Better Listener

Another quick post . . . tonight in Mason's prayer he prayed that dad would listen better! Dan bought a few simple magic tricks yesterday and Mason has had a blast watching them. His favorites are the ball that disappears and the 'tissue' (handkerchief) that disappears. He laughs hysterically! Dan was trying to get him to try a taste of scone tonight and said he'd show him how to do the trick if he'd try. Mason didn't like that idea and got mad and said 'magic is hard'. (He also said 'swimming is hard' last week when he had to leave the swimming pool'. I think it's his way of expressing frustration that he can't do what he wants all the time . . . that's pretty hard!)

So, I guess he thought that Dan needed to listen to him better and let him do the magic tricks instead of go to bed.

It's actually a great prayer since I have often wished that Dan listened better too :-)

5k

Today was the DFCU 5k Walk/Run. Since I'm way too out of shape to run it (I don't think I've ever ran that far at once), Dan and I walked with the kids. Mason rode his bike and was such a trooper to make it that far! Tristyn had a blast pointing out airplanes from the stroller. It took an hour, compared to the 20 minutes it took a runner to push his twin girls, but at least we did it, right? The weather was perfect and it was a fun time with the family. I didn't take a photo, but the HR guy did, so I'll try to get it and post it later!

Don't Worry

I was taking Mason to preschool this morning and said something about the snow (probably complaining that it covered the ground yet AGAIN!) and he quickly responded "Don't worry mom, we'll keep spring". He then added that it's a beautiful spring day (which he was also saying last week after church when I was trying to capture a few photos of them by the popcorn popping trees (see blog title photo).

Mason has been saying "don't worry" a lot lately . . . like don't worry mom, we'll find it" when something is lost. I'm glad he has confidence that things will always work out! If only it were as easy for adults to see things that way!

Maybe it's time to teach him the song Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Baby Animal Days

We recently went up to Dan's hometown for Baby Animal Days, which has become an Easter time tradition! Before we left we told Mason we were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, so he talked about it all day and even carried our big cooler up from the storage room so we could pack it for the trip! When we got closer we told him we were going to go see the baby animals and he just kept saying he wanted to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. When we pulled into the parking lot of the Heritage Center we told him again we were going to see the animals first and he said "No! I'm not! I'm going to Grandma and Grandpa's house!" Then he had a meltdown and although we didn't want to give in to his tantrum, we knew getting him out of the car would mean dragging him around while crying. So, we went to Dan's parents for a quick visit and lunch. Then he was fine going back to the farm!

He still didn't care much for the animals (he never really has), but he wanted to head straight for the toys and rides instead. Tristyn liked the baby pigs, sheep, goats, bunnies, chicks, and goslings. However, when the big lamp baa'd right in her face she got scared and didn't really care to spend much more time with the animals! We didn't go through the long line to hold the chicks or goslings, but she liked watching the other kids hold them and giggled when they squirmed around.

Mason wiped Dan's wallet out so he could go on the bouncy slide a million times! Then he waited patiently for the candy cannon. Mas said the candy shot out of the ground, up to the sky, and back down again. He was pretty hesitant to grab candy that was near anyone else, but he did come out with a small bagful. Even after that he wanted cotton candy! I was surprised he ate it, but he did. I ate some too . . . it was yummy! Bear World brought a few bear cubs and they were super cute and really curious! It was fun to see them. Mason wanted to watch the train go around and he just stood there for a long time, but when Dan asked about 10 times if he wanted to ride it, he kept saying no. Until we were ready to go home, of course! Then he wanted to ride it! By then we were done, so he had another tantrum because he didn't want to leave! Kids . . . they never know what they want!



We finished the day with Cafe Rio and a yummy Charlie's shake (the BEST SHAKES EVER!), so it couldn't get much better than that! Yeah for spring!

More cupcakes

I blogged about Mason's cupcakes earlier, so this will be quick. I just wanted to share a couple of photos of the kids 'helping' mix the batter when they made cupcakes a couple of weeks ago (yes, we have been making them a lot lately). Mason is great at reading the directions and telling Dan what to do next. He also likes to put the papers in the pan. I think Tristyn had just woken up from a nap, which is why she looks a little zoned! I'm glad they like to help bake and just hope they'll actually eat all the things they help make!

Little Camper

Mason loves to play in his little tents and keeps asking Dan when they can go camping. So, a couple of weeks ago we set our dome tent up in the front room so he could play in it. He actually did fall asleep in it one night after several hours of playing in it. He really liked having the zipper done up and didn't mind that it got all stuffy and hot. He pulled out his little sleeping bag and even put his other smaller tent inside. He had a blast and was a great helper when it came to folding it back up. I think he's ready to hit the great outdoors! Tristyn was a little hesitant to go in at first because I think she thought we'd zip her in, but she eventually realized it was fun. Melissa even had a picnic in there with them! The kids love it when she comes over to play!

