I'm starting to think March was a really great month to have a baby. It's now May and we are ready to get out of the house! So the other day at 11:15, baby had just been fed and the sky was just the perfect amount of overcast so we hopped in the car and headed for the woods... or the closest version to it anyway. Cottonmill Park.
The way Mason says it is just too cute.
I love the trees and trails. Reminds me of going to camp when I was little.
I have a handful of places that I like to go to for taking pictures. Since I was by myself I opted for the once least likely to result in Mason running off and getting hit by a car. The Amphitheater. There are big cement seats down this cute little tree-covered, wood chip path. And in the bottom of this big opening the light dances among the trees.
The perfect place for a little 2-year-old boy to frolick.
If it's acceptable to use the term "frolick" for boys.
My intent was to get some pics of Miles, as he just turned two months.
But surprisingly, I got a few of Mason in some rare displays of brotherly love.
Actually he's adjusting to being a big brother quite well, better than I had anticipated in fact. Of course, he has so much to learn in general. Being 2 can be a challenge at times. Every day is full of teaching opportunities. But we're doing great!
This was Miles' second trip to Cottonmill. We had to check out the Nature Barn play area the other day when it was nice. It won't open until Memorial Day. Mason will be soooo excited to see all of his animal friends again!
There are some birds in a the big cage out front already. He was so excited to tell Daddy how the "big pecan fall down" meaning the "big peacock flew down". Close enough.
Mason repeating "Miles vooking around." L's are still hard. He gets lots of reminders that we only "look" at Miles with our eyes, which to him still gives permission to get as close to his face without touching as possible.
Too bad he has so much hair, or he could get a lot closer.
Miles' interactions are pretty limited thus far. Mason draws entertainment from his sneezes and bowel movements. Miles has recently developed a really sweet smile and set of "oohs" and "aahs" that just melt your heart. Unfortunately these interactions are usually followed by a massive spit-up.
Totally worth it, though.
Sleepy eyes, he was sooo about to just fall asleep right there flat on his back in the woods. Speaking of sleep, Miles gets the good sleeper award. Of course, his competition wasn't too fierce. Mason didn't sleep through the night until he was 18 months old. Miles sleeps off and on throughout the day anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. He usually is out for the night at 11pm and sleeps until 4 or 5, eats, and then sleeps until 7 or 8ish.
And at this point, 5 hours of straight sleep is just heavenly!
We got on the scale together today. I won't tell you what we weighed together :). The difference was 12.5 pounds.
We're getting rolls in some places!
Mason ran
and ran
and ran.
By the time I got around to taking pictures of him, his cheeks were nice and rosy. He thought we were playing peekaboo, but I was just pretending so I could take some pics without him realizing it.
It worked.
On another note, I am beyond excited that garage sale season is here. It's where we get most of our possessions. Actually, mostly just clothes and toys. And anything else we just can't live without.
In this outfit, he is wearing a suit jacket and shoes from the GAP and an Old Navy collared shirt underneath. All from garage sales for like 50 cents each. I typically pay under a buck for his clothes. If it's something really extraordinary I may splurge... like $2.
The jeans, however, were new as they were a present at Christmas. I will allow purchasing one new item per season if needed or one item I really really like since we don't buy a lot new. This is my way, combined with crazy couponing, of contributing to our goal of paying off the house as quickly as possible. There are spreadsheets, lots of them, but since that's Dustin's department I just stick to spending as little as possible :).
One of the first garage sales this season I found a plethora of 3T clothes for next season all marked a quarter and in perfect condition from GAP/Old Navy/Carter's. Jackpot!
Anyway, back to the woods... and hide and seek :). This game rocks with a 2-year old. You don't have to do anything except keep repeating "Where's Mason?" and he either starts giggling or comes out right away.
He'd been hiding behind the tree for all of 2 seconds before he reappeared. Great game.
This year I'm hoping to find a picnic basket at a garage sale. Then I'll come back to the same spot with food, the only thing that could have made our outing better. I tried to steal my Mom's picnic basket, but she's saving it to take the boys camping when they get a little older.
And yes, our $.025 blanket came from a garage sale too. I love it. It's the perfect outdoor blanket.
Note Miles' outstretched flailing arms and Mason's arms in a position somewhat similar to CPR. This is what I mean when I say we're working on being gentle.
After several rounds of games, I finally convinced him to take a break and have a Gogurt snack. They are so good frozen, our family is addicted. But Mason has to eat them thawed, it's a little too complicated for little hands and mouths.
Trying to see the helicopter overhead. He has absolutely amazing hearing, he never misses those planes!
The only downside about time in the woods is that Mason's hair is long enough that it actually requires a thorough tick check afterwards.
We'll be back here soon, I think next time we'll hit the trails.
Or look for the ever elusive white goose.
I've been promising that when it returns we will feed it bread. I seriously drove around for 3 weeks with bread in my back seat at the end of last year. Every time we went to Cottonmill we looked for it. I even drove through the park randomly hoping to find it for him one last time... but it had already moved on for the winter.
So wish us luck. When we find it, I'll take a picture :).
