Easter 2013

We had a great time celebrating Easter this year at various events over the past couple of weeks! It all started with a breakfast with the Easter Bunny at the Purple Cow restaurant. The kids were served pancakes and bacon while the Easter Bunny made his rounds passing out eggs to each child. Our reservation was at 10:00, so Mason enjoyed his second breakfast for the day and his first encounter of the year with good ol' EB.

Between the PTA, school, church, YMCA, and our neighborhood, I believe there were a total of seven Easter egg hunts that Mason was invited to this year. We made it to all but one and he had a blast at each of them. Before our first one, I had him practice finding eggs around the house to make sure he understood what to do. He caught on right away and had just as much fun hiding eggs as he did finding them. The only difference between the practice round and the real egg hunts is that I didn't have any candy in the eggs. At his first hunt, Mason had collected about five eggs before he realized they had something in them. From then on, at each hunt he would pick up the first egg, open it, drop it on the floor, and try to eat the candy! 

After church on Easter we headed over to my parents house where my brother, sister's family, and grandma also were. My mom had put together a yummy Easter lunch and we all had a great time. Mason opened his basket and really loved everything the Easter Bunny brought him. It was full of trucks, sidewalk chalk, play-doh, stickers and bubbles. His new garbage truck from Grandma and Grandad is his  new favorite toy (it appears in several pictures below). Mason soaked up an abundance of love, attention, and coconut cake before taking his nap and allowing us time to relax and chat with the family.

Happy Easter everyone!

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny

"I know there's an egg in here somewhere..."

Realizing there are goodies in the eggs with his friends Emily and Kennedy at the PTA hunt. 

Swinging with my boy at the PTA hunt

Post egg hunt fun at the Palm Sunday Eggstravaganza at our church

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday

Waiting patiently for the YMCA egg hunt to start

Posing with EB at the YMCA

Happy Easter!

BeBe and Papa with their grandkids. There were so many cute shots of the five of them it was hard to pick just one for the blog!

The Gadek's

Mason showing his garbage truck to his great-grandma

Love my growing family!

Ba-Bee

One of Mason's cutest words, Ba-Bee (baby).

There's literally no hiding it anymore, Baby Robison #2 is on their way! I'm 14 weeks (and two days) and due on September 20. I am amazed at how much faster my body has changed and don't seem to surprise many people when I tell them I'm expecting.

Sean and I are beyond thrilled and can't wait to expand our family. We haven't told Mason yet, although he overheard a conversation with a friend and then later that evening commented on the baby in mommy's belly. It hasn't come up much since then, and I'm fine with that. He's too young to really understand what's going on, so I just plan to casually answer his questions when he starts asking about my belly. Plus, waiting nine months for this mysterious baby to appear would be so hard and confusing for him, so we plan on waiting until the very end to prepare him. He's wonderful around other babies and we truly think he'll carry that over to his little sibling and be a wonderful big brother.

The first trimester came with its fair share of scares, but thankfully everything is ok and the baby is developing perfectly! My thyroid is always closely monitored during pregnancy, and we haven't been able to get my levels where they need to be just yet. We're close, and the baby isn't in any danger, but we're still working on it. Around 9.5 weeks I passed a blood clot and immediately thought the worst. An instant trip to the doc confirmed the baby still had a heartbeat and had been growing on schedule. I can't even explain the emotions we went through between the two hours of seeing the blood and hearing the heartbeat, but we are so thankful that everything is ok. I was instructed to take it easy for the rest of the first trimester, which was a little difficult since we're used to a busy lifestyle, but it was also welcomed as I have been exhausted!

My energy, and appetite, have picked up recently. I loved pregnancy with Mason and so far have enjoyed this one too. We couldn't be happier about what our future holds and while I can't wait to hold this sweet baby in my arms, I'm also loving every second alone with Mason that I have. He brings us so much joy and I want to soak him and all his sweetness up over these next six months. I remember when he was first born Sean and I were talking to a friend about how we can't imagine our hearts being able to love another child the way we do Mason. Our friend, who has three children, told us to picture him as a big brother. That did it for us and we knew we'd try for another someday. The image of Mason as a big brother is so sweet to me and I'm so excited to see him in his new role.

He's not sure what we're excited about, but he's excited too!

I have a surprise for you...

I feel like he's hatching up a plan here... 