Shoe Queeen

Here's another first for Tristyn--the past couple of weeks she's been trying to put on her own shoes. In this photo she got the right shoe on (even on the right foot) and pretty much had the left one on too before I had to take them both off to put socks on so she could go outside to play! She has always been good at putting her little feet into our big shoes, but she has quickly mastered squeezing into her own shoes. I'm actually surprised she chose these shoes because she normally picks her princess shoes. Maybe she knew these were easier to put on! She normally picks her own shoes and there's no changing her mind once she's made a decision! I doubt she gets her stubbornness from me!

First Skinned Knee

Tristyn loves her Mini Miche Bag! She finally let me take off the pink shell and trade it for this furry leopard shell! We keep a few trinkets in the purse, including these sunglasses. She's great at putting them on herself and sometimes even gets them on the right way! This photo also documents her first skinned knee! She walked outside in just her onsie and fell down on the patio. She was pretty upset, but has enjoyed the attention she gets when she shows her owie. She has a lot of character and is always doing silly things! Such a cutie! Oh, you can see her doggy in the corner. She is still a great little mommy for her dogs, especially the one she got from DanaRae's family on her first birthday (white with gray spots that you occasionally see in other photos)! Thank goodness it's washable.

Swim Jar

This is Mason's SWIM jar . . . he wrote swim on the lid by himself (the w started as an m and he hasn't realized yet that all the letters should go in order and in a line--he puts them all over the place). Inside the jar are peanut M&Ms and when the jar is full, Mason gets to go swimming. We started this as a way to get him to behave. When he's good we add to the jar and when he's naughty or doesn't listen we remove treats from the jar. It worked really well at first and we have convinced him to do a few things he didn't want to do by threatening to remove treats, but I will admit that the jar has been completely empty a couple of times (even though we started with it about half full). It's almost half full again--we're really trying to reward all the good things he does with plenty of treats. I'm not sure how long it will last, but he really needs to fill it up soon so he can go swimming and realize that he gets to do fun things when he obeys! If it can get him to sit through dinner at the table with us, I'd say it's somewhat successful! At least when he's being naughty it gives Dan or me a chance to indulge in chocolate!

Our Bakery

Dan must be so proud that his little boy shares his love for yellow cake (and cupcakes)! We were sitting in church Sunday and Mason whispered in my ear and asked if he could make cupcakes when we got home. So, he helped Dan read the box and crack the eggs into the bowl. He even licked the beaters and wanted more batter, which is kind of a big deal for a kid that won't try anything! Once they were cooked, he had to frost them too. He kept licking the knife and his fingers and saying 'mmm, tastes like marshmallows'. I'm not sure where he got that, but maybe all things super sweet taste the same to him!

I think he did a pretty good job frosting these on his own! He has also done a great job eating the cupcakes on his own--yesterday he ate three in a row! At least that keeps me from eating them :-)

For those that we shared a plate with (Dan's home teaching families), please know that Dan frosted those and he did not lick the knife or his fingers in between cupcakes (at least I didn't see him do it!). Next time we'll be sure to share Mason's specialties!

Straight from Blossom?

The first thing I thought of when I saw what Tristyn put together this morning was the show Blossom . . . and maybe Pippy Longstocking (although I haven't seen that in a while and maybe she didn't even wear weird combinations of clothing). My friend, Naoni, made the cute jumper dress for Tristyn and I put that on her, but she picked out the pink leg warmers and brown skirt. She even put that skirt on (inside out) by herself. That skirt was made by another neighbor, Amy! Tristyn used to hate wearing dresses and it was a fight to get her dressed every Sunday. Then suddenly the day I put on her Easter dress, she decided it was fun to flip dresses up and spin around in them. Since then she has been excited to wear a skirt or dress every day. Her favorite is the green polkadot skirt. I have to hide it down in the laundry so she doesn't pull it out and put it on. Actually, she likes to dig through all the laundry and drag it around the house or put it in her drawers. She's such a great helper!

Showing off in her Easter dress:

Another fun way to wear the leg warmers! See how she likes the green skirt . . .

We made the kids tie-dyed shirts with the extra Easter egg dye. I'll try to post Easter photos soon so you can see Mason's shirt too.


Wearing a skirt even to baby animal days in Wellsville!

We wonder every day how we managed to get the cutest and sweetest girl EVER!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Special Reading

Last Saturday we told Mason we’d take him to the library to look for books and videos on magic since suddenly he was interested in having a magic wand and magic curtains (I guess I started it after asking him if he wanted a magic wand while watching the Fairy God Mother change mice into horses on Cinderella). By the time we actually got out of the house, the library was closed so we took them to Barnes and Noble instead. We haven’t taken them there before and both kids had a blast in the kid section. Mason immediately stepped up on the stage and pretended to perform.

