The days after

::Painted sugar cookies
::Drawing on the Christmas Cards
:: Feeding the birds
::A very fancy surprise Christmas gift
:: Forcefeeding Nana the traditional goldfish crackers from the stocking
:: a day that was so warm + 2 celcius!
:: the new dollhouse took no time at all to furnish with odds and ends while we wait for the 'real' furniture
:: warm enough for a new snowman, who clearly needs a kiss
:: Lego mania
:: A baby who knows exactly where the cookies are, and isn't afraid to help herself
:: Sisterly love

Lately

The days here are cold, so cold that it makes you wonder about living here -30 (that's Celsius, before windchill), too cold to go outside most days, so cold that the houseplants are living on the dining room table as we try to cold proof our frigid front porch ( I think 5 degrees is a little cold for hibiscus, no?), with plastic film and heavy drapes- I'll let you know if it works. We've been baking, and cleaning, and visiting, and there's been quite a bit of elving going on too. Hope your Christmas is Bright and Sunny and warmish, I'll be back to post after the 26th.

51/52

N: Silly times as usual.

A: happy girl.

50/52

N: washing animals at the sink, a favorite winter pastime.

A: wearing her new eyeglasses, very distinguished.

Series

I see photos like this and I think- 'oh man- she is growing up so fast!', and then I see the next photo:

...and I think not so much...


It seems almost impossible to photograph these kids with just one photo- they almost always make series that are so much more compelling.

I was puzzling over a vivid dream I had of running with two lions- I wasn't scared of them at all- they didn't seem to want to hurt me- they were ferocious, and powerful and magnificent, and just wanted me to play with them.

Then I saw these photos and it sort of makes sense-

And Baby A is no different: it's almost impossible to photograph her in one go- they're always stories. 

Of all the bad things about digital cameras- no solid pictures- literally thousands of inane photos online, and thousands of photos on the computer- but only one or two bad printouts in frames- the fact that everyone thinks they're a photographer, the way that you can video something and photograph something and not actually look at it while it's happening in person- I love this ability to capture whole sections of time, and keep it on your computer. You'd never waste actual film like that, you'd never take forty photographs in one five minute session, or encourage your kid to make silly faces for the camera- over and over again. We may not have photo albums anymore- but we do have series of photos, and that's really precious. 

49/52

N: dressing herself these days- usually with pants, and a skirt, and a dress- it doesn't seem to matter to her if one article of clothing is completely covered up.

A: still so hard to photograph, always moving, but mostly always smiling- so infectious, that smile.

48/52

N: smiling in the sunlight. Best quote this week: after jumping towards me on the couch, wearing a cape and crown, rubbing her knee which she bumped- then howled about, between sniffles "But did you see me fly through the air like a rainbow?"

A: itching to get her hands on those tiny, squishy, dinosaurs.