Handsome little fella

Kissing the sonogram picture. At dinner tonight he touched my belly and Sean asked him what was in there and he said 'baby' then kissed my belly. Maybe he knows more than we think!

We had a fall at the park earlier this week which explains his nose. Of course school pictures were this week, too...

Big Bro Mason

Spring Break 2013

Spring Break in Dallas took place last week and even though Mason is only two, we decided to make the most of it and pack his days with fun activities around Dallas! The weather started off a little chilly but the second two-thirds of the week were absolutely perfect. Hope it sticks around for another few months before it becomes brutally hot!

Monday was nothing new but was still fun. We went to the gym and then joined friends at Chick-fil-A where the kids can play. After his nap that afternoon we played around the house. On Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment and since Mason's school was closed for Spring Break, my mom came over to play with him while I was gone. They played outside the majority of the time and both had a great time! That afternoon we had a picnic dinner playdate scheduled with a friend at the park, but his buddy got sick at the last minute and had to cancel. We decided to play outside in the backyard all afternoon and then dined al fresco that evening!

Filling his dump trucks with dirt and then dining al fresco!

Wednesday is when the fun really started. We met a friend at Jump Mania in Plano and Mason and I both had a blast. The place is filled with huge indoor bounce houses with slides, obstacle courses, and all sorts of bouncy fun. After an hour and a half we were both ready to relax in the car on our way to meet my sister, niece, mom and dad for lunch in Allen. We met at Watters Creek, a pretty outdoor shopping and dining center. Mason and I got there early and walked down to the creek to play with his cars and sit on the metal ducks. After lunch (forgot to snap a pic), Madison came home with us to spend the night. We put Mason down for his nap and I got some things done around the house while she searched for lizards outside and watched a movie inside. When Mason woke up we all went out for sno-cones and playtime at the park!

He was moving so fast at Jump Mania and all my pictures turned out blurry! Shows how much fun he had.

Playing by the creek at Watters Creek before lunch

Sno-Cones, playground and dinner with his sweet and helpful cousin, Madison

I can't believe it took us this long, but we finally took Mason out to the new Klyde Warren park on Thursday. Its a five acre urban green space built over Woodall Rodgers Freeway, connecting downtown and uptown Dallas. It's great for kids and adults alike, and Mason had a blast in the kids play area. He spotted the water feature right away and immediately started taking off his clothes so he could play in it! Thankfully I had brought some back-up clothes. We met some of our friends up there with their kiddos and then grabbed a ride on the McKinney Avenue Trolley. All of the kids really seemed to enjoy this and were really well behaved on the 45 minute loop through uptown. When we got back to the park I was amazed at how packed it had become. It was a gorgeous day and food trucks line the park for lunch, so all the people who work around there joined all the spring breakers to make for a massive crowd. Sean's building is within walking distance to the park so he joined us for lunch. We waited a total of an hour for our food, but man was that a good burger! Needless to say, Mason was ready for his nap that afternoon. Madison did all she could to help keep him awake on the way home and he went straight to his crib for a lengthy snooze!

My sweet, pale baby at Klyde Warren park

Splash!

We'll bring swim trunks next time!

Fun on the trolley and then lunch from the food trucks with Daddy!

On Friday we had plans to meet a friend and her son at the zoo, but she had a last minute commitment come up so we went on our own. We left the house early to stop at the delicious Fuel City Tacos for breakfast and get to the zoo just in time for opening. It was crowded from the get go, but nothing that was too unmanageable. The zoo is pretty close driving-distance from Sean's office so he was able to meet us up there for an hour. He did not want to miss Mason's first visit! Mason loved seeing all the animals in person. He favorite part was taking the monorail around some of the African exhibits. That boy loves trains! After his nap that afternoon his neighborhood friend Beatrice came over to play, and then when Sean got home we took Mason and Beatrice out for an Italian dinner. They are such cute little friends and really seemed to enjoy their first date!

Playing with trains at the Giraffe exhibit

Admiring the elephant

Going on a safari!

Up close and personal with a cheetah, giraffe, and gorilla. Sean took him up high to view the gorilla.

Happy kiddos after a successful first date

He was so happy when we got home from dinner. He was just running around the front yard smiling and laughing!

We invited my family over for a cook-out on Saturday and sadly didn't get any pictures of this. Doug was able to come in town, and my parents and the Gadeks were here too. It was a wonderful evening with exceptional weather and delicious food. Thanks, Dad, for the venison sausage - yum!!!

