Mamatography Week 17
May 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Just eating my snack in mommy and daddy’s bed. You caught me.
Taking pictures of my baby carriers that I’m no longer using. For sale. . . *sniff*
. . . I remember lovingly and carefully crafting this carrier while I was still pregnant with Joe.
Impromptu Family Photo at the park!
. . . and the Silly Pic
The Silly Bears, ready to help, heading to the Home Depot to exchange some drawer pulls. Joe is really into flashlights lately.
Joe’s finished “trash to treasure” sports themed dresser! I painted the dresser and hand painted the new knobs to be sports balls. I say “It’s not perfect” but Joe says “I like it mommy!”
You Can’t Make Me! (But I Can Be Persuaded)
April 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I picked up Cynthia Ulrich Tobias’ book You Can’t Make Me! (But I Can Be Persuaded): Strategies for bringing Out the Best in Your Strong Willed Child at the La Leche League of MA/RI/VT Area Conference a couple weekends ago. Let me tell you how much I LOVE this book for giving myself and my husband tools and ideas for helping to nurture our spirited, strong-willed Abbey (now 4 1/2). . .
One of the main focuses so far has been to make sure that we are not trying to take all of Abbey’s power away. Apparently, powerlessness is basically toxic for a Strong Willed Child (SWC)’s emotional state, and that interactions can go from sweet to sour very quickly if we as parents try to take away all power from Abbey.
We are trying to apply this thought in our lives, abstaining from saying “you WILL do [such and such]” and trying to offer Abbey the chance to take some responsibility for things. i.e. “What do you think might happen if you don’t pick up your toys?” instead of commanding “You WILL pick up your barbies by the time I get back to your room.”
So far, the book has been making TOTAL sense for our lives with Abbey, and we look forward to reading the rest of it!
What books have you found useful on your parenting journey?
Mamatography Week 16 – Still chilly, but havin’ fun
April 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
This week, we celebrated Joseph’s 2nd Birthday with a Thomas the Train themed party.
He was so excited! “My party! My Thomas party!”
Joseph, Abbey and their friends had a great time coloring, playing, and snacking.
We had a small ice cream cake with a Thomas candle for birthday wishes, and my friend Erica made adorable “balloon” cake pops for Thomas to pull down the tracks to Joe’s party.
Joseph was so sweet to all of his guests, especially the youngest, our little neighbor, Noah. I was so proud of his lovely manners.
Later in the week we had friends over for a cookout and the kids got pretty messy in the slightly wet sandbox and newly cleaned up back yard.
“Hey, mom!”
“Oh, yeah, I guess I DO have dirty hands.” LOL
Even though it is still pretty chilly here (Spring, where ARE you?!), we still make sure to get outside to play. It was about 43′ the day I snapped this portrait of Abbey. . . she had just finished having a giant fit about the fact that it was cold, and that she had to wear a helmet while she rode her bike.
Joseph, cruising around the same day on his Rock, Roll, and Ride trike – with a lollipop (“loll- pop”)
I got a couple cute snapshots of the kids at the park this week, too.
Cheeeeeeeeeeese!
And I had to include this “still life” of Joe’s little Wrangler jeans. He is growing up SO fast!
That was OUR Week. How was YOURS?
This post is part of the Mamatography 2013 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.
We are taking (at least) a photo a day to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!
Wordless Wednesday- Manual Portraits in the Chilly Weather
April 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The weather is still pretty chilly here in New England, and we’ve all got allergy symptoms going on, but we still make sure to get outside and play! I decided to take out my Canon Rebel XT again and take some “real” photos (as opposed to iPhone ones!) in manual. 
The Power of Play
April 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Today, I am writing on Natural Parents Network, regarding the power of play.
The Power of Play – A Wake Up Call
Play is Love
At dinner this evening, Abbey stopped eating, wiped her mouth, and took a drink of water. Very solemnly, she asked for my attention:
“Excuse me mommy. . . I love playing with you. When I play with you, I fall in LOVE with you – like Cinderella falls in love with her Prince when they’re dancing in their story!”
I was speechless. I just reached over and cupped her beautiful face in my hand and kissed her.
But I’m so often wrapped up in the household care routine that I forget to play. Come read more about why it’s so important to play with your kids, and how I resolved to be more playful, at my post today on Natural Parents Network: The Power of Play – A Wake Up Call.
Mamatography Week 15
April 18, 2013 By 2 Comments
We started our week with fierce puddle splashing. Joe loves him some puddles!!!!
Tuesday afternoon, we had the inaugural ride of the power wheels Camaro. Abbey and Joe love cruising around the park together.
We love our mid-week bible study program at our friend’s church. Here is Joe with her daughter, London.
At one point, the two of them were feeding each other cake. It was adorable.
Next week, I promise, I’ll get a shot of the two of them hugging. It will melt your heart!
Abbey and Joe built a “roller coaster” together on Thursday with some building toys that we’ve collected from Wendy’s kids meals. I love how well they are interacting and playing with one another lately. We are not without a little rivalry and disagreement, but it’s mostly sibling love around here lately. So cute!
Unfortunately, on Friday afternoon, Jed, Joe, and I were in a one-car accident in the random sleet that hit our area. It was raining, and we had decided to drive to meet someone for a Craigslist trade. Rain turned to sleet really fast, and we hydroplaned on the ice. I was driving very slowly and carefully, but I couldn’t save us from crashing. The road went out from under us and there we were, crashing into a tree in the ditch. This is a picture of one of my bruises. It was awful and scary, but Joe and Jed and I are all OK, Thank GOD. My car however. . . is not.
I just praise God that everyone is safe, and thank God for the great family of friends we have here in our neighborhood that helped us out on Friday and kept my spirits up over the weekend. I was really SORE and sad about the crash.
Abbey had her second dance class this weekend. She loves it!
After dance class, we went to Abbey’s preschool program – Passport through America. It was a big party/festival type thing, in the gym at the Shipyard. There were booths with food, fun, and activities to represent all the regions of the US. Coincidentally (since we are moving to Alaska soon), Abbey’s class worked on the Alaska/Hawaii booth!
Abbey and Joe’s favorite part of the festival was definitely the petting zoo, though. They loved feeding the goats with us.
That was OUR Week. How was YOURS?
This post is part of the Mamatography 2013 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.
We are taking (at least) a photo a day to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!
Here’s Looking at YOU, Mom!
April 17, 2013 By 2 Comments
Joe turned 2 this past Saturday. I feel like this picture says “Here’s looking at YOU, mom! I’m two and I love my milkies!”
