What is a Mother....

For those of you who were expecting another great post from Brittany, I'm sorry to disappoint you.  This is Jason, the husband to the wonderful woman who is usually posting on here.  A mother is so many things I don't know if I can even begin to describe one.  Brittany never ceases to amaze me when it comes to raising our two boys.  She is completely devoted to them and gives all of her heart to them every day.  I wanted Brittany to know how special she is to all of us and how irreplaceable she is to Caden and Mason.  I also want Caden and Mason to look back at this one day to remind them just how awesome their mom is.

What is a Mother....

A mother is someone who unselfishly gives themselves to their kids 24/7 and only asks for a smile and hug every now and then.

 A mother is someone who, if you ask nicely and give your cutest face, cannot say no when you want to eat most of your Easter candy in one sitting.

A mother is someone who will let you play outside in your underwear and cowboy boots if you want to, and she will love you just as much 20 years from now if you still decide to do so.

A mother is someone who wants you to take risks and try new things, win or fail, and she'll always be right behind you the whole way.

A mother is someone who gives the best hugs in the world and can make you feel safe and secure with a single touch.

A mother is someone who puts together the best Easter baskets and puts an enormous amount of care into something that their kids will tear through in a matter of minutes.

A mother is someone who loves their kids unconditionally and will always put them before herself (which is why I believe it's the dad's job to put their wife before him).

A mother is someone who will take their kids to Tweetsie Railroad for the day just to see them smile when they see and hear the train for the first time (or in Mason's case, stick his lip out and cry when the horn blows).

A mother is someone who can make a simple game like moving ice from the water in one bowl and putting it in another seem like the best thing since overnight diapers.

A mother is someone who instinctly knows exactly what to do as soon as their kids enter the world, and it's a good thing because I don't like their chances if it were up to the Dads. 

A mother is someone who can still hold it together when they feel like the weight of the world is strapped to their back.  (In this case, the weight is Mason)

A mother is someone who seldom receives the thanks and appreciation they deserve, yet they keep on keeping on and never stop being the most important person in their child's life. 

So to Brittany, my mom, my sister, my mother-in-law, and all the moms who read this, not a day goes by that I don't appreciate everything you do for your kids and family.  You're the bindings that holds your family together and keeps them strong through good times and bad.  Even though we may not show it or express it as much as we should, you are loved and treasured more than you know.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Easter

Yes I realize I'm a little late on the Easter train, but nevertheless here it is. :) 

Caden's school had an Easter Egg hunt on the Wednesday before so Jason and I went to watch the madness.  This was Caden's first real Easter egg hunt so I was interested how it would go and if he would get the concept.  Well lets just say he was an Easter egg hunting machine. :)  He was on a mission and wouldn't even look up for a picture...other kids would put an egg or two in their basket and then get distracted, not Caden.  I ended up making him share some of his eggs with other kids who did not get as many.  Here are a few pictures. 

Cutie Pie. :)

A feeble attempt at a picture...he was having none of it.

Showing Ms. Elise all his eggs. :) He was so excited.

When we got home Mason decided to raid Caden's eggs. HA!  Caden was having none of it.

Nothing like a chocolate goatee.

I'll do an Easter part II post shortly since there are so many pics. :)

Mason is 9 Months Old!

Mase Mase is 9 months old!  He weighs 21 pounds 11 ounces and is 29 inches long.  Our little peanut is what I call him. :) He seems so small to us but apparently he really isn't. ;)  This is seriously the most fun age to me.   He is still the happiest baby, smiling and laughing all the time, and he has the cutest little personality. Even Dr. Spees said he's a little character and he certainly is. 

The clingyness (is that a word?) has gotten so much better in these past couple of weeks and is such a relief to me!  Don't get me wrong, he still is pretty stuck on me, but I can't actually sit him down for a little while and he is ok.  YAY!

He said his first "real" word this month. "Uh-oh".  I say real word because he actually uses it in context.  He will purposely drop something and say Uh-oh.  It's pretty cute. ;)  He also says "No-No" and shakes his head no at the same time.  I need to get this on camera because he looks hilarious when he does it.  Think Stevie Wonder. HA!   Of course he still babbles all sorts of things and we're beginning to think he knows who DaDa is because he will say it when Jason walks in the room.  He also does this growl thing that is hilarious. 

As far as walking goes, I think he is on the verge of taking his first steps.  It depends on how brave he gets, he's a little bit of a chicken. ;)  Of course I said that about crawling too and he proved me wrong.  He is a pro at his wounded soldier crawl and he is FAST! He can sit himself up very easily now too.  He will dance whenever he hears music, its this little squatting move and sometimes when he really gets into it he shakes his head too. It's hilarious.   He cruises everywhere and makes his way around the room making his way with furniture.  He also walks around the house with his little push walker.  He's on the move that is for sure.

He has also started waving bye-bye and saying it at the same time.  It is super cute!  He has also mastered feeding himself small finger foods like puffs and cheerios.  He's got that pincher grasp down!  He's still a great sleeper and eater.  He will eat pretty much anything.  He still doesn't have any teeth...which I'm VERY happy about since he is still nursing.

Favorite toys are any kind of ball, car, or train.  BOY BOY BOY! haha They start so young.  He also LOVES paper and will eat it the first chance he gets.  He is obsessed with my keys, the remote, the computer mouse and any kind of necklace.  Basically anything that is not a toy is his favorite thing to play with. 

