What will he say next?

Mason has been cracking us up with all the things that come out of his mouth lately. Here is just a few of the good ones.

*Sitting in the booth with Mason at Olive Garden he cuddles up to me and says "you can't have passion without mercy, mama" He had watched Veggie Tales that morning with Caleb and picked up some things. He meant COMpassion but I figure that isn't too bad.

*Mason was playing with one of his new favorite toys...a paint stick, and messing with my computer with it. I told him to stop and he looks at me...kinda judging like, and said, "mama, when someone loves you, you have to meet them half way." Seriously? I thought he was two years old.

*Tonight I put Mason to bed. I heard crying so I went up to his room and Mason was standing next to his bed...tears streaming, holding a cardboard birthday hat from his second birthday party. Where did he get it you ask, who knows? He had chewed the top off and it had ripped apart. He was so upset and I was cracking up laughing. He was blubbering "now I don't have anything to wear for party time!" So serious!

Okay, Okay...I Am Back!

So today was my first day back to work for this school year, so therefore, I am blogging again. I have a lot of ground to catch up on, I realize, so it will take me some time. Here are the highlights:
*Mason is completely potty trained. We were down to diapers only at nap and bedtime at the beginning of the summer. It seemed as though there was no end in sight for this. Caleb and I went out for our anniversary and we had a former student as our babysitter. She texted me while we were out and said that he refused to put a diaper on, so she just left him in his undies. He hasn't turned back since...and only one accident. That's my boy...once he decided he was done wearing diapers, he was done!

*He has also become more obviously my son in that he has an attitude and is stubborn as an ox. Yup, that endearing characteristic is SO me:)

*Mason now has siblings...before you get too excited, they are imaginary. They go everywhere with him and are easily transported in the palm of his hand. We can't pin down how many of them there are but they are loved. Caleb's favorite friend (joke) is Tinkerbell. Mason loves her...daddy doesn't. I keep trying to tell him that this too shall pass...hopefully. On the bright side, he has good taste, she is cute.

*He loves the ocean! Pictures to come. It was a family effort in the Outer Banks to keep Mason happy and in the water. I hate the ocean so I wasn't too thrilled with going in waist deep to let him "surf". Luckily for him, Caleb, Andrew, Jana, Lauren, Dave Grandma and Grandpa would humor him. Mason showed no fear with the water and loved going out on the sea kayak.

I will post pictures soon from the summer.

Potty Progress

So the amazing woman who watches Mason is ready to start potty training Mason. I can't tell you enough how wonderful she is...for more than her willingness to potty train my son. Anyway, so she was going to start on Monday because Mason has been talking about it on his own and showing interest without prompting. Today while I was at work I got the following updates. Notice the times.

8:50 am I got a picture of Mason sitting on the potty with a book and a caption of "He wanted to sit on the potty!"

10:11 am He was yet to get off the potty. He was having a lot to drink. Trisha said that he was looking at books and has gone on a pirate hunt. Too cute!

10:25 am Text: "He really wants to go on it! He is in there now just talking away!"

10:56 am I got a picture of Mason with a sucker in his mouth with the following caption: " HE DID IT! poop and pee!! he then said to Laynee (who he calls B-wayne-e)...Hi I Mason and I pee on the potty!!!

Crazy kid. I think he really like having an audience. I could barely get him to sit on the potty for 10 minutes, let alone long enough to really take care of business. I hope this sticks!!!

Buzz...Cut. Not Lightyear!

Mason asked to get his haircut today. I think he was in it for the suckers but he really did need it cut. He got his fathers coarse, curly hair. Not to mention that he also got his fathers hot body temperature...the boy sweats just playing inside. With the humid, hot weather his hair was a hot mess.

The lady who was cutting his hair today asked what I wanted and I decided we should try and use the clippers this time. First time ever! I thought he might freak a bit about the sound or vibration but he did just great. He ate his sucker like a champ and thanked the lady when she was done.

Check out the new do!




Think they look alike--yeah, I know!

Paparazzi

Caleb has dubbed me the Paparazzi in our house lately. It is true, I have been taking a photo class which requires me to take pictures, and we got a new camera this week so I am SUPER excited about what it can do. So...this post will be all pictures.

Buttons and Muffins

A new favorite picture I recently took.

Mason loves buttons. I loved buttons when I was little. I loved the way they sounded, loved pushing them. It apparently runs in the genes. He was asking me to push all the buttons in the car on the way home. He then asked me if I had a button to make the clouds go away. If only.

I asked him what the clouds look like. "Well, they not circles...they not triangles...not ovals. They are clouds!!!"

A little later down the road:
Mason: "Mommy, do we have ear muffins at home?"
Me: "What are ear muffins?"
Mason: blah blah blah...I had no idea what he said.
He continued to ask me for ear muffins. He told me that they were the only thing that could make him feel better. Finally it clicked.
Me: "Do you mean English muffins?"
Mason: "Yeah, ear muffins!!"

Who is God?

Yup...mark the day. April 25, 2010...over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Mason asked me "Who is God?" I'll admit. I wasn't sure where to begin. How do you boil a huge yet simple concept into something that a two year old can understand?

To back up a bit, Mason was commenting that it was raining. His follow up question to my response of, "yes it is" was "why?" Mason has been asking WHY a lot in the past few days. So, I responded, "because God made it a rainy day." I really did think this would end the discussion. Nope. Instead I got, "Who is God?"

After a long pause and a glance at Caleb I said, "God made the world. He made you, and me and Daddy." Mason then quickly added, "And Stella!" Yes, Stella too. He smiled and seemed very happy and satisfied with that response, and he moved on. So, now to prepare myself more. I desperately want him to know and love God, therefore, my job as his parent is to have as many answers to his questions as I can.

I will be ready next time. I hope.

Grrr

Mason was super excited to get the jogging stroller out of the box. For days he has been asking to go on a run...he OBVIOUSLY doesn't know me that well. Ha. We did go today and he did really like it. He wanted to go faster than my walk speed, but hey, you'll take what you get.

Mason went to bed tonight a very sleepy boy. I naively thought that this would mean that he would conk out right away. About an hour after I put him to bed he walks down stairs, chattering away, like it was no big deal that he came walking down stairs by himself after I put him to bed. What was he chattering about you ask? Well, apparently, "bear eats a lot of pancakes." "You know mommy, all the time" Then he started laughing, like it was the funniest thing he said.

The fun ended for him as soon as he realized that I did not think the dialogue on bear was very funny. Back to bed he went!

Yesterday I had to practically shake Mason to wake him up in the morning. (As a side note I would like to apologize to my parents for being such a terrible person to wake up. I am sure you wanted to kill me on most school mornings!) Today, I went in to wake him and when I opened the door to his room he was sitting up in bed, wide awake mind you, with his book in his lap. I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "just readin." See picture.



At lunch today Trisha texted me to tell me that "my son was being hilarious today" I was so excited to find out what he did to be so funny. At lunch he was done eating but was hanging out at the table while the other kids finished. All of a sudden he said "What was that?"
Trisha: "I don't know,what?"
Mason: "It was my tummy! It said bank you for the b-nana!!
A few mintues when by and...
Mason: "What was that?"
Trisha: again, "I don't know, what?"
Mason: "It was my tummy! It said it wants corn"!

This evening he had been in bed a while, and pretty quiet so I thought he was falling asleep. It had been over an hour since he went to bed and I went up to check on him. He was sitting up in bed with several stuffed animals, a book, his laser sword (lighted up and flashing) and his train and train track. I was pretty mad at him and he knew it. The bad part was he felt so horrible. He was instatnly sad, asked me if he could get out of bed to put the toys back, and then...he did it. I couldn't help but laugh under my breath. He is really an amazing child. He is sensitive and sweet and tells us he loves us all the time. If a ripped book is the worst problem we have, we'll take it.

Busy Weekend

Mason had a VERY busy weekend. We went to Ohio to visit Grandpa and Grandma Hanna. This weekend included Mason catching his first fish, a whole lot of animals and Caleb being able to try on the 2002 Ohio State National Title ring. That was probably the most exciting the Caleb but hey, I thought I should include it.

We went to the Benson's house...which is pretty much a zoo. I was just as excited as Mason was. We got to see Llama's, which Mason asked "they are in red p-jama's". (FYI-His favorite book is Llama Llama Red Pajama) We also got to see chickens, turkeys, geese, fainting goats, and peacocks. Mason was actually more excited about the eight wheeled ATV and the zero turn mower. I could attach more pictures but I had to stop the madness at some point.

