On the subject of horses...

Here is my little cowboy all dressed up for Western day at school last week. He couldn't understand why he couldn't take his holster & cap gun to school.

"Mama, cowboys get in gun fights. And I might need to shoot a deer."

I didn't think the gun would go over too well.

Why is Roper scared of horses?

Doesn't he know his mama was riding horses from a much younger age?





Alice, David & me on Molly the pony...


And one of me in high school...yes I was wearing Wranglers (how embarrassing). No, I didn't wear them to school. Just while riding. :)



Did you know that you can ride your horse on the beach from Nov-Feb in Garden City?

Conquering the Rock Wall

Before I share more about the weekend, let me back up to last Friday, when Mason had his first chance to conquer the rock wall at Riverbanks Zoo.

This zoo trip back in April sparked an obsession with climbing the rock wall. At that point, Mason was still several pounds shy of the 40-pound minimum. So...we did what any parents would do. These words were spoken often over the past six months:

"Eat your {fill in the blank} so you will be 40 pounds and big enough to climb the rock wall."

Ever since his 4-year check-up, when the nurse announced his weight (40.25 pounds), Mason has been asking when he will get to go to the zoo and climb the rock wall.

His perfect opportunity was Friday morning...my mom was in town...he asked her...and, well, she doesn't say "no" to her grandsons very often. In fact, she said she would climb the rock wall with him. And she did. :)

Gearing up...








Roper entertained himself on the playground while Bebe and Mason were rock climbing.



Then on to the train...



And then to the ponies...Roper insisted all the ponies were named Minnie, which is the name of my uncle's pony. He wanted to ride, or at least thought he did, until it was time to saddle up, then he changed his mind. Mason climbed right up!



It was a quick zoo trip, which is one of the perks of living close by and having a membership...you don't feel like you have to stay all day to get your money's worth!

Weekend Recap

We kicked off the weekend with my nephew's 2nd birthday party on Friday night, and then my mom and I took off to Atlanta for a women's retreat. We rolled into Atlanta late Friday night, and on Saturday had a packed day of seminars, shopping, eating out, and even managed to watch a movie! Even though we go to different churches, they are part of the same denomination, and this retreat was for women in the PCA. We didn't realize what a big deal the conference was -- there were over 2,000 women there! I even ran into a good friend that I grew up with!

It was so nice to spend time with my mom, just the two of us. Sometimes it makes me feel old that I'm actually friends with my mom (ha!). Sunday morning we had a worship service, then more shopping, followed by more eating...and then we headed back to Laurens for my grandmother's 87th birthday celebration (and Kate's 20th birthday celebration!).

I can count on one hand the number of times I have left the boys at home with Graem for a weekend. He is a great father, but we all know that sometimes dads can miss details that mothers are particular about. So Sunday morning I asked Graem to send me a picture of the boys dressed for church. Before I left I laid out church clothes for them, but he insisted that he could manage. He sent me this picture...



I have to admit he did pretty good. :) Although I can't tell if it was just windy or if he didn't brush their hair? Anyway, the picture was preceded with this text (keep in mind that Sunday mornings are always hectic & we make a mad dash to get to Sunday School by 9:30):
"I don't know what to do with all this time. Read the paper cover to cover. Both boys dressed, fed & ready to walk out door for church. Don't know how I've done this! Love you!"

Sounds like he's ready to handle 3, don't you agree? :)

Proportionate

Mason had his four-year check-up last week...I put it off for a while because I had heard that the 4-year was a doozy...it was.

He hasn't had any shots since he was a baby (ie before he can remember) so this one was tough. Thankfully, Graem went to the appointment with us because we had to hold Mason down while the nurse gave him the shots. The poor fella cried and kept repeating, "I don't love shots." By the time the appointment was over, it was time for lunch, so I told him we could go out somewhere - his choice. He picked Cold Stone. Typically I wouldn't give in to "ice cream for lunch" but he was still crying and told me that some green ice cream really would make him feel better. How could I resist?

Mason was so tee-tiny when he was born, only 6 lbs, 1 oz, and for the longest time he seemed so little. Then he grew taller but was still skinny. Between age 2 and 3 he really took off in growth. At his last check-up (3 yrs), he was in the 65th percentile for weight and the 76th percentile for height. This year, I could hardly believe it when Dr. D gave me his growth chart print-outs...he is now in the 83rd percentile for weight and the 82nd percentile for height. So much for tall and skinny!

Happenings

I have been itching to update my blog this week but have had a hard time coming up with a subject. I scrolled through my camera looking for new pictures...and the only new ones I have are from work. While I have appraised some really interesting properties in the past few weeks, I realize y'all don't want to read about them. :) So...I thought I would do a general update on what has been going on here, sans pictures.

Mason is thoroughly enjoying his new age of 4. He announces to random strangers that he is 4, with such pride in his voice. He has told me that he is now an adult (ha). He is doing well in his pre-school class this year; he loves to tell me all about his buddies in class. I think the highlight of each preschool day is the playground -- they either go to the "big kid" playground or the "little kid" playground. He has also been meeting with a speech therapist once a week for the past six weeks and he adores her. We have seen lots of improvement with his speech. Soccer is going *okay*...he says he would rather get to tackle like they do in football.

Roper has to have a minor outpatient surgery next week for a hydrocele. So if you want to know what it is, you will have to click the link because it makes me uncomfortable...or I can just tell you that it involves his private parts...and if he ever reads this later in life I'm sure he'll be humiliated. Other than that, he is doing well and is also loving pre-school. He is so sad on the days we drop off Mason and he doesn't get to stay.

New Baby is giving me fits, but its getting better. :) My first 2 pregnancies were so easy...now I have seen the other side. The nausea has subsided a little but I still have a terrible metallic taste in my mouth and have had some killer headaches that last for days on end. I had an ultrasound last week but it was too early to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl. So...I'll have to be patient and wait for my next ultrasound on November 10...which seems forever away!

Graem & I are doing well too...we are taking a class at our church on Wednesday nights by Paul Tripp, "Getting to the Heart of Parenting." It is reinforcing so many things that we know about parenting, but it is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and routine that we kind of forget about them from day-to-day. The most important thing I've taken away so far is that for your children's behavior to truly change you have to get to their heart. The concept is straight from Scripture -- "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34. I correct my children all the time when it comes to behavior, but how often do I use those opportunities to minister to them and teach them about grace?

So hopefully this post in all black and white wasn't too boring. :) I promise to post new pictures soon.

First Game

I know I document all sorts of "firsts" on my blog...last weekend Mason had a "first" that he was very excited about -- his first Carolina football game!

We kind of made a big deal about it & really talked it up to Mason. By the time Saturday rolled around he thought he was going to be playing football for Carolina! Maybe that has something to do with why he was trying to play tackle during his soccer match on Sunday afternoon? :)

The boys have tailgated with us but we have deliberately not taken them into any games yet...mainly because I want them to be old enough to appreciate the experience. I have heard age 7 is the magic age that they really "get" the games...so maybe Mason was still a little young. Nonetheless, he had a great time and made it all the way to the end of the game!





Now that I'm posting this picture I realize you can only see "Navy" on Mason's fleece...which of course was the opponent for this game. Oops...at least the color is right. (For the record, we were playing the Naval Academy, not to be confused with Old Navy).