Wildflower Quest Part II

Call me a glutton, but I tried it again.   I plopped my kids out in the middle of a field of flowers and requested they ignore all things around them (including each other), smile straight into the lens of the camera, and give me the perfect shot.

Nope.

There was kind of a smile working here, but he was probably pooping and he didn’t look at the camera.  No good.

Now this girl has the stuff.  She knows how to work the camera.

She captures all the emotions.

Sweet.  Vulnerable.  Peaceful.  Lost and stranded.  Confused. 

Being swallowed by a field of bluebonnets.   

Now, go stand by your brother and hopefully we can pull this together.

 

 

Errrr…no.

An airplane flying overhead gave us a few solo shots, but once we tried to add in Sister, the spark was gone.

So, somewhere along the line in this photo shoot, I figured it out.   I take pictures because I want to capture that moment.   Deep down, I am hoping to capture that feeling I had in that moment.  You don’t have to have two little faces looking directly at a camera to get that feeling. 

When I look at these pictures right now, I get that moment again.  

That moment when my kids were little and carefree and playing in the flowers.  One giddy  at the wildflower bouquet she compiled, the other taking in all the sights and smells and sounds with eager discovering eyes. 

The quest was successful. 

I got the pictures I had hoped for.

Pretend Summer

Though you pretty much can live year round in flip flops in this neck of the woods, occasionally, we experience a little fluctuation with the weather. 

Such was the case last month when we actually had the weather take a dip into the the 50’s one day, and then climb into the 80’s the next day.

Kaelan recognized this change and declared it time to hit the pool.   We had to burst her bubble and tell her it really wasn’t summer yet, and the it was spring.  The pool was still too cold for this type of weather.

Our fish was ready for the water, so as the day grew warmer, she kept trying to convince us it was “so hot that only the pool could cool her off”.  Seeing that her dramatic antics were getting nowhere, she opted to instead declare the day a “Pretend Summer” day.   She asked if we could do some things around the house that we would normally do in the summer.

I was down with this.   We needed to clear the winter weeds out of the play area anyhow, so thus begin our Pretend Summer day.

First, the kids helped dad clean out the sandbox and add new sand.   They were useless helpers for the next 2 hours.

Sand= free babysitting.

Next, they played carwash with dad.   They even blasted really tacky 70’s and 80’s music from the stereo as they scrubbed daddy’s truck. 

Kaelan hosed down the truck and her brother.

We finished off Pretend Summer with a water gun fight and some popsicles with the neighbor kids on our driveway.  

Kaelan shivered as she sat in her wet clothes and chomped her popsicle.

“Man, it is way too cold to be wet out here in this weather”,  she complained.

I felt confident she understood now why we said no to swimming.

“Can we get in the pool?”,  she asked through chattering teeth.

Wildflower Quest

Lord only knows why I think if I take two grumpy, tired children out into the middle of a field of bluebonnets after a LONG day they will magically become cooperative and happy. 

They did smile.  And laugh.  And play.   But when it came time for some pictures, they squinted and complained about the sun, and being hungry, and their fear of snakes attacking them in the tall flowers.

Geez.   You know how kids are.

 

“Yes, brother.   In single shots we will show her we know what she wants.  However, we will not give her this gift in our shots together.  Deal?”

Almost…….

Almost…….

So we left the field that day, with me feeling defeated in my quest for a nice picture with both children happy and smiling and looking towards the camera.   But I vowed to return or conquer another field with a vengeance……..

I show no fear in the face of these dragon tempered children.

He Waits All Day For This

The second we walk in the door, right after her backpack hits the floor and her jacket is flung over the chair, she plops down on the floor, let’s out a big sigh and yanks her shoes and socks off her feet.  

She has this strange little ritual.  She takes off her shoes.  Carefully removes her sweaty sock, and then takes her finger and slowly rakes it between each toe.

What?  She always says when she sees me giving her a strange look.

There is stuff in there that needs to come out!

I just think it best not to question any further.

Right on her tail, comes her brother.  He toddles in.  Plops down beside her.  Sometimes he yanks off his shoes, but most days he just reaches over to examine his sister’s feet.  He has seen the ritual, and much like me, he is clueless as to what she feels so compelled to sweep out of those toes.  

