Ready for spring

Farm fieldtrip

Mason never wants to leave preschool on Mondays so I try to have something fun for us to do afterward to help get him out the door and into the car. What's better than a field trip to a farm?

We were headed to Horse Alley to get a truck load of manure and while we were there we were given a personal tour of all the animals. We saw pigeons, goats, pigs, chickens, and horses. I really wish Mason had more opportunities to be a farm boy.

Glitter Party!

 One day my friend Lindsey and her mom Jane came over for a little visit. I was so enjoying spending time with these incredible people that I supervised Mason a little less than I should have. We came out of the den and found Mason... and this...

Glitter stuff. Everywhere. He found the bags of little buttons, confetti, shiny circles, googly eyes, and other small items that were specifically hidden from him. It was a huge mess. Oh, but his smile was even bigger. How can you scold a boy who is so intensely happy? Instead I declared it Glitter Party time and turned on some music while we danced around.

General conference and specific questions

 Last week I explained to Mason that instead of going to church we were going to stay home and watch General Conference.

We get to see the Prophet, said I.
What about Bishop?! he responded with concern.

If only it lasted longer...

I had a few fun activities for him to do. Jason prepared the traditional popcorn and apple slices. Mason lasted about 20 minutes. Then he proceeded to trash the basement. It was a disaster zone. I didn't think he was listening at all but then anytime he heard "Joseph Smith", "Holy Ghost", or other phrases he recognized he would look up from whatever he was doing and say "Hey, that guy said Holy Ghost". Every time the choir sang he'd ask if it was over.

Mason set up his animals to watch Conference.

 We had a chance to talk about heaven on Monday. He was carrying around an old prayer book that I bought because of it's neat appearance. Mason asked what the story was about and I said it was about Jesus.
He flipped through the pages asking in a sing song manner "Jesus, where are you?"
I told him that Jesus is in heaven waiting for him.
"Heaven?"
I explained to him that it's where God and Jesus and Angels are. It's also where his pet Nemo went when he died.
Mason thought about it and then asked in his clear halting voice "Where is heaven at?"
I told him it was up in the clouds and stars.
"Can I go there?"
"Yes, of course. If you are nice and obey then you can go to heaven someday and live with all your family forever."
"And Nate?"
Yes, Mason. Everyone.

"Any dream will do..."

 My favorite musical is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. So when I saw the Utah Shakespearean Festival's Playmakers were putting it on, we planned another Mommy/Son date. The Playmakers are jr actors 7-17 years old. I didn't expect the production to be anything spectacular, but it was really great. Those kids did a wonderful job and it was quite professional. I really appreciate that there are a few cultural events around town that are kid-friendly. Mason and I met up with my parents and when he grew tired of sitting with me he'd scramble onto the next lap.

Mr. Handsome outside the theater

After the play I took Mason to McDonalds to get a ice cream cone for him and a McFlurry for Jason. By the time we got home Mason was really beat. He handed over his half eaten cone, announced he was tired, put on his PJs, and flopped into bed.

What a character

 Mason's imagination has us laughing our heads off lately. We never know what he's going to do or say next. Or dress up as.

READY!

 "RRRRRROAR! I'm going to eat you!" Mason surprised me with this original ensemble. He's got the 'coon hat, Batman mask, a pompom, and no pants. Scary indeed.

More favorites:
He'll look at his bare wrist and say "Time to go. It's thirteen o clock". Of all the numbers he knows he picks the one that's not on the clock. Neither Jason or I wear a watch so I don't know where he picked that up.

He brought me a squished tangelo and said "It's not a pumpkin. I stepped on it and it's an orange inside."

goes like this

Mason is very into copying expressions, phrases, and poses. If Eli blinks Mason will come up to me all squinty and say "Baby goes like this". Yesterday he was saying, "No way Jose" over and over.

Mason was coloring and kept saying something I couldn't understand. I finally stopped everything I was doing and paid close attention. He was saying "Peter Pan goes like this" while holding his own chin. Of course!

This is what happens when I ask him to smile

Mr. Funny Man

Mason "makes me happy" (said in high Mason voice). He keeps us laughing with his fun little sayings and tricks. He likes to dress really ridiculously and say "I'm ready" and then he looks expectantly at us to see the moment when we notice that he is SO NOT READY. He'll be in boxers only and say he's ready for church. Or he'll put on three pair of pants at once and say he's ready for bed.

Or, like this picture here, he put on my beanie, his over sized Spiderman shirt, basketball shorts, one boot, two Nemo socks, and one monkey slipper and said he was ready to go play outside. It was almost 8pm and it was snowing.



The other day I tried handing him a snack while we were in the car. He shoved his hands out of sight in the side of his carseat and claimed his hands were all gone.

