Lil' Chef

It appears I have a lil' chef on my hands!
Yes, today my sweet lil' dumplin' was in the mood to cook. The minute I started tinkering in the kitchen this morning, she asked me if she could cook something as well so we pulled her little kitchen out into the middle of the room so she could cook away!
We played kitchen and babies off and on ALL day. I had so much fun pretending with her and watching her imagination at work. I really love 3 1/2...so sweet and so innocent yet becoming more and more confident and independent. Of course, I coerced her into posing for a couple of pictures to document the 'event'.
And pose she did :)
Grant felt a little left out so he drug himself away from the TV (we just got Netflix today and he was in HOG HEAVEN checking out everything that was on there!) to pop his head into a couple of pictures.
This evening we moved the cooking into the real kitchen and whipped up the yummiest batch of ooey-gooey brownies, evah!!! I have been trying to stay away from sweets but I just had to have one (brownies are my all time fav) and I relished every single bite!
It seems like spring has finally arrived...we spent a lot of time outside on Sat and I have some really fun pics I hope to get edited and share yet this week. Until then, wishing all, that have stuck with me and still read my blog, a fantastic week!

Snow Much Fun

Last weekend, the weather was absolutely glorious, especially since we had just emerged from a frigid deep freeze. The kids and I spent most of Saturday in the house cleaning out and organizing the toy boxes, doing laundry...yada, yada, yada...Much like what we did today because we are getting hit with another huge storm (or at least we are supposed to be, but thus far there's only been a little snow and lotsa wind) but that is a whole nother story.
Since we finished all of our chores on Saturday, we deemed Sunday a fun day! It was in the 40's, sunny and the perfect day bundle up and head outside to climb the snowbanks and have a good old fashioned snowball fight!
Well...the kids did all of the snowball throwing and I dodged them while attempting to capture a couple of good action shots!Roxy was even having a blast blazing through the snow drifts and chasing the stray snowballs.This little stinker has a pretty darn good arm, too! Thankfully I was able to dodge all of his bullets :)

It is such a good feeling to watch your children living life, having fun and enjoying the little things in life like playing in the snow on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
♥ It warms my heart to no end. ♥
After all, it is moments like these that they will remember for years to come...or at least I know I will.

i heart faces - 'Silhouette'

This week's theme over at i heart faces is 'Silhouette' and it just so happens that last week, prior to winter's sudden onset, I took the kids to the park and captured some super cute silhouette shots. This one is my favorite one because it looks so serene with the little sun flare in the background but all the while, little mister was yelling at me to stop taking his picture so I could help him on the monkey bars! Good thing it is a silhouette shot or you would probably see a great big scowl on his face :)Make sure to head over to iheartfaces.com by clicking on the button below to check out all off the other super cool silhouettes!

Sleeping Beauty

Call me strange, but I LOVE it when I have the chance to capture my children sleeping, especially in unusual places!
These pics were from a couple of weekends ago and, if you can't already tell from the massive amount of toys and babies on the floor in the background, it was a day filled with play. Lots of play!
It was past nap time and when the time came that she could no longer stay awake, Little Miss Moo folded up her 'brown blankie' and fell fast asleep.
Maybe I like taking photos when the kids are sleeping because it reminds me of when they were babies. Or maybe I just love how peaceful they look as they are asleep and dreaming.
Okay. lets be honest...I also love that I get a couple of minutes of peace and quiet!!! Nap time is a Mama's blessing :)

p.s. Wishing a very Happy 18th Birthday, to my niece, Austin! If you ever read this I hope you have a fabulous Birthday!

From Tootie's View: Splash Pad

I know, I know...Fall is in the air and Summer is on it's way out the door but I'm not ready to let it go that easily. As I long for just a few more warm days, I'll share the pics of a beautiful Summer day spent at the splash pad with the kiddos.

