Happy 1/2 Birthday, Mason!

Mason is 6 months old! We are so thankful for him; he has brought much joy to our family. :)

At his 6 mos check-up, he is now 28 inches (87%) and weighs 17 lbs (40%).

Here's what he's been up to this month:

*takes a bottle 3 times a day and Mommy still feeds him in the morning and at night
*sleeps 12 hours (6:3o pm to 6:30 am)
*takes 2 naps a day
*eats solid food (carrots and bananas are his fav)
*army crawling to get to his toys
*still can't sit up by himself yet, but getting closer
*loves when big brother talks to him

first picture with Santa
just playing with my toys

Thanksgiving Holidays

We had a nice Thanksgiving spent with both our families. Mason is eating solids now and he ate some sweet potatoes in honor of Turkey Day. Ethan gobbled up the turkey (though he called it chicken...he was convinced that you "don't eat turkeys, Mommy" since he was a turkey in his Thanksgiving play at school...hahaha. We took Ethan to his first movie (Happy Feet 2) and he did really well! Almost made it through the whole thing. It was nice having Jake off for several days. :) Only 6 more days until our big Disney Trip!!


We decorated the inside and outside of the house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. :)


Eating yummy sweet potatoes-he loves them!

Sweet family pic, take 2


Not the best pic in the world!

Ethan and Mason's Dedication

We had the boys dedicated at church last Sunday, along with several other families. Our pastor brought us on stage and shared pictures of the boys and the Bible verses we selected for them. Each family got a children's book of the Bible and then the church family prayed for us parents and for the boys. It was a special time for our family!

My two little loves
The picture they showed on the big screen of Ethan.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

The picture they showed of Mason.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above" James 1:17

Here we are up front :)

Halloween 2011

We had fun this year with our pirate and monkey boys! Ethan and I went around the block while Daddy and Mason stayed home to pass out candy. Ethan went trick-or-treating last year but this year I think he really understood more what was going on. :) Now every morning when he wakes up he asks for a piece of candy-ha!

Check out our Halloween posts from 2010 and 2009!

5 Months!

Wow, cannot believe little Mason is already 5 months. He has turned out to be the best little baby! I wasn't so sure during his first few months and kept thinking what in the world did we get ourselves into? :) But now he is super laid-back and so fun! Jake calls this period of time the 'golden age' because he's such a happy baby, but we haven't gotten around to teething yet and he still stays in pretty much the same spot where we left him. 2 things about Mr. Mason that are still hard are that he won't take a nap unless he's in his crib (or in the car) which makes it hard to do things out of the house (takes 3 naps a day) and he won't take a bottle unless it's warm (again, making it hard if we're out). He's the sweetest little addition to our family. I love watching Ethan interact with him and can't wait until they can play together.

This month, our little man:
-is wearing size 3 diapers

-has a consistent nighttime routine now-yay! He goes down right at 7 and wakes up to nurse around 5:30, then sleeps until 7:30. :) No more random nighttime waking!!

-wears mostly 6 month clothes, and some 6-12 mos.

-can roll both ways now and is starting to scoot. I even found him up on his knees the other day

-loves to eat his hands

-never spits up! I've only seen him do this like twice ever-it's crazy!

-HATES rice cereal and even gags. :( Can't wait to eat baby food soon!

Young Chef's Academy

My mom's group had a Mommy and Me playdate at the Young Chef's Academy today. I've always wanted to try the place, since Ethan really enjoys cooking with me at home. We had such a good time! :) Thanks to my dad for staying home with Mason so Ethan and I could do some cooking!

The menu had a pumpkin theme today: pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin cream cheese dip, and pumpkin smoothie. The kids had fun measuring and mixing the ingredients but the best part was getting to eat everything we made! Ethan loved the muffins and smoothie the best. We got to get the recipes for everything we made-I will definitely be making the muffins and dip again!

Baby Laughs

He makes me smile. :)

Now I Know My ABC's

Ethan wanted me to take a "bideo" of him yesterday and this is the song he chose: :)

Days Like This...

