June Portrait

It is a Saturday morning in the summertime. We load shovels and buckets, beach towels and sunscreen, chairs and an umbrella in the back of our car. We eat breakfast while we drive in the early morning light down Folly Road. Happy summer music plays on the stereo. We park at 9th Street, cross the one-way street to the walkover and take a deep breath. Only a handful of people arrive before us. We select our spot and kick off our shoes. August and I immediately walk to the water where we fill a bucket and a blue dump truck in the waves. Daddy and Boston get to work with the shovels. We are soon covered in salt and sand and laughing.

See our other monthly portraits here.

May Portrait

After our dinner, Boston is too dirty to bother wiping off. I strip his clothes and plop him in the clean kitchen sink. He plays with the sprayer and giggles in delight. I give him a plastic bowl and wooden spoon for play. August, of course, wants to join him. I empty the basin next to Boston and lift August into place. After twenty minutes of laughing and splashing and general mess, the boys are clean and ready for pajamas.

Later that evening as I wash the dinner dishes, I wonder if sinks are made to support the weight of my children. 

Meet the Bear: Part 4 || A Loy Family Video

This is part four and my favorite section. Isn't Brandon a genius at pulling your heart strings? This final section sums up the last two months of Boston's first year. The final song in the film, Don't You Want to Thank Someone, is the song that played as Boston was born. As always, thanks for watching and participating in the joy we receive from these two boys.

Photo by Janie Koike of Life Writing Photography, shared with permission.

To view parts 1-3, click here.

Meet the Bear: Part 3 || A Loy Family Video

This is the third part of Boston's First Year: November 2015 to February 2016. Our Boston Bear is 6 - 9 months old. He starts crawling and the boys play together. August looses a bit of his baby voice and  composes longer sentences. His growing vocabulary is a delight.

Thanks for watching. For other films in this series, click here.

Meet the Bear: Part 2 || A Loy Family Video

Here is Part 2 of our Boston film, spanning July to October 2015. Boston is 2 to 5 months old here; August is 2.5 and in the thick of potty training. (Insert hair-pulling emoji here.) The summer was long and hot and sticky; we splashed in a lot of water and took a lot of early morning walks to the park. I also bought a lot of bags of pebble ice from our local Sonic. Anyhow, enjoy this little collection from our days with our sons.

For other films in this series, click here.

Meet the Bear: Part 1 || A Loy Family Video

Meet the Bear documents Boston Wilder's first year with us. The end product is over an hour so I will be posting it in four parts here this week. Every time Brandon makes a film, I am overwhelmed with appreciation for his talent and this beautiful life we have together.

Thanks for watching. Let us know what you think.

April Portrait

August gathers the toys: wooden digger, plastic shovel, several sticks. He removes his clothing down to his underwear "so they don't get dirty." Barefoot, he sits in the dirt driveway with his toys around him. He scoops and digs and scrapes. 

After a minute or two, he asks us to join him. I carry Boston in his green onesie and place him on the ground beside August. 

"The wind is blowing, August. Watch that the dirt doesn't get in BB's eyes." 

I stand back and watch them play together. Boston eats the shovel. August scoops dirt and watches it blow away in the breeze. Their eyes meet and they both giggle. 

We will have baths before dinner tonight. 

***

Photo taken by Janie of Life Writing Photography. This is one of the many gorgeous shots she took in our family mini-session this Spring. I plan to post several more in a few days after the birthday hustle has died down. If you are local, I highly recommend her services.

March Portrait

Their relationship is best defined as "follow the leader." Boston crawls so August crawls. August laughs so Boston laughs. Boston throws his food on the floor so August throws his too. August plays with trucks and Boston is not far behind. They join forces in testing boundaries and teaming up against Mumma now. May they one day use this mutual attraction to challenge and encourage each other to walk the Lord's path.

