pictures by Parker

Parker had an old point-and-shoot camera a few years back. It had been sitting around, mainly collecting dust, since its previous owner had retired it in favor of a DSLR or, let’s be serious, an iPhone. I gave it to him, and he was thrilled. He got it just before we left for our big sabbatical abroad. Once we came back, he used it for at least a few more months, before it finally bit the dust. Prior to its official goodbye, it had made Parker so very happy. I’d see him on the floor getting the perfect angle to take pictures of his car set ups or, what were my absolute favorite to see later, him setting it up with the self-timer and hopping in a picture with Anders, Steve, Lindsey, whomever. After it bit the dust, it took me far too long to get a cord that would actually plug into the camera and my computer to get the pictures off it. It could barely turn on, but we salvaged it just enough to retrieve its precious pictures! (And they’re seriously so precious.) That first one up top is the first picture of our trip when we ordered pizza while waiting for a ferry at Lake Como. The first pizza of many.I loaded them to my computer a few months back, and then finally sat down with Parker not long ago to scroll through them. He’d been asking. (I think, mainly, because he remembers some specific toys he liked from the apartment in Orvieto–his memory is like a steel vault–and he wanted to see them again.) I’ve been planning to put them together in book form for him, and this is where you can really see how behind I am in life, for about 2 years. Maybe I should print them out at CVS. Really old school, and let him slip them into photo album sleeves the way we used to do. Speaking of, can you still buy those kinds of photo albums??The pictures of this little one taken by his big brother that he just adores were some of my favorites. Feels like I get to be in their moment and see what they see when they look at each other. I hope it’s always love. These floors in Orvieto that Anders learned to army crawl on. And that green skirt that I basically wore every other day while we were there.  Look at all that hair!  Who knows what we were discussing but I was definitely nursing little Anders here which makes me all sorts of nostalgic. Another favorite nursing picture from that trip.
Big smiles for a little photographer. Lindsey perhaps not wanting her picture taken?!
It was in Praiano that he really got the hang of the self-timer and I have lots of the above pictures in this particular Airbnb. They kill me. Believe it or not I only included a few of the many. This is when Lindsey somehow knocked the microwave plate out and it smashed into a million pieces in our Rome airbnb. It didn’t stand a chance against those hard floors. And man, were those Italian floors tricky with a learning to crawl baby. Now we’re in Switzerland. Instead of any pictures of the views, he took a lot of his toys and the toys at the Airbnb.Poor woman!Oh wait, here’s one of the view! Sort of. He took some good shots of London! I love seeing what really interested him based on what he took pictures of. Back home! Gosh, the way he’s holding onto me here. I remember this. I believe it is Parker we have to thank for the decorations on Anders’ face. See? It’s really true. After a certain time, real pants always come off and pajama pants go on. Business on top, party on the bottom. Steve and he have done this a million times in all sorts of places all over the house. What is Anders thinking here? “I’m over this” perhaps. I think I was vacuuming out the couch crevasses. Anders’ new shoes! The only time he was allowed to wear them on the couch. They’re so itty bitty.
Ah yes. Anders used to pull every single book off the shelf. Every day, multiple times a day. Another set up! Parker and cousin Nora (just the other day he asked if you can marry cousins. When my Mom asked who he meant, he said, “Nora.” Oh buddy, I wish!) He suddenly looks so much older in this last one. Ending with this sweet face.

I feel like I was given such a gift with these pictures Parker took and seeing things through his eyes for a moment. Thanks, Parker! I love you.

P.S. We replaced his dead camera with another one this Christmas. I try my best not to advise him not to take 38 pictures of the same page of the Lego catalog but to let him do his own thing. Art is in the eye of the beholder, or something like that, right?