A Gift for a Sweet Baby Boy

It's not often that I get to tinker around in boy scrapbooking stuff! So when I get the opportunity, I'm not always sure where to start! I made this little mini-album for my friend, Val, who is due with her first baby, a son, in February. Val has not yet decided on a name for the baby, so I couldn't quite personalize the album, but sometimes, I think, these simple, more "generic" albums are better just because she can do whatever she wants with it -- baby's first 24 hours, baby's family, baby's firsts or whatever.

2010 in Photos

Here it is, an entire month since Christmas, and it's really the first time I've sat down to blog. There's no excuse. I'm just a slacker, I suppose. But, ahhh, that's the glory of a blog. It's mine and mine-alone, and it's so nice to not have deadlines to meet and to just write when I want.

Truth is, when I want to write, I'm generally not near my computer. The urge comes when I'm at the Walgreens Urgent Care Clinic waiting to see a nurse to get tested for strep throat, and I'm listening to some mother grill her 15 year-old son about why his friends Josh and Brendan don't get a long with one another. (I'm all for moms trying to involved in their childrens' lives, but after 25 minutes of this conversation, and already feeling like my head was going to explode from sinus/cold pressure, I just really could have done without the chatty Cathies behind me.) Or, I'll be sitting in my driveway, in my car, waiting for Greta to wake up from a nap, and I have this epiphany of something BRILLIANT to blog about, but alas, no computer to write on. And of course I lose my idea and my writing mojo once I eventually get the time to write.

So late last month/year, I decided to participate in a project where I take one photograph each day for a year. This concept appealed to me for a variety of reasons. For one, it would get me to blog a little more frequently. I mean, how hard is it to get online and post ONE photo a day? Also, I wouldn't feel such pressure to keep up with Greta's scrapbooks in a chronological fashion. Sure, I'm still scrapbooking photos and memories of her, but this project is fun and light-hearted and simple. The simplicity of all makes it doable. Doable is what I need. I also liked the idea of Prjoect 365 for the reason that perhaps, just maybe!, MAYBE, I would start improving my photography. I've always loved photography but have never owned a really nice camera. Since my cameras have been little point and shoot varieties, I've always felt the need to take a gazillion photographs just to ensure that I got ONE decent one. I am hoping that throughout the 365 photos, not only will I tell a story, but I'll also show a little improvement in my phtoography skills. (And hoping I'll soon purchase a better camera, too!)

My apologies again for the late explanation of my participation in this project, but my guess is, that anyone out there reading this probably "got" what I was getting at merely from the numbered titles of each blog post. Today's photo was number 25. Three hundred-forty more to go. I hope you enjoy.

25/365

01.25

When your child is sick,

sometimes all table manners go out the window.

I finally got Greta to eat some real food -- yogurt.

Halfway through, she decided to throw it on the dog.

24/365

01.24

Greta, right before bedtime,

wearing her 13th diaper of the day.

The antibiotics she's on gave her diarrhea

like a water faucet.

My poor girl. :-(

23/365

01.23.2010

Greta and her daddy working on blowing kisses.

22/365

01.22

Just as we were headed out of Urgent Care...

We'd waited 4 hours for Greta to pee in a bag.

She was so miserable.

First trip to Urgent Care/ER checked off the list,

and I hope we don't return for a long, long time.

21/365

01.21

Grubby grubby Greta.

We'd just returned from dinner to celebrate my niece's 12th birthday.

If you look closely, you can see the spaghetti sauce

decorating her right cheek.

I think this is why the dog was especially interested in her.

20/365

01.20.2010

On this day,

when I got Greta out of her crib from her nap,

she'd removed her pants.

And later, I found her like this.

In hindsight, I look back at the bright colors of this outfit,

and I think that if my mom dressed me in neon orange pants,

I, too, would rip them off as fast as I could.

19/365

01.19.2010

There's a cute little place in Maplewood called

Once Upon a Bash.

Our play group hosted a play date there.

Greta loved playing with all the toys

and other little runchkins.

Here she is doing her "latest thing" --

when someone looks at her,

and she gets all shy or doesn't want to be looked at,

she takes her little hands and covers up her eyes.

I think it's cute that she seems to think that just because

she covers her eyes and can't see who's looking at her,

doesn't mean they still can't see her.

18/365

01.18.2010

There are some days that I don't have much opportunity

to take photographs of meaningful subjects/objects.

But, the point of this project is to capture

my daily life in a year.

And this photo here -- the books:

The Happiest Toddler on the Block

and The White Trash Mom Handbook

Well, that's what I'm reading these days.

The one book is teaching me how to master the mind of a toddler.

(I wish!)

The other is all about not being a "perfect" mom.

I like the toddler book.

The white trash book isn't as entertaining as I'd thought.

17/365

01.17.2010

My mom had red hair.

And my hair is "red-ish".

Still, I sometimes am astonished

at how beautifully red her hair is.

She's gonna be a spitfire.

15/365

01.15

She loves him.

She thinks he is funny.

He makes her laugh.

She lights up when she sees him.

It's pretty darn sweet.

14/365

What do you do when your child throws a full-out tantrum in public?

You take your camera from your pocket and start snapping.

Argh.

