More of Christmas 2013

Christmas lights, gingerbread houses, snow, decorating the tree, hanging Christmas lights on the house, Santa, parades, and singing at church.

Christmas activities are the best!

Opening their Christmas ornament.  We made a tradition of opening their new ornament and Christmas jammies the night we decorate our tree.  

Daddy was working so we had a picnic dinner on the couch.  The kids loved it. 

First snow of the season!  So fun for the kids!

Driving through Keizer lights in our jammies...another family tradition!

Cubbies movie drive in night.  Each kid made a box to sit in and watch the movie.  Carter did his all by himself...just kidding.  Ha!

And we're going back in time...

 Welcome back to my blog!  I am mostly saying this to myself!!  I decided tonight to just test out my blog and see if for some miraculous reason it would allow me to post pictures again.  And it did!!!  I have hated the fact that the last two years have not been on my blog and because of it I am going back in time to add what I missed.  This is less for those reading it and more for my family.  I want all of our wonderful years documented here...and what better way to do that then with pictures!

We are starting back at Christmas 2013.  Madelynn would have been almost two and Carter would have been almost four.

First event for that Christmas was hunting for the perfect tree.

BLOGGER LET ME POST A PICTURE!!!

For the first time in almost TWO years, my blog just let me post a picture!!  Kind of freaking out!!!  I am now on a mission to post as many pictures from the last two years of my life on here RIGHT NOW!!!  I am so excited!!  Please keep working, blogger.  Please!!

Mason is SIX Months Old!

And there it is...half a year has gone by in the blink of an eye.  I am absolutely in love with this age but I am already missing his tiny newborn phase.  But he is amazing right now.  He has a smile that brightens up a room.  His big bright blue eyes and beautiful smile is a deadly combination.  He melts me.

At six months old he...
has two teeth,
has blue eyes,
loves his blankie (the one that matches his siblings blankies),
still nurses great,
has tried solids but isn't all that excited about it,
loves to grab at everything he can reach,
smiles at EVERYONE,
sleeps between two and four hours at a time at night :(,
falls asleep on his own for bedtime,
wears 6 to 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers,
giggles at his brother all the time,
loves to try and watch tv,
loves to snuggle with his blankie and always rubs his face into it,
takes decent naps (an hour to two hours, three times a day),
travels great in the car,
rolls all over the place,
has started sleeping on his tummy often,
loves grabbing at faces,
will go to just about anyone,
loves to snuggle with mama,
lights up when daddy walks in the door,
did I mention SMILES AT EVERYONE,
loves jumping wildly in his jump a roo,
screeches and yells and has fully discovered his voice,
is not sitting up yet,
chews on anything,
and lights up our lives.

Mason is a typical third kid...laid back, easy going, happy most of the time.  When he is upset I can pretty much count on something actually being wrong.  Upset tummy, teething, tired, hungry.  It's got to be one of those things because if those things are all good...he is happy.  I would be quite content if he stayed this exact age forever.  He is just precious.  I feel a little guilty saying this but I'm going to anyway...he is by far my easiest baby!  He still isn't sleeping great at night but during the day he is very easy!  Both Carter and Madelynn were much more needy during the day than Mason is.  He just plays on the floor until he is ready to eat or sleep.  He loves being held but is content most of the time to just play on the floor, jump in his jump a roo, or lay on the couch next to Carter.  I am so thankful for my third baby!  I love how God has intricately knit our family together just perfectly.

Although Mason is by far our easiest baby, the third kid has been our hardest transition.  We are just so much busier now and with a baby added to a busy schedule...it just makes things all that more tricky.  Carter has to be dropped off at kinder (about 15 minutes away) by 8am, five days a week.  Madelynn has preschool at 8:30, two days a week.  So Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we are out the door at 7:45 to take Carter to school.  Then we have to go right back to pick him up at 11.  Tuesday and Thursday we take Carter to school at 8 and then Madelynn at 8:30.  We are always a few minutes early so we wait in the car until she can go into school.  Then I pick Carter up at 11 and Madelynn at 11:15.  This schedule is a bit tricky with a morning napper but it works most days.  He tends to go right down for a nap as soon as we get home from dropping the kids off at school or he falls asleep in the car and just sleeps in his car seat in my bedroom.  He just kind of has to go with the flow.  And he is pretty good at it!

Life is busy but life is great!  We are so thankful for our Mason man!  Happy six month birthday baby boy!

Mason is FIVE Months Old!

