Saying Goodbye

It's hard not living close to the ones you love. During the first two days of our vacation Button got to meet his grandparent on my father’s side (he is also the only great-grandchild on that side of the family) for the first time. Darling had to work those days so my mother drove us down early so that we wouldn't miss them heading home from a family wedding they were coming back from. It was such a nice treat for us all since they weren't able to come to my wedding and I hadn't seen them since in twelve years! 

I almost forgot how sweet my "masa" is and how fun my "babu" is (babu is Swahili and masa is made up).
Sometimes I wish the world was just a little smaller so we could see the ones we love longer and more often. 

Button was so enamored by them both.

 I just wish there was more time to swing on the swings, soak in more sunlight, and dance a little longer. It's hard living far from the ones you love but I've found it’s even harder to say, at the end of the day, goodbye.

Yarn Balls for Boys

Since my sister and her fiancé have moved in that mint my art room needed to be moved. I picked up a buffet table, some storage baskets, and set to work making my dining room multi-functional  (more pictures on that to come)!

It turns out that even if things are in baskets if they are in Buttons reach they are fair game. Ha.

I turned around from getting a glass of sweet tea (the kitchen is within dining room view where he was playing... its chill) to find him already unwinding the yarn, holding the yarn ball and looking up at me. Caught red-handed! 

I figured since he obviously wanted to play with it, and I was watching him, that it would be okay if he kept playing with it while I snapped some cute photos (making sure he didn't get tangled in it all of course... safety first ).

Turns out yarn balls aren't just for kittens but adorable (nope not bis at all :P ) little boys too. 

Sleepy Times

We are on a much-needed vacation this weekend! Woot! That means lots sleep adjustment for the little man who has almost never slept away from home in his whole little life. Sleeping in a new house, without his daddy, and in a different 'bed' had been taking a toll on my poor little munchkin. 

Poor Button, it took three people to rock him to sleep last night.  Darling religiously puts Button to bed (which is super sweet by the way) but as he had to work before meeting me at my parents beach house (where we are staying for our vacation) it meant that I had to be the one to put him to bed last night... in a new location, without his daddy. He was not a happy camper. First I tried to rock him to bed, then my mother, then my father, and in the end... me again.
One upside is that he got a lot of bonding time with the grandparents and they got a lot of snuggle time.

Camera

Yesterday a package came in the mail... my new camera! You see... I broke my old one and being that taking photos is, well, my job, I had to get a new one. The upside is this is so much more of an upgrade for me. I'm going to just come out and say it.... this is my first DSLR. I know shame on me. How can you be a professional photographer without a DSLR?! Right! I've learned that while having a better camera is nice and better in a lot of ways, that most of what makes a good photographer is a good photographer. Ha. That sounds so "duuu" but I mean it. So many people have told me they love my work... then they saw my camera and all that "great" work looked a lot less like a quality photo and a lot more like a toddler's scribbles.
I'm not sure what it is with clients and thinking they could do this without some sort of education on the matter. Ha. I guess it’s like that with a lot of skills. I know I'm no styles; I'd leave my hair to the pros so why do people think they can pick up a DSLR and think somehow they just got magic powers. :P Anyways, I'm pretty excited about getting my new camera! I was snapping away at it all yesterday and today so, here is a little of what I took with it; you know, because my son is amazing. 

I really love the ability of focus with some nice bokeh going on without ending up with a blurry mess. That is probably my favorite things about using a DSLR so far.

Sometimes you just gotta eat a strawberry all in one bit!

Independence

First time taking Roland to story time at the library (they divide the story times up by age groups so we were with newborns- 3) and I realized something today. I have noticed it before but it really hit me today. My son is so free-spirited. But this time I realized why he is that way (I think). I don't caudal him. I don't hold him down to listen to the story unless he wants (though I did try to entertain him so he would want to stay on my lap longer) I don't pull him back when he want to explore or things like that. I haven't decided if this is good or not but in a way, I'm so happy. He is him; he is free and happy so much. He doesn't cry when he falls; He gets up, bushes off, and keeps going. He socializes instead of clinging to my arms and legs. I love that. So many of the other moms were pinning children down, struggling to force the child to enjoy something they cared nothing about. Maybe it’s just me but if the child doesn't want to sit still why force them too? If the environment is safe why stress about it? Why make the even so burdensome on both of you to the point of neither enjoy it?

