Making it seem like Fun!

As an aid to facilitating getting Chloe ready for the day - the childless among you may not realise the time and effort that can go into just getting a pair of socks onto a small pair of feet - I introduced a new concept to Chloe.  As she stood snacking on some rice cakes one morning whilst watching Barney on YouTube (Oh, the parental shame!), and telling me she was "just too busy" to get dressed I had an idea.  I summoned up my voice of enthusiasm.  You know, the one that is all sweetness and light and rainbows?  Oh, You don't know that one?  I can't possibly think why....  Anyway, out it came:

"Chloe, do you know what it is called when you do more than one thing at a time?  It is called Multi-tasking.  Like right now, you are eating rice cakes and watching YouTube - multi-tasking.  Why don't we see if you can do three things at one?  You can eat rice cakes, watch YouTube and get dressed.  All at the same time! Won't that be FUN?"

It worked like a charm.  Granted, we did spend rather a lot of time that day seeing just how many things she could do at once but it was a small price to pay. I now whip out the multi-tasking card when we need to get things done, like, yesterday.  Most of the time it works.  Most.  But regardless of how cooperative she is, she has well and truly absorbed the concept.  

"Granny, Granny, I want to play the iPad"

"The iPad is charging right now Chloe, why don't you play a game on Baba's phone instead?"

"No.  I want to play iPad and play on Baba's phone.  I want to multi-task!"

Cue a huge burst of laughter from the Granny who wasn't aware her not quite three year old granddaughter had "multi-task" in her vocabulary.  

As we all know, my love of babywearing stems somewhat from its practicality.  A concept Chloe seems to have picked up on:

When you wrap your new friend "Blah Blah", you can have both hands free to play Cut The Rope on the iPad!

Part of my new "Life Plan"

One of the things I've been concentrating and putting more time and effort into recently is my photography.  It's something I enjoy, and something I would love to pursue professionally in the future, skill and finances allowing.  I hope I have some natural talent at it, I'd like to think so.  Even so, there is still so much to learn, I am still very much an amateur.  But practice makes perfect, and I'm not expecting to be a paid pro overnight.    I figure I've got a few years while the kids are still young do some courses, learn to edit and shoot, shoot, shoot. Maybe by the time Chloe and Ben are in school all day I'll be at a place where I am confident enough to ask for some money in exchange for my services!  I have no desire to go back to working as a Vet at the moment.  Will I ever want to in the future?  If this photography thing works out then I can't see it happening.  I liked being a Vet, and as far as doing something all day that earned me a decent wage, it satisfied me.  But I never loved it, I was never passionate about it.    

My plan is to do what basically every other photographer in Edinburgh does - Bump, Baby, Family and Weddings. In Edinburgh, the words "saturated" and "market" spring to mind, but I won't give up without trying.  Hopefully I may have enough skill and individual style to separate me from everyone else.  But then, everyone else thinks that too...

Chloe and Ben are pretty good subjects to practice on at any rate.

A gentle re-introduction

Ok, it has been too long.  Believe me, I haven't been on blogging hiatus for lack of subject matter.  There is more than enough of that!  Time, on the other hand, is in very short supply with two children and various hobbies I am trying to pursue.  I truly feel, for the first time in my life, that there just aren't enough hours in the day.  But I have to start sometime and now is as good a time as any.  Going to ease myself in gently with a short one today, and hope the emotional block opens up a bit and the words keep flowing tomorrow.  For now I will leave you with this image - Ben commando crawling at 5 months old.  His motivation?  Poken chips.  

My mobile babies like to keep me on my toes!  At 6 months now he isn't quite crawling, but he can definitely shift it towards the laptop keyboard if I put it on the floor as Mom learned when she was muted and very nearly disconnected on Skype today!   

Musings during a quiet moment.

