Sunday, January 24, 2010

I looked out the window and what did I see...

J teaching Mason how to catch snow flakes on his tongue.


Don't mind the short sleeves, they were out there for only a few minutes. Jason is a very good father. A natural parent. He takes time to teach our boy the important things in life. Sadly, I get too focused on nutrition and sleeping habits. I think Mason is going to turn out just right.

Mason was sporting his Hawaiian shirt in honor of my return from Maui. Jason taught him how to say Aloha! It sounds like A ha HA!
Posted by Picasa

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Spaghetti Eddie says "CHEESE"

I love watching Mace eat. It never gets old. I asked him to smile for the camera. He didn't move.
I told him, "say cheese!" and this was the result.


Friday, January 15, 2010

Starting the year off with a BANG!


We went out shooting on New Years at Thunderbird Gardens. Mason enjoyed being out in the snow but did not so much enjoy the 20 minutes it took to get him into his snow gear. He did really good keeping his ear muffs on and we enjoyed how it scrunched up his cheeks. Uncle Jeff Starr gave Mace a pop gun that he hand carved a design into. We brought it along so Mason would have something to "shoot". He didn't seem bothered by the noise of shooting and would sometimes clap and cheer us on.
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Celebrating the Season

What a month December was! It flew by so quickly. Without hesitation I declare this year's to be the BEST Christmas EVER! Mason made every minute of it delightful, except when he'd eaten too much sugar and wouldn't stop screaming the day after. Here are some of the highlights of our month:

The Festival of Trees was a lot of fun. Casey was baptized that night and so the whole family went over to the festival afterward. First up we have Mason being "attacked" by Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. He did not like the ladies. Then we headed up to the North Pole. They did an amazing job transforming those rooms into a winter wonderland. I spotted my nieces and nephews names on Santa's List. And Mason fell in love with stuffed dog and cuddled right up to it.

Next, Mason and I went to Salt Lake City to visit my sister (who is trying to break some record for most organs out in a calendar year). We went over to Temple Square one freezing night to see the lights. We parked by the Conference Center. I told Mason usually there are lights over here too when suddenly TA DA. They came on with perfect timing. He thought I was pretty cool for getting them to turn on. We walked around enjoying the beautiful scenes and lovely spirit. It was a really sweet moment for me... and really cold one.

We were really lucky to have the opportunity to participate in a huge Sub for Santa event that Jason's work, APX sponsored. Let's just say they sent us a LOT of money and information on families in our area that we went shopping for. We also got a TON of games and DVDs for the Women's Crisis Shelter. When all was said and done we still had money left over so we contacted the often-overlooked Family Support Center. We did a lot of shopping and then did a lot more. We got some strange looks from folks in Wal-Mart who must have thought we were spoiling our little boy rotten. It may have been a bit confusing for Mason to see us getting so many toys that he didn't end up with, but hopefully we can continue to teach him it's better to give than receive. I am really proud of Jason for taking that project on. It was more fun than hassle and we greatly benefited by having the spirit of Christmas.

At last, we get to Christmas Day. Mason cracked us up as he'd rip of small pieces of wrapping paper. One. At. A. Time. And he was really good about putting each piece in a little pile. There is nothing like a cute little boy to make Christmas a blast.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Looking back on Christmas 2007

It's been feeling so Christmas-y lately and it reminded me of a few years ago. We were so excited to find out what the gender of our baby was, and right before Christmas too! We'd had so many stressful ultrasounds, so this was a nice happy moment that I'll never forget. I won't post the pictures but our modest little baby kept crossing his legs.

So without further ado: A Poem From Christmas Past

It's festive and snowing
and getting quite cold.
It's feeling like Christmas
and stories of old.

Children are playing
and acting so nice.
Kitchens smell lovely,
like sugar and spice.

Carolers smile and greet
as they sing.
Shoppers scramble and scurry.
The church bells all ring.

Nutcrackers crack and
sugar plums twirl.
Jason and Ashley found out
they're having a .....

BOY!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Shadow puppets by Dad

Yet another vital skill every father should teach his son: The Art of Shadow Puppeteering

Monday, December 14, 2009

Today

Today was deep cleaning day.
Today was declared pajama day.
Today Mason was scared of the vacuum.
Today Mason sat on my shoulders while I vacuumed the house.
Today Mason jingled when he walked.
Today he kept putting loose coins down his footed pajamas.
Today we cleaned out the pantry.
Today we found a chocolate penguin, almost as tall as Mason, living in the back of our pantry.
Today Mason ate penguin.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

He knows what it's all about


We finally got around to pulling out the Christmas box. Our neighbors brought over some lights for us- a kind and not so subtle hint to get in the spirit of the holidays. We've never had much space to decorate so our options are pretty meager. As we were putting things up and realizing how many more lights we needed, I thought of Mason's nativity and decided since we don't have a "grown up" nativity yet, we'll use his. We brought it out and he helped set up the figurines.

This is how he did it. All of the people and animals in a nice little line. I smiled at his organization. Then I stepped around and saw the rest of the scene. I got a little teary when I saw that he had everyone looking towards Baby Jesus in the manger. I'm glad I got a picture of this reverent set up before he got bored and started throwing pieces down the stairs.


Saturday, November 28, 2009

Mason is happiest when...


