Apr 11 2012

The Magic of a Year

Posted in Early Parenthood,Family,Life & Musings,Monsieur Z,Snapshots

A year ago today we welcomed Zac into our nervous arms. He was so tiny I was afraid I’d drop him or break him somehow. Having him put into my arms on the operating table was one of the scariest, most incredible moments of my life. All I really remember is trying desperately to see this tiny being who was our son and being petrified that I was about to drop him from the (what felt like) precarious position on my chest.

Hello!

and baby makes three...

 

Master Z is a little bigger now….

The three of us, April 11 2012

More interested in people than the camera

 

He can stand (up to 10 seconds unsupported), and is practising stepping.

Not long now to newfound freedom!

 

Master Z will never be a poker player…

Just a few expressions from the day

 

But he does enjoy playing “Simon Says” (we copy him)

Zac says "Put your hands in the air!"

Now clap your hands!

 

Master Z has 7 teeth, with an eighth coming (very soon we hope – I want our reward for all the pain!)

Smile!

 

Master Z was given his first chocolate brownie cake today…..but that warrants a whole post by itself…. *wink*

 

Happy Birthday my beautiful boy. You are our ray of sunshine every single day and we love you to the moon and beyond.

 

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Apr 08 2012

Changes

Posted in Life & Musings

I need to just do this post and break this block I’ve had.

I’m going to stop feeding my blog across to LJ. Anyone wishing to continue reading my blog is more than welcome to come and visit, or rss feed it; the address is gypsyamber dot electrickinetic dot com

A few different reasons for doing this. I have been battling with how I want my blog to look, and what is polite in LJ-Land (ie. photos and long posts behind cuts). Also my reason for blogging has changed. Originally I started as a way of keeping in contact with friends whilst I was off adventuring in other lands. Tales to entertain and amuse. Now I am off adventuring in uncharted (for me) territories, but it is a far more personal adventure with narrower appeal for a general audience. I blog mainly for myself, so that I don’t lose these moments in the months and years to come. I choose to do this in a public forum, rather than a private, off-line journal because I personally enjoy reading other people’s blogs about their experiences in parenting and I want to share my experiences with anyone who is interested.

I was recently reminded (by someone confusing my FB updates with my blog updates) that LJ feeds work rather like FB feeds. On my FB, I deliberately limit my bub/parenting related updates as it goes to a broad audience and I don’t want to be “that” mum – the one that won’t shut up about her child and her life around her child, who has nothing else to talk about, who provides minute details which are not interesting to the majority of her friends list. My blog however is different. My blog is more private, more for me and thus it is currently, unashamedly about my son and this gig called parenting about 99.9% of the time. This is where I’m at right now. My life is about my family and that’s what I want it to be about. This is just a short time in the scheme of things and I want to make the most of it, including recording things so that I can look back on these years and share them with my grown children when they start asking questions (*if* they start asking questions about their childhood!)

Now I could just say that people on LJ can unfriend me if they’re not enjoying my blog, but since a particular conversation I have been frozen, wondering how many other people reading my LJ feed are thinking the same thing about me (She’s THAT mum. I wish she would just shut up already about her baby. Can’t she talk about anything else). Stupid, illogical…but there. Add that to the stylistic concerns I’ve been having with competing desires (I want my blog to look like this, but I should do that because it’s polite in LJ-Land) and it feels like it’s time to make a break from LJ.

I’ll still visit to read the blogs that I can’t feed to my google reader, but it’s time for me to move on.

And now I can hopefully shake off this freeze and resume blogging.

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P_catApril 9, 2012 - 10:42 am

Absolutely understandable – I have a WordPress that I keep completely separate, which is where I talked a lot more about my pregnancy (it’s been pretty fallow since then). I’ll add you to my blog subscriptions so I don’t miss a post!

HobbesApril 9, 2012 - 11:05 am

FWIW – You are not that mum, and I would prefer you kept feeding your blog to LJ because that is easiest for me. But of course – your blog, your rules.

Kate DevittApril 9, 2012 - 7:08 pm

Wot she said. 🙂 Also, if you’re locking off lj, could you give me the rss feed url (I couldn’t figure it out from this site) so that I can make an lj syndicated feed? xoxo

Christina FlannApril 9, 2012 - 9:15 pm

I third that, love your blogs, loved them before I became a mum too, sorry to hear that someone has made you feel uncomfortable about baring your soul, that is seriously uncool. hugs oxoxoxo

AlisonApril 9, 2012 - 11:31 pm

What they said above, please keep feeding to LJ.

What you are experiencing is yet another one of the hurdles i have discovered. I only ever heard one complaint about me being too much mummy on LJ, so I dropped them from my baby filter so they only saw posts which didn’t mention the children – they then complained to someone that I had snubbed them. Whatever. It irks me that anyone would have issue with the content of *someone else’s* blog. If my friends wish to talk about role-playing or car-racing or other things that I’m not hugely in to, big deal, I can pick and choose what I read yes?

As you correctly point out, it’s only for a short while and at the moment it *is* what your life is about, and yeah, to be bloody honest it is frickin’ awesome, eye-opening and amazing (as well as frustrating, etc), and over way too quickly so of course you want to keep a record of it. It is no different to other people jumping online to talk about their day at work. The point of view that children should be seen and not heard – or not heard about – is both frustrating and confusing to me.

gypsyamberApril 15, 2012 - 8:50 pm

Okay – I think I’ve worked out a way to cross-post, but only to the people who have commented here. I can’t work out a rss link to supply yet (I usually just type a blog url into Google reader to keep track of blogs I like, so not familiar with the setting up of feeds)

Fair warning though: I won’t be putting any cuts in posts that are photo heavy or very long-winded 😉 If this is annoying on anyone’s feed, let me know and I’ll make sure you don’t automatically get them 🙂

And thanks for the support.

