Nikon or Jackie?

I took a huge plunge today and got my very first non point and shoot camera. It is a grown ups' camera. I have to take care of it. I can't just grab it on my way out the door, and I certainly can't forget to leave it at the grocery store. I have to clean it regularly, make sure it's charged and I would be devastated if anything happened to it.

See where I'm going with this? I think I may have just had another kid. Except for one HUGE difference, this kid came with an instruction manual. And rules! There are rules I can follow that (barring any weird glitches) will ensure that I can't screw this up. I have a father and a brother who are photographers and can really guide me, and not like Jackie's Class (where I refused to go) or the myriad of books out there, they can actually tell me the way to take a solid picture. Of course there is a level of interpretation, but for the most part there are set rules of how to take a picture. A cute picture, a meaningful picture, of my babies.

I'm a rule follower, and I've done my best to follow the rules as best as I can when it comes to being a parent. The problem is, other than laws (okay, so I occasionally text while at a red light), there aren't a whole lot of rules that are hard and fast when it comes to being a parent. Should you sleep train? (I did, but I know there are a lot of people out there who are clutching their hearts in horror at the idea). When do you start feeding your kids uncooked carrots? (Still grabbing them from my 19 month old's little fingers, even though he has eaten who knows how many). At what age do you switch from a crib to a bed? ( 2 yrs 3 months for Zoe due to potty training, still not sure about Oliver. Frankly still just shocked he hasn't vaulted over the top yet).

It is so hard to know what rules to follow, and which ones to just make up as you go along. So, thank you camera for being just what this mama needed. A new baby with an instruction manual and who already sleeps through the night.

I'm not claiming to be Ansel Adams, but with subjects like these... Okay, this was taken with my iPhone. I'm having some trouble getting my new pics to upload. Will post from the new camera later.

Sharing Monster

Yesterday we had a playdate with our best best best friends, you'll hear me mention them often. Auntie, Uncle, M (Zoe's bestie mcbesterson) and V (who just may be Oliver's future wife). We spend so much time together that our families have just about merged. I can go into all of this in a future post, but this one is about sharing, or really the lack thereof. 

At this particular playdate Oliver and V were at each others' throats when it came to sharing.

Zoe was an awesome sharer, still is. Top notch, could put it on a college resume if anyone still cared about that once she hit college age. So I was TOTALLY UNPREPARED for my little sharing monster.

MINE + NO = crying so hard his lips turned blue and no sound came out for a good 15 seconds. That is Oliver's response to sharing with V. Everything was MINE and everything was dramatic.

                                            This was over a toy camera, seriously.

"It's age appropriate" "He'll outgrow it" "Ignore him" "Tell him you understand" 

This is some of the advice I've received, and as much as I appreciate it, what I really want is for the behavior to GO AWAY. It's so irritating, right? 

I don't believe in making excuses. It is age appropriate and he better outgrow it. I'm happy to ignore it, and frankly I don't really understand (I mean, it's a toy, go get another one).

I do get the big picture. "That's mine, you can play with something else." But when will he outgrow it? Because in the meantime, I'm stuck with a sharing monster.

Okay folks, I'm BACK

Hello, is anyone out there? I'm back. My wonderful old/new friend Jenny Feldon of the always funny www.karmacontinued.com has encouraged me to get back on the horse. So here I am, getting back on the horse. I have a 19 month old pulling on my leg wanting more strawberries, so I'm starting with this.

BFF

Tonight is the last night of 2010. It has been an amazing year. So many wonderful things, but the one that sticks out the most is my Oliver. Oh how I love that baby. I will admit in advance, wine has been consumed tonight, so while this isn't exactly the same as the drunk emails I made in college, I will confess to a small amount of inhibition in this post.

I have become lax in my posting. I thought I was going to be one of those people who love to blog. A fair amount of narcissism accompanied by a genuine amount of love and pride for my children seemed to be a perfect blend to create a blogger. It seems to not be the case. I like to watch them get bigger. get smarter. get taller. get sillier. get better. Every time I go to blog, I stop to watch, and then I don't get a chance to post.