Earlier this evening we went to the gym.

First order of business was to check out the child care facility.

Since I am a stay-at-home mom, Greta's never been in a daycare.

So naturally, I'm a bit concerned

& want to make sure she's okay with me leaving her.

Greta was cool -- the new toys, the fun kids and the nice babysitters...

But then she wanted in my purse,

and I would not let her.

So she threw her entire little 23 lb.-self on the floor.

And me, germ-conscious as all get-out,

watched as she buried her face into the carpet

right where everyone (and their FILTHY! shoes) entered the room.

(What can you do?)

I ignored her at first.

Just as soon as she'd calm down,

she'd look up to see if I was watching, and I wasn't.

But she kept at it, and finally it was just humorous.

So I took photos.

Yes, I WILL show these to boyfriends.

13/365

She moves so fast these days.

She's nothing but GOGOGO.

It's hard to get her to sit still,

and, so, it's hard to get a good photo of her.

Hence, the cut-off head shot.

12/365

There's no brilliant story behind this photo.

But it completely captures Greta:

Serious.

Sassy.

Spunky.

And through chronicling our days of our lives

I'm sure I'll look back on a photo like this

and think how it all made perfect sense.

We've got our hands full,

but so is our cup.

11/365

Greta found herself a new bench.

I was in the bathroom, doing my hair.
I looked into our bedroom,
and there was Greta, sitting atop Payton.
Thankfully, the dog is a good sport.

10/365

Shhhh.

Don't tell my husband that the dog is on the bed.

She's just so gosh darn loveable.

I often cannot resist inviting her to snuggle with me.

But THE HAIR. It's out of control.

It's worse right now, more than usual.

I guess it's shedding season?

I vacuum every day lately.

But I can't vacuum the bed,

so I guess I should keep her off it.

The Road.

Book we were to read for my book club.

I just couldn't get into it.

Has anyone else read it?

Depressing. Extremely.

9/365

01.09.2010

Greta, getting her second haircut.

She had her first one a couple months ago

but needed another to cut away the scragglies.

The hair chick got a little overzealous;

Greta now has bowl-cut bangs. Ugh.

Aw, well, it's just hair. And it grows.

8/365

01.08.2010

I take A LOT of photos of this little girl.

But this one is one of my absolute favorites.

She was in the best mood,

hamming it up for the camera.

Usually, when I point the camera at her,

she ignores it, as if she's thinking,

"Oh, no, not that thing again. Ugh."

Here, she's smiling, so happy,

and I can't stop looking at this photo.

It makes ME happy.

7/365

Seven degrees outside.

So cold!

On any other evening, we'd be inside, snug and warm.

On this evening, we ventured out to the doctor's office

for Greta's monthly Synagis injection.

At almost $4k a pop, (YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY)

I didn't think insurance would be too happy

if we skipped.

For the record, Miss Greta Laine weighs 23 lbs., 14 oz.

And, for the record, she HATES being jabbed in the thighs

with two needles all at once.

The cries are heart-breaking. :-(

6/365

Happy girl!
We had family over this evening
to celebrate my birthday.
I turned 32 and one month today.
(Greta turned 18 months old!)
We celebrated a little late
because my mother-in-law was recovering from foot surgery
and it's hard to celebrate a December birthday
during all the holiday hub-bub.
Here's Greta, happy as can be
because her Mimi was feeding her a brownie.
Greta absolutely adores Eric's mom and dad.
Too sweet!

5/365

That sweet grin
and those adoring eyes.
Every night when he comes home from work,
Greta gets so excited to see her daddy.
It's precious.
He's just as excited to see her,
welcoming her with big, friendly, "Hi's," and "Hello's,"
and she just loves it loves it loves it.
This is Greta, greeting her daddy.
I love how she looks at him.
I love him for being such a wonderful dad to her.

4/365

01.04.2010

Sweet Greta

Snotty-nosed, from a cold.

Cold January days are sooo boring.

3/365

01.03.2010

Oh, crappity crap.

This past weekend, Greta figured out how to open the cabinets.

I mean, she figured out the BABY SAFETY LATCHES.

Oh, crap is right!

So, here's Greta, sitting on her daddy's lap

as he reinstalls the safety latch.

She figured it out again the next day.

2/365

01.02.2010

Miss Greta Laine

She thinks she is such a big girl, sitting on the couch.

She loves to hold the phone. And the remote.

She loves that purple &green blanket and carries it everywhere lately.

In this photo, she's making faces at her daddy,

who's sitting on the other sofa.

She's such a funny girl.

We love her.

1/365

Greta, just five days short of 18 months old... We didn't ring in the New Year holiday quite the way we'd hoped. Greta awoke very early this morning, crying, coughing and covered in snot. Needless to say, she didn't feel well and refused to nap well/much during the day. I only got four hours of sleep myself from being up with her and due to a bit of my own insomnia issues, so I slept most the day. Thus, there weren't many photo opportunities today, but I liked that this one photograph captured at least a wee bit of a grin. She doesn't usually use a binky but I thought it might make her feel better. So, here she is, middle of the afternoon, New Year's Day, still wearing cozy footed jammies and toting around her new soccer ball and baseball that she received as Christmas gifts.