You Sunk My Battleship!

And so the totally 80's Spring Break continues. Like I said before, I hadn't intentionally tried to relive my rad childhood, it just kind of happened. Since we had such a fun-filled couple of days we decided to keep our fun at home. I hadn't really planned anything on this day, but Preston had one big thing he wanted to accomlish. Eat donuts! That kid is crazy about donuts. Especially the kind with sprinkles. So what kind of mom would I be if I didn't oblige his crazy obsessions now and then? A no-fun mom, that's what. And since I wasn't getting dressed to actually go buy donuts, we made them instead.

With sprinkles of course. Oh and I ran out of powderd sugar, so I made up a maple glaze with pancake syrup. I wouldn't recommend it, it was really sweet.

But we needed something for the sprinkles to stick to.

Besides what's a little extra sugar to a little boy with lots of energy?

Connor got to eat the holes (sans sugar) and he really like them.

Really, really liked them.

"Hey mom, we need some more holes over here!"

Later Connor took his nap so Preston and I were able to play a little Battleship.

I kept encouraging him to stand up and shout "You sunk my battleship!"

But he just thought I was weird.

Hey, it's how we always played it. And that's how they did it on the commerical. But then again, I never played it while watching opera either.



Later since it was such a beautiful day we headed to the duck pond park where we saw...

a heron...

some turtles...

oh yeah, and a duck. Actually we saw several but this little fellow caught my eye.

Preston playing at the playground.

Connor plays a little tune.

Preston playing in the slide.

Now it's time to go home.

Good Times Just Keep Rolling

It wasn't intentional but this year's Spring Break was filled with all sorts of things from my childhood. Last time it was a Push-up, this time it's roller skating. I spent nearly every Tuesday night of my elementary school years at the skating rink. I still remember my white rollerskates that my mom probably picked up at a garage sale - no more ugly rental skates - complete with pink pom-poms. I was the epitome of cool... or so I thought.

So join me now as we re-live the 80's.




Why yes, that is the same geometric carpet you remember. Colorblocking was so in.

And while our fashion sense has changed and I no longer curl my bangs to defy gravity, one thing hasn't changed... skating is hard when you first try it.

Note the death grip on the bar there. And although there is a fierce look of concentration, Preston didn't hesitate one bit. I'd like to say he got his confidence from me... but his daddy would say it was his lower center of gravity that gave him the extra advantage. Ok, but he got that from me too.

Later, the nice roller rink people brought out these nifty "walkers". There was no stopping him now.

Can you not just hear Michael Jackson's "Beat It" in the background? We did.

And what was Connor doing during this 80's flashback? Well he was chillin in the stroller with his best dude, Mason.

I'm pretty sure I overheard them say something about a "gnarly video game". Totally.

Spring Break

This week is Spring Break in our neck of the woods. And even though Preston is only in pre-K he gets a break from school too. Today is usually a school day and since it was kind of cold and damp out we decided to break out the playdough for a little fun. Of course Mommy has to limit the fun to just the circle of the snowman table cloth. It's still fun, but contained fun.

Preston showing off his sea urchin with pink hair.

This was Connor's first playdough experience so he's still just checking it out.

(Oh and we were originally going to make slime out of cornstarch but that was a big fat fail, so we got out the playdough. So now you know why Connor has white stuff all over him.)

Making more sea urchin hair.

Checking out the various playdough tools.

After Connor's nap and lunch for everybody the sun came out a little so we decided to go for a walk.

Connor sporting a new hat, which came off several times during the walk. Along with the shoes.

Preston and Connor all ready to go.



Since there were no neighbor kids to hang out with, we decided to walk to the Shell gas station and get ourselves a treat.

Preston picked a Push-Up! (My favorite when I was a kid. Check out that retro wrapper too!)

Connor and I went with the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich. Yum!

Hey Connor, save some for Mommy!

Halloween Part 2

For the rest of the Halloween festivities we walked down to the church just down the street from us and attended their fall festival. We've gone every year since we moved here so it's just become a tradition for us. It's so easy since we can walk there and it gives Preston the illusion that he's trick-or-treating even if we just stop at the neighbor's house. Sadly, we learned that this will be the last year for the fall festival at that church since they are moving to another building in the next town. I know Preston will miss going. He will probably always call that church his "Halloween church" whenever we pass it.

We got there a little a little early and not all the games were manned. So you know what that means! Free bucket of candy!!!

Just kidding. We told Mario here that he could only take two.

Here he is playing roll the dice game. Or better known as "Craps".

Turns out that's not so easy with gloves on and a creepy clown eyeballing you. Hey, I thought the church flyer said no scary costumes!










Next up, the hockey game. Always a hit with the little guys.

What form...

What grace...

What moonwalk?

Now it was time for Connor to try his hand at winning candy.

How about a little fishing?

Connor was not excited.

"What do you mean you want me to catch a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?"

Every year they have door prizes to giveaway. This year you registered for the prizes by putting your name in a hat. So I went ahead and signed up all four of us. Well guess who won?

That's right. Little sleepy Connor was carried up on stage to accept his prize of this adorable teddy bear that he clung onto for the rest of the night. I have to admit that even though this was Connor's first year attending the fall festival it wasn't his first time to win something there. Last year I (at 7 months pregnant) won the very last door prize of the evening which just happened to be a really cute baby toy. He certainly is a lucky little fella.

Next up - the Costume Contest! This is the first year that they have done this that we know of. One of the church staffers brought up several contestants on the stage they felt were worthy of being judged. Preston was the first one chosen. I couldn't believe how well behaved he was up on stage all by himself. And when it was his turn to talk into the microphone he clearly stated his name and who he was dressed up as. We were so proud.

