Let me announce to the world: I love being a Mommy. I love my little Max, the way he NEEDS me, like his life depends on it, hmmm oh yes, his life does depend on me! Somehow he made it to 6 1/2 months and I have not yet fed him any solids. You have heard me lament the fleeting nature of time before here, it is all going so fast... well my goodness isn't it time to give him some baby rice cereal or something? Nursing is an amazing thing. I just nurse and somehow he grows big and plump, but someday I need to get the high chair out of storage and put a spoon in his mouth!
Tell me, when did you feed your babe solids? Or stop nursing?
But, doesn't he look healthy? I am so blessed!!!
I also love that my kids are always with me. I love that we can do face painting in the middle of the day for no reason other than the girls were watching the musical 'Cats' after visiting some friends who had a Mama cat and 4 kittens (lily wrote me a note to say how much she wants a cat, but we can't as Matthew is highly allergic to them). Once they had cats on the brain they then wanted to be cats - princess cats, flower cats, never an ordinary cat!
Before I came to the US (fifteen years ago) I had worked for a number of years as a face painter for an entertainment company. It paid really well and was so much fun. I was paired with a juggler and sent around the country to fairs to paint faces. Well, I still have some of those face paints today! I probably paint my girls faces about 6 times a year. This week was one of those times. I was sitting on the porch checking emails and Laura arrive out with the face paints, brushes and some water! what could I do but make her a princess cat?
And of course when there is dress up, there is a photoshoot. It comes with the 'Artistic Mommy' territory, right?
I did paint the others, but they wouldn't come back outside, they were practicing their 'moves' inside with the music.
Ah, being a mother of little ones is a lovely thing. Thank you God, what a wonderful idea.
your baby is so cute! and that's so awesome that you love nursing so much! i love it, too. i nursed my youngest till he was 16 months. but i nursed him exclusively (just breast milk) till he was one year old. It's amazing how our bodies can produce all that our babies need for nourishment for their first year of life! What a miracle.
ReplyDelete:)
Motherhood is a wonderful idea! I love it too! Loved your post. I never knew about your history as a face painter! I nursed mine exclusively until 6 months and then added in solids. I weaned mine right around their first birthday. I LOVED nursing ... such an amazing feeling to know you are supplying just whst they need.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I want to drive out to see y'all in Magnolia. It looks like such a lovely, wonderful place.
How cool would it be to have "Face Painter" on your resume?
ReplyDeleteI love how your days flow ... the magic you stir up with your family and then celebrating it through your artwork. Thank you for mirroring the life I am so happy to be living (well, I need to buy some face paints!)
Recently we were watching video of our daughter from 3 years ago (age 2 1/2) and I was stunned to see how much she has grown and changed (and not changed - still hamming things up) - it all goes by so fast? But I find by creating art around my life as a mother, more of the details from these fleeting days gets seared into my memory and my experience feels fuller and richer.
Have a lovely weekend with your little cats :)
(here is my little doggy from Halloween - dressed as Hong Kong Phooey, a karate fighting/doggy superhero. I could use a tutorial on the face paints!
http://dandelionseedsanddreams.blogspot.com/2009/11/halloween-fun.html)
Your children are beautiful, and you seem to be doing things just right, from nursing to painting faces. :)
ReplyDelete(BTW, my son had mostly breastmilk till he was about nine months old, which was good, since he didn't like solids till he was a year old! We tried occasionally from around six or so months old until he finally figured out eating at around 14 months. :) But then, my son was a feeding squirt--he never could nurse, either.)
that is one very healthy looking baby, and so darn cute too! I just love that you were able to transform your kids to kitties upon request, what wonderful memories you are creating :) thank you so much for the lovely tag/bookmark you sent...it is just perfect for displaying in my studio and it will serv as inspiration for years to come.
ReplyDeleteLove it :) I always nurse until 12 months, almost exclusively until 8-9 months and I start out with veggies... rice cereal can do bad things to their little systems. It's best to start with the easier to digest stuff.
ReplyDeleteLove the painting :)
How funny! So cute :)
ReplyDeleteI nursed my first for 2 1/2 years then my second maybe 3 months ~it's a long story.
