Stardate: Two Zero Zero Eight, Ten, Twenty-Two

Photos: Practice Silhouettes and Comparing our Creature to a Human Child



Captain’s Log: We’ve been moving steadily towards the light now for close to four months. Sleep has nearly reached optimum levels on the ship. In opposition to our initial concerns and assumptions, the creature has shown an aptitude and capacity for human traits and progresses rapidly and successfully in our language and our mannerisms. There are even moments when he seems to bear a strong resemblance to a human child.

The gravity on board seems to have adverse effects on his body, which has so far refrained from developing in the standard lengthy pattern and has simply ballooned out. It won’t be long and his body will adjust to the gravitational pull and he will begin developing muscles to suit his new environment. It has also become apparent that he is unaccustomed to our process of elimination and we have decided to swaddle him until he learns that function as well.

He continues to try to communicate with us on a daily basis, but often resorts to wailing when we cannot comprehend. We have dealt with this as we would any insubordination with thoughtful understanding of his background, and possibly several hours in the brig. Since we are now several lightyears from his place of origin, we have resigned ourselves - in fact we are quite pleased - that it appears he will be staying with us for quite some time.

Babies are Like Grape Juice

Eventually they'll be good wine, but they're quite tasty now.



After teaching fourth grade, I was convinced that fourth grade is the best age-group to teach. They are just old enough to think creatively on their own, and still young enough to get excited about an adult’s ideas. They are just old enough to be past “cooties” and still young enough not to have B.O. and raging hormones.

As I considered all the different ages, I found myself saying “Four months is the best age”. Luke is at a fun age. He can almost sit on his own, but he still likes to nuzzle his nose into my neck. He is aware enough to be interested in toys, but not yet aware enough to be drawn to “off-limits” things (he couldn’t get to them even if he were drawn to them). He likes colorful gadgets, but can’t yet steal them from other children. He natters on and on, but never complains about what’s for dinner.

Then I began to think about all the things Luke has yet to learn, ways he will still develop, and I thought, “It’ll be nice when Luke eats solid foods. Won’t it be neat to watch Luke crawl? It’ll be fun when Luke can speak. It’ll be great to teach Luke to read. What an amazing experience to watch my little boy learn to use his imagination. How pleasant it will be to throw my son a birthday party with all his friends from school. Luke will be a wonderful big brother.” I even found myself thinking, “And when he gets married - Whoa Laura, let the kid grow up at his own pace.”

I have enjoyed every stage of all of Luke’s four months, and I’m looking forward to the rest of his life, too. But there is no “ideal age”. No, I’ve come to the conclusion that people, like wine, get better, more dynamic and interesting as they age. Sure some people’s kegs are left open and they get musty and moldy instead of enjoyable. But that’s only because they’re left in the back corner in the dark. Luke is out in front, in the light. It is only possible to love Luke more.

Edgy, Flirty, L.A.

Photos: Luke wakes his Dad up from a nap, wears his sweet little toque, tries on his halloween costume, and visits with family at Thanksgiving dinner. Uncle Pete made Luke laugh out loud by standing him up in his lap and sitting him down again quickly, saying, "Standing up Stanley! Sitting down Stanley!". Even the Thiessens all say Luke looks like his Grampa Stan.

While doing an internship for Fresno Magazine I was assigned the task of photographing several different entrees from several different restaurants. I had no particular internship advisor since the magazine did not hire their own photographer, but subcontracted the work. So with no advice, no encouragement and no direction whatsoever, I set out to photograph my first subject: a mocha and a muffin from Starbucks.

I had my own camera, and the magazine sent me out with a light box to use as a backdrop. I confidently opened up the softbox and set my camera settings, got the beverage and muffin, and then struggled as the softbox stubbornly refused to be the shape it got it’s name from…a BOX. It wanted desperately to be a waffle, a wigwam or a wiffle ball. As I squirmed and jiggled, trying to keep my bare knees off the scorching pavement, head buried in the lightbox, bum in the air, sweat trickling into my eyes, mocha frapaccino rapidly melting, I began to wonder if the internship was worth it at all. What was I doing here struggling in the hot sun with equipment I had no idea how to use on an assignment I had no idea how to pull off?

