Pictures at the Park

We met the playgroup at the park today and I took some pictures of the boys while we were there. The weather was GORGEOUS today!

Little Miss Suzie Homemaker

After being inspired by a "boutique show" in our area, I decided to make the boys some Razorback pajama pants. I had seen a pair at the boutique show and thought Austin would like them, but didn't want to pay the money for something that I knew I could make!

So, I went and bought fabric and 2 patterns for the boys. I got the fabric cut, pinned, and finally sewn together and they are both very happy with the finished project!

Austin's were supposed to be long pants, but he wanted shorts and I didn't want to make them into shorts, so I cropped them a bit instead. He looks so cute and I think he likes them more as the cropped pants than he would have if they were shorts.

Colten's were supposed to have elastic at the ankles, but I didn't think that would look as good, so I just hemmed them. They are a little big, but that was done on purpose since I didn't want to do all that work and they not fit in a couple of months! So, for now, they are rolled a bit to fit better.

The next project is pants for Brian and myself...then we'll all have matching pants! :-)

4 Months Old

Colten is growing so much! We get asked what we are feeding this kid all the time! I don't know what is going to happen when he starts solids...that's when Austin started "plumping" up.

Here's the monthly comparison picture:

Rainy Weekend in Little Rock

Brian and I decided to drive down to Little Rock last weekend to get away for a bit. We had talked about going to RiverFest, but then didn't want to spend the money on admission, etc, so we hung out with family and friends all weekend. It rained a lot during the weekend, so we were stuck inside most of the time.

The boys loved visiting with everyone. It really is nice to be able to just take off and see family without having to spend hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket!

Here are some pictures from our visit!

I didn't like the coloring on this one, so I changed it to black and white. You can definitely tell that Bobo loves his 4th grandchild!

Yaya also loves her 4th grandchild...and the 3rd one too!

Yaya helping Austin with his "homework" that she gave him. He loves doing pages out of activity books!

Daddy and Colten having a little fun.

Colten having some quiet time with Bobo.

Colten telling Yaya what cards to play.

Playing cards...Brian and I won all three games!

Daddy loving on Colten

Bobo and Colten

Aunt Nancy and Colten at McDonald's

I Heart Faces - Silhouette

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is Silhouette. I had a few to choose from....but none like I could have if I would have only TRIED when living in Hawaii! I don't know why I never took more silhouette pictures while we were there!

Here's one of my sister, her friend and Austin at a luau that we LOVED. I took this picture, then took one with flash so that I could see their faces. Now I wish we would have had more fun with silhouettes! :-)

Head on over to http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ for more silhouette pictures.

Loving This Weather!

We are having pefect weather right now and have been taking advantage of it by being outside a lot. We love our backyard and covered patio and have used it everyday this week. We have even sat outside in our front yard underneath the lone tree in our entire yard.

Here are some pictures of the boys outside in the gorgeous weather.

This boy is LOVING his new (well, new to us) exersaucer...and my arms are loving the break they are getting lately (the boy is HEAVY!).

Austin has learned that he loves hanging upside down on the swinging bar on his playground. Of course, with this comes more anxiety for his Mommy! Right after this picture was taken, he let go of the bar with his legs and landed on his hands like in a handstand...which was not fun to watch. The next time he did it, he missed his hands and landed on his head...at least it's not going to be MY fault if someone asks him, later in life, if someone dropped him on his head when he was young!

I ♥ Faces Photography Contest - Amateur

This is the first time I am entering into the I ♥ Faces contest. I've been wanting to for a while now, but always seem to forget about the deadline until Tuesday night and then never have enough time to get a picture found and post it before the contest is closed. However, this time I am prepared!

This week's contest is the Blurb Book Photo Contest. Basically, you pick the best photo you have taken of a face and enter it in either the professional or amateur contest. I'm still learning (and I definitely don't charge money for my photos) so I fall into the amateur category. :-)

Since learning of this contest, I have looked through some of my old pictures and have been taking new pictures and always come back to this picture of my son, Austin. It was taken with our old Sony point and shoot camera (even though I have a great Cannon Rebel that I now use). I don't know if it's the best picture I've ever taken, but I'm drawn to it for some reason!

