ode to a friend

true friendship is amazing.  As a mother one of the things I want most for my children is good friends. 

Did I ever post these pictures?  If I did, sorry.  As old as these images are (and perhaps also redundant) I can’t resist posting them.  Hazel is blessed beyond measure to have a friend like Jo.  It just melts my heart that this girl, twice Hazel’s age, treats Hazel like an total equal.  She has known Hazel since she was a baby and has always taken her seriously, as a real, bona fide friend.  And that’s just what Hazel has needed.  I can tell that Hazel feels uber cool and confident when she’s with Jo.  She starts acting all mature and grown up so that she can measure up.  These pictures document the day when Hazel and Jo spontaneously showed up in the exact same outfit.  It’s happened twice.  They must be kindred spirits. 

Thank you Jo for being such a good friend and for loving my little Hazel for all that she is. 

Charlie Turned Four!

How is that my little baby boy is four?  Four?  That sounds really old.  I keep telling him to stop growing up…..he keeps smiling at me and telling me, “no, mom….I'm gonna to grow up.”  And he’s doing just that.

He had a great birthday.  Full of pampering by me and Hazel all day.  He wanted blueberry everything all day, so after his breakfast of blueberries and bacon we went to the lego store in the morning where we got him his very own “lego battery” (a motor and gear set that he can use to make his legos move).  He’s been wishing for one of these so that he can be cool like his big boy friend Ezra.  I was a little worried about the price and all the little pieces getting lost on the car ride home, let alone in our house and the fact that the employee at the store said he was way too young for this.  Before dinner he blessed the food and asked Heavenly Father to please help him not to loose any pieces of his battery.  I have to say, he’s done a pretty good job with them and has already created a lot of crazy inventions from windmills to propellers to lego people who spin round and round.  

He got to go to school on his birthday and bring “blueberry” cupcakes for his school friends.  They made him a special birthday crown and he came out beaming. 

We had a great little family birthday party that evening and he opened the rest of his presents.  I messed up by giving Jeff so many random little presents a few weeks ago for his birthday....Charlie had expectations of a lot of presents to open….so, I did just what we did for Jeff, wrap up a lot of food items (most of which we had on hand) for Charlie.  I’m so proud that some of his favorite presents were a box of grape tomatoes and some red pepper soup (no ding dongs for this boy….).  He really isn’t a great eater, but will eat tomatoes and peppers till the cows come home. Hazel was, as always, a delightful little birthday helper.  She did nice little things for him all day long and wrapped up several of her own precious things to give to Charlie.    By far the most exciting gift was the Electric set that Grandma and Grandpa Shumway sent for Charlie.  Grandpa Shumway made one of these for Jeff as a kid to teach him about electricity and now has made one for Charlie (including some vintage pieces from Jeff’s set).  I don’t know who is more in love with this present, me or Charlie or Jeff or even hazel.  I love that it’s unique and vintage and educational.  Charlie loves that he can manipulate stuff and make loud sounds.  Jeff loves that he can feel like a kid again all under the guise of being a wonderful teacher/father to his kids.  Oh, and he found a way to use it to control the kids…..as Charlie opened his gifts Jeff switched the light on when it was time for a new present and sounded the buzzer when Charlie forgot to show appropriate gratitude.    I think we’re going to find all kinds of uses for this set.   

Things I love about my four year old right now:

- He’s tough and rough and loud and crazy but underneath it all he is tender and kind and wants to do the right thing.

- he is a great big and little brother.  he makes emmeline laugh like nobody’s business and follows hazel around like a champ

-he has such a quick little brain.  he gets things and is always trying to work out how things work….from electricity, to legos, to buildings, to plants, to animals, to people, to the world. 

-he is handsome.  is it just me, or is this kid exceptionally good looking?

-somehow he is charming and endearing even when he’s mad as can be.  it’s really rare that he gets under my skin.

-he’s the best super diaper boy ever.  whenever I change emmeline I always throw the packaged up dirty diaper at Charlie and exclaim “diaper boy to the rescue!” and he races around to get that smelly thing contained in a trash can somewhere.  he takes this job very seriously.

-he’s not the most obedient boy, mostly because he get’s so darn interested in one particular thing that he doesn’t even hear me talking to him.  i love that his brain is so curious and interested about the world.

-he gives the worlds best hug

-he is easy going as ever.  most of the time he’ll just drop things and when he sticks to his guns, you know he has a good reason.

-he still has that deep throaty giggle that endeared me to him as a baby

-he is everything I felt he’d be as I thought about him hours before his birth.  this child has a good soul.  I'm so incredibly thankful to be his mom. 