I thought the cutest thing was Mason and his little friend Dominick collecting the eggs from the hen house. It was adorable to see them "work" collecting the eggs. Dave, Lauren and I learned a lot about the farm in the process. It was a good time!













Mason came bounding up the stairs so excited about his "big catch".
Me: Did you catch a fish.
Mason: Yeah! I did!!
Me: How big was it?
Mason: (With his finger pointed up in the air for expression-explained) It was TINY!



Mason had a great time discovering all of the fun things Grandma Hanna has in the closets at her house. Mason is really nosey. His favorite discovery was an old Buzz Lightyear, circa Uncle Andrew's younger days. Unfortunatley for all of the adults in the house, Buzz still worked. He had a motion senser so he talked, really loud, all the time. By the end of the weekend I had to hide Buzz in the closet because I couldn't take it anymore.

And Finally-the ring. Caleb's family is friends with the guy who is the chaplin for the Ohio State Buckeye's among other things. He got a ring from the 2002 National Title game. Caleb got to put it on for a picture.

Bed Time Snack

Mason was upstairs attempting to go to bed when he started crying and making a really weird sound. I ran upstairs to find him sitting up in bed, holding in his hands the result of the weird sound. Tons of spit/phlegm AND a soggy basketball sticker! I asked him what happened and he simply said, "I ate the sticker". I cleaned him up...took the sticker to throw it away, and went back and asked him what happened. He slapped his hand to his cheek, cocked his head, looked at me like I was stupid and said..."I ate the sticker!"

Well, okay then. I simply told him, "don't eat anymore stickers". He said, "ok" and laid back down.

He's Back

Our Mason has returned. Thanks to a lot of Neosporin with pain killer we are back in business. He has been testing us a little with bedtime. He realized while he was sick that if he cried out we came running and would give him a lot of attention. Therefore, last night and tonight I practiced tough love. It has been working, but it is still hard. Poor Mason, he doesn't realize how stubborn his mother is...I will NOT let him win.

Our car ride home today was back to the usual one sided chatter. He saw a clock somewhere and said, "look mommy, a clock"
me: Oh really wow
Mason: It tells us its time to get up
me: It sure does
Mason: And it tells us its time to eat pancakes. Pancakes with cheese and syrup...nummy!

Mason loves pancakes. It consumes is conversations. Boy after his fathers heart!

Totally Traumatic UPDATE

After a horrible night on Sunday night, we went back to the doctor today. Last night he went in the tub with a faint-ish rash on his stomach and back. He went into bed at 7 and didn't quit screaming or crying until 9:30. It was traumatic x2...I was super stressed out. This was on the tails of a nap that he woke up screaming and seemed like he was is a ton of pain. Mason finally fell asleep, conveniently right as we were about to take him to the ER. He/we made it through the night.

Today, the rash got worse and worse. The doctor took one look at him and knew that it was the Roseola virus. The virus symptoms made us think UTI but once the fever broke the rash came, which tipped off the doctor. The virus, they think, made him not drink or eat, which made his pee really concentrated. The other..."private part issue" is separate, BUT the virus didn't make it better. The doctor really believes that if we slather him in Neosporin with pain reliever so that it doesn't rub up against his diaper, it will heal and look better. We are hoping that he is right. I really can't do another night like last night.

Thank you for all the prayers. This has really been the most stressful medical thing I have had to deal with with Mason. I guess that isn't bad, but yikes...I really hope that he is healthy again soon. We miss our old Mason.

Totally Traumatic

For all you mothers who have had to watch your children be poked and proded and to be put in pain for their own good...kudos to you! I took Mason to the doctor today because he was having a really high fever that Tylenol wouldn't fix. He was having other issues that were just weird enough that on a Friday afternoon I figured I should get him in. After an eventful attempt to get his temperature, (seriously, get a faster thermometer people), and a once over by the doctor, they thought he may have a urinary tract infection. This meant a urine sample. Oh for his sake did I wish that the earlier potty training attempt had worked, but it didn't. This meant that they had to do a catheter in order to get a sample.