(Can't seem to figure out how to get it bigger on the blog page, but click for a better view!)

Austin was basically just playing in the rain behind our house and I was taking pictures while trying to stay dry. He looked up and I snapped and somehow I got a great picture! Plus, I really miss those curls that he used to have that are all cut off now.

To see other great pictures, head on over to http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/.

I am submitting this photo into the http://www.iheartfaces.com/ Blurb book photo contest. If chosen, I grant I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Colten's laugh isn't much of a belly laugh yet, but you can definitely tell by his facial expressions that he is just tickled pink!

I was going to enter this picture into a photo contest at http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/, but Colten has been cranky everytime I try to get online, so it didn't get done. I tried tonight, but it just didn't happen. I had 10 minutes before it closed and got this post all set up, then hit publish and got one of those ridiculous internet error messages!

Oh well....better luck next time, right? At least you still get to see the picture, right? :-)

Playing T-Ball...4 Year Old Style

The league that Austin plays for scheduled 2 t-ball games in a row. Two 45 minute games. Every Saturday.

This weekend's games just happen to be at the worst possible times for this age group...right around lunchtime. When they are supposed to be fed. And resting. Instead, they are around all kinds of other hungry, cranky kids...playing t-ball.

So, not only did this Mastermind of T-ball decide that 4 and 5 year olds should have the attention span for 2 games...but that they should be able to keep it together for both games as well (even when they are supposed to be eating and sleeping).

This is t-ball....4 year old style!

Things start out great. We have everything we need.

Bat? Check. Helmet? Check. Great looking boy in a uniform? Check.

Swing....and hit the ball! Check.

Run after hitting the ball...CHECK! :-)

However, things turn ugly in the outfield....even with our own teammates.

Apparently, there IS an "I" in team...specifically in the word MINE!

Then, when MINE is being said by the teammate...things get a little teary.

Before long, we have multiple meltdowns in the middle of a game.
Austin really is having fun with t-ball. Don't let these pictures fool you. We just had an off day...and Mommy was mean enough to take pictures. And blog about them!

And this is just one aspect of playing t-ball with 4 and 5 year olds. I have pictures of kids sitting in the outfield, sitting on a coach's knee in the outfield, with their glove over their face, picking their nose (yes, really!), and just over all goofing off and totally not paying attention to what they are doing! It's just so much fun watching these kids play a sport at this age! After all is said and done and everyone has their snack and drink, they all have fun and can't wait until the next practice or game!

Thank You, Jill!

For formally introducing Austin to the wonderful world of BEANS! :-)

Austin played with beans for the first time at Hope's house. Hope's mommy, Jill, saw the idea on another woman's blog and has been letting Hope play with beans for some time now. Austin had a blast playing with them, so I got a HUGE bag of them at Wal-Mart (probably WAY more than I needed).

Of course, Austin doesn't just pour and measure the beans...he uses ALL kinds of toys in them as well. In fact, I think I need to get a container that is bigger than the one I have been using.

So, thank you, Jill, for the simple pleasure of playing with beans!

Meetup at the Fire Station

Recently, I joined a meetup.com playgroup. If you haven't heard of it before, you can go to http://www.meetup.com/ and search for all kinds of groups in your area. There were a slew of playgroups in my area and I joined two. Austin was really needing friends and a regular playgroup....and I needed some Mommy friends!

We have done a few meetups (playdates, field trips, etc that the group does) and are loving the regular events to do. There is sometime to do almost everyday and a lot of it is either free or cheap. It gets us out of the house and doing things that are fun for both of us to do.

On Monday, we went to the Bentonville Fire Station. Austin loves fire trucks, like pretty much any kid, so this trip was perfect for him! As you can see from the pictures, he had a great time and we continue to meet great kids and Mommies to hang out with!

Even Colten had a good time...in the Ergo Carrier! (he slept through most of it)