A Toddler's Mind

I have always wondered what goes through my kids' minds. What are they thinking about all day? Well, I no longer have to wonder because I can look through the pictures Austin takes and get a look into his life as a 3 year old boy. Well, here they are:

Dad talking on the phone mid-wrestle time.

He loves to watch the house being built next door.

And, last but not least, a picture of the toilet being flushed. What a boy.

Now that I know what he thinks about, maybe I didn't really want to know. :)

A New Obsession

My boy has a new passion in life. He loves taking pictures. A while back when we were at Wal-mart, he insisted that he needed a kid camera. So, Todd took him to look at the cameras while I was waiting to check out, and I made a mental note that that will make a great birthday present a few months down the road. A few days later, he started grabbing for our point and shoot, so I let him take a couple of pictures with it and put up out of reach. Then, he started eyeing my DSLR, uh, no.
It is time to rememdy the situation. After searching to the bottom of a rather large tub, I found our old point and shoot, put in an old CF card, and handed it over to Austin with the understanding that he "be careful."

After about 30 seconds, he demanded that I fix the camera. Okay, not only was it an old CF card, but it was also a small CF card. I had to change the settings to small, small photos and not very sharp and pretty photos. That's okay, he now has over 300 pictures that he can take instead of 32. First hurdle conquered.

The next one came when the camera wouldn't take any pictures at all. Hmmm. The battery needed charging. After the battery is all charged up, it only lasts for 3 or 4 hours of constant shooting, but at least he is having fun. :)

He has some photograpy skills. Check out his composition. :)

Work is fun

Emma loves the plants around the house. . . she picks off the leaves and flowers which doesn't really help out the landscaping any. Well, she was in the backyard and comes to us with a guilty look and a plant in her hand.

Since the backyard landscaping consists of dirt and weeds right now, we indulged her. We gave her a plastic bag and let her at it.

Picking weeds were never this fun when I was a kid.

Austin even wanted in on the fun (for a little bit at least).

Party time!

We went to a birthday party at a friend's house tonight. The kids had fun playing with the bikes, backyard, and . . . the fire engine (only a couple of kids got ran over - no worries). The BBQ was great Bryan and Amanda made the cutest cake that looked like a tractor and a dirt pile. All the boys wanted the tractor piece of cake (but it was more for looks than eating). There was even a pinata, one serious pinata. The kids took some good whacks with it, but it didn't do a thing to it. Friends, a little dirt, some good food topped off with some sugar makes for some great times. Thanks guys!

Zoo Trip

Here is another "catch up" post. A few weeks ago me and the kids went with some Friends to the zoo. It was a little crazy . . . spring break is not the time to go to the zoo. It seems it is the thing to do in Phoenix. There were a ton of people. We got to see some animals, play at the kid's farm, eat some lunch, and have some fun.
Sometimes it was a little hard to see the animals. "Honey it's the brown blob in the back. See it? That is so cool that we saw a (fill in the blank)." We still go to see the lions and tiger. I guess we will have to get to the zoo early to make sure the animals aren't "taking naps."

Here is the slideshow of the highlights of the trip.

Easter

We had a fun little Easter here at home. the kids were more excited about the eggs, the stuff inside was just an extra bonus. Emma was up bright and early, it took a little prodding to get Austin awake.

Once he saw Emma running around with her Easter basket, he was up.

The chapstick("lips")was a hit.

There was lots smiles, toys and even a princess moment.

Utah trip

Well, I am going to be playing catch up for the next couple of posts. Things have been busy for for us. A while back we took a trip up to Utah to see family. With moving, we haven't had the chance to get up there for a few months. The drive up is always fun. :) We found some beautiful desert scenery.

Some of the best scenery can be found on the side of the road during the short notice potty breaks.

The previous picture may look nice and sunny, but that was before we actually got to utah. A lot of wind and cold and there was actually snow one morning. A couple of the mornings Todd and I got up early to get a landscape for his grandparents. It got so cold (Yes, my blood has thinned out quite well since Nebraska), we ended up in the truck until the sun came up a little bit more.

The kids had fun seeing grandparents, cousins, and playing in the outdoors. It was so good to see family and hang out with them for the weekend. Check out the fun in the slideshow below.

Welker photo shoot

This week our friends came by to get some family photos taken before they head back to New Mexico. They are a great family and their kids are adorable. The toddler is all about hamming it up for the camera at home, but not during the shots on the black background. It took a lot of convincing to get a couple cute smiles, but we got them. Then, once we got outside, he was all personality. Toddlers are so fun - unpredictable, but fun.

I'm so glad they came by for some photos and to hang out. Check out the slideshow for a few of my favorites.