IT WAS HORRIBLE! Truth is, it was probably worse for him but, my heart was breaking. I had to help hold him down. He was screaming, "don't do that"..."I don't like that"..."that hurts". It was SO much easier during his immunizations that he couldn't talk. The fact that he was able to clearly communicate how horrible he felt was terrible.

Thankfully, a cuddle session from mommy and a Buzz Lightyear sticker later he was feeling better. The initial result was negative for UTI but they are doing the full test overnight and will let me know in the morning. In one way, I hope it is positive so that he didn't go through all that for nothing...but then again, I hope it is negative.

This was a longer post than I had anticipated BUT it was therapeutic for me.

Wake Up Call

Caleb helped with Mason this morning. He changed his diaper, got him milk, and turned on the tv in our room for him to watch. Mason then started to wander. He found a pen and made sure to give it to me while I slept. I helped him into our bed so he could watch his show while I was half asleep. Next thing I know, Mason leaned over and licked my eyebrow! He then announced, "I licked you!" Okay, okay, I am awake!

Spring Break

After the adventure that was potty training the rest of the week (I still have one precious day left) has been uneventful but fun.

Yesterday I learned that Mason can play outside in the backyard (fenced of course) by himself. If you don't already know, I don't like nature, or outside really. Therefore, this was quite the discovery for me. He wandered around the yard, singing, poking in the dirt, just being a boy. I was able to empty the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, tidy up, start a load of laundry. It was great!

Mason enjoys sweeping out the garage, which is great. It would be better if he actually swept it OUT of the garage rather than just around the garage. What makes this even funnier to me is that he has been sweeping it out with a car scraper. You know, what you scrape the snow off your car with. He uses the tiny brush on one side to "tidy up" our garage.

Some funny Mason sayings from the week:

~that sounds nummy!

~to Caleb and I: "What's the problem guys?"

~I flopped down on the bed and said "I am pooped" (After a shopping trip of course). Mason then crawled up on the bed and asked me, very concerned, "are you poopy Mommy?" I guess you can tell we tried potty training.

~"Really! That's great Mommy!"

We love this boy!

(Sorry for all the pictures of the BACK of Mason's head. If you have every tried to get his face it is next to impossible)

Mommy HATES potty training!

I am not having any fun! I was optimistic yesterday, although I didn't have a really good reason to be. Today...not so much. He officially has gone on the floor more than he has on the potty. This morning he sat there forever, and nothing. So he got up. Then not five minutes later...all over the floor. At least this time it was on the tile floor. He then went upstairs to get a toy and he came down soaked. It was seriously two mintues later. Did he save a reserve? I think that if I don't feel better after today...I quit. We will wait until either this summer OR if I can talk my amazing babysitter into letting me pay her to do it for me;) I would do it...NOT KIDDING!

Baby Wyatt & Train's

Mason got to hang out with baby Wyatt tonight. He was so excited and could hardly wait for him to get here. When he got there Becca set Wyatt's carrier on the table where Mason was sitting. Mason commented "he's so cute" in a nice high pitched, talking-to-a-baby voice. Of course, once Wyatt was here for a while Mason didn't really act like he cared too much. Wyatt hung out on the floor and Mason played around him. A few times Wyatt cried and Mason came over all concerned saying, "oh, he crywin". He would then walk away, come back a short minute later and say, "he still crywin".

When I was putting Mason to bed tonight I told him that we were going to potty train him so that he could wear big boy underpants. He became very excited and said, "we get to ride on a train?!?". I'll explain that one to him later;)

Hog the Blog

I decided that Mason can't hog the WHOLE blog...just most of it. Here is a picture of Caleb and I at Abbie and Dominick's wedding. It was a ton of fun and great food. Those Italian's know how to eat!

Diaper Dialogue

I came home tonight after Caleb had already put Mason to bed. I went upstairs to check on him because he was calling for me. When I walked into his room he said, "I have a problem, I can't go to sleep. I can't find Austin." Picture his head cocked to one side and his hands up in the air in a questioning motion. SUCH personality. (His pillowcase has two backyardigans on one side and two on the other side. Austin is the only backyardigan who is not on the pillowcase).

