In His Dreams

The first thing Jack said to me this morning was, "Let's go upstairs, Mom." 

This airplane was the reason.

I bet he dreamt about it.

First Wagon Ride Together

Photography Class Lesson 20

The theme was what they do at home. 

Jack and I had an unexpected coffee date this morning. Luke's crying at 5:00 a.m. woke Jack. He patiently called "Momm-mee" every 15 minutes or so until I finally got up to get him at 6:30. If you know Jack, you know it is very unusual for him to be up with the birds. The kid would sleep until 9:00 if the house remained quiet. 

I too would kill to sleep until 9:00. Since I didn't get to this morning and I didn't even get to go back to sleep after my 5:00 a.m. Luke-call, I needed a cup of coffee. Jack is a little fascinated by coffee. He pretends to make coffee in his play kitchen, adding cream and stirring it just the way I like it before serving it to me. Every morning he yells to John, "There's your coffee, Daddy!" after I've poured John's cup to cool. He also likes to drink "coffee". His coffee is the Nesquick variety, but he doesn't know that. So this morning as I was making my own coffee, I made him some as well. We sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed a cup of joe together. 

His favorite part, the stirring.

Blowing on it.

Grumpy before that first sip.

Ahhh...

"That coffee's good, Mama!"

A cup of joe

He's my favorite coffee date.

Photography Class Lesson 21

The theme of this assignment was hands. 

And So Did Someone Else

Someone Woke Up on the RIGHT Side of the Bed

Every afternoon, a little voice yells, "Mommm...meee," from the far end of the house. A smile stretches from one of Jack's ears to the other when I knock and I'm told to, "Come in!" Most days Luke is still asleep, so Jack and I settle into our big green chair and read a few books. Today I tried to explain that we had to take the owl book (Owl Babies) back to the library. "No take owl book back to library!" This moment and others just like it are the ones I love the most.

Photography Class Lesson 22

The theme was a portrait. I applaud all professional photographers who are able to get a two year old to sit still long enough to get the beautiful shots they always seem to get. Here are my best attempts.

The Kiddos

When You Really Love a Lion

The Reader My Dad Wanted Me To Be

I am a reader. I always have been. I remember in the fourth grade I got Where the Red Fern Grows from one of those Scholastic Book Clubs. One night around 2:00 am my dad woke up and found me still reading (and sobbing). Of course I was scolded because I had school the next morning, but that wasn't the last time Dad found me reading instead of sleeping.

Old Yeller and The Call of the Wild soon became The Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High when I got a little older. My dad used to take me to the store on Saturday to buy two books. He'd tell me that they were going to have to last me awhile. By the time Sunday night rolled around, both were already tucked onto my bookshelf, finished. The next Saturday morning I'd be begging to go buy more.

Both of my sisters are readers too. Linda loves a good mystery though she can usually solve them within the first hundred pages. Kathy used to like romance novels a lot. If nothing else was available, Dad would find me reading one of her books. It annoyed him like few things could. When I scored high on the reading section of the ACTs, it gave Kathy great pleasure to tell Dad that he should be thanking her for having me on the Harlequin Reading Program. Dad's standard response was, "Think about how smart you'd be if you read something worth reading." I swear I heard that line growing up almost as much as, "If you're going to hoot with the owls, how do you expect to fly with the eagles?"

While I still love a Nicholas Sparks or Jodi Picoult novel (the adult equivalent to The Babysitter's Club or Sweet Valley High and pretty darn close to Harlequin), my reading habits have changed slightly since I've had children. Most of the books I choose have something to do with raising children. Kathy suggested I read The Optimistic Child, which I loved. Nurture Shock was another recent favorite. Right now Brain Rules for Baby is on my nightstand. It's fascinating.

The chapter I'm reading right now is about how parents' relationships with each other affect the baby's development profoundly. The author proclaims that there are four big reasons why parents of infants fight: sleep loss, social isolation, unequal workload, and depression.

The section about unequal workloads has a couple of paragraphs that fascinated me, but not because I don't think John pulls his weight around here. He does. We decided when I became a stay-at-home mom that I would be the one to get up with the kids during the night because I didn't have to function at work the next day. That was/is the right choice for us. However, this passage caught my attention:

"A typical stay-at-home mom works 94.4 hours per week. If she were paid for her efforts, she would earn about $117,000 per year. (This is a calculation of hourly compensation and time spent per task for the 10 job titles moms typically perform in American households, including housekeeper, van driver, day-care provider, staff psychologist, and chief executive officer.)"

The author goes on to compare that to the amount of time the man works, but for us that's really irrelevant. I truly believe that John is a very hard worker both at Nissan and at home. I found this passage fascinating because I'd never thought about what I do in that regard before. I'd never given my job a salary even though I'm the hardest working, unemployed person I know.

