Weeeeee! Just havin' fun!

If you ever spent any time in Charleston, you'd recognize the title of this blog post as the catch phrase for Gerald's Tires and Brakes. I miss that place. Charleston.... not Gerald's.

Anyway, we did our best to have a fun weekend.

The Tigers certainly helped. In case you don't follow Clemson football, we handed Auburn their first loss in I'm not sure how many games. Oh, and they won the national championship last year. Not shabby.  We were down 21-7 at one point. THEN I figured out that Mason had been pulling for the wrong Tigers.  We fixed that, and all was well.

After the game, we broke out the rice cereal.  He wasn't overjoyed, but he quickly figured out that if you open your mouth, they'll put that spoon full of stuff in there.

Not to be left out, Kate got a booster seat so that she can sit at the table now, and not in a high chair.

And then we had a little brother-sister bonding time tonight after Mason's bath.  She seems to be liking him more and more lately. I hope it sticks!

Reading Mason a book.

He's finally playing with a tractor Kate picked out for him before he was born.  Shortly after this shot, he stuck it in his mouth.

And finally, in an attempt to give the boy a new view, we busted out Old MacDonald's farm. He was content to suck on his hands. I think he might actually eat one of those fists one day.

Guess Who....

turned 4 months old today!?

This little big guy.

17.1 pounds (86th percentile)
24.5 inches long

And oh so charming.

Everyday Adventures

We love a good adventure, but who says you have to leave home to have one? Here are some of our everyday adventures.

We have a lot of tea parties. Even Mason joins in the fun.

Sometimes cooking dinner requires a little distraction. Lab coat and painting refrigerator magnets.

Giggling about books.

Playing Manger in a Snow White dress.

Camp-outs on the back porch.

Game Day!

Carowinds!

This past weekend Apex Tools had their annual employee appreciation celebration at Carowinds.  We weren't sure if Kate was old enough to really enjoy it, but we decided that it was free, so we might as well try it out. What a fun day!

Here we are! Priority #1? Find SNOOPY!

We didn't have to look long. This was VERY exciting for Kate.

We also found Lucy!! I know this picture is out of focus, but you can still tell how excited she was.

The Merry Go Round was up first. Did we ride a horse? Nope! The bench again. :D

Other popular rides? There was a train, a little helicopter that rode a track overhead, and of course the boats. "Pop likes boats!"

Kate, adventurous? Not so much.  Here she is contemplating the swings.

Lucky number 13! Not by accident, of course.  Here she is covering her ears for some reason.  She looked totally thrilled the entire ride. We were just proud they didn't have to stop the ride for her!

 Great day at Carowinds! Great day on Planet Snoopy!

Back to School!

Today was Kate's first day back at school.

We met an old friend in the parking lot.

Finding her classroom.

Her own hook!

I don't even remember her saying goodbye. She just walked in and sat at the table for coloring. I think it was a great first day! She even got to dress up like Snow White!

Who doesn't love a giraffe?

Or any zoo animal, really?  Kate won't tell you her favorite animal, so you have to read between the lines.  The ones she mentions most? Toucans, Penguins, Giraffes. Monday was an extra special zoo trip because.... NAN came along for the ride.  Oh, fun times! We braved the weather, in spite of a tropical disturbance, and it was quite lovely.  Kate was prepared with her frog boots - just in case there was a downpour (we left her ladybug umbrella in the car).

Turns out there were puddles that needed stomping.

The elephants were out spraying water and eating hay.

There was a cow that needed milking.  I will go ahead and admit that this was a hit because it involved water: spraying water, a bucket of water, getting wet... I'll also assure you that milking this fake cow was MUCH easier than milking a real cow. 

Nan says that the peacock is right up her alley. Another bonus to hitting the zoo at 9 am? No line for the merry-go-round. Therefore, no competition for the peacock.

This is the HIT of the little playground.  Seriously. Every time we have to wait in line to play with this spinning maze. Bizarre.

Oh, and Nan actually shops in and spends money in the gift shop. Kate might ask to bring Nan back every time! Whenever she begs me for things from the gift shop (or any store, really), I certainly never, ever say: "maybe when you come back with Nan...."

Giraffes!!!

Thanks Nan! you sure did make the day special!