I can't believe it is 3 months until he is 1.  I guess I need to get on the birthday planning train. :) This little boy has blessed our lives even more than we could have ever imagined.

Wordless Wednesday

Anatomy of a Fall:

**Disclaimer: No toddlers were injured in this demonstration.  You can see in the last picture he is smiling.  He landed just right to not hurt himself and he got up laughing. :)

Pamela's Baby Shower

I'm determined to catch up with some important things that I've missed blogging about.  One big thing I missed was my Bff4l's baby shower (translation for all of you that haven't taught middle school: Best Friend For Life).   My mom, our friend Rebekah, and myself hosted a "Cookies & Milk" baby shower for Pamela on March 6.  It was so much fun and we had a great turn-out despite the monsoon like weather we experienced that day. 

The hostesses with the cute mommy. :)

Some details of the party. :)

The delicious cookie table! :)

The glass of choice for the day: Mason jars with the most adorable purple striped straws. :)

The drink of choice to go in the Mason jars: all kinds of milk; chocolate, strawberry and white.

Another view of the table.

More cute little details.  The little bags were the favors for guests to take cookies home with them.

Sweet little girl clothes. :)

She got so many cute things, and isn't she the cutest pregnant lady ever?!

We had so much fun and I am so thankful that I get to share in this experience with my closest friend.  Baby Kylie will be here anyday and I can not wait to meet her!  I love you P! 

Mason is 8 Months Old!

Oh my sweet Mason.  You are 8 months old and I can hardly believe it.  You still have the sweetest little personality and do the cutest things.  To say you are attached to me would be a HUGE understatement.  If I'm in the room, I better be holding you or else you are not happy.  Needless to say I don't get much done these days. :)

You started getting up on all fours and rocking last month so I just KNEW you would be crawling soon.  But you had other plans little man. :)  You figured out you could get where you wanted by dragging/army crawling yourself.  It takes you a little while but you get where you want to go.  I call it the wounded soldier crawl b/c that is exactly what you look like when you do it. ;)  You can also get yourself into a sitting position from all fours.  You are not still a single second of the day. :)

Another big milestone you have accomplished this month is pulling yourself to stand.  I put you in your crib for a second while I was doing something and I came back into the room and there you stood.  It was quite a shock! :)  You have also started to cruise slowly around furniture and your toys.  You seem way too small to be doing these things. ;)

You "talk" all the time and are rarely quite. :)  "Da Da" is your word of choice, but you also finally say "Ma Ma" too.  "Ba Ba", "Na Na", "Ya Ya" are also some favorites. :)  You also mimic many sounds, especially ones that you hear Caden make. When he cries/screams you mimic him and it always makes me laugh.  You are definitely a silly little boy. 

You love to play pat-a-cake and "ride-a-horsey".  You also LOVE to be upside down.  Your favorite things to play with are your little Laugh and Learn table, your walker wagon toy and your giraffe toy.  You watched me put the ball down the ramp on your giraffe once and then you started doing it like it was no big deal.  Now as soon as you sit down at it you start putting whatever you can find on it.  It's the cutest thing. :) 

You still love to look in mirrors and you also still look at your brother like he hung the moon.  It really is the cutest thing.  If he is near you, you try to grab him and you will just look at him and laugh.  You will do anything to try and get his attention. :)

You weigh around 21 pounds but you seem so little to me still.  Like way smaller than Caden was at your age.  You still seem like such a little baby to me, and I LOVE it.  You wear size 3 diapers and 6-12 and 12-18 month clothes, depending on where they are from. 

You nurse every 3-4 hours during the day and you eat oatmeal and a fruit in the morning and a vegetable in the evening.  You like pretty much any fruit and you are warming up to green vegetables, you love sweet potatoes and squash.  You are a great sleeper these days and go to bed around 7 and sleep until 7.  During the day you usually take 3 naps, depending on how long you sleep for each one. 

You had several "firsts" this month.  You went to the park for the first time, had your first ride in a swing (you LOVED it!), stayed in the church nursery for the first time, had puffs and Mum Mums.  You are getting too big. :)

We are so proud to call you our son and I feel so blessed to be your mommy.  I love you sweet boy. :)

We're Alive...I Promise!

I am SO behind and SO overwhelmed with how long is has been since I blogged...over a month!  I have had a couple of gentle nudges from several people that I really need to update my blog so I'm doing it.  We have been super busy and there have been a lot of things that I have missed blogging about, but I'm back and will be better, hopefully! ;)

I'm just going to do my best to put up a quick recap of all our goings-on so that I can look back and remember.  I haven't been good about taking a lot of pictures either, which I always regret later, so I'm going to be better about that also! 

Next post will be Mason's 8 month post, he turned 8 months on March 22nd and I still can't believe it.  I missed his 7 month post (I did take his "7 month pictures" though) so I definitely don't want to miss this one, he's a busy little boy. :) 

Caden seems to have gotten so much older in the past couple of months as well.  He says the funniest things and is looking so much like a little boy these days.  It makes me excited to see what he's going to become and also sad about how quick he is growing up.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures to tide you over. :)

Caden looking cute before school one morning.

Sweet Mase. :)