2009

I don’t have many great ideas of my own….mostly I just rip off other’s ideas….and most of those are ideas from my amazing sisters…..so here goes, I’m going to copy my sister Shawni and create a verbal snapshot what the Shumway family looked like in 2009.  This blog isn’t quite the complete family history that I’d like to to be, mainly because I mostly write about things that I take pictures of….and I’ve been a bit burned out on pictures lately…..so there are a lot of parts of our family that are being left out of our family history. 

So, hopefully this post will round out the story….help me remember what life was like in our family in 2009.  Please don’t feel obligated, much of this will be boring family history kind of stuff. 

I wake up around 6:30 or 7am each morning to Emmeline wailing in her bed.  I remember one morning wondering why she doesn’t wake up happier and then it hit me…..it’s very likely that she does wake up happy but after babbling to herself for a half an hour she starts to wail so that I’ll wake up and come and rescue her.  I think this is quite likely.  Emmeline is such a dear dear child.

25% of the time Hazel still has a melt down right as I’m kissing her good night.  I’ll have read to her, gone through her happies and sads for the day, given various kisses and hugs and declared my love and just as I try to leave there is some kind of tragedy that leaves us both pretty mad at each other.  At least it’s not 75% of the time like it was last year. 

Hazel is the sweetest little big sister I could imagine.  She is always trying to model to me what my response should be when Charlie or Emmeline get hurt or are sad.  She is quite an advocate for those two.  Charlie has got her wrapped around his finger.   He knows that if he throws a tantrum I will ignore the behavior but she will go through great lengths to calm him down and make him happy.  Today after winning through the grocery store I denied him a “treat” at the end.  After wailing half the way home Hazel forfeited her precious pack of gum that she had gotten as a reward for a weeks worth of piano practicing to him.  I tried to advise her that it might make him more likely to repeat the tantrum in the future.  She told me she didn’t care, that she couldn’t stand to see him so sad.  She is also my little alarm when Emmeline is near anything even remotely dangerous.  I’m so grateful for her help.

Charlie loves to run and jump and hit stuff and wrestle with his dad.  He loves anything that has to do with fights or fixing things or building or speed. 

Charlie spends most of his time with his tongue stretched out so far that it’s touching his nose, nearly sticking into his nostril far enough to get a tasty treat.

Emmeline has changed the most this year……the most consistent thing about her is that she is an angel baby.  We all love her.  The first half of her life she spent laughing at her big brother and sister.  She still laughs at them a lot, but now they also laugh at her…..she can shake her hips like crazy and get them laughing big belly laughs.  I’ve discovered that there is nothing greater in the world than hearing your children laugh at and with each other.

Charlie and Hazel are best best friends.  Hazel tells me over and over that Charlie is her best friend in the world.  We haven’t watched much TV at all this year….I’m not even tempted to put it on.  Emmeline is totally disinterested and Hazel and Charlie normally will play for hours if I have things I have to get done. 

We don’t get started in the morning until at least 8.  Often we don’t get dressed until 11am.  For a while I felt a bit slothful and ashamed of this fact….but then I realized that this is the last blessed year that my mornings won’t be constrained by a school schedule…..I’m just trying to drink in these lazy pj mornings the best I can before it all comes to an end.

Charlie and Hazel have loved going to school together.  I think this has reinforced the best friend thing.  They're not in the same class, but love seeing each other at recess and “circle.”

I’ve been really getting into running.  I’ve never been a winter runner, and this winter I've been converted.  5 degrees isn’t that bad if you have the right clothes on.  it helps that I’m running with a dear friend.  i also had the realization the other morning that getting up to run is MUCH easier and more enjoyable that getting up all bleary eyed and grouchy with a hungry crying baby who’s not too happy that you haven’t heard her wailing for 15 minutes.  I come home ready to be a mom with a baby up and in her high chair playing with cheerios and a husband ready to walk out the door to work.  I’m so thankful that this has worked out this year.  I really do love it. 

Emmeline teeters around the house taking things out of cupboards and destroying things and then carrying random objects around.  She has such a huge smile on her face…..clearly displaying how proud she is of herself.  I think she feels like she is now a “big kid” like Hazel and Charlie.

Hazel does “art” all the time. Because I’m not a very crafty mom, and I’ve had a lot of stuff on my plate, Hazel has learned to create all kinds of art.  I love what she comes up with…..I try to make sure she has a wide variety of supplies and then just marvel in what she finds to do with things. 