It would be preferable to have a record, a memory of that moment my heart stood still while Oliver precariously balanced by himself for the first time while Zoe clapped and shrieked alongside him. A written recollection of when Zoe looked at Oliver and told him that he was her BFF.

That was 2010 for me. The year my kids became BFF, and Rich and I became BFF with them.

March 24, 2010 brought me a 7 lb 8 oz boy. I didn't think I cared if I was having a boy or a girl until I found out he was a boy, and then I realized how much I wanted a boy. A little man. Someone to dress in jerseys and jeans, and to roll my eyes at "what a boy" he was. Zoe and I made up this song that we sing to Oliver. "Oliver Nathan, the king of the world, you are so cute and we love you so much." And we do. Zoe and I love Oliver so much that it drives us crazy. Sometimes she squeezes him too hard because of the love, and I understand. I squeeze him too hard sometimes also. He does that to us. Oliver Nathan.

Thank you 2010, on behalf of all of us.

A House Full of Sick

Is there anything worse than a house full of sick? I'm not REALLY complaining, since it's a house full of just a little sick. First Oliver had this random fever that went away within 24 hours, then Rich got a cold, then Zoe sort of got a cold, and I was the last one to fall. Luckily everyone is pretty much okay, but nothing is harder than being a sick mama. It takes an inordinate amount of energy and stamina to parent on a good day, and to manage to pull it together when you feel like crap, well, there should be an award somewhere. Or a cookie.

So in order to make it all work, I've got Zoe watching TV right now, and Oliver roaming the kitchen under my feet. I know he will eventually make his way over to the oven because the big Viking sign is his favorite toy these days. Perfect, the kid is drawn to the oven on a regular basis. He gets locked up when I'm cooking, but otherwise he loves nothing more than pulling up on the stove and playing with the bumps of the letters (or at least I'm assuming that is the appeal, but really who knows).

Oliver said "Bye Bye" yesterday to Alejandra (our amazing nanny). She has been telling me for the past couple of weeks that he is talking to her, but I sort of blew it off, but I witnessed it myself yesterday. She went to kiss him good-bye and he started waving at her and said "ba ba." Nothing was clearer or cuter.

Then there is Zoe. She figured out that she can open the refrigerator and freezer. Somehow that now means, in her mind, that she has full ownership over all meals. I will say "okay, dinner time." She asks what we are having, and if it isn't what she has in mind, she opens the doors and starts looking for better options. I'm not a short order cook, so she is often disappointed. We do the best we can right?

Beauty and the Beast

So... do you think she was excited to go to her first movie? We went to El Capitan to see Beauty and the Beast. She LOVED it, and all went great. She did decide she wanted to leave about 5 minutes before the movie ended, and there was no changing her mind. Still, a very successful outing!

Ma Ma

Having a baby is not a picnic. It definitely has its fun moments, but there are times when the monotony of watching a little person simply be, can be tedious. It helps to have an extremely non-monotonous 2 1/2 year old to break up the time, but as a parent I want to make sure that I am giving attention to Oliver as well.

For the past couple of weeks Oliver has really been getting his "words" out. Ga Ga, Ma Ma and the occasional Da Da. I remembered how sweet those words were coming out of Zoe, and the joy was no less great the second time around. The past three days we've progressed!

Starting on Thursday Oliver has been calling "Ma Ma" when I leave the room. If you ask him where mama is, he will turn to me. He calls it from his crib when he wakes up, and as I type he is calling it right now from baby jail.

What an intense feeling it is to think, "Wow, this little person that I've been staring at for 6 1/2 months gets it. He knows that I'm his person." One of my friends told me that she was so excited to hear her little ones say her name, and then once they started, and never stopped, she wanted to take it back. I know it was said in jest, but it made me very aware about not taking these little things for granted. It is so hard to be "present" at all times (I realize the irony in writing this while I'm on the computer as my two littles play on their own). As moms we work hard to balance getting things done for ourselves and getting things done for our kids (and hubbies too!). I definitely spend too much time on the computer, but I make it a point to not do anything on my phone while I'm sitting with the kids. It is a balancing act. Everyone has their own tightrope, or teeter totter, but we create our own balance.