February Portrait

Brotherhood. A privilege to behold the unfolding and development of their precious relationship. One clearly ready for the other to grow up for games of chase, truck smashing, bubble popping. The other adoring and admiring and stretching himself to join. One encouraging, one following close behind. They lose themselves in fits of giggles, dance to the same songs, play with the same beloved toys. It won't be long before they are plotting and planning adventure together. May they always be friends. May they always look out for each other.

The Weekend.

Weekends are everyone's favorite. We take turns sleeping in and napping. We cook big, time-consuming breakfasts of pancakes, yogurt and strawberries or waffles with syrup and blueberries or eggs, bacon and grits. We go to Baguette Magic or Bagel Nation for pastries, coffee and breakfast sandwiches. We play games on the floor and kick the ball in the yard. We drive to the store and shop as a family. We watch movies, make pizza and pop popcorn. We make effort to preserve our weekends, to savor our time together, to rest amongst those dearest to our hearts. We try to enjoy the weekdays too, but nothing is as sweet as the weekend.

May your Valentine's weekend be filled with the finest of things.

January Portrait

We live in Grammie's backyard. Her brick house has a long wooden ramp off the back porch for easy access for the elder members of our family. But no one delights more in this ramp than August. Every sunshine moment, he asks to race trucks on Grammie's ramp. 

In the afternoon, after the boys wake from their naps, we drive the trucks over to Grammie's ramp. August runs up and down the ramp, pushing his yellow metal Tonka truck. I kick his blue plastic truck up the ramp to him. The wheels are smaller than the Tonka wheels so it gets stuck often. Boston squeals in my arms. To the joy of both boys, I sit Boston in the back of the blue truck and push him up the ramp, down the ramp and through the grassy yard. They giggle in delight.

Capture the Day Session: Summer 2014

A personal goal of mine is to do quarterly #capturetheday sessions each year. On July 17th, a Thursday, I picked up my camera and pen to document and detail our day together. Here is our ordinary and extraordinary day in the Summer of 2014:

5:50 am

August wakes crying loudly; I go in and he settles back to sleep immediately. I hold and rock him for 30 minutes longer since he so rarely sleeps on me. Brandon gets up to take over for a bit, but by 7am, we are all awake. 

7 am

August plays in our bed between us. We give him the remote for the overhead street lights and he sort of snuggles with us. After he throws the remote behind the bed, we show him pictures and videos on our phone camera roll. Once he is too antsy for snuggles, we put him on the floor and let him roam the upstairs. He takes the giant Chick-fil-A cup from my nightstand and drinks all my water. What he doesn't drink, he dumps out when he uses the cup as a sword by grabbing the straw.

8 am

We are out of prepped oatmeal so August snacks raisins, Cheerios and milk as I prepare more of our tried-and-true oatmeal recipe.

Boil water. Peel and cut the fruit (apple, banana, peach). Boil the fruit. Add cinnamon and old-fashioned oats: whole and milled. Boil until soft. Cool and serve. 

Brandon comes downstairs to make his lunch and coffee for work. He will be gone by 8:30 so we try to enjoy our time with him. After he leaves we eat breakfast, August and I. Cereal and coffee for me; oatmeal with blueberries for August. It's been blueberries or strawberries all summer long.

9 am

I light a candle and play worship music for calm serenity. We play with blocks on the living room floor. August normally hands them to me, I build a tower and he knocks it down. He spreads out while playing and makes a much larger mess than he did a month ago. I consider walking down to the park but it's already 90 and very humid. 

When August needs a new diaper we go upstairs to get ready for the day. I grab my phone and coffee and camera since I'm taking pictures today. I walk slowly behind August as he crawls up, up, up. We read books and play with Tonka trucks. August sets his jaw and tucks a stuffed animal tightly under his chin.

10 am

We share pre-nap snuggles in the chair to calm August's system. Set the room to "nap mode": Curtains closed. Both sound machines on- yes, two. Fan on high. Sneezy the Panda, Owlie the Owl, water cup and book in the crib. I continue to rock in the chair for a few minutes since he's extra cuddly. Reluctantly, I put August in his crib and go downstairs to work on Spice research. My desk requires a candle, coffee, water and two computers to aid the speed of research. 

