Bedtime Routine

I caught a few photos of S and LM the other day, getting ready for bed. S was reading LM a story in his big boy bed, and I had to take a few shots:

Blurry - low light, quick snap. 

Still sweet.

Love.

See you soon.

The Moore Hunt

Well friends I am woefully behind, and the people who stopped by here before have all but decided I've given up on blogging. But I haven't! I just needed a break. I have some photos from the Moore Easter Egg Hunt to share today. Here we go:

The Easter tee.

I bought that cute Easter tee with LM's name on it for him to wear to the egg hunts. Daddy didn't like the tee - he thought it was girly. Whatever. It's spring, people. Spring colors are pastels. Anyway, he wore it to the Moore egg hunt, but it was so cold, he had a coat on over it! So, there he is in Daddy's big boots, wearing the shirt.

The cold, cold egg hunt!

Easter was early this year, but the Sunday before Easter was REALLY cold! The wind was crazy. So, the egg hunt, sadly, was really short. They had a snack and hunted for eggs and that was it! Mrs. Moore always has games and crafts, and we had to miss that fun due to the weather. That was a bummer. But the part we got in was fun, even in the cold!

All the cute Easter outfits were covered in coats and hats!

All the cousins.

The hunt!

The boy and the cold Mama.

Thanking Mrs. Moore

Warming up in the car afterwards!

And one more shot of that shirt!

More Easter coming soon.

Easter Photos

First, I want to say I plan to get back to the regular discipline of writing this blog. But, I'm still recovering from the last few months of stress and this tour and it being done. It's all good, but I'm still, definitely, in recovery mode.

Another thing that slowed us down last week was my sweet S was sick - with the flu - all week. He does a lot to pull his weight around here and I missed that great amount of work he does while he was in the bed. I was a single parent for a week, and sister, I bow down to you single parents out there. It's a lot of work! And, I was tending to sicko too - it was a long week. Thankfully, he's on the mend and back to his regularly scheduled day today. I hope it goes well for him.

So, on to the post - just before we went to Europe, I went to a store in the mall to purchase LM a new shirt and tie for Easter. Easter would happen just a week after our return to Dallas, and I knew if I was to have anything prepared for it, I needed to do a couple errands before the trip. Luckily, we were able to let out the suit we purchased last year and use it again! S took LM to the tailor to have that done a few weeks before the tour too. So anyway, I went to purchase this shirt and tie. Because that shirt and tie cost a certain amount of money (I really don't remember what it was) I qualified to have LM's photo taken at the store and a free 8 x 10. But, the photo shoot dates were when we were in Europe. I called my mom and asked if she would take him to have the photos taken and she agreed to do it. So, I signed him up.

I should say I had very low expectations for these photos - I mean, his schedule would be a bit off since we were out of town, he is 2.5 and has exhibited no interest in having his photo taken recently, we were going to have him wear his Easter suit, which would feel different than "normal" clothes, and well, it was going to be taken in a store in the mall. But, what the heck, I figured, worth a try - it was free!

My mom said it was quite an afternoon to get him picked up from school after nap and to the mall, dressed in his suit in the time allotted. But, she said, he was in a good mood and she thought the photos would be good ones. The day to go see the photos was the week after we came back from Europe. So, I headed to the store in the mall to check out the photos.

Friends, they were SO CUTE! I bought all of the digital files! I was so pleasantly surprised, and so happy to have some nice photos taken by someone else of my boy! So, take a peek - here they are:

I mean, look at these sweet smiles and expressions!

One of the cutest "little man" poses.

Another one of those "little man" poses!

So in love with this boy, and so glad for these photos!

See you soon.

Hello Dear Neglected Blog Readers

Good Monday morning to ya! I've been back on this side of the pond for a little over a week, and still trying to get caught up. We did celebrate Easter and I took photos...this one uploaded the "old fashioned way"...because...

...I'm having some technical difficulties with my computer - I maxed out the hard drive, and seem to have lost most of my photo catalog in the move to a new external drive. They are still around somewhere, but I can't seem to map to them right. Sooooo....I am unable to share copious amounts of photos with you. Boring, right? So, on top of just being DONE with the world as I know it at the moment and needing some down time to decompress and right the apple cart, I don't have any pretty pictures to share!

And, this is NOT an April Fool's joke. Wish it were. Ahem.

