Thursday, October 19, 2006
Monthly Newsletter #11 pics
Blogger won't let me post pictures, so I'll just have to do it this way....
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Monthly Newsletter #11
My dearest Gabriel,
I thought it time to write this newsletter a few days before you turn one year old. This month you have been quite the busy bee and it is hard for Mommy to find time to blog with everything else going on.
As I mentioned, you are so busy now. Your little hands are always reaching, exploring, analyzing all that you find around you. As I type this, you are on the floor thumbing through a book and studiously analzying the spine and how it is put together. You pause to pick up a car next to you, chew on it, growl, and then return to your book.
You have begun walking tentatively. You certainly know how, and with each passing day you add a step to the number of steps you take in sequence. It is so strange to see my baby walking upright. You are becoming such a soulful little boy.
I love listening to you play. You play very well on your own. You wave toys and make noises, sing, yell, and enjoy your presence in this world. There is nothing sweeter to my soul than to be in the room as you play peacefully. The sound of your busyness and contentment give me a joy that nothing else can.
You love to play silly games with your Da-Da. He can do almost anything and you roar with laughter. Your favorite game these days is to sneak up behind Da-Da and touch him, to which he responds with a dramatic, startled turnabout. You find that hilarious and like to do it over and over again. The simplicity and generosity of your laughter is like music to us both.
You are sleeping well these days and have adopted a favorite stuffed animal: a big cuddly lion whom we aptly named "Mr. Lion" which we pronounce in silly fashion as "Meester Lie-awn." Mister Lion keeps watch over your pacifiers for you until it is time for a nap or bed. You seem content to let him keep them thus far.
Being the good pagans that we are, we will celebrate all hallows eve by trolling merrily through the neighborhood and you will star as Mr. Lion! Though Mommy was scheduled to teach class that night, I proudly told my students that I had more important matters to tend to. I think Halloween will be one of my favorite holidays because you were born ten days before and it was our first mini-celebration with you last year. Were you really ever that small?
I must admit that Mommy is in denial about your turning one year old this Saturday. Though I've bought a slew of fun toys and party decorations, I still can't believe that a year has gone by. I miss my slumberous newborn and his cuddly warm body next to mine. And, yet, I love my busy, toddling, animated little boy who charms me with his big tooth-filled smile. It's such a mixed bag of emotions this Mommy business is...I want you to spread your wings and soar, to drink up all the goodness this life has to offer and yet I mourn each step you take closer to the edge and eventual final exit of this nest.
I want so many good things for you, my son. I want you to know happniness and confidence, self assurance and peace. I want you to embrace whatever vocation you are called to and to fulfill its demands honestly and successfully. I want you to love responsibly and respectfully and to be loved in such a way in return. I want you to know the joy of parenthood and the awesome, divine responsibility that it is. I want you to embrace life as an adventure, never afraid to take on a new challenge or to try something different. I want you to see the world and the beauty of different peoples and cultures. I want you to know that God will be wherever you decide to worship and that your presence in a religious community will help to keep your cup full.
As I watch you now, opening and closing the door to your Playschool house, I pray that the doors you seek to open will be good ones, and those which close on you will only strengthen your perserverance and inner truth.
As we stand on the threshold of your birthday, I want to thank you for the most meaningful year of my life. If there is one singular reason that God put me on this planet, it is to know the joy of being your mother, to relish the divinity of your laughter, to see truth and goodness in your maturing smile.
I love you more than mere words can express.
Mama
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
Long overdue...bad blogger update...
My Dearest Gabriel,Monthly newsletters nine and ten are BELATED. But, that's not because you are any less loved or important. It is because Mommy has less and less free time these days since you are moving and growing at an exponential rate!
During your ninth month you started 'cruising' our home with great speed. You love your new vertical freedom and rewarded your father and I with your first steps just after you turned ten months of age. You're still unsteady and hesitant, but with each passing day, you grab hold of my hand a little surer of yourself and I know the day is coming when you will let go and go...
