camera dump

Clearing out the 'ole camera and had a few pictures from the summer when we went camping for Hazel's birthday. 

What the best week looks like....

It started on Monday with a steroid shot- ah, sweet relief from allergy hell.

And it just got better. The weather: glorious sunshine and warm breeze. We trapsed across parks all week, exploring old haunts and discovering new ones. We dug in the dirt. We smelled new growth of sweet grass as it squished beneath our toes and the fresh wind as it traveled across our faces. Bubbles were blown. Holes were dug. Treasures were found. It was perfect.

This week really solidified to me what I thought to be true over Christmas break, but wasn't sure if it was just a fluke at the time. My kids just do better when we stay home more. And it's more than "doing better"- they thrive in each other's company, at home. This week, they have played together beautifully as well as alone. They have used all their toys. They have been happy with their imaginations. The television has been turned on very little and I haven't felt the need to referee all day. There has been this unhurried, peaceful state of play that has inhibited this house this week and IT. HAS. BEEN. AMAZING.

What's even better than the obvious peaceful state of my house this week is the sweet relationship I see unfolding in Adler and Hazel. How it warms my heart to see Adler delight in Hazel's potty training success. He has given her so much encouragement and even gave her his prized dinosaur becuase she has been going on the potty this week. He has been patient with her and let her play in his room. He told me that even though she didn't follow all his rules in his room, she could still come in to play. I watch them from the kitchen window as they play and every single time Hazel screams over a bug (which averages about every 2.3 minutes) he comes running to comfort her. And she just folds in his comfort, completely at ease once he makes it better.

And Hazel, how she embraces her role as the younger sibling. If you ask her who she is, her automatic answer is, "I'm the baby sister.". You can tell her all the other things she is, but she always insists that she is the baby sister. Period. She follows Adler everywhere. His the first thing she asks for in the morning and the last person she is talking about before sleep. And although she may be the youngest, she does her share of protecting as well. There is not a timeout that Adler sits in that Hazel is not right there beside him. She rubs his back when he is sad and sings songs to make him smile.

How blessed my children are to have each other. And how blessed I am to be a part of it!

the power of the freckle

Never under-estimate what a cute freckle will make you do.

and as always, the one picture I can get of Adler when he isn't making a silly face. 

slow down.

Five

Five has always been the magic age we used when Adler asked to do something he wasn't old enough to do. "Yes, Adler, you can stay up late, drive a car, drink coke, play with choking hazards....when you are five.". It seemed so far away; and now it is here. Luckily,he has forgotten most of these promises. But the idea has stuck with me. Suddenly, I am watching him in a new light. The bed that his bed rails are attached to doesn't look quite as high off the floor as it once did. For that matter, the wood floors don't look so menacing and hard either. His long arms and legs look a little silly dangling out of his carseat. Those big chunky legos look babyish. He has finally graduated- to rail-less beds, a booster (although I am still on the fence about that one!), and small legos he can choke on now. It's pretty surreal!
But how I LOVE my five year old Adler! He is funny and happy and full of life. He is right in the middle of the phase where any odd noise or face is hilarious, where knock knock jokes have no limits, where the party doesn't stop until the eyelids physically won't stay open, and where building blocks are transformed into spaceships for hours of fun.
But the gentle bits of him that I love are still here too- he still requires at least 20 minutes of cuddling a day. He is usually kind to his sister and truly feels it is his job to take care of her. He is mostly obedient and tries so hard to do the right things, follow the rules and make others happy. He is inquisitive and smart, curious and imaginative.
I couldn't be more excited for this fifth year- what a joy it is to be his mother!

the MAN.

he knows where its at- all in the eyes.

he was a little nervous at first, but even still, he insisted and doing flips and tricks the whole time

he almost didn't get on the bull and wanted me to get on with him (not gonna happen!) but he did it.  And afterwards, he was all like, "I OWN that bull."

This year at the fair, Ad really got to experience all the rides as a kid, not a baby.  He rode on all the good ones with his cousin, Everett  and truly thought he was a big kid.  He was, actually.  He was nervous about them all, but he was brave and did them anyway.  So proud of the little guy my son is becoming!

This is how we do summer.

What can I even say about the summer of 2011?  What a beautiful, glorious, lazy, busy, exciting, relaxing, perfect summer it has been.  We have cleaned and organized, gone swimming, play doughed, canoed, played on playgrounds in the sticky heat, caught fire flies, ate watermelon, glued and cut, volleyballed, painted and colored, shopped and browsed, camped and s'mored....all in the name of summer.  For several years now I have longed to have a summer like this but just wasn't able to swing it until now.  It has been the summer of my childhood revisited and I, we, have loved every moment of it.

And its not over.  Eric and I are headed to the Dominican Republic with the kids in two days.  We can't wait to experience a new place and lounge on the beach for 7 days.  Its going to be amazing!

And then, the day after we get back I get to go set up classroom at my new job!  That's right- 3 hours a day, 3 mornings a week, I am calling Crawford Street Play School my home away from home.  I am going to be assisting the 3k class and I am so excited about it!  Since I am working, Z will be going during the same hours in the 2k class and Adler will be in 4k.  Its going to be a fun year.  Its going to be so neat to get a bird's eye view into what goes on when my kids are at school. 

I have been obsessed with stopping every few days and taking deep breaths and looking around and taking mental snapshots of what is going on around me- I can't believe I get to live this beautiful life- I know how blessed I am.  It is so easy to get caught up in the hum drums, the small, and sometimes the big, stresses of this world we live in.  But, then I catch my husband's eye as we watch our family enjoying each other on a lazy Saturday evening; I hear my children's giggles as they trace their bodies in chalk; I feel the cold of the sprinkler as we play; I taste the sweetness of a watermelon..... Summer restores my soul and reminds me of the rich blessings in my life.  How GREAT is our God!

and lastly, a throwback...

SERIOUSLY.  This boy is for real.  Adler's first Easter.

the hunt

I love how every picture I have of Adler hunting eggs are action shots.  This boy was a mad hunter this year!

Easter sweetness

rascal

old fashioned girl

they were serious.

the picture that made me realize what a toddler she has grown to be

picture perfect

Am I the only person out there that finds it IMPOSSIBLE to get more than one member of my family in a picture that is actually good?  Granted, its usually me that is making the funny face or has hair in my face, but still, its beyond frustrating!  Here is the best of the best from Easter morning though:).  But, PS- isn't Adler's face in the first one priceless?

ps- that is not a real bug on Hazel's dress, just a sticker!  We all had them stuck all over us when we got to church somehow.

My eldest child. Adler. How much he has changed over the past year. There is barely a trace left of the baby. I see in when there are thunderstorms, when he is extra sleepy or just waking up or maybe when he is needing the attention. But mostly, he is this fantastic, energetic little boy. He is silly and clever and smart as a whip. He loves writing his letters and learning what letters go together to make words. I feel like reading will be coming soon and I can't wait for this part! He is confident and feels comfortable being who he is. He is athletic- very fast! He seems to always be the one being chased (see picture!) on the playground. He starts t-ball tomorrow and I can't wait to see him running the wrong way to the bases!


I am so proud of this sweet, silly boy.

spring is coming!

my lovely boy amongst the daffodils

Adler points out every bubble and Hazel loves it!

why won't she ever cooperate?

this was my favorite day ever.

my new favorite flower

And one more thing.

These Valentine's pictures were the first ones in which I had an idea of what I wanted them to look like before I took them. Um. It was hard. As it turns out, kids usually have very different agendas when it comes to getting their pictures made. What I ended up with was a lot of pictures of backs turned, under or overexposed because I could not do that and keep kids in place, head chopped off kind of pictures. Pretty awful!

The two you see in the previous post? Well, Adler was being a little rotten and wouldn't do anything but stick his tongue out. It worked though. And Hazel- well, the only way I could get her from running away was by bribing her with candy. The trade-off was that every picture I took of her has her mouth open waiting for something sweet to be dropped inside!

I seriously don't know how people take pictures of kids for a living!

the littlest masons can get away with a lot...see photos

the little bits

Just a few pictures...

The last one is from when we went to the new children's museum in Jackson a few weeks ago.  I didn't get any good pictures because we were too busy having FUN.  If you haven't been yet, I encourage you to go.  There was so much for little hands to get play with and explore.  I was very impressed!  I may post a few more from the trip to give you a better idea if I get a chance.

What I have learned

1. 4 feet somehow make more than twice the mess as 2 feet do.  This was the first time I have done floor painting since I had 4 little feet walking around.  I ended up mopping the whole kitchen...and den....and bathroom twice to get up all the paint!

2. Paint flies.  There was paint on our ceiling fan.

3.  Its okay to dress your kids in Christmas clothes in January....or to let them stay in the pajamas all day.

4. A week locked in the house because its too cold to go anywhere gets boring.  And messy. It forces you to be very creative and very patient!

5.  The kids love floor painting together.  Must forget mess more and smile more and love those little years more because its totally worth it!

time suck

look how big she is!

usually a white blur when I try to capture him

one of her favorite things to do in the backyard



wants to play soccer ever since he saw his big (AWESOME COOL) cousin Eli play a game