I’ve been having trouble uploading to tumblr so I’m trying out a new blog host: http://myfavoritestblog.blogspot.com/

2/52

Unleashing the power of play.

This would be the companion to A’s park photo I suppose; Z riding the zip line. I need to make a point of aiming for a “good” photo of Z each day. Without the pressure of getting a daily photo I’m ending up not even getting a decent weekly photo. This photo is very “Z” to me though, his personality shines through so to speak.

15/366

Watching Youtube videos.

The four of us ended up gathering around my laptop watching Youtube videos together just before bedtime. I’m not always thrilled that electronics sometimes fill up so much of my children’s day, but I have to admit that technology can provide some nice moments. It was a bit lacking in helping me with this photo however; my lens’ limited focal length forced me to take this shot over my shoulder because we were all squished in a little too cozily. A is actually looking at my face in this shot.

14/366

A cookie of her own.

I think this is the first time I’ve ever handed A an entire cookie. Z had never even tasted a cookie at her age. We found ourselves at a friend’s belated holiday get-together where homemade cookies were presented, and it seemed like the proper occasion to spoil her a little. When A found herself with a whole cookie in her hand she didn’t seem to know what to do for a second. She looked at me curiously and then hid with it behind a counter as fast as she could. When she was sure that I hadn’t handed it to her by mistake she slowly came back out within my line of vision. And then she got to work on making that cookie disappear.

13/366

Racing the sunset.

I was scheduled for a ten hour workday so I left my camera at home, figuring I would meet both it and A at home at the end of the day. I was surprised with a shorter work day that conveniently ended right around the time Z was getting out of school. M and A met up with us and we decided to check out a park based solely on a lone Yahoo review that read, “This park is beautiful it is inhabited with unicorns and fairies.” Luckily I had my phone’s camera with me because, as you can see, the review was completely accurate.

12/366

This little piggy went to Sephora.

During our daily hang out session in the bathroom while A brushed up (no pun intended) on her tooth cleaning skills I decided to paint my toenails, something I very rarely get around to doing these days. The bottle of silver polish was enough to distract A from her toothbrush and even enticed her to climb down from her throne and offer up her own toes for polishing. Now we can add pulling off her socks to check out her toes while breathing out the word, “preeetty” to the list of A’s favorite around-the-house activities.

11/366

Living the mini van dream.

Another afternoon, turned evening and then night, spent hanging out in the car. As much as I loathe driving a mini van sometimes, it is awfully nice driving around a play house on wheels.

10/366

Pearly whites.

Ever since A was old enough to have obvious preferences, toothbrushes have been her very favorite thing. Any toothbrush has the potential to capture her heart, but ever since I put this Hello Kitty battery operated toothbrush in her Christmas stocking she has been over the moon for it. She very rarely wants it turned on, and in fact seems to prefer that it be off. When we’re home she prefers that the brush be in her hands at all times, and ideally she is sitting on the toilet at the same time. This morning the moment she climbed out of bed she walked immediately to the closed bathroom door and indicated that she wanted her beloved toothbrush. As soon as I handed it to her she backed up to the toilet, as is the routine, and said, “Down,” as in sit down. This is my cue to plop her onto the toilet, where she sits for as long as I’ll let her. It doesn’t seem sanitary to allow her to walk around the house carrying it, and I can only find so many excuses to hang out in the bathroom so I find myself spending most of the day trying to distract her from the toothbrush. She’s very focused, that girl.

9/366

Daddy time at the Big Park.

Once upon a time not all that long ago this was my very favorite park, but that was before Z started ending up in the middle of conflict each visit. I still enjoy bringing A to the Big Park while her brother is in school, but the thought of bringing the two of them together has begun to make me feel a little queasy. We still go to lots of parks as a threesome, but the Big Park is just a little too…big. The kids never feel like playing in the same area of the park and it’s just impossible to keep my eye on both of them. The toddler always wins the battle for attention at the park and I begin to feel like I’m setting Z up for failure.

Today we had M with us and the sun was warm and shiny so I figured if each of us took a kid to follow we just might end up having a good time. And we did! I felt a little odd hovering over Z, but with a little redirection here and there he had a successful, fun time playing at the park with the other kids, as he deserves.

At one point I found myself answering the question, “How old is he?” with “Ten. And he has autism,” which felt incredibly awkward, but after the fleeting look of uncertainty my statement was well received. I suppose I was trying to head off the usual barrage of judgement about him that I’ve grown used to expect so that he would be allowed to be a kid. And it worked. :)

I spotted A and her dad across the park slowly walking along the entrance sign and quickly took a picture before going back to my task of keeping up with an energetic ten-year-old.

1/52

It takes 100 pictures to get one semi-okay one.

Z wants to take part in the project, but he hadn’t realized it would mean me taking so many pictures of him. He requested I do a daily photo of him as well, but only cooperates with the camera for one photo each day. Thus is born Project 52, where I post my best photo of the week each Sunday.