We stayed around the house for the most part on Sunday and spent the greater part of the day outside. Mason has rediscovered his love for playing in the water hose so we stripped him down several times over the weekend and let him go to town. We wrapped the weekend up with a healthy chicken dinner to get our week back to reality off to a fresh start!

Next week we plan to go to Dallas Blooms at the Arboretum with my mom and The new Perot museum with a friend on Friday. Then a visit to the Dallas Museum of Art with another lunch trip to Klyde Warren is in our future! I love Dallas this time of year and have enjoyed taking Mason out to enjoy it as well!

Happy Val-times Day

As Mason would say, Happy Val-times Day! This is another one of those celebratory days that is even more fun with a child involved. Sean and I cooked a nice dinner (lamb chops with mustard-mint sauce, cous cous and asparagus), exchanged cards and gifts, and put roses in a vase, but this year also included a fun class party for Mason, sweet Valentine's arriving in the mail for him, tiny hands helping me make heart-shaped sugar cookies, and a love-ly photo shoot with his friends at playgroup. Hope you enjoyed the day with your loved ones as well!

This sweet little cupid steals my heart every day

Thanks to Amanda and Lizzy for snapping these framers!

He was eyeing Hadley's outdoor playhouse and having a hard time sitting still... ;)

His collection of gifts from school, us and grandparents. My favorite is the blue truck card that his Grandad made for him! 

Coloring his Valentine's for his classmates

The best shot from his class party

Making cookies for Daddy!

Comparison shot of our little love-bug from last year to this year!

Christmas 2012

It's only a month late but, Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating the season. I know we sure did. Sean's parents came in town for a week and we had a wonderful time enjoying the holiday break as a family. I got used to long mornings watching cartoons with Mason in bed, slowly drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, and brisk family walks with Hazel. Sean had almost two full weeks off work and we successfully accomplished taking it easy during that time. It was definitely a rough adjustment when we had to get back in the swing of things in January!

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is our annual Christmas Eve dinner at our house. It's open to any family that is in town, which this year included both sets of our parents. The Gadek's always have Christmas Eve with Brian's family, so they have never been able to attend, Doug was driving in from Oklahoma that night, and Grandma and Uncle Philip stayed in Louisiana. The six of us that were there this year know how to party and had a wonderful evening. Beef Tenderloin and Apple Pie are tradition, and we always have festive appetizers, sides and drinks to go with it. This year Sean made his favorite pie, minced meat, as well.

I still can't believe that we actually had a white Christmas in Dallas this year! Santa dropped of some goodies for Mason on Christmas Eve and we spent Christmas morning at home letting him play with all his new fun toys. Then we packed everyone and everything up and headed to my parents house to meet up with the rest of the family for the day. Everyone was in great spirits, there was delicious food, a fire burning, and merriment all around. When the snow started falling it really made the day perfect. I wish I could capture it forever - it was such a warm and cozy day with those I love the most. Mason took a great nap at my parents house while we all enjoyed a Christmas meal, the falling snow, and relaxing.

The snow stuck around for another day and Mason had a great time discovering it. He loved making snowballs and footprints in it, and of course didn't seem to mind the cold at all. For a good week after, he'd look for snow when we opened his window in the morning. Hope we get some more this winter!

It was hard to send Sean's parents back home, but our fingers are crossed that this time next year they'll make a move our way and we can see them more often. Sean still had a few days off after his parents left and we soaked up some valuable family time with just the three of us.

Here are some pictures from the week of Christmas. I really wish I could turn back time and experience this all over again!

Sean and his Dad cooking, and Mom R and Hazel bonding by the fire. Hazel loves it when Mom and Dad R are in town!

Merry Christmas Eve!

My silly boy loving life on Christmas Eve. We started a new tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas by the fire as a family before Mason heads off to bed.

Christmas Eve dinner. Yum!

Annual Christmas Eve dinner

Santa came!

Mason's big gifts were a bike and a chair. He loves them and has used them both daily ever since!

Christmas day excitement/madness at my parents house

Christmas day at my parents! I love having the whole family together.

One of the best Christmas's in recent memory! (Mason was a little over pictures in the bottom right pic)

The Robison's and The Henderson's

Discovering snow!

Our good friend, Pete, has a birthday at the end of the year and always hosts a delicious dinner at his house with his close friends. It's a great way to wrap up the week!