i won't quit my day job

in the age of digital photography...there are many of us that aspire toward professional photography. we can snap picture after picture, don't have to adjust for varying iso or shutter speeds, and then can crop, adjust color, and fix red eye with the click of the mouse. simple as can be. but getting the perfect photo is still an effort to behold.

this weekend, chad is in germany and will and i have been having lots of good bonding time. we've been shopping, hiking, playing, and of course doing several photo shoots.

the most memorable one of the weekend was this afternoon.

after a cloud filled day, the sun came out and thus we headed out for a photo shoot with the black eyed susans. i plunked will down in the grass and sprawled out in front of him.

point and shoot. point and shoot.

adjust position.

point and shoot.

roll on the ground in front of him trying for the artistic shot.

point and shoot.

lay out on my back, again trying for another artistic shot.

point and shoot.

will was more interested in pulling up grass than in looking toward me as i made funny faces, preformed my infamous horse lip impersonation, and rolled around on the ground trying to get just the right angle.

...i noticed my back side was damp, and figured all that rain we got was still keeping the ground cover moist. i picked up will, expecting his backside to be moist as well, but it was dry as could be. as we walked inside the moistness carried a stink. i looked over one shoulder to see some mud...no wait...not mud...moist, sticky, smooshed poop....dog poop. all over the ground, and now all over me. we used to get mad at jed for rolling in poop...and now i'm the one who rolled in it. if only the neighbors were watching...me making horse sounds and rolling around the back yard in poop. all in the name of art.

out growing your cranky pants

those first few months were some cranky ones. there were days when we all wore our cranky pants. the days themselves were wonderful in many regards, but there were those damn cranky pants. some people call it 'reflux' some 'colic' some call it 'sleep deprivation' some say 'post partum blues'...but me--- damn those cranky pants.

thank heavens you've grown out of them...we've all grown out of them.

we are now all sleeping at nite---which is really actually what nite is made for. in college, i thought differently, and these past few months, you've thought differently, but sleep---beautiful, wonderful, glorious sleep. ahh. so nice. it is pretty strange to think that sleeping through the nite, sometimes means we're up at 4 or 5 am, but heck, the sun is on the horizon---and we've slept for several continuous hours.

there were some rough sleep spots along the way. i actually kept a sleep log (for all of 2 nites). nite 1 included 13!? night wakings. you should see the actual notes. i was not only tired the next morning, but unbelievably depressed to realized how bad it really was (that is the one good thing about sleep deprivation...not remembering how bad it was). night number 2 looked wonderful when you only woke up 5 times that nite. things become relative.

have i complained enough yet?

now for the good part. you are wonderful, and amazing, and so much fun. i find myself waving at you all day long...and you wave back. you wave to the cute baby that looks just like you in the mirror, and get so excited that he waves back. you drink from a straw, and then blow bubbles in the water, and at times shoot water out of the straw. you say mamamama all day long. you giggle, and i giggle. you are so present in the moment, and are reminding me to be the same.

you may have a sibling after all.