Read all the fine print!

So, here is the cover of the box of the kid's "Waterpark" we bought for Tyler:

Look at the kid on the far right, using the water gun at the corner of the pool. Note that he looks about 8 or 10 years old, he's kneeling on the ground, and the side of the pool is above his waist. The gun is almost shoulder-height to him.

Now, look at the basketball hoop, note how the kid shooting the basketball is throwing the ball UP to shoot. THAT kid looks around 7 or 8 years old, also. See the gushing waterfall coming from the arch, and how big the slide is, compared to the kid going down (who also looks about 7 or 8 years old).

See the kid behind the pool, he looks also about 8 and the top of the arch is clearly above his head.

Now, here is a picture of my 3-year-old, 39" tall son playing in the actual pool we pulled out of the box:
The dimensions were clearly labeled on the box, (the length & width, not the height), but we didn't read it. We just looked at the cool picture. Oh well, at least Tyler enjoyed playing in it.

Now, notice how it's called "Hydro Blast". The little watergun that's installed at the corner has a pinhole that water can "blast" out from. It's like being shot with a bathtub squirt toy. Also, if you notice in my picture, we've got the slide off to the side, not even installed, because (though the picture shows it UNDER the gushing waterfall) it's not long enough to reach the sprinkling water coming out of the arch. So, you have to slide into the pool on a dry slide!

Lesson learned.

"Day off"

Today, Mike and I both took the day off, to extend our Memorial Day weekend to a 4-day weekend. We spent all day ripping out the bushes in front of our house and tilling up the soil (removing weeds, roots, and rocks). I got to use my new wagon! Though our yard is small, it was nice to have it to bring stuff from the shed out to the front yard. Tyler and Mason hung out with us outside, and Tyler enjoyed playing in the wagon. He put his snacks and gardening gloves on the wagon. Mason sat in his stroller and was happy just chillin’.

Here is a picture of our house 2 years ago, while we were removing the evergreen-type ground-cover that we had along the corner of our front yard:

And below is a picture I took this afternoon, showing how we removed the shrubs in front of the house:

Now, we need to figure out what we want to plant in front of the house, instead!

All I Want for Mother's Day...

Here is my belated Mother’s Day gift (mine is green):
I say belated, but on Mother’s Day, Mike gave me a gift of sleep and not having to make breakfast. He ended up so frustrated with the skillet pan that we have (it burned half the pancakes he tried to make) that I also ended up with a new skillet! But that wasn’t something I really WANTED. This wagon, I want!

What color is my thumb?

So, I’m actually growing a vegetable garden. I say “actually growing” because that is what the plants are (surprisingly, under my care) doing. They’re growing! None of them are dead! And, it’s been almost a month! Last month, Tyler helped me plant tomatoes, green peppers, and basil. They’re now so big that we’re going to have to transplant some of them to other planters, so that they can (hopefully) grow even more! I hope we get real vegetables from them, and that I can teach my son about plants/gardening/etc. I’m really hoping the basil grows, because I want to make my own pesto sauce. My mom has this wonderful recipe and I can’t wait to have homemade pesto, instead of the salty store-bought pesto!!

Teething

Last Saturday (the day before Mother’s Day), Mason’s first tooth broke through his gums! As happy as I am that he’s growth is on track, I find that I’m counting down the days I have left to enjoy his toothless grins. The only reason we even knew he was teething was his constant drooling. If his gums have been hurting, his disposition hasn’t been affected. He’s been the same happy, smiley little guy. Tyler was like that, too, not really affected too much by teething. Mason does love chewing on everything, though. Most notably, his hands, but I found a cool pacifier-shaped teether that he can hold easily which has a gummy/rubbery tongue, instead of a pacifier nipple.

Birthday Cake

My sister loves watching the Oprah Winfrey show. She tries to catch it every day, and since she’s home with her 3 girls, they (obviously) are very familiar with Oprah, as well. Two weeks ago, my sister turned 30. Today was her daughter, Hannah’s, birthday. Prior to both birthdays, my sister asked Hannah who she wanted on her birthday cake. Hannah promptly told her that she wanted Dora on her cake. Then, Hannah asked her mom what was going to be on her cake. My sister said that flowers or candles would be nice. But my niece didn’t think that was enough. She asked, “No, Mommy, what PERSON are you going to have on your cake?” My sister replied, “I don’t know, who do you think should be on my cake?” My niece responded, “I know! How about Oprah?!”
So, today we went to my niece’s 3rd birthday party. The kids had fun with their cousins, and I also got to see and visit with my family. My mom and I thought that my sister deserved a birthday cake, as well. This is what we brought her:

Days and Months

Here is Tyler singing the days of the week:

And reciting the months of the year:

5 months!

