Baptisms

Mason and Ian were baptized into the Lutheran church on November 15th. It was a wonderful day, and both boys did a great job.

Halloween

We had a really low key Halloween this year. We spent it with the Howells, Wagners, and some of the Farleys. It was a toddler Halloween party - so much fun! There were nine children there and Mason was the oldest!

Drew was channeling Brett Michaels this year, but I better be his only "rock of love."

Mason had a blast trick or treating

Decorating our pumpkins

A couple of weeks ago we decorated the pumpkins we had picked up at the various pumpkin patches.

Ian painting his pumpkins

Mason & Daddy carving the jack o'lantern (or jaqueline as Mason refers to it)

Finished products

Boo!

15 month checkup

I took Ian in several weeks ago for his 15 month check up and they weren't able to give him any immunizations because he had a cold at the time so I had to take him back two weeks ago. He weighed 24 lbs. 11 oz. (50th percentile) and was 32 inches tall, which is the same as his 12 month height so they think they measured him wrong then, but that still leaves him in the 75th percentile for height. Doc said that he looked great and he isn't concerned about anything at this point. Poor little Ian was hysterical though. He started crying the minute we got into the exam room (as if he remembered the place). I got him calmed down to have him weighed and measured but the minute doc touched that stethoscope to his back IT WAS ON! He had a full blown freak out - screaming at the top of his lungs and trying to climb me like a baby monkey. Dr. Schaffer was telling him, "Control yourself, my multi-chinned friend." But nothing worked. I had just gotten him calmed back down when the nurse came in to give him his shots, and you can imagine how that went. Poor guy tuckered himself out from screaming and crying so much and he fell asleep as soon we got in the car. Thankfully, Mason wasn't there to witness any of it - he was in school.

Ian is such a goof ball - he has the craziest laugh and the sweetest personality. He is so expressive in his face - he'll arch his eyebrows and he has the most adorable smirk. He is running everywhere and climbing on everything. He is our little monkey, and he believes that he can do whatever Mason is doing. He isn't very vocal - he mainly grunts and points - but he understands what you're saying to him and he can follow directions (at least for now). He says, "mama" "daddy" and "Dixie" and he'll tell the dog to get "BACK" when she invades his space. Interestingly enough, he doesn't call Mason anything right now though. I was talking to the pedi about it, and his response, "He'll have plenty of names for him as he gets older." I LOVE Dr. Schaffer!

Oil Ranch Pumpkin Patch

The boys and I spent some time with some friends at Oil Ranch in Hockley. We had a great time playing with the pumpkins, seeing all the farm animals, playing in the maze, riding the train, and just running around with our friends! Unfortunately, Drew wasn't able to join us because he had to attend the funeral of friend.

On the train

Smashing pumpkins

Playing on one of the playgrounds

Just chillin' in the hay maze

Posing with pumpkins and friends

Mason is behind the scarecrow on the far right

Back row: Ian, Eli, & Cade

Front row: Briellen, Ivy, Sidney, Mitchell, Luke, & Cole

Colton was napping in the stroller

Firestation Playdate

Today we went on a MOPS playdate to the Tomball Fire Department. The boys had a blast! A firemen talked to them about their uniforms and equipment and explained what it was used for. Then we got to tour the garage and see the different types of firetrucks. Mason even got to climb through the ladder truck - he was so excited. Both boys are going as firemen for Halloween this year so I let them wear their suits to the firestation. Too cute!

Mason was very intrigued with the mannequins

Climbing through the firetruck

Standing on the back of one of the trucks

Pumpkin Patch 2009

This past weekend we took the family to TGR Exotics Pumpkin Patch on the Wildside. TGR Exotics is a wildlife sanctuary tooked back into a residential area here in Spring. The boys had a blast. They got to see lots of different animals (pigs, camels, ponies, and a baby kangaroo to name a few). Mason got his face painted and both boys got to paint their own pumpkins. They had the most fun playing in the hay and the corn troughs!

Ian is not too sure about this cat.

Mason finally smiling for a pic!

Trying to pick out the perfect pumpkin.

Playing in the corn. Mason was trying to "feed the deer" by dumping corn onto the ground.

Ian checking out the pigs

Up close and personal with the camel

Painting their pumpkins

Not one of my best decisions - sure, give the toddler a paint brush and some paint - what's the worst that could happen?! Paint, paint, everywhere!

Happy Halloween

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Mason's First Day of Preschool

Mason had his very first day of preschool today - can you believe it! He's in the 2 year old program at a local church and he only goes one day a week. He's been looking forward to it since I brought home his new backpack.

I was a little concerned about how it would go since this was the mood he was in early on!

Enjoying his pancakes and bacon (his special request). Shame on mama for not having any strawberries in the house. He told me, "I sure would love some strawberries too!" Crazy kid!

Getting ready to leave


Showing off his new backpack

Checking out the quilt in the hallway at school while waiting for the teacher to get to the classroom.

Once he got inside the classroom he went straight for the dinosaurs.

I handled myself much better than I thought I would! I even managed not to cry. When I went to pick him up I worried I'd be the first in line but, apparently, there were many more moms more anxious than I. I did pick up some strawberries while I was at the store to cheer him up just in case he had a bad day! As she was putting him in the car, his teacher told me that he had a great first day. She said he got a little choked up when he realized Drew and I were gone, but he got over it very quickly. Knowing Mason, some of the other kids were crying and he had to join in a little! He is my little man!

Kids say the darnedest things

Yesterday -
Mason: Mama, where's your friend, Daddy? He makin' money?

