I love the ideas that go through my mind when I see other people’s photos. The bright colours, the toddlers frolicking outside with multi coloured umbrellas that are just so much fun.

Instead the Ishida’s have a black umbrella and this totally unstaged moment is my reminder to buy something that is more camera-friendly. But I guess black is how we roll.

This IS one of those times when photos could speak though (yes, I know about video). Thomas was singing “I’m singing in the rain” while I took this photo. 🙂

Day #100 – wow! And to celebrate, another bath photo. Did I mention that the bathroom has the best lighting at night? 🙂

Thomas was being a little grouchy in the tub one day so Kei pulled the shower curtains closed. It’s now started a fun game where Thomas likes to hide behind the curtains and have me open them and say boo – over and over and over and over again. OK – it’s getting a little old but, hey, at least he’s happy right?

The problem will be solved when we have a shower upstairs and there will no longer be a need for a shower curtain around the downstairs bath on a regular basis – whoo hoo!

I don’t post my P365 photos everyday. I usually take two or three days worth of photos and then post them – still within a reasonable timframe so that I don’t forget the story behind the picture.

Sometimes I take pictures to support a story I want to tell and this picture is a good example. When I took this two days ago I knew I would write about the Easter gift that keeps on giving. How we gave this little M&M bunny to Thomas for easter and the M&Ms are so small that we have been able to give him just two or three a day when he asks for it and it is still half full. Talk about getting value for money. It’s win/win – Thomas gets a little treat for being good and we are able to give him something that is so small that the sugar and caffeine intake is negligible. Plus he hasn’t worked out how to open the “bunny” so it’s a fun little toy that he carries around with him,

That was two days ago. Last night Thomas woke up at 1:30am. He was standing inside his bedroom door telling me wanted to go and lie on the couch. Very strange because he hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night for a long time. I told him that it was the middle of the night and time we were all in bed. After a little whimpering and a few minutes of me hopping into bed with him, Thomas did go back to sleep ans slept through until his regular wake up time of 6:30am.

At 6:30 I went in to get him and we went through the usual routine of gathering everything that he had taken to bed with hm the night before – Curious George, his blanket, a booster pillow from the couch (?) and various other little bits and pieces that provide him with comfort during the night. One of these things was his little M&M bunny. He handed it to me and said “I opened it”. And yes, he had. And he had also eaten the remaining contents of the bunny – way more chocolate than he is used to – especially before bed time.

So mystery solved – the reason Thomas woke up in the middle of the night was because he was so hopped up on Sugar and Caffeine that he couldn’t sleep. I guess we should be grateful that he slept at all after he fed his little chocolate habit. Lesson learned – never underestimate the ability of a two year old to work out how to open…well…anything.

Oh, and Thomas pronounces it “Chocowat” – so cute. 🙂

A small glimpse of my desk (cube) at work – the very same desk that I am in the process of cleaning up in anticipation of my impending maternity leave. This time my goals is to just get rid of as much as possible. I came across a box under my desk a couple of weeks ago that I had not looked at since I packed it up for my LAST maternity leave – over two years ago. The rule is that if you haven’t needed it for two years then you don’t need it now.

I may have to update my photos when I return. I took that photo of my nephews in the pool over 5 years ago and I am just torturing myself with a picture of Kei on a boat in Hawaii. Yes, I think a cube makeover is in order when I return. I mean I do spend up to 40 hours a week there.

Sunday – another day another bookstore, but this time it was an outing for the whole family. What started as an attempt to choose doorhandles for our new doors (what sort of hardware store is closed on Sunday?!), ended at Powells – possiby the best bookstore on the planet – and rotating Sushi for lunch. The day ended with yet another nap. Geez, you’d think I was pregnant or something.

A Good Day.

Kei was gone all day on Saturday for a training course so Thomas and I had a chance to spend the day together. He was in a great mood and we had a fantastic time together. We started at the optometrist where Thomas amused himself for a whole hour while I had my eyes tested. He started by checking out the contents of his backpack ( a few books, toys etc. that we chose before we left the house) and then he moved on to “arranging” all the magazines.

Next up – coffee (for me) and a muffin (for him) at Peet’s. We just sat and shared the muffin while we enjoyed each others’ company. Then it was on to the mall where we made it just in time for story hour at Barnes & Noble. They read this great kids book that we ended up buying on the way out.

Ran a few more errands – Clinique gift time at Macys, some stuff for Mum’s impending visit and some new shoes for Thomas (pictured above). Then it was home for a well deserved nap (for both of us).

The best part – I felt completely in the moment. I really miss our Wednesday’s together so it was wonderful to make the most of this opportunity to spend some time with my boy. I realize time with just the two of us is going to be harder and harder to find in just a few weeks so I am cherishing these moments while we have them.

Oh, and the cutest comment of the day? Thomas was sitting in his stroller with his hand on his face. I asked him if he was tired and he looked at me and said “No. I’m just thinking”. Sometimes I can’t believe he has only been on this planet for 2 and a half years.

The long walk home.

Kei and I both walked to pick Thomas up from daycare on Friday and I finally found out why it usually takes them so long to get home. There is a park between daycare and home and it seems Thomas almost always wants to walk through the park on the way home. And when I say “walk through” I actually mean run, jump and play on the gazebo (apparently its a pirate ship) for a VERY long time before checking out the baseball diamond and picking up every rock he can find. Yes, it was a LONG walk home.

Action shot. Thomas started getting a little restless while we were finishing dinner last night so Kei challenged him to run from one end of the courtyard at the restaurant to the other until we left. Don’t worry – we were the only people sitting outside. We’re not THOSE parents. 🙂

Thomas woke up at 5:30 this morning (!) and got really upset when Kei told him to go back to bed because it was too early. He told us he had a bad dream about Sesame Street…(hmmm) so he jumped into our bed and proceeded to wriggle and squirm for the next hour until we decided to get up. Of course he was all the way on my side of the bed but at least Kei got some more sleep… I am not resentful, really!

Me and my additional appendage. Thomas has become more and more clingy lately. My friend Laurie warned me that this happened with her son as her belly began getting bigger and bigger. I think Thomas is beginning to realize that this baby is coming soon. He is very excited about it but at the same time starting to understand that it won’t be all about him any more.

The other night Kei had a picture on his computer of a cross section of a belly where you could see how the baby was positioned. He was telling Thomas that it was a picture of our baby and that he was in mummy’s belly just like that. After we looked at that for a while Thomas said “I don’t want any more pictures of the baby. I want to see pictures of Thomas. I want to see pictures of ME.” This is going to be interesting…

Thomas was just about to jump into bed when I realized that I had not taken my photo of the day. This was the face he made for me to memorialize the moment. He then asked to look at the photo immediately. Guess he was checking out his handy work. 🙂

I also took a ophoto of the house – first day without the big blue tarp yippee. Roof should be going on by the end of the week or early next. Also relieved to see that they flattened out the mud pit in the back yard. Now we have no excuses – have to get it looking nice by the end of the summer.