School-Aged...

Almost! It seems like only yesterday that I was jiggling Mason around in my belly. It seems like only yesterday that he took his first steps and it seems like only yesterday that he learned to smart-mouth me (oh wait, that WAS yesterday!). Now look at him – so grown up and full of personality! His graduation from Pre-K is officially on May 16. Off to Kindergarten in the fall. Look out New Life Academy!

I was fascinated!

This little guy basked in the sun as I took his photo over and over. No need to say cheese.

Spring has Sprung

We have 3 beautiful flowering trees in our back yard (if you could see the size of our back yard, you would know this is an amazing feat in itself). The ladybugs seem to really like only one of them. Nature can be very strange sometimes.

Proof Positive:

Visual proof that a man's love affair with trucks begins at a very early age!

Swingin'

Up Close...

Just in case you've never taken a close look at your child's belly button. All I need now is a good macro lens to get even more up close and personal with the cavern in my son's belly! Perhaps this is where he is storing all of those groceries.

Elsa the Enigma

I often wonder what cats think about. As I was taking Elsa's photo, he became more curious about what I was doing. He sniffed my lens a few times, then continued to clean himself. The he sniffed a few more times, and continued to clean himself. He needs to look good for the ladies, of course.

Water Baby

With summer fast approaching, I felt this to be a perfect time to reflect upon Mason's favorite summer pastime.

Mason's love for water started very early in life. Not unlike most children, his love began with bubble baths. You can't have too many bubbles!

Water+baby=splashing. Basic math, right?

I was nearly 18 the first time I saw the ocean, so it became a goal of mine for Mason to be not only comfortable in the water, but to visit the ocean as much as possible. This photo is from Mason's first visit to Virginia Beach, and his first time seeing the ocean. He was 18 months old. Granted, he doesn't remember this visit; but there will be plenty of opportunity with us living a mere 4 hours from the coast.

Aaaa-choo!

Allergy season is upon us once more. To allergy sufferers, like myself, this time of year is bitter-sweet. We welcome the beauty of the season; but know that because of the beauty of the season we will, in turn, suffer.

This is a photo of the pollen that has blanketed the South over the last week, or so. The South is particularly vulnerable to this amount of pollen because of the amount of pine trees here. Thank goodness for Tylenol Allergy Sinus. If you catch me sleeping at my desk, I'm sorry.

Dishwasher...

Behold the mixing bowl of my Kitchen Aid mixer, the little hands of my 5-year old and a silicone spatula.

Again with the concentration! He'll do great things with patience like that!!!



Well worth the work!

April Showers

A boy and a seemingly innocent puddle.

A little splash here, a little splash there...


Wow, can he get some air between him and the ground!

If only this puddle were deeper!

Addendum...

Yes, commenter David, I AM wearing UGA flip-flops to shoot a wedding. I wore a regular pair of shoes to shoot this event, but since my toe was still a grizzly mess from my run-in with a fence, I had to borrow some shoes! Thankfully, this event was for a friend of a friend...so that friend (who went to UGA) let me borrow her flip-flops for the day! AH!!! Thanks Angela!!!

Workin'

Shooting weddings is serious business...unless you shoot with Heidi! I have had the pleasure of learning from Heidi over the last year+ and every time we shoot, we come to the point in the day where we start taking pictures of ourselves for amusement. This is what I came across while I was editing...

Fun Dippin'...

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. There are two packages of Fun Dip pictured here. No, my beautiful, and very thin, son is not on his way to obesity by consuming mass amounts of pure, artificially flavored sugar. So I ate one too, so?!

How is it that consuming your own saliva that clings to a sugary stick be so elating?

Just look at that concentration...

...and precision!

It didn't take long for him to figure out that bypassing the stick-and-spit method would take entirely too long.

The stick, which is the best part of Fun Dip, is the reward for working so hard to finish the powder.

What makes Fun Dip so fun? The red tongue, of course!

Lucky Me!

Today was a short workday and so I was fortunate enough to not have to sit in traffic today! Not only that, but when Mason and I got home, we were browsing through our neighbor's clovers and I spotted this little beauty! Lucky Me!

Easter Fun:

Mason looked forward to coloring Easter eggs ALL week! Every day he would ask me, "Is today the day we color eggs?"
















Finally Saturday arrived!!! We took the party outside because Brian had to work all morning and was napping. Besides, the sunshine felt fabulous! What a beautiful day to be outside!!!















