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Swamp Creek Playtime
05.25.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Swamp Creek Playtime
Jude, Guinevere and I went to Swamp Creek today and had a terrific morning, as the photoset below attests. This is something new, so let me know if the photoset is not working out as hoped.
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Nursing
05.21.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on NursingThis story was sent to me by Gigi’s kindergarten teacher:
So, I’m wondering how often Bradley nursed Jude through is belly button. Gigi is in the home center right now. She was just telling Luke that he can’t nurse the baby, “unless it is through his belly button.†“Dads can only nurse a baby through their belly buttons,†she says.
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Tarzan Stays Home
05.18.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Tarzan Stays Home
Jude and I had the house to ourselves today and it made me realize just how infrequently he and I get that one on one time since Guinevere is only in Kindergarten half day and his nap takes place while she is there. Next year there will be a lot more opportunities together once Guinevere is in full-time first grade and the house is done.
This day only came about because I went into urgent care yesterday when the stomach flu was so obviously NOT the stomach flu in my case, and they gave me some lovely medication to stop all the bile and burning and vomiting and other nastiness that has been going on since Thursday. I have GERD, meaning my tummy is betraying me and burning holes in my stomach and esophogus. While it will make laying the flooring in the house excruciating, it has blessed me with a morning where Gigi went to school in the AM with Tamara and Jude and I had a lazy play/ laundry day.
We kicked off the morning with some oatmeal and watching Tarzan, something I have not shown him before. He loved it and set up little stations in the house to climb up and dance around like Tarzan.
About a half hour into the movie Jude went in his room and came running out with these Julius shorts. Apparently a monkey in sunglasses is the closest thing he could imagine to Tarzan appropriate attire.
So he suited up and I shot some pics of his swinging Jungle Action. I think Tarzan is a new favorite. There are certainly a lot similarities between the King of the Jungle and my own little baby gorilla.
After Tarzan we needed to take it down a notch or two; all that Jungle swinging inevitably leads to bumps bruises and things that go boom. We settled in for some books. Good ones, like Sally Goes to The Farm.
What started with a book about paper airplanes turned into a drawing session. The airplanes quickly turned into crumpled paper in his hands that, frustratingly, were no longer airworthy. Jude’s drawings are kinetic and fill the page up with his intense scribbles. It is fascinating to see the personality in an artist even when they are only two years old. Guinevere’s art has always been rooted, designed and thoughtful, while Jude’s have always shown all that vigor and wildness.
At this point the sleepy boy is next to me as I write this and his eyes look very heavy. I liked today. I really needed this morning. I want to get the house done pronto, but Jude’s head laying in my lap is the whole reason I committed to wrecking myself making that silly house in the first place. I think it will still be there waiiting for more paint tomorrow. Or the next day, we’ll see how things go.
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Logan Park
05.13.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Logan Park
Whenever I ask what we want to do today Jude has learned to fold his hands together in prayer and extort “Puweeeze park? Puweeeze”. He might embellish by pumping his arm in the air and chanting “Park. Park. Park. Park” Like a teamster on the picket line. That enthusiasm is not diminished upon arrival at the park, as the above photo proves.
The woods had a terrific light to them as we marched about. My new phone does not do justice to it, but I am so enthused to be able to post from it to our website now. This post being the maiden voyage of my new mobile blogging initiative.
This last shot may seem like a candidate for the delete button, but I must confess that it is one of the finest family portraits I have ever taken. Notice Martha, the dutiful and obedient family dog propped up for the occasion. Then there is Guinevere arms outstretched in her amicable little showtime persona. Now turn your attention to Jude who was alongside the others around the time I snapped the button, but is now halfway across the field dashing off on another wild adventure. This, my friends, is called photojournalism.
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Parenthood
05.09.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on ParenthoodThere are expectations that we all have of parenthood that begin when you are very young. You expect that you will love your children from the very beginning and that you will never ever stop no matter how old they are, you expect to go on vacations, make art projects, and run errands with your kids, you expect that you will be patient and kind and keep your temper in control (for the most part) when raising your children. We learn to expect these things based on our own experiences with our own patient, kind, loving and adventurous parents. We expect to laugh at the sillies and cry at the disappointments, just as our parents did with us. But then there are the things we don’t expect.
The thing that really surprised me is how much I LIKE my kids. I always knew that I would love my children, what parent doesn’t, but now that I have them, I really like them. Gigi and Jude are actually really fun people to be around. Along with Bradley, They are my buddies, my pals. I often prefer their company over that of adults. Our conversations are fun and interesting (at least with Gigi who is a fluent English speaker at this point) and the perspectives she presents at times are so insightful. It is a delight to hear words like ‘perception’ or ‘prerogative’ come out of her mouth. Her unending questions and curiosities make me see the world with fresh eyes again, and for that I am so appreciative. Jude needs to blow dandelion fluff across the yard, and while the grown-up in me cringes, I recognize the beauty of those seeds floating through the air. It is magic.
Then there are the moments which tell the future. The other day Gigi and I happened to be alone chatting, Bradley was at the house working and Jude was sleeping. There was no TV, no music, no computer, just the girl and me hanging out on the couch in conversation about who knows what for who knows how long. I enjoyed my girlfriend time with my daughter just as I would a good friend. It is good to know that I not only have the kids I always wanted, but I also have two more companions in the world.
I am a grateful mother on this Mother’s Day for my marvelous little people and wonderful husband.
