November Moments

Election Day. Another 16 years and the franchise is all yours, kid!

The month of November is passing us by just as fast as Liam's second year. We kicked off the month with Liam's second birthday and his official two-year check-up with his doctor. Since May he has only gained a little over a pound, but he has grown two inches! For a kid who eats like he has two hallow legs, you would think he would have no trouble putting on weight, but he is almost never still during waking hours and is on the tall side, so I'm not worried. The day after his birthday was Election Day, of course. I took Liam to the polling place and gave him his first civics lesson. He even got an honorary "I Voted" sticker from the elderly lady handing them out at the polling place. Apparently retired ladies of a certain age are suckers for chatty two-year-old boys.

Thankfully this month has finally offered the break in the heat I've been waiting for so long. Our walks are much more pleasant and less sweaty now that the cool fall beach weather has returned. We have even had a few rainy days, which I always enjoy. I know it sounds unfair to complain about sunshine, but I miss weather and don't mind cold rainy days at all. I see them as a great excuse to stay in and get cozy at home.

Rainy day.

 Last week Eric gave a lecture for the American Research Center in Egypt at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. They asked him to speak on King Tut and dogs as part of a series of lectures celebrating the 90th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter. Liam is hardly one for lectures, so he and I wandered the museum while Eric gave his talk. Based on the reactions of people I spoke to at the reception afterward, they all enjoyed his lecture very much. Many ARCE members are retired folks, so Liam was also a hit with them. It was a long day, and Liam and I had to make an early exit when he started to lose steam.

In the car on the ride home after Daddy's lecture.

After Eric's lecture at the Bowers Museum.
Liam isn't much for family pictures these days, can you tell?

As you can see from the picture above, Liam has no patience for family pictures right now. The last family photo we had taken was when Liam was just one month old. (Eric isn't much for family pictures, either.) However, I managed to get both of them in the studio two weeks ago for a 2012 family portrait session. I considered that achievement alone a victory, and it turns out it was the only victory I was destined for that day. Kudos to Eric for his patience, but Liam was obstinate and wanted nothing to do with getting his picture taken with us or by himself. Our family/two-year portraits session turned into an hour and a half long chore. There were no snacks, gadgets, or toys that could persuade Liam to submit to pictures. We limped away from our portrait session with only one or two decent family shots and only one or two good shots of Liam. It was a valiant effort, but it just wasn't meant to be. ...Ah, well. We tried!

July Photo Shoot

Meeting Santa

In the spirit of the season, and like any good parent who wants to provide properly traumatizing early childhood experiences for her son, I recently took Liam to meet Santa Claus for the first time. Naturally I expected that the photos from this obligatory kid-freaking-out-with-Santa encounter wouldn't be the best, but I certainly didn't expect to be so tickled by them. Yes, there were tears, but it was over quicker than a shot and as soon as Liam was back in Mommy's arms he was all smiles and contentment again. Now, looking at the pictures, after an initial sad, "Awww," I can't help but chuckle at Liam and the look of deep suspicion he is giving Santa. I look forward to showing these to him years from now when he's old enough to chuckle at them himself.

Liam's One Year Portraits

Ah, portraits. Grandparents, family, and friends love them. They casually carry these photographs around in their wallets and display them on walls and mantles, likely never giving much thought to the harrowing and exhausting experience of "picture day" itself. Granted, up to this point I've had a wonderful experience with Liam--he is an incredibly good-natured baby and has an easy smile. But since he became bipedal, taking pictures of him has been like trying to capture a baby version of the Flash on camera. He's in constant motion, so he's a blur in most pictures these days. I have a great DSLR camera and initially entertained grand ambitions of a do-it-yourself photo shoot for his one year portraits, but thanks to me having only two arms and no ability to be in more than one place at a time, it didn't work out. When he is older and able to understand directions, I'll definitely try again, but this year it just wasn't meant to be.

This year we relied on the professionals, and even that was a bit dicey. I had him napped, fed, and freshly diapered, but Liam was immediately suspicious of the portrait studio, so the photographer and I had an uphill battle from the start. Fortunately, she seemed experience with working with toddlers and was as patient as a parent could ask under the circumstances. Thinking back on it, it was a lot easier for her to be patient--she stayed behind the camera while I chased Liam back and forth across the backdrop, repeatedly moving him back to his mark so we could try to get a picture. After a few minutes of what for me was an unexpectedly physical photo shoot, I broke out the big guns--Baby Mum-mums. Mum-mums are dry, bland rice crackers, but they are like crack for babies. Liam LOVES them, and every smile or sweet expression you see in his portraits is due to the influence of a mum-mum. Those little rice crackers totally saved the day.

Hmmm...We're not even close to the "terrible twos" yet, and already I'm bribing my child. What can I say? As a mom, you do what you gotta do to get the shot. Enjoy.

Liam's 6 Month Portraits

The First Month

Well, I survived the first month of motherhood.  Caring for a newborn is just as intense and exhausting a job as promised. It makes the twelve hour shifts I worked six days a week at the factory over summers during college seem downright relaxing--at least when I got home from work I knew I'd get some sleep.  The kicker is, I know I've got it pretty easy.  Liam is a good baby.  He's as easy going as you could hope an infant to be.  He takes everything in stride and seems not to mind having two parents who aren't yet finely skilled in the arts of diapering, dressing, bathing , or anything else to do with infant care.  He's also a good traveler.  We've gone out to run errands, go to doctors appointments, get Christmas pictures taken, and so on and he has yet to suffer a complete meltdown.  In short, he's a sweet, even tempered baby.  I can't wait to see how he grows as the weeks go by and we get to know more of his personality.

Aside from juggling the constant care a newborn demands, the hardest lesson of parenthood for me thus far is coming to terms with what I can't do.  I can't keep the apartment as neat and clean as I'd like, or easily prepare a meal, or take time to do any number of things I'd like to do most days.  Letting it go and telling myself this is all okay hasn't been easy.  When the frustration mounts, I sit in the rocker with Liam and try to take a step back and keep some perspective about the situation.  He isn't going to be a little baby forever, and other mothers have assured me there will come a day when I'll wish I had spent less time worrying about when I'm going to find time to dust the living room and more time holding my little boy.  So, while baby Liam learns the difference between night and day and that he can rely on his parents to keep him fed and warm, his mom is coming to terms with all she can't do and is learning to be content in the moment.  I say "learning" because I haven't quite mastered the lesson yet--but I'm working on it.

Last week we had our first family portrait taken.  Liam took being posed and having bright lights flashed in his eyes very well.  He held it together for a couple of family and individual poses before he expressed his displeasure with the situation.  I was just happy we managed to get a few pictures of him with his eyes open!