Mason had also decided to poop for the third time tonight so I told him that I would fix it. He noticed that I had gone to Target while he was sleeping and had bought new diapers. He was so excited about me buying new diapers...werido. He went to lay down on the floor and said,
Mason: do you have a bag for the stinky diaper?
Me: yes
Mason: do you have a diaper?
Me: yes, I do
I started changing his diaper and he kept telling me how it was a stinky diaper and then he said, "great job mommy", what an encourager.

He is SO my son.

As a side note, as I am writing this post I could hear my phone ringing, but I couldn't find it. I then looked at the baby monitor and realized that my phone was in Mason's room. I ran up there and the little guy didn't even stir while it was ringing. Nuts!

Sick Day

I finally decided to take Mason to the doctor. I never know when to finally pull the trigger and take him. I don't want to go through all the hassle of taking him and have the doctor look at me like I am crazy for coming in and that he is perfectly fine. He had a fever for long enough and a cough that didn't sound like his other kinds of coughs so I pulled the trigger.

I picked Mason up from the sitter earlier than normal and when we were in the car he said, "I mad at you" Why, I asked. "Cause I no get a snack with the big kids". How silly of me, I should have scheduled his doctor appointment around his snacking, not his nap or my work schedule. Oh well, you can't win them all.

Mason did great at the doctor this time. He had a small freak out about getting weighed but at least we didn't have to put him on the baby scale...talk about looking ridiculous. (or Bidiculous, as Mason would say). He let the doctor look in his ears, for birdies. Our doctor is good at whistling without him noticing. He also was pretty taken with the "flash light" that the doctor had. Mason's response whenever the doctor asked if he could do something..."yes you can". Love it! He even got a sticker at the end of the appointment, first time ever!

Stats: Weight 32 lbs.
Prognosis: Croup
I guess it was good I pulled the trigger. Hopefully his cough starts sounding better.

So Tired!

We had a long weekend! "Aunt" Abbie got married to Dominick this weekend. Caleb and my parents did a lot of the work with Mason since I was in the wedding. To add to the exhaustion Mason decided to empty the contents of his stomach about 20 minutes into our car ride to Chicago. We were off to a rough start. But, the wedding was wonderful and we had a great time. Sleep was low on the to-do list therefore, Caleb and I have been dragging! So, Monday after work we rented Mason a movie in hopes that we could have a nice calm evening. This is how it ended up. I think it worked.

By Special Request

Picture: All the kids at the babysitter's. Mason is on the far right. The green eggs and ham is cake!

This is a story from the past but someone special has requested that it make the blog...and I am glad he did. It was cute.

For Dr. Suess's birthday the sitter did a whole big special day. They made Dr. Seuss hats, had green eggs and ham, even a green eggs and ham cake for snack. We knew that the sitter was going to be doing a special day so I was preparing Mason for it on the drive there. I was telling him that it was Dr. Seuss's birthday and that they were going to have a special day at Trisha's. This information set him into an absolute fit. He started freaking out that we weren't going to Susan's house (his first babysitter). He kept telling me, "noooo, I go to Dr. Susan's house. It her berday" I tried to reassure him it was Dr. Seuss's birthday, not Susan's. But he INSISTED it was Dr. Susan's birthday and we MUST go there!

You're welcome Dad!

Mason's Big Friday

Mason got to work on "projects" at the sitters on Friday. He got to make his own St. Patrick placemat, which he promptly told me that he is supposed to eat on it. He also made a Shamrock counting book where he got to put shamrock stickers on the pages marked with each number. I could tell that Trisha had been working on counting with having the kids practice by counting their fingers. The whole way home he was trying to count his fingers and my fingers, he continued to get stuck on three but hey, he is getting there.

Caleb and I went out last night and had a girl from my school watch Mason. Ashley has watched him before but he was very excited about her coming this time. When Ashley got there she was wearing flip flops which she took off. Therefore, she was walking around barefoot and Mason instantly noticed her blue toenail polish. He got on the floor, laying on his tummy, with his face about two inches from her toes. He said, "look at your toes, they blue!" Then he started trying to count her toes, then he paused and said, "look at your piggys!!!" He was so amazed. Funny! He then grabbed Ashley's hand and practically pushed us out the door. He had fun.

