28/52

a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2015

Jimmy: Having a red bath, just like Bunny!

We celebrated Jimmy's second birthday this week. Second. This means he is 2.

Michael took this bathtime portrait of our birthday boy, who was enjoying an extremely bubbly bath, made red with food colouring, and his new bath toys from Grandma and Granny & Pop.

Happy birthday Jimmy!

Quick reads...

Weeee! It's Friday! (OK, so it's very, very early Saturday morning, but still.) It's the weekend! We've been having enjoying some lovely, not at all summer-like weather and this morning took the cake: rain! We had an appointment we couldn't miss, so Jimmy and I had to head out in the rain. And once it was over, we enjoyed being outside, in the rain, jumping in puddles, exploring the undergrowth - it was wonderful being outside when it wasn't hot or cold or storming.

Happy weekend! Here's a few things I've read recently and thought I'd share, some are lighter than others, but the not so light piece is well worth the time. Enjoy!

Interesting research on breastfeeding.

While we're on the topic of breastfeeding here are some stunning pictures of breastfeeding mothers.

In light of Volvo's new concept, are car seats in the front seat safe?

A fantastic idea - a bee highway!

If someone is feeling really, really generous, can you please buy me these, although wait until they're on sale.

Bad Target. Poor form.

This Manhattan, KS, family sold up everything to travel.

This summer is proving to be mild enough to consider some hiking in KS.

Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and get comfy, and a few tissues... This incredibly moving piece is long but well worth the time.


(The crazy sandals are via A Cup Of Jo)

This book!

Oh man, this book... Jimmy and I were at the library, and I had a small collection of books for him, one for me, and a few DVDs, and as we were leaving the children's section I saw this lovely book on a shelf, standing there, just asking to be borrowed, on display because it was new to the library.

Well, with a dust cover as pretty as this I couldn't leave it on the shelf. So I didn't.

At first I thought Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt was going to be a little beyond Jimmy, given that it is not rhyme-y or sing-songy like his all-time favourite books, but I was oh so totally wrong - he loves it, and so do I.

The illustrations are beautiful and playful, the content informative, and for Jimmy it is a good introduction in the notion of gardening, it helps him make sense of the changing seasons (not that it has confused him, but any little bit about changing seasons helps), and it has planted a seed in his mind, so that when we visit Granny and Pop or Grandma he has an understanding of what a veggie garden is - which is the main reason why I picked it up off the shelf, it wasn't just the lovely dust cover.

The content is north American centric, but, for now, that is appropriate. When we are back in Australia, it will be worth finding ourselves a copy because the illustrations really are beautiful.

And most importantly, there are insects on almost every page, making Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt a nice follow on from this book.

Over the weekend we...

Went to the Wamego Independence Day parade and fireworks. Here are the highlights!

Jimmy found the motorbikes a little noisy... little did he know how loud the fireworks would be.

Oh don't mind the really big American flag, held up by two crane-type-things, creating an arch over the parade.

Funny little cars and old tractors caught Jimmy's attention. So did the horses, and the huge sprayers and harvesters.

Somehow Dorothy brought a few friends with her when she made it back to Kansas.

The local bus service made an appearance in the parade! I was pretty excited. Later, we found our favourite bus driver, and I think we made her night - it was definitely a highlight for Jimmy.

Can you see the big slide? It's right in the middle of the photo, at the back, almost in the trees. Jimmy kept bringing it up, and our friends kept pointing it out, and I had to keep breaking Jimmy's little heart because he is far too little to go on it... Perhaps in a few years he might get to go on something similar. As you can see, the street carnival was pretty crowded, and I think we would have avoided it completely if one of our group wasn't interested in getting funnel cakes - we know what they are, but I'll give them a miss next time.

Between the funnel cakes and fireworks we had a picnic potluck - these are the leftovers. We were all very hungry, and it was hard to believe that we were eating dinner around 9pm - it was still really light out.

It was between dinner and the fireworks that Jimmy and I caught up with our favourite bus driver. And once the fireworks started, Jimmy stayed in my lap, one ear against my chest and the other covered by one of my hands, and he went to sleep there.

Jimmy found the fireworks a little overwhelming, but he was a good sport and told us the colours of the small fireworks that people were setting off in their yards. He pointed to the small hot air balloons, and seemed to be excited to see those. The big fireworks were loud and caused my sternum to vibrate - I was glad Jimmy was able to settle and sleep through it. I'm glad he wasn't upset by the noise.

