A Family of Happy Snappers

I remember the very first photograph I ever took. We were on the beach in the middle of summer. My Dad had his camera and was shooting away. My Mom was pregnant with my sister and NOT enjoying the heat. I guess I must have been around 8 or 9 years old at the time. I remember it all so well. I asked my father if he would let me take a photograph and much to my surprise he allowed me to do so. Just one though. They used expensive film in those days. I was so excited! I can remember the feeling of the heavy steel body of the Minolta in my hands. I can remember bringing my first photograph into focus by turning the dial ever so gently. When that shutter released, I felt very proud of myself. That was most probably the start of my love for photography.

Now jump ahead a couple (or so) of decades into the future where we now have digital cameras of all shapes and sizes - even ones for small, clumsy hands like the one we acquired for Rowan. We have been wanting to get one for him for a long time now but just never found one that was well designed yet inexpensive enough for him to use. He has always shown great interest in my camera and the photos I take and one day this summer I allowed him to take some snap shots with mine. He loved it and we were excited to be able to see the world from his perspective.

So this weekend he got his first camera and was allowed and encouraged to take as many pictures as he wanted. He spent a lot of time roaming around the house - looking for things to photograph. As I watched him I wondered what his thought process was in deciding what to photograph and what to move past. It soon became quite clear that he was taking photos of his favourite things. Here you go. Have a look. His favourite trucks.

His favourite people.

His beloved kitty.

Another truck on his favourite drum.

His train.

This bear was actually brought over to the living room for a special photo shoot. Yip, he was posing the bear with Mom and then...

... with his good friend, O.

Well, that's all for Rowan's photos for now. We will be sure to get him to take some of our vacation.

I did some digging and found this photograph of my Mom on the beach. I am pretty sure it is the one I took on that happy day. I might be wrong though, and if I am, just let me believe it was this one, OK? It makes for a nice story :)

The Power of Communication

At some point during the weekend Rowan realised the power that a well spoken word can hold. So, now he has decided to communicate his will and wishes a little more clearly to us.

Yes, it is encouraging, but let me explain why I also find it rather troubling.

In the past when things didn't go his way, he would whine a little and we would either help to make things better or try to comfort him. Now he knows that that tiny little word no, when spoken with a raised voice and that certain kind of tone will catch your parents by surprise and knock them off kilter just enough for you to get away with whatever you want. Add to NO! a bit of STOP! and GO MOM! and you've got yourself a well stocked arsenal of words that will make your Mom cringe every single time she hears it.

I am now reminded of a post I added a little while ago - the one where I said I would try not to say no all the time... I should have stuck with it, you know? Because I am afraid I am going to get back what I have been putting into our interactions and am NOT looking forward to it.

Daddy's Boy.

Over the last week or so Rowan has been asking for his Dad a little more than usual. When I greet him in the morning he usually says: "Hi Mom. Where's Daddy?" and sometimes all he says is: "Where's Daddy?" As much as I adore the fact that he loves his Dad so very much I will admit that sometimes, just sometimes, it makes me feel a little less loved. But hey, don't get me wrong here - I pretty much melt whenever he says Mom.

Most mornings I have to explain to him that Dad's gone to work and he gets very sad - lips pouting and everything. Sometimes we end up calling Richard at work so that Rowan can cheer up. So, I am quite sure that Rowan really looks forward to the weekends where he can wake up in the morning and be greeted by his Dad in person.

This weekend was one of those weekends where Rowan didn't leave Richard's side (being Dad's little helper) and even when Richard managed to slip away for a second Rowan wandered around the house calling for him.

Well, tomorrow is Monday again and I just know that Rowan is going to wake up and be disappointed. Luckily it usually only lasts as long as it takes us to walk down the stairs.

Play Date with J

Hi to all. It has been a while since my last post and I think I should explain why. You see, I think we have finally reached that point where there isn't always something interesting to tell you about and I find that I really need there to be something special to share in order for me to be inspired to start typing this late at night. So I guess what I am trying to say is that from now on, I will only be posting new pieces when there actually is something to talk about or perhaps I will share some photos instead of a lengthy story. I do hope that you will still keep checking in every now and again.