I snapped several shots and couldn’t find anything wrong with them, but wasn’t really impressed with them either. I didn’t, however, blame myself. I dragged the stupid softbox back to the office hanging open and flapping against my legs. I blamed it and kicked it once or twice on purpose. I handed over my flashcard, slumped in a chair and waited for the verdict. It came surprisingly fast. “Oh no, no, no, no, no. What are these? This is not at all what we’re looking for. We want edgy, flirty, L.A. Not this backyard point and shoot.” I regretted the energy I put into getting those shots.

I was sweaty, tired, frustrated, a little insulted, but mostly I was flabbergasted. I was being told to use new equipment and attempt a new style of photography with my only directions being to make it more, “Edgy, flirty, L.A.”

The next day, after spending hours poring over food magazines, I braved food photography once again. This time I ditched the softbox and went with natural light in natural settings. The real food in the real restaurant, no stark white backdrops and no vague advice; I relied on my own eye for composition and my skill with the camera. My pictures weren’t exactly “Edgy, flirty, L.A.” but they were uniquely mine. I was very happy with my work, and so was the magazine. I was sent out on more and more food shoots and as I grew more confident I became more friendly with the restaurant staff and was consequently sent home with more and more samples of the food I was photographing. Skill led to confidence, which led to friendliness, which led to free gourmet dining.

Even though I’ve done a lot more cooking since Luke was born and Derek went to work full-time, I haven’t done much food photography. It’s pretty much all about Luke, now. Luke is not “L.A.” but he’s very flirty, and when I stand him in my lap facing me, he sits right on the “edge” of the table. Pictures of Luke are the best pictures I know how to take, and I never regret time spent with him at the end of my lens.

Haircut Friday

What a nice afternoon I have had. I went for tea, journalled while Luke was napping and then got a haircut, as you can see. Lovely. The only bad part was coming home to a screaming kid who wouldn't take the bottle. So between now and tomorrow night every feeding is going to be in a bottle since we were hoping to leave Luke with Harv and Helene while we go to a concert in Winnipeg. Who knows if that'll happen now. If he won't take a bottle I wouldn't want to ask anyone to put up with him for an entire evening.

My life is beautiful these days. I enjoy my time with my son. I enjoy my short times away from him. I love my home and the meals I share with my husband. I am very content. Being a mom is the best job I've ever had!

Making Friends?

Video: I finally caught Luke rolling over...just after he rolled over the battery died. Pretty great timing!


Today I went to the church’s Mom’s Group. I am trying so hard to get out there and make friends. It is more of a challenge than I had hoped. In a small town everyone already has their own friends and they aren’t really interested in making new ones. There was a new lady there today and I suspect she would have felt as left out as I did if not for the fact that she went to high school in Winkler and has a shared school experience with many of the women in the group.

I won’t complain any more about making friends except to say this: people here seem to have very different priorities than me and that also makes it hard to become friends. Today all the ladies were laughing and saying “Thank goodness for disposable diapers, I would never use cloth diapers. What a mess. And who needs the trouble?” I didn’t say, “Well I use cloth diapers, and I think there are very good reasons to do so. In fact, I believe the benefits far outweigh the discomforts and inconveniences of using cloth diapers.” I also didn’t say, “I’d rather be at home reading a book than spending time with you”... Maybe this is why I don’t have more friends by now.

Last night was supposed to be aerobics, and I should get some credit for effort. I got dressed and rushed through supper and went to the gym only to find out the instructor was sick. I didn’t realize until I was driving home how disappointed I was to not have an hour all for myself.

