#18. This Moment: Cuddlin' with Great-Grandpa

Cuddlin' with Great-Grandpa on Father's Day.

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour, and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same

leave your link in the comments 

then go to Soule Mama and do the same.

Baby + Camping = Success!

I have always loved camping. Camping in a tent, camping in a trailer, in the forest or the desert - for a party or as a quiet chance to reconnect with nature. Hell, I’ve even been a summer camp counselor, taking children into the forest for money. I freaking love camping.
Des was born in November and I knew immediately that we would be taking him camping as soon as we had the chance. Not only do we have a few weddings and festivals lined up where we will need to be camping, we also just wanted to bring him into the woods, show him clear crisp lakes and how excited birds can be in the morning. We wanted to show him how tall trees can be and how beautiful they look contrasted in the blue blue sky. That naps in the shade are spectacular. We wanted to get out of the city together.

Camping is an excellent experience, there is nothing quite like the magic of sleeping in a tent, waking up and not knowing the time, seeing the shadows of tall grass and leaves dancing in the wind.

Tent Naps are Peaceful

As a duo, we were seasoned-enough. We were mostly self-reliant campers, albeit not very organized. If we forgot something, we made do. If it was vital, we still tried to smile through it - after all, we never forgot the booze!

Add a tiny dependent non-verbal human into the mix and things get complicated, as usual. Booze will not fix a leaky cold tent, for a baby. Babies don’t just grin and bare it if something vital is forgotten.

Beach Babywearing

Thankfully, we found not too much is actually 100% vital for a little baby as young as ours. We were able to pack everything we needed into our small-ish Toyota and successfully camp for two overnights. Going into it I felt organized yet sure we would forget something, so typing it out like that? Well, it makes me feel pretty damn good.

We camped with our baby for the first time and it didn’t suck, world! It was beyond good, it was incredible.

And we are doing it again this coming weekend. We leave Thursday morning for Freezer Burn, which is our regional Burning Man event.

Over the upcoming weeks I’m going to be sharing some things that have been working for us while we explore camping with a baby. This means meal planning, packing for a baby under one, picking a campsite and creating a safe space for baby, outdoor crafts and activities for preschool aged kids, and other ideas. If there’s anything you’d be interested in seeing, I’m all ears!

#17. This Moment: Old Man Baby Squinty Face McGee

New Skill: Squinty Face from Old Man Baby McGee

 {this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour, and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same

leave your link in the comments 

then go to Soule Mama and do the same.

The List of Sounds I Like to Make. By Desmond.

Chattin'

 This week Desmond has added Duh, Tuh, Thuh, and Na to his repertoire of Noises.

If he were a list making man, I assume it would, all together, look something similar to the one below. Best read aloud, of course.

The List of Sounds I Like to Make. 
                             By Desmond. 

1. Goo
2. Ah
3. AhGoo
4. Guh
5. Bah
6. Mah
7. Muh
8. Deh
9. Der
10. Dee
11. Duh
12. Na
13. NANANANANANANANANANA (whiny)
14. Tuh
15. Thuh
16. pbbpbpbbpbbth (with spit for emphasis)

I was thrilled when he put together Mama and touched when he learned to throw his arms in my direction to ask for me. Yes, I'm aware that the novelty will wear off. For now I’m enjoying my talking baby. Even the off key public warbling, the late night babbling...

Even the NANANANANANANANANA.

A Letter to Des: You are a gift.

Desmond,

The day you turned six months old I wanted to write you a letter. I would tell you all the amazing things about yourself so that you could forever know how much I loved you on that day. How amazing you were, the incredible baby feats you could accomplish now that you have lived an entire half-year.

No more Wee Little Baby.

I would have told you how, now that you can completely sit, you love to throw toys behind yourself and then turn to see where they landed. How you turn to listen to me sing and laugh when I clap my hands for you. You laugh twice as hard when I clap your hands for you, too. You have learned how to put out your arm when you toss yourself towards a toy so that you don’t faceplant. You’ve learned to put up your arms and say Mama! Mama! When you need me to pick you up again.

I could have written about how you’ve learned to tear off your own socks, to carefully remove the adorable hats I love to make you wear. I could have written about how you figured out the most painful place to pull Mommy’s hair is the back of the neck. And earrings are fun shiny toys that need to be YANKED.

First Cart Ride!

I thought about how you’ve recently realized how awesome it is to suck on your thumb. I thought about writing out the way you recognize when I baby-sign for breastfeeding, how you giggle and snort and say YES PLEASE with your eyes. Or perhaps I would write about the fact that you are still a gargantuan baby at 21lbs and 28 inches long but thankfully hitting a plateau for a while.

All day I marveled at how magnificent you are, how magnificent life is that we all start so small, we all come so far as human beings. How lucky I am to have a little miracle like you to remind me of the beauty of life. When I look back at photos of tiny squidgely little newborn you it shocks me how far you have really come. How you had to cross those murky waters of consciousness and scream in my arms as you made your way through the acknowledgment of existence. We’ve had good days and we’ve had harder days but I’ve loved you more and more with each moment, no matter the effort the day required. I never knew love could have a growth curve like this, before you.

Exploring new senses.

That night we roasted a sweet potato and let you grab a wedge to feed yourself. You were overwhelmed by the texture, the taste of this new sense you had never experienced. You gummed it and spit it out and we laughed as you shook your head and made the sweetest frowny face that has ever existed.

And I realized I had not written about it. I had not taken the time to put it all down... And I was happy that I hadn’t.

You are a gift.

I was happy that instead I had treasured those moments. I looked into your eyes and I soaked up your smile from the first morning grin to the last sleepy bedtime smirk. I left the words to be written for another day and spent the entire day basking in your beauty, marveling at how brilliant and amazing you really are.

You are a gift.

Love,
Mommy.

#16. This Moment: Loudon Wainwright III

Our Favourite Album

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour, and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same

leave your link in the comments 

then go to Soule Mama and do the same.

#15. This Moment: Swinging

First Swing

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour, and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same

leave your link in the comments 

then go to Soule Mama and do the same.

((( I was so late to post for this last week, I almost didn't do it. But I wanted to, so I did. So there? )))