You are such a delightful boy. Everywhere we go people comment on how good you are. At this stage, Mommy can go shopping and put you in the cart and you are content to look around and flirt with passerbys. However, you do have your moments of temper when things aren't going your way or especially when a new tooth is coming in.
But, you're even more adorable when you're a big fuss...Daddy started working this month and you have missed him. He's a big shot insurance salesman with AIG and a representative agent for LAW Enterprises, identity theft solutions. Every afternoon when Daddy gets home, you look forward to heading to his office and helping him rearrange the mail and other assorted items. You are very much a Daddy's boy which delights my heart.
You can say Ma-Ma, Da-Da, Hey, and you just started waving bye-bye. You also mimic sounds from your toys, like a growl or the sound of a car zooming by. You are very much a little boy and love to push things around as if they were a car of some sort. I am amazed at the innate traits of boyness that I watch emerge daily. You are more joyful than I ever dreamed my little boy would be.
We spend our days together in Mommy's studio. It has been a long and arduous process getting the business going, but I believe we have some good structures in place now and will enjoy our years of being able to work out of our home. Most of all, I enjoy never having to leave you with anyone other than a family member.
You are a VERY big boy. At nine months, you weighed in at 24.8lbs and at ten months you were already 26.8lbs. You are also in the 97th percentile for height and weight...guess you'll take after Mommy in that regard.
Every day brings something new. You give your father and I the impetus for CARPE DIEM. I've never shared something more precious in my whole life.
We love you immensely, our big baby boy!
Mommy
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Called by name....
Gabriel Benjamin Blaylock has joined the christian community. He did well and I was so proud to have my whole family there to witness his baptism. I waited and prayed for this day for so long. I can't tell you the number of baptisms I watched before Gabe was born, with great heartache, waiting for the time I could welcome a healthy child into God's community. I am so very grateful for this day, more than words could ever express.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
The day before the big day...
Tomorrow we are having Gabe baptized. I have so many mixed emotions, personal and otherwise. I can't believe my angel is already nine months old! He is so very precious to me and I look forward to welcoming him into the christian community formally. But, I would be lying if I didn't say that it also makes me miss my Sarah, Rachel, and Noah all the more. I guess baptism is the only thing we could do for them in the short time they were with us. It made such a deep impact on my soul. I know they will be there, somehow close to us tomorrow...
Thursday, July 20, 2006
On starting a photography business....
Okay, so I've been missing in action. Thank you to those who noticed and sent me an email (smiles to Krista!) And, I must admit that my Mom also has dropped some subtle hints.So, foolish me thought that starting a home photography business would be a snap. It has been WAY MORE WORK than I imagined. We've done it though--we have a beautiful studio and new carport/presentation room addition. We've dropped a load of money to make this happen. Now, we're biting our fingernails waiting for the phone to start ringing with appointments.
This is the hard part. The easy part is capturing the joy scattered in this world. Like the little girl above--how beautiful is she?! She was one of the models at my classroom shoot the other night. Wowsers. I love capturing a person's beauty on film (well, or memory card as it may be). I love photography and never stop wanting to be better. But, the marketing and hassles are tough.
Meanwhile, my Gabriel is crawling and pulling up all the time. He is so cute I could just smooch him to death. He now gives us "kiss kisses" which can end up in a nasty bite on your cheek if you don't watch those six toofers of his. He may have only six toofers, but he knows how to use them. And, he is totally bored with baby food. He wants what we have, NOW. Can't blame a boy for wanting the finer things in life.
We will have him baptized this Sunday. It will be a time of mixed emotion for me. The last time we baptized children it was because they were dying in our arms. I can't seem to get past that and the memories haunt me this week. I want Sunday to be all about Gabe, but I want to remember our precious babies, Sarah, Rachel and Noah too. It is hard when joy and sorrow collide.
We are blessed. I feel very fulfilled and excited about all that is going on. I will teach theology this fall and then a course in style in photography in the winter term. I'm very excited about both!
Thanks for hanging in with me...it has been a wild ride.
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