We have returned from our latest trip home from Hartford, but unfortunately these pictures are not from that trip. These are from this year’s Easter and a couple from Mason’s 13-month monkey picture. This first picture of the kids will take you to the Easter 2006 set. The others are single pictures of Mason. Enjoy:
Stay tuned for another family update and some site enhancements, as well!
I finally did it! A little later than I had hoped, but I’ve finished the update of the site and all that goes along with it. All our pictures up to now have been uploaded to Flickr and we can now keep the site up-to-date with all the latest happenings in the Rice family.
I did miss a few pictures over the past couple of months, but those have been updated. One of the big ones I missed was Corinne’s 3-year bunny pictures. You can see them here:
Corinne playing with her dolls:
Also, I can finally post the pictures of Corinne and Mason that were taken at Target. If you’ll remember, it didn’t exactly go as planned but we came away with an excellent picture of the kids. Especially of them together. Here are Corinne, Mason, and the two together:
So much for writing an update every week. Lots has happened since last time I wrote. We took trips home to visit family which is always fun. The kids love to be spoiled by grandparents with lots of attention and yummy treats!
Mason turned one on March 18th. As seen by the pictures already posted, he had a tractor/farm themed party. He most certainly did not disappoint when it came to tearing into his cake. It was fun for the family to see him after such a long time since our previous visit. He is walking everywhere and loves to jibber-jabber.
Easter was really fun this year for Corinne. Tony and I took the kids to an Easter Egg Hunt given by the city. There were eggs all over the ground. When the siren rang, Corinne entered the circle daintily and was just looking over the eggs. I had the camera rolling and had expected her to go crazy over the candy-filled eggs! When I told her she could pick them up and put them in her pail, she said she only wanted the pink ones! Ha! Later we hid the eggs in the yard and decorated some hard-boiled eggs. Tony’s parents came down to spend the day with us. It was a nice holiday together.
Yesterday we worked in the yard. I tore out a bush that was on its last leg and trimmed the others back. Then we spread ten bags of mulch across the front beds while the kids sat on a blanket and ate frozen pops. We’ll get to the backyard eventually. We are still in the planning stages for a new flower bed with a stone wall and a garden back there.
Summer is on the way! The kids have been enjoying playing at the park and being outside. We just renewed our zoo membership so we are ready to roll! Hope you are all having nice weather in your corner of the world!
So Target was not on target with pictures this time around. We always have gone there for two reasons: 1) cheap but nice pictures and 2) we own stock in the store and try to do everything possible there. Tony and I had decided on jeans with white shirts for everyone. I bathed the kids and let them wear their pjs all day so as to not get anything on their clothes. I slaved over an ironing board to make sure no creases were visible on the shirts. For once it my life, I actaully entertained the idea of not wearing a seat belt on the way to the store so as to not wrinkle my shirt. After dinner, the family got dressed and beautified. Somewhere in the shuffle, Corinne was playing with our toothpaste and got blue gel on her shirt. Tony lovingly washed it out, and I dried it with the blowdryer. Crisis averted. If only I knew what lay ahead. The taking of the pictures was a challenge. They had just switched to an all digital system the day before and were still unsure of their skills. Corinne went first and loved every second of it. Mason is now mobile which spelled disaster. He just didn’t want to sit there and smile. Then we did the family picture. Throw four people together and try to have them all smiling and looking in the same direction is hard to do. We made it through and were told to shop/browse for approximately 15 minutes while they downloaded the images. Two hours later, we were finally seeing the pictures. I actually cried. They were not what I had hoped for, and I told the lady. I felt horrible. I am the type of person who would rather eat the food with a hair in it than send it back. The lady felt so bad that she gave us multiple sheets of pictures for free. Unfortunately they are not digitally available so you will just have to take my word on this one. You know me. I never exaggerate.
The rest of the week was heavenly by comparison. I took Corinne to see her first movie in the theater. ‘Chicken Little’ was playing at the dollar theater. Her nap was longer than usual so the movie had already started when we got there. I guess I am desensitized to the whole theater experience (darkness, loud volume, huge screen, etc) because while I was walking to our seats, Corinne froze in place. Her eyes were huge! I had to physically pick her up and carry her to her seat. She wasn’t heavy enough for the seat to unfold so her feet were pointing at the ceiling. Glued to the screen, she asked me where we were and what was happening. She eventually loosened up and enjoyed herself. That is until someone came in and tried to sit in front of her. Corinne screamed, “NOOOO!” The lady jumped out of her skin but graciously moved down a few seats. Overall, I think Corinne enjoyed it. She is already asking when we can go again.
Saturday was Mason’s first birthday! Bizarre! It just doesn’t seem like a year could have possibly elapsed. The little guy is cute as ever. He is trying his hardest to walk and babbles nonstop. His latest thing is to pick up the phone and pretend to talk to people. Stephanie was down for the day and played with the kids. It was great to have a member of the family here on his special day. The party will actually be this weekend. We chose tractors as a theme. I’m really hoping he digs into the cake. Knowing Mason, he won’t disappoint!
That title could be misleading since we haven’t really done anything all that exciting lately. Here’s a glimpse into last week:
These kids seem to like being awake before the sun. Since we are up so early, I have been taking them to the Space-themed playplace at the mall before the stores open. It’s just us and the mall walkers. They love being able to play without all the chaos that normally occurs during mall hours. Mason is learning to climb up and down off of the shuttle by himself. He gets pretty happy about it and screams for approval. He also has discovered that tunnels are pretty cool. Corinne and I like to peak at him from the other side. Anyway, it’s a good way to get them tired enough for a long nap. We are hoping to become regulars so that the workers at the adjoining Auntie Ann’s pretzels will let us sample their first morning batch for free. It’s torture to smell those things baking!
Corinne had her three year check-up and is growing like a four year old…according to the doctor. She said her height, weight, and skills are in line with a child a year older than she is. I took that to be good news. Corinne really loves Dr. Carlos and did whatever she asked and more! It was cute to watch her do the “tricks” the doctor would suggest to check her level of development. Corinne is also doing a great job at swim class. Only one more lesson before the next session. Her teacher said she is doing well enough to advance to the next class. This from the girl who only a month ago cried so hard at the THOUGHT of swimming that she vomited into the pool three times causing them to shut down the entire pool! Will miracles ever cease?
Mason is about to turn one. Crazy! His fourth tooth has finally erupted. I couldn’t be happier. Now the boy just needs some molars so he can chew some manly food. He is walking around while pushing things (walkers, kitchen chairs, etc.) but is yet to take steps by himself into the great unknown. I’m sure that will happen soon. Mason did have his first strawberries and seemed to love them. It’s a good thing or else he might have to be disowned. You can’t not like strawberries when you come from a line of strawberry farmers! He is now drinking whole milk (gag!) and eating dairy products. Next week we’ll start peanut butter. Yipee!
Tomorrow we are getting Corinne’s three year pictures, Mason’s one year pictures, and our family pictures taken. It is going to be a circus! I am just hoping that everyone is happy for the 20 minutes it will take to capture bliss on film. More on that next time…