Something special did happen today. Rowan had a play date with his friend, J, from school. We went over to their house where he got to play and I got to chat for over two hours. I was so pleased to see the two boys get along so well. They still haven't reached the point where they are actually playing with each other, but they do seem to enjoy eachother's company.

J shares a huge play area with his big brother and little sister in the basement of their house. It was wonderful. The entire area was completely kid friendly and filled with toys and activities. In fact as we came down the stairs and turned the corner to have an entire wall of toys revealed to us Rowan excitedly shouted "Whoooo!" as he folded in half sticking his head out and opening his eyes as wide as possible to take in the splendor of it all.

The entire time that we were there I didn't have to say no to him once. He was well behaved and content so I was able to relax and enjoy some real conversation with another adult which made me feel happy and content and so the two of us started our day and it seems the mood continued right through to the evening.

We had fun today. Rowan went to bed laughing and I am sure that when I lay my head on my pillow tonight the glimpses of a day well lived will put a smile on my face too.

The Entertainer.

Drumming! Drumming, drumming and more drumming! I know, it sounds like I might be a little annoyed by the idea of drumming, but you know what? I am thrilled. Rowan absolutely loves to drum and he is a real entertainer too.

We have several hand drums lying around our living room. Rowan decided to take to them using the drumsticks he received with a different band set and now he LOVES playing the drums. He plays with varying rhythm, moves effortlessly from one drum to the next and stops and waits for applause from his adoring fans.

I have always enjoyed the earthy sounds emanating from hand drums and when they are being delivered by our little boy with that special sparkle in his eyes the loud banging turns into the most beautiful sound in the world.

Tune in and enjoy:

Afternoon Walk by the Lake

Our First Friday Night Bon-fire

This was a first for Rowan and boy was he amazed by what he saw. "Wow! Wow! It's high! Wow! It's hot." etc. was the running commentary that Rowan gave as he watched the flames reaching for the starry sky. We placed three chairs in a semi-circle beside the fire so that we could feel it's warm glow and watch as the large pieces of wood crumble bit by bit. As I sat there staring at it I had brief and precious remembrances of fireside moments from my past as well as some very dreamy and happy glimpses of future camping trips and Friday night bonfires with my two boys. Have a great weekend everybody!

Sunny 16

Another lovely late autumn day. It was our friend, Olivia's 16th birthday today and we enjoyed spending the day with her. Rowan has really become quite attached to her over the last few weeks and this evening after dinner with her family Rowan cried when she had to leave his side.

I was thinking back to the first time I met Olivia. She was a mere 10 years old. My! How time flies! Congratulations on your 16th birthday Olivia! Thanks for 6 years of fun and friendship.

School Photos Are In

We received Rowan's class photographs today! I was so excited to see how they turned out because I was wondering how Rowan liked the idea of posing for a formal photograph. These people are professionals at taking photos of kids, I thought to myself. I am sure he enjoyed it.

As it turns out, he didn't. I still love the pictures though. I am just sorry that our little guy had to go through so much suffering. Sorry Rowan and thanks for humoring your very proud parents.

All Better!

It's amazing what antibiotics can do! Rowan is feeling so much better already and we are very relieved.

He has been very good at taking his medicine eventhough I had to bribe him with a lollipop the first time this morning. In the past he has also been kind of scared of having his temperature checked but a few weeks ago we got him to really like doing it and now he wants to have it checked all the time. So today, I had to check his temperature quite a few times and for a change I could smile and say: "All better!" and Rowan would jump up and yelp: "Yay!"

Small Hands

Rowan has been growing at a tremendous rate. At 2 years and 8 months he weighs 38 pounds and wears clothes and shoes suited to a 4 year old. But today as I cradled his warm hands in mine, trying to comfort him, I realized just how small his tiny hands were in comparison to mine.

