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!

Fun Day!

Once again it is late and I should be sleeping, not blogging.  Instead I will share some fun pictures from our fun day!

It was preschool orientation day today. Kate got to meet her new teachers.  

Ready to go! (Check out those princess-y shoes!)

I think our child was the only one that spent any time at the book station.  I also think she read them all. Before school starts. Such a book worm - thanks Nan!

After work we had family picnic night at Riverfront Park.  She kept asking where the park was.  "We're in it."  I think park = playground for Kate.  She didn't complain, however, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Mason just hanging out.

Kate, doing her best not to eat any of her grilled cheese.

Hugging her favorite Chesh Prince.

Family Portrait.

There was a train that blew its horn for us - and the conductor waved!

Mama and the cute babies!

What a fun night we had! The weather was perfect - gotta do this again soon. Although there were a couple of times I was sure Don was never going to want to do it again. :)

Sharing the Gospel

I have a two year old (going on three).  We've had some trying times the last few days. Even sleep hasn't been all that peaceful, apparently. This is how I found her the other morning when I turned on the light.

 A very sweet friend of mine shared this link (Click HERE) on her blog, and it really has application in my life right now.  I've never quite looked at it this way, but I'll be sharing the gospel with Kate tonight and from here on out. :) AND I forwarded it to Don, because fathers have just as much opportunity to "apply what (they) believe about God’s mercy and kindness and long suffering towards us."

In other news, Kate gets to visit her new teachers tomorrow! Fun pictures to follow!

Easy

When things get kinda crazy and I find myself dropping things or tripping over myself, Don always says: Easy. As in.. take it easy. And I'm not always really good at taking it easy. So I'm trying. Trying to embrace some of the chaos. Accept that the "keeping room" is a wreck with toys 98% of the time. Afterall, isn't it more important that we're enjoying each other and making memories than that the couch cushions are anywhere close to the couch. It sounds so intuitive, right? 

Anyway, we've been pretty wrapped up in princesses around here.  Perhaps you know that Kate has been wearing a Snow White dress practically every day for the past 3 weeks.  Well, I finally had enough of the chocolate stained, fraying Toys R Us costume and purchased a new one from the Disney store. Here she is opening the package that came directly from Mickey.

And here's the new dress!  It's very glittery.... we're going to be finding Snow White glitter when we're 80 (I hope). Seriously, there's glitter everywhere - Mason's head, Don's chin...

And what princess dress is complete without light-up shoes?

Of course, we watch a lot of princess movies around here too.  Like the other day when Kate and Mason watched Beauty and the Beast. The boy loved it.

Even though in this shot he's looking like he might need me to save him.

I think that this is good blackmail for both of them one day.

Remember when Mason used to watch Beauty and the Beast?

With his big sister... in her underwear?

And in news kind of unrelated to princesses, Grandma and Grandaddy visited today.  Grandma brought Kate a book and an image projector of what else? Princesses.  When I told Kate Grandma was coming, she said: "Is she going to read me books?" Well of course!

Here's Mason riding a horse. Which is pretty funny considering the fact that he can't sit up yet.  Now, friends, you know where Don gets his renegade Daddy rules. Turns out Grandma plays a mean game of chase as well.

I'll try to be a little better at posting, but remember that I'm working on taking it "Easy"

Just a Wednesday

It was a good Wednesday.  It started off with happy kids on the way to Nan's. No crying, pouting, whining. Just smiling and singing. Then we came home and I convinced Kate and Mason to have a little photo session on the front porch.

Kate Snow White hadn't had a true nap, just a "rest." She might not have been very excited initially. I offered to let her hold Mason White Rabbit but she preferred that he stay in his bouncy.

She did eventually scoot over and give him a kiss.

There was chalk art.

And Mason was a happy boy (as he always is outside).

Not much to say.... We're just trying to get into a groove around here.

How do I get supper fixed?

Don occupies Kate with Madeline on the iPad.

Mason naps.

Today I asked Kate to please be quiet while I was trying to get Mason to nap. Her response: I'll think about it.  Surely that's not what she said. I did have a baby crying in my ear. At least she said it nicely.

Mason is changing so quickly. He smiles and coos and grabs at his toys.  Now he's laughing at Kate... it's pretty darn cute. I'll try to get some video.  In the mean time, here he is enjoying tummy time.

Working Mom

Yesterday was my first day back at work. Here we all are at the drop-off at Nan's.  It went pretty well... after we convinced Kate to get out of the car.

Aren't we clever?

There are days when I am quite proud to have outsmarted my 2 year old.  I know full well that because I'm writing this, she will be onto me tomorrow and I'll have to find new ways to fool her, but for today I am feeling quite clever. If you need some clever ideas, please, steal these.  I hope they work once or twice for you.