Ben had his first immunisations yesterday.  Chloe wasn't really bothered by hers.  Ben is not Chloe.  Ben was bothered.  We saw a lot of his Angry Baby Face yesterday.  When he wasn't sleeping he was screaming.  There was no in between.  Being used to living with a 2.5yr old, I forget sometimes how different babies really are.  You can't reason with them.  You can't tell them the hurt won't last forever.  You can't offer to kiss it better (not that our 2.5yr old accepts that offer anyway - "Chloe just wait. Ouchy go away").  They feel like shit and they let you know it in no uncertain terms.  All you can do is soothe them as best you can, even if that isn't very much.  I have to get used to feeling that little bit more helpless some of the time again.  And I definitely need to get used to having a red-faced baby screaming in my face, because from his behaviour the last few days, I think it's going to be a regular occurrence.   

He started out relatively low-maintenance.  I say relatively because really, all babies are hard work, even the "easy" ones.  His maintenance levels have increased though, significantly so in the last week.  But time flies and babies change.  That's the one thing you can rely on.  It won't last forever, they will grow and they will change.  This knowledge is a double edged sword.  During the tough times you repeat it like a mantra, "This won't last forever.  This won't last forever."  During the good times, you hold your child close in wonderment  that you created this amazing being and you push that thought from your mind because the knowledge is too painful.  This won't last forever.  

One of my babies has already gone from this:

to this:

I can't even imagine what's in store for us with this little guy.

Babies in bags.

 Baby 1

Baby 2

I think Ben is a little bit ahead at this stage...

She is out-thinking us already. We're screwed.

Around Christmas time Alex and Chloe were in the kitchen deciding what to have for breakfast one morning.  Chloe wanted to have a mince pie.  Alex wasn't so keen on that idea, much to Chloe's confusion.  

Chloe (said very insistently):  Chloe want mince pie for breakfast.

Alex:  Let's have something else Chloe, maybe you can have a mince pie later.  I'll think about it.  Maybe yes, maybe no.  

Chloe (nodding):  Yes, Dad think about it.  Then Dada choose Yes!

**********

Chloe was sitting on the floor in the living room with coloured pencils strewn around her.  She was methodically picking a pencil up, examining it, then snapping off the tip.

Me:  Chloe, don't break the tips off of all the pencils, please.

Chloe:  Chloe not breaking all the pencils.  Chloe breaking some of the pencils. 

Well, okay then.  

**********

 

Alex and Chloe were in the living room playing with a small wooden Pinocchio toy that was given to her by a lovely friend of mine.  Alex would hide him somewhere in the room and Chloe would find him.  This was a very fun game, so fun that she was in no mood to stop playing it when bath time came around.  Alex attempted some adult cunning.  Alex held Pinocchio up to his ear and pretended to listen for a moment.

Alex:  Chloe, Pinocchio says it is time for a bath!  Let's go to the bathroom and get in!

Chloe walked over to Alex, took hold of Pinocchio and held him to her ear for a moment, listening. 

Chloe:  No, Pinocchio say he hide more!  

Our two and a half year old is using our own tricks against us already.  We are doomed.    

**********

I present to you, "Shoes in Bag"

I'm cooking dinner in the kitchen one evening when Chloe wanders in and starts poking around in the laundry alcove, or the Spider Room as she calls it.  So named because a large house spider lived in a corner of the ceiling in there for a few days.  It is also where we store all our left-over grocery bags.  Chloe spies the bags, she pauses in front of them.  She stares at them for a second and I swear I can almost see a little light bulb pop into existence over her head as she announces, brightly, "Chloe put shoes in bags!"

She pulls an armful of bags from the holder and trots out of the kitchen into the hallway.  I hear the hallway cupboard door open.  I hear the rustling of bags and lots of thud-thud-thuds as she rummages about.  Chloe is quite a literal person.  Her toys are named Big Black Woof, Big Brown Woof, Yellow Dog, Kitty Cat, Small Black Woof, Monkey, Cow, Dolly, and Mousey to name just a few.  So it isn't hard for me to surmise that a game called Shoes in Bags is probably going to result in finding footwear in bags.

I go to have a look.  I'm not surprised at what I see.  Stage One had involved sweeping all the footwear off of the shelves and onto the floor, thus explaining the earlier thudding.  

    

The second and final stage, which he is in the process of carrying out, involves placing said footwear into the bags, usually keeping each pair together.  She is nothing if not organised.  

Working away....

More bags are fetched as needed.

Et Voila!  The goal is achieved.  All the shoes are in bags!

Now I get to clean it all up.