Another passage that struck me was in the sleep deprivation section. "If you don't have a lot of energy, and you are called upon to give to your youngest several times a minute (preschoolers demand some form of attention 180 times per hour, a behavioral psychologist has noted), you quickly exhaust your reservoir of good will toward your spouse. Sleep loss alone can predict most of the increases in hostile interactions between new parents."

According to the author, merely being aware of these stress factors is a step in the right direction. "Couples who know about the Four Grapes of Wrath and who begin preparing in advance are much less likely to trample on them once the baby comes home. When conflicts occur for these couples, the effects are usually much milder."

I find myself on page 81 of Brain Rules for Baby, feeling like this is relevant to my life. I know my dad would have loved to watch me devour a book about early American history or about the life of Theodore Roosevelt, but that relevance piece was missing. I'm certain my interest in books about family life and child development is much closer to what Dad wanted me to read. Just think about how smart I'd be (and my kids) if that was what I had chosen to read back then.

Just For Fun

Photography Class Lesson 13

The theme of this assignment was routines. Most of the routines in our house revolve around kids sleeping. It saves everyone's sanity when the kids are well rested. Luke sleeps around 9:00 every morning. Once he's in bed, Jack and I sneak into my bedroom to quietly read books together. We enjoy the stories, the snuggling, and each other during this time.

Around 12:30 or 1:00 in the afternoon, both boys are ready for their naps. I tuck Jack in with his blankie and a book to read until he drifts off to sleep. Then Luke and I go to Luke's room where he nurses until he's drowsy. I used to put him in his crib then, but he will only catnap if I do. So, I've started bringing him into my room where we cuddle close together and both drift off to sleep. 

Jack's calls for Mommy pull me from slumber, so I slowly ease out of the bed and let Luke continue to snooze. Rocking Jack for a few minutes gives us both time to wake up, and then we're off and running, ready for play.

Photography Class Lesson 16

The theme was together: a self portrait, and the point was to learn to use the camera's self timer. Here's our best attempts. It's too bad John couldn't be here, but he leaves and gets home when the light is no longer any good. Here we are, together.

Photography Class Lesson 15

The theme was a kiss.

Love on Valentines Day

There's a lot of love at our house. See?

Photography Class Lesson 12

Yesterday's theme was their eyes. My boys have very different eyes. Luke's are truly blue, and Jack's are hazel. Other than their eyes, the boys look a lot alike. 

The killers have pretty eyes. 

I love the contrast between John's stubble and Luke's baby soft skin.

Generations Part 2

He's Awfully Sweet

Photography Class Lesson 07

I'm coming back to an older lesson because I finally took a picture to share. The theme was generations.

This chair has been in Jack's family for generations. Jane shared with me that she remembers her great grandmother sitting in this chair. That would be Jack's great great great grandmother! I'd say that's one for the generations.

Lovie

Luke received three lovies as gifts before he was born. Jack quickly decided that those were his, and off they went into his toy box. He occasionally slept with them (as he does with all his stuffed animals and blankets; his bed is crowded). Not long ago when I was changing his sheets, I took them out of his bed and put them back into the toy box. Yesterday Luke was crying. I was busy in the kitchen, so I asked Jack to go talk to him for a minute. When I went into Luke's room, this is what I found. Jack has to be the sweetest big brother ever. I will rat him out and tell you that he spotted that lovie on Luke's floor this morning, scooped it up, and put it back in his toy box.

Photography Class Lesson 10

The theme today was their favorite place. 

Jack's favorite place is his playroom. More specifically, his favorite place is sitting on his stool at his duplo table.

My New Favorite Song

I heard this song on the way to the grocery store yesterday. I don't think I had ever heard it before. It was perfect timing because I needed the reminder. Luke's infancy is going to fly by. It won't be like this for long. Jack's childhood is going to fly by. It won't be like this for long. What a beautiful, truthful song.

He didnt have to wake up
He'd been up all night
Lying there in bed listening
To his new born baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says
It gonna be okay

It won't be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laughing
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
It won't be like this for long

Four years later 'bout four thirty
She's crawling in their bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says what can I do
She says now don't you worry
This will only last a week or two

It won't be like this for long
One day soon you'll drop her off
And she won't even know your gone
This phase is gonna fly by
If you can just hold on
It won't be like this for long

Some day soon she'll be a teenager
And at times he'll think she hates him
Then he'll walk her down the aisle
And he'll raise her veil
But right now she up and crying
And the truth is that he don't mind
As he kisses her good night
And she says her prayers
He lays down there beside her
'Til her eyes are finally closed
And just watching her it breaks his heart
Cause he already knows
It won't be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is gonna be
All grown up and gone
Yeah this phase is gonna fly by
So he's trying to hold on
It won't be like this for long
It won't be like this for long

Photography Class Lesson 09

Alright, the theme of today's assignment was their passions and hobbies. Everyone who spends some time with Jack knows he loves his Matchbox cars. He's certainly passionate about them. His passion has led to others' hobbies. Aunt Annie, Daddy, and I search for Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars at every store we enter. Annie is exceptionally talented at the search as she always finds the coolest cars first. (Thanks, Annie! Jackie Chan loves you.) 

