Things You Learn When Vacationing with Baby

= Bed-and-Breakfast owners are not totally receptive to you showing up with an "unannounced" infant

= Baby does NOT accommodate your need for rest

= Long drives are not baby's favorite way to spend his time, and he lets you know it in a LOUD and PAINFUL way

= Five days of a different environment/schedule really bite you in the bottom once you return home

= Using baby's at-home playpen as an away-from-home crib sends a mixed message that baby has a hard time decrypting

= You will undoubtedly not pack enough infant clothing to accommodate the increased number of mealtime accidents and/or spit-up events

= Meals out with baby - while harried - are certainly entertaining. Like when he crawls over your shoulder to blow really loud raspberries at the young couple next to you (trying) to have a romantic dinner. Or when he then leans over and spits up at their feet.

= You will inevitably forget your extra camera battery and charger and have virtually no record of baby's first vacation

:)

Better

I feel like I have to get better at this. At mothering. At blogging. At photographing. Lately I have been exploring links-within-links to various blogs from as close as this state to as far away as New Zealand. There are a lot of talented, thoughtful, creative people out there. It made me hopeful that I too could be one of them, but it also made me feel woefully sad and inadequate. I don't have the TIME or the ENERGY to be thoughtful very often, nor do I use my creativity or talents enough. Most of the time I am wrestling with my 6 1/2-month-old, trying with mixed success to: diaper or de-diaper; clothe him; put him down to bed; bathe him; feed him; get him in-and-out of the carseat/stroller. It doesn't sound like much, but it certainly fills a 14-hour day. There are days, like today, when I haven't gotten to bed just early enough the night before. When I was awakened after midnight by baby's cries, then again just hours later by my working-late husband who was baking a pizza. Follow that with more cries from my little one when at 5:30 he had decided enough! with sleep and wasn't it time to begin the day with crib gymnastics?

Fast forward to 3 hours later, when after a 25-minute powernap, baby was ready to go at it again. So as he was screaming himself into a hyperventilative state in his crib, I raced through my shower madly scrubbing, soaping, rinsing, drying and creaming, thinking, If this is my day today, then I should at least be clean for it.

Does it get easier? Will I get better at this? Any of it? Will I not want to cry on almost a daily basis? Will I learn to live in the moment and accept all for what it is and simply BREATHE?

Oh, this living. It's hard. And the mothering thing? Even harder.

Swimmin'

It has been some time since a photo share, so while we await the videographer's (ahem) final edit of Caleb's first swim, please enjoy! This little fish loves the water...

;( This Is How I Feel Right Now

What a few days it has been. Home sick with a fever/headache/sore throat while outside it is finally SUMMER! in all its beautiful glory. Caleb has been clingy and I don't want to get too close for fear of spreading germs but just HOW do you NOT get close to an almost toddler who lifts his arms to you and coos/whimpers every time you pass him?

And of course today is again a day where the cat gets sick in a major way, baby's outfit has had to be changed at least 5 times due to diaper soak-throughs or major spit-ups, and I think he's developing not only diaper rash but a rash on his face from, possibly, peas??? Are peas a known allergen? Really?

Did I mention Caleb has mastered how to rip open the Velcro closures to his diaper covers? Yup, he can whip them right off now whenever he feels like it. Lovely.

Oatmeal Part 1

Caleb has now tried oatmeal three times, still with mixed reviews. I have to say the feeding process was entertaining (for me, at least). Caleb seems unsure of how he feels about this new food. I am still wondering how a mere tablespoon of cereal mixed with a tablespoon of formula could possibly end up all over Caleb's face and up his nose, in his ears, on his hands and arms and onesie, on the highchair seat, all over the table, floor and, of course, me. And I do believe he actually ate a fair amount. Can't wait to see what sweet potatoes and peas will look like!

I don't sleep I read

I am hanging on to life before motherhood by reading all I can whenever I can. Little escapes to other worlds that take me away from the monotony of laundry, diapers, bottles and spit-up. Not that I don't love my life or being Caleb's Mumma, but there are days when I feel like I'll never sleep through the night again, or sleep in, or eat a meal without simultaneously doing something else, or thinking about something else, or listening to the baby monitor for the inevitable squeaks or moans. Not that I'm complaining, mind you (OK, maybe just a little). But even on the rare occasions when I find myself alone, I am never not thinking about Caleb. Which is wonderful, but also hard. Hello, Motherhood!

However, books do provide some respite and, believe me, I cling to that. Sometimes a paperback bestseller does the job - something I can read on the surface and put down every 5 pages then pick up again with little thought. Other times I return to old favorites - series or characters I have read and re-read until they are as familiar as old friends. Then there are the ones like Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange by Amanda Smyth. Books you can't put down and stay up 'til midnight reading. Characters and places you can hear and envision. Scenes you can practically taste and touch. Books you curse yourself for reading because now you've only gotten 6 hours sleep and this is the day the cat vomits everywhere, the baby just wants to be held, the dust bunnies are waging a war and the lawn desparately needs mowing.

So what do I do? I go to the library, again.

At the Water Park

In just a few years it will be Caleb (rather than John - or, rather, them both together) who will be riding down the slides and splashing in the pools at our local water park. For his first visit Caleb was happy to sit in my lap in the shade by the kiddie pool and watch all the activity as I enjoyed the hot sun and cool breeze of a perfect summer day in Maine. He got his toes dipped in the water and his head sprinkled by the lollipop fountains and napped in his stroller while Daddy ate fried dough.