Come out and see me!

I've been busy, busy, buys getting ready for this...

So come out and see me!

ham

I got a new camera over the weekend (insert giddy excitment here) and have been having fun taking pictures, mostly of my boys. In return, they have enjoyed cheesing for the camera and being little hams.

 Collin even set this photo shoot up for him and his brothers. I had the back drop set up to take some photos for my shop and he decided that him and his brothers needed to pose with all of their blankets and best friends.

 Cheese!

 Gotta love the lunch on his face!

 How in the world has my baby gotten so big?

Aren't they just adorable? I hope to have some time to really play with my photo editing and hopefully take some good photos. I have a friend coming over with her little girls to model for my shop this week. It will be a good learning experience. Any tips from the photographers out there?



zoo day

Last weekend we took advantage of the free admission day at the zoo. They were celebrating the zoo's 40th birthday, along with the 90th birthday of Dillon's.
It was hot, and crowded, but it was free. We hadn't been to the zoo in about a year. We used to have a membership but gave that up to save a little money. Hopefully we can get a new one this next year.

 This is Dave (an African Hunting Dog). Dan used to work at the zoo and had a stuffed one just like him that he gave me when we were dating.

 We waited in line a really long time behind some incredibly rude people to see the tigers. I won't give you the whole story, but the parents acted like children and at one point I had a bottle of water splashed all over me without any sort of apology... the tiger is beautiful though.

 Just before we left we even got a free cupcake from Dillon's. We were sweaty and tired after pushing through the crowds to see very few animals so we headed to Mamaw and Papa's house to go swimming.

We love free fun days!

a Pirate Party and a ballgame

I thought I should share some photos from Collin's pirate party that we had 2 weeks ago....I'm such a bad blogger.

 The cupcakes. (the brown is supposed to be an island)

 My 3 Pirates

 Opening gifts from the grandparents before our friends arrive

 On a scavenger hunt to find the treasure map! (the scavenger hunt was actually a back up in case it rained, but we combined the 2 to make it last longer)

 Looking for treasure

 Found it!

 It took a long time to get the pinata open. Dan and I eventually had to grab it and rip it open.

 Collin didn't want a candle, but we sang to him anyhow.

The cute kids eating their cupcakes and icecream.

We had a blast!

Later that night we headed tot he Wingnuts game with family and friends.

 A couple of the players read a story to the kids before the game.

 Keegan and Collin...I believe they were trying to be rappers.

 This kid is the picture of adorable orneriness.

Beer run. Oh, and to get me some tacos.

Cheering for the Wingnuts. He would raise his hand up and yell "woo!" It was super cute.

a baby no more, my big boy is 4!

(Okay, so this is a week late... sue me)

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago I became a mommy for the first time. I hardly remember a time when I only had 1 child, let alone one teeny tiny little baby who depended on me for everything. Where has the time gone?

I remember so clearly giving birth to him, bringing him home from the hospital, nursing and rocking him, his first steps. And now...

Such a stud.

Collin,
You are such an incredible little boy. I can't even begin to tell you all the joy that you bring to my life. I love watching you play, and how you teach your little brothers new things. Though ornery and stubborn at times, you have such a good heart, and you try really hard to do what is right. I love your appetite for learning and how you constantly ask questions (and almost always remember the answer).
I love your love of music and your ability to remember the lyrics and the tune, and even kind of sing on pitch (you get that from me). Though I'm not a huge sports fanatic, I love how much you love every single sport (you get that from your daddy, though he doesn't get excited about Nascar like you do). It amazes me that you are willing to sit and just watch baseball or football on tv. I think you enjoy this mostly because it's something you can share with daddy, and that's awesome.
You love to play games and do puzzles, and your new found favorite are puzzles that are also games! You learn the rules quickly, and though you tend to have a temper when things don't go your way (sadly that probably comes from me as well) you'll still play the same games over and over and over again.
Last week you started preschool. I can't believe you are old enough to go to school. You only go 2 days a week, but that is enough for both of us. It's been a little bit of an adjustment. You've cried a couple times when I drop you off, which in turn makes me cry, but you always have fun when you are there.
You are never lacking for energy but you always take time to stop and snuggle with me. I love it. You promised me that you would still want to hang out with me, and give me hugs when you are all grown up. I hope you do because I will never outgrow snuggling with you.

Happy (belated) birthday, sweet boy! I love you so much!

Love,

Mommy