Sunday Snapshot: About The Boy Wonder

There's this incredible boy who has been my shadow for 13 years

Out of the blue he has grown into a man.

(Well, sort of a man.)

He looks like one. 

He walks like one. 

He sounds like one (in between sounding like a teenage girl).

He sweats like one.

He watches the girls go by like one.

He argues like one.

He hogs the remote like one.

He thinks like one.

He tests me like one

He eats like one

He watches himself in the mirror like one

And when I call him out on it....he laughs so big as he yields to me and remembers that he's still my baby...

and he smiles at me...that smile that only he can...

And I melt...just like the very first day I realized that he would be the only man in the world who would ever call me Mom.

And it doesn't get any better than that.

No...no it doesn't.

These images were shot with my 50D

100mm

f 3.5

ISO 200

Edited in LR and CS5

Join in on the Fabulous Fun with 

the Hostess with the Mostess: Stefanie at Ni Hao Y'all...

(This Mama will make you wonder how you can justify sitting on the couch for 10 minutes.)

I Heart Faces: {Friendship}

Two special boys who started out arch rivals.

Lo and behold....have become the best of friends.




Hop on over to iheartfaces to see some fantastic Friendship entries

Precious Moments

I took these shots the night of the kids' first ever dance recital

(HERE and HERE)

We were so fortunate that they had a chance to experience this special moment together and I'm even happier I got to capture so many precious memories through my own tears of joy!

It there was ever a question as to the love shared by these two...here's the answer!

Hip Hop

Though she's the Tiniest...Sweetie isn't the only dancer in this house.

WonderBoy started taking a weekly co-ed Hip Hop Class at the same dance studio where his sister took ballet all year.
Much to our surprise and delight, he loved every minute of the classes and this handsome young man can add Hip Hop Dancer Extraordinaire to his resume!
He was absolutely fantastic in the final at the end of year performance (the same performance his sister was featured in much earlier in the evening.)

JR and I were so incredibly proud of him, all the hard work he put in throughout the year and his enthusiam and stellar moves; let's just say it was hard for this Mama Bear to hold the camera still I was so excited.

WonderBoy was a SUPERSTAR!

(not one of the best pictures I've ever taken but I love his expression here and I just had to include it even though it is not in focus)

And, here's the long awaited VIDEO!

Be sure to go to the bottom of this blog and pause the music so you can hear the T*aio Cruz* song the kids danced to before you press play on the video

Happy 12th Birthday, WonderBoy!

A few weeks ago, the Boy Wonder turned 12.

We celebrated his birthday with family on Easter and again several times that week with those who weren't able to join us on Easter.

We discovered an amazing bakery right in our neighborhood; actually, its the baker who's amazing. She's so creative that we can't pass by without picking up one of her sweet treats on a regular basis. Let's just say we've stopped trying to look for reasons to have cake because we're powerless under her spell.

WonderBoy decided he wanted to have a camouflage chocolate on chocolate cake (big surprise, right?!)
The baker was excited about creating something special and one of a kind for him so she requested his favorite toys for the top of the cake.
WonderBoy rummaged through the ridiculous amount of army men, tanks and aircraft he's amassed these last dozen years and came up with a few of his favorites. Although they're indoor toys, I had to wrestle with him to soak them overnight and then he and his father delivered them to the baker the following day. He couldn't understand why I insisted on washing them and he wasn't happy with me at all....

Until he saw his cake, that is....and then he was oh, so happy!



Sweetie was uber excited for her brother's birthday that she'd wrapped up a present for him weeks before. She's big on wrapping and loves to help me wrap anything, including leftovers. In fact, she now asks why her good girl treats aren't wrapped when she earns one for doing something special at home or at school.
She's become somewhat of a wrapping snob, actually.

So when she heard his birthday was coming up and I saw her wrapping this present for "brother" I wasn't surprised. I did have to contain my laughter when she chose one of her favorite coloring books (all good'n used up, colored in and tattered) and wrapped it all by herself; even putting a recycled card on top that I had stashed for our arts and crafts. I was cracking up wondering how he was going to recieve this, uh, unique gift as I watched her hide it in her closet.