11 am

August fussed after sleeping for half an hour but then settled again. I take a short coffee break to stretch when my dad calls to cancel tomorrow's lunch. Back to more Spice work until August wakes at ten til noon.

12 pm

We walk to visit with Mum who is working at Rutledge's house around the corner. August walks the entire way and even turns up the right path to his uncle's front door. I help Mum shift some boxes on the third floor and laugh at old, childhood memories. August meets my bear, Bubblegum Pink (nn Pinky) and the peg cobbler toy. We stay until our stomachs begin to growl.

1:30 pm

Mum joins us for lunch of last night's leftovers: Greek chicken on pita with cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. 

2 pm 

We dessert on iced coffee and visit for a bit while August plays with blocks and his spaceship. Mum brought pictures of August on the MG so we look and talk about her upcoming trip to New York for Rutledge's wedding. He gets cranky for a nap. 

3 pm

Nap time for August and Mumma. To unwind, I grab the iPad to read blogs and the news but learn of the Malaysian flight crash. 298 people. Gone. Torn apart in a Ukrainian field. For a long time, I sit and stare and pray. I eventually read Swistle to calm my nerves and doze off for 15 minutes. 

4:15 pm

August wakes after 30 minutes asleep. He's snuggly and wanting to be close. I give him two crackers and milk and pull the bread dough from the bowl. I've let it sit for 24 hours- I hope it still turns out nicely.

Oven on, pot in oven. Counter floured and doughed.

Waiting on the oven and snuggling on the couch with my favorite little man. He's been into the really soft things lately so he loves being on the couch and pretending to sleep. Why do kids find that hilarious? 

5 pm

Bread in the oven and dishes cleaned up from the day. August plays with his Tonka truck and our World Cup balloons. He watches on tiptoes as the neighbors splash in their kiddie pool next door. Brandon is home by 5:30; they play together while I bring in the diapers, boil pasta and set the table. 

6 pm

Dinner. August gets stripped to his diaper since we're having spaghetti for dinner. We all devour the homemade bread and fresh butter from Happy Cow Creamery. I sip a glass of wine because pasta calls for it. We discuss future travel plans, Brandon's work and August's big adventurous walk to Uncle Rutledge's today. We wipe August's hands, peel the spaghetti off his belly and the boys go upstairs for bath time. August crawls up slowly but happily. I clean the dishes, wipe the counters and sweep the floors. 

7 pm

After filling August's water cup, I grab a banana and head upstairs for stories. I meant to deliver the banana during bath time. We read stories and play a bit longer than usual. August is so joyful and thrives when both Brandon and I are around. Hugs and bed for August who continues to play in his crib for some time.

8 pm

After August is in bed, I try not to look at the clock until I am headed to bed. The rest of my day is so timed and monitored, it's lovely having chunks of time at the end of the day to lose track of. 8 pm until bed is an unmonitored mixup of exercise videos, blog posting, shower, laundry and reading. I'm in bed with my book by 11:30 pm.

View our other Capture the Day sessions here.

A Letter to my Brother || Abram

Abram & Me in Ikea 2010

Dear Abram,

It's 5 am and I'm rocking August to sleep. You are probably awake too- reading, playing a video game, laughing with Dayne. I love that. 

I want you to know that I love you and the man you're becoming. Since middle school I've loved talking literature and film with you. I see that you are kind and gentle for all of your lumbering height over my 5 feet negligible inches. Your humor often surprises me and your creativity is compelling. 

You were always a boys' boy and never seemed too interested in your girly sister. But I have a few poignant memories from our childhood. Especially sledding down a two and a half foot hill behind the gas station. From swimming games at Chestnut to bike rides and jousting at Leaky Creek to screaming my guts out at your basketball game when you made the last second 3 point shot for the win- I've loved every minute of being your sister. 

I have a secret to tell you... We're all still lost and searching. But you will learn, if you haven't already, that when the small things click, you follow them and slowly a path is revealed. You'll find your way, Abe. Just remember to say yes. Opportunities don't come up more than once. 

