Park Love

One of the BEST things about our new house and neighborhood is the proximity to the greatest park in Fort Worth. Seriously, it is the greatest. Every mom in the city knows of this park and agrees that it is the best. And now we are 1/2 mile from it!

So, when everyone was awake early from nap time yesterday, we jumped in the car and went to the park. We had about 30 minutes to kill before daddy came home, the weather was perfect and we live so close!

And might I add that now that the weather has cooled off, the park has been hoppin' lately:)

Mommy-Ashy Weekend

This weekend Emy and Steve went to Kansas to visit friends and see the TCU/KU football game. They left Thursday morning which meant that Ashton and I had a long weekend together. (By the way, Ashton has been saying "Emy on airplane. Daddy on airplane" all weekend long. It has been super cute.)

Can I just tell you how easy it is to have only one child??? Oh my word, this weekend has been like a vacation. Anyways, I have not done a very good job of capturing Ash lately so I made a point to shoot all weekend. I feel like these images put together a perfect picture of sweet Ash at this age.

Thursday morning our new nanny came to stay with Ash while I took Emy and Steve to the airport and then went to Panera to get some work done. He did great and was exhausted when I got home. After his nap, he had his usual snack time consisting of gummy fruit snacks and goldfish.
 This image is perfect for right now. Total MOODY two year old.

This morning we played when Ash woke up. This was a nice change of pace because normally we are rushing out the door for one reason or another. Not today!

The weather was cooler than normal and overcast, so Ashton and I got out our jeans and went to the zoo. I knew I want to try to get normal "zoo" pictures but I also made an effort to get some two-year portrait-type shots. That was a huge failure. I cannot get portrait shots of my own children. I need to leave that job to other professionals.

When we got home from the zoo it was almost naptime. Ashton cuddled up on the couch with his "ba" and all of his snuggle friends to watch Curious George.
 And tomorrow Emerson and Steve come home. Yay!

Sleeping Baby

I have always wanted to snap a picture of my children sleeping. Not newborn-photos-sleeping, but sleeping as children. As dreaming, innocent, precious children. I just kinda figured it would never happen because they wake up on their own and are always sleeping in dark rooms so logistically, I could not see it happening.

Well today, an opportunity presented itself. Ashton fell asleep in the car this morning while we were running errands. I got home and got him out of the car and he stayed asleep on my shoulder. Lately when this has happened, I just carry him around the house for a few minutes until he wakes up. You see, he has dropped his morning nap and I don't want to put him in his bed for a full nap until after lunch.

Anyways, I was holding him and holding him and I really needed to pee. So, purely out of necessity I laid him on our bed while I ran to our bathroom. I fully expected him to wake up crying the second I laid him down. Nothing. I flush and nothing. I walk over to pick him up and it dawns on me...the light was decent. He is laying on white sheets. He is OUT COLD.

I saw the opportunity and jumped at it. I quietly sneak over and grab my camera bag and get everything set. Again, I fully expected him to wake up after the first shot (cameras are loud!). Again, nothing. So, I just snapped and snapped away. He stirred and moved around once, but that was it.

It was totally a gift this morning. Not posed. Not fake. But real sleeping. My sweet boy.

Our Backyard...

...Is a hot mess. I mean that quite literally. Mess with a capital M.

The great thing about it is that the kids don't seem to mind! We have some grass, "flowers" (aka weeds), rocks, a seen-better-days playset and sandbox and a busted fence. Despite all that, the kids LOVE to go outside. Ashton actually cries and gets really upset when it is time to come in.

I am loving this weather lately and the fact that we can play without sweating. I know that this time will be short-lived, but for now, it is heaven.

Our "flower garden" as Emerson calls it.

One of the rocky patches.

Emerson told Ashton to put the flower behind his ear like hers. He obviously misunderstood the directions! Ha!

Oh, and one of my FAVORITE things about this weather is that I have been able to dress Ashton in plaid shorts again. There is nothing I love more than little boys in plaid shorts. Seriously. I looked through this spring/summer clothes and there are like 10 pairs of plaid shorts. I have a problem:)

Yesterday afternoon

The weather has been amazing lately. The kids played outside for an hour after naps while we waited for daddy to come home. They were extra silly and the light was extra pretty so I snapped some shots of my own kids (which I have not done in a while).