Then she told Nana as the birthday neared, that she wanted to wrap something else for him. My mother tells me that the contents of the second gift and all the wrapping with lots of "sticky tape" as she calls it....was again done all on her own.

I was so intrigued when I saw her stashing it with the other one but she refused to tell me what was inside and each day she checked on them in her hiding place waiting for the celebration day.



I have to hand it to WonderBoy...he feigned complete and utter excitement when she handed him her special treasures (the used coloring book and a dollar bill). It just melted my heart. She was so proud.

Unbeknownst to him he was soon to be rewarded for his efforts when he finally opened the last gift...a special one from JR and me.

There was no need for him to feign excitement at all when he read what his gift was...because there's one place in the world that the Boy Wonder loves more than any other......and it was his wish to go there again this year.



Bet you know how this story ends...our young Prince got his wish!

We're headed out of the country in a few weeks to celebrate his 12th birthday (along with another special occasion) on our favorite little paradise where sand, surf, sun and scrumptous food and drinks await!

He's been walking on air since!
We all have.

Black & White Wednesday: Charmer

This is just ONE shot of so many really fabulous ones that capture the essence of my WonderBoy.

He agreed to be my muse a few weeks ago in honor of his 12th birthday.

It seems futile for me to try to explain how quickly he is growing so I'll just have to show you.I hope to have the rest of the photos up here later in the week.

It's Black and White Wednesday!

To see some inspiring images from some fantastic photographers, click on over to The Long Road to China

Black & White Wednesday: Cousins

TigerLily and WonderBoy

It's Black and White Wednesday!
To see some really great images from some very cool photographers,

click on over to

The Long Road to China

Black and White Wednesday: Growin' Up

WonderBoy insists on mimicking every teenage boy he runs across.
He bumped into his cousin's prom date the other day and he's been walking and talking just like him...and, oh, that sideways hat!

WonderBoy doesn't realize he doesn't need gimmicks or stuff to maintain his current status of cutest boy on the block...he just has to look inward.

Though not that easy to live with these Tween days...I adore every ounce of him and empathize with the new feelings and emotions that come with growin' up.

It's Black and White Wednesday
To see some fabulous images, click on over to

The Long Road to China

Fun is Fundamental

On Friday night, the Boy Wonder lost a molar.

I can tell my boy is growing up because I didn't even hear any inklings

of a possible loose tooth that was wiggle worthy enough to actually come out.

Well, out it came with very little fanfare from my little Big Man.

He then began pumping me about the toothfairy and, actually,

with a knowing twinkle in his eye, he gave me his best

"I really do still believe, Mom" look.

He told me that he thought the toothfairy should

leave him BIG money since its a big tooth.

Well, guess what he got.......





We all had a good laugh.

A good laugh, that is, until he told me he wanted to go to the bank

and cash it in for some tens and ones.

That's when I had to have a little chat with him about

how NOT to get your picture on a poster in the post office.

Black and White Wednesday: Heartbeat

When I look into those eyes...

I can actually feel my own heart beat.

and when I see these two together...

I can barely contain myself.

Unconditionally and forever.

Ma raison d'etre.

********

It's Black and White Wednesday
To see some really fantastic images, click on over to my dear friend, Lisa's gorgeous Blog

The Long Road to China

Thankful Thursday

It's the little things...



that mean everything.

WonderBoy's 11th Birthday: Celebrating with Family

WonderBoy's 11th Birthday: Choreographer of His Own Perfect Day

We gave WonderBoy carte blanche to decide

how we'd celebrate his special day.

He chose to do a few of his very favorite things!

(And they just happen to be ours too!)

Midterm Minx

See this little Minx?

He's gonna drive me to drink.

Heavily.

This week I survived the Health, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science (barely) midterms.

The Mother of all subjects is on its way on Monday...

MATH.

My nemesis.

And the chocolate is all gone!

