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.

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.

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.  

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. 

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.

3/52

Full of cold.

Mad hair, exhausted eyes.

Waterplay in a heatwave.

I am really loving this project. I've even given the blog a bit of a spruce. And perhaps a flourish and a tweak or two to come. I was not crazy about this photo, background clutter and all. But I'm trying to be a bit more 'flow'. About life, generally. And well, the moment sums up our week. We've both been sick (why does that always seem to happen when we travel?), the boy with the worst fever he's ever had in his nearly 18 months. We spend a lot of time at the sink on these long, sweltering days, playing and cooling down. And his hair grows more crazy by the week! My little mad scientist.

2/52

Sand and bark crumbs from a morning in the sandpit.
His cheeky grin as he wanders up to me to get close to the lens!

Despite being a late entrant, and instead of writing a post about how I don't have the time, I'm making the time to link up with the 52 project. I'm doing this because 1) my boy is growing so quickly and 2) it's forcing me to bring my DLSR back from maternity leave (it's about time!) and 3) I miss having a regular creative outlet and 4) I rather like the idea of compiling a series of photos of his second year.

My aim is not to spend too long on the choosing and processing and writing up, though I've already laboured somewhat over a handful of beautiful cheeky grins, and had thoughts about an out-takes reel! I hereby vow to tote my camera along only when it feels good to do so.

I'm not sure yet where I'll make up the missing shot - perhaps from my Instagram feed from that first week?