Sunday, May 31, 2009

Great Grandparents

Mason got to chill with Great Grandma and Grandpa Woodman at over dinner at Grammy and Papa's house tonight. I always treasure the time he's able to spend with them!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Hanging out

Here's what Mason's been up to this week in Colorado...

Literally hanging from the doorknob while playing with his Uncle Clint -- but, Clint should have tried this trick a little bit sooner. He's a smidge too tall.



Entertaining himself in the backyard while Mommy works. We were outside all morning on Friday and he had a blast playing with his cars, running around in the grass and playing in his pool.



Playing a little ball with Papa.





Catching another rolly-poly bug for his bug box.



A quick snuggle with Auntie Meg.




Meeting the blue bear at the Denver Convention Center.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

When in Rome...

Since we've been in the Mile High City for the entirety of the Western Conference finals (shown here at a more toddler-friendly hour of 7 p.m.!), Mason has gotten quite into the Nuggets run. Naturally, he had to gear up for last night's (disappointing) Game 5 with a new T-shirt and hat...



Here's hoping for better luck tomorrow.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Playtime

One of Mason's favorite haunts is Chuck E. Cheese. Mommy and Dad-O can only take a visit there oh-so-often, but had promised him a visit to a "Colorado" Chuck E. Cheese for a long time. We trekked there today to meet Grandma Alize, and cousins Eli and Asani.

Much fun ensued...







In Mason's words, the Colorado Chuck E. Cheese was "more awesome than the one at home because it had like a million more games." In Mommy's, it was "more awesome because it was bigger and less crowded!"

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Check Me Out

We took a trip to Murdoch's today to properly outfit the Mason-man in western attire. It actually started out as a trip for new cowboy boots, as his are getting too small, but turned into a whole new outfit...and a toy to boot!

Grammy, Uncle Kenneth, Aunt Patty and Mommy had way too much fun outfitting Mason in the middle of the store.

Then, we just set him right up on the counter and let the sales clerk scan him from head to toe.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

May Flowers

Grammy's favorite day of the year is the day she gets to plant all her annuals, and luckily Mason and I were there to partake in the activity this year.

We got up early Saturday morning to prep the soil.



Then, it was off to the garden center, where Macey helped Grammy pick out all the flowers she needed to fill her deck boxes and planters as well as finding a couple of nice hanging baskets. He was particularly fond of the deer-resistant varieties of plants, despite the fact that Grammy and Papa don't have a deer problem in their backyard.

After we had all our flowers back at Grammy's house, Mason helped Grammy cart all the plants into the backyard with his wagon.



Then we got to work. Mommy and Grammy filled up the planters, and Mason watered them in.





When we were all done...we watered Mason down. He was particularly dirty, but it was lots of fun and here are the smiles to prove it.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Ouch!


A rite of passage, I suppose, here's Mason's first fat lip, picked up while playing with his uncles last night. Not quite sure what happened, except that Mason got in a fight with a metal trash can and the trash can won...

It didn't look too bad when he went to bed, but it swelled up overnight!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Wedding Extravaganza, Pt. I

Macey and Mommy have been in Colorado for a full week now, and between the wedding-weekend madness, the jet lag, getting adjusted to life in the 'burbs and the remote home office, Mommy hasn't a lot of time to post!

Uncle Clint and Auntie Meg got hitched last Saturday and are off enjoying their Mexican honeymoon now.

The wedding weekend began with a trip to see the Rockies play the Astros at Coors Field. Despite Mason's best efforts -- and rally cap -- the home team did not pick up the win. We did, however, have lots of fun and Mommy got some cool sun burn lines in the four inches between the bottom of her shorts and the top of her knees.

Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner before the big day rolled around Saturday. Mason looked pretty dapper in his tux upon arriving at the church, which was in downtown Denver. There was only one slight problem, though: He arrived with one shoe missing! Papa trekked back toward the car and found it lying in the middle of the street. It was rescued and the show went on without a hitch, as Mason escorted one of Clint and Meg's nieces, Caroline, down the aisle.

Once Clint and Meg sealed the deal with a kiss, we all got ready to party. In my humble, and totally unbiased opinion, Mason stole the show (as much as he could with a beautiful, happy couple taking center stage!). Check out his dance moves:



Sweet Caroline was in honor of, well, sweet Caroline, who was pretty sure Clint was really her boyfriend and not Meg's! All the nieces and nephews had a great time dancing. We could barely get Mason off the dance floor. He didn't want dinner. He didn't want cake. Finally, it was a Capri Sun that did the trick, but then he was back out there again.



As the night wore on, he got a little tuckered out.



Then, he finally crashed on an antique sofa in the room just over from where the party was a roarin'.



As a finale, here are the official Mercier family portraits from the evening, the before and after, if you will...



For anyone interested in the entirety of the weekend's action, check out our Snapfish Album.

Colorado, Week 1

Aside from the wedding excitement, here's what we've been up to since arriving in Colorado last week ...

Helping Papa plant a tree (after all, the yard had to look nice for the rehearsal dinner, no?)



Reading lots of stories, especially with Great Grandma, who should have a Ph.D. in reading to children by now, because she loves it so much! This particular book was one that belonged to Mommy and her brother's and sister when we were little, and I can distinctly remember her reading the exact same book to me on many occasions.



And finally, getting in some time with Mason's cousins, Asani and Eli. Dad-O was pretty much in heaven hanging out with his three favorite little men.







Mason also got to spend some time with his Grandma Alize, who lives near Asani and Eli, and with his Grandpa Robert, who had flown in for a day to see Asani's last football game.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Happy Birthday, Kellyn!

Mason's best friend turned 4 today! We celebrated last weekend with a trip to GustOrganics on 14th and 6th (still thinking about that strawberry-pear-pine nut-spinach salad I devoured!) and a trip to see a play called Rumple Who? nearby.

Here's the birthday girl, our favorite little man, Mason, and another friend, Sophia posing with Kellyn's grandma.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Movin' On Up

Mason and his buddies have been heading to karate every Tuesday night since the fall, and we hit a big milestone today! They got their first belt promotion, from white to orange.

As Kushinda, the master, explained it, they are not fully accepted into the community until they hit this mark, so it was kind of a big deal. While they're still working a lot on the basics, they have mastered the art of following directions. Here's Mason performing the technique to move on:



Officially receiving his belt:



The new crop of orange belts:



And, the entire class -- as you can see -- there's a big range of skills and age levels, but all in all they have fun each week when they meet!



Lastly, striking a proud pose with Dad-O after the festivities: