So it is time to play a little catch up. It has been “vacation” for us here. We filled the last week with holidays, family, friends, broken noses, severed fingers, good meals, birthdays and all sorts of other things that make vacations great and even when not so great… memorable.
Here are a couple I just found of Dunes building her Snow-Snowy Owl in our backyard while Griffin napped.
Note: I got a few smiles. Turns out Christmas, snow, and snowballs are all things that will bring out smiles without much prodding.
Here she is testing out her omnipotent powers and making it snow. Who knew bamboo trees were ever greens? They stay green throughout the winter.
Of course all Snow-Mama Snowy owls have their nest of eggs to protect from the predators of Providence. There are quite a few. You can ask Dunedin and she will give you a list.
Again, smiles. Before I jinx it, let me share my latest technique for getting my children to smile at my camera. Slapstick. Mommy falls, mommy walks into walls, mommy cannot hit child with snowball to save her own hide, mommy tries to talk but only squawking comes out… This sort of thing. Give it a try. Someone is sure to get a laugh.
Archive for the ‘parenting’ Category
Snowy Snow Owl
As easy a holiday craft as you could ask for
This project was super easy. And passed my “Mommy has 15 minutes and your brother is sleeping” Criteria. It would have worked with Griffin as well- there just would have been more clean up.
So the process is this. Let the little person trace their hand and your hand. Let them (or assist) in the cutting out of the hands. Folding the paper so that you have multiple copies while cutting saves tons of time. While Dunes, 3yrs, was working on her end I cut out a big letter O from a cardboard pizza box. Any old box would work. Cheap serrated knifes make this part easy. Apply glue. Okay, let the preschooler do this. They love it. Then we alternated hands: my hand in white, hers in red. The color choice was, of course, dictated by what was left over in the spare paper pile.
Then to continue the tracing of hands theme, I traced her hand with a closed fist over a folded brown piece of paper. Then, like magic, when unfolded, it became the bow.
Ta-da! Holiday wreath. It looks like I am actively parenting even though I am frantically running around behind the scenes processing everyone’s holiday card and print orders. As you can see from the above photo she was super proud of herself. She still wont look at my camera and there was no one else that she was directing that smile at- just definitely not in my direction. Wreath now hangs on our front door.
Psst- hey kid- Can I take your picture
Another failed attempt at photographing my own 3 year old. I may have mentioned my troubles before? She is really testing the limit of what this photographer-mama’s heart can take. This time I was trying for our holiday card. I even did the unthinkable…. Bribery with chocolate.
But once I have my camera out…
She will not smile in a house.
She will not smile here or there.
She will not smile anywhere.
Below is where she realizes that the chocolate I was bribing her with, was (Gasp!) Dark chocolate. Think this may affect my chances for a good smile in a photograph next time?
How cameras are like carrots
I had heard this might happen.
Dunedin will no longer look at my camera. What am I to do? She will even turn her back to it. (GASP!!!) This is a devastating blow to this photographer who loves taking her work home with her. I find so much happiness documenting my children and life from behind this big piece of glass.
The problem is she knows all my tricks and she doesn’t find them nearly as entertaining as she used to.
I think I shall approach this as I did the eating of carrots. She hated them. Wouldn’t look at them, would get upset if they were on the menu and attempt to toss them off her plate. But sure enough, they would be in meal after meal, in some form or another. In soup, pureed, raw, sliced, julienne, grated, baked, broiled, stir fried… Now she eats them raw and prefers baby ones from the CSA. She actually asked for some over chocolate milk once.
So this camera is definitely not going away. It is far more important than carrots. Who runs back into a burning building for carrots? (Yes, I might just run back for my camera.) My husband ran into a burning building once. But it wasn’t for a camera or carrots. You will have to ask him about this some time. I am getting sidetracked.
So I am looking for new tricks. This camera will be out and about with me. Perhaps I will have to build a child blind (like the bird blinds used by nature photographers) The neighbors might find that a bit creepy.
I will have to keep you posted.
Until then, expect to see lots of photos of the back of her head. Good thing she has such cute curls.
Coggeshall Farm Museum
We just happened upon this place. We were driving through Colt State Park in Bristol, RI and I was letting the GPS map pleasantly guide the car through back roads and we passed this really old style farm. I didn’t even think much of it, other than “I should just let my kids out to check out the animals” on our way back from the water. It was a little cold down at the park, so we didn’t last as long as I had hoped. But on the way back, sure enough, the sheep were out in force close to the side of the road. We HAD to stop. I don’t think our car seats are “Griffin-sees-a-sheep-and-must-Must-MUST-get-OUT tested” so we managed to do so in as quick a fashion as is possible without any major injuries (egos excluded).
The kids broke into a run. Good thing I carry this giant camera with me…
There was no one there at all (beasts excluded) only a donation box. Without guides or other pesky visitors, the kids made fast friends with the sheep.
Then the chickens and donkeys…
And no, these fences do very little to keep toddlers out. In case you were wondering.
Griffin, playing farm guide and pointing out which part of the fenced off areas are not really toddler proof. He will happily show your toddler. Payment in form of a good chase through the chicken coop accepted.
Not actually an out house, but I couldn’t get the image of potty training a toddler in the days of out houses out of my head.