Each month just seems to go faster and faster.  My last baby needs to slow down!  It's sad knowing he is my last baby and the time just seems to fly by.  He is just the sweetest baby.  Everyone that talks to him always asks me if he is always that happy.  Unless he is hungry or tired...he typically is.  He loves to smile at everyone!  He has big beautiful blue eyes that sparkle when he smiles.  I love it.

He is rolling over but still can't get his arm out from under him.  Which I suppose means he isn't technically rolling over yet.  But he is all the way on his belly with his arm stuck.  I'm sure it will be any day that he figures out how to get his arm out.

We introduced rice cereal this week.  He tolerates it but doesn't seem overly excited about it.  And it doesn't seem to be helping him sleep longer.  In my last monthly blog post I could honestly say he was sleeping through the night.  Not anymore :(  Last night he went to bed about 8 and then woke up at 11:30 and 4:30.  That 11:30 time is not acceptable!  ;)  I am ready for him to go back to sleeping through the night again.  He has started putting himself to sleep though!  I am now able to lay him down awake and he falls asleep.  One of my biggest goals for my babies!

He loves his jump a roo and jumps like crazy in that thing.  He also loves laying down on the floor and scooting around on his back and attempting to roll.  He loves smiling and giggling at his brother and sister who are both smitten with him.  Every morning as soon as Mason wakes up, Carter climbs in his crib with him and plays with him.  Mason loves it!  I am praying those two boys have a great friendship!  He is also liking the bumbo and sitting up more now.  He still sleeps great in his swing but is also sleeping either on our bed or in his crib great too!  He is in his crib at night but often takes naps on our bed so that Carter can still play in his room during the day.  As soon as he starts rolling over that will have to end.  He isn't as excited about being in his car seat anymore.  Sad.  He falls asleep great in it but if he isn't super sleepy, he'd rather not be in it.

He is wearing 3-6 month clothes but is quickly moving into 6 or 6-9 month stuff.  He is also still in size two diapers but will move into 3's as soon as he runs out of what we have.

He loves having a blankie on him and rubbing it on his face, especially when he is tired.  He is starting to play with toys and is now able to hold them and put them into his mouth.  He has one tooth that has popped through and has a second one almost through!  I can see it under the gums.  He has been handling the teething thing pretty well though.  He just frantically wants anything in his mouth that he can get.

He broke out in baby acne all over his body after I attempted to get rid of his cradle cap with olive oil.  I'll never do that again.  People said it clogged his pores.  My first baby that didn't have baby acne and then I cause it to happen with olive oil.  I think it is getting better finally!  Hoping it goes away completely soon.  He had such beautiful skin!

He really seems to be the typical third baby with a laid back personality who goes with the flow most of the time.  I am so thankful for that!

We love our happy, smiley, giggly little man!

My Love/Hate Relationship with Football

I don't like football.  I never have and I really don't believe I ever will.  I don't understand how to play and I have the hardest time following what is happening on the very rare occasions that I do attempt to watch it.  But today...today my son played his very first game of Upward flag football.  And I loved every second of it.  I loved watching him follow the coaches instructions, run around on the field with a big smile on his face, play super heroes on the sideline while he wasn't in the game, run after an opponent with the ball some times, stand and watch his opponent run with the football with a big smile on his face other times, and even make his very first touchdown from the far side of the field.  Kindergarten football is full of innocence.  They don't always care that the other team has the ball and just might score a touch down.  And even when the other team does score, they still run around with a big smile on their faces.  I feel like I saw real joy on Carter's face today.  He was proud of himself.  I was proud of him.  My heart was beaming as he ran with that football tucked in his arms toward his first touch down.  Every parent who knew him was yelling "go Carter, go Carter" and parents who didn't know him were cheering him on too.  It was a fun moment.   I don't like football.  But I really like my five year old football player.  And I really like watching him play football.  His football career will continue as he chooses until he can no longer play flag football.  Mark my words...we will not be a tackle football family.  But for now, football is fun. 

