"Milla, I put some of your dog food in your water bowl just the way you like it...nice and soggy, right?"










"Watch Toy Story dee-dee (dvd), Mommy?"

The Wesley Court Gang...
Sarah, Sydney, Jack, Harrison and Noah

FIRE! FIRE!

She's only 2 1/2 and already a mischevious child! I go to pick Sydney up from school today (her 2nd day at this new school) and the director mentions to me as I'm walking out the door that Sydney pulled the fire alarm today! The lights are flashing, the screeching alarms are sounding and everyone (teachers, preschoolers, toddlers, babies) is evacuating the building. The director explains to me that she managed to call the fire department "just in the knick of time" to tell them it was a false alarm. Okay, my first thought is, "Why the heck are the fire alarm levers so low that a toddler can reach them?" Is this for handicap accessibility? Next, "What do you expect a toddler to do when she sees something interesting like that on the wall within her reach?" I couldn't tell if the director actually thought Sydney should have known better. Now, I'm worried that since Sydney now knows what happens when you pull that red lever on the wall, she may just do it again! She's not a bad kid! She's just curious...and, maybe a little mischevious at times.

Where DID the Summer Go?

I can't believe we're already into September. It seems only yesterday we took the girls to our neighborhood pool for the Memorial Day weekend "Opening Party." Since then, Sydney and Sarah have become real "water babies." Sydney loved the pool from the beginning but was also very cautious. Now, Sydney makes her way to the middle of the "big" pool and floats around all over the place wearing her little life vest. For weeks, Sarah would lose interest in the pool and want to just sit in her stroller, eat Goldfish, and just watch Sydney play. She finally became comfortable walking around in the kiddie pool and realized it really WAS fun.

Sydney started her new Mothers Day Out this past Thursday. I was so concerned that she would be confused or have trouble adjusting to the new surroundings, the new teachers and the new children. Worried for nothing, as Sydney didn't bat an eye when I left and, when I picked her up that afternoon, she acted like she'd had a good time.

Sydney is full of curiosity and is so inquisitive. When she hears others having a converstation without her, she's quick to jump in and ask, "What you saying?" I hear that question all day. She's not afraid to say anything which means sometimes she gets her phrases mixed up. She seems to use the phrase "I miss you" in the same context as "I love you." When I give her a hug, she says "I miss you, Mommy." Another favorite question she asks when she sees someone yawn is, "You get up too early?"

Potty training is touch and go. As long as she has no diaper or pants on, Sydney's very good at remembering to sit on her potty when she needs to. It's the pulling pants down that needs some work. Here, she makes use of her potty as a piano bench. Or, maybe she needed some musical inspiration to get the pee-pee moving.

Well, it took much of the summer, but Sarah finally looks more like a toddler than an infant or baby. Once she was off the bottles and onto real food she began to put on weight and really fill out. One of the strangest physical changes in Sarah is that she went from having almost black hair from birth until she was about 10 or 11 months old, then suddenly it quickly turned so blonde that it's almost white in some places. I'm just waiting to see if it will darken. No one in our families has blonde hair.

Sarah's really trying to talk but we're a long way from really understanding her yet. She uses some sign language, which is very helpful. She says "Da Da" all the time. She doesn't say "Mommy" anymore for some reason. She tries to say "Sydney" and her most used word is "duck." Don't know why "duck" seems to be a frequently used word for her. She calls most animals "duck." However, her favorite animal sound is "ROAR." She roars for every animal sound. "Sarah, what does a dog say?" "ROAR!" "Sarah, what does a cow say?" "ROAR!"

No Time Like The Present, Right?

Well, almost right. My dreams of marrying a wonderful man and then having two precious children have come true. I couldn't be happier. However, my dream of becoming (or trying to become) an accomplished photographer has yet to be realized. I've put this off for far too long now. I always had excuses...it's too expensive starting out, there's no financial security (unless I'm hugely successful, and even that would take time), I'm just not talented enough, I'm too old to start a new career. It's that last excuse that gives me my new-found motivation. If I think I'm too old now, just wait til I'm 45 or 50, then I'll surely feel too old to begin a new profession! My excuse of late has been, of course, "my children take up so much time," but I'm not even going to succomb to that rationale. So, hence the title of this post, "No time like the present" has prompted my current motivation.

I own 3 cameras and, believe it or not, if I'm too pursue this endeavor, I MUST have a new one! I'll keep checking the website of my favorite photo supply shop, B&H Photo, until I finally find a deal on a digital SLR that I can't pass up.

In the meantime, I'll spend my free-time (brief and minimal as it is these days) purusing sites of professional photographers in an attempt to improve my skills of composition and such. I'll post some of my favorite photographers' site links in the right-hand sidebar for the rest of you to view if you're interested. And, hopefully, my days of working as a video producer/editor will be helpful. I think I should also befriend some good photographers who won't mind sharing some tips and tricks of the trade with me. If I could just remember Chris' last name! Chris was the instructor of a black/white photo class I took MANY years ago in college. A very talented photographer who spent years as a freelancer for many reputable publications, Chris also proved to be a wonderful teacher. It was during this class that I stumbled upon the life and works of Dorthea Lange. Traveling the Dust Bowl during the Depression, Dorthea's photographs of the people she encounters depict in full detail the hardships endured during this time. One of her most notable photographs is "The Migrant Mother." Dorthea is an inspirational photographer AND an inspirational woman.


I'll continue to practice with my 3 mediocre cameras using Sydney and Sarah as my subjects.

So Much To Be Thankful For...

1. We are healthy.
2. We have a home.
3. We have food.
4. We have all of our belongings.
5. We know where all of our family members are.

AND...

6. Tonight my girls are safely tucked away in their beds.


On the news this evening, I saw a scared and distraught woman standing outside somewhere in New Orleans holding her infant and saying she "needed bottles, milk, water or something" for her baby.

We are so blessed.