LOOK! It's a bird! It's a plane!
No...It's just my Mom with her camera in my face again.
Maybe, if I don't look at her, she'll go away!
Good, now she's found a new target. No, she's not going to use the head in the middle of that circle as a target, you silly! I mean she finally found someone else to take pictures of.
I guess I should give her some credit. She brought us shopping, then picked up McD's for us to eat at the park and now onto the splash pad that, until now, we had never been to, and all just because she is the best-est Mom evah.
It is also the splash pad I still haven't 'been' to yet because I am too busy swinging and ignoring my picture crazed mother. I know she really wants me to put on my cute little swim suit but I don't want to give her any more reasons to keep taking pictures of me. Maybe if I just sit here, like a lump on a log, she'll take pictures of Grant again.
My brother sure does look like he is having a splashing good time though!
Now look who's getting sick of my Mom's lens following him all over the entire pad. Oh great! Now she is turning around to take pictures of me again. Phooey!
Thanks for nothin', Brother!There, the ole' stick your tongue out at the camera tactic worked! She's taking more of water-logged-willie over yonder!
Ooop, looks like someone is all done splishin'-and-a-splashin' and it is time to blow this pop stand!
Later Dudes!

i heart faces - 'Play'

The theme over at iheartfaces this week is 'Play' ~ And what a fun theme it is!!!! Although my entry isn't an action shot of the kids playing tag or of them playing with conventional 'toys' it is a picture of them doing two of the things I love watching them do the most....reading and playing {nicely} together.
Grant just turned 5 in March so he isn't technically 'reading' to Audrey, but if she is sitting and listening intently to Grant's rendition of "Dora the Explorer - When I Grow Up" then so be it!!! Anything as long as he isn't tormenting her to the point of shrieking is A-OK with me :)

Make sure to head on over to www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com to check out all of the other awesome entries.

iheartfaces - 'Focusing on Angles'

This week over at iheartfaces, they have challenged us all to take our photography to another level...literally. So I guess it is time to take a whole new perspective on things and focus on angles. And let me tell you, this isn't as easy as it sounds.
Last Sunday, the kids and I went to the park to soak up some springtime sunshine and to burn off a little steam. I was trying to capture images from all angles in hopes of getting a great one to use in this photo challenge. The picture I chose is of my sweet and sassy and ever so stylish little 2 year old enjoying her favorite pasttime...swinging!
I find out more and more each day how photography truly is a learning process. I also feel as if each of iheartfaces weekly photo challenges have motivated me to try something new and push me beyond my comfort zone.

Make sure you head on over and see all of the other amazing angles by clicking on the button below.

Play Dough cRaZy!

I don't know about your kids, but mine are cRaZy about Play Dough.
The {relatively} clean freak that I am, makes my poor kids keep their play dough contained on a cookie sheet and they are only aloud to play with one color each, at a time. I have to admit, it is a bit anal-retentive, but less mess always makes for a much happier Mommy.
I love seeing the concentration on their faces as they work so hard at creating their masterpieces.
And since I am using {relatively} old pictures (notice the outfit that Audrey is wearing...these were taken the same day as the pics on the bumps-n-bruises post) I can't for the life of me remember exactly why Grant is holding up 8 fingers. Use your imagination. You are all creative and funny...what you think the reason is for Grant holding up 8 fingers?
This is kinda a pathetic 'cheese' face if you ask me.
Voila! This is the finished product to all of Grant's hard work.
Again, not exactly sure what this particular masterpiece is suppose to be but when I tried asking I got he ole' "Talk to the hand cause the face ain't listenin'!"
Okay, that is better. A little peek from my almost 5 year old. I simply cannot believe he is already going to be a handful. I mean, he is already a HANDFUL, but now he is really going to be a handful.
Speaking of Grant turning 5, I also can not wait until Sunday for his big Super Hero Birthday Bash. I think I have everything all bought/ordered/ready for the big day. Now I just have to wait like a kid at Christmas-time.