Christmas 2011

Santa came!

Disney World

I'm a little behind on my posts...trying to catch up! We went to Disney World with the boys in mid-December for 6 days. It was all Jake's idea-as I was super nervous to take a 6 month old and a 2 year old on a plane and to a crazy theme park! We ended up having a GREAT time though-with the help of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law who came to help us out with Ethan and Mason.

The flight went better than expected! Ethan just watched cartoons with his headphones the whole time and Mason slept for about an hour. We finally got to our hotel around 7 pm that Sunday so we quickly ate dinner and put the kids to bed. We had 2 pack-n-plays in our bedroom so they didn't disturb Jake's mom and sister when they woke up at the crack of dawn-which they did. Everyday. :(

The next day we hit the ground running-we made it to The Magic Kingdom right as it opened and Ethan's very first ride was Dumbo's Flying Elephant ride with Mommy! It rained that morning but luckily we brought ponchos! We went back for naps and then went to Epcot that night.

Over the next 3 days, we went to The Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and saw Epcot and The Magic Kingdom again. Ethan got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto. It was exciting to see Ethan having so much fun. That was probably my favorite part of the trip-just watching Ethan having a blast!! :)

Mason did ok-but he wasn't very content in his stroller-he enjoys crawling around on the floor and playing with toys....so we had to pass him around a lot. But he did get to go on lots of slow rides and he liked looking around at all the lights.

We will definitely be going back. Jake said he would like to take the kids every couple of years. If you are thinking about going, December was a great time to go. The weather was great-not too hold or cold. We went before kids were out for the holidays so there weren't very many people there. And the best part was that it was decorated so pretty for Christmas!

We had a blast and it was indeed magical! :) Here are a few of my fav pics from the trip:

I love his expression! That kid wore his Mickey Ears the entire time! :)

Pretty Christmas lights!

Getting to meet MICKEY!!!!!

Both boys were OUT!! They were so tired-but we kept on trucking anyway.

The castle at Magic Kingdom.

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!