For the past few years I’ve been following along with a photo project at Practising Simplicity. She’s a mom, writer, and photographer living in Australia. She’s either a professional photographer or just a really, really good photographer, and takes an “unportrait” of her kids every week. The goal is to capture them just as they
We got David a bed for Christmas last year and it was a huge flop. For weeks leading up to Christmas I tried to build excitement (A new bed! A BIG BOY bed! Just for you!) but he was still disappointed. “Where are all the other presents?” he asked. When all is said and done,
“He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.” I know, right? I can’t think of a more seasonally appropriate poem to
Recently I wrote age order posts about each of my children (David, Mary Virginia, Thomas) because, when I have time to think, I think a lot about my kids — about who they are and what they need as individuals, and about how they fit into and shape our family. Our kids are pretty close in
Over the weekend Thomas got his first fever. It wasn’t a horrible. It was just a 24-hour thing, flanked on both sides by fussiness and hold-me-all-day-ness. After two doses of acetaminophen and 72 straight hours of snuggling, he was back to his normal self. People often make comments about Thomas, that because he’s my third baby he
I rarely put on makeup these days, but when I do Mary Virginia is always underfoot. “Mommy, can I have lotion in my hair? Can I have deodorant on my belly? What are you puttin’ on your mouth?” If we’re going somewhere that requires more than me redoing my ponytail when we arrive, Tom and I team
Mary Virginia: Look Mommy! I’m twirling! I look like Cinderella! David: No, Mary. You look like Mary in a dress. Mary Virginia: Mommy, can I wear that alligator shirt? David: Uh, Mary, it’s not an alligator. It’s a dragon. Mommy: David, Mary Virginia is pretending. If she wants to pretend this is an alligator costume she can,
I was looking for Mariah Carey’s Christmas album on our AppleTV the other day, and Mary Virginia looked at the display of the album covers and asked, “Mommy, is that a picture of you?” Oh, my darling little sugar plum. Moments like this almost make up for last night when you smeared potatoes in the