Nanny

This week was our first week with the new nanny. Robert is still home so he has been helping and also using this time to figure out the best way to set up/schedules, etc. I have to say its going great so far. Mason is much less fussier in the evenings and has a better temperment (sp?) overall. Parker's mom says Parker is also less fussy in the evenings.
I guess I should go back and say we are sharing a nanny with some friends. Our plan was to alternate houses and the nanny will go to each house with all the kiddos. This week we started at our house. Its been an adjustment for all of us, but I think hardest on me-go figure! I will have to be disciplined to work and not be tempted to go play.
We will do themes each week, so we decided to start with transportation because thats what they were doing at their previous school before they left. We did simple stuff, like coloring pictures of cars and trains. We tried an activity called "tire tracks" where they run the cars through paint and make tire tracks. It worked ok, the kids had more fun just playing in the paint. The next day was "car wash" where they washed the cars they got covered in paint. That worked out great!
Next week we decided to start a theme of colors. My friend from college gave me some great ideas, and as she is a teacher it seems silly not to use them. Let's hope it goes as well as this week has!!
So far, I am glad we made this change. Fingers crossed that all remains ok :)

Grandma's Galore!

This weekend Robert went to the coast (it was his daddy's day present) and me and the kiddos hung out. Saturday my folks came down and spent a few hours with us. It was very nice to have the extra hands and someone else to help play with Mason. Mason very much enjoyed his grandma and wore her out! Grandpa helped keep Autumn happy. Mason was so well behaved he has my folks completly fooled :) The plan is for Mason to have his first overnight with grandma and grandpa next month...we will see how that goes.
Today the other grandma (Roberts mom) came over to stay with the kids until Robert got home from the coast. I left before Mason woke up from his nap, but I am sure he was excited to see her. It was grandma's galore this weekend at our house, and I could not be more grateful for the help!!

Traveling Times

So, I am offically on my first trip since Autumn was born. I am sitting in a hotel room in New Jersey. This reminds me of my crazy travel times with PPD. Nope, don't miss them. I am very glad this is just a one day trip. Don't miss the airport mess at all. Today on the plane the flight attendants were in a sour mood-I can only imagine they are worried about the merger and their jobs. Not the same as when I traveled with Continental several years before.
Thankfully no delays and a direct flight. I have to say that as nice as this quiet time is I miss my kiddos :)

Playdate

We had a playdate a few weeks ago with Lee and Reagan and their moms. All the boys had fun-I think the pictures speak for themselves :)

Sprinkler Fun

A few weeks ago we got the sprinkler out to help beat the heat. As you can see, Mason loved it! He is my little fish :) I think we will be using this quite often this summer....

Awh Peace....

Its so peaceful today. Big brother is at school and can not bother me while I take a little nap. He is very funny and loves to give me kisses, but sometimes its just nice to have a little quiet time for myself :)

Daddy is still home and takes care of me while mommy works. I'll miss him when he has to go back to work. I don't know who will take care of me then, but mommy says I will be cared for very well. Does that mean one of my grannies is going to take care of me? That would be great!

LBJ Wildflower Center

Mason had a great time at the wildflower center. He was determined to play in the creek, but mom was a party pooper. He did climb all the stairs in the tower to get to the top and mom had a heck of a time getting him to go down. He's just a very adventurous kid.

Lights, Camera, Action!

I am very excited our new video camera came in yesterday. I had been using a very old one that still recorded on tapes (agh!) and was ready for an upgrade. Its an HD model w/ flash memory so I can burn the video to a disk and not have to mess with any tapes-I love this new technology. We have not recorded anything super exciting yet, just Mason playing in his sandbox during the rain, but the possibilities are endless.
Mason's swim lessons are tonight, weather permitting, and I know Robert is ready to film me in my bikini-lord knows why!

On another note, my first overnight trip is coming up in a couple of weeks. I have the best boss who did not push any travel on me so I could have a couple of extra weeks with my baby, but that time is winding down. Its not like travel will be crazy anyway, but it just means that I will have to reduce nursing, if I can maintain at all. Just sad :(

New Addition

We added a family member :) Welcome my dear Autumn Paige!