Daddy's been outta town for 4 days,
Just me and the boys and it feels like a haze.
Crying baby, cranky big brother,
Being stretched so thin, the job of a mother.
Didn't get a thing done, not even a shower,
Was I really up at that crazy hour?
Diapers and wipes and picking up toys,
Wanting a nap but needing to be with my boys.
But what makes it all worth it is a big, slobbery kiss,
Mama said there'd be days like this!

4 Months

Mason turned 4 months last Friday! Things are going well...I am really starting to find my groove as a stay at home Mommy. I joined a Mom's group a few weeks ago with some of the moms from Ethan's preschool class and others. :) Life is good and I LOVE all the time I have with my boys.

Mason had his 4 month check-up today. He is in the 75th precentile for height at 26 inches, and in the 50th for weight at 15 pounds. The shots made him super sleepy so he's in his crib right now-let's hope we get a long nap! :) He goes to bed earlier now, usually around 7 pm and on a good night will sleep until 4 or 5 am for a feeding, and then go down again until 8. :)


sweet little guy

This is what bedtime looks like at our house! We all gather in Ethan's room and read books and sing songs. Afterward, I feed Mason and put him in his crib. I love our family!

at the Dr. waiting for shots :(

Yummy yummy cereal :) That would be a tent in our living room-Ethan has been playing in it!

Dewberry Farm

We took the boys to Dewberry Farm on Saturday afternoon. Ethan had a great time! He played in the hay, fed the barn animals, saw lots of pumpkins, and ran around with his friend Jace. Mason was a trooper and did fine in the stroller or in the Baby Bjorn. He enjoyed just being outside looking at all the sights. :)

Feeding the goats

HAHA

Sweet Mason enjoying the farm too!

Jumping on this cool bubble thing


A little scared of the big slide

Park Pics

runnin around

"Why can't I play, Mommy?"

"Ok, playing with my feet is good enough!"

Fall is Here!

...or close anyway. After months and months of relentless heat and temperatures in the triple digits, we finally have cooler weather!! I was so excited that I put sweaters on both boys (see Mason's pic below) Tuesday morning, only to realize that it wasn't quite that cold yet. I'm excited to start going to the park again and doing more things outdoors. :)

playing with my exersaucer

Ethan's first day of preschool at Faith School for Young Children August 30th, 2011

3 Months Old!

Mason is 3 months old today!

Here are some new things about our sweet boy:
-Has slept from 9pm-6am for 2 nights now!! :) Let's hope this is a trend!
-Loves when big brother comes over and talks to him-sometimes he gets poked in the eye or a finger jammed up his nose, so he's learning to go with the flow when Ethan is around!
-Adores being talked to-he will talk back and giggle! He is becoming very social.
-Started rolling from his tummy to his back
-Goes to the church nursery and today was his first time at the gym nursery since he is finally old enough!
-Weighs 13.4 lbs ( I weighed him at my in-laws' house)
-Still prefers Mommy, but will take a bottle ok. We finally found a formula he likes: Similac Advance-the premixed version. HATES the powder kind-sigh.....

Here are some pics from the day....

My Babies

I love these little boys! I am so fortunate to be able to stay home with them now instead of trying to juggle teaching and being a Mommy. I always felt like I was half doing both jobs, so now I can focus on what really matters to me. We are truly blessed with 2 healthy, happy boys!

Ethan is 2 1/2 and I think we may give the whole potty training thing a go-maybe over Labor Day weekend. He starts his Mother's Day Out program next week. He will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2; it will be great for both of us. He will get the structure, learning, and socialization that he needs and that he was used to from being at school all last year. And Mommy will get a break and have more time to devote to Mason. :) He is talking like crazy; he amazes me everyday with what he knows. One of my favorite things is when he wakes up in the morning, and I can hear him on the monitor singing songs or pretend playing with his stuffed animals. :)

Mason is almost 3 months old now-I can't believe it. Before he was born, I didn't know if I could love another person as much as I love Ethan, but I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him. I love when he looks into my eyes-it's like he's saying, I know you're my Mommy"! He is starting to laugh, he loves to snuggle and be held. I love my little man!

Definitely Brothers!

Ethan-3 months

Mason-2 months