Unfortunately, Preston didn't win the grand prize. That award went to the lobster and two chefs you see standing next to him. What you can't see is the big stock pot the baby lobster was in. It was really a cute costume.

However, lots of applause and cheers (especially from mom and dad) made up for the loss and Preston didn't seem to mind.

I mean who would, when you go home with a loot like this?!

I'm pretty sure that Reese's Peanut Butter Cup never made it back into the bag.

Halloween Part 1

I am so far behind posting photos. And the next few posts will probably seem out of order but I just had to share some of my boys and how cute they were on Halloween.

Preston is really into Mario right now. So we thought it fitting that he dress up as Mario for Halloween. And since I'm pretty frugal these days it also seemed like a relatively cheap costume to put together. Turns out that I spent only $1 - yes! $1 to make both boys costumes. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

First I need to show you the cute trick-or-treat bags that I picked up at the dollar store. (Yes, I spent more on the bags to hold the loot than I did the actual costumes.) These bags had a cute jack-0-lantern face on one side and I cut out felt and glued their names on the other.

Time to pose with your bags, boys.




Connor wasn't too sure what to do with his, so Phillip improvised the "holding". We made sure to remove the bag from around his neck prior to adding candy to it.

And here's Mario showing off his bag. Yes, the high water overalls were intentional. I felt that it really completed the video game "geek" factor.

Connor went as "Power Ups". For those not in the know, power ups are kind of like little helps that Mario collects on the way. The mushrooms give Mario extra lives and the flower gives him fire power.

In case you were curious here's how I made his costume: one already owned pajama sleeper light blue + cut out felt in the shapes of power ups + hot glue (not while child is wearing!) = one super cute Super Mario Galaxy Power Up!

Uh oh Mario! Looks like your power ups are getting away! You better go get them!

Why do you laugh, Mario? Does your mustache tickle?

Here's the recipe for a great Mario costume: one already owned size 24 month overalls that your too skinny 5 year old can still wear *gasp* + one borrowed red shirt + brown shoes + mustache shaped felt attached with elastic + already owned red hat with felt M + one pair of white gloves $1 = one cute super plumber! (Remember? Mario was a plumber when he first appeared on Donkey Kong.)

Good work Mario! You caught your power up! Now go save Princess Peach!

Connor's Photo Shoot

I got the link to the rest of Connor's photos from his photoshoot yesterday. Good news they are awesome, bad news is the link is only good for 5 days. That means you have until 5pm October 19 to place an order.

Click here to view the photos. You will need my log in and password (or you could set up your own). Once logged in use the access code: connorgrape.

Enjoy!

Playing Catch Up

Yikes! Has it really been almost a month since I've updated my blog. Sorry mom - I'm pretty sure she's my lone reader - I'll try to do better.

Lots of exciting things have happened, especially in the photography category. Both boys got a professional photoshoot. However, not together, and not with the same photographer so I've got lots of links to share.

First up, Preston had a photoshoot with my friend Jennifer Mazy. Mazy is an amazing photographer. I especially love her work with newborns. She has a gift of bringing on baby fever - no matter how long it's been since you've had a baby.

Here's the link to Preston's proofs. You'll need to enter the site (on the bottom) and then on the left and you'll see "Info". Click that. Then you'll see "Client Proofs". Click that. And now sit back and look at that sweet, sweet baby. Wait, that baby's not mine... let's move on.

For username enter "models". And now enter "models" for password. Don't use the quotations. Click "Submit".



Now you'll have to scroll past several other kiddos before you get to Preston. Or you can just sit back and enjoy the slideshow. There's music too, so as long as you don't wake anybody up go ahead and turn up the sound. Preston's photos come around number 39 or so. Be sure and see them all, there's about 13 or so. The little girl immediately following Preston was at our photoshoot as well and they have been friends for quite a while and they are only a few days apart in age. They were very cute together, unfortunately we don't get to see them very often.



For immediate family, you might recognize photo number 135 as that is the one that earned Preston this:
For those that don't know, that's a local free magazine that is available at neighborhood grocery stores, restaurants, etc. Cool, huh?

Secondly, Connor had his professional photoshoot with a Jennifer as well. But with a different Jennifer, this time with Jennifer Lauren. She is another amazing photographer but has an altogether different look with her photography. She really has a way of capturing the eyes. We spent nearly two hours together and I learned so much from just watching her work. It was truly a joy to get to know her and I now consider her a good friend.

Ok, ready for trip to the internets folks? On your mark... get set... click!

Unfortunately Jennifer hasn't completed the photos from Connor's photoshoot, but you can click here for a sneak peek on Jennifer's blog. (I promise I'll share the link to the full reveal when I get it.)

Once you get to Jennifer's blog the first thing you might notice is Jennifer's reflection in the eye in her welcome post. That is Connor's eye! I told you she had a way with eyes. Connor is also up at the top in her rotating header, but you're going to want to see the rest.

So keep scrolling down and you'll see a handful of Connor. We thought we would go for a little bit different look this time and I think it suits him well. He was just all smiles throughout the whole process. Not even a diaper blow-out would spoil his mood. It was perfect. I can't wait for the rest of the photos.

Want to own some of these portraits of my beautiful children? Well, do you mom? Good news, both photographers are offering discounts of their prints for us to purchase. Now these are professionals so they won't be Walgreens pricing, but they also won't be Walgreens quality - much, much better! Let me know (mom) if you want any and we'll place an order.

So that ought to just about catch us up... at least for now.

Surprise!

Eight months old.

I love this age.

Every day we're starting to see more and more of Connor's personality.

It's so much fun discovering if he's...

funny

clever

adventurous

or mischievous.

Turns out, he is all four of those things and much more.

This was evidenced by how I found him in his crib one morning.

A Houdini in the making.

(Note the stragetically placed diaper in the background.)