August has a good uncle in you. I love that you play crazy games with your niece and nephews. Just wait until they're big enough to tackle YOU. 

You'll always have my love,

Claire

Ps- I always liked your name best. 

Our Independence Weekend || Part 02: Clemson

Muldrow (our library)

On Saturday, we breakfasted on the back deck before wandering backroads to Clemson. We strolled the campus, explored Muldrow and walked around Death Valley. We stopped for lunch at Pot Belly's (of course) and drove through downtown Central past our old house. 

Harden (the History building)

Being back in those buildings resurfaced my love of research and study; something about the early mornings and late nights spent in Harden and Muldrow, buzzing on caffeine and exam jitters. I wish I could be a full-time student; I am also extremely content with my life today. Perhaps one day I'll go back to school. 

In the meantime, I am glad this How to Study in College book is getting so much use. Keep studying, kids. 

Our Independence Weekend || Part 01: Linville Gorge

We escaped to the Upstate last weekend for cooler weather. We knew the coast was supposed to be rainy and were feeling trapped in a heat cloud. Brandon decided it was time we cool down in some caverns. Fortunately there are caverns not too far from our good friends, the Reeves, so they were able to join us on the 4th of July for some caving and waterfall hiking. (Apparently, Nora Dog really likes me.)

Linville Cavern was really interesting and the perfect length of time for August. He wanted to walk the whole time, but it was slippery and rocky so we carried our squirmy boy. The bridge over the bottomless spring was really colorful but kind of creepy. When they turned the lights off for total darkness, August turned his head back and forth searching for light. 

We then drove up the road to hike a bit in Linville Gorge. The lookouts over Linville Falls, the most popular waterfall in the Blue Ridge, provided some beautiful views. August smiled and squealed from his spot in the hiking backpack; that kid loves to be outside. 

Exhausted from our day, we spent the evening in the pool, watching the hummingbirds and waiting on the lightning bugs. We were chilled several times throughout the beautiful, humidity-free day. We could not have asked for lovelier weather.

I am also happy to report that several things on my list of 30 were checked off. I'm working on an updated post to track my progress. Only 2.5 months left!

Father's Weekend

{Writing in this space serves several purposes: one being text for our family photo albums. I try to include a lot of journaling in our albums because the words are as important to me as the images. When I go back to make my yearly album, I pull portions of my journal, August's journal and blog posts. When you see me post events weeks late and seemingly no longer relevant, it is most likely to have an accounting of the events for our albums. That being said, here is my recap of Father's Day for posterity and future (photo-album-assembling) me.}

. . .

Leading up to Father's Weekend (as I plan on calling it from now on), I asked Brandon what he wanted to do. I believe I said, "for Mother's Day, I wanted to read in bed, sleep! and not be in charge of diapers or nap time routine. What about you?" Brandon's response: play video games. Brandon will go months on end without talking about or playing video games. He then has a week-long binge play until he forgets about it (presumably) for the next few months. For Father's Weekend 2014, Brandon played video games. But we also did some other things too...

Friday evening, we had my mum and dad over for homemade pizza, big salads and cocktails. Dad drank his favorite screwdriver while Mum and I sipped mojitos and Brandon had rum runners. We laughed and talked and played with August. My favorite part was handing out presents. I made silhouettes of the 3 grandkids for Dad and gave Brandon a silhouette of August. (Tutorial to come!) After August was in bed, we spent about 45 minutes discussing a crewel embroidery picture I purchased that week. I love it; Brandon despises it. Mum and Dad carried on with jokes about it- stirring the pot even more. It was hilarious and light-hearted. (You can see a portion of it in the picture above. Thoughts?)

We packed the car early Saturday morning and headed to Sullivan's Island. Since August and Brandon both love the beach I thought we should visit it at least once on Father's Weekend. August walked back and forth from the water to our chairs. I've only given him cheerios at the beach as a treat and he knew right where to find them. My favorite part about being at the beach with August are the post-swim snuggles in the shade.

The rest of the weekend was spent at home watching World Cup games, playing old-school video games (Zelda!) and eating delicious treats. We ate Emily's oatmeal pancakes and bacon for breakfast, fresh bread, mozzarella and pepperoni for dinner and the renowned chocolate orange cake throughout. Aside from the silhouette now hanging in our bedroom, Brandon received The Grand Budapest Hotel which we watched and loved (no surprise there).

Late Sunday evening, the brothers came over for the Game of Thrones finale. Brandon made rice crispy treats, Jackie brought cookies and Tiffany made a tasty dip. We watched the episode, spend an hour discussing everything that happened and then I stood up to give a lecture on Westerosi geography. The situation stands out as one of my finest nerd moments ever.

Brandon, celebrating you is my favorite. Thank you for all that you are; thank you for being you.

A Strange Anniversary, A Farewell to Nursing and my Best Parenting Advice

This week marks the anniversary of my return to work after maternity leave. (Fortunately, on the actual anniversary I was too busy to think about it.) That day last year was so difficult; I cannot look at the pictures of August I took that morning without tearing up. I accomplished nothing that day in the office and I left early to get back home to August. We have come a long way since then. Most noticeable is that I now work from home part-time instead of going into the office. (And Brandon has a totally different job.)

06.17.2013

I really like the balance we've been able to strike. I work during naps and a bit on the weekend so that I can be present with August while he is awake. Occasionally I check email while he is up but for the most part, I am able to avoid it. Having to keep track of my hours helps me leave work alone until I have a chunk of free time. Not every day is perfect; too often I forget to mentally "clock out" when August wakes up and I fret about a certain source or phrase or email. With every new stage, this balance will certainly need tweaking. For now, this system works well enough.

06.17.2013

This week also marks the official beginning of the end of nursing. The plan is to alternate nights: one night I'll nurse August before bed, the next Brandon will give August a cup of milk as they rock to calm for sleep. I really miss nursing already but know we are all reaching a place where it needs to taper off.

06.18.2014

My best parenting advice is this: do what works for your family: you, baby and husband. No one else is living your situation. Child care, nursing, co-sleeping, CIO, cloth diapers... you name it, that is my advice. Different methods work in different circumstances. Working at the office did not work for our family; I am humbled and amazed at the Lord's providence in allowing me to work part-time from home. Nursing until nearly 15 months worked for our family; I am thankful for the relative ease with which we were able to nurse this long. Everything seems to ebb and flow like the tide.

Are you transitioning a phrase in your life? Are you having a hard time letting go? If you know what it is, are you excited or anxious for the next stage?

October.

 I've been taking monthly photos of August on his birthday. I keep meaning to post them all here for posterity sake. This is August: 6 months old.

Mum, August and I took a very last minute, very quick trip to Starke to meet baby Owyn and to hug Emily's neck. Ali came to surprise us all too! The gathering of women to snuggle babies, drink coffee and share our hearts is one of my favorite things. 

Lilah and Owyn

Lilah's eyes!

 We started giving August fruits and veggies on my birthday. (I thought that would help me remember the date.) Since then, he eats anything we give him. Carrots, peas and pears are favorites. He likes avocado if its slightly warmed (odd!) and zucchini with garlic and basil. Feeding this boy is such fun. (I was really dreading the "solids" stage but have been surprised to find it easy, laid back and simple.)

In mid- October, Roman and Jenny visited for a long weekend. Off to the pumpkin patch we went...

Jackson (2), Mairn (4), and August (6 mo.)

Justin and Andra visited too! What a fun cousin month we've had! Their children have never been to a big, sandy American beach and they were enthralled. Brandon is working on a little film project that will capture our weekend and their excitement more than my photos...

Andra, Justin, Jonas (7), Anna (5), Evie (2)

 For small group, we took a night to eat chili and yummy cookies and carve pumpkins. Here are some of our creations...

Will, Sam, Kaitlin, Bran and August

 Finally, a current favorite of my boy in his Wild shirt.