Wordless Wednesday

Still Here.

It seems that I have been slacking a little on the blog posts lately due to a number of reasons:

Life.
Pre-school.
Work.
Lightroom.

The first three are pretty self-explanatory. The last one, although exciting and challenging, has been impacting my ability to edit and post photos. Let’s face it, any new toy software has an adjustment period. I had my workflow all set with PSE and now Lightroom has thrown me for a loop. Just the sheer number of presets available for free download has sent me into a tailspin.

And to add a little additional complication – we have an (almost) new Mac that I have been largely able to avoid until now. Part of the reason for purchasing Lightroom was so that I could start editing photos on the Mac (a prospect that frightens me somewhat because that enormous screen certainly does point out the flaws in your photography). Unfortunately this raises a whole series of issues:

Do I import the iphoto catalogue to Lightroom
If so, how?
And where do I even begin with the tagging of thousands and thousands of photos?

So I have quite the task ahead of me but, thankfully, a gorgeous little 3 month old photo subject presented herself on the weekend so I have about 250 photos to work on. I should be a Lightroom expert by the end of the week (hah!).

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a couple of photos of the child that DID NOT cling to my legs and beg me not to leave him at pre-school this morning. On no, this child cheerfully said goodbye as I walked out the door. I’m not sure which is more heartbreaking. (Photos edited in Lightroom).

Happy Monday.

The Real Story

OK – so apparently I left something out of my last post. Kei said I should have posted this photo as well.

That’s full brotherly love for you. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt – or just incredibly pi**ed off.

Brothers

What do you do with 30 minutes at an airport waiting for your Nan’s plane to arrive?

You do what brothers do. You run around, wrestle, laugh and have fun. You make strangers laugh (even the ones who may be just a teeny bit annoyed at the two crazy boys running around).

You take advantage of the fact that your little brother is now mobile enough to make chasing him somewhat of a challenge (although he’s not so great at doing the chasing yet).

And you make your mum hope that you will always be friends – just like you are right now.

Fun with noodles

I know he’s my son and I am most probably biased, but he is seriously the funniest 15 month old that I know. Sometimes he looks at me in a way that makes me realize just how much mischevousness is going on in that little head. I think this child is going to be a trouble maker.

And, for the record, this was a pain in the butt to clean up.

Wordless Wednesday

15 Months

At fifteen months you…

Make me laugh every day
And for the record, YOU laugh very easily. I hope it remains this easy to snap you out of a bad mood.

Have a LOT of teeth – and really enjoyed brushing them for a little while until you realized that it’s more fun to shut your mouth in this little game we call “just try to get that toothbrush in”. All with a grin on your face of course.
Are getting faster. You are now officially walking and rarely crawling. I enjoy getting you out of the car, pointing you toward the front door and watching you walk up there all by yourself…
…Which is especially important because you are getting very heavy.
Love shoes. The shoe rack by the front door has not remained in order for more than 15 minutes in the past few months. You pick them up and carry them around the house, sometimes stopping to give them to me or Daddy or Thomas (and always the appropriate footwear for each). You also like trying them on.
Are very cuddly and always carry a blanket around. Monkey is becoming a close friend.
Enjoy playing with your brother. You two chase each other around the house, laughing along the way. It is one of my favourite sounds.

Love to dance and sing. I catch you humming to yourself sometimes – also one of my favourite sounds.
Are banned from holding a stick of any kind (includes drumsticks, chopsticks, stick sticks). It’s just too tempting for you to hit people with them – particularly your big brother. You also like to hit with your hands. We’re working on that.
Still eat almost anything and everything although I did catch you spitting out a green been the other day (I fear you have a bad role model in your big brother). Every morning you climb up on the stool your brother sits on at the breakfast table and eat his leftover granola. It’s a little gross (your mother is not a big fan of leftovers), but at least nothing is going to waste.
Have quite a dramatic flair, throwing yourself down on the floor when you’re unhappy. It usually takes one quick tickle to get you back to your normal self.

Love to blow raspberries – by yourself, on Daddy’s tummy and even Mummy’s arm. It is hilarious.
Are great at going down to sleep. Each night at 7pm I take you upstairs, read you a story or two and then put you in your crib. Then you wait until I put a blanket on you (despite 100 degree temperatures you MUST have a blanket), lie down and go straight to sleep. No crying, no fussing.
Staying asleep, not so great.
Are one of my very favourite people on the planet… and I’m sure I would say that even if you weren’t my baby boy.

Happy Weekend

Looking forward to a busy weekend filled with birthday parties and baseball games and, if I can manage it, some painting (house, not artistic). cleaning out closets and getting a start on cleaning this house (Mum arrives next week).

I am also feeling very inspired to take some photos so I may have to see if I can squeeze that in as well.

Oh… and I’ll be chasing around this little walker. He is getting very fast and adventurous – a dangerous combination.

Beating the Heat

One of the great things about Portland is the little nooks and crannies – the treasures hidden away in back streets, just waiting to be discovered.

Another great thing is the number of fountains that are dotted all over the city. And, when you are a Portlander, there is nothing that is going to stop you from getting into a fountain on a hot (107 degree!) day in the middle of summer. It’s no luxury swimming pool, but when it’s that hot it will do just as well.

After a day holed up inside the house with two restless children, I was dying for a break. So Thomas, Samuel and I drove into the city to pick up Kei and enjoy one of these hidden fountains near his office.

It wasn’t the safest fountain in the world – lots of different levels, rocky ground and sharp corners – but the out-of-the-way location meant that it was not crowded and Thomas could hear me as I yelled “don’t go there” and “don’t touch that” about thirty times.

Samuel also made my heart race a little when he decided that a rocky ledge in the middle of a large body of water was a great location to practice standing.

He was pretty proud of himself.

But I felt comfortable with Kei in there watching them (I was watching the stroller and my camera bag). Although I forgot to bring his swimsuit so he was forced to roll up his work pants. I tried to explain that the fact that I remembered both children was achievement enough.

But, regardless, they all enjoyed the chance to cool down.

Thankfully I missed seeing the moment when Samuel fell completely under the water. Kei caught him and pulled him out. I was only there for the aftermath.