I know this might be a controversial thing and I truly am not trying to offend other parents raising style, I just wanted to share something I learned about myself and my son. I am so happy for us. He is happy and so full of joy, persistence, and ambition. He is headstrong and so sure of himself and I love that. I love seeing him chase children at the park, how he wants me to hold him but never hold his hand (unless he wants to go down the stairs), how he doesn't understand why other children cry when they fall if they are not hurt (he looks at them funny and runs over to comfort them), how he runs ahead of me and stops and looks back but never clings my side. I love my independent baby. I love watching him learn and grow with mommy's watchful eye never to close or too far away; a distanced shadow if you will. It just seems so much better for us than forcing him to do what I want him to do. He is my baby but he is also oh so much his own person. I cannot want him to grow up and be his own being yet force him to be me at the same time. I guess that is what it means to me. For now, as long as he is kind, well behaved, and safe, I will let him be him and let the other mom’s judge. Because, for me and my little man, I'm doing it right.
Today was our first time going to story time... and it won’t be our last :). 

Moving Slow

This is pretty much what my days have been full of. 

Part of our electrical wires fried thanks to a water backup in a pipe and we have to wait until the 21st to have it fixed. So, until then, I get to hang laundry all around our balcony and on a little makeshift line I came up with.

 In a way, it reminds me of Darlings and my first place. It was a little 400 square foot apartment right on the ocean. The apartment was built in the 30's and had the most stunning details in it but no laundry facilities. The apartment community had one with a little courtyard in front of it with clotheslines in the middle. I remember hanging clothes all spring and summer long there. In a way, I miss that. Life seemed slower than. I didn't make time to hang laundry... I just had time to do it. My days are no shorter now... just full of different things. Something (like playing with my son, gardening, cooking, and cleaning) are good uses of my time while other *coughfacebookcough* not so much. I think to myself 'time did not change'. I still have it. It is the same, yet I find myself rushing from one thing to the next as if life was one long checklist. Get dishes done, check, play with Button, check, wash the laundry, check, feed the Hubby.... and so on and so forth, but it’s not. Life is so much more than that, life is taking the time to hang the laundry. Life is sitting on the back deck, drinking an ice tea, closing your eyes, and just listening to the songs God made; the bird chirping in the trees while the baby naps (abide... with the back door open ;) ). Life is not just a checklist but taking the time you have to move slowly; to take care in what you do.
Every now and then something happens that forces us to slow down a little, and while I do want my dryer fixed (bad) it’s a good reminder that it’s okay for me to sometimes just breathe, relax, and move slow. 

Finding Something Better

My sister and her fiancé are finally starting to settle in (I say starting because there is still a lot to be done) and the house is just barely beginning to look like somewhat of a house again... so what do we do? Why get out and enjoy the last few days of April before it turned to May of course! My sister had hoped to see the cherry blossoms by the Potomac tidal basin because she was told that they boomed in April. I tried to tell her that they had already bloomed in early April and was now green but she insisted.

I appeased her and her fiancé. We all went out for a nice long walk, and though the trees were green there was still plenty to enjoy. It was their anniversary being together. My sister is sentimental of things like that. 

So even though the trees weren't as favorable, I stayed back a bit and let them have "them" time while I got the change to photograph this cute couple and this special day for them. 

After we walked around a bit more and got hotdogs at a little street cart, we had just enough time to sufficiently tire out all our feet whilst picking up Darling; right before it started to rain! All in all... it was a lovely day; one of those days that are so simple yet so memorable for no particular reason. I'm glad my sister dragged me out. Yeah, the cherry trees were green but sometimes you have to go looking for one thing to find something even better. 

Sometimes

I am a stay at home wife. I work hard (more than most think or give credit to), I pay bills, clean laundry, cook, clean, and care for my sweet Button.... but, sometimes, all I get done all day is hanging out with this amazing, silly, little man!

The other day that is exactly what happened.

We spent the entire day just hanging out together in the house and playing "cooking" with the spice rack.

Some days are really hard, some easy, but these are the days I look forward to most. Sometimes it’s okay to leave the dirty dishes in the sink for a while; ignore the pile of clothes on the couch, and just be there for your little ones. Sometimes it’s okay to take it slow, taking in the quickly passing times and just enjoy the now; the little moments we make together that are so fleeting. 
Yeah, I'm a stay at home wife but sometimes even that can wait.