I can't remember food milestones too well for some reason!
Where did you live before you came to the U.S?
Take care,
Andrea
Your little Max is so adorable! Very cute picture of him!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your everyday life with your children....they grow up way too fast.
Your "babies" and cats are beautiful!! I want a cat face...and I want to dance today! So happy that you are enjoying your children so much...they do grow so quickly don't they? ♥
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable little chunk-a-lunk! There's nothing like a chubby baby, is there? And kudos to you for nursing exclusively so long :) My daughter I nursed until 22 months - and would have gone longer had I not been put on bed-rest with my son. Nate has just finished nursing, much to his dismay, as 26 months. I'd been pregnant and/or nursing for 5 years! With both kids, I started them on solids at around 6 months.
ReplyDeleteFace painter? I can see that! And how fun! I so love your photographs - so inspirational.
Love to see a nursed healthy baby! What a miracle!! I nursed my 1st just one month after several struggles with mastitis, my 2nd 10 months, and my 3rd almost a year. Just amazing how we can grow and nourish a baby!
ReplyDeleteAm loving The Artistic Mother...for week 1, I made "chore lists" for my kids and a weekly action plan page in addition to my papers. I love having my own papers to add to my projects!!
Have my poetry journal lay out and will post the finished cover in a few days. You can check out my first poem entry photo at my blog ~ jodeneshaw.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing,
jodi shaw
You are an incredible Artistic Mommy. Those photos blow me away!
ReplyDeleteThat picture of Max is priceless! Adorable, oh makes me start wanting to be a grandma. Yikes, no I can wait, my kids are only in their early twenties...but truly, adorable, as is your daughter.
ReplyDeleteYour kids are adorable, and your handsome boy looks very healthy. That sounds very cool, being a face painter! How fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to one day be a mommy, it is a wonderful idea :) I hope I won't have to work by the time my husband and I have kids, then I can play with them anytime during the day.
mythoughtsandtreasures.blogspot.com
i held max and he is doing just fine!! what a darling baby!! how is your back doing? i recently read that babies can't really digest rice/cereal well until they are closer to a year old. mine is on veggie/fruits right now.
ReplyDeletei am afraid to show my girls the photos because then they will want their faces painted and i don't have the right paint. i guess i could go to the store to get some, and while i am there, i could get many many other things to start many many other projects!
laura is so lovely and dramatic.
goodness yes! (to all of it!)
ReplyDeleteI must confess...I nursed my baby for three years and did not feed her her first solids until she was one! Baby days were the absolute most wonderful days for me and my heart...so magical...so sweet and so very lyrical....my baby...still inspires me..she is my ARTful Fairy Tale! Gosh, what a blessing is this thing...called Motherhood!
ReplyDeleteMax looks adorable!
ReplyDeleteSripathi is my first and only son, he is 6 months now and i just started giving him solids like sweet potatoes about an ounce a day. oh and i don't intend to stop nursing for quite sometime.
I'm getting several ideas from your blog, but i just don't have enough time to execute all of them. I think i have to maintain some kind of journal to write out my ideas so when i really get the time i don't have to wonder what i was thinking :)
i agree! being a mommy is one of the most wonderful things in the world! my daughter is now 20 years old but she is still my baby. i have forgotten when i started feeding solids but i remember that i nursed her until she was 2 years old. in my country, milk advertisements always include the line, "breast milk is best for babies up to 2 years" and so i told her she would have breast milk til her second birthday. when the day arrived, i told her, ok you are now 2 years old so tomorrow, no more milk from mommy. and she just said, ok!
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at how he has is own, unique identity. He looks so different than Matthew did.
ReplyDeleteyour face painting is pure magic!
ReplyDeletekt
OH MY! Max is the cutest little baby! I love the rolls he has. :) And great job face painting.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever let your children paint your face? I recall the magic of that moment...I looked aboriginal....I nursed both my sons for 1 year....solids at 6 mos. They are adults now....those moments linger as if they were just yesterday. Cherish the now of your children...
ReplyDeleteSusan
Thanks for the inspiration...posted Week 1 & Week 2 Artistic Mother projects at my blog. I am having a blast!
