Category Archives: P365

Project 365

NATURAL LIGHT – JANUARY 21ST 2009

One of the things I love most about our new upstairs renovation is the abundance of natural light. The boy’s rooms get full sun in the morning and, on the rare occasion when I open their blinds (seriously – why bother when Samuel naps every couple of hours), I just adore the light that streams in. In fact Samuel’s room is probably my favourite room in the whole house.

I am a little worried about the accompanying heat come summer, but with our double glazed windows and insulation I am hoping that sleeping upstairs will no longer be the equivalent of stepping into a sauna.

THE BOTTLE – JANUARY 18TH 2009

Samuel was born with a very big appetite. From the moment he was born he latched on and nursing him was a breeze – well apart from the initial agonizing pain but I’ve been told is apparently normal and just one of the many things we live through to earn our stripes as a mother.

Thomas was another story. It took three months for him to finally get it but I was able to supplement by pumping. We rarely had to give him formula. In fact I found a full can of expired formula in the cupboard last year that had never been opened.

Now the tables have turned and I feel Samuel’s appetite is more than I can handle. He has at least 2 or 3 bottles of formula each day and doesn’t seem satisfied when I nurse him. The worst part? When he gets frustrated by not getting enough milk, he bites. Right now he only has his bottom teeth but the top ones are on the way and I don’t even want to think about what that means.

So I now need to decide… do I continue trying to nurse when I can and make the effort to pump a measly 4 ounces a day? Or do I come to terms with the fact that I have given him a good 8 months of breast milk and call it a day.

I feel very emotional about this decision. I had a 12 month goal in mind and to not reach that makes me feel like I am failing myself and my baby. Not that I even think Samuel will mind very much. He loves the bottle – it means he can still look around while enjoying his meal. Maybe I just need to let go of the ideal.

And let’s face it, we could do without the added cost of formula.

So I have a big decision to make. Once I stop there’s really no turning back.

Off to pump now while I think about it.

LEARNING – JANUARY 17TH 2009

I attended a two day photography class on the weekend and my head is ready to explode with the information I absorbed in just 16 hours. It felt good to get back to the basics and learn about just what my camera can do (turning down the flash – brilliant).

The downside is that now I am back to square one. I CAN’T use auto mode anymore. I have to move forward. Which means a lot of very bad photos while I learn to take good ones. The photo above was one of my first photos with my new knowledge of the reduced strength flash.

And that thing he’s carrying? That was Kei and Thomas’ project while I was at my course. Kei wanted a helmet and I imagined I would return home to some sort of knight’s helmet or a firefighter’s helmet. Instead I was greeted by Ned – Ned Kelly, that is.

Very impressive work. Kei is now officially in charge of all art projects.

Outside – JANUARY 15TH 2009

It’s so nice to finally be able to venture outside – without the coats and the scarves and the hats… and the extra 30 minutes it takes to wrestle two children into all of that gear.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still cold. Just not AS cold as it has been.

Oh and the sun now sets at 5pm. Enjoying baby steps toward spring.

The Goatee – JANUARY 14TH 2009

Photo taken before Kei shave off the Goatee – well half of it anyway. I actually like Kei with a little facial hair, although it is awfully prickly, which is not ideal when you want to kiss your kids… or your wife.

So part of the goatee remains.  The bottom part in case you were wondering.

MOTHER OF THE YEAR – JANUARY 13TH 2009

Look at him. So fresh and clean and content… Well, he was. What you don’t see is that immediately after I took this picture, Samuel fell forward and hit his mouth on the floor. There was a lot of screaming and quite a bit of blood.

My baby experienced his first fat lip… and all because his mother was taking a photo and let him fall on his face. Of course I also had to take a photo of the fat lip…

THE LATEST OBSESSION – JANUARY 11TH 2009

A couple of weeks ago, Kei declared Christmas over and packed away the Santa hat. So what does a kid do when he can’t be santa anymore? He thinks of another occupation. When someone gives you a fire hat then you go with it. And it just so happens that Santa has a lot in common with Firefighters – they both wear boots and button up shirts. There is one thing that firefighters can do that Santa doesn’t though, and that’s shoot water from a hose – in this case a vacuum cleaner hose.