I admit it....I am not smarter than a fifth grader.

and definitely not cuter than this one!

Midterms and Chocolate

Imagine my surprise when I opened WonderBoy's backpack last week to find a barrage of paperwork that made my knees weak.

It wasn't the usual stuff.

I had to sit down.

I read it and re-read it.

It said (in an ironically cheerful font that was clearly laughing at me):

MIDTERMS are here!

Welcome to 5th Grade.

I had no idea. None. None at ALL!

In that second, I was magically transported back to

my own (seemingly never-ending) school days.

It was BACK;

that old familiar

sick to my stomach, there just isn't enough time, why didn't I pay better attention and take better notes

feeling.

It took up residence right where it used to live in the pit of my belly.

It's as if it never left.

And now I am re-living it.

I'm not ready.
No one warned me.

What's worse; I have to rely on his notes to help him study.
Let's just say he's not exactly the highlighter, multiple color, ruler-using notetaker that I was in my heyday.

(I actually had fellow students hover over me when I took notes and offer to pay me for my notes in grad school.

That was way before computers were in the classrooms and outlines were online...who am I kidding...that was before the internet!)

So...anyway, we are in full on study mode for the next two weeks.
I'm trying to impart my very best study habits on the young Grasshopper in hopes that he will understand the value of studying and the rewards of doing well academically.

So, I've set the stage:
Prepared the master study plan (he has 5 midterms in total over 10 days)

Color coded the different subjects on the calendar
Made cordinated folders housing our study guides and mock exams
Been talking about how we'll tackle the studying all week together and

what rewards he can set his sights on if he does well on all of them

(I will accept a B or better but he earns extra points for A's)

And, of course, I have impressed upon him the

most important staple in any study routine......

CHOCOLATE.

WonderBoy has embraced my tried and true

Studying with Chocolate Study Plan wholeheartedly.

It's a beautiful thing.

Step One:

Prepare the chocolate













Step Two:

Let the studying BEGIN!

Thankful Thursday: The Kindness of Strangers

There's a woman who lives in an elder care facility.

She doesn't know me or my children.

She does knows JR.

He brings a smile to her face when he slows down long enough to

show her photos of the children and share a stories about them with her.

She hangs on his every word.

She doesn't get many visitors.

She loves to hear about life on the outside.

In all likelihood she won't be on the outside again.

JR knows this and spends a little extra time with her listening

a little more intently when she speaks.

Showing her that she's important.

On Christmas Eve he returned with a little package

for each of the children from this special lady.

Inside were two tiny little scarves;

blue for our boy and pink for our girl.
How precious they were.

I explained to the children about the woman we've never met

whose hands spent hours knitting; hands that lived a long life and that now sit idle...

except for the moments that she spent making these special gifts for them...

with purpose, hope and love.






I took these photos of the children for JR to bring to her

along with a special thank you handwritten by WonderBoy

on behalf of his sister and himself.

In the Spring, we will surprise her with a visit.

I am always amazed and humbled by the kindness of strangers.

Prince Charming

All my life I thought he'd be a man I'd meet one day.

Who knew he'd be a boy I'd love more than life itself.

Merry Christmas To All

A Decade with Santa

My Beautiful Boy

10 Years Ago

(with the real Santa!)

Where does the time go?

Merry 10th Christmas, WonderBoy!

Elves At Work

Yes they were.
These two adorable elves were very busy this weekend.

Thanks to a fantastic idea shared by two of my all-time favorite bloggers,

Aly and Ford at Imagine Alyzabeth An;

These handsome North Pole stowaways whipped up fixins' for

a special treat to share with some lucky family and friends on Christmas.

Famous North Pole

Chocolate Peppermint Snow Pancakes

It's pure Elfin' magic

Crushed candy cane and mini chocolate morsels

nestled in a fabulous batch of buttermilk pancake mix.

Those sweet treats are integral parts of the Elf Food Pyramid.

When topped off with some pure maple syrup...an Elf staple,

well, you're GOLDEN!

Is it just me or do these two look alike?!

Impishly adorable!