It was fun to see some of the books I read as a child . . . Morris the Moose, Amelia Bedelia, Bernstein Bears, and others. We came across Brown Bear and although we don’t own it, I know that Mason has enjoyed reading it at preschool. Mason sat down and read the whole thing through by himself! Dan about fell off his chair because he wasn’t aware that Mason knew it. It was cute.

Tristyn just wanted to read The Hungry Caterpillar over and over again—along with a few other books that we own. I guess she wanted to stick with what was familiar. She bad a blast pulling the Thomas the Train sound books off the shelf and lining them up on the floor. I think she liked that they all looked the same and all made the same sounds. She also liked the stuffed animals, of course.

The kids both loved it. We didn’t look real hard for magic books, though. I guess we’ll have to head back to the library!

Golf Pro

Poor Dan got beat in Wii golf by a 4 year old!  Great job, Mason!

Great Idea

I asked Mason if he wanted to pop some popcorn and he said "great idea", then pushed a stool over to the cupboard and said "splendid"! I'm not really sure where he learned that word since I don't think Dan and I have ever said it around him, but it was cute! I love it when he says things that we haven't prompted him to say. He's very creative and sometimes surprises us with the things he can articulate (proof that he is thankfully progressing quickly).

He and Dan are downstairs digging through all the toys looking for a missing puzzle piece! He noticed it was missing last night when we put it together and it took a while to coax him into bed and convince him that we'd look for it while he slept. I looked in a few places, but couldn't find it. About 10 minutes ago he came in and started dumping out baskets of toys and saying "puzzle piece, where are you?" He's really worried about finding that piece! It drives me crazy to have it missing too, so I hope they find it!

Mason also gave me a heart attack earlier today. I took a few Christmas things down to the basement to put away and when I turned to go back upstairs, he was standing in the doorway of one of the bedrooms. I didn't know he was down there, so it freaked me out! As a side note, I have a fear of opening one of the bedroom doors and coming face to face with a spider . . . not a spider the size of a nickel, but a spider the size of a Volkswagon! Hopefully it never happens!

Dan got Mason to wear his tie today, so he looked super cute. He got a CTR ring and colored a CTR shield in Primary, and he loves them! Hopefully he'll learn that Primary is fun and he doesn't need to lay on the floor the whole time . . .

Update: Mason just tooted and said "I smell flowers" . . . pretty sure he learned that from his dad!

Christmas Outfits

We were out of town the week before Christmas and I didn't want to pack the kids' Christmas church clothes, so they didn't get to wear them until last week. They looked adorable! Mason's shirt was a little snug, but it was a Christmas miracle that he actually wore a button up shirt! We had to bribe him with the blue candycane, but at least he wore it! Hopefully he'll wear it again! Tristyn also kept her hair up long enough for a few photos, so that was another miracle!

Dan just wanted me to add that we have the cutest darn kids in the world. I have to agree!

Christmas

Luckily Mason didn't get up early on Christmas! He was anxious to open presents right away, but we managed to distract him until Tristyn woke up (after 9!). I really hope that continues . . . I don't want to get up at 6 am next year! When Tristyn finally woke up, Mason carried his chair into her room to try and help her out of the crib so she could come see the presents. He's a great big brother. As a side note, he will go in to her room and wiggle his fingers and say tickle, tickle to her. I think he learned it from Ni Hao Kai Lin (not sure how to spell her name) when she tickles the sun to wake it up.

The kids were excited about the gifts Santa left. Tristyn wasn't sure what to do on the first gift, but she caught on pretty quick and was tearing the paper off after that. When she opened her doll, the paper was torn away just enough for her to peak inside to see what it was. Their expressions were priceless!

I meant to put the kid's photos on first, but I can't ever remember how blogger uploads the photos! Santa went overboard on gifts and I got way more than I should have. I love the little tile that Mason painted at school and am excited to put it in the kitchen window!

Dan got a certificate for new golf shoes, to go with the clubs he got last year. He also got a few things for the Wii and radios so we can communicate during that disaster that is supposed to hit sometime! Hopefully we can figure out how to use them before that.

We've loved having Melissa with us on Christmas for the past couple of years! Santa likes dumping her presents here so the reindeer don't have to carry them to Wyoming. She was super excited about her digital camera and all the fun clothes. Santa apparently has great taste!


Mason got the pirate ship he asked Santa for (or would have asked for if we had actually made it to see Santa--he didn't dare sit on his lap at daycare when he came by). He was probably most excited about the Cars umbrella. He carried it around the house, opened, for several days. He was so excited when it finally snowed a few days ago so he could try it out.

Tristyn got a little doggy that flaps it's ears and barks. She loves it, but still has room in her heart for the white doggy she got for her birthday. She carries them both around with little burp rