My Life Parenting Photography

The 4-6 Weeks Project (Week Three)

I’m taking photographs of Eleanor and August each day until baby number three arrives, to document our last 4-6 weeks as a family of four. I first did this project to document our time as a family of three before August was born.

{ Week OneWeek TwoWeek ThreeView All }

August 29

First sick day from school for you, Eleanor, and you were pretty sad about it. You love school and really wanted to go. You spent the day drawing and resting, and of course seemed completely well after being so sick all night. And August, you met your new teacher today — the same teacher Eleanor had at your age!

August 30

Magna-Tiles. All day, every day. Grandma Helen got a set of these a couple of years ago for the both of you, and expanded on the collection with a transparent set last year for Christmas. You both love to create elaborate structures with them — apartments, jails, fences, hospitals…

August 31

We had some friends over with kids the same ages for a back to school celebration. You all dressed up as Ninja Turtles (yes, again) and went nuts on the inflatable bad guy. Eight kids in the house with toy weapons could have been a recipe for disaster, but everyone had a great time and made it through with no injuries. (Phew!)

September 1

The movie wasn’t one of your favorites (too scary at the end), but you both like the music from Little Shop of Horrors — especially the song about “people who live downtown, but don’t want to,” as Eleanor put it. Today, daddy found his old Audrey II bank, and you took turns feeding it coins. Still works, thirty years later!

September 2

Eleanor, you are lobbying hard for a “five-year-old pet,” and have been for a while. A hamster is probably in your near future, but you don’t know that yet. Today, you claimed that this toy centipede wants to be your classroom pet, and you’re hoping there will be a show-and-tell day so you can bring it for everyone to see!

September 3

Somersaults, jumping, and wrestling on the bed after dinner is a favorite activity around here. Daddy gets nervous, but mama kind of lets you two have at it (within reason!). Your antics, along with the uncomfortable state of being SO pregnant, have mama wishing for a king-sized bed these days.

September 4

First day of school for you, August! You went to nursery school last year too, but it was just two hours at a time, two days a week. Now you’re up to three hours, four times a week. You weren’t a big fan before, but we’re hoping you’ll enjoy it more now that you’re a little older.

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  • Ashley Bee
    September 10, 2014 at 11:00 am

    I really like your photo project – it’s a great idea!

    I also wanted to quickly suggest a different “five year old” pet — a fancy rat. I know, they sound creepy and awful but they are VERY intelligent and friendly. They are awake during the day and love interacting with people. You can even teach them tricks and/or their names. They are social so it’s best to buy a pair – you could get one for each kiddo. :) I think their slightly larger size would be easier for kids to handle safely. Plus, they are so much cuter than the name “rat” suggests – google them!

    • Geneviève
      September 10, 2014 at 12:11 pm

      I agree! My sister had a hamster and honestly… it was pretty boring. We couldn’t really play with it (he would just try to run away) and he didn’t feel good at all with us petting him (we are 10 and 13 yo, so old enough to be delicate).

      Our neighbors however had a rat. I know, kinda creepy, but the little guy was awesome! He seemed to have fun going through little obstacle courses and he loooooved it when we were petting him. He also loved to curl on my neighbour’s shoulder when he was watching tv/reading, etc.

      In the end, your kids have to love their pet, so if rats are not their thing (or yours), you are certainly better off with a pet everyone will love :)

      Oh, and the 4-6 project are some of my favorite posts ever! Yours kids are super cute and we can feel your love for them in the description you write for each picture.

    • Ilse
      September 10, 2014 at 2:48 pm

      I had two rats a couple of years ago. You really can not keep them alone since they are so social and you really need a BIG cage.

      We had two females who weren’t all that much fun, they were very active and never sat still to just cuddle. Male rats are a lot bigger and a LOT less active, so good for cuddling and you get more attention while you try to teach them something. Male rats smell way worse tough, and I found the two females had a rather unpleasant smell allready, and we cleaned that entire big ass cage every other day.

      I think a solitary hamster, from a good breeder so it’s used to being picked up and such, might be a better choice. I don’t ever want rats again.

      (Also, my rats always peed on me. Never on my boyfriend or any other male, but always on me.)

      • Geneviève
        September 10, 2014 at 8:35 pm

        Moral of our stories : I guess each pet is unique? I suppose we could find tons of people with good and bad experiences with pretty much any kind of pet, so in the end, it’s a matter of taste.

        I hope you will find the perfect companion for Eleanor, and for the whole family :)

    • Making it Lovely
      September 11, 2014 at 1:03 pm

      Brandon had a pet rat, growing up! And I had all kinds of small pets: mice, a hamster, a hedgehog, and a bunny. We’d be open to a rat, but I think they need more room that we might want to dedicate to a new pet right now.

  • Alison
    September 10, 2014 at 1:05 pm

    These are all so cute! We got a California king bed last year because my husband is tall and love it.

  • Celeste
    September 10, 2014 at 1:30 pm

    I love this project! Your kids are so expressive and into the best stuff. They have to be just about the most fun kids ever.

  • isadora
    September 10, 2014 at 10:18 pm

    UGH. I had that Audrey II bank! I LOVED IT.

  • Kristina
    September 11, 2014 at 12:34 am

    Hamsters are pretty boring and they don’t have a very long life span. To each is own with the rats though…… yuck! lol

    How about a bunny? Or even a small dog? My brother is a vet with two small children with lots of pets and the younger the children the more adaptable they are to learning how to treating animals and being responsible for them. Once they can feel the reciprocity of affection from the pet they take pride in caring for the animal. It is hard to feel love from a hamster. But they are good secondary pets for children who demonstrate the need to nurture things.

    • Making it Lovely
      September 11, 2014 at 1:01 pm

      I had a bunny in my early twenties! We already have cats and a dog here, but Eleanor wants something small that she can take care of (mostly) herself. Fish, hamster, guinea pig, mouse… something like that.

  • Jessica
    September 11, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    Wow, an Aundrey II bank! That’s awesome! We had a Little Shop of Horrors game where you filled the plant up with marbles and when it got too full it snapped shut. It scared the crap out of me. I love that movie. I can’t wait to introduce it my daughter when she’s old enough.

  • The 4-6 Weeks Project (Week Four) | Making it Lovely
    September 21, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    […] Week One • Week Two • Week Three • Week Four • View All […]

  • Erin
    September 28, 2014 at 10:43 am

    Have you made a template (blurb, publisher, shutterfly) for readers to duplicate this awesome project?