Dear Mason,

Today, you are 5 months old. You probably weigh over 20 lbs and your hair is growing in more evenly. You're growing so fast, all your milestones are seeming to fly by! I missed playing with you today. We were all so busy with errands after I got home from work, and Daddy had class this evening...it seemed like we were all just bustling around all afternoon and evening. Before I knew it, it was time for you to go to bed. Right now, you're asleep in your crib, and I want to sneak in there and pick you up and hold you in my arms.

Speaking of milestones...we started feeding you baby food about a week and a half ago. We first started with oatmeal (mixed with apple juice) and you LOVED it! I think it's the apple juice ;) You took to it very well. Two days ago, we started you on carrots (baby food). They're a bit soupy, so I might get you the "2nd Foods" version, and try that. You sure love eating, though!

You are also sitting up much better. You're still not sitting on your own, but I can tell that's coming very soon. You would rather be upright than laying back. In fact, you usually try to muscle yourself to a sitting position if we set you down in any reclined position. You love your doorway jumper...I mean you REALLY love it! You can still stay in it for almost an hour, I think it makes you feel free.

You are grabbing things and picking things up (then putting them in your mouth) much better, though your favorite thing to chew on is your own finger...any of them.

We moved you from an infant carrier to a convertible car seat about 2 weeks ago (you were actually about 20 lbs 2 weeks ago, so I'm sure you're heavier now!), since you're near the weight limit of our infant carrier. You don't seem to like being put in the car seat, though, you always cry when we put you in there if we don't distract you enough.

Random

Mason is a great eater. He always loved nursing, and then formula, and now baby food. He has been eating oatmeal mixed with apple juice (which he loves!) for about a week, now. Tonight, I introduced carrots to him. Loves them!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this might mean he won't be a picky eater. Tyler wasn't a picky eater, either, and it was awesome. He ate so well and so healthy.

One thing that Tyler loves to do is ask us about our favorites. Especially about our favorite parts of movies or tv shows. He's asked us so many times that he knows what our answers are going to be. His "favorite" parts somehow end up being the same as ours, too.

Tyler's attention span has definitely increased, also. He can play a board game all the way through, following directions. We recently found a Thomas the Train board game at a yard sale (for $0.50!) and he LOVES it. We've actually played that 2 or 3 times in a row with him.

2 Cute Things

We usually say a short prayer before dinner, but one evening, Tyler busted out his own prayer! We later found out that he says it every day at daycare, which I was pleasantly surprised about. It seems that they're still teaching the right things in some of our schools! :)



Then, he showed us how they also say the Pledge of Allegiance:

Old and...

This afternoon, Tyler was especially energetic: running around, hopping, jumping, falling down on purpose, etc. He kept asking me and Mike, "Can you do this?" and then he would do some crazy move like jump up and land on his knees, or something. When he did that (land on his knees), I winced and said, "No, Mommy is too old to do that." His reply, "But I can do it because I'm new?"

********************************************************************************

Later, we were all rough-housing, Mike and I were on the ground and Tyler was taking turns jumping on top of each of us. Right after Tyler had landed on me, I grabbed him while I was laying down and tried to sit up with him in my arms. It was wholly unsuccessful, since I don't have the ab strength to sit myself up with an additional 35 lbs attached to my shoulders. I repositioned Tyler and tried to sit up again, finally doing it on my 3rd try. Tyler smiled at me and said, "I knew you could do it, Mommy!"
Me: Thanks Tyler, you had more faith in me than I did.
Tyler: More face? (Tyler touched his face with his hands) I only have one face, Mommy.

"I love you, Mommy."

Last night, after I gave Tyler a bath, I was trying to wrangle him so that I could get him dressed in his PJs. I sat on the floor in his room and held out his underwear for him to step into, exasperatedly asking him to put it on. He wrapped his arms around my neck and picked up one foot at a time so that I could stick his feet in his underwear. As we were doing this, Tyler said, “I’m hugging you, Mommy.”

Me: I know. Thank you.

Tyler: I love you, Mommy.

Me: (suddenly softening up, grabbing up my son and cuddling him in my lap…and not feeling so exasperated anymore) Ohhh, Tyler! I love you, too!

