I've Been Bit

Little known fact: about four years ago, I got the photography bug. Maybe it had to do with getting a new camera or maybe it was being surrounded by the incredible scenery of a wintery New York City. Either way- the bug bit me.

Since then, I've toyed with the camera, changed angles when photographing and desperately longed for some of the Photoshop knowledge D has to jump into my head. It takes time- a lot of time, but little by little, I'm gaining more knowledge and mostly figuring out what style suits me.

Sunday's beautiful weather gave the Moore family a good excuse to get outside. Of course it's always fun photographing when you have your two favorite subjects nearby.

Gavin's new pose is called the pretzel. He does it quite often now.

The camera and I have been through so much that I'm considering a new camera strap. D, you wouldn't mind a new strap in teal and tiger print would you? ........Silence, and then he just walked away.

One to One

If you open the drawer containing my muffin pans, more than likely you will find a letter of the alphabet securely held in one of the muffin holes. I'm not sure if Gavin is pretending to help me in the kitchen or just doing his own thing.

To further encourage his creativity, I decided to see how he was at one to one correspondence. This is just a fancy term for putting one object in one hole. It's a skill that kindergarteners are supposed to achieve by year's end. And to be honest, my initial thought upon hearing this was you've got to be kidding. The naivety that came with being a first year teacher a couple of years ago thought that all kids should be able to do this. Not so much. Since then, I've seen kids that can't for the life of them point and count five objects because they either skip over objects or count too many of them, repeatedly.

Well anyways, I wanted to see what my 20 month old could do- parental curiosity. I retrieved the muffin tin and collected several plastic cookies. Somehow a cricket puzzle piece ended up in the mix. And what do you know, little man was able to correctly place one cookie in each of the holes.
Later on, he started replacing some of the cookies with alphabet letters from our Fridge (or Fidget if you're in the Moore household) Phonics. Those were more fun (for Mommy) because the magnets on the back held them in the holes when Gavin decided it was time to turn the whole thing over.

Now I just have to stay on my toes or we might end up chewing into the end of the letter J next time we have blueberry muffins.

These Boots

These boots belong to one tough cowboy

who is battling a double ear infection now.

But with this look, I don't think it better dare mess with him much longer.

***Gavin insisted on wearing his boots....and both hats. Yep, there's a hard hat underneath his top hat.

The Next Generation

Growing up, I was blessed to have some of my cousins live close by. We played together often and pretty well. Even though I was the only girl in the bunch, I think I held my own. We ran, climbed trees, and our biggest props were our imaginations.

At nearly five and two years of age, Gavin and his cousin Ayden already play fairly well together. Recently, the two spent the afternoon playing outside. They chose their method of transportation,

went on an African safari in a makeshift red wagon,

(some had important phone calls to make)

and played in their cabin turned castle.

As the new generation of cousins grows, I'm sure the adventures will too.

Beautiful Day

News flash! Spring is here although not officially. In honor of the beautiful weather, we chose to spend it doing a little spring cleaning outside. While D and I worked, Gavin oversaw and showed off his mowing skills.
The weather put everyone in a pretty good mood and caused this little boy to take a three hour nap after being outside for so long.

A Changed Man

Well, at least his hair is changed. D surprised me this afternoon when he walked in the door sporting his "annual" haircut.

Now, if we can do something with the shaggy boy he's holding.

Lessons Learned

I'm Learning That


...it's okay not to post a blog complete with pictures and captions.

...my grandfather can still surprise my grandmother after more than a half century of marriage.

...God used some really messed up people to do incredible things.

...jalapeno juice can burn your hands for a long time. My hands would thank me if I'd at least use sandwich bags as gloves next time.

...my little boy has a wicked sense of humor.

...my husband is a better dad than I could have imagined. He exceptionally great at flying previously mentioned little boy around the house.

...it's tough not seeing your friends for long periods of time.

...this list is going to keep growing.