thanks, Pagliacci

This would've provided an hour of fun if I had that much time to sit there and watch. Andrew has already asked if we can play on it the next time we're there.

15 months

Mason grew up again. As soon as he moved to the toddler class he realized he wasn't a baby anymore, and it only took about a week before he was a whole different kid. He's saying more words, pointing at things and has figured out how to make sure I know exactly what he needs.

His newest words: peek - boo/tickle tickle tickle/uh-oh (we'll worry about 'real' words later, I love the words he's choosing to say!).

His newest favorites: playing outside, dancing, brooms. The biggest difference between Mason and Andrew at this age is that Mason loves his blanket and Andrew loved his paci.

I had mixed feelings with Mason when he was a baby. I didn't want the time to go too fast because he is my last baby, but I also wanted to get past the unknown stage of his hypothyroidism (which comes around age 2). Well, now that I know he's doing great, I'm ready for him to slow down. He, however, is showing all signs of being an independent guy and is not all that interested in my help. He doesn't even need to be rocked to sleep anymore. I take him to his room and he points to his crib. Today, I even think he tried to say 'nigh-night' to make sure I got it. I get it.

He continues to be a happy, easy going little guy. And he loves Andrew. Luckily for Mason, Andrew is a great big brother, so for the most part, life is good all around!

I (still) do

My grandpa did our renewal ceremony for us. He did a wonderful job (again).

Lisa caught Andrew telling me I looked beautiful. :) Melt my heart.

friends & family

Darin grilled up the salmon (that Matt caught) and made a pasta salad for us all to enjoy. Delish!

Thank you to everyone for celebrating with us!

that was fun!

(if you want to actually see these pictures, click to enlarge it then click again to enlarge again)

celebrating fall

I'm kind of glad it's raining today - it's the perfect weather for our first day of fall celebration treats! I'm busy again today with a bunch of stuff. Today's sorry-for-being-so-busy treat for my kids (make that, for me) was to go to Starbucks for something pumpkin. I also got Mason his first hot cocoa and let Andrew pick something from the pastry case (which we never do). I'd say we all enjoyed celebrating fall...

fall starts tomorrow at 8:09 pm

I love the fall. I apologize now for how many times I will say that over the next couple months, but I really do love everything about it.

At the start of fall, I love the chilly but sunny mornings that warm up by late afternoon. We all dressed in our sweaters today - much more fall-like than sweatshirts :o) but ended up in t-shirts before long. Layering: reason #2 for loving fall.

Anyway... I had a lot of errands to run today. To make sure the boys didn't go crazy out of boredom, we broke up the day with a little time at the park. And they were cute so I took some pictures.

riding to the zoo in style!

Andrew has moved up to a booster seat! He doesn't turn four until November, but he outgrew his old seat, so we had to move him up a bit early. He loves anything that makes him feel older so this was a pretty exciting thing for him!

His first ride was to the zoo to meet up with the Rings! And even though the kids only said a few words to each other the entire time, and Andrew decided to push Annie out of the way so he could see the whole orangutan exhibit, we had a good rain-free time! Glad it worked out! See you next time one of our friends gets married. :o)

(you can click on the collage if you want to enlarge it)

I found this new collage maker. I love the options but it makes you use a specific number of pictures for each option so you can't always use the one you want. There are some fun ones though. I really hope I have 30 pictures to post sometime soon - that template is the best. :)

what does your dad do?

Last week, Andrew said two of the best things ever.

I am afraid of spiders, more than a normal person should be. While we were outside playing the other day, there were two big spiders on our swing set. They were on the swing next to us (that we weren't using) but it made it so I couldn't swing anymore. I told Andrew he could keep swinging, but that I was done. He asked why, and when he found out there were spiders he said it was okay and we could slide instead. The problem is, he loves to swing. So after a couple minutes he came down with a broom and told me he would get the spiders for me. Even though it creeped me out, I let him get them. I told him thanks and that I thought he was brave. He looked at me and said "I'm your superhero, mom".

Then while we were playing at our friend's house, his friend asked him if he had a dad. Then he asked "what does your dad do?". I was so interested to hear what he'd say because I didn't think he knew that his dad works for an insurance company... But, it turns out he doesn't care about what his job is. That's not what that question meant to him. Without skipping a beat, Andrew said "well...he lets me be on his back. And I get to use his helicopter, and he plays with me. Yay, that's what he does." I literally teared up because it was such a sweet answer.

2 for 1

Andrew: the cute haircut expert. He loves getting his haircut because he knows he gets a sucker when he's done.

Mason's hair before the cut. I still love the curls!

This was his second haircut but our first try going without the fun car/toys/baby-friendly setup.

Mason: the calmest haircut customer ever. Thanks to him, I feel like I got a two for one deal. The total for both boys was $24. A haircut at a baby-friendly place is $25! Booyah!

So handsome!

left handed?

We've noticed Mason has been favoring his left hand lately. I know it's supposed to take a couple years to be able to tell what hand they'll use, but this left-handed mama is getting excited! :o)

he's not a baby anymore

It just hit me, I mean really hit me, that Mason isn't a baby anymore.

He hopped right on the gator and was ready to go. Too bad the battery is dead so he didn't get to really try it out. No worries though - Andrew decided to give him a push.

This was the first time Mason got really excited about Matt mowing the lawn. I grabbed our little mower and let him help out. He had fun but I'm pretty sure he knows his is a toy and was much more interested in the real deal.

Andrew used a towel as a magic carpet to go down the slide with. Mason watched him a few times and then gave the ladder a try for the first time. He could basically do it, but I was a little nervous so I helped him up. He also did the slide for the first time and loved it.

Then, just in case I still thought maybe he was my little baby, he decided to climb up on this swing thing, held on, and had a blast. Andrew was very excited to have someone to swing with. He is diggin' Mason getting older!

relaxed

We were a little lazier on our last day.

We spent a little time on the lake:

Then headed back into Winthrop for some more ice cream!

Then we spent a little time just hanging out before packing up and heading back home.