When the foot study is over, he begins his daily cry.

SNACK!   SNACK, PEEEEEEZZZZ!!!!

And so it goes.  Each day, this same little ritual.   They pick her toes, eat their snack, and talk about their ups and downs of the day.  

He waits ALL day for this.

The other day, I heard the sister make a change in the routine.  

Bubba, I am not going to take off my shoes until we are done with snack.   It was hot outside, and my feet are nasty.   It will ruin your snack.  Trust me.

 

He seemed okay with the change.

A Valentine Date

I found these super cute pictures on my phone.   They are from Valentine’s Day.   Darian had asked me if he could take Kaelan on a Valentine date.  I told him maybe in 15 years (good thing he just knows 1st grade math), but if he wanted to come over and have a little meal with her, he could.

They dined on a heart shaped pizza like about half the Earth’s population did that night.

I found it to be so sweet that the two of them requested to eat in another room to give Doug and I our own private Valentine meal.  Then, they came back in about 2 minutes later and requested that I be their waitress. 

I obliged and took their orders.  Darian ordered for both of them.  

2 salads.  2 sides of fruit.  2 milks on the rocks.

He also requested a candle.   I gave him the Glade from the downstairs bathroom.

I drew the line when he requested a long stem rose just before dessert was served.

Sorry, Casanova!   Not this time. 

The Boy Turns 1, and the Man Boy Gets OLD!

Since we were gone on vacation right up until Seth’s birthday, and it seemed as though our weekends were so super busy for almost a month after his actual birthday, I made the decision to have a double birthday gathering for both daddy and Seth.   This was a big milestone birthday for both my boys, but dad made me promise to keep it small.  Believe it or not, I was actually really glad about that.  This year, I haven’t felt much like hosting, so small and easy sounded super.   I know I will be feeling much better next year, so we will go big for this guy’s number 2!

The theme for our party was “Take me out to the Ball Game”!   We had the party at a baseball themed restaurant that backs to an awesome kid’s play area and splash park.  We had all the ball park fixins like hot dogs, sliders, mini corn dogs, Cracker Jacks, peanuts, cotton candy and I made some baseball cake balls.  My cupcake baseball was kind of screwy.  I put the stitching too close together, but the kids who ate them did not complain.  Daddy had his own Braves cake made by the good folks at Sam’s.  I probably should have let them take care of the cupcakes as well. I think our guests thought I had hit the bottle before decorating those things.

We had a great gathering of friends and family.  Very small and quaint.  I feel so British when I use that word…quaint.  Makes me want a spot of tea, govenor.

By far, my favorite part of the day was when Seth tried cake for the first time.  He enjoyed it so much, he made these moaning and groaning sounds the whole time he ate.  He literally ate the WHOLE cupcake.  It took him like 40 minutes, but he happily sat and ate the thing.  Good thing we had the playground nearby, because his little kid audience lost interest in watching him after about 5 minutes, so they split and went to play.  Some of them came back 30 minutes later and were shocked to see him still at it.  That boy savored the moment.

Here’s a little video of Mikelle coming to check on him about 25 minutes into his cupcake fest. 

He had no idea a monster lurked within…..

Cupcake Monster Attacks!

I just love my birthday boys to bits!  Each day spent with them (and my little gal) is like a big birthday gift in itself!   Lucky me!

Month by Month: 11

11 Months

This was a such gloriously fun month for you, Little Man! (Yes, I use “was” because I am fabulously late in posting this.  What’s new?)   We had some more big travel adventures this month.  Yet another trip to the great state of Missouri, and then a trip across the ocean to Hawaii.   I already wrote about what a trooper you were for that excursion!   This became the month that we could no longer even think of containing you.   Your wobbly walking gave way to brisk running, and somewhere in this month, you secretly took some classes from a Houdini expert and learned how to escape any gated contraption we tried to contain you in.   You also mastered the art of “noodle body” which allowed you to escape our arms and make a quick runaway escape.  

Is raising a little boy much different than raising a little girl?  Nah……not at all.

