Category Archives: Samuel

Bad, Bad Parents

Yes, we’re those parents. The ones who allow their children to ask for “swords” from the balloon guy, and then let them run around chasing each other with aforementioned swords until they wear themselves out. In fairness to us, though:

  • It is winter in Portland and we are starved for children’s entertainment.
  • The Crystal Ballroom floor is big. And bouncy. Perfect for two active little boys  – and perfect for wearing them out.
  • Only ONE child asked for the sword and the other decided on behalf of his brother. Who knows? Samuel may be a pacifist underneath all of that big brother influence.
  • Balloon swords only last a couple of hours. Less, if you manage to get a little too excited and accidentally squeeze it until it pops.

Seeing the Light: P365

Portland has a bad wrap when it comes to winter. We see a lot of rain and experience grey skies for about four months. But this winter has been relatively kind and a few small signs of spring are already poking through the drabness.

If you’re snowed in on the East Coast of America right now then you might want to look away from some of my most recent P365 pics. I’m so sorry.

The first one is relatively safe – taken at our monthly excursion to see a local (family-friendly) band. It’s at a local pizza place and this shot jumped out at me from the many I took that night. It even beat out the disco ball.

Sunshine streaming in Samuel’s room on Saturday morning. BOTH children slept past 8am. It doesn’t happen oftenbut when it does it’s a beautiful surprise.

Kei had a couple of friends over for Superbowl Sunday. I am not really a football fan (actually not at all) but I have to say that I was glad when New Orleans won. I have no idea what the score was or who was named MVP (or even what MVP means), but everone was feeling so warm and fuzzy afterward that it felt…well…not like a football game.

I warned you East Coasters – don’t hate me. The cherry blossoms are already beginning to bloom at Thomas’ school.

And this one just he’s cute. And sneaky. Samuel called out my name about thirty minutes after I put him to bed tonight. I thought he may have lost his binky (as he does too often) but he just looked and me and said “head” meaning “I hit my head”. Then he put his binky in his mouth and laughed at me like we were both in on the joke when in actuality he was the only one who found it funny. I told him to lie down and go to sleep. He kept laughing. I left the room and haven’t heard a peep from him since. So I suppose we both win.

Kith!

I was having a very difficult time thinking of a photo to use for this week’s  i heart faces entry. You see the theme is Kiss. It’s not that there any shortage of kisses in our house, it’s just that I have been waiting for a moment to capture it on film.

Samuel LOVES to give kisses. Big, wet, sloppy kisses. And he gives them freely to pretty much anyone who asks which begs the question, exactly when do you start teaching your children about personal boundaries? 🙂

I’ll take them whenever I can get them, though, which is probably why I haven’t yet been able to capture it on film. I’m too busy enjoying this fleeting moment in my baby’s life.

So for the purposes of this challenge I’ll share one of my very favourite photos – one that I have in a frame on our mantle if only to remind me that my children do truly love each other even when the screaming and yelling sometimes suggests the opposite is true.

So from Samuel to you on this upcoming Valentine’s Day, a very big “‘UG! and “Kith!”

Fun with reflections, or the reason why I appear in very few family photos

Full length mirror. Check. Fairly decent lighting. Check. Coorperative children… maybe not.

Thomas was pretending to be asleep and I’m not exactly sure what Samuel was doing.

The mirror did present other photo opportunities.

Thomas spotted making faces at himself.

And Wiggly fingers (we’re deep into another Wiggles phase).

And finally of the three boys together.

Catching Up – P365

This week has been crazy. It began with my blurry trip to San Francisco and then on Tuesday I hosted a Lost season premiere party (no photos – too busy watching the show) add snack duty at pre-school and a very busy day job and I’ve been a little under water.

Good thing I take photos every day. Sometimes I’m not sure there’s any other way I would remember our lives.

Thomas likes to set the chairs up like this, using one as a chair and one as a table. Samuel has become his little shadow lately and so of course he had to be set up with his own chair/table as well and Thomas was more than happy to oblige.

I tried for about 10 minutes (and risked my camera getting wet) to get this glimpse of Samuel’s reflection. He’s wasn’t in a very cooperative mood.