Last week -
Mason: I've got a boo boo. (pointing to a red spot on his chest)
Me: What happened?
Mason: A dinosaur bit me.
Me: A dinosaur bit you. Oh my! Where did he bite you?
Mason: In my room.
Me: Was he big?
Mason: It was a teeny, tiny dinosaur.
Me: What color was he?
Mason: Orange.
Me: Did he have any horns?
Mason: A yellow taxi car horn.
This went on for a while and I was able to ascertain that the teeny tiny orange dinosaur with a yellow taxi car horn giggled when he bit with his soft teeth. He drove away in his black car to go home to play with his dinosaur friends.
I'm not real sure what happened, but he's still sticking to the dinosaur story - although he changes colors now.

First Trip to Galveston

This past weekend Dad, Michelle, Miles, Patrick and Andrew all came down for a visit. We had a wonderful time. Mason and Ian loved having so many boys here to play. On Saturday we all loaded up and drove down to Galveston for the afternoon. It was the boys' first time to go to the beach, and my first time to go to Galveston since moving back to Texas. I wasn't sure how Mason and Ian would feel about the beach, but they both LOVED it. Ian loved it so that no matter what he was doing he didn't want to change. He'd start screaming when I would get him out of the sand to put him in the water, and then he'd scream when we got out of the water. He was just having too much fun. Mason was all over the place. He had a blast digging in the sand and splashing about.

Ian's initial reaction of being in the water

Trying to run in the sand. He would have a difficult time standing when the water came in.

Splashing about - yes, the lifejacket was probably a bit overkill but he had been in much deeper water.

Just diggin'

Sand castle construction crew

Miles, Patrick, Andrew, & Mason

Trying to collect more sand

Sand, sand, everywhere!

Happy 1st Birthday, Ian Bug!

Today is Ian's first birthday! We celebrated with a pool party at my mom's on July 4th. Tons of family showed up to beat the heat, and fun was had by all! A few photos from the festivities!

Rubber Duck Theme

Getting some assistance from Mason while opening his gifts

Having a blast just beating on bags and boxes

He dove right into that cupcake

Yummmmmm! Drew and I were both in the pool following the party and managed not to get any picks of anyone while swimmming :(. Here are a couple of picks of Mom's pool post party.

Ian went to the doctor this week for his 12 month checkup. He weighed in at 21 lbs. 12 oz. (25th percentile) and measured 32.5 inches (90-95th percentile) in length. He can technically turn around in the car seat. Yay! Doc says he's still tall and skinny, and healthy as a horse. Yay! He only got one shot - the dreaded chicken pox vaccine. (Mason had an adverse reaction to this one, but so far so good for Ian.) He still only has two teeth (the bottom two). And while he still prefers to either cruise or crawl he is beginning to walk on his own. He'll take about 5 or 6 steps before he gets so excited he crashes to the floor! His favorite game is drop stuff from his high chair and proclaim, "UH-OH!" He LOVES to climb - he's our monkey, and he thinks he can do anything Mason can. He's just growing up so quickly!

First Trip Without Kiddos

This past weekend Drew and I went on our first trip without the kids. We met up with some friends from his high school and rented a cabin on Toledo Bend. It was great getting to see everyone and reminisce. We took in some time relaxing on the lake, fishing, tubing, a lot of guitar hero in the evenings, and a few mean games of spoons! I was bleeding after the first "practice" round! AHHH, good times.

My mother kept the boys and this was my first time to go anywhere without them. The only time Mason has ever been away from me overnight was when I was in the hospital after having Ian. It was very bittersweet. I had a lot of fun but at the same time I was a nervous wreck worrying about them - not that I was worried Mom couldn't handle them, but I just worried how they would handle the situation. They were great! And as a side note, Mom informed me that our retarded dog can't swim!! While the fam played in the pool she got so worked up on the sidelines that she just bailed off into the deep end and totally freaked out. But apparently, she didn't learn anything and kept doing it. Goofy dog. Can you teach a dog to swim? Looks like we'll be getting her a new life jacket!

Pennsylvania

A couple of weeks ago the boys and I took a trip to Pennsylvania along with my mother, sister, Aunt Christy and her two children. We flew out of Houston directly to Philadelphia where we stayed the night and spent most of the next day.

That evening we did a night-time city tour of Philly aboard a double decker tour bus, and it was really great to see everything we normally wouldn't have gotten to see. It was very informative and a lot of fun as well. We did drive past Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell but it was too dark at that point to take pictures (plus we were driving very fast), and, unfortunately, we never made it back to the historic district. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in the Center City area and it was great because we were able to walk to Logan Square, Love Park, and The Franklin Institute, which is where we spent most of our day.

When we finished at the museum we loaded up the kiddos and headed to Hershey, PA. We did the Chocolate World tour, and I made the mistake of allowing Mason to have chocolate milk with his dinner. That combined with the snack size chocolate bar he got at the end of the chocolate tour kept him up until after midnight that first night. Needless to say, he now LOVES "chocwat." Who can blame him? It was everywhere. They left Kisses everytime they cleaned the room and just about every tour you went on passed out free chocolates. They even had chocolate BBQ sauce in the food court!

We had a great time. We spent two days at Hersheypark and rode all the rides and saw a few shows. We took a day to go to Strasburg and took an Amish buggy ride and rode the Historic Strasburg Railroad. It was a beautiful drive and trainride through Amish country. We spent time at Hershey Gardens and took in the Chocolate Museum where Jordan and I went to the chocolate lab to make our own chocolate bars and learn about the different places in the world cocoa bean are grown.

Mason and Ian were little troopers throughout the whole trip, although on our last day while visiting the museum Mason just laid down on the floor and fell asleep! It was a fabulous trip! And the best part, we all survived!

Philadelphia City Hall

Ben Franklin monument located inside The Franklin Institute

Strasburg Historic Railroad

Hershey Park had all the ride heights labeled by candies.

Mason could ride rides intended for Kisses and Miniatures.

We saw tons of candies walking around!