But, I wanted to say hi, and that I hope to be back to blogging soon.

So, see ya then.

Alive and Well in Europe

So all is well in Europe - S has come and gone - taking the boy to Yo Gabba Gabba today. And, I have made it to Vienna. It has been unseasonably COLD the whole tour so far, and looks like it'll stay that way until we get home. Of course, at home it's beautiful and I'm missing the tulips! My mom sent me some photos of them at least. And, she has been so good to send photos of my boy every day. We have gotten to FaceTime most days as well, which has been oh so nice. I am a bit worried that will not continue into next week for two reasons. One - my mom leaves and S goes back to work, so there will be less flexibility to FaceTime when I am free; and two - my schedule gets jam packed for the next several days, traveling and playing each day as we go. Long days and short nights...so we shall see. 

I lost all the photos I took at Concertgebouw and also at a beautiful church near our hotel. Blast! Grr. But, these were taken with the small camera, which has now left and gone to Dallas with S. A look at some of Amsterdam follows:

That is an Amsterdam police car. I took it for LM.

That is a shopping mall.

At the time I snapped it, I thought it was the palace.

Shopping mall, palace. Whatever.

He we are with what I THINK was the actual palace behind us.

But maybe not. 

And this is us inside the dutch version of Harrod's - de Bijenkorf

The Oude Kerk - the old church

Down on the edge of the famous red light district is the Oude Kerk. We walked down to see this historic place, and it's only open April-October. Oh well...

Just near the oude kerk - a "coffee shop" where they sell pot.

The Nieuwe Kerk

We also went by the Nieuwe Kerk - it's no longer a church - it's an exhibition space, and the current exhibition is "The American Indian" - aha. No thanks. Not what I'm interested in seeing while in Europe. No offense to the American Indian meant...

Along the way we saw the Dam plaza, of course.

And beautiful canals.

Westerkerk

So, we headed over to the Westerkerk - still a church. But, closed on a Sunday afternoon. Wah-wah. Three churches, no actual entry. A few days later, I did go to the above mentioned church near the hotel. It was absolutely beautiful, and the light was wonderful when I was there. I wish I had photos. But no use dwelling on that!

The cheese shop in the side of the church was open for business!

S helped us get to and fro on the tram system. 

He was a great guide. Albeit, a cold one.

While we were at a runout concert outside of Amsterdam, S had some adventures of his own. I'll share those photos another day, as well as some photos I took at a very interesting art museum. When I have good wifi and some time again...stay tuned.

See you soon.

Missing My Boy Already

So we are off to Europe now and I'm missing this sweet boy already. I know he'll have tons of fun with his Nana and his Nonna and Papaw. But I will miss him all the same!

Luckily, I have lots of photos of him.

That'll help.

See you soon.

Alexandra is 5!

We celebrated Alexandra's birthday last weekend at a Build-A-Bear party. It was really the first time we had been in that store, and LM had a great time. Here are some photos of the fun:

LM was sort of in a mood when we arrived.

Nothing Nonna couldn't fix.

First, there were ground rules to cover.

Then there were bears to pick.

LM chose a monkey.

Then they made wishes on their bear's hearts.

Miss Katherine took this part very seriously.

It was so cute.

The hearts went in the bears after the wishes were complete.

Then they took turns getting their animal filled with fluff.

LM really enjoyed this whole process.

Next, it was time to dress the animals.

Of course, LM's monkey became Spider-Man

Happy boy dancing with his Spider Monkey

Next, time for cake!

Or, as LM pointed out, cookie. Ahem.

We sang Happy Birthday!

And chowed down.

Next Alexandra opened presents!

While she did that, these two pushed their bear boxes around the mall...

Later that night, we had pizza at Nonna and Papaw's with some extended family.

And the television babysat.

Of course, there was dancing!

And coloring. Fun times.

Happy Birthday Alexandra! Thank you for having us at your party!

Today S and I fly off to Europe for a trip with my job. My mom will watch the LM for us while we are away, and S will return next week. Then, I will return in just over two weeks. Posting will most likely be spotty during this time. I'll post when I have time, but it's going to be a crazy schedule for a few days! And, I'll miss my LM so much! But, we will FaceTime and it'll be over, I'll be back, and we'll be doing Easter Egg hunts lickety split. And, he will have fun with his grandparents and his Daddy.

See you soon.