Eye Candy

Just clowning around last night. Mason looked oh-so-cute and oh-so-big, with his backwards pants and big boy underwear which he managed not to have an accident in all evening long...

Anyway, enjoy his silly pics!

Home, home on the range...

Mason and Mommy embarked on another trip to Colorado to catch up with friends and family last weekend. There are video highlights below, but here's some of the Kodak Moments.

Upon arriving at Grammy and Papa's house, Mason woke up from his nap, rolled over and walked right over to the toy closet and asked for help opening it. Soon after, he remembered the great outdoors and was off to play in the waterfall. Good news, gang, he seems to have gotten over his fear of grass.


After a day in the city (well, suburbs) we loaded up in Papa's truck and headed for the farm. Mason was a pretty good sport. He entertained us in the truck with some song and dance along with one of his favorite CDs, but we did have to take a break in Limon to stretch our legs at the McDonald's Playland. Note the shirt, he's ready for the farm...


Once there, we fed some goats at Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Patty's. We got in two feedings that day (they have to be fed four-times daily) but Mason was ready for bed by the time the night-time feeding rolled around. Nonetheless, a T-shirt, freshly bathed babe sat in Grammy's arms saying "Feed ... goats? Feed ... goats?" when he saw the bottles come out again.


We spent Saturday at the farm, prepping for the party. Mason and his big cousins found plenty of rocks and dirt to play with, rode a tractor and got as many adults as they could to give them rides on the wagon.








On Sunday, we made a stop at the farmer's market for some fresh watermelon for Mace-man and famous cantaloupe for Mommy before heading back to the 'burbs where we met up with Auntie Nay, and cousins Eli and Asani.













All and all, a great trip. For all the photos, click here.

Video Highlights of the Farm

When Mason's Mommy was not much older than he is, she started spending lots of time with her Grandma and Grandpa on their farm in Rocky Ford, Colo., so she was very excited to have the chance to introduce Mason the the farm last weekend. We took a very last-minute trip to Colorado for Great Grandma's surprise 75th birthday party.

Among the (video) highlights:

Feeding the bottle goats at Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Patty's house.


Riding the tractor in Mom's lap.


Hanging out with his cousins, Eli and Asani, blowing bubbles to the squealing delight of all...

Monkey-ing Around at the Bronx Zoo

As if Saturday's excitement wasn't enough for us, we decided to plan another excursion for Sunday. The fact that Time Warner gave us free admission to the Bronx Zoo had a little something to do with that. So, off we went...

There were many highlights to the day. First on the agenda was the Wild Asia Monorail, which gave us a great view of the Asian animal exhibits. Mace really liked the elephants. We pretended to make elephant noises with our trunks (read: arms) swishing around.

Next up was a walk across the African Savannah where Mason met some African Wild Dogs and had fun playing with the game outside their enclosure.

I think the highlight of the day for me was the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit. For one, it was inside and air conditioned. There was even a brief conservation-inspired movie, which provided a brief bit of relaxation and a nice place to sit. Mason was enamored by the video and sat between Mommy and Daddy watching the film while saying "uh-oh, uh-oh" at totally appropriate times (like when the poachers crossed the screen). When the video finished, the screen went up and the curtains parted and you could see this glass enclosure where the gorillas live. The zoo had two separate troops of gorillas and they provided ample entertainment. I'll post a video of the gorillas later, but for now, we'll entertain you with pictures. The babies were adorable and the silverback was standing face to face with Mason, which was way cool.

Mace did tucker out for a time and napped in the stroller while Mom and Dad stopped for a little refreshment, the tiger exhibit and birds of prey, but rallied for the final exhibit: The Children's Zoo.

He fell in LOVE with the prairie dogs. First, he one as he and Dado popped through the hole inside the exhibit, then he was crouching outside the gate at the foot of the exhibit,was playing with tapping on the glass. We had to practically drag him away from them. Thank goodness the green parakeets next door were noisy and interesting. He quacked at the ducks. He climbed in the turtle shell and just when we thought we were on our way out, the path opened into the petting zoo. Remember how he's obsessed with cows? Well, he got to feed one (see, he's got a little country in him!) He called out "hey, cow" -- imitating Dado -- to the cow to get it to come over and eat from his hand and shouted out e-i-o in reference to Old McDonald. Pretty smart little guy we have here, me thinks (did I mention he made ooo-aaa-eee monkey noises at first sight of the monkeys earlier in the day?).

And, oh, by the way, the cow wasn't the only thing he fed:

Touring the City in 12 hours or less

Mason's Uncle Clint and his girlfriend Megan (at left posing/snapping tourist shot in front of Statue of Liberty) stopped by for a visit on Saturday -- after taking the train in from Philly, where they were attending a wedding. Megan had been to the City before, but for Uncle Clint it was a totally new experience. In the 10-or-so hours they were here, we took them out for our favorite slice of pizza and down to Battery Park City. We worked our way back up to City Hall to see the Brooklyn Bridge before heading back to midtown for Saturday night mass at St. Patricks followed by dinner and a stroll back to Penn Station in time for the 9:01 train.


Mason's personal highlight from the day seemed to be the "cow" at Bowling Green. He spotted it from across the street and kept yelling "cow, cow, cow" until we went over for a visit. He sat on top of it for a couple of minutes -- and a couple of pictures -- snapped by Mom and some unsuspecting tourists. At least they went home with a cute (impromptu) souvenir.

Mini break for the Fourth!

We kicked off our mid-week holiday in high-style. I begged my way to a pair of tickets to the Yankees-Twins game on Tuesday night and decided to bring along a couple of good-looking guys as my dates. Good thing Mason still fits on a lap. The Yankees won, which is normally a good thing, but since Rob's real loyalty lies with the Twins (he was born in Minnesota), it was bittersweet. We did have a great time -- and great seats, thanks SI -- and Rob worked on training Mason's loyalty early.

For Wednesday's enjoyment, we braved the elements to hang with a group of friends at the park. We had a nice old-fashioned pot-luck picnic and managed to stay mostly dry, despite the rain. We had a nice natural umbrella under the trees and it was generally pleasant, coolish (not humid, yippee!) weather.

All aboard the potty train

I mentioned Mason's potty chart a few posts ago, but now it's time for a new potty chart. Some combination of those stickers (one for the chart, one for Mason), the praise of Mommy and Daddy, getting to wash his hands with fun soap and say "bye-bye" as we flush the big toilet has propelled that kid to completion of chart No. 1. As a reward, he got an even bigger treat: TMX Elmo. Here's Mason with his new friend...