1.  Eat your vegis!

Maybe you don't know that Kate isn't a vegi eater.  She will eat broccoli and some cucumber, but that's about it.  My attempt to make Zucchini muffins? She took one look and told me she didn't want them because they had cucumbers in them. Eh? I couldn't even see it, but she knew. So I am always looking for new ways to trick coax her into eating vegis.  She is always asking for those cute little apple sauces in the squeezy pouches, so when I ran across these, I thought... BINGO!  Tonight she had spinach, mango and pear for dinner. Spinach! Clever!!  Now, please know that she spotted those little leaves on the front of the package and told me this one had apples and leaves in it.  I assured  her that the leaves were just decoration, but I'm certain she knows better. Personally, I don't think it tastes great, but she doesn't seem to mind.  She's also had apple/butternut squash and sweet potato/carrot/apple/cinnamon (which is quite tasty). At any rate, if you have a picky eater, it's worth a shot.  The smaller ones are actually baby food, but the larger ones are for toddlers. Oh, and if you chill them, they don't seem to taste so weird. There are also juices out there that combine both fruits and vegis, but taste fruity. Full serving of vegis in every glass!

2. Lollipop Lollipop, oh Lolly Lolly Lolly Lollipop! (Pop! Ba dum dum dum)

Kate loves lollipops. I find them a huge sticky mess.  I also don't like the little ones because I'm paranoid she'll choke. Solution? A GIANT lollipop (this one happens to be from the weekend we broke her foot) in the bathtub!

3.   A picture is worth a thousand words.

Ok, I can't take credit for this one.  A co-worker of mine, who has 4 kids (!!), told me about it.  Kate is pretty good about leaving toys in the store and not crying and whining to bring them home, but if you find yourself in the Target toy isles at naptime, this might just work.  Take a picture of whatever it is that they can't live without so they can "look at it later - anytime." Surprisingly, that is a lot of fun for a two year old. Voila! No meltdown!

Ok, that's all I've got for now.  I'm off to bed because tomorrow is my first day back at work.  It will be a bittersweet day.  We've had a fun summer.  I've enjoyed hanging out with Kate and going to the theatre and puppet shows, but I've missed work too - at least a little bit, and mostly when Mason was screaming his head off with no consolation. :)  And, because it's not cool to post without a picture of our little porky man, here he is:

                     

Three Months!

 Hi Fans! This is Mason, all dressed up for my first blog.  I'm lookin fancy here for several reasons: 1) I'm three months old! 2) I'm going to outgrow this cute outfit at any moment. 3) My favorite TV show is "Millionaire Matchmaker," and I've been taking Patti's fashion advice.

They say the first three months are the hardest, and I have to agree. But I'm feeling like a new man now that I've hit the big 0-3 and I just wanted to give you a chance to get to know me.

• I like long walks.... anywhere. And I don't even need a real destination. I just like to walk. Mom says it makes her arms tired, but I think it's probably good for her.
• I don't mess around when I'm upset about something. I've got this nice screechy-scream that drives my Daddy mad and makes people come running (because they're sure someone is cutting off my fingers or toes, or I might be on fire).
• While walking is still my favorite, lately I've taken to sitting in my bouncy or on the floor and playing and coo-ing.  Grown-ups seem to really like this.
• My special talent is pooping out of my diaper.  Up the back is my favorite. I ruin a couple of outfits a day and I get Nan just about every time she keeps me. They thought going to the size 2 diaper would fix it, but like I said, I've got mad skills!
• I love to watch my sister. This morning Mom sat me in something called a Bumbo, and it was almost like I was playing princesses with her! Looking forward to getting one of those in my mouth next!
• Like my Daddy, I love to be outside.  Especially when there are birds or crickets.  I get really quiet and relaxed.
• I can stand up. No, seriously. I can balance and everything.  My goal? First baby to walk before he rolls over.

On top of all this? I'm pretty handsome. I know because I heard my Mommy and my Nan say so. And they aren't biased at all.  Next week I get to hang with Nan and Pop all week long.  I'm going to be real good so they don't try to give me back. Kate tells all kinds of tales about the fun stuff that happens there.  Oh, and if you're wondering if I look like Snow White Alice Kitty Princess (Kate) when she was 3 months old, you can reminisce right here.  Later Alligator!

Cuties

I sure am going to miss these two next week!

 

Rub a Dub Dub

Today we played outside in our swimming tub, and then cleaned off inside in the bath tub.  I tried to get Don to combine the two, but he looked a me like I might be crazy.  I didn't think that was any crazier than say, Play Dough in the car....

Is this the face of fun, or what?!

Cooling off!

Don might have been a bit tired.  I'm inferring this from his falling asleep while texting.  That or  septoplasty induced narcolepsy.  Had you seen him Saturday, you'd be impressed that he looks this good. We had a rough weekend and were unable to stay out of the ER for the second time this month.

He eventually woke up and jumped in the pool (clothed) to play with Kate.

Foster does NOT like the water...

But was coaxed into the fun. 

Fun times with Chesh. Yes, she's still calling Don "Chesh" or "Chesh Prince" or some other variation.  (as in Cheshire Cat) And Kate? Well, she's "Snow White" or "Snow White Alice" most days, as am I.

Mason and his chins enjoyed watching the fun.

Then it was inside for warm baths.

Which happens to be Mason's favorite part of the day (along with diaper changing). Here he is telling me how much he likes me. "Coo"

 And after bath... What a happy little guy!