Pre-School

Today was Mason's first day of preschool. He is going to a local church program two mornings a week. I had a few doubts about whether I was pushing him into preschool too early...as my Daddy pointed out, he isn't even 2 yet. But all my doubts went away when I watched Mason march right into his classroom and not even glance back at me! It was definitely a far cry from the Darius Rucker song, which is the scene I had played out in my head. Au contraire...Mason loved it! According to his teachers, his only objection was that he did not want to come inside from the playground (no surprise to me)!

It brought back some of my earliest memories which are of the mornings I spent at the First P preschool in Clinton. My beloved grandfather, aka Nandaddy, drove me from Pecan Grove to First Pres in his little blue LUV truck, and the trip back usually involved a stop for ice cream from Whiteford's (my love for ice cream is genetic and was cultivated at a very early age!). Believe it or not, I can actually remember my first day of pre-school. Unlike Mason, I remember being a little nervous, but my anxiety was eased by seeing the familiar face of my cousin Amy C and the hug that followed!

Monkey Mason

We had a fun morning yesterday at Monkey Joes! Mason loved all the big jump castles...although he was not content to play in the section for children under 3 years old. His favorite was the big slide. I slid with him the first few times, then he braved it by himself & LOVED it! This was definitely $5 well spent!!

Thanks to Auralee & Christopher and April & Judson for inviting us! And Auralee gets the photo credits since I forgot my camera.

And what would a blog post be without a picture of Baby Roper sound asleep??? Thankfully we ran into my friend Kelly from church and her little girl Ella...Kelly's mother & aunt were with her and they offered to keep Roper at their table while I chased after Monkey Mason!

One Month and Counting...

Can it be true that Baby Roper is already one month old??? The days have flown by! Each day seems to go by so quickly!

So...what have we been up to now that Daddy is back at work and there are no grandparents here to help me with the boys? I have to admit I was a little intimidated about keeping up with both of them on my own, but it has actually been lots of fun and surprisingly manageable. Mason keeps me entertained with his ever-expanding vocabulary and Roper is still as sweet and cuddly as can be!

That being said, 2 children is NOT as easy as 1. Balancing the demands of a newborn and the demands of an almost-2-year-old are very draining and by the end of each day I'm utterly exhausted! I have been trying to maintain my sanity by getting out of the house each day, even if it is just for a walk in the neighborhood.

Here are just a few pictures of what the boys have been up to...I'll start with Mason...

Riding in his 4-wheeler...I am very thankful for a fenced-in backyard these days! Notice the sunglasses...like father, like son. Lately Mason has been trying to replicate everything Graem does. It's really cute. Some days he insists on wearing the sunglasses at all times...during naptime, bathtime, etc, etc.

Mason always loves for us to read to him...lately he has taken a big interest in reading his books himself.
Giving the baby's bouncy seat a test drive for quality control...
Cupcakes! Yummy!
Watching Sesame Street and laughing at Elmo...

Ride em cowboy! Cassius puts up with a lot. What a good dog. If only he could put away all the books & toys strewn around the boys' room!

And what has Baby Bear been up to? Well, if he isn't eating, he's sleeping! He wakes up for food and to be burped.

Sleeping in the cradle. What a crazy position! Sometimes I swaddle him but he usually kicks it off. He likes to stretch out!

Sleeping in the pack-n-play...
Sleeping in his carrier...

Sleeping in his bouncy seat...
And yes, he actually sleeps in his crib!!!