He Knows What He Wants

Atticus is a baby who definitely knows what he wants.  He spends a lot of time saying "ow-side, doh!" (outside, door!), trying to make sure he gets his fill of outside time.  When he wants me to hold him, he stands at my feet saying "na-down!"(not down) or "bup!" (up) on repeat until I finish the task at hand and pick him up.  He is very adept at asking to eat and nurse.  And, lest I forget, he loves to ask for lights and ceiling fans to be turned on or off.

He is pretty verbal for a 16 month old, but that doesn't stop him from getting frustrated when his new talker pronunciation fails to get him what he wants.  On Saturday morning, Atticus was sitting in his highchair whimpering and clearly annoyed as we finished up breakfast.  Instead of asking my normal, "Are you ready to get down now?" I responded to his fussing by calmly inquiring, "Atticus, what do you want?"  Clear as a bell, he replied "I want mama."  Be still my melted puddle of a heart.

Gregory's Blanket

In January, Ish and I found out that I was pregnant with another child due in September.  On March 9th, at 12 weeks pregnant, we found out that the baby had died in utero. On March 25th, our son, Gregory Innocent was born sleeping.  On Easter Monday, surrounded by family and friends, we had a graveside service for Gregory.  He is now buried with his great-grandfather.

Soon after I found out that I was pregnant with Gregory, I started knitting a blanket for him.  I didn't get very far before he died.  I couldn't bear to finish the entire blanket, but even more so I couldn't bear ripping it out.  Last night I finally put a garter border on the blanket and bound off.

When she found out that I had miscarried, a friend lent me her copy of A Call to a Deeper Love.  It is the correspondence of St. Therese's parents, Blessed Zélie and Louis Martin.  She thought it would bring me comfort, and indeed, it has.  Zélie and Louis lost 4 of their children (3 as infants and 1 in early childhood).  The way in which Zélie writes about her children and their deaths has brought me so much comfort and a good dose of perspective.

Linking up with Ginny

Little Ish and Lily

Little Ish and Lily have only a 16½ months age difference.  Having two kids so close in age was terrifying to me when I was pregnant with Liliana.  I couldn't quite fathom how I was going to effectively care for and mother two babies at the same time.  Honestly, I felt completely off my game for the first year of Lily's life.  As Lily got to an age where she could run around and play with Little Ish, life got infinitely easier.  They gradually developed a strong and deep friendship. 

As things stand today, Little Ish is quickly approaching his 5th birthday and Liliana reached 3 ½ this week.  While there are days that they bicker endlessly, the majority of the time they are the best of friends.  Sure, they know how to get a rise out of each other and push all the right buttons to cause the other one's temper to flare, and those moments are hard for them and for me.  The shadow cast by those rough patches are vastly outshone by the sweet and tender moments they share.  It is a common scene for me to go to check on Lily when she cries out in the middle of the night only to find that Little Ish is already at her side patting her back or holding her hand and has soothed Lily back to a peaceful sleep. They are full of giggles and jokes when they play--peels of laughter ring through our home.  As I watch them, I realize that they are teaching each other so much about love and friendship. I look forward to watching their bond as siblings strengthen as they grow. 

7 Quick Takes Vol. 8

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Atticus has ridiculous physical stamina.  He insists on walking on our walks now.  He can walk around our block with out being carried now.  It takes about 25 minutes instead of the 15 minutes it takes when I carry him, but he is so happy the entire time. 

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We went to Free Comic Book Day on Saturday.  Lily and Little Ish dressed up because anyone who came in costume received an extra free comic book.  As you can see, Lily was rocking the Elsa dress.  Little Ish put together his own knight costume.  When Lily spotted another little girl in line who was dressed as Elsa, she was so excited.  The other Elsa spotted her at the same time.  They both looked starstruck.  The line was huge, but all in all the kids handled it very well.  I guess it is easier to wait in a line when there is something fun waiting at the end.

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This happened on Sunday evening.  What are the odds?

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I am still loving my photography course.  Lily has been my most willing model.  She is a lot of fun to photograph and she is oh so silly between shots.

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Little Ish is willing to be a model, but only on his own terms.  For instance, he requests that I shoot in black and white and prefers to make silly faces instead of smiling.  As long as it doesn't interfere with what I am trying to practice, I don't mind appeasing him.

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Atticus requires more of a sneak attack approach.  He doesn't purposefully stay still long enough to be my model, so I follow him around and capture what I can.

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  A particularly stubborn dandelion and a 3 year old with a head cold makes for an anticlimactic photo.   Poor Lily got dizzy from her efforts.  Lesson learned.

For more quick takes, head on over to This Ain't the Lyceum.

Sunday in the Park

Friday Night Fun

Friday evening found us at Ish's parents' house.  Lily and Little Ish had an overnight there the night before, so we were there to pick them up and to have dinner.  It was a nice surprise to have all of the local cousins there.  I love how the older cousins play and interact with the younger cousins.  They don't act bored or frustrated; they seem to genuinely enjoy the time they spend with all the little ones. 

An added benefit to having so many people around, was that I had lots of chances to practice for the photo class I am taking.  There are only so many days in a row I can get my kids to happily be my models.  It helps to practice on other people sometimes. 

A Pleasant Evening

One night last week, we decided to attempt eating dessert outside.  It was warm out and I thought, perhaps, if the kids were occupied eating ice cream cones, I could get some cute group photos of them.  This plan failed miserably. Atticus was so excited to be outside that he was up and running down the sidewalk, ice cream cone in hand.  Lily and Little Ish were distracted by their younger brothers antics.  Ice cream was melting and sticky hands and egregiously stained clothing were inevitable.  My husband, being the quick thinker that he is, moved dessert operations inside--saving clothing and my sanity.

After dessert it was still light out, and Ish had a few things to tend to in the garden.  Seeing the opportunity to let the kids run off their energy (and the sugar from dessert), we all headed outside.  Ish gardened, the kids played, and I got to experiment with my camera.  It was a pleasant end to the day even if the time outside ended with a few bumps and bruises and a scraped up hand.  Those things are par for the course.