This kid is funny.

Old fixtures in an old house.

Making the most of some good window light during our visit to the Crystal Ballroom on Sunday. More photos of that fun family outing to come.

Pretty much all I saw of San Francisco on Monday during my quick visit. Oakland airport is probably the least inspiring place on earth so I’m pretty proud of myself for being able to take at least one decent photo while waiting for my flight.

OK – I forgot to take one photo this week. I blame it on Lost – I was so caught up in that show (and maybe a little wine) that I forgot to take my photo for the day. So it seemed appropriate that I took a photo of my coffee cup as I got ready for work in the bathroom the next morning.

Samuel playing in the curtain before dinner. It’s amazing how a piece of material can keep him occupied and entertained.

And finally, a photo of me (shocking!). I decided I needed a new facebook picture so I took a few quick photos in the mirror. Probably not the most inspired idea after a long day at work but I have since decided that high key black and white conversions are my best friend – over-exposure can make anyone look good.

Love Letters From My Child and Other P365 Adventures

Sometimes I really wish I was in Australia for the beginning of project 365. I really miss the natural light in this dark, dreary Portland winter. I leave for work in the dark and I get home in the dark, so I consider myself lucky if I am able to catch a worthwhile picture or two in between. Good thing I have a persistant attitude and plenty of stubbornness on my side.

Thomas brings home a ton of papers each week. Some of them are just tracings of letters (English and Japanese) while others are works of art worth keeping in the special portfolio that we bought for the purpose.

And then there are the few pieces of work that deserve pride of place on my cube wall at work. This one is officially the first love letter from my four year old, complete with hand-drawn love heart. Of course when I asked him to read it to me, he explained that he was most proud of the penguin sticker in the middle.

On Sunday we searched for things to do outside the house during the seemingly endless downpour. Sadly, hanging out at the mall was the only thing we could come up with that was free and, at the same time, allowed us to run a few errands. This little guy is one of the resident dogs that sit in the counter at the place where I get my shoes repaired. He was cute and the kids loved him. I am still resisting adding a furry addition to our family though. Stay strong Nicole.

Kei I bought a light reflector with part of the gift certificate we received from his sister for Christmas (thanks Mary). I won’t go into detail about how much effort it took me to get Thomas to stand next to the reflector so I could take a test shot. Let’s just say that four year olds are not the most cooperative of photo subjects – I think I may have even bribed him – and I didn’t even try it with Samuel. It was good test nonetheless, but I think I’ll save future use for objects other people’s children.

Tonight at bath time. I was home by myself and grateful that the boys were enjoying each other’s company. In fact they were having so much fun that I eventually had to drag them out of the bath. I won’t even begin to explain the trauma I went through to get their pajamas on.

Oh, and on the winter darkness depression thing, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve booked a trip home to Australia – and one with a wedding no less. Can’t wait for the photo opps!

At 20 months Samuel is…

…stubborn, demanding, frustrating and loud. But he is also adorable, chatty, smart, funny and affectionate. Sometimes I have to remind myself of the latter when he’s driving me crazy with the more challenging aspects of his personality. I can definitely say there is never a dull moment with Samuel around. Just a few things I want to remember:

  • Kisses – He LOVES to give big wet sloppy kisses and ‘uggs (Hugs). I love it that he won’t let me leave the house in the morning without a kiss.
  • Words – Samuel has a LOT of them. Tonight he said “Thomas! Brush. Teeth. Now.”
  • Adoration – for his big brother Thomas. He now asks (OK, demands) Thomas to play with him. It’s adorable.
  • Independence – I know he probably gets it from his mother but it can be a little much sometimes – especially when I am trying to brush his teeth.
  • Cheekiness – The kid knows how charming he is, and plays it to his best advantage.

I played around a little with textures for the latest challenge for

I don’t use textures very often, but I really like the effect it had on this photo. Ignore the obnoxious hat. I was hoping it would disappear after Thomas was done with it, but it’s amazing sometimes how lost items resurface when you have two curious boys despite your best efforts to hide them.

