Thinking outside the box...

Brandon is always finding ways to re-purpose things around the house, it seems that rarely things are used as intended.

Snow in Tucson!!!

Early morning arts 'n' crafts

We do love to start our day with foam stickers, it's one of our favorite "art" projects!  Poor Brandon, this picture was taken just a few minutes before a raging ear infection took hold.

Learning our letters!!!

A big thanks to Aunt Gail for the Big Books of Learning and the two new books for bedtime reading.  Brandon could hardly wait to trace and then color in the letters!  Mason needs a bit more guidance, mostly he just wanted to color the picture on the front page. 

B's 4 yr appt

Brandon had his 4 yr well check today.  He is right on track with his milestones, even exceeding some milestones according to Dr. Gloudemans.  He speaks in clear, full sentences (sometimes stringing together a paragraph worth of thoughts), is getting better with letter recognition, is still doing well with simple adding/subtracting, has improving fine motor skills, and is sometimes too smart for his own good.  He is constantly asking questions about the world around him, especially if he hears a word he doesn't know.  He is my little helper when we are out, he is getting better with understanding consequences and still loves to manipulate items (putting his PVC pieces together, playing with the legos, doing puzzles).  He is becoming quite the ladies man too, he'll often tell me, "Momma, you look pretty and I love you!".  And no, he doesn't tell me that when he wants something, usually it's out of the blue!

He has maintained his growth curve at the 97%ile for both height and weight!  He is 51 lbs and 43 3/4 inches tall....again, I grow large children!

Lucky for him, he only received two shots (4 vaccines in total) today and likely won't need shots again until close to 10 yrs old!  He was my brave little guy, letting Kevin and the nurse hold him down, but they did cause quite a stream of tears.  Ah, the least favorite part of being a parent, seeing you child in pain but knowing it's for their own good.  Poor Mason, he looked concerned the entire visit, once even telling me, "Brandon is my friend, don't get shots!" 

Day at the Museum

Brandon's favorite discovery, moving the ferrofluid with a magnet!

Experimenting with the lighted sand table

Mason's favorite part of the museum

Loving the ability to push his own cart and do his "own" shoppin'

Yes, Mason spent quite a lot of time at the train table

Since we had another cold snap in Tucson this weekend, we decided to take the kiddos to the Tucson Children's Museum.  Brandon had been before but this was Mason's first time!  We got there first thing and it was nice and quiet for our first hour.  Both boys loved running from room to room, discovering all neat stuff.  The place is great for little ones, everything is "touchable" and interactive but I couldn't help but wonder about the germs from all those little hands (it's good we have strong little immune systems)!!!!
 Afterwards, we took the boys out to lunch at Frankie's.  For those of you who have never been there, it's worth every penny!  

Little chef's in training

Brandon helping Momma make lemon cupcakes, our favorite!

Mason helping Daddy make pancakes and eggs!!

Brian's Barbery Sheep hunt

Brian and Easton

The view from the kill shot

The boys at camp

The proud hunter and his kill!