We wanted to know if Jimmy actually enjoyed the fireworks, which was a little tricky, because he usually repeats what we ask him:

"Did you enjoy the fireworks?"

"Did you enjoy da firewooorks."

Hmmmm, so we asked him if he would like to see fireworks again:

"Would you like to see fireworks again?"

"Want see firewooorks agaain."

So, yes. Jimmy enjoyed the fireworks, because after this conversation he became agitated, wouldn't settle and go to sleep, because he wanted to see more fireworks. Win.

I want to thank our friends who invited us, and drove us, to see the Wamego Independence Day fireworks. They organised the group of people we shared dinner with, and it was a lovely afternoon and evening. And I have Michael to thank for the first photo and the last two photos in this post.

27/52

a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2015

Jimmy: No kisses!

Dear Jimmy,

Daddy and I love you. We love giving you kisses, even if you sometimes don't like receiving them. We were at the 2015 Independence Day parade in Wamego, KS, and Daddy was trying to keep you entertained. He also wanted to give you a kiss. You didn't want one, as is often the case when we are got and about. I decided to take a photo of the two of you, and this photo is the result.

Why is it on the blog? Well, Daddy and I couldn't help but laugh when we saw it. Your response was priceless too, you said "Daddy almost make a mess" as you referred to the contortions on your face. It is also the best photo of you that we took this week - it is a clear image, with an interesting subject and you made us laugh.

You are a sweet, funny, zaney, strong-willed little boy and we love you. If you decide that you don't like this photo, where Daddy "almost make a mess" of your face, I will remove it from the blog. You only need to tell me.

Love,
Mum

Taking stock...

This list keeps popping up on different blogs - it was started by Pip, and it is a lovely list. And after the last week and before the coming week starts - Jimmy is turning 2 - I thought it was time to sit down and take stock. 

making: a beanie for a little boy - he's my winter baby, even if it's summer in Manhattan, KS

cooking: as little as possible because of the heat, although I keep baking, which is almost worse

drinking: tea that arrived today, all the way from Australia

reading: Euphoria by Lily King

wanting: to go home, back to Australia

playing: "where's Jimmy?" with pillows, in the wardrobe, and with the shower curtain

deciding: how to celebrate Jimmy's second birthday

wishing: we were closer to home, so that family and friends in Australia could join in the celebrations

enjoying: the cooler days of summer

waiting: for good news

liking: ice cream and iced coffee

wondering: how my siblings are settling into their new homes

loving: how much Michael and Jimmy enjoy each others company

considering: what kind of cake to make Jimmy for his birthday

pondering: another cup of tea 

watching: Dr Martin

hoping: for some good news

marvelling: at the fireflies 

needing: the random fireworks to stop

questioning: our decision to stay

smelling: sweaty boys, sunscreen, and the pool

wearing: light, loose items, preferably cotton

noticing: the sun setting a little earlier every night

knowing: that time flies when living in the moment

thinking: about the future

sorting: baby clothes because we can't take every item back

buying: very little, although there might be a birthday present for Jimmy

getting: time to read my book

disliking: all the practice fireworks that everyone is setting off in preparation for the 4th of July

opening: packages from Australia

giggling: with Jimmy as we run around

feeling: homesick for Australia, while trying to remember that Jimmy thinks of here as home

snacking: on watermelon, carrot cake, soda bread and marmalade

coveting: new clothes

helping: a little boy learn new things

hearing: fireworks and cicadas

looking: at my son growing up and changing from a baby into a little boy

Cheap thrills: Playdough!

Ok, so yes, all of my previous cheap thrills are meals or other edibles, and yes, this is actually edible playdough. Edible playdough! Not that you'd want to eat it, but Jimmy has a tendency to put everything in his mouth...

I found the recipe here and divided the water, salt, and oil, into four containers. Then I added 15 drops of food colouring to each container, combined the flour and cornstarch, and slowly added enough flour to make the dough.

Somehow I ended up with about one cup of the flour mix left over, but it is fairly dry here in Manhattan, KS, and the finished dough had a good texture so I'm not too worried - I did store the flour mix, just in case. Next time we make playdough, I will probably add a few more drops of food colouring because the colour dulls as the amount of flour increases.

Jimmy kept tearing off chunks and throwing them onto the floor, and he generally seemed to enjoy the playdough. Here's to a summer of mashing playdough when it's too hot or too wet to go outside.