Category Archives: Samuel

Many directions

I have nothing fun to say today. Work is incredibly busy and is sucking every single creative word and thought from my body.

Don’t get me wrong – I love that I have a creative job and that I can spend more than an hour choosing a colour palette (happened today) or conjuring up ideas for a fun video (last week and the week before), I just feel a little drained.

But then I come home and my two year old is standing at the door saying “mummy, mummy, mummy!” before I can even turn the key and my 4 year old manages to get Star Wars Cantina running through my head over and over again (to the tune of Copacabana).

Let’s just say I have a life that pulls me in many (mostly good) directions. The following P365 photos just reinforce that fact…

Tonight Samuel said “my best friend is Thomas”. I think they had a good day together.

Where I spend a large proportion of my time. I took this at about 9pm on a Friday night during an emergency video editing session. Oh, and I don’t work for the post office. That was just a random box.

Dancing with Thomas at our local kid-friendly pizza and music joint.

Same night. This is obviously not my child, but I just love this photo of my friend’s daughter. That’s my friend in the background as well as her other daughter.

The closest thing we got to a family portrait last month.

And finally, a rare quiet moment.

Reminders

Today is the last day of the school year. I have been looking forward to this day for a few weeks, not because I desperately wanted Thomas to finish his first year of pre-school, but because it means that both children will be attending the same daycare for the summer and I will be able to shave about 90 minutes from my commute each day.

I am hoping that this extra time (and a little stress relief) will help us get back on track. The past couple of months have been challenging for a number of reasons – rain, work challenges, cranky toddlers, sassy pre-schoolers, and did I mention rain? I think we’re all suffering from a severe vitamin D deficiency and a sunny day would go a long way to helping us get back on track.

We went out for dinner tonight and, as we left the restaurant following a quick but impressive rainstorm, we saw this…

It reminded me to look on the bright side and consider the many small wonderful things that are happening in our lives right now.

  • Samuel is learning to dress himself and managed to get his legs into two different holes of his pajama pants tonight.
  • Thomas has a best friend who will be in the same class again next year. We’re setting up a few play dates and sleepovers during the summer.
  • Our veggie garden is growing – at least half of it – and we have a few strawberries ripening in my new hanging  baskets. We’ll tackle the second garden bed this weekend.
  • We have family coming to visit in July – I am excited to see how much my nephews have grown over the last few years. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen them and I can’t wait to have a house full of boys (ok, I’m a little frightened as well).
  • We are planning another overseas trip – this time to Japan. (yippee!)
  • Thomas knows how to write almost the entire alphabet – in Japanese and English. I am so proud of how much he has learned in just one short year.
  • Samuel still says “I love you” every day and doesn’t hesitate to give me big hugs and kisses whenever I ask (and sometimes when I don’t). He also went to bed without crying tonight (a small victory) and has completely given up the binky (aka dummy or pacifier, depending on where you come from).

I am also grateful that I stumbled across these pictures tonight. A reminder of that special brotherly relationship.

Also a good reminder to never let your guard down with a two-year-old.

Playing

This week’s I ♥ Faces challenge is all about play – not something we are short on in our house. I didn’t fully appreciate how powerful the concept of play is to a child until I gave birth to my own. Thomas can actually get very upset when he doesn’t feel as though he has a chance to play – although admittedly his distress is strongest when this realization happens to coincide with bedtime.

This week’s photo was taken on our recent group family trip to Netarts on the Oregon Coast. It’s always wonderful (and a little frightening) to watch the boys interact with other children their own age – especially children that they don’t see on a regular basis. It’s fascinating to see the different personalities shine through as you observe them playing together (or alone, as Thomas likes to do on occasion), watching them resolve conflicts (sometimes with parental involvement) and just generally enjoy each others company in a completely neutral location, rather than at someone’s house.

I was reviewing photos of our trip when we returned home and, when Samuel saw this one he was horrified and exclaimed “Oh No!”. How dare that other child touch his face! I adore the colours in this photo and the way Samuel is looking directly at the camera as if to say, calmly, “Mum, why is he doing this to me?”

The Reason For All The Rain: Monday Mosaic

Saturday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, birds were chirping and I was able to walk around wearing a t-shirt for the entire day. On Sunday it started raining again.