Hazel started piano lessons.  She loves music.  Will sing a solo at the drop of a hat (hmmm, wonder where she got that one from? )

We spend a lot of time with our dear neighbor Joyce.  She comes over and mentors Hazel and has even started babysitting for us in the evenings once Emmeline is down.  We love her.  She’s like a third grandmother to the kids.

Hazel and Charlie love our neighbors Janine and Dan and their cats.  Hazel is constantly making art for Janine and going and dropping it through her mailbox.  I think it gives her a thrill to be independent enough to go and drop it off on her own.

Hazel and Charlie often threaten each other with “I'll tickle punch you if you don’t…..”  Not sure where that one came from.

Every once in a while we have “Family movie night.”  We pop popcorn and watch some movie that Jeff or I loved as a kid. 

We eat dinner together nearly every night.  I’m so happy about this….it’s some of our best family time.  The kids usually want to hear Jeff and me tell stories from when we were younger…..they are particularly interested in stories about when we got into trouble or found ourselves in a dangerous situation.  They ask any guests who come to dinner to tell stories as well.  Jeff and I are getting  a little tired of some of the stories they want to hear over and over and over again.

We try to have people from the ward over for Sunday dinner.  Hazel and Charlie are usually CRAZY by this point and it’s pretty hard to have any normal conversation.  For some reason those kids think that the kids will be more impressed the sillier they act…..

We “chapter” books at night when we’re not too late or tired.  It really tires the kids out.  Our favorites for the year have been: “The Boxcar Children,” “the BFG,” “the Life and Adventures of Santa Clause,” “A Wrinkle in Time,” and “Fantastic Mr.. Fox.”  This is one of my very favorite parts of being a mom. 

We don’t say “i don’t like” in our family…..instead we say “it’s not my favorite.”  Hazel, who used to be our good eater, has decided that there are many things that “are not her favorite.”  The kids have to eat either a lot or a little of everything that is served.

The kids jump on the porch or in the door way when our guests leave.  Not sure where this one came from, but it sure gets them tired out and ready for bed.

Jeff wrestles or plays some kind of rowdy game with the kids when he gets home from work and on Saturdays.  The kids love it.  Oh, how they love their dad.

We’re still trying to do too many house projects all at once.  Jeff is trying his darndest to train me how to take on one thing at a time…..and I resolve over and over again to do better, but somehow I keep getting us stuck on Saturdays with way too many things to finish.

Our house is messy most of the time.  This year I decided not to care if people come over and see the way we actually live.  I’m hoping it will make them feel better about how they live.  If they’re always neat and orderly they’ll feel happy they are, and if they’re not, they’ll realize that they’re really not the only ones.

The kids play with legos all the time.  Our bookshelves are always covered with Lego creations.

I listen to my book club books instead of reading them.  For some reason I just can’t sit down to read a book, I never make myself do it, and if I do succeed in sitting down I fall asleep.  Books on tape are great for me, I get through the book and the nooks and crannies in my kitchen all get cleaned and organized as i look for things to do while listening.

Jeff and I watch The Office and 30 Rock every Thursday night.  It’s our one “hobby” that we do together.

We do Family Home Evening nearly every Monday night.  The kids get their little chairs and sit down.  Jeff conducts.  We start with announcements.  Emmeilne always goes first (even if she’s in bed).  Charlie and Hazel usually announce pretty obvious things like “we went to church yesterday” or “Dad just had a birthday.”  Their favorite song to sing is “High on a Mountain Top.”  Hazel gives some pretty darn good lessons every once in a while.  Charlie gives some pretty random lessons every once in a while.  Mom and Dad usually give lessons intended to help the kids improve their behavior in some way.  We need to be better at teaching gospel principles and not using FHE as a way to whip our kids into shape!  For our activity we play hide and seek, memory, Uno or the “holy ghost game.”  This is where someone pretends to be the holy ghost while the others role-play different situations to see if the Holy Ghost will stay or run away.  For some reason they love this game.  A few times Jeff and I have succeeded in getting the kids excited about a game called “Dead Donkey" where the person who can lie on the floor the stillest and the quietest for the longest wins. 

I stay up way too late doing things on the computer.  When I get to bed my hands and feet and whole body feel ice.  Jeff kindly lets me snuggle up to him to warm up.

Often in the mornings we have a little dance party.  The kids favorite songs to dance to are “Human” by the killers, “I gotta feeling” by the black eyed peas and “Waking up in Vegas” by I don’t know who.  Charlie does the robot dance that he made up, Emmeline shakes her hips back and forth like crazy and Hazel usually does some kind of actions or interpretive dance.