Mason is happiest when he's:
  • Outside
  • Playing with something he shouldn't
  • Playing at the park (thank heavens for good weather in St. George)
  • Allowed to be goofy
  • Wrestling
  • Playing with horses (thanks to Uncle/Cowboy Andy and cousin Ryan)
  • Sent to time out (silly kid loves it)
  • Around all his cousins and friends
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

love struck

I'm such a lucky mom. Mason adds buckets of legos...I mean joy...to my life. He is charming, curious, goofy, and caring. Here are some highlights of our week.
  • He went to nursery by himself. We only checked on him twice through the window :) He was just fine.
  • Lindsey and I went to lunch at the Pastry Pub. Mason spent the entire time clomping up and down the long bench and flirting with anyone that would look his way.
  • We bought him a Fisher Price Christmas Nativity (the unbreakable kind). Every morning when he gets out of bed he MUST go push on the angel and make the music start. THEN we can start the day.
  • I was on my way home this afternoon when he fell asleep in the car. This is my ultimate no-no because it destroys his nap. I rushed home, carefully got him unbuckled, and tip toed towards the house. The neighbor's dog started barking and I groaned when Mason woke up and starting barking back. He continued "woof woof"ing through the kitchen and down the hall. Because he felt so limp I walked into the bathroom to look at his reflection in the mirror. He was completely out of it and barking in his sleep!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Little Boys Are Dirt and Noise


What??? When dad said to come help in the back yard he didn't mean roll around in the pile of dirt?

18 Month update

Mason keeps me too busy to blog most of the time. This past week has been so much fun, I feel like we've really turned a corner. Mason has a funny personality. Whenever he sees a hat with ear flaps he insists I put it on his head. He talks so much lately, although it is a special Mason dialect that not even we can interpret. He is learning what his little body can do and his coordination is greatly improved. He has figured out that he can get on the couch downstairs by opening the drawer to the table next to it, climb in the drawer, hoist himself on top of the table and then leap onto the couch and onto unsuspecting Daddy. He'll wear himself out doing this over and over again.He can be very particular. During a tantrum a few weeks back I tried distracting him with his favorite fridge items: orange juice or applesauce. Neither would pacify and his howling intensified. He continued to act like he wanted them so I walked back to the counter. He carefully got the lid to each container and put them on. The crying stopped. Similarly, a shirt collar too stiff or a sock on crooked really agitates him. This is supposed to be the part where I say how baffled I am at his behavior, but I was The Devil Child and I clearly remember being set off by a pony tail too tight and still get cranky if I can feel any tags on my clothes.

Jason has been working a lot lately so their "manly bonding" time is limited. I like to see Mason go up to our wedding picture in the living room and point to Jason and ask "Dad?". He still enjoys mini motorcycle rides on the driveway and Mason also is very good at helping his dad work in the back yard. We go watch Jason play city-league basketball once a week. It's Mason's important job to hold the basketball until we get there. Last night he chirped "Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball" the entire way. After the game he and his buddy Kyson ran out onto the floor. They met under the basketball hoop and gave each other a big hug. The hug went on and on. Then they started tipping, lost their balance and fell to the floor.

We bought a little table for Mason's room so he would have a place to sit and play, color, get out the playdough, or stack toys. Yesterday, I was getting ready and it got really quiet. Alarmed, I poked my head into his room. I caught him sitting at the table reading and nodding as he looked at each page. That's my boy!Mason loves kids smaller than him, especially little girls. In nursery a few weeks back a little girl kicked him in the face when he was trying to climb up the stairs to the slide. He cried and found something else to do. As we were leaving nursery he spotted her and instead of being scared or mean, he ran after her with arms wide open. He followed her down the hall and finally scored a hug when she stopped at the drinking fountain. He's very "soft" and careful around babies. Mason is pleased to discover they too have eyes and needs reminding not to poke them. It is good for my heart that he has become so affectionate. He'll stop mid-play to give me a hug. He'll hug your legs when you least expect it. He'll always offer up a kiss after a prayer, diaper change, or usually on request. Sometimes he'll randomly walk up to me and stroke my hair, peer into my face and then say "AAAHHHHH" as he cuddles up to me. He still has moments of screaming and frustration, but they are so easy to deal with because of his predominate good nature.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Jeffy?

Mason was sick on Saturday and by that night I was throwing up too. Jason took over all parenting responsibilities Sunday so I could rest and recover. Mason was feeling better and the boys rested and napped downstairs so I could have some peace and quiet. Around 11am I woke up and headed to the kitchen to get a drink. I turned the corner and there on the pantry floor, wearing only a big t-shirt and a big grin sat....Jeffy? My little brother Jeff is four years younger than me but I don't remember much of his infant years. Yet when I saw a blond haired boy digging through a cereal box and looking up at me with big blue eyes, my sluggish brain computed: It's Jeffy.


Posted by Picasa

Picture Tree: 17 months

We have a great tree in our wild back yard. It has the perfect spot for sitting. I've been taking lots of pictures of Mason in the Picture Tree. As long as we live here I plan on taking even more shots to show how quickly he grows and changes. I can already imagine him on his first date, girl perched awkwardly on his knee, her hair getting snagged in branches. I'll be whining, "just one more!" while he mumbles, "I am so sorry about my mom."
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Halloween

He loves to play dress up on any given day. Just not on the day I wanted him to. Poor little guy. Why why why do we put all this pressure on little kids when they are too young to understand or remember the holiday? Oh yeah, because it's fun. And they are adorable.

I hope someday he'll look back at all the silly pictures and say "Thanks Mom. Looks like we had fun". And I'll say, "No problem hon, now drive me to the hair parlor to get my weekly perm."