Tyler: I wish we could go to a school for grown-ups AND kids so that we could be together all day.

Me: I do, too. I wish I could spend all day with you.

These are bittersweet times, hearing Tyler say “I love you” in his sweet voice, so clear and sure, and knowing that all he wants is to be with me and Mike are things that I dreamed about while I was holding him when he was a baby. As a new mom, I loved him so HARD! I remember holding him as an infant and wishing I could hug him enough to show him how much I loved him, how I wanted him to always fall asleep while I or Mike was holding him, so his last moments of each day were spent in one of our arms. And I remember feeling like it would be FOREVER until Tyler would ever be able to say “I love you.” So, now he says it, and he says it often, which I love, but I know the times that I spent during his infancy wishing that he would get older so that he could finally verbally affirm his love are times that I should have enjoyed more. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy them! But, now that I know that the babyhood is such a short time in our children’s lives, and I know that our children KNOW we love them and that they DO reciprocate in their own way (by their first smiles at us, by not wanting us to leave them, etc.), I have enjoyed being Mason’s mommy in a more complete way. I’m sure the confidence that I’ve been through it before allows me to relax, but I’m also in no hurry for Mason’s babyhood to pass by. I look at his face as he gives me a toothless smile and try to fix that picture in my mind, so that I can go back to it whenever I choose.

Tyler does give great hugs, though. And he’s a strong little guy, so he’s strong enough to handle the hugs we give back!

Jumping Jumping

On Friday, I put Mason in a doorway jumper for the first time. He has been really enjoying the stand-up entertainer that we have (which we put by a window so he can also look outside), and he seemed to have more control over his head. So, I put him in the jumper and he LOVED it!! Seriously, he enjoyed it so much! At first he kind of just hung out, turned himself in different directions, enjoyed being upright…but then he figured out how to bounce. Mason bounced and jumped in the doorway jumper for nearly an hour! We went away for the weekend, and didn’t take the jumper with us, but when we came back yesterday (Sunday), I put Mason in the doorway jumper again while I was making dinner, and he was content (happily jumping and bouncing, and turning to face in the kitchen then in the living room) even while we ate dinner! Check him out!

"I Like to Move It"

Last night, Tyler sang and danced for us :)

Pictures

Daddy and Mason at Jaime's birthday party

Me and my superhero :)

Tyler a.k.a. Batman

Mason is 4 Months Old!

Dear Mason,


Although I find it hard to believe, yesterday you were 4 months old. When “they” tell you that time flies with your second child, “they” really do know what they’re talking about. At your recent check-up (about a week and a half ago), you weighed 17 lbs 14 oz. and were 25 inches long/tall. Your weight is off the growth charts J and your length is in the higher percentile range.

I have cherished all of you sweet smiles this past month, which you give out so readily. You smile most when I kiss and nuzzle your neck and ears, so I do that quite often. When you’re in the mood, you like zrrbrts blown on your bare tummy. Your big brother, Tyler, has recently tried giving you zrrbrrts, too! You like any attention from him, so you always smile when he’s around you.

A great majority of the time (at least 95%), you are easy to please and quite mellow. In the past month, you have learned how to really, really cry. You’ve grown out of the quiet newborn cry to a full-blown, red-in-the-face, ear-piercing cry. You also have tears! But, I must say that your crying is not unpleasant to me. None of it is annoying, and since we hear it so rarely (the other 5% of the time), nobody minds hearing it for a minute or two while your bottle is prepared or while I’m rocking you to sleep.

You sleep through the night like a champ! We try to get you in bed around 9 or 10pm, and I usually have to wake you up around 6:15 or 6:30 am during the week and feed you before I drop you off at daycare. On the weekends, you have slept until 8:30 or 9am! Usually, you will wake up around 7:30 or 8am, and most mornings you wake up happy.


You love to coo and gurgle at us! You enjoy when we talk back to you, too. Every day, we usually have a conversation or two with lots of back-and-forth between you and either me or Daddy.

You are definitely grabbing things, though not quite so controlled yet. You can grab a toy or a blanket and bring it to your mouth, and you love to use your feet & legs to kick and stand. Your legs and tummy muscles are SO strong!

Mason, we love to snuggle with you, hug you (it’s so easy now that you’re so nice and chubby), play with you, listen to your cooing, and rock you to sleep. You are a joy to be around! You and Tyler have made us (Mommy and Daddy) look like really good parents! Thank you for gracing us with your gorgeous smiles and for showing us every day how truly blessed we are.

