Funny Faces.

In contrast to yesterday's photo I present to you this funny little face :). Because our bathroom light remains to be fixed (we've been busy, I've been too short and too sick to fix it myself) Roman has a bath in the mornings, instead of at night. Right after his bath he begged for his dressing gown, several cereal bars and then to 'cheese' (bringing me my camera so he could pose for me) for me. My funny little boy ;).

Awkward Family Photos.

This is my favourite photo, maybe ever. And doesn't qualify as an 'awkward family photo.'

A while ago I discovered the awesome website Awkward Family Photos. With each photo I cried tears through fits of laughter; these photos were priceless, but not from a sentimental or quality point of view, nope...as the website suggests these photos were awkward - and incredibly funny with it.

So when I spied these photos in my camera, it put me in mind of the AFP website ;). From Bryan looking like a serial killer to the awkward smile and then the awkward squint I could very well see these photos featured on the AFP website ;). 

Side note: yes, they're lovely. Even the photos that were 'out takes' so to speak are lovely to me because that's my family and despite all of these awkward family photos they make for some lovely (and funny) memories. I will enjoy adding these to my family records.

Mellow Yellow.

36/366

Today was a strange day of challenges and testing of patience. Today was the day I heard you say the word 'fun' for the first time, although it sounds more like 'bun.' 

You were so hungry. You cried while I ate, kept begging me for drinks and scraps off my plate (I don't like crusts or too much bread.) You ate a huge dinner and then declared a list of foods you'd like to eat; 'cereal.' So off Daddy went to fix you a bowl of cereal. When that was done it was 'go-gart.' Daddy plodded off to get you another yogurt. This was after a good, hearty dinner on top of all these extras you were asking for. With your long legs it's hard to imagine that you'll grow any bigger, but surely with the demands for extra food and the mood swings it's likely we're facing another growth spurt. Mood swings coincide with very little nap-time, it's not your fault.

And let me just say; you're a Daddy's boy. I'm learning to adjust to that, but it still feels like a kick in the guts every time you favour him over me. But there is one sweetness about you at this age; you're a follower. No matter where I stand or walk to in a room, you follow. It's hard to take photos of you doing anything because as soon as I move, you move with me. My precious little shadow. Although it gets kind of awkward when I need to use the loo ;).

I was feeling so very sick this afternoon and really needed to lie down in bed. Before I went I was getting stressed about the washing being dry but un-folded and not yet put away - could I ask B? Yes. But he'd probably do it in 'five minutes' - so I began to fold and put away your clothes. You followed me into your room, made for the books and got quite comfortable in a little corner. You looked so cute that I really wanted to stay and play with you. We blew bubbles, stacked up some books and you did all kinds of poses for me, saying 'cheeeese!' without fail every single time.

Bryan is quite the follower, too ;). Whenever we disappear for a couple of minutes he comes to check on us and ends up staying to play, too. You have a magnetic personality that attracts people to you and it's always been so - you're full of life and sunshine. You're a ball of 'bun.'

You can also tell that we're twenty-something parents because we're still very young at heart and do silly things like pass you out through your window with mum on one side, passing you through the open window and dad on the other ready to catch you and back again in reverse. 

You were smiling so big and laughing so hard at this and kept squealing 'bun! bun! bun!' over and over. I just hope your childhood is fun and not blighted with memories of a sickly mum - you make me feel my 26 years of age, you force the fun out of me and keep my spirits up.

Cheeky in Aisle 5.

26/366

Almost as soon as I headed out today with the buggy it rained. Of course. Doing my hair and make-up was a pointless exercise - but it did make me feel more human, so maybe not a complete loss.

I had intended to take Roman to the park (on my own, yes, twice this year and this month) but because it was heavily raining we headed to a well known bargain basement shop instead. It recently opened in the summer here and I've only been there three times, including today. 

It was relatively empty which is the best kind of shop with a buggy in tow. After about an hour of looking around, Roman got fed up. And when he saw another little boy running around, giving his mum a nervous breakdown in the process no doubt, he got even more frustrated.

I would usually feel bad, but it's easier to contain him in the buggy and I will be keeping him in there as long as his legs and little body allow - it's my life saver. I do not have the energy, strength, speed or dexterity as other parents. I'd rather he learned not to run around in shops so that I don't have to chase around after him, disguising my annoyance in a chirpy tone. And I would rather store up the energy required to spend time with him at home. 

I need to do that often; store up energy from somewhere so I can do other things. And it's also a pain to get him back into the buggy once he's out - he hates going back in unless he's tired. 

So, with his frustration reaching a boiling point, I decided to take him to a quiet spot in the shop and pull some funny faces and take photographs. I was a bit paranoid about doing this but the shop is so big, and I purposely picked a quiet spot, that I was sure we wouldn't be interrupted by a member of staff kindly telling me to put my camera away - which has never happened, I'm just paranoid because Bryan keeps telling me it will happen every time I take a photograph in shops.

Well, he wasn't there to tell me that ;). So I snapped away and was quite surprised by how quickly Roman's mood improved. Just a little 'face time' with me and he was quite content to keep shopping - although I soon lost the will to live/shop and promptly paid for my things and got the hell out of there. Back into the freezing cold rainy weather.