But my favorite part of Carter's first football game was the star ceremony after.  Upward is a Christian based organization that does devotionals at each practice and encourages and rewards every kid, every game for sportsmanship, team work, great attitudes, and Christ like behavior.  After every game all the kids and parents go into a room in the church for snack and for the star ceremony where each child gets a star sticker for something they did during that game.  One of their stars is the Christ like star.  They said they won't give it out every game and it is for one special kid during some games that exemplifies Christ like behavior.  My Carter man got that today.  His coach said he loved how Carter did everything he was told without question.  He didn't tell his coaches what he wanted to do but rather just did what he was told with a great attitude.  My son doesn't know much about football but he still played with heart and followed his coaches instructions perfectly.  I am so thankful for that award today for him.  I am so thankful he showed a Christ like character on the field today.  He shined bright during his game today.  It sure didn't last all day and we were still dealing with normal five year old naughty behavior at other points during the day.  But during his football game, he shined.  And I couldn't be more proud.  I don't want to sound like a prideful mom.  But I feel like this day was worthy of documenting for the future.  I have a lot of hard days with Carter.  I will look back at today and remind myself that he really is an awesome kid who still sins.  He has great days with awesome milestones that make me smile bigger than I knew I could.  For all the hard days and hard moments with my son, today reminded me that I am not a failure as a mom.  I am the farthest from perfect, but I'm not a failure.  And for the last couple of weeks I have felt like I am failing as a mom with my son.  We are in a rough patch.  I want to be real about the rough patches.  They are hard.  They are miserable at times.  I cry over his behavior sometimes.  But I am not failing.  I am doing my very best and Carter is a shining star at times.  God has given him a heart of compassion and joy.  I love the days that those two great qualities shine bright.  Sometimes they are hidden for a while and I wonder if we will get through the day.  But they are there.  He is a great kid and I am a mom who loves her son very much.  I am so thankful for today.  I am thankful for the chance to see him shine bright on the football field and be an example of Christ.     

Baby Mason Boy is FOUR Months Old!

Madelynn calls her baby brother baby Mason boy.  She loves calling him that and it cracks us up.  So our baby Mason boy has now turned four months.  And he is pretty awesome.

Mason is very happy and smiley.  He loves to talk to people and always gives great big smiles when someone pays attention to him.  He has really grown up this month.  He is very aware of what is going on around him, turns when he hears one of our voices to look for us, watches our cat Max, loves to try and watch TV (which we don't let him), giggles a little more often now but still not a lot, loves to be snuggled by any one of us, sleeps in his swing great, sleeps in his bed at night great, is starting to hold toys, chews on his fingers a lot, reaching for things a little, and has even started trying to roll over. He is definitely more curious about the world around him then he was a few weeks ago. 

He still has grumpy days depending on what I ate.  Most days are great but every once in a while something I ate upsets his stomach and he is not super happy about it.  He is sleeping great!  I would say probably about four nights a week he sleeps completely through the night until at least 6.  He went until 7:30 the other morning and had gone to bed at 8.  11.5 hours of sleep!  So great!  But he still has random nights where he wakes up at 2:30 or 3 to eat and then goes back down for three or four more hours.  No rhyme or reason for any of it but I think it is still great!  The next thing I need to start working on is getting him to fall asleep on his own in his crib in the evening.  He likes to be nursed to sleep and laid down asleep.  Sometimes he wakes up and then won't go to sleep.  I'll start working on that after Disneyland.  I also need to get him napping in his crib.  He still prefers to nap in his swing which is fine for now but I know he is starting to wake up a little easier with his brother and sister playing around him.  It would be nice to get him in his room for naps pretty soon.  Probably when his big brother is in school in the fall. 

He act as if he is teething.  I am really not ready for that.  But he chews on his fingers all day and mine if I let him (not sucking, chewing), drools a ton right now, and sometimes will fuss for no other apparent reason.  But it seems a little early to me. 

He is a great car baby and falls asleep pretty quickly on most car trips.  Even if he just woke up from a nap he will often fall asleep.  This bodes well for us on Friday as we drive down to Anaheim!  Praying he is easy on that long of a drive! 

He is in 3-6 month clothes and size 1/2 or size 2 diapers.  The 1/2's from Costco are getting a little too small.  But we have just a few left.  We haven't started any solid food yet which is the longest I have ever waited.  I started both Carter and Madelynn the day they turned four months but I just don't feel like I am in a hurry this time around.  Maybe after we get home from Disneyland I'll try a little rice cereal.  I've stopped bringing him to work with me at the church for the most part.  He was getting a little too hard to have here with me.  He does better napping at home anyway. 

He is just the sweetest.  I kind of feel like he has been our easiest baby.  Sorry Carter and Madelynn ;)  But I think the Lord knew I needed that with the third.  I am very aware that three is about what I can handle.  Thankful for God's plan for our family!

Love you sweet baby Mason boy! (No, I am not going to start calling him that!)