The Giesekes

Graham is a very interesting baby. He seems different than my other kids were at his age. At 12 months his favorite things are throwing and catching balls and tinker toys. He doesn't just knock down the kids' little creations, he wants to build something himself. He examines each piece and smiles and hold it up and shows me, then he shows me where he'd like to put it. He is very patient and works on those little fine motor skills, trying to fit the sticks of different lengths into the connection holes. When he cannot do it, I help him guide them. He seems to have a real clear idea that he's trying to build something and is not just knocking pieces around. He likes to practice putting pieces together and apart dozens of times to make sure he can do it well and see what it looks like separate and together. He can tell which pieces are similar and group them together and which pieces are different. You can see his eyes examining up and down the different structures and noticing things about them. His face eminates wonder and delight when he holds up a piece he particularly likes. What a special boy!

At this point he's not very verbal and makes normal baby sounds, but is not really forming words. However, he has a complex system of pointing, gestures, facial expressions and little noises that let you know exactly what he wants. He's very communicative if you watch closely. Sometimes I feel like a mind reader because I know exactly what he wants even though he doesn't use words. He does say his favorite phrase "ut-oh" for everything.

I wish I had photos of him playing tinker toys, but I was playing with him and the camera wasn't handy and I decided to just stay in the moment.

Jack's mild cold has turned into day after day of fever. He is staying home today from school on a Wednesday. As I realized that he would not be going and I would not be having the day I planned either, I was feeling disappointed and a little desperate. My only real hope for the day was to resume going to morning Zumba classes, which I hadn't been able to do in weeks but felt like an important part of my plan to get into better shape. That plan was out the window.

I cried out to the Lord for patience and willingness for things to not go my way today, with all three kids home all day and one sick. I felt encouraged by the Lord to take stock of the wonderful things right in front of me today. To not to pre-determined the day to be a disappointment or a failure, but to see where it would go and what beauty it might hold, even though it is unplanned beauty.

I felt the nudge to pick up my camera as Jackson and Cosette navigated one of their first real card games that they were both enjoying (pics at the end of this post). My first idea was to use the moment to work on layering, a photography technique where you layer contextual element in the foreground and background of your subject to give the subject more story. However, once I started taking pictures, I found that there were so many everyday things around the house that I never really photographed. Parts of every day life that usually bother me: cluttered counter-tops, Cheerios all over the floor, toys not picked up from the day before - general chaos and unrest from my usual perspective. I started trying to photograph these elements of daily life as maybe a "day-in-the-life" series. It turned out that when you photograph these cluttered elements (especially with your lens wide open), they don't look so cluttered. There's a loveliness to some of these every day objects. Color, symmetry, whimsy. It was actually hard to make the mess look as chaotic as it feels to me.

Little toes make everything fun

Homework - This was left out and bugged me, but Wow! look at how much Jack's writing has progressed this year! He came up with this sequential story on his own.

Smushed Cheerios

My laptop area of the kitchen island invaded by all kinds of family items.

Sweet feet

A moment of joy deciding which neat dish cloth to use

My favorite kitchen appliance. We got this basic toaster as a wedding gift and almost 9 years later it's still toasting away! So thankful for yummy toast

Crispy

Paint cup we've been using for our morning paint-time

Art produced by Mommy and Coco's join efforts

Kitchen Gerbers

Never thought my fridge would look like this. Pretty accurately represents our lives

Took a pic of the things Dan leaves around. I seem to have a special radar for things Dan doesn't put away, even though they are like 0.05% of the things laying around, but they bother me 90% of the time. This is an attempt to remember that Dan owns like 3 things in this world, and is simply happy to have an AM radio to listen to the Giants game and so-what if it's on the counter (working on my attitude here).

Yesterday's partially done plan of attack.

Finally dealing with the Cherrios

A quiet millisecond

I've been reading a book called "Seasons of a Mother's Heart" and the author discusses the empty nest feeling when her kids began to leave home. This seems eons away for me. It's just year after year of the same thing happening over and over again. I can't imagine a day without children running wild around my house. Or my house becoming a spot just for holidays, where there are no toys and yelling and running feet and giggling and ridiculously early hours going on day after day. That day feels 1 million years away, when in reality it's not that far. It's very easy to miss and failed to cherish and celebrate the amazing gift of having little kids at home. I know I'm saturated and get overwhelmed by it and get all too much of it all too often, but that's no excuse to not take stock and love the little things about my children and this season of life.

World's Saddest Baby

Cheerios, again

Window Peaker

This is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. Jackson and Cosette are dancing together on top of the deck box. Looks like they are waltzing.

Look down and see a little Lion Popper looking up at you. Little comic moments all around when you live in toy land.

Coco's Banana Chocolate Muffins. This is the 20th time or so. She's an expert

Love this picture!

Time for Mickey.

Blueberry King! I need to capture this obsession before he moves on.

Climber

Cruiser. Surprised he's still not walking, but happy to enjoy a bit more cruising before he toddles.

Prenap story time. Can tell Jack's starting to fade here.

So happy to wake up from his nap!

The smile and the teeth in their full glory!

Cosette said "I'm getting a drink out of the hose."

I said "Don't get soaked"

She got soaked

A wet dress isn't as fun as it looks

Some of the things I didn't capture today were Graham using my electric toothbrush for the first time and find it to be hilarious and intriguing, Jackson and Cosette making peace after Coco tore his special drawing. Graham learning to use the little toy that you push by head and it rolls across the floor for the first time. I was surprised to find such a mundane day full of first and never before's and little miracles.

Oh yes, I got frustrated with the kids today. I got angry when Cosette didn't obey "all the way and right away." I was impatient, they did not behave perfectly, but that's probably more the exception than the rule of the day.

Game of war. Negotiating the terms successfully