Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Summer Love

Summer is here and it's time for picnic lunches on the back porch and evening swims with dada. 



entering this one in this challenge 
The Paper Mama Photo Challenge



I had a little fun and put a video together of Violet and Robby's swim. The song in the video always takes me straight to my summer in Nashville driving in the car, windows down with the warm breeze flying through my hair. 

note to self: turn phone hortizontal


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Adventures in film

Lately I have been feeling very uninspired to document our little family and our everyday life. The digital format has just felt lack luster when it comes to capturing the small, but magical moments of our days, like going to the park or eating strawberries on the porch. We are so spoiled by the instant gratification and ability to take as many shots as we want with our DSLRs. I made this a challenge for myself to be purposeful behind the camera. So, we got Robby's old 35mm cannon that has traveled the world with he and his family off the shelf and used it over the course of a week. There was a roll of film still in it, and we also got that developed to see what was on it. There were pictures from one of Robby's visits to Spain to see his family and his trip to Greece with his mom. It hadn't been used in quite some time. Some shots, especially with a toddler who doesn't like to sit still, turned out not so great. Below are some that I really enjoyed taking and ones that turned out better than expected. We have a roll of black and white film ready to be loaded and used this week.





Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A Favorite


This is probably one of my favorite pictures of my two loves. I'm entering it in this week's Paper Mama photo challenge. It's my first time to link up on a blog or enter any kind of blog challenge. It's fun to look at all of the links and photos of others. Yahhoo!


The Paper Mama Photo Challenge

Monday, May 14, 2012

Mothers Day Weekend

I pretty much had the best Mothers Day ever (even though it's only my second). My Mothers Day weekend started out with a surprise delivery of beautiful tulips from Robby and Violet on Friday afternoon. Saturday we all slept in until 10:00 am! Whoa...What? Whoever gave Violet the memo that she should sleep in, you rule. You rule hard. We spent the morning watching Winnie The Pooh and snuggling on the couch. We also had a lovely visit from Lindsey and Lauren, some of my most favorite friends ever, who live in NYC now. It was so great to catch up with them. Perfect Saturday in my book.

Mothers Day was spent out at my Mema and Pa's house cooking out and playing outside. It was the most beautiful day. The weather could not have been more perfect and spending time with my family was even better. After Sunday evening church, Robby said we had one more stop to make before heading home. He knew I had been wanting some succulents for the house, so we headed over to Lowe's and I got to pick out which ones I wanted. When I came out of Violet's room from rocking her to sleep, Robby had laid out cardboard, and had everything setup for me to pot my new plants. He did so well at making me feel special and appreciated all weekend. I also kept getting the sweetest texts, tweets, and calls from friends and family all day. So, thank you to everyone who thought of me today, you really know how to make this mama feel special. All day I just kept thinking, "Mothers Day is better than my birthday." It was that good. 







Friday, May 11, 2012

The great parenting debate







Here I am, up entirely too late with all sorts of thoughts running through my head about the debate that was sparked today over this months cover of TIME magazine. That cover photo was meant to stir the pot, it was meant to elicit a dialogue about the topic of attachment parenting. It surely did its job. I am, however, sitting here in in disbelief. Not because of the cover, but from the negativity towards the message behind it. So many people bashing the ideas of attachment parenting, saying horribly hateful things about parents who take this less conventional route and what their children will grow to be. Just because it isn't right for your family doesn't mean it isn't right for another and vice versa. I've tried to keep that in mind throughout these past 15 months.

Violet nursed for about 8 1/2 months and slept with us until she was about 11 1/2 months. Honestly, I wish she was still nursing at almost 15 months. I didn't want her to wean, but with too many painful biting incidents and an all too independent and impatient baby, it just naturally happened. I miss it so, so much and cannot wait to do it again. She held onto sleeping with us much longer. We were never good at crying it out. We went through phases where she'd sleep in her crib, but almost every night she ended up in bed with us. When we all started going to sleep together in one bed, we couldn't deny that we were a co-sleeping family anymore. Then, one night, a few weeks before her first birthday, she decided it wasn't for her anymore and to her crib she went leaving me longing for her warm snuggles. We still rock her until we know she is ready to part ways for the night and off to sleepy town she goes. I also wore that girl everywhere until she just got too heavy for me to continue doing so and into the stroller or grocery cart she went. We don't cloth diaper and I didn't make homemade baby food (both of which are things I feel strongly about doing/trying with future children), so I know this doesn't make us extreme attachment type parents by any means, but we did lean slightly more in that direction and I see us continuing on that path of parenting for our children. Do I think it is the one true way to raise a child? No, not at all. It's just what works for us and our family. 

Back to TIME. Do I think the cover photo was a bit much?  Hmmm....not so much for me personally, but for mainstream America, it was. Frankly, that image probably did more harm than good for the attachment parenting/breastfeeding cause, solely because people will judge the book (magazine) by its cover and not further educate themselves on the topic. I haven't read the article, but I have read subsequent ones from TIME that branched out of the cover story. From what I have read, no one is saying "If you don't breastfeed your 5 year old, then you are parenting all wrong." They are quite literally saying the opposite. People who parent this way, in an extreme manner, just want those who don't to be more accepting and more conscious that it isn't wrong to extend breastfeeding, sleep in the same bed with your babies, wear your baby, etc. Just like crying it out isn't wrong, it is just a different approach. 

Here is a quote from the mother in the cover image, Jamie Lynne Grummet:
"There seems to be a war going on between conventional parenting and attachment parenting, and that’s what I want to avoid. I want everyone to be encouraging. We’re not on opposing teams. We all need to be encouraging to each other, and I don’t think we’re doing a very good job at that."

My thoughts exactly.


Here is the Q & A with Jamie Lynne Grummet
Another article spawned from this debate




Thursday, May 3, 2012

My buddy and me





That Minnie Mouse just can't leave her side lately. Even flying around the backyard with dada, Minnie has to go along for the ride. Watching these two three play after dinner the other day kept my surgery recovery blues at bay for a while. They're good for things like that.