Love, always,

Mommy

My Birthday Surprise

When I came home from work on Thursday, my birthday, one of my girlfriends (Laurie) was sitting in my living room!! I was totally caught off guard and surprised! After many exclamations of joy and hugs, the plan was divulged to me:

Apparently, for the past year my dear, sweet, awesome husband has been scheming with my college girlfriends to plan a girls' weekend. My friend Sara was arriving that evening and Julie was arriving the next morning. Mike had covered all his bases to make sure I didn't find out that they were coming down to visit. He had been planning his weekend with them over email through his work account for the past year! Unfortunately, Mike's grandfather passed away the week before and the funeral was scheduled for the same weekend that my friends came down. Mike had planned to watch our kids while my friends were in town, but since he couldn't, he enlisted the help of our sister-in-law, Michelle, who graciously took our kids in a few times over the weekend so that I could go out with my girlfriends.

Anyway, like I said, my friend Laurie was already at our house when I came home. So, after I got over the surprise, I thought,"The house!! We left it in shambles last night!" But, as I looked around, I saw that everything was picked up and the kitchen was clean! Then found out that Mike had gotten up in the morning and got dressed to go to work and drop Tyler off just like any other day, but he actually had the day off. After he dropped off Tyler, he called me and told me he felt sick and was going to go home and "rest." Instead, he spent all morning cleaning the house (he vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, put toys away, scrubbed the kitchen...) until he had to leave to pick up Laurie from the airport. Then, he and Laurie ran a bunch of errands (if you call picking up beer and a birthday cake errands) until I called and asked if he could pick up Tyler later that afternoon. Mike had even checked with my boss to make sure it would be okay if I took Friday off, since I'd want to hang out with my girlfriends!

My girlfriends and I had a great weekend. I got to show them around, they got to meet Mason and play with Tyler, and we did lots of shopping and eating out :) We went to the Melting Pot for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! I had so much fun just talking and chatting with them. It had been a long time since I had seen any of them, so having them here was a real treat and probably the best birthday present I've ever received. Knowing that my friends would take tim out and travel to celebrate my birthday and that Mike would go to such lengths to plan something like this just so I could have a good time is such a wonderful feeling!

So, anyway, I've got wonderful people in my life and my husband is totally friggin' awesome!!

3 1/2 Months

Actually, Mason is closer to 4 months old, and knowing that, I cannot believe how fast these past months have gone by. We don't know if Mason is going to be our last child, so I find myself wanting to take in so much more while he's still a baby. But, I also find myself having less time to do it. Luckily, he's been sleeping through the night for several weeks now, but every night I wish that he would wake up and want a bottle, just so I can spend some extra time with him. He's the sweetest thing. Mason will smile at the drop of a hat and snuggle into your shoulder when you hold him. He loves to grab onto your finger with uncanny strength while you feed him a bottle...those fists are really hard to pry apart!

3 Months

Dear Mason,

On Thursday, you were 3 months old! You now weigh over 15 lbs and you are 23.5 inches long/tall :) You are a sweet, lovable, huggable little guy who loves to smile at Mommy and Daddy. You have 2 cute little dimples and lots of little baby fat folds! You are a snuggly little guy and you only cry if you're hungry or tired. On Thursday night, we watched as you purposely grabbed Daddy's finger over and over! We were so excited for you and so happy to watch you learn!

You can hold your head up very well, and you enjoy sitting up more than laying down. You still don't like lying on your tummy, but if you're propped up high enough, you will tolerate it longer. You like sitting in your exersaucer, being upright, and playing with the toys that light up and make sounds. You are still fascinated by your big brother and like to watch and listen to him when he plays near you.

Mommy and Daddy love you very much and are so proud of you and how much you're growing!

We love you!

Mommy and Daddy

Arrrgh, Matey!

Tyler and Mike were pretending to be pirates this evening and Mike made a treasure map for Tyler to follow around our living room. It was the cutes thing I'd ever seen! Mike was telling Tyler what he had to do at different points along the treasure route, and then they followed the map around the room to eventually find the "treasure" (Tyler's Thomas trains). Here's a picture of the map that Mike drew:

Tyler was so cute because he kept talking like a pirate using a low voice and prefacing Mike or my names with "Arrgh, Matey" like it was part of our name. So, he would say, "ArrghMateyDaddy, look what I'm doing," or "Hey, ArrghMateyMommy, you need to get on the ship!" What an imagination!