may 11

today i picked the kids up from school and told them we were going to go home, change into different clothes and take a few pictures in hopes of getting a good one for mother's day.  i promised them it would not take longer than 5 minutes.  in general, it's getting much easier to take pictures of brooke and gavin as they get older.  however, some of my most frustrating days have been when i've intentionally tried to get a good shot of the two of them.  it just never works.  they don't cooperate; i lose my patience.  it's just not good.  today was no different.  for some reason brooke started crying as i was doing her hair.  despite my efforts, i couldn't get her to stop.  i really did take pictures for less than 5 minutes, and she cried pretty much the whole time.  her eyes were bloodshot and watery, and i just gave up.  photo shoot over.  i wasn't very happy.  but then i downloaded the pictures.  and a miracle happened.  somehow i ended up with a great picture of brooke and gavin.  you can't even tell brooke was crying :)  as a matter of fact, it's one of the best pictures of both of them that i've ever taken.  so i thanked them.  i thanked them for putting up with mommy's pictures even when they don't feel like it.

may 10

playing baseball is one of my favorite things to do when gavin and i have 1:1 time.  i pitch to him over and over and over again, and i cheer for every hit, every "home run."  i encourage him when he swings and misses, and i try to give him some pointers on how to stand and how to hold his bat.  most of what gavin knows about baseball he knows from me or from watching professional baseball games.  gavin knows how to run the bases now, but he doesn't quite grasp the concept of stopping at a base.  he runs all the way around the bases every single time.  when i tag him out to try to teach him the rules of the game, he puts up a big protest.  funny guy!  we've signed gavin up to play t-ball through the Y this summer so maybe he'll learn a few more fundamentals of the game.  or maybe not :)  either way, i know he'll love it.

may 9

this morning gavin and i headed over to mom's house after dropping brooke off at school.  mom is moving back into her own house after having rented it for a couple of years.  i went over to help mom select paint colors in preparation for our big family painting party.  when i pulled up, my sister's car was already on the street.  i told my mom that it was kind of like coming home.  i lived with my mom (and my sister) for a few short periods during/right after college, and it felt good for us all to be back in the house together.  it was the first time gavin has ever been in mom's house.  he and stella had a great time playing with a few boxes of toys while we picked paint colors for the entire house.  i'm excited that my mom is back home.  i know she is, too.