T minus 2 weeks. . .

. . . until the big day!

So I got some balloons and set him up for some pictures after his nap the other day.

He was a little underwhelmed by the whole thing.

But at least he left his hat on--most of the time!

While Benjamin doesn't quite know what's up, Hayden will be celebrating for the next 2 weeks straight. Turns out 3-year-olds love birthdays!

That's my boy

Hayden found the point-and-shoot the other day and wanted to take some pictures. Any time he shows any interest in photography, I take it as a blessing and encourage it!

I turned it on, set it to Auto and let him loose. He seemed a little lost for subjects at first, so I told him to go take pictures of things he likes. . .

41 frames later, these are some of my favorites (photography by Hayden!). . .

Hey, some are actually in focus!

Which is better than I can say for all of my own shots. Figures that my favorite one is blurry. But I love it anyway. Especially that little grin you can just tell is hiding behind that camera!

Little Boys

Okay, here it is--the complete antithesis of sweet little girls in adorable dresses and matching hair bows. . .

Rowdy little boys at the neighborhood park, complete with creek, mud, and sticks!

This trio of 3 year olds skipped the playground equipment in favor of more natural entertainment. . .

It's going to be a messy summer for us, I'm sure.

. . . full of creeks and mud and monster-smashing sticks.

Boys will be boys!

It's definitely not as clean as little girls in their pretty dresses, but I think it's just about as cute!

Grandma came to town

Grandma came all the way from Florida for a visit this past weekend. We were all happy to have her and the great state of Montana even gave her a warm welcome. I think I even heard the words "it's hot" come out of her mouth a few times. Not bad for April above the 45th parallel!

We went to the park on Friday and I thought I'd get a few photos of Grandma with her youngest grandbaby.

And thanks to Kelly, we even got this great shot. . .

Check out my photography blog for more from the park of just the little guy!

Afternoon Fun!

Late last week, Bozeman ushered in some fabulous weather and we were eager to get outside and play!

The sandbox is the be-and-be-seen spot in our yard. . .

As a "mom-a-razzi," I was not welcome at first ("you can't take my picture!"). . .

But, then, he changed his mind and I was so happy to get these 2 nice shots of my boy! Yes, that's a banana sticker on his shirt. . . Hayden's favorite part of grocery shopping (which we did earlier in the day).

Ben got to practice his walking skills.

And a little martial arts!

Okay, he was really practicing his standing-to-sitting skills. But he could be going for a black belt there!

The boys even played together for a few minutes.

And Ben experienced our still-crispy grass for the first time since last summer.

Benjamin's favorite activity was just sitting in the grass, looking cute, with or without his ball!

I think we'll have even more fun outside when our grass turns green instead of brown!