new doctor

Today was Mason's first checkup with the new endocrinologist. I'm happy to report that she's great. And Mason is doing great as well. One thing that I will not miss, is hearing the words "mental retardation" at these appointments. The critical time frame for the medicine for kiddos with hypothyroidism is from day one to about 2 1/2 to 3 years old. After that, the brain has been formed and mental retardation is no longer a concern. Obviously Mason is doing great, but seriously, once we pass that milestone I will be a much happier person!

Mason is such an easy going guy. I don't even pack toys for him - he'd rather just sit and talk and play and people watch with me while we wait for the doctor.

After every appointment we walk around U Village and find somewhere to eat. I love it.

rashes are dumb

A week or so ago, I took Andrew to the doctor for a rash (that ended up not actually being a rash, but irritated eczema). Then, a couple days later he got what looked like a bug bite on the other leg. The bite then morphed into a crazy infection/rash while we were in E'burg. I called the nurse hot line and was told some stuff, but what I heard was MRSA. That, my friends, is a creepy thing to hear. The good news was he didn't have a fever and the area wasn't bothering him, so they said it mostly likely wasn't MRSA but that what I was describing is what it looks like. Then when Matt took him to the doctor (I had to take Mason to his thyroid checkup at the same time as Andrew's appt) the nurse told him it looked like MRSA. I'm so glad I wasn't at that appointment because I would've lost it at that point! Anyway, the doctor's best guess is that it was an infected bug bite. It's almost gone now.

Because of the eczema, I have decided it'd be a good idea to not give him a bath so often. That means Mason will get some time to enjoy the tub to himself. And that leads to cute picutres.

rock is dead, long live paper and scissors *

So, Mason knows how to play rock/paper/scissors. Apparently Matt taught him. While we were waiting for the doctor, I asked if he could count to 3. He got really excited and did the 1 - 2 - 3 with a fist and then did scissors. It was hilarious. He's not very good though - he picks scissors every time. : )

* I saw this on a t-shirt and I think it's funny.

bbq

Our neighbors had a little neighborhood BBQ on Labor Day. I love our neighborhood, just needed to get it on the official record. : )

yellow

Mason has taken an interest in learning colors lately. The way he says yellow is cute, so I tried to get it on video. Usually he adds a couple extra syllables, but of course once I finally get the camera out, he said it almost perfectly. Still cute.

life on the farm

When we visit our parents, it's usually just for the day. However, this weekend we stayed two nights and two full days so that Matt could help out on the farm. With an extended stay comes a lack of sleep, no routine, extra sugar and a stressed out mom. It turned out okay though. We packed in quite a bit of fun stuff, and some downtime when possible, and other than a bedtime meltdown I'd say we had a pretty great time.

While Matt was busy doing this: (thanks for the picture, Melissa)

We were doing this:

We got invited to a birthday party - perfect!

And we even rode in the back of the pickup to pick some corn! I love life on the farm! : )

wind

On Sunday we went to the Wild Horse Wind & Solar Facility to check out the wind mills up close. They have a tour that requires hardhats and safety glasses, so we got ready and headed out.

This is the boys talking into one of the huge blades. It was cool for them because it echoed and then they learned that it was shaped similar to an airplane wing (which is the one fact Andrew took away with him).

And even though Andrew looks like he's very interested in the tour, that was not quite how it was. We lasted maybe 10 minutes before heading back. But he sure looked cute.

Proof that me and Melissa were there.

It was beautiful up at the visitor center. I think the wind mills look cool from the road, but they're even cooler up close. And from the hill you have a great view of the mountains.

We plan to go back when we can actually take the tour. And when we do, we'll be sure to wear close-toed shoes so that we don't have to use one of their loaner pairs...

the fair

When we got to the fair, Andrew was so excited for rides he could hardly handle it. We decided to go look at animals and listen to a little music first though, to let our dinner settle just a bit.

He had fun, but lasted about 10 minutes before asking if it was time for rides. So we headed over to the rides where we spent the rest of our night...

It's unclear if Mason enjoyed the slide or not. : ) I hope he did, because it ended up being his only ride. Poor guy was just an inch or so too short to ride any of the rides. He probably wasn't supposed to do the slide either, but we snuck in. But then the joke was on us because Matt wasn't allowed to carry him up. Mason walked up all the steps, causing a slight traffic jam, but at least he made it.

(Thanks Aunt Melissa for catching this cute shot!)

The little guy in the seat next to Andrew had some great expressions!

I tried to get a picture of the boys in the cute rodeo shirts grandma got them, but Mason must have sensed it and decided to this crazy chicken walk instead.

Mason spent the night watching Andrew have fun. Luckily it only took one ride and he seemed to understand he wasn't going on anymore. Plus, he had fun being passed around between us all to be carried.

Aunt Melissa took Andrew on the Sizzler. After the ride was over, Melissa felt sick and Andrew said it made his head feel crazy. Then, just to make sure we didn't have too great of a day, Andrew woke up at 11:30 and puked! It was a bummer, especially since we all sleep in the same room at grandma & grandpa's house. We cleared his sheets and pulled him into bed with us, where he slept through the night and woke up feeling great. We might have pushed his little tummy, just a bit too far...

labor day parade

We had another great Labor Day weekend in E'burg this year! I love everything about this weekend and I've got a ton of pictures to prove it! I'll do a post for each event because they're just that great. : )

We started off with the pancake breakfast and parade.

Cutest little Wrangler butt in town!

Amy made it into town for a bit and I was finally able to meet Freya! (I'm not sure what Mason is doing, but I wanted proof of meeting Freya in real life instead of just virtual blog life, and this is the only picture I took...).

Mason tried to join the parade a couple times. : )

friends at the zoo

Today we went to the zoo with friends. We saw a lot more animals then we do when we just go on our own, including a baby kangaroo in a homemade pouch. I love that place!

Mason always finds his way to this drinking fountain. He loves drinking fountains in general, but for some reason he's loved this one since he was very little. It was time to photograph it! : )

before

I love Mason's hair. But, today he got a little trim to make him look more like a little boy and less like a crazy, college bachelor dude... (sorry, no real 'after' shots because his hair was a little funky. There will be plenty to come).