Shenanigans of a Redheaded Photographer

So my boy has started to loose his teeth. He lost his first one on leap year day (2-29-2008) and the next shortly thereafter (3-2-2008). He experienced his first loose tooth a day after he told his teacher he was starting to think he was never going to lose a tooth like all of his friends already had.

I remember how I completely lost it when his first tooth broke through. I called my husband at work, wanting him to come home because this was no longer my baby! That toothless grin I was so used to, that I hoped would never change, that I wanted to last forever -was no longer toothless. It was the beginning of the end. He was just 6 months old and practically had one foot out the door. So I freaked out a little. Overreacted a bit. I calmed down and loved every new tooth that came in after that. Loved that smile as it grew tooth by tooth.

Well now I guess the process has started all over again in reverse, to much the same result. I freaked out - just a little bit more low key this time. He is starting to get his big boy teeth in - the teeth he will walk out of my home with. My buffers are starting to melt away. Watching him grow is so bittersweet. I have loved every stage of his development, mourning the fact that he is growing up yet feeling a twinge of excitement at the same time because he just keeps getting cooler every day. I guess this is a truth about motherhood that everyone tries to tell you, but  gives up because words just fail. Kinda like when you're pregnant and everyone tells you just how much you are going to love your baby. I always thought to myself, "Of course I am going to love the baby, dumba**. It's my baby!" Then you hold that baby for the first time and you really understand what they meant.  Words just fail.

While I was waxing philosophical about this tiny lump of bone in my hand, I realized how horribly un-tooth fairy prepared I was. We brought the idea up to the boy. He was a bit skeptical until the money became involved.  I realized I hadn't made any kind of receptacle for the tooth. I had a tooth pillow with a little pocket on it when I was little. A friend of mine had a door hanger with a pocket (smart parents!) The boy and I decided on an envelope with "tooth fairy" written on it would suffice. As we were getting ready for bed the boy decides that he really doesn't want to be bothered with a fairy searching around under his pillow in the middle of the night, so he want to leave the envelope in the hallway. Yippy! I also realized that there was no cash in the house except in the boys bank...
That's right - the boy got his own money from the TF. I pulled a  Sacajawea dollar coin out of his bank, printed a certificate off of the internet, stashed the tooth away in his baby box and went to bed. Poor boy. 

So we started our day with left over Leprechaun cake and then moved on to video games.  I am such a great mom.

My daughter started the day around six this morning. Unfortunately my husband didn't find her until around 6:15. She had stripped off her diaper, brought the diaper into mommy and daddy's room to be left next to sleeping mom's head.  Joyfully my dear daughter then went back to her room, emptied a toy bucket and streaked to the kitchen with said bucket. She used the bucket as a step stool to get to the cake on the counter. She had licked a good portion of the icing off before dad got there. Wow kids are fun! Never a dull moment around here.

These are a result of a bored hour and a need for bathroom artwork.

Yep. I have a daughter. She is one of the cutest kids ever, terribly smart and she is absolutely amazing.  She is also rotten, spoiled, cantankerous, obstinate, and has one hell of an Irish temper.  I guess that means she is "spirited." If she was anything less I would have been sorely disappointed.  I didn't pray for a pretty girl (but I am glad it worked out that way.) When I found out I was having a girl, I prayed for a strong girl. I wanted a girl who would never let herself be walked on, who could stand up for herself and would never settle for less than everything she wanted. I guess I should have prayed for those qualities to kick in somewhere around 18. She emerged from the womb with definite ideas about how she wanted the world to work and she has spent all of her time trying to bend her surroundings to her will. 

Her favorite person in the world is her brother, and the feeling is mutual. They have been smitten since the first time they met. They share a bedroom. Not because they have too, but because whenever I mention to the boy that he is ready for his own space, he says he doesn't want to leave his sis. I really think the only reason she learned to crawl was so he couldn't leave the room without her anymore. Once she learned to walk, it was on. His name was one of her first words. She cackles with glee whenever he enters a room. They love each other so much. I am so glad for that.

When I was pregnant with baby girl, I was wrapping up my undergraduate education. I got the best advice about raising a girl from my last Advanced Photo class. "Raise your girls like your boys" was painted on a sign at an art opening we visited. I was very nervous about having a girl, then I saw that. Now if I have a question about what to do with this little monster of mine, I remember that advice. I am doing my best to let her become who she is going to become without throwing all of society's expectations on her too soon. She plays with whatever toys she wants, we have bought her boy's clothes before because she picked it out ( she really loves Spiderman), but she still likes to where a dress from time to time.
All in all she is a pretty cool kid. I am much less intimidated by having a daughter than I used to be.  I am glad that she is here, and my heart really did grow that much bigger when I had my second child.

I can't think of what else C could stand for in my life. As I have said before, he is my best friend and soul mate. I shudder to think how awful my life would be without him. Boring, really. My life without him, not him.

He is an artist and teacher (teaches drawing at my alma mater). He got a really crappy, dull, secure with health insurance full time job to ensure that his family is taken care of. He goes to said crappy job everyday with little complaint because he loves his family. Just the kind of guy he is.

He is the best dad. We all huddle at the door when it is time for him to get home from work because all three of us are genuinely that happy to see him. When he comes home, our little circle is complete and we all breathe a sigh of relief that we are all together again.

He supports me in my dreams. He truly wants to see me succeed as a photographer. Our dream is that someday I will have enough work that he can quit his job and become my second gun. Did I mention that while he graduated with a BFA in Drawing, he was close to graduating with degrees in sculpture, photography and political science? He is one of those disgusting artists who is really great at everything! As you can see from the portrait above, he slid into painting with no trouble at all. While I am on the subject  of all the man can do, let me mention that he is handy around the house as well. He can fix almost anything.

My dream for us is that someday, preferably more sooner than later, I can get him out of that job of his so that he has the time and energy to create the work he wants to. ( I read somewhere that if you write your goals down you are more likely to achieve them. It's worth a try!)

Enough about him.  All you ladies will try to steal him from me!