While I love the pictures today, I am feeling VERY sad (understatement). I've reached the limits of what my camera can do, and there isn't a new camera in my immediate future. Our instructor explained it like this:

You may have some limitations with your camera….
o   If you have an entry level dslr, you may not be able to use the high ISOs due to massive grain

Sure enough when I downloaded these photographs, the first thing I noticed was the grain. If you click on them to enlarge them, you'll see it even more prominently. 

John has things that he says he should have bought before we had kids (sometimes he even says he should have bought them before he got married!): a motorcycle and a handgun. Until today, I didn't have anything like that on my list. Now I do. Sigh... (understatement...)

Photography Class Lesson 08

Holy cow! This is only lesson number eight, and the instructor already has us shooting in manual mode. That means I'm controlling everything the camera normally does automatically by myself. The advantage of this is crisper images that need less editing.

That being said, the theme today was a gift from the heart. By far the most special gift I've ever received was from John when he proposed and gave me this ring. That moment has given me all the other special moments in my life: the wedding, Navy homecomings, babies' births, and many other smaller moments. I'm a lucky, lucky woman!

Photography Class Lesson 06

Yesterday's theme was who they love. Jack has a lot of love in his little heart. I could have taken his photo with many different folks or any of our pets, but Daddy was most convenient and Jack certainly loves his Daddy.

Radnor Lake

Luke- 3 Months

Little Luke is 3 months old today. It's hard to believe that it's been that long since I met the little man. What's the little guy been up to this month? He's been growing like a weed for starters. I stepped on the bathroom scale with him the other day, and it looks like he weighs almost exactly 16 pounds. He's definitely a chunky little guy. 

Besides growing, Luke has also started playing with his hands. Those ten little fingers provide hours of entertainment every day. After John played with Luke for awhile this afternoon he told me that he thinks Luke is also interested in his feet, but I haven't witnessed that just yet. I guess he was showing off for Daddy. 

We're starting to shift into a schedule. It's naptime one hour after Luke wakes up and about every 1.5 hours from the time he wakes up from each nap the rest of the day. Many of his naps are catnaps, but there is the occasional marathon nap thrown in to show Mom that he can do it. Luke heads to bed around 6:30 or 7:00 each evening. Typically he is still waking up twice a night. He's a midnight and 4 am sort of guy. Thankfully he eats and goes right back to sleep now. I have had the pleasure of experiencing a couple of nights in which Luke only woke up once. I cannot wait for him to be doing that consistently! 

Luke is one seriously happy baby when he's getting attention from somebody. His grin is so cute, and he's giggling quite a bit now. Luke is not so happy when he's not getting that attention. Try folding a load of laundry when he's awake. It's nearly impossible. He would be happiest if someone would just hold him 24 hours a day. 

Like Jack did when he was three months old, Luke thinks the octopus that hangs from his playmat is the coolest toy in the house. John told me that I can never get rid of that toy because both of our boys were crazy about it. Luke also likes to look at his mobile and the toys that dangle from his carseat. He has a tummy time mat that the neighbor got for him that has a silly crab toy that he loves too. 

Part of me feels like Luke is growing up so quickly that I shouldn't blink for fear of missing something. The other part of me is glad to see the first three months pass. It's always been my belief that the first three months with a baby are difficult. The sleep deprivation is hard to ignore. So here's to moving on to bigger and better things (more sleep and less crying) with our growing boy. 

Photography Class Lesson 04

The theme of this assignment was What They Wear. If given the choice, Jack would wear his cowboy boots from Aunt Kathy or his "Grandma's shoes" (aka slippers from Grandma) every day. The camera lesson for this assignment was HARD! I think I took forty pictures before I was happy with one. I finally found that I was better off just using the automatic setting on the camera. With more practice and a patient, still subject I'll probably be able to figure it out.

Tummy Time x 2

Photography Class Lesson 03

This was a then and now assignment with attention given to cropping. I decided to move to the canines in our family. Winston lived a completely different life in the city than he does now in the country. See photos.

Then- City

Now- Country