IT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!!!!    ARE YOU KIDDING ME?   THIS BOY IS IN TO EVERYTHING!   DID YOU HEAR ME????   E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!!

Some days,  I kid myself and think that I have done a pretty good job of baby proofing our home.   Baby proofing?  Yes, but I overlooked the act of monster proofing our house.   I watch you enter rooms and scope out the outlets and sharp objects.   You love  a challenge! You keep us on our toes so much,  I am thinking of investing in ballet shoes.

Shutting doors, pulling on dresser drawers, tugging on the backs of chairs, yanking on baby gates until they give.    These are your favorite past times. 

This month, the solids became more solid for you.   Your transition into real table food is going smoothly.   You hardly take a bottle anymore, as we have switched you to sippy cups.  The big move to milk comes soon, so we took our pediatrician's advice and let you taste the good stuff towards the end of the month.  Needless to say, I think the transition will go well!   Our master plan is to have you completely off bottles by the end of 12 months.   I feel confident you will have no problem with this…..okay, I will quit pretending to see into the future.   Seeing as I am writing this post several months later, I will go ahead and tell you that you DID transition to milk superbly, AND you actually stopped taking a bottle after 2 days of starting milk.  You preferred it in a sippy cup, so we kissed the bottles goodbye!  Well done, son!

For some reason, pulling your sister’s hair became a form of entertainment for you.   You actually start the process by sweetly stroking her hair and making the sweetest “ohhhhh” sounds.   Then, you lean in for what appears to be a hug, and wrap the hair around you little knuckles and pull for all you are worth.    It is a good thing your sister is sweet natured.  If I had pulled that crud on my older sister, I would have paid dearly.   I hope this is not a sign of what the future holds…….your sister will be bald by  the time your are 2.

We are guessing your wait is somewhere around 22-23 lbs.   You are close to 32 inches long.   Just 10 more inches before you get to ride the big boy rides at SeaWorld!   Woo-hoo!

Our friend, Thuan brought back the cutest little outfits from his recent trip to Vietnam.   Kaelan just could not wait to dress you up!  Happy 11, little dude!

So you are kind of a dancing machine.  Did I mention that?

 

Atlanta

For Spring Break this year, we decided it was our turn to travel for a family visit.   We headed back to Atlanta, GA  (Marietta to be exact) to Daddy’s old neck of the woods.   It had been a few years since we last headed out this way, but with Doug’s side of the family, now only numbering in the single digits, and many of them getting up there in age, we thought it best for us to come see them.

We don’t make a habit of visiting cemeteries while on vacation, but these were very special stops.   The first cemetery we visited was  a military one with headstones dating back to before the Civil War.   Many of Doug’s family members are buried here, and we actually found out that Aunt Sara will be buried here alongside her late husband.   Breathtaking to sit up on those hills and look out over the markers.  

The next stop was just down the road.   Over the years, we have visited this place many times.   Way back when Doug and I were seriously dating (that’s more than dating, for the record.  That’s like “he is going to ask me to marry him any day now” kind of dating.), we made the trip to Georgia to spend Thanksgiving with his family.   I was a little surprised when Doug’s Aunt Doris made one of our visiting tourist stops this cemetery.   She drives the younger family members crazy with her talk to mortality.   She is a planner, and she took us to see her plot right next to her late husband’s, which is near her mother’s plot and the plots she purchased for her two daughters and  their spouses.   It was kind of like showing us her new vacation property.  She was very proud.  I kind of got the impression she was pushing Doug to decide on his final resting spot so she could get the paper work drawn   up for purchasing his plot right then.   We have laughed  a lot about this subject over the years, and every time Doris takes us out to see the graves, we still have to smile.  

Nowadays, we go there for another reason.  Not just to look at empty plots in Doris’ section, but to visit one that is no longer vacant.  

Doug’s father Gene died a few weeks before our wedding.  He was a good man.  A sweet,  hardworking soft-spoken man who Doug grew to admire  more after his passing then he did in his living years.  It is a long, heartbreaking story that involves divorce and lies and and mother undeserving of the title, but in the end, the truth did come out and Doug did learn his father was the great man he imagined him to be. 

