Hey mama... get in the picture.

I'll admit it. 99.9% of the time, I hide from the camera. Any camera. (Unless of course, it's a picture taken with my iPhone, shot from the perfect upper angle to highlight my good side.) Looking back at the past three years, there just aren't many pictures of Mason and mommy, together. This morning, I decided that should change.  My sweet little monster woke up one snuggly bug, and wanted to cuddle on the couch before breakfast. How do you deny such a sweet request? So, we did just that... and snapped a few pictures. Is my hair done? No. Do I have any makeup on? Nope. Heck, my mouth is even half open. But, I will treasure this picture, the smooches he planted all over my face, and the sweet morning we shared together; regardless of my degree of "ready". Sometimes, being a mom is just about simply living in the moment, and not getting ready for it first. Get in more pictures mama. If I can do it, I know you can too. 

The facts of life -

Hello friends, 
It's been quite some time since I last signed on. Life is busy. That's just the fact of it. There is never enough hours in the day, or days in the week to squeeze it "all" in; but I have decided, being busy is simply not excuse enough to keep me from doing what I love. I love my family. I love blogging. I love taking pictures. I love cooking, decorating, crafting, shopping... and the list goes on. When asked what my hobbies are, I often find myself racking my brain for the answer... "What DO I like to do?" So, it's time I reconnected with myself. I'm bringing this blog back to life, and filling the posts with anything and everything I am interested in. Hopefully it will interesting to you too. (If not, cute pictures of Mason will be included for your viewing pleasure!)
So, in short, tune in, each week for an update - hold me to it folks. It's time this lady got back in the swing of things. 
Until next time, 

Catching Up on 2012

Who's a bad blogger? This mommy is. Through all the craziness that is our lives, I haven't found the time to sit down, and update as I should. Today is the day! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the first part of our 2012.

 He's a handsome little dude.

 Who loves.. adores... and is addicted to his BEEEES. (binkies)

 He's likes to see what's going on, especially in the kitchen. (holllllllllllld meeeee)

 He likes to try on daddy's shoes.

 Grandma Rich is one of his very favorite people.

 He likes his daddy too.

 He's not a huge fan of purple suede and sequence.

 But his dad is :)

 The stockings were hung...

 And Santa came!

 And brought Thomas! Hog heaven I tell you.

 He has the sweetest "cheese" smile.

 And a piercing gaze.

 Best friends with his Papa.

 And loves his Nana.

 I keep my eye on things. He's quick.

 Meet Dehj. Mason's cousin, and best buddy.

 Can't you tell?

 The three musketeers. You can feel the nerd love.

 Papa's support when he needed it most.

 Even rocked a Cheif's jersey to lift his spirits.

 Always rockin' a handsome hat. (Thanks to @BabySteals.)

 Not quite a sunglasses pro. We're getting there.

 Knocked out seems to be the theme of the next few....

 You can almost hear the snores, can't you?

 Spiderman's got nothin' on Maseo Man!

 Cheesey smiles. (are my favorite)

 Trips to feed the ducks with Papa.

 Favorite chinese food on the planet!

 Even this cape wearin' super hero likes the zoo...

... and loves his daddy.

Halloween with Mason the Monkey

This year was fun-- Mason was finally old enough to understand what was going on, what we were doing, and why we were out. He was dressed up like a monkey, he would make the monkey sounds, and crawl on the floor. There wasn't a doubt in his mind as to what he was. It was so much fun. After we would get candy from a house, he would say, "Tank You", and as we walked away, he would say, "More?". It sure is fun to see your kids grow up. We also went to a Halloween Birthday party for cousin Emily, who turned one. What a fun birthday! I always wanted a Halloween baby, I will love Camille's instead :)

He climbed up to doors, and politely knocked. I am pretty sure every lady on the block loved his little voice saying "treat". Trick-or-treat was too many words, but the treat he seemed to get in there every time ;)

Mason and the banana bucket. "More. More. More?".

Papa the trick-or-treating knight. Pretty much Mason's hero.

The monkey and his pumpkins. He loved "punkins" all season long.

The eyes that change from green to brown. And the monkey that stole my heart.

Trying to get a picture of six wiggly kids is always interesting. Here is the best one I got!

This was the monkey crawl. He did it frequently.
The sweetest kid ever.

Thanks to Papa who snagged up this monkey costume for Mason last year. He loved it.

Bowling anyone?

Anyone else have a kid who loves to bowl? Mason thought it was his turn every time the pins were set up-- we let him believe it. He loved pushing the ball down the ramp, and running to watching it come back up through the hole. It was fun, he loved it, and so did we.

Lagoon!

Mason had his first trip to Lagoon on Friday-- and he had way more fun than I thought he would! He was able to ride a few rides with cousin Collin, and he got to eat his favorite for lunch. Hot dogs! It was a good day, so good, we bought season passes so we could go back all summer long. It's going to be fun!

The Whickerds

Quite the cute collection of cute kids if I do say so myself. And yes, mine would be the one giving someone a dirty look at the bottom of the shot. Ahh, boy after my own heart there.
These two cuties, are quite possibly the most darling brother/sister team on the planet. I mean look at them. Does it get any sweeter than that?

Sweet Collin is oh, so handsome.
Miss Emily, the littlest cousin. She is super sweet, and oh, so precious.
And a blooper. No family picture would be complete without one. Bree is such a good sister, holding that little Emily. And Buddy gives the best cheeses. Mason is apparently leaving the building, and it looks like Collin isn't far behind. Easter was so fun! I wish we could get all these kiddlets together for pictures more often :)