You see, somewhere along the line I have come to think of him as a big kid again. So as we were sitting in the doctors waiting room, Rowan on my lap feeling nervous and scared, my almost 3 year old boy suddenly transformed into my little baby again.

When a child is sick it takes a toll on an entire household. You worry, even when you know that the fever will break and the ear infection will clear up. Eventually he will eat properly and drive you crazy with energetic toddler antics. In the meantime you are caught between desperately wanting your little person to get healthy and, at the opposite end of that sentiment, wanting to be able to cuddle on the couch for just a little while longer.

Sunny November Day.

Wow! What a beautiful day we had today!

It was warm and sunny. Even the wind respected our yearning to spend time outdoors before Winter really sets in. I look back on today's events and smile. We enjoyed some hot tea on the porch of a beautifully quaint house , painted some colourful artworks, dug in the mud, inspected a green house filled with vegetables and enjoyed some lunch thanks to the hospitality of our friends way down the valley.

Even with Rowan's refusal to enjoy lunch with us and the foul behaviour of a particularly grumpy rooster, this day was something to behold.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Thursday Fun

Once a week our dear friend comes to visit with us during the day. Today I witnessed something really special. You see, it took Rowan a while to warm up to the idea of sharing the attention he would normally get from me with Olivia, but I think he has come to realise that he in fact gets even more attention when she is around. He follows Olivia around all day and every time she comes over to chat with me he runs up, grabs her by the hand and drags her to the play room. She is always eager to play with him too. What fun! I think we have found our new babysitter! What do you say O? Are you up for the job?

Guess who's on TV!

One of Rowan's favourite shows to watch on television is Curious George. When he sits down to see what that curious monkey gets up to he is usually quite calm and attentive. Except when Mr. Auger, the plumber enters the scene.

Mr. Auger is the guy in the middle in the picture below.

Now you might wonder why Rowan would get excited by the arrival of the plumber... Well, when Mr. Auger walks into the building to fix the leaks in the basement, Rowan jumps up on the couch and shouts at the top of his voice: "It's Daddy! It's Daddy!" with that special kind of sparkle in his eyes that he reserves for Richard only. So there you have it. Apparently Mr. Auger looks just like Rowan's Dad. Richard wasn't too thrilled with the idea and to make him feel better about it, I told him that Rowan referred to Ms. Piggy as Mom! Did he actually say that? If he did, I will never admit it. I will also never admit that it is a sweet little white lie that I told to make my hubby feel better. We'll just leave it at that, shall we?

Mr. Fixit-All

When Rowan gets home from school in the afternoon, he heads straight for the playroom. I think it's his happy place - a place where he can enjoy the quiet away from everyone - after a morning filled with classroom interaction what could be better?

Today, I watched him running back and forth from the play room to the utility drawer in the kitchen fetching spanners and screwdrivers. He had a very determined look on his face and I just had to see what he was up to. He was working on his truck. I tried not to interrupt him because he seemed very serious about his job. Later on he went around the house with the screwdriver trying to loosen every screw he could find. It is actually quite amazing how many screws there actually are in a house.

After running around being Mr. Fixit-All, he was quite tired - even more than I realised because when I came around the corner this is what I found. I think he was trying to tell me something.

And off we went for a well deserved afternoon nap. Sweet dreams my boy!

Skipping Back to School

After an entire week of being at home with boring old Mom, Rowan was happy and eager to go back to school today. When I mentioned school to him this morning, he grabbed his coat and his back pack and was ready to head for the car when I reminded him that he was still wearing his pajamas and that he didn't have any shoes on. After the cutest little grin and a bit of a snort, he skipped towards his trucks and continued playing.

I was so happy to see him feeling energetic and in an overall positive mood again. It really brightens my day when he is enjoying life - not just because it makes my job as a parent easier (because let's face it - it really does help a lot) but also because it inspires me to add a bit of a skip to my step and not to take things too seriously.