Doug takes a few minutes to tell the kids about the grandfather they will never know.

One of my favorite places to visit in that area is Stone Mountain.   I knew Kaelan wanted to be outdoors in nature as much as possible, so this was the perfect place to spend the day out in the sun!

We rode the tram all the way to the top and spent some time sight seeing and hiking around the top.

                

Kaelan begged me to let her hike a little on her own.  I agreed to let her as long as she stayed within a distance of me being able to see her.   See that dot way down below in the first picture?   Obviously, this kid has not seen my contact lens prescription.   You can see the frustration in the second picture when I told her to come back closer to me.  I was right there.   Couldn’t you see me?  She repeated to whole way up that hill.

We headed over to Centennial Olympic Park in Downtown Atlanta for some play.   This is the location of the site where the bomb went off during the Summer Olympics years ago.  Today, it is a great park and an awesome central location for some of the great tourist attractions (Aquarium, Coca-Cola Museum, CNN).  We hit this place a few times after visiting some of the attractions around it.

Just a few blocks from here new the Underground area, there is a fabulous little spot that is perfect for getting mugged or murdered.   I tested it out when Kaelan’s shoe broke and I just pulled up the nearest Payless on my phone to run in and grab  her some emergency flip flops.   I had Doug drop me off because there was nowhere to stop and park, and as soon as I watched him drive away to make “quick” circle to pick me back up, I knew I was in trouble.   I ran into the store only to find the clerk discussing the armed robbery at that location earlier that day.   Awesome.   I made my purchase, and stepped back out on the sidewalk to wait for Doug to pull up and rescue me.   Unfortunately, that quick circle turned into a 20 minute detour (construction caused a rerouting in that area), so there I was.  Stuck.  In the ghetto.  Waiting to get robbed.

A few minutes into my sweat inducing wait, a group of thuggies came right up on me.   The sort of pushed me against the wall, and one of them kept nodding his head and me and saying, What’s up?  What’s up?   The guys crowded up against me, and I thought I was a goner.   Just then, the clerk from the shoe store stepped out and yelled for them to back off.   She was a tough old broad, and I was so thankful for her big mouth and bravery.  She pulled me into the store and shooed the motley crew away.  She kept telling me this was no place for a white girl, and she even gave me a little hug.  I played it cool and tried not to act like I was about to have a heart attack, but she knew I was scared to death.  The second I looked out and saw Doug driving up, I bolted to the car and jumped in before the car stopped.   I gave the clerk a quick wave and screamed for Doug to go.  GO!  GO!   He didn’t even get his apology for the delay out before I burst into tears.  

So, my advice to the visiting tourist.  DO visit Centennial Park!   DO have fun!   DO laugh it off and go barefoot if your shoe breaks!   DON’T head to the inner city to find a fix (unless it’s that kind of “fix” wink. wink.). 

DO stick to the malls and the grassy public areas.

 

The Georgia Aquarium is a must.   The kids loved it.  We loved it.  The place is always crazy.  There really isn’t much of a down time for crowds, so you just sort of have to go in with the mind-set of dealing with lots of people, and just enjoy yourself.  We did a great job of doing just that.

I got tired of lugging my camera around, so I opted to take pictures of with my cell. 

   

The Big Chicken.  The Varsity.  The IHOP Daddy worked at when he was 14.   We hit them all and then spent the rest of the time with family.   Very nostalgic. 

Yes, I am absent from the pictures.  I realize that.

That’s me.  Always the photographer and never the subject.   I only had a few pictures of ALL of us, and if you could see what that Georgia humidity does to my hair, you wouldn’t post them either. 

So here they are.  Minus a couple of folks, these are the remaining lineage on Doug’s side of the family.  Doesn’t really stack up to one of MY family reunions!   It was great to see them, but it is THEIR turn to travel to us for the next visit!

Cousin Diane and her husband, Roy.  Kaelan, Seth, Doug, Aunt Doris and Uncle S.A. (Doug’s father’s siblings)

So, that’s the Atlanta trip in a nutshell.  I didn’t take pictures of everything this time ( I am in therapy for that), so I only blogged on the things I photographed. 

Minus the near mugging.