Charlie loves Michael Jackson and insists that he’s going to name his first son “Beat It.”

I like driving in the car with the kids as long as it’s not for too long and no one is too hungry.  It’s when I get my best talks in with them.

I don’t really like putting the kids to bed…..they always want to prolong it….always.

I do a babysitting swap each week with my friend Heidi.  My kids love Heidi (they often remark on how much they admire her mothering skills) and they love Heidi’s kids.  It’s the closest we have to cousins around here…..I love it.

Jeff does at least as much housework as I do…..he is awesome.

Our house is cold.  We keep it at 68.  Our shower is cold unless you plan your shower just right (when the boiler has just kicked on to heat up the house).  This usually makes me so mad that I yell while taking a shower.

Our bathroom is small.  The kids ALWAYS want to be in there with me.  We don’t really all fit.

Hazel and Charlie share a tiny room.  Charlie sleeps under Hazel’s loft bed on a toddler bed.  They love their room. 

We love our house.  It has a name, Cabby Cap.  Charlie usually says goodbye to Cabby Cap as we drive away, reassuring him/her that we’ll be back really soon.

I'm usually obsessed with finding something or other on Craigslist to improve our lives….a couch for the family room, a fridge……oh, how I want to break this obsession…..but there are so many good deals out there!  I can’t bear to miss them…..oh, I love/hate craigslist.  It’s getting a little better, but still….I have the craigslist ap on my iphone.  Pathetic!

Jeff spends any free time he has in the evenings trying to figure out a way he could buy a Subaru.  He and Charlie are saving up money in their ‘money jars’ to buy one one day.

Jeff bought a working motorcycle.  He “fixed it up” and now it won’t start.  My mother-in-law and I are relieved.

We still have our house elf (the Brownie).  Hazel has been sending messages to Santa via the Brownie.  She is determined that if she starts begging now she can convince Santa to let her see him next Christmas.  Hazel is very dismayed that there are some important things in the world that she can’t see….she’s not sure about this whole “having faith” business.

The kids are almost always a few minutes late for school.  This drives me crazy because we don’t have to be there until noon and I still can’t get my act together enough to get them there on time.  Arg.

We try to go to the beach whenever we can.

Sacrament meeting is pretty tough to get through, but I try to see it as a challenge.  Hazel is actually amazingly good and reverent.  She mostly either listens (yes, she really listens) or draws pictures in her little note book.  This note book is filled with pictures and they all have to do with Jesus or love or some faith related topic.  It is very sweet.  Charlie either bugs the kids on the pews around him, looks at our “Jesus of Nazareth” book trying to find the more violent or strange scenes or plays with legos.  He’s slowly learning how to whisper.  Emmeline either stands on the pew and distracts the people sitting behind us or walks up and down the isle and tries to climb the steps to the pulpit.  At the end of the meeting, during the last hymn, the child who was the most reverent get’s to go and sit on the stand with Jeff.  They walk up with their arms folded and sit by him……they love it.  I’m usually very relieved once sacrament meeting is over…..but still have to wrestle with Emmeline for two more hours (except for when I get to teach Gospel Essentials….then Jeff gets to keep her as entertainment during the interviews he conducts). 

Our mini van stinks like milk.  I’ve tried, and there’s not much I can do about it.

Our house stinks like milk and dirty diapers and the candles and plug ins don’t do much to help.

The kids help me sort through the huge pile of laundry every Saturday morning.  This has been a huge advance for me. 

Jeff and I resolve over and over again to go to bed by 10:30.  We rarely every do.

Jeff is really liking Bridgespan.  This makes me very happy because I am really liking our house and our ward and our neighborhood and our life.  I’m feeling some roots, which feels good. 

winter special

Come on people! Winter light can be stunning, and if you don’t want to brave the cold it’s a great time to capture life as you live it…..at home. I don’t want to make a big sales pitch here, but wouldn’t it be cool to have someone photograph you at home with your kids, doing what you do all day (but maybe with your hair brushed and wearing something other than sweats)? I get some of my very best shots when families are at home, in their natural environment.

For more info and current pricing visit my photography blog: www.saydishumwayphotography.blogspot.com

jeff’s out of town

so it’s time to blog again.  Why is it that I always get the blogging bug while he is gone?  Hmmm…..maybe he should go more often so I could blog more consistently.

2010.  it’s been good so far. 

