A Lazy Weekend - Wait, What's That?

This weekend is the first in......I truly don't know how long......that I haven't had a shoot.  Business for the year is pretty much over, and I decided to not even advertise a fall special this year because I really just wanted to RELAX.  Anyone who is a photographer knows that you don't get a weekend "off" during the majority of the year. It's either slammed with weddings or other shoots, and sometimes both. And then, when those are over, you have editing. My week nights, after the kids go to bed, are also devoted to editing. It's fun in the beginning, hard work in the middle, and by the time October hits, I just want it to be over. And now it is. I have to finish up the editing on one evening this evening and then I'm DONE. I have been enjoying a very lazy weekend with my kids. I spent some time scrapbooking, we built forts, we took baths until the water was cold....and I think I have spent 79 hours watching baseball. No joke.....it's playoff time!

Screaming at each other.....and if you have ever heard me or my kids scream, you know this was quite a sound!

Building forts

Play time!

 

Clean

Bath

Squeals

Giggles

Clean baby smell

'nuff said

Learning to Share

The guest bathroom in our house is actually Carter's bathroom.  It's decorated with jungle animals, primarily monkeys.  After Kendall was born, I told Carter that some day, he would have to share his bathroom with her.  Well, the day has arrived.  When I was bathing Kendall last night, I noticed she was just a tad cramped in the kitchen sink.  So I tossed the foam sponge insert for the sink, and got out the inclined bath positioner that we used for Carter.  Sure, it's blue; however, it serves the same purpose for Kendall and there's no point in buying something brand new when the one we have is perfectly fine. 

So I told Carter tonight that Kendall was going to join him in the tub - even though he rarely takes baths anymore. He prefers showers, all the way.  But he now has a renewed interest in the bath now that he has a companion to play with!

Here are some pictures I snapped this evening.

It's a love/hate sort of relationship

My mom came over the other day to help me give Kendall her first bath.  It was obviously a very limited bath since we can't do a whole lot until that piece from her belly button falls off.  But she could still have somewhat of a wash cloth bath.  And babies hate those first couple baths......something she will learn later in life to be her friend.  With a glass of wine.  And candles.  And soft music.  And a book, if you are that talented! 

But for the time being, these baths are the devil because we took this precious sleeping child:

 and when we put her in the water, this happened:

 (excuse the quality)

And afterwards, she looked at me like "don't even THINK about doing that again any time in the near future!"  Poor child.

A Refreshing Evening

For those who don't read my twitter updates (you should....they are fun and humorous most of the time!), things have been quite......tense......in our house lately. So I decided today at work that after work, we were headed out to the park to do something fun. Mostly, I was just hoping we could get along for an hour and Carter could have some fun. And I was right. We had a great time and there were lots of other kids for Carter to play with.

So, we tackled the playground first. There was definitely a bigger kids playground and a toddler playground. Though Carter was only interested in the bigger kids playground. It had more stuff for him to crawl in and around.

And the slides were definitely better. He's quite the little daredevil.

Then we took our bat, ball, and other toys and headed over to the grass.

Carter LOVES kicking the ball. When he gets a good kick, he will clap and say "yaaayyyyy!" He's his own greatest fan!

Then, because it really was warm enough outside (mid 80s), we headed over to the river to splash around a little bit. He HATED that I held his hand the entire time. He wanted me to let him go exploring.....which would have been fine if there was a beach or something. But there wasn't. It was a straight step down into the deep water and let's face it, this mama ain't lettin' go of that kid's hand. :-] I know. Party-pooper.

So when we got home, it was bathtime and that always brings the biggest smile to his face.

Anticipation

It's no secret that the child loves bath time. I can start the water, and he will come running like a screaming, wild banshee across the house.

And now? He doesn't even wait for me to pick him up and set him in the water. He tries to scale the tub and get in himself. The anticipation kills him!

(and he's going to kill me for taking these pictures when he's about 15 years old)

Splish Splash - I was takin' a bath

Carter splashes like crazy in his bath these days. He loves kicking and splashing, and trying to get the bubbles. He definitely has a good time! It's time to get him some toys to play with - without making bath time TOO long, of course. Rubber Ducky, here we come!

Weekend Recap

Here are some pictures from this weekend. Carter was pretty fussy - I think he might have yet another ear infection and is attempting to get pink eye....which I am heading off at the pass (hopefully).

Carter had an insanely dirty diaper....so we stripped him down, and he got to chill in the bathroom sink while the bath was running. P-U!!

Discovery

Carter was playing with the water at the end of his bath tonight. My boss and his wife (here) just put their daughter into swimming lessons. She's about 6 weeks older than Carter, so I'm thinking of putting Carter into swimming lessons soon. He has his 6 month doctor appointment on Monday, so I will discuss this with the pediatrician to make sure it's ok. I will probably give him one more month before starting the lessons. He has always liked his baths, so I don't think swimming should be a difficult thing to introduce.

You Stink

Carter loves his baths. He has from day one. He loves the water. We started out giving him a bath on the counter, on a foam pad. He then moved into the sink. Now, he has a big boy tub in the bath tub. I love that he loves water. He has started splashing around, and I can't wait until he can sit up on his own and play in the tub with toys and really make a mess!