So much fun that at 5:30 this morning I awoke to him standing at the top of the stairs saying in a rather pathetic voice, "she go home, she go back to her house." I picked him up and he grabbed my face and asked again if she went home. Ashely is a keeper:)

Mason had a bit of a rough day today. I don't think he is feeling 100% yet. He had to serve some time in time out today because he forgot how to share. He wasn't allowed to get up until he could say who's blocks they were (anyone would work other than "MINE"). When I talked to him about it on the way home today he said, "the blocks not mine, they everybody's" I told him that Jesus wants little boys to share their toys. He said, "MAYBE that is a good idea, MAYBE you should tell Tasha!"

Ha, they even tattle on their fake friends!

It's me-Mason!

It has been so nice lately it was time to break out the wagon for our family walks. I don't know who was more excited, Mason or Stella! Mason had to wear his sunglasses-there is something hilarious to me about a two year old in sunglasses-kind of like a monkey in a dress. On our walk Mason saw a bird and yelled out "Hi bird, it's me, Mason! I need your help!" During the rest of our walk he kept introducing himself to objects; tress, mailboxes, cars.

Mason has already figured out the standard conversation between Caleb and I. Today he walked up to Caleb and said, "Daddy, I have to ask you a quession. WHAT are we going to have for dinner?" Good question buddy, good question.

Busy Busy Boy

We had a great weekend which has included Mason being super busy. He is talking more and more (which I didn't think was possible) and using more and more of his imagination. He remembers things from weeks previous and astounds us with the things that he says.

There is one episode of Umizoomie (yeah I know, who comes up with this stuff) where a kids kite comes apart at the kite festival. We talk about kites and going to a kite "pestibal" ALL the time. It is so funny, he asks us if we can fix his kite and he gets sad because his kite came apart.

Right now we have been building a lot of towers out of his blocks...build it, break it down. The towers are usually castles for his favorite Backyardigan Tasha. He has also been loving the classic books by Richard Scary. One story in particular is about a firefighter cat named Smoky who saves Katie Kitty from her smoky house. This scenario is usually worked into every story he comes up with. Maybe he will become a firefighter, he loves to play one even in his room when he is alone. Only time will tell.

New Bling

Today was a big day for Mason. He has been anticipating today for several days. Today, was pajama and pancake day at the babysitters. He got to wear his pj's AND his slippers. He LOVES pancakes so if I even mentioned that he got to eat them he was very happy.

When I went to pick him up today I noticed several kids in the big picture window watching me walk up to the house...not the norm. When I walked in the door I heard several people telling Mason that "she is here, she is here". And why was Mason so excited for me to get there...well, he "bought" me a ring. He handed me a ring and he told that "it is special...it has make up in it". He was so excited. Trisha said that he had been talking about getting mommy a ring for the last hour and a half. Trisha dug around and found an extra ring for him to give me. So there you have it...my son got me a ring:)

Mason has been really affectionate this weekend. Caleb and I both love it because we know it won't last forever. Mason has been wanting to hold my hand or he will grab my hand and put it on his cheek and hold it there. Super sweet.

Caleb made Mason's day on Thursday night this week. Simplest thing too. We decided to get groceries as a family, which rarely happens. Going to Kroger at 5:00 on a Thursday is way different than 9:00 on Sunday night. Needless to say there were no car carts when we got there. Mason was TICKED OFF at the thought of being put in a normal cart, heaven forbid. Caleb saw one car cart way out in the parking lot in the cart corral. Mason was waiting in the inside of the store with me and when he saw Caleb running through the parking lot with the cart he could contain his excitement. He was jumping up and down and sqweeling with delight! He practially jumped in the car cart Dukes of Hazard style when Caleb walked in the doors.

Caleb taught Mason a new nickname for me...Captain Mama Bear...definatley could have been worse:)

Katie was over this afternoon and when Mason came down from his nap he walked right up to her and said, "I was taking a nap....it was good." Then when she was asking him about his Olympics at the babysitters he told her, "it was pun (fun) and awesome." Well there you have it.

Olympics

I have said it before, but I will say it again...Mason's babysitter is AMAZING! Today was the torch ceremony at the sitters, which willl get them ready for the Olympic events coming up this week. Today she made homemade doughnuts in the shape of the Olympic rings. Mason got to eat a ring...and becuase he is my son, he LOVES doughnuts! He was so excited.