Mason did some swinging while the eggs dried.




Sticker time!



I'm not sure which got more coloring – the eggs or Mason!

Smartie Pants Part II :

Dedication:

This post is dedicated to my chocoholic mother-in-law (bless her heart). Janet, this recipe is for you. We all know that your weekly "women's" meetings are really chocoholic anonymous meetings. It's okay. We understand. This recipe is so that you can finally eat your chocolate and have WAY less guilt about doing so. You may even want to take these to your chocoholic anonymous meetings!

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins:

1 Box Devil's Food Cake Mix
1-15 oz. can of Pumpkin

Preheat your oven to 400º. Mix together the two ingredients. Do NOT be tempted to add anything else!!! The mixture will be thicker than a cake mix. DO NOT be tempted to add anything else!!!

Now, I'm a big fan of mini muffins because I feel like I'm actually eating more than I am, but regular muffin pans will do just fine. Spray those little buggars with cooking spray before dropping in your batter. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy the chocolate deliciousness! Here is why they are less guilty:

1 Muffin, or 3 minis = 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g protein

A big skinny thank you to HungryGirl.com for supplying me with less guilty snacks that actually taste good!

So Grown Up!

Yes, yes, you can click on my sister's link and see the exact same photo, but I wanted to show the world how grown up my beautiful Athena is.

Gooooo KU!

Even though I went to Kansas State (Go Wildcats!) I still like to root for a Kansas team in the NCAA tournament! It's nice to see two Kansas teams in it to win it this year! Way to go KU for not getting knocked out in the first round and squeaking by a 85-61 victory over Portland State! Kansas State plays USC this evening. Let's hope that the freshman Michael Beasley can lead them to a V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!!

Smartie Pants

It always amazes me how much information a child can soak up and retain. You would think that after 5 years of being a mother that nothing would surprise me, but when the light bulb went off in Mason's head that all of those letters he had been learning formed words, I was in awe. It's really fun to see him enjoy reading and enjoy figuring something out on his own. I will post a video later this week so you, too, can be in awe.

Masonism:

When asked why people need skin, the reply:

"It holds our butts in."

Minor Mishap...

Heidi and I went out of town to shoot a wedding this past weekend in South Georgia and stayed overnight in a hotel. The weather was absolutely beautiful and swimming really sounded like a good idea. Unfortunately, the only thing standing between us and a cool, refreshing soak was a 6-foot tall fence. Of course, Heidi gets over the fence, no problem. I, however, was not so lucky on the first try. I did manage to get over it the second time, only to realize that I had sliced open my big toe during the first go-around. Now, being that I don't like going to the doctor (no offense, sis) I didn't think it was bad enough to go to the hospital, but Heidi insisted that I go. After some liquid stitches and a doctor that liked to inflict pain, here I am yucking it up with Heidi in the ER.

Family Activities...

As you know from my previous posts, Mason received a bike for his birthday. This gift inspired Brian to search for a bike on Craig's list (a great place to purchase such items), and he found one that he liked enough to buy. Now, this left me bike-less. I can't have my boys riding bikes and me jogging along side, now can I?

Okay mom, remember that blue bike that I hated so much when I was a a kid? I should have hung onto it all these years, because I ended up purchasing a bike just like it only in purple. Isn't it a beauty? I did make the mistake of telling Brian that I felt like the wicked witch of the west (yes, please feel free to make Kansas jokes at your leisure) while riding on this bike. In turn, you can imagine the little song that I heard coming from his direction every time he got near me.

Fabulous at 5!

Yes, I finally got around to taking Mason's 5 year pictures. Of course, this photo session was a short one since he was so excited to get to riding his bike. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Hats Off to the Pioneer Woman!

God bless Ree, the brilliant everyday chef of Pioneer Woman Cooks dot com! I have tried several of her "I already have this stuff in my refrigerator" recipes and I must say that the Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich is absolutely FABULOUS! Please, for goodness sakes, check out this recipe...and please, please make it for your man. You won't regret it, I promise! You can check out the recipe here: Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

Birthday Weekend!!!

Mason turned the big 5 on Tuesday and this was the weekend to celebrate in style! First, we went bumper bowling and then to Toys R Us to choose a bicycle. He tested several different sizes in the store before we found just the right one; and boy is it a beauty! Happy Birthday baby boy!

Bumper Bowling, Ya'll!

For those of you out there that think 5 is too young for bowling, welcome to the wonderful world of bumper bowling!