I've turned into the kind of blogger I didn't want to be -- the kind who barely ever updates. But over the winter it seemed there was little to say. Now we're so busy doing stuff that I don't blog about the stuff we do. So much for record keeping.
We took a much-needed family walk today. It was so nice to get out of the house. For all the delightful things about winter (hot chocolate, snuggling up with a movie or book on a snowy day, shoveling until the shovel breaks, your four year old completely mocking the snowman you built), we all get a little cagey by the time it's winding down. So out came the sun and out came the family! Claire loves, loves, loves being outside and was cooing up a storm the whole time. I think it's safe to say we all commiserated.
Claire (and dad) made her first trip ever down a slide. I wasn't fast enough to catch the first one. This is the second one. I think she enjoyed herself, though. She was looking around in amazement. She kind of does this wide-eyed glance sometimes and you know if she could verbalize it, she would be saying "Holy crap! What was that?!"
Mason took his scooter out for its first real spin. This is one of the major drawbacks of having your birthday and Christmas back-to-back and in the winter. His "big" presents from mom and dad or Santa are often outdoorsy things that he has to bottle up the excitement to use until warm weather hits. He's been dying to take this bad boy around the block for some time. He only had one fall, and he brushed it off after a bit of coddling. He also insisted that his scooter could not go through puddles and carried it over them.
We also had the bonus of seeing some neighbors along the way. It's kind of entertaining how everyone's kids grow up in the winter when we are all hibernating. Everyone on our block is bigger, with more hair, etc. The little kids are desperately wanting to keep up with the big kids. I think Mason has reached the ranks of the "big kids" and that is hard for me to accept on so many levels.
My mother-in-law helped me take the kids to get their pictures done today. Overall it was a fun outing, and as you can see we got some good pictures.
It was also the first time Claire has had professional pictures. She didn't enjoy the parts where she had to be put down; she definitely made the photographer earn her wage. The only smiles we got involved feet being tickled with a feather duster and a small stuffed dog "getting" her. Of course, once someone picked her up she was all smiles and very chatty. Maybe this will get easier as we go.
Mason was handsome as always, but he tired of the activity quickly and was more excited about Grandma being with us.
Much thanks to the portrait studio and to Grandma.
... that we'll look back on and laugh a bit, right? I suggested a trip to see the lights at the zoo last night. Saying it didn't come together smoothly is an understatement. We were running very late (getting there just before they stopped selling tickets), I was in a very poor mood as a result of the running very late, I forgot Claire's hat, and it was arctic-style, freeze-your-nose-off cold. Last but not least, my camera battery died fairly early on. So here's a picture of bundled up little Claire. The blanket was a good hat substitute, and she was warm and smiley all night. Anyway, that's about the only quality picture I got from the evening.
Mason, however, had a great time running around with Grandma. The lights were spectacular, as they were last year, and we finally got to see the tiger cubs moving around. Alan harrassed one until it (sorry, didn't check the gender) was growling and considering chewing through chain link to get to him. We also had some fun with the more nocturnal cats inside the reptile/desert building, but is it just me or does that building always smell like there is a crowd in there? There were not that many people inside but it still had it's usual aroma -- let's call it "earthy" to keep this on the more upbeat side, mmmkay?
We were also disappointed to learn that our zoo membership doesn't admit us to Zoo Lights like it does to the zoo. We still had to pay nearly full price. The concession-folk were very nice about explaining that it's because an outside company does all the displays, but I still thought it was kind of a rip-off.
In the end, the evening was a success for Mason and that's the most important part. I'm hoping in time that's the only part we'll bring up when we remember this particular outing.
Last night, we went at the last minute with my friend Kristi, her sons Logan and Colton, and her mom, to a little Halloween night at a local craft store. I'm not gonna lie, it was not nearly as "big" as we thought it would be. But in the end, the boys had fun and that is what counts. Mason is now five times even more excited to wear his James costume (and apparently, to be somewhat snotty as he corrects the people who say "Look, it's Thomas!") to school and on Halloween proper. Plus, we had ice cream for dinner; that's always a bonus and further proof that I'm mother of the year, as I keep telling you. Oh, well. It was good, free entertainment. Thanks for inviting us to tag along!