ChristinaApril 16, 2012 - 2:34 am

brilliant, thanks 🙂 no need for cuts for me, I will always look and read everything anyway and love the photos!

Mar 12 2012

Jottings – March1-2 2012

Posted in Family,Life & Musings,Monsieur Z

Thursday 1 March 2012
=====================
8:50 PM – It did me the world of good to get away last weekend. So nice to spend time with family, get the Sunday night roast, motorbike riding (my nieces, not me, aged 5 and 7!), and general chaos from having lots of littlies around.
I’ve come back refreshed and have had more energy this week for tackling some little niggly household things which have niggled for weeks. Nothing earth-shattering, heck nothing even very noticeable but it’s been nice to look at things and think “I can do that” rather than “aaaannd that needs doing as well. It’s all too much”
I think the break was good for Zac too. He was very excited to see all his toys again! He also really enjoyed watching all the older children at Lani’s birthday and spending time with his cousins.
—
9:30 PM – Zac is pulling himself up with much more ease now. He’ll use whatever is handy, a couch, a toy, my clothes. It’s a good thing that I wear pretty bras because Zac has flashed more than one cyclist during our afternoon grass time! Time to start wearing tops which don’t have such stretchy necklines, although I can’t imagine any summer top being able to withstand Zac’s pull when he decides to use the neckline as standing support.

Friday 2 March 2012
===================
9:27 AM – I am really enjoying Zac’s nap times. I thought that out of sleeping through the night or having proper day naps, I would prefer him to sleep through the night but now I’m not so sure. He now has two naps a day, 1-2hrs, most often 1.5hrs long and it is a lovely mental recharge for me. I’ve just sat and had my coffee and fruit bun (a habit started last week, and finishing today for the health of my body and wallet!), and read some more of my current book, “The Good Behaviour Book” by Dr William Sears and Martha Sears. The next chapter is on saying no positively; perfect timing as I decided this week to start saying and enforcing “no” for the amp and electrical cords. I’m currently aiming for “no” to be for dangerous things and to use redirection the rest of the time. Like so many aspects of parenting I suspect these ideals will prove less sustainable and almost fanciful once sleep dep and repetition and currently unimagined scenarios have their way with it, but I have to start somewhere, it might as well be at my ideal point!
—
1:55 PM – I’m very pulled about returning to work. I’ve yet to feel the “desire for adult conversation” that so many mums talk about. I don’t expect that I will get the sense of “me time” that some mums blissfully talk about. I love my days with Zac and hate to think of missing whole days with him. I get such a strong feeling of being in the right place, doing the right thing with my life at random points during the day.

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Mar 12 2012

Jottings – Feb 29 2012

Posted in Family,Jottings,Monsieur Z,Snapshots

Wednesday 29 February 2012
==========================
8:09 AM I love these pants on Zac! A great find at a second-hand store. I must go back soon.

The second photo is indicative of how little Zac stays still these days. He spends more time on the change table on his side than any other position; he is fighting to get to the light switch, the calendar, practice crawling, stand up or follow that toy over the edge, I am fighting to have him on his back long enough to change a nappy. I’m considering starting potty training, although he probably won’t stay still on a potty either!

Spunky pants

You had your three seconds to take the photo...

—

11:00 AM We have a ritual when getting up from naps: we must say hello to all the animals that watch over the cot and make the noises that they make. Thanks to Eddie Izzard, I know that giraffes cough, but I have no idea what elephants and hippos say!

Good morning Mr Lion!

—

12:12 PM Zac loves zucchini. I think it’s possibly his favourite food. At his cousin, Lani’s party on the weekend he was looking interested in all the food going round but only got desperate when he spotted the zucchini we had for him. Just now at lunch he started rejecting other foods (tomato, chilli con carne, squash)  but happily accepted more zucchini from the fridge.

Nothing like zucchini to bring the smiles

—

3:07 PM Zac found my filing drawer today. After emptying it, he tried to re-file everything!

I'll help you, Mummy!

—

8:00 PM Zac loves his Ambear!!!

Snuggles!!!!!!

Snuggle breather...

...aaand rolling

This is what Zac wants to do with the kitties

My Bear's got my back

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Mar 04 2012

Jottings – Feb 25-27 2012

Posted in Family,Jottings,Monsieur Z,Snapshots

Saturday 25 February 2012
=========================
9:00 PM Zac stood up unsupported today while he and Rafe were playing on the lawn! He immediately plumped down onto his bottom, but standing by himself is just that bit closer.

Monday 27 February 2012
=======================
11:25 AM Food and crawl breaks aren’t as much fun when it’s raining outside. Fortunately fun can always be had with Mummy’s dress.
Note: the floors of a truckstop dining area are filthy! Zac had two black knees after his crawl time – who’d a thunk it!!! (at the Mobile near Seymour)

 

So much rain outside....

What to do, what to do

There's this chair here..maybe I can play with that

Look at the pretty water on the window, Mummy!

ooh...Mummy's dress is always fun to play with

Om nom nom nom

Peek-A-Boo! I See you, foot!

—
2:19 PM All is silent….hmmmm. Where is Master Zachary?

The Machine of Fascination

—
4:20 PM Zac is completely fascinated with his cousins. Bella enchanted him on Saturday when she gave him Eskimo kisses and yesterday his head didn’t stop swivelling as he tried to keep up with everything Bella, Bria and Lani were doing. He really enjoyed being around so many other children on the weekend. I have lots of photos of them together, and of the girls on their quad bikes but they on my big camera so won’t make it here for some time!

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