Ah, Memories

I'll confess something: I don't dig babies. I know, I know. What kind of person doesn't really like babies? I adore all of my nieces and nephews, but it's a well-known fact in our family that I'm not really into them until they're about 18 months/2 years old.

Don't get me wrong, I did like my own babies. Loved them even. But I was pretty anxious to move through that "needy baby" phase and get to the fun part. People used to tell me I'd want those baby days back again. The jury is still out on that. Maybe because we had the sleeplessness of Finn's baby days followed closely by the sleeplessness of Finn's cancer days and now I'm permanently sleep deprived that make me feel this way. But I don't really miss it. And my boys were both really easy babies. . .according to my Mother.

At any rate, when Grandma died, I was digging through boxes of photos and digital photos and I came across some that just made me laugh out loud, smile broadly, or even put a little tear in the corner of my eye.

A sampling. . .

From January '03:

We went to the Worthington Mall to see Clifford the Big Red Dog who was visiting the mall through a promotion with our local PBS station (you know how I love PBS so) and Scholastic Books. We waited in a Big Long Line to see the Big Red Dog. Declan was bored so he played a little concerto (this one is titled "Pounding in D Minor") on the piano which was next to us in line. I love the expression on his face. He's 2, not quite 3, in this picture. I think he looks a little rascally--which he was. For as big a rule follower as he is now, Declan was a little pill at the ages of 2 and 3. One time he ran away from me at the rec center in Westerville so many times that when I caught him, I pinned him to the ground and whispered something in his ear that made him glue himself to my side for the rest of the day. Not one of my finer parenting moments.



Finally, we got to see Clifford. Except that Declan wouldn't really go near him. I think Clifford looks kind of sad.



Finn at about 3 1/2 months old (I always have giant babies that look 3 months old at birth so here he's probably about the size of a six-month old). Finn was THE happiest baby in the history of babykind. Ate like a maniac, slept through the night at about 10 weeks, rarely cried. And still, I am not a baby person.

From February '03:


Photos at JCPenney where they sucker you into buying extra photos because you can't stand the thought of pictures of your kids going in the trash.


And there he is, still smiling. We called it the Finn Grin.


Declan helps "rake" a rare, big snow in Ohio.


Because every baby needs safety glasses.

From March '03. And then I'll stop this little trip down memory lane. . .



Declan's 3rd Birthday. He was all about Larry Boy for awhile. I took a picture of Larry Boy in to the bakery so Declan could have a Larry Boy cake. As you can see, he's not too enthused about our rendition of Happy Birthday.


I think Larry Boy seems afraid in this picture.


This somehow seems unwise.


Birthday Bunny. I'm disturbed by the box of Frosted Flakes on the counter. Clearly this is before my organic-ness started.

Done for now. . .