ReplyDeletewww.jodeneshaw.blogspot.com
Love weaving my passions together...mommy, writing, art, photography, etc.
~jodi shaw
i love ready how so many women waited to feed solids. breast milk is great why rush. he looks so happy and healthy. i have been thinking allot about this love for our children, i have many young friends who are having children now and this special love that we feel for them has got me to thinking hard on how there is no love like the love for a child. it never dies,it never lessens, it starts as soon as you see there face or hold them. no other love is like it. this pure forever love. makes me smile!enjoy
ReplyDeleteMan, Laura is a beauty! I just love her spirit.
ReplyDeleteI nursed all of mine for 16 months, both of the girls until 18. Hannah would have nursed longer but I weaned her to work on some health issues before baby #4 makes an appearance. None of my kids ate solids before a year, and then they were all pretty slow starters with them.
PS I saw your book at our Borders this week. I was so excited! I wanted to run around the place telling everyone to buy it because my friend Shona wrote it!! :-)
ReplyDeleteJNo kids here so I don't have any advice-- but your little guy is darling! He has such a sweet face.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend,
jj
Oh folks, thank you so much for all those insights and comments and happiness.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing for each and every one of you :)
Shona
I have nursed all of my babies exclusively the first year. I start mashed avacadoes and bananas when they turn a year and slowly move into more solid foods. I only do live foods at first, raw fruits & veges, no cereals. I am interested in optimum nutrition not fillers that enables them to sleep longer at night. By the time they are 14 and 15 months, they are starting to eat more solid foods. When they start eating food, I nurse them first so that they fill up on the most nutritious thing, the breast milk, then offer food. So they don't eat a lot of food, but they are getting the most of what's best for them. By the time they get close to a year and a half, they are eating lots of food. I nurse my babies until they are 4. The last couple of years of nursing is mostly in the morning and at night. All four of them have enjoyed great health free of antibiotics, ear infections, allergies and the like. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteI meant to add how great it is that Max has been solely nursed up to this point. You have avoided a lot of possible food allergies doing it this way. He looks very healthy. Good job, Mom.
ReplyDeletewhat an expressive sweetie she is!
ReplyDeletei started my kids on solids when they started grabbing my food and stuffing it in their mouths. ;-D he's such a rolly polly lovie.
xxo
I nursed my girls for 8 & 9 months. I wished I could've nursed both of them longer.
ReplyDeleteMotherhood is a gift. Enjoy your nursing time.
P.S. I just received your book for my birthday!!! I spent today looking through it -- wow! Can't wait to really dig in.
Hey, you don't ever have to put a spoon in his mouth if you don't want! You could give Baby-led Weaning (also sometimes called Baby-led Solids) a try like I did! Once a baby is over six months old you don't have to bother with purees or any of that - just hand over some 'normal' food! Of course there's a *little* more to it than that, but if you look around the internet you'll find plenty of information to see if it would suit you guys!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to be blessed with a handsome and adorable boy. I'm so excited to be a mom myself.
ReplyDeleteMax is so CUTE!!! My daughter is 4 1/2 months old and we breast fed (well pumpfed really, she couldn't latch) for the first three & a half months till I stopped making milk. Now it's formula unfortunately, but she's doing really well on it.
ReplyDeleteI had no intentions of starting her on solids until after she turned 6 months but she got a case of diarhea last week that wouldn't go away and the doctor suggested rice cereal because it can help stop or slow down the diarhea. It did the trick and she seems to like her rice cereal. I don't think we'll move on to other foods until after she hits 6 months though and even then we plan to go slowly. One new food every 2 weeks at most. I don't see any need to rush.
Love the face painting! I want to get a kit to paint Nora's face when she's a bit older. I doubt she'd appreciate it much now though it would probably make for adorable photos :)
am so glad i came across this post. my little one is 8 mos and i started solids just as i had (later actually) with my first. we have been dealing with digestive issues since - but i was feeling that i 'should' be giving him solids by now. can't tell you the exhale i breathed after reading through your comments from others. grazie!!! what a beautiful babe you have.
ReplyDeleteMotherhood is a wonderful idea!
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