Babysitting
Three 6-year-olds plus one 15-month-old plus one 25-but-actually-about-10-year-old equals possibly insanity! Luckily, I love them all.
The Photo Chronicles Continue
I spent a good part of my weekend lying in bed with the worst stomach pains since I gave birth to that baby a year ago. I’m still not quite sure what I had [read: still have], but the pain has subsided enough that I can actually sit up straight and finally got some sleep yesterday and last night. I hate being sick, it always feels like a waste. Especially when it’s on a beautiful weekend like the one we just had. A very “end-of-summer” weekend, where the weather was actually nice enough to be outside in the early evening without tons of sunblock and a gallon of water.
Friday night, before the horrid cramping, I finished working on some pictures that have been sitting in my memory card for about a month. I’ll be uploading them to Flickr this week and will hopefully have a few more posts like this one (sans the sick talk) to show what I’ve been up to in the last month or so. For my birthday, Trent’s wonderful mother bought me some new photo editing software and I got a little enhance-happy this weekend, so excuse any pictures that look way over-photoshopped. Just call it art. Or something.
So, without further ado, the first installment of the Photo Chronicles, from our trip to my parents’ lake house in Council Grove, Kansas and some shots from Labor Day out at Trent’s parents’ farm house. Enjoy!
(For those of you that are computer illiterate, click on the smaller thumbnails under the larger picture to scan through each photo. Click on the numbers to go to the next page of photos.)
15 Months
Dear Lucy,
Earlier this week you turned 15 months old. I know this post is late, but it seems like the past month has been purpetually behind schedule. We had not one, but two trips to your grandparents’ lake cabin in Middleofnowhere, Kansas, spent a few days at the farm of your other grandparents, attended birthday parties, had sleepovers with your cousins and generally, had a ton going on. It’s been one of those months where I looked up and, BAM!, it was time to write another letter to you and holy crap, where did the summer go?!
In the past month, you’ve continued to grow and change, like you seem to insist on doing every month. You have become the constant entertainer. The minute a new person walks into a room your face breaks into a slow smile and you seem to realize, AHA! someone to watch me dance! Then you run over to one of your obnoxious, loud, music-playing toys, start up a rousing rendition of Old McDonald and begin your routine. Your father has been crafting “the routine” for the past few weeks and it mostly consists of shaking your hips, then jumping up and down, then raising the roof, with some possible strong head nodding and screaming thrown in to mix it up a bit. This dance is so funny, most people can’t stop laughing once you start, which just encourages you more. In fact, the more people laugh at the dancing, the more you’ll stop the routine to give yourself a round of applause.
You’ve also started to show a softer side to your wild personality. Along with all of the diving off furniture and knocking down blocks and hitting your father, you’ve started exhibiting some loving tendancies toward things you truly care about. Like your stuffed monkey. You hug that monkey. You kiss that monkey. You put that monkey in your little, pink rocking chair and rock him. You pretend to give him your milk. Monk is your little baby, and you care for him in the sweetest ways. It’s nice to see that side of you, as I was beginning to worry that I’d given birth to a wildabeast.
Lucy, you’ve also begun the great toddler tradition of testing your parents. I’m not so sure if I like this phase, but so far, it’s been managable. Partly because although your father and I don’t agree on some things, one thing we do agree on is diciplining you. Thank god. It’s not that you’re doing anything too bad, we can just tell what’s coming. Like when you climb into your rocking chair and then whine to be let out. You’ll whine and cry and scream and throw your arms into the air. And then, right when we’re about to break, you’ll stop, look at us, and slowly climb out of the chair. Just like we know you can. Then you laugh manically and run off. Gosh, I can’t wait for some teen-infused Lucy angst.
Oh, little monkey. What are we going to do with you? No offense to baby Lucy, but I think toddler Lucy is so much more fun. Spending time with you is like spending time with a good buddy. I look forward so much to our cool fall evenings and afternoons playing outside now that it’s not a zillion degrees outside. Thanks for always running around the park with me. And thanks for swimming at the pool almost every night for the past two weeks, even when it was boring. And thanks for learning to give kisses. And hugs. And for saying “mama” when you think I’m not listening. A small hint, Lulu: Mama’s are always listening.
Love,
Mama
As always, the format for these monthly newsletters is shamelessly copied from Dooce.com. Because I’m quite a lemming and very unoriginal.
New Photos, on the way
Get ready for some photo viewing! I’m in the midst of upload-a-palooza 2007 and pretty soon you’ll have some fun new images to browse through. Keep checking the left sidebar for new pics and I’ll also be uploading sets for your viewing pleasure in the next few days.
10 Years Ago
We’re currently having some online issues at Crazy Bananas headquarters, least of all is my inability to alter pictures because of a loss of a certain photo software (R.I.P. Photoshop CS3), which is why there haven’t been any photos up here lately. And why the most recent photo icons at the left of this page are from a month ago. Here at Crazy Bananas, we tend to live in the past.
To further illustrate that fact, and because I really can’t do anything else with my lack of Internet connectivity (seriously, when I can’t even get to Google, we’ve got issues!), here are some lovely pictures passed on to me by Rebecca (yes, that Rebecca) from my 9th grade drama class. More photographic proof that I was, truly, the most awesome 14-year-old on the planet.
Here are my drama classmates and I in full costume for our performance of a Midsummer Night’s Dream.
I was Helena, the cheerleader. Yes, apparently Shakepeare intended this character to be a cheerleader. Obviously. Rebecca (on the left) starred as Hermia, and we’re not sure what she was supposed to be. We think maybe she was supposed to be a catholic school girl or something…but it’s hard to tell. Lily, in the blue shirt, played Lysander, a male character. You can tell because she’s holding a hat in her hand. Our wardrobe department was truly innovative.
Here’s the whole class in front of our set, a giant, construction paper tree. Again, truly innovative.
Here I am displaying my constant need for attention. I think I was attempting to look attractive. I mean, who wouldn’t want that?
Small sidenote: The guy next to me came out as gay later in high school. I know, it is hard to believe after seeing my seductive pose he decided he didn’t like women. I’m as dumbfounded as you are.
Thanks Rebecca! Have I mentioned that I hate you?