Mason's event will be the Biathalon. According to Mason he gets to "ski and shoot!" They had training today. They stretched, ran in place...all very tiring activities. She is a genius! When I walked in the door I heard Mason saying "I runnin, I runnin!"

All the kids also made their very own torch. SO cute! On the way home Mason was telling me all about the events and then he said, "Mommy, best day ever!!!"

Happy Balentine Day

Mason's babysitter is AWESOME! They had a Valentine's Day party today, which was the only way that I was able to get Mason out of bed this morning. He was so excited to hand out his "Balenetine" cards to all of his little friends.

Trisha sent me a message at work telling me that Mason was playing a find your heart string game. It was tough competition with the older kids, but he actually found the hearts once. He was excited!!! I think it might of made his day... plus the cupcake we had for morning snack! :)

Mason was so excited when I picked him up he talked the whole way home. I actually had to start taking notes. (yes, I know, not safe)

-I asked Mason what his favorite thing of the day was. Mason-Playing games Me-What kind of games? Mason-short ones...hahahaha (he thought this was SO funny)

-Mason told me that he had a cupcake...and it went down into his tummy...and his tummy said "nummmmmy"

-Mason also said "Mommy, I kissed Belaney" (Delaney) Oh boy! This marks kiss number two for my two year old. Yikes.

-Mason: Mickey is NOT my best friend Me: oh really, who is? Mason: Only Minnie is my best friend Me: There you have it.

House Arrest

Mason and I have been in the house going on three straight days. School is closed again today, this time for freezing rain. Mother Nature is going to kill me.

Yesterday Mason was a bear. He was pathetic all day. He wanted a nap at 10:30 so I fed him an early lunch and then he spent the next 2.5 hours in his room crying and whimpering. He didn't want to get up but he wouldn't fall sleep. SO annoying. It was a rough day for all. I don't care if I have to put spikes on the bottom of my shoes...we are getting OUT OF THIS HOUSE.

Already this morning Mason was a "biking" (viking) on his ship (the edge of the couch). Thanks to a Backyardagins episode we all have had to be vikings..."biking mommy and biking daddy". We will have to see what the rest of the day holds.

Snow Day

We had a snow day today! For Mason, that meant pajamas all day long, building endless towers with his blocks and well...doing whatever he wanted. He painted, colored, ran back and forth the length of the house more times than I could count and helped me Swiffer the floor. I took two of the sections out of the pole to make it just his height and he spent at least a half an hour walking all over the tiled areas cleaning. It was great!

He also had a fun sword fight with Caleb. They each had their weapon (sadly for Caleb his was foam and Mason's was hard plastic:). Uncle Andrew has taught Mason the terminology for a sword fight, "On Guard" and "Tuchee". Somehow during the sword fight Mason started throwing out his own words in replacement of the correct ones. Picture it. Caleb laying on the couch trying to defend himself. Mason dancing around him, swinging wildly, yelling: pancake...snowball...peanut butter...flash wight...cat pood....hot dog...playdough!

SO stinking funny!

Odds-N-Ends

Some poeple think being a working mom doesn't have its perks. I have the joy of being alone in the car for an hour every day with my very talkative two year old. Which allows for some interesting "tales" while we travel. Some of the latest are:

*You know you go to Target too much when you pick up your son and he says "we not going to Target today?" I asked him how do you know...he said "this is the way to OUR house mommy!" He does pay attention on our rides and knows which way to turn at each stop sign. Which means...he also knows the route to my favorite store~Target!

*A new development has been the addition of our little friend-Baby Dragon. Baby Dragon is also his sippy cup. He talks to him, gives him pretend suckers when he is sad and "crywin" and also disciplines him when he is bad. Baby Dragon's name is Trisha (the name of our babysitter). One day we got into a very confusion coversation about real Trisha putting Baby Dragon Trisha in time out. I realized that my clarifying questions were just making him confused...so I just said "uh huh".

*Every day I ask Mason what he did at Trisha's house. One day he just decided to give me the quick run down. "I played with the doll house, took a nap, had a snack." (The doll house is his favorite toy right now. He likes to rearrange the furniture...sound like anyone you know?) I asked him what he had for snack and he said, "I had meealk. I put it in my mowd and it went down into my tummy!" What a day-how exciting!

