these days... and why we can't have nice mustard

{shortly before i published this post, i accidentally published an unfinished draft of a different post i started yesterday... if you read it and commented, i apologize for deleting it... i still have to finish. oops!}

i really wanted to title my post two ways today, but i couldn't choose which i would rather use, so i put 'em both in! you see, i'm starting a new series called "these days"... just posts where i put up some of my most recent photos. {most of the photos i take never do make it onto my blog... i would have to post twice a day, every day in order to make that happen!} this series will also give a brief-ish recap of our days as of late... sort of a catch-up post for when i have not had a chance to get on here for a while... like this past week. {i really do hope to be brief with these, as i also want to learn to let my photos tell a story and learn to let my words be fewer. but my goal is to sort of journal the days so as to preserve the memories, big and small... so i can't be overly-brief either.}

i wanted to use the second title as well. {you'll see why as you scroll down.} so my first "these days" post will have to play nice and share its title.

these days...

we are enjoying warm temps {almost 60° at one point this week} and giant snowflakes after the rain turned to snow. {it's crazy that it is already march, and winter is just now making a significant appearance... more like middle-aged winter, than old man.}

isaac and i sat in the window today just to stare out at those incredible giant snowflakes. {i've always wondered about that expression... can one actually sit in a window?} it was a precious time. he was so mesmerized by the flakes as they effortlessly sailed and circled around and downward. he has been making it a daily habit to look out the window lately, but this was the first time it was snowing significantly enough for him to notice. it was a memory made that i'll not soon forget. the look on his face... of wonder and curiosity... as he sat in my lap in the warmth of our home... just magical. i look forward to next winter when he can sit with me and sip some hot chocolate while we do it all again.

{i noticed i have to really emphasize the sn in snow, or else he thinks i'm saying "no" when he is standing at the window looking out {i can tell, because he gives me that look of "uh-oh... mom disapproves of this." and i definitely don't want him to get the idea that one of his favorite things to do is a big no-no.}

he's not walking yet, but he is soooo close! i've noticed the past few days that he can squat down to the ground without gripping onto something so as not to fall or so as to brace himself if he does. instead, now he uses the furniture {or my leg} to balance, but it's all in his legs... feet firmly planted, knees bending, slow careful descent into a squatting or sitting position. i continue to be impressed with his hand/eye coordination. it may be the norm, but it's incredible to watch it develop in a little one, none-the-less.

okay, here comes the mustard part... you know the famous saying that all parents inevitably say to their kids?..."this is why we can't have nice things!"? well, we've been exclaiming it to isaac for months, even though we know full well that he has no idea what we are saying. it started back when he began to drool all over everything and decided that he would chew on anything in his path {sometimes i think we have a puppy instead of a human}.

after a while, we just started having fun with it... if he was crying while we were trying to eat dinner, it was "this is why we can't have nice dinners, isaac." if he was chewing on the t.v. remote, "this is why we can't have nice clickers, mister!"... "this is why we can't have nice magazines."... "this is why we can't have nice suitcases." {he loves to chew on my vintage luggage.} "this is why we can't have nice cameras!"... "...throw pillows"...

anyway, you get the picture. well, this guy is into everything these days... i mean everything. {he has figured out how to open doors and drawers within his reach.} it's nothing new for babies. but it's new for us. so i marvel at how many times i have to put things back the way he found them. and i often wonder why i even bother, because within hours, that same mess made unmessy by me will become messy again.

in every corner and crevasse i see, i find his toys and our things {his other toys}... everywhere! everything! i can hardly walk in what was once my nice.new.clean.organized office, because he has unearthed every thing within his reach! so i've come to embrace a tidbit of mama wisdom... don't pick up after him so often. rather than once a day, try once a week... less insanity! just let it go...

today, he was in the fridge. of course, he didn't get into it on his own. but because he sprints over to me whenever i open it, and i can see that he is just so curious about what is inside this big box that's lit up on the inside whenever i reach into its deep spaces, i thought i would let him have some fun with it. and fun, he had!... supervised, of course.

it was a joy to watch him. he got so excited, and i think he found it to be every bit as delightful as he imagined it would be. i had to grab my camera... only steps away. in that short time that i stepped away, he did some grabbing of his own... namely, the mustard from the door. and like everything else, it joined him on the floor. so of course, i had to say it...

i'm having so much fun watching him lately {even when he's making messes}. i have to be honest... i remember getting bored with others' kids in the past. i have always loved kids, but when they are not your own, you can get a little bit tired of them after a while. it's amazing though... when the child is your own, you could watch him all day long and never lose that utter delight and interest in his every move, expression and sound. one of my friends said it best... "kids are like farts {sorry!}... they're easy to be around if they are your own, but when they are someone else's, you just have to get away at some point." hahaha! so true! {although, i wouldn't say it's easy to be around my own gas! but it's tolerated... i have no choice, right?}

well, sorry for the potty humor... but you'll have to get used to it, 'cause i have a boy, and that will soon just be a part of everyday life around here! *wink*

let's see, what else? oh, i'm exercising again! it's not easy, because i've been so sedentary for so long. i'm too old for this stuff!... but all the more reason i have to get back into it. i'm looking forward to spring when i can go running... hopefully with baby in tow. i'll have to search craigslist for one of those good jogging strollers. until then, i do what i can indoors and try to eat healthier... lots of fresh, raw fruits and veggies... like the "so delicious!" cantaloupe that isaac and i just shared. {i've never given this kid something that he did not devour. i'm so glad he's a good eater! i've heard from parents who can't get their baby/toddler to eat anything.}

of course, i would have rather sat and watched snow with a nice mug of high-calorie hot chocolate loaded with whipped cream, as opposed to exercising and eating fresh fruit. but i'm grateful for all that i have and all that i have to do. in light of the recent tornados and devastation that has hit my state and many others around it, i have absolutely nothing to complain about.

well, there's my recap of what's been going on these days. of course, there is so much more. but the things i most wanted to capture were those that found their way into this slice-of-my-life post.

i'm in the process of giving my blog a makeover... perhaps you noticed the new banner and layout? i'm not quite done, but i'm close. i really wanted to simplify it... to make it more minimal... more visually quiet. hopefully i've achieved that.

this last banner {above} was very minimal... but maybe a bit too much, sans photos. so i've added some back in {since it is a photography blog, after all} with a bit of a design element, too.

i also plan to change my approach to blogging in the near future. so this will be a big overhaul from the inside out.

well, so much for being brief today. i'll be finishing the blog revamp over the weekend, as well as posting a couple more times. but i suspect i will be back into the thick of my temp job again next week, and will thus be blogging less again. i wish i had time to do it all.

but i don't.

so i write when i can... these days.