But both days were wonderful thanks to a very good friend and her mother who took both of our boys (BOTH!) for an overnight adventure. That meant that Kei and I were given more than 30 hours to do the following:

  • Visit the Portland Nursery without once saying “stay close please”, “don’t touch that” or “that plant is not a toy”.
  • Plant some strawberries and some tomatoes in record time (or regular time for people without children).
  • Go out for dinner and watch other people’s children get told off by the manager for playing with dirt in the ornamental garden – all while being thankful that they weren’t our children (because our children would totally be doing that).
  • Stay out late for dinner and drinks without stressing about getting home in time to pay the babysitter. We were still home by 9:30pm. (sad, but true)
  • Sit outside by the fire pit until late into the night talking – without the need for a baby monitor.
  • Sleep in until 10:30am (!!!!)
  • Watch a movie during the daytime. Couldn’t convince Kei to see Sex and the City so we agreed on Iron Man 2.
  • Browse for shoes at the mall by myself – but without finding the ones I was looking for.
  • See the excited expressions on my baby’s faces when we picked them up at about 5pm.
  • Have the wonderful experience of time to ourselves, but the even more wonderful experience of being reunited with our babies.

So tomorrow is back to school (5 more days of it than I realized – I guess I was getting excited for the end of the year). I just hope the weather picks up and the sun shines so our strawberries and tomatoes are given a fighting chance. I know the rain is good for them but enough is enough.

And so for my Monday Mosaic, I share a little reminder of why we have rain. It gives me hope for more t-shirt days in our near future.

An Everyday Moment

This photo says so much about our lives right now.

  1. The hat – Samuel is obsessed with them. Actually I suppose it could be called a helmet, which is an even greater obsession
  2. The bike – Samuel would ride his bike everyday if he could – sadly the miserable Portland weather has prevented him from enjoying one of his favorite pass times after daycare. Right now he has to make do with riding this bike inside the house.
  3. The lightsabre – seen in the front basket is a symbol of Thomas’ continuing obsession with all things Jedi. We talked about it from the moment I picked him up from school today until the moment we arrived  home.
  4. The playroom – Now a LOT cleaner thanks to a thorough cleanup on the weekend. I doubt it will stay that way for long.
  5. The boy – growing up so quickly.

I know, I know, we’ve been back for months…

But honestly, I have so many Aussie pics to go through and I just keep finding little gems for my Project 365. I think I’m going to have to post every day to catch up.

This is one of my favourite photos from the entire trip.

Grandpa and Samuel sharing a moment by the river. Or maybe Grandpa’s just trying to keep Samuel from diving in. It’s honestly hard to tell.

The whole family (uh, minus my two brothers…)

I look back at these photos and even in just the past couple of months, I can see how much Samuel has grown up. He looks like such a baby here.

While we were visiting, my dad (otherwise known as Grandpa) planted a tree for each of the boys. We’ll be able to see their progress on each visit back to Aus, and if my Dad decides to take a few photos and send them over in the meantime.

Uncle Jono… again.

And, on the day before we flew home, a quick trip to the Melbourne zoo. It poured with rain while we were there so I spent much of our visit walking around in one of those bright yellow plastic ponchos, only pulling out my camera when I was certain it wouldn’t get wet. So I only have a few photos to show for our visit, and none of the boys petting Kangaroos (gasp!). Instead I took photos of inanimate animals that were thankfully under cover and, therefore, the perfect dry photo subjects.

And, finally, our layover in Auckland as we headed home toward Portland. This is as much as I have ever seen of New Zealand (sad, but true) and has now become a regular port of call as we attempt to fly with Air New Zealand every time we head to Aus. I am incredibly grateful that our trip home was a lot less eventful than the flight over, even if it was more crowded thanks to a cancelled United flight (curse you, United!).

Farewell, New Zealand (airport)… and Farewell Australia. We’ll be seeing you again soon.

It’s Moustache Thursday. Why Not?