My mom and dad came for a quick 24 hour visit.  They played with the kids all day in the attic and took Jeff and I to eat at Boston’s best restaurant of the year called “O Ya.”  It was pretty incredible food, but teensy tiny portions.  We with our taste buds dazzling but our bellies pretty empty.  It was such a treat to eat such fine food and enjoy such good conversation.  I also got to go with my parents to their speech…..I always love seeing them work and seeing their audiences light up as they think about what they can do to improve their families.  I think my parents have the best job in the world…..and I know they’re helping so many people as they do it. 

Our dear Jeff had a birthday.  We  celebrated it in style with lots of processed food and bacon and yellow cake and hostess products.  I have to say, I think I do a pretty good job at celebrating birthdays and I think I’m passing this talent onto little Hazel who is totally into making the day special.  I think she was more excited about Jeff’s birthday than anyone and she was a little saint all day, helping me with every little detail (and adding many of her own).  I’m a little nervous because I suspect there’s a correlation between being a good birthday celebrator and expecting a LOT on your birthday…..yikes, I better start preparing for Hazel’s big bash next September.

Jeff got promoted so we went in to see his new office and bring him a box of birthday gifts that would spruce it up a bit.  We ate lunch all together at Wagamama (one of our favorite places).  The kids and I rushed home to make a treasure hunt out of all of Jeff’s gifts (there were a lot of them….mostly hostess products wrapped up).  After dinner Jeff and I went to see Avatar (I loved that movie…..I want to live in that world). 

One of the gifts I'm giving to Jeff is not gushing on this blog about how great he is (I think he sincerely dislikes me gushing about him).  So, I’ll just really quickly say that I think Jeff is - hands down - the most perfect husband and father I could imagine for our little family.  He gets us, he’s devoted to us, he loves us.   We love him (just look at those kids faces…..I’m not quite sure what Charlie’s saying there, but I can sure see the love on Hazel’s face). 

Other than that, we’re just enjoying the post Christmas lull.  Oh how I love having a little more time to soak in my kids and think about the mom I want to be (and how hard I’m trying not to let little obsessions like finding the right winter boots or tv couch get in the way…..more on that later).

Orchard Shoot

The holidays took over and I never got a chance to post this shoot from November.  These girls are too cute not to be showcased here.

 

I loved photographing these sisters, they had so much spunk and life in them…..and I’m not sure you could get any cuter.  

Finally, Christmas!

After all that waiting and working the day finally came.  And, I have to say, it was, hands down, the best Christmas ever. 

Hazel got her pipe cleaners, she was pleased as punch that Santa splurged and got her three whole packets.   Charlie got his Dinosaur model and was thrilled at the other little goodies Santa threw in.

Emmeline got all recycled gifts from santa this year…..and she was delighted.    We spent all morning opening gifts and playing with toys.  I love Christmas morning when all there is to do is enjoy your family. 

In my attempt to just enjoy I didn’t really document well all the amazing gifts the kids were given.  Here are a few of the favorites.A ball popper for Emmeline from Grandma and Grandpa Shumway.  A huge hit.  All three of the kids wanted to play with it over and over….and it still hasn’t gotten old.  Grammie and Grandfather sent Hazel a real mic….she can sing along to my iPod…..this will come in handy for her goal to be a rock star.  They sent Charlie a real Ukulele (or Ukulelis and Charlie calls it).  He has been hoping that’s what was in that box for days now.  We had a nice Christmas brunch with our dear neighbor Joyce. Aunt Mary Ann did it again this year….totally out classed us on presents, sending each of the kids a hand knitted sweater (Mrs. Weasly style) along with a slew of other amazing gifts.  I can’t say how much I LOVE these sweaters…..the colors, the style, the fact that my sister in law made them! And the kids love them too.  Charlie sneered at all the “boring clothes gifts” that I gave him, but was utterly delighted by this sweater.  He’s quite into the letter C. I love these pictures.  This is one of the first times Emmeline stood on her own.  She took her first few steps on Christmas eve….will have to post that video later. Look at how proud of herself she looks.   

Jeff surprised me with some surprisingly thoughtful gifts….a new (very warm( coat that’s not too bulky so that I can wear it around our cold house all day long without looking like a marshmallow), new ram for my computer so that I don’t curse at Lightroom as I edit photos, a cook book I’ve been coveting…..and on and on and on).    He’s totally foiled his plan to continue to lower my expectations. 

We spent the evening at the Busse’s house with good food and dear friends.  It’s so nice to have friends that feel like family on Christmas when family is far away.

Could it get better than that?  I don’t think so.