The Great Outdoors

There was a time not so long ago when our little Mason man was afraid of the grass...poor little city kid! Not so anymore. We made sure to take advantage of Grammy and Papa's yard when we were in Colorado!

Running in the sprinklers...



Bouncing around the backyard...



Catching bugs... (though, he initially called this little ol' earthworm a snake!)



Enjoying the waterfall...



Playing with his guys at the picnic table, where we also spent many a lunch, dinner and breakfast time...

The Cool Pool

Mason is undoubtedly a water lover, so we spent a couple of afternoons at the recreation center near Grammy and Papa's house chilling in the pool and this was no ordinary pool.

For starters, the water was warm and it started at a depth of 0 feet, 0 inches, and reached a grand total of 3 feet, 6 inches. It had three separate play areas -- one with geysers, one with a little spouts flowing through some pipes and the piece de resistance: a jungle gym/slide right smack in the middle of the action. Mason LOVED climbing the stairs and going down the slide right into the water. Mommy loved relaxing comfortably nearby and watching his joy without worrying about him getting in over his head.



There was also a BIG slide and on our second trip, Grammy came along for the ride so she could take him down said slide. While they both enjoyed their one trip down, Grammy was a little freaked out! Mason was all ready to go again, but Grammy was scared to death she would lose her grip on the little guy and decided not to tempt fate!



Mason kept asking why we didn't have a "cool pool" like this at our house and it will definitely be in our rotation of things to do next time we head home!

Animal adventures

We had a weekend filled with friends furry, feathered and frisky. Mommy and Mason spent Saturday at one of our favorite spots, the Bronx Zoo, and then we followed that up with a Sunday at a National Geographic Family Day at Chelsea Piers.

At the zoo, we got our first peek at Moxie, the lion cub. He's the smallish one lying in the back.



And played at the new park put up near the giraffe exhibit by Tiki Barber -- who was in attendance, though Mason couldn't have cared less (like the good Cowboys fan his Dad-O is raising him to be).



We also got a look at some of Macey's other favorites, including the zebras. This trip, the kiddo was WAY into hearing all the info that the signs at each exhibit provided. It was really cute.



After an ice cream break, we headed to the children's zoo to feed the sheep, goats and all their friends and to climb the spider web. Mason climbed way above Mommy's head, but got blocked in, so I had to give him a hand getting down!

Sunday, we hit Chelsea Piers for the Nat Geo day. First, Mason was obsessed with playing in the airplane, but he perked up and got a bit more adventurous after lunch, working with Dad-O to unearth some dinosaur bones in a plaster cast.



Then, he got REALLY up close and personal with some exotic animal friends. He got to touch a boa constrictor, another snake, and a chinchilla.





We also saw a tree frog, iguana and alligator, but didn't get to touch those.






I thought it was cool when the handler demonstrated the tree frog's sticking ability by placing him on a nearby window.



All in all, we had a great time and left with a bag full of freebies, including some cool, new blocks.

An Egg-cellent Adventure

We trekked up to Ft. Tryon Park on Sunday for Mason's first official Easter Egg hunt. The little man came away with quite a load of eggs and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather and beautiful surroundings in the process.











Here are some scenes from the park:





And a video of the action -- apologies for the quality...the camera kind of loses focus as I chase after the little egg hunter!

Daycare Kiddos

Melissa and her brave staff took eight of the kiddos to the Children's Museum last Friday night. All us mommies and daddies picked them up from there and spent a little time playing. Here are some shots from the action:



Mason, as you can see, refused to take part in the group shot. It might have had something to do with this group lining up by the door, awaiting their parents' arrival and eventual dismissal. As I was already there, he wanted to keep playing. To wit, here he is running all over the museum, wearing the fire fighter's hat he picked up sometime before I got there. Also, note the stickers on his cheeks? Well, when I took those off later that night, they left little sticker-shaped rashes that lasted all weekend. Oops!



Zachary and Lilly...



Kellyn and Zion



One more shot, though not from CMOM. This one is from our usual Tuesday night trek to karate class. They're getting pretty good! I thought they looked pretty cute all bundled up and waiting on the stairs while the stroller was parked.

Snowball Fight!

So, yesterday, the tri-state area was blanketed in snow, forcing NYC public schools to close for the first time in five years. Mason spent the day at daycare, but when Mommy came home we headed out of a little frigid fun. It wasn't great snowball weather, but as you can see, Mason managed to find a few hunks of white stuff to hurl at his Mommy!



Here's the extra-blurry Mom-scrambling-out-of-the-way-in-feigned-fear shot:



I exacted revenge by hurling him into a snowbank. He attempted to make a snow angel.



And here are the rosy cheeks (and runny nose) that proved it was time to head back inside for a cup of hot chocolate, a little cuddling time and a story. Not a bad gig to come home to!

Storytime!

Mason's been regaling us with his favorite story for some time now. We thought it was time to share:

Spontaneous Fun!

A dance party broke out following bathtime tonight. Too cute not to share...

As is this photo. He later topped his ensemble (or lack there of) off with his circus hat. Too funny...

Cracked Up

Toddler learning how to undress himself. Hilarity ensues. The payoff is precious.

We're Cracked Out!

Now, in other parts of this fine city, cracked-out means something entirely different than it did at the Mercier house on Friday night. But, I can assure you, our version of cracked-out was totally innocent. We spent the evening painting Easter eggs with Mason and Kellyn. Cracked-out is what Kellyn dubbed Rob's dropping of an egg (thus, cracking it) and what the kiddos would scream anytime another egg was dropped thereafter.

All told, we painted 18 eggs. Seventeen of them survived the actual painting process -- though judging by the nearly all-blue one I ate for lunch today after the shell was removed (see video below...I'm pretty sure there's a connection), I wonder if we shouldn't have been more judicious in catching those cracked-out eggs before they hit the dye.

Mason, as you can see, really liked the act of cracking an egg.

Kellyn was a bit more dainty with hers, preferring the paint-by-brush technique.

And when we finished up, they were both in need of a bath...especially Mason, who was doing his best Incredible Hulk imitation.

Now I know my A-B-Cs!