Car Boot Diaper Changes, Old School Buses and a Grown Up Night Out

This week was busy – crazy busy. For 7 months I have been on the planning committee for the 2010 Portland Iron Bartender Event and our hard work all paid off on Thursday night. I will have more photos to share as soon as I have a moment or two to edit them.

But before the Iron Bartender, I had to get through the week… Here are my P365 photos.

On Sunday we made a pilgrimage to the Japanese grocery store to stock up on noodles, sake, saba (mackerel) and natto. I would have loved to take some photos of the rows of shelves stocked with my favourite foods but a little sign out front said no photo or video and I’m too chicken to break the rules.

Instead I resorted to a picture of Samuel waiting in the boot (trunk) of the car for his diaper to be changed while I was rained on. The trunk of the car seemed more practical than squeezing myself into a public bathroom that may (or may not) have had a changing table. Samuel didn’t seem to mind.

I spotted an old school bus after my impromptu playground photo session on Monday. It gave me the perfect opportunity to play around with a few vintage photo edits.

Have I mentioned how much I love Ikea? One of our latest purchases was a couple of ghost night lights – so cute!

I pick Thomas up from school every day and every day we make the same walk down this long corridor to the car. It’s where we begin our “tell me about your day” conversation that often continues in the car. My commute home each day takes a long time now that I make this extra stop – anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes – but I never get tired of the extra time that Thomas and I have together.  The way he talks sometimes is so grown up that I forget that he has only been on the planet for four years.

One of the Iron Bartender competitors from Thursday night. It took me a long time to choose one photo from the 300 or so that I took over the course of the evening, but this one captures the vibe. So much fun! I’ll post more photos from the event soon.

Samuel got an owie at school yesterday, right above his eye. He has been so clumsy lately that I suspect he is having a growth spurt. Samuel is taking it in stride but I am a nervous wreck.

P365 Days 11 through 16

I begin today’s P365 post with another plug for the Iron Bartender Charity event

The event is next Thursday, Jan 21st. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I have it on good authority that there are some fabulous raffle baskets up for grabs. You can buy tickets at the door if you attend. I’m talking about Sunriver vacations, a starter wine cellar, a kayaking trip and some swee-eeet Blazers tickets (my husband will definitely have his eyes on those).

You can purchase tickets here. Plug over. 🙂

I took this P365 photo at our last meeting at the Doug Fir bar in Portland. Very low light so my ISO was cranked way up and it resulted in a lot of camera noise, but I think it’s pretty nonetheless.

Avert your eyes if you’re uncomfortable with potty talk. Yes, we have begun potty training with number two (no pun intended). He said he wanted to pee and then went and sat down and…well…did. Two nights in a row. He was so proud of himself, although he hasn’t done it since. I have my fingers crossed that the second child really is more advanced with this particular skill.

Samuel enjoying an afternoon snack. This kid spends a lot of his time eating so you’ll likely see more of these types of photos during the year. I like how it looks like he was caught in the act.

A little naked playtime after bathtime. Boy, Samuel is really going to hate me for this post in a few years.

Happy year of the tiger. We enjoyed a little taiko drumming and traditional mochi pounding (pictured) at an event at Thomas’ school. I am embarrassed to admit that I did not know that mochi was made out of just rice and water until a couple of nights ago. I still don’t like it although, with the speed that Thomas swallowed the mochi sample, I predict a visit the Japanese grocery store in our future.

And then today. This was the calm before the storm when the boys enjoyed a rare moment of playing nicely together at Barnes and Noble before we took a trip to doctor’s office. I took them for their swine flu vaccination and let’s just say that the older and more aware they get, the harder it becomes to jab them with a needle. Thomas insisted that Samuel go first – and then he cried. Loudly. Then it was Thomas’ turn and who can blame him for not wanting to endure the same experience. Nevertheless, I held him down (yes, traumatic for mama) and he was jabbed. And then he cried too until the nurse gave them both a cookie to help ease the pain. After the tears had subsided a little, Thomas declared that he didn’t want to go back to the doctor ever again. Good thing his birthday and annual checkup is not for another 9 months.