I don’t know if there’s a Bah, Humbug! equivalent for this holiday but that’s how I feel.

On a not-quite-so-cranky note, we had a fabulous action-packed weekend. It began with Iron Bartender on Thursday night, then Friday was my first pre-op for my brand new laser eyes (coming soon!) and dinner and a movie with my husband while the boys hung out at daycare for a few extra hours (thankfully I was able to see again by the time the movie started – eye dialation is no fun). On Saturday we had swimming lesson, a trip to the safety Saturday at the fire station, a consultation to get french doors (yay!) and then another night out without the kids – dinner for one friend’s birthday and then a stop by at another party celebrating two more friends. Sunday involved a little furniture shopping and a nap for all four of us – we needed it.

So, because I have not had time to edit all photos from the weekend (surprised?), I will share this little one for the current I Heart Faces challenge. This week is all about RED for women’s heart disease awareness. I took the photo in the back of the car while we were waiting at the grocery store and, since he’s wearing a red shirt, I think it counts. I just love this little slice of life and it’s a good reminder that I need to capture more photos that record our daily adventures. I also love that he’s covering his eyes and not doing a silly face or fake smile for the camera. It makes this one a little different.

Wordless Wednesday: Mr. Personality

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Australia Day

Photos taken during our last visit in March – which right now feels like a lifetime ago.

Missing Out

I enjoy participating in the I Heart Faces photo challenges each week – mostly because they give me a blog topic and a reason to dig out photos that may otherwise be forgotten. And every once in a while these challenges spark a thought or reflection that may otherwise have slipped by.

This week’s challenge, “Innocent Wonder” sent me digging through photos from the past couple of months until I stopped at this one.

The obvious connection to the theme is the memory of a day with friends at the science museum. A rare opportunity spending some time with my boys as they explored with their eyes and their hands. In this photo Samuel is digging into a sand bath with his friend Patrick. Every so often he’d find a plastic animal and ask me what it was before burying it deeper under the sand or finding a suitable rock to rest it on.

But more than just a photo, this shot makes me think about moments that I am missing. When Thomas was Samuel’s age, I was blessed with a four day work week and the attention span that comes with having just one child. Thomas and I would visit the science museum at least once a month to play in the toddler area where I basked in the wonder of his learning and development and enjoyed that short, but significant, time we had together – just the two of us. I worry that Samuel is missing out on that same experience and, OK, I worry that I am missing out on it more.

I doubt there is any one person who feels as though they couldn’t do with just a little more time. My fear is that I haven’t been using mine wisely. Kei is in charge of pick up and drop off for Samuel so I took on the duty of putting him to bed each night for a little bonding time. Lately, however, I have been more worried about getting him to bed quickly and without too much frustration, rather than enjoying the short time we have together each day.

He’s only going to be two years old for a few more short months and I realize that I am missing this most precious period when his language development and curiousity for life is at its most powerful. This photo made me realize that I need to pause and take the time to bask in the wonder a little more and worry about bedtime a little less.

My Baby As He Should Be

Samuel is sick. Not “slight sniffle and a little cranky sick”. Nope. He is “barfing until the pile of laundry hits the ceiling” sick. Thankfully we seem to have some temporary relief from the carnage and he is sleeping soundly on the couch right now. He didn’t get to sleep until 2:30 this morning and was up at 6am so he has some catching up to do. Come to think of it, so do I.

Looking forward to the next few days when (hopefully) my baby is back to his normal self. In case you’ve forgotten what that might look like, I share with you a quick modeling session that Samuel and his Daddy blessed me with a couple of weeks back.

Show me happy!