27 February 2013

19 months today


You love tractors and diggers and all things that go.

And rainbows and bubbles and 'painting' with water.

You love helping with watering and sweeping and making food.

You often lean over to smell the rosemary as you walk by. You love inspecting the compost. And picking and eating capsicums whole from the garden.

Olives, avocado and kangaroo stew are all eaten with exclamation. Grapes and broccoli too. But most of all you love eating whatever anyone else is eating. "Some?"

Pink is your favourite colour and when you draw, it's always pink tractors.

You love dressing up in other people's clothes. Especially checked shirts. Which all seem to belong to Uncle Ryan.

Uncle Ryan would be impressed to know that he is also associated with the three-dollar checked bag under the house.

Today, holding onto the kitchen bench and balancing on one foot, you put on your gumboot by yourself.

You're drinking from a cup now, though you're often tempted to tip it's contents on the floor.

You're still dubious about ride-on toys, even the one that looks like a bee, though you've recently gained the confidence to start climbing things.

You'd much prefer to display your love of words. ❤

You can identify and name shapes of all kinds, even a hexagon and a trapezium! And count to three, and sometimes fire off numbers beyond.

Your word associations often have us in stitches. We made pikelets for breakfast and you kept calling them pipe cleaners!

Your sentences are gaining pace: "Daddy home afternoon. Tractor? Maybe."

It bores you to have books read to you - you pick up the words so quickly that 'reading' is now collaborative.


You can say goodnight in French. And are picking up a bit of Pitjantjatjara.

Y
ou seem much more like three, than the 16 months you should be.

You have a keen sense of hearing and love to copy sounds: the ocean, coffee pots, tractors. But you find big noises scary. And ambulances and tow trucks, but we're working on this.

Your most-loved toys are your rainbow stacker, empty containers (or anything requiring fine motor skills that involves a cause and effect), the water spray bottle and watering can.

You also have a minor obsession with your new potty book.

But by far your favourite thing is to be outside, rambling around the Cape or at the beach.

Me? I adore your curls, your wild fuzzy bed hair. The way you say 'help me?' when you want to help, and 'aw tuddle tuddle' when you rock your teddies. Somebody also taught you to say 'yo yo!' like a dude when wearing sunnies. Your wordiness is pretty cool too.


But my favourite thing is when you give us hugs, complete with back patting.

Can we keep you like this?

24 February 2013

8/52

At the big table.

I love the boy he is becoming.

His favourite saying says it all. "Ellery do it!"

All of a sudden he really knows colours and shapes. He can identify and name a hexagon. And has proudly got his tongue around 'helicopter' and 'peanut butter'. It never fails to amaze me how he absorbs everything. And his favourite exclamation: 'Goodness gracious me!'

It's strange too. As much as we are fostering his independence, with activities like cutting his own fruit for his snacks and spreading his toast, a small part of me is resisting his desires for independence.

Every day I am challenged to find a little bit more patience, slow down even more. Rise above the mess. Dig deeper within myself for more energy. All of which is hard when you're in the midst of the longest, wackiest sleep regression ever.

And I am still burning the candle at both ends, despite resolving to sleep more.

This week I will try harder.

Joining in with the inspiring Jodi and some other very talented mamas.


You can see the whole series of portraits here.

18 February 2013

7/52

 Looking up: you can just make out the beauty spot beside his eye.
And whoa, his little loveheart nostrils!

He woke up grumpy so I grabbed the camera. And just like that, he lightened up. He is fascinated with the ceiling fans.

Joining in with the inspiring Jodi and some other very talented mamas.

You can see the whole series of portraits here.

10 February 2013

6/52


Finding the beautiful. In a grungy carwash.
 
Travelling without my DLSR. Which is no great loss, as my general purpose lens is broken and my other is very difficult to use for portraits. Especially when your subject does not sit still! Time for some lens window-shopping, methinks. Will gladly accept recommendations.

I've done a bit of tweaking the blog recently. I updated my profile thingie. And realised that this blog reflects none of those other things that I am - maker, finder, grower. Dreamer-of-more-timer. Reading this it would seem that I am consumed with the mothering stuff. Which I am.
I still boggle at how other mamas of smalls seem to be able to do creative stuff and blog. But there have been gradual gains, of the one-step-forward-two-steps-back kind. And I need to remind myself that we have chosen to live a life of intention, not a life of convenience. We wouldn't want it otherwise. Anyway, I'd like to re-embrace this space, fill it with all that other lovely stuff that sometimes happens. The bread-making, the treasure finding, the little game of postman I made for a little someone.

But first, to fix thy camera issues.

Joining in with the inspiring Jodi and some other very talented mamas.

You can see the whole series of portraits here.  

03 February 2013

5/52

Silly hour on the beach with his best friend.

She leaves us in two weeks. She has become such a huge part of our lives. He looks for her first thing every morning. My heart is already breaking for his loss. I do not know how I will explain it to him.

It was late in the day, the light was low, and my lens was refusing to auto-focus. The shot is terribly grainy. There were clearer ones I could have chosen. But I love his energy, and their connection. It's tough, but I am relishing the process of selecting just one frame.

Joining in with the inspiring Jodi.

You can see the whole series of portraits here. 

01 February 2013

4/52


Their little union of adoration.

I took this shot just after ex-tropical cyclone Oswald blew through, which was also the same day he turned 18 months. We fully battened the hatches, packed a few sentimental items and emergency gear in case of significant damage. We were lucky to weather the storm with minor damage to surrounding buildings. It was also the weekend he had his first 'haircut'. His fringe had been bothering him. I made a few tiny snips while he slept. Not to be touched again for as long as possible.

Joining in with Jodi, albeit belatedly this week.