Mason Puts Mommy to Bed

This afternoon Mason decided to put me to bed. I was laying on the couch and be brought me a pillow, made sure I was tucked in. Then he made sure to tell me "one book then go to bed". After our book he got right in my face and whispered "no take off your diaper and don't get out of bed". I guess he is listening to me every night. He is failing to remember the kiss and hug portion of the ritual though.

Mason also dubbed Caleb "Captain Terrific" today. I, unfortunately, was first Nina (from Imagination Movers--not bad, she's cute) then I quickly became Mr. Knitknots (also from Imagination Movers--but he wears only beige, and only likes boring things) Gee, thanks!

Chocolate Pudding?

When I picked up Mason from the sitter today he didn't have on the shirt that I brought him in. Normally, NOT a good sign. Trisha looked at me from the laundry room with one of those "you won't believe what your son did today" kind of looks. She said that he was in the play room by himself and she heard him start to cry. She walked in and saw Mason holding a large toy boat with brown hands. She thought, "where did he find chocolate pudding?" Click--NOT PUDDING! My son had gone #2, then decided to put his hands down his pants, and then proceeded to rub them together. That's my boy!

We now have added to our "we no" dialogue.
1. We no take off our diaper.
2. We no get out of bed.
3. AND NOW...We no put our hands in our pants!

Car Talk

I really wish I could have had a video recorder in the backseat today on the way home from school. Mason was so talkative, I couldn't even remember them all! He talked about getting the mail at Trisha's (something he does every day--pretend). He also kept talking about Wormin...who happened to be sitting next to him in the car. He would look over in the car like Wormin was sitting right there. I asked him what Wormins favorite food was:
Mason: I dunno
Me: Ask him
Mason: OK (he proceeded to look over with his hand up) Wormin what id you bavit bood? Thank you wormin
Me: what did he give you?
Mason: his bavit bood...candy! (he then pretended to lick and eat the candy) NUMMY

Sitting at the dinner table he decided to do the whole knock, knock joke by himself.
Mason: knock, knock...who dere...Mason Hanna!

Lazy Weekend

We had a lazy weekend at home...which was great! Mason filled our time with a lot of talking...much of which make us wonder where he gets this stuff...but also makes us laugh.

While I was napping on the couch he hopped on his bike and went to Chicago to pick up a pizza. We had been talking about Abbie and Dominick and their upcoming wedding. He now is asking about Dominick and where he is at. I doubt he even remembers him.

He has a new imaginary friend "wormin". Wormin is from Backyardigans...and he is appearing all over the place at our house now. He was sitting on Mason's lap on the way home from the sitter on Friday, on Mason's head this afternoon. Wormin has also been making a lot of pancakes today. Wormin also wanted a tent built, waffles for dinner and some candy. What a demanding worm!

Saturday night Mason also devised a little house. It had a "wibin room" (living room), bathroom, kitchen, garage and office. He was very serious about it.

He has also been asking about his new friend (this one is real) Baby Wyatt. Friends of ours have a newborn that has been in the NICU since his arrival on New Years Eve. We talk about Wyatt quite a bit and Mason is picking up on that. He heard the garage door open after his nap today and he asked who was here. I said no one and he started crying and said "Baby Wyatt not here?" I wonder if he will be as excited about him when he actually meets him.

Story Telling

Mason's first day back at the babysitters after Christmas break was filled with story telling. He told everyone about his new bike...and that he rides it to Dunkin Donuts. He felt the need to tell everyone about our handyman Tom...and that he is at our house. The other kids asked me if Tom is real, and if he lives with us. The answer...yes, and kinda! Daddy also cleans off the table when we eat--yeah right.

The quote of the day the he made sure to tell everyone was "we no take off our diaper" He did hear that a lot one day when he decided to take off his diaper during nap time. I walked in to find him walking around his room in nothing but a t-shirt. There was poo on his face, legs, and streaked all over his crib. His new sleeping bag on the floor was also quite wet. The lesson: "we no take off our diaper!"

This is one of my favorite pictures right now. Mason loved being Donald Duck. He is having a hard time understanding that you don't get candy every time you go to someone's front door.

He has been wearing his costume around the house just for fun.