He entertains his parents by going up to people and saying "What's on your shirt?" and then flicking their noses when they look down.

Often he'll do things the wrong way on purpose, wait for the right amount of attention, and then say with a smirk "That's not how it goes!"

Other funny remarks:

• The big bad wolf blew my house down!
• I cried and cried and cried (in reference to nursery or preschool. I've checked with his teachers, he doesn't ever cry in class)
•  GRRRR! Is that voice nice or mean? Good or scary?
• Don't ever ever ever help me. I do it myself.
• Are you Nice Mommy? Hi Nice Mommy. Nice Mommy can I have a drink?
• That tastes yummy or not?
• I go downstairs or no?
• Once upon a time I was running, running (several of his made up stories start this way).
• Watch out for cars! (We say this to each other all the time, especially when we are no where near cars. It's become sort of a "love you, take care" phrase).
• Mom come play with me! One...Two...Hurry! 
• We were reading the story of the Pied Piper and the story said "Broken promises lead to broken hearts". Mason quickly pulled up his shirt, pointed to his stomach and said "My heart's not broken!"

And last but not least, when we were in SLC last week Mason had a sleepover with my sister Lisa. Every time she would doze off he would smack her hard. Then he would claim it was because there was a spider on her and that he got it. Over and over and over.

Hot Date and Dinos

Mason and I went on a date last Saturday and left little brother with Grandma. When went to the Children's Jubilee featuring Dinosaurs. They had a bunch of activities, fossils on display, and coloring before the concert.



The music was great and there were illustrations by children shown throughout the concert. Mason liked to roar at them or say (loudly) "Whoa, scary!". At the end they played the score from Jurassic Park. I liked the trumpets. Mason liked the drums.



Mason really wanted his face painted to we waited in line for a very long time. When it was his turn he said he wanted a dragon. The lady said he was too small. I suggested a small dragon? She said that he's too small as in he won't sit still long enough. Mason showed her he was big enough to sit very still as long as she needed if it meant getting a dragon.


There were also some toys the kids could play with. Here is Mason with Eliza. Uncle Nate calls this Mason's "just standing there" pose. (He did this for almost an hour at Nate's house the other day). I love this picture. He's thinking "Look! Fun blocks. Aw man. Not fun enough to approach the girl. Bummer."

bundled

Little Red Riding Hoodlums

We got a little outdoor cottage for the backyard. Half the yard is still covered in snow and it will certainly storm a lot more this season but we couldn't wait to get it up. Mason came into my room and asked if he could play with his friend.



I asked him which friend and he said Hyrum. We went and picked Hyrum up and the boys played in the backyard while Jason assembled the hut (and until their noses got too cold).



It's funny to see how kids absolutely love things their size. Mason asks to go play in his house every day.

a little bit of khaki action

Jason invited Mace out for a jeep ride to get some fresh (COLD) air and see if they could spot any deer. As they got ready to head out and were putting jackets on we realized they were mighty matchy. Even more funny was when Jason headed out the front door to move the car so he could back out the jeep, and we headed out the side door to load Mason in his car seat. On our way out I decided he needed a hat and pulled a black beanie over his head. Jason similarly realized how cold it was and put on a black beanie that was in the car. We met on the side of the house, both boys now black capped, and had a good laugh.


Also funny: Mason fell asleep before they even got out of town.

running wild

Little brother was sick and needed extra love and attention.
Mason ran a little wild for a few days.
Yes, we ate blue berry muffins and nutella covered bagels for more than one meal.

Kitty cat

This is Mason's kitty cat. Can't you see it? Actually he might be holding two... It's hard to tell.


We have several of these kitty cats running around our house. They show up when you least expect it. We'll be walking down the hall and Mason will squeal "Look my kitty cat" run over, and pick it up off the seemingly empty floor. Sometimes they are in his pocket. Sometimes they eat breakfast with us. The other day he brought me a suitcase and said "Shhh. Kitty cats are sleeping". I asked how many were in there and he said "thirteen" while holding up three fingers. One day he handed a kitty cat to his dad. Jason, not knowing what it was, said thanks and pretended to eat it. So now Mason will occasionally chomp a kitty cat. They've spread the word apparently because there has been a recent surge in the invisible puppy dog population as well.

Don't worry though. Mason is very good at building homes for them. I hope they like the Alphabet block style of architecture.

All Gone

One of Mason's fish died. We're not too shocked after finding him on the counter. How he got there, we may never know. (Jason is actually proud of this incident because however Mason managed it, he must have been fast and coordinated). So Nemo was sent to his watery grave. I thought perhaps this would be time to talk about death with Mason. So we did. I don't think he gets it because as the toilet was flushed, Mason clapped and cheered.