Instead of doing aerobics I finished the first BabyWise book. The authors make their Parent Directed Feeding (PDF) sound so reasonable and accessible that I began feeling quite stupid for not finishing the book sooner and implementing their schedule. However, it’s not too late to start and as Derek pointed out, every kid is different and will respond differently to scheduling. And it’s not as though we haven’t had any routine at all. It just hasn’t been quite what the book suggests. So we will try to make some changes and see if it helps Luke get a few more hours of sleep at night. He’s been sleeping six hours, waking up, and then sleeping two more 2 or 3 hour chunks with another waking in the middle. On average he sleeps 11 hours, waking up twice. Baby Wise says he should be able to sleep right through 10 or 12 hours by now. We will see.

Wednesday Feels Like Tuesday

Pictures:
Luke plays in the exersaucer in his room, while Ally looks on. Did you notice the dresser Dad? I still need to wax the runners, but Derek finally shaved the drawers down to fit. It’s so nice to have storage!

Today we have nothing scheduled…which means we’ve gotta get some serious work done around here. I did the dishes and started a load of laundry so far. But we’ve still got to go grocery shopping, make dinner, dry the laundry, clean up the living room and carry some stuff down to the basement. Oh, and I wanted to go to the library today. I need to return some books, but I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t check any more books out until I get some good work done on my latest crochet project.

This evening is my first aerobics class. I’ve been looking forward to it, but now that Wednesday is finally here I’m starting to think, “I don’t want to go anywhere tonight, especially if it’s going to tire me out and make me sweat”. On the other hand, it would be an entire hour out of the house all by myself. Hm.

Luke is still sitting in his bedroom talking to his toys. He seems to especially like the tall ones. They reach his mouth, and he can make eye contact with them. I was so proud of him yesterday at Growing With Mom. Several people took turns holding him and he chatted away to them and made them smile. Then when he took a nap in my lap everyone laughed at his trail of drool. He is such a sweetheart. I never thought I’d be one of those people who just reaches over and wipes off drool or boogers with my hand. That always kind of disgusted me. But with Luke I can handle those things, in fact I delight in them. It’s amazing the changes motherhood inflicts - um I mean allows, in a person.

Siding...Noun or Verb?

There is a DC Talk song titled “Love is a Verb”. I’ve been debating the last few days to determine whether “Siding” should be a noun or a verb, or a noun AND a verb. On Monday, the men worked on siding the house (verb). On Monday, the men put up some siding (noun). And why is it called siding anyway? It’s not just on the sides of the house, it’s also on the front and back of the house. If the word siding is a noun and a verb you could legitimately say, “The men are siding the house with siding”. It sounds wrong…but it’s not wrong.

Prairie Gold Mitten siding. Prairie Gold is the color, Mitten is the brand, siding is a noun in this case. Isn’t it lovely? I like yellow on a house for sentimental reasons, but this just looks sharp with the white trim and black shingles. Four guys worked for four hours, at varying levels of expertise (Derek made sure I included this clause) and look what they got done! You can imagine what it will look like when it’s complete. A whole different house. I love that it’s different from the houses surrounding us, which are all shades of brown and gray. There is one house on our bay that is red, and we are another unique house on our bay with prairie gold siding (noun).

Thanksgiving went very well. My pumpkin pie turned out pretty good, it all got eaten except for one tiny sliver. And the party potatoes are always a hit. It was so good to have Andy Janzen join us Sunday evening and stay through Monday morning. We had a great visit, and Luke likes his Uncle Andy (as you can see from the pictures).

Today Luke and I psyched ourselves up for an outing and went to the Growing With Mom program. I’ve been wanting to hole up, especially after such a busy weekend, but I was glad we went because it was a small group which is more fun I think. You get to talk to more people, there’s fewer screaming children tearing around, and I personally don’t feel nearly as stressed at the end of the event. Even though the weekend was quite full, Luke was a trooper. He slept pretty good every night and wasn’t too fussy, even when we didn’t get him to bed on time.