Today:

  • Catching my breath after a few busy weeks at work –  not that it’s going to get quieter, just need to catch my breath every once in a while.
  • Excited that my front door is being painted RED as we speak. I have wanted a red front door ever since we moved into our house four years ago and it’s finally becoming a reality. SO much better than pukey purple (yes, purple).
  • Wishing the rain would go away, but grudgingly accepting the fact that we chose to live in Portland and with the good comes the bad.
  • Looking forward to another charity event in memory of a good friend’s father and supporting the Downs’ Syndrome Association. It’s a golf tournament to be held on Columbus Day. Of course I’ll be taking photographs, not playing golf. It’s best for everyone involved. (Details coming soon!).
  • Thrilled that I have some client sessions coming up. I have been so busy over the past few months that I had to take a short break, but I realize I need to take time to do this. It makes everything else easier in the long run and ensures I have an exciting (very) long term goal to work towards.
  • Motivating myself to get started on a couple of photo book projects – one of them being my 2010 family book. It seems to take me about 6 months of “reflection” before I can begin pulling my yearly albums together (at least that’s what I tell myself so I feel better).
  • A little too excited about the Lost finale on Sunday.

Finally, enjoying these little forgotten gems that I found when flicking through photos last night.

Happy last-day-before-the-last-day-of-the-week!

Two Today

My baby turns two years old today (pause for some gentle sobbing).

At two, Samuel:

  • Says “I love you Mummy” daily, without prompting.
  • Loves hats and jackets and coats. It’s quite the obsession.
  • Wears his helmet around the house every chance he can get.
  • Assigns ownership to everything. (MY hat, Daddy’s guitar, Mummy’s shoes, Thomas’ shirt).
  • Loves to play outside and ride his bike. We have had more than a couple of tantrums when he’s been asked to come inside for dinner.
  • Has just started blowing kisses with almost every goodbye. It’s adorable.
  • Likes to torment his brother when he finds a weak spot.
  • Still sings the “Goodbye Song” at the top of his voice at every chance he gets, but has added “Twinkle, Twinkle” sing-a-longs at bedtime.
  • Is a great dancer.
  • Still says please and thank you – although sometimes only after he finds that screaming won’t get him what he wants.
  • Usually does what he’s asked by the time I count “1… 2… 2-and-a-half…”
  • Responds well to time outs… most of the time.
  • Is accident prone right now (I was embarrassed to take him to the pediatrician today with his cut lip, bruise on his back and scratch on his cheek).
  • Has started peeing in the potty almost every night before bath.
  • Has almost given up the nighttime binky. Almost…
  • Has three “babies” – a blue bear called ‘Baby’, a koala called ‘Koala’ and a blues clues dog called ‘Blues Clues’. He likes to stick with the basics when it comes to naming his babies.
  • Is a truly adorable, chatty, fun, inquisitive, funny, active, wonderful two-year-old.

Finally, a few photos of him jumping on his birthday present – his very own big boy bed. He has slept in it for three nights now and so far, so good. I am secretly enjoying his requests to “lie down with me Mummy” when I put him to bed at night. NOT so fond of them at four in the morning…

Happy birthday baby.

Motherhood

This week’s I ♥ Faces photo blog challenge is all about celebrating motherhood. So of course I went back through my photos to find one of me with the kids and, sadly, there weren’t many to choose from. Ok, there were a few, but I didn’t like the way I looked in them. It’s tragic that when I look at a photo of me with the kids, I find it so hard to get past the “me” part. It’s the curse of the photographer – never wanting to be in front of the camera.

So I am determined to take more pics of myself – with the kids, with my husband and by myself. I bought a remote for my camera a while ago and I have barely used it. Consider this my wake up call.

Thankfully I did find one photo that I love. It’s not perfect by any means, but I love how it shows the fun part of being a mother. I so often get bogged down by the frustrations and the arguments and the terrible two’s (which we are knee-deep in by the way), that I forget how much fun we have together.

An Ode to Uncle Jono: Monday Mosaic

Yes, I am still going through photos from Australia. I took so many that it feels as though I need to post ten for each day that we were there (don’t worry, I won’t). Of course I HAD to post more than one as my ode to Uncle Jono. I was so grateful for the short time that my brother was able to spend with us at my parent’s house so that my boys could really get to know (and by “know”, I mean endlessly climb on) their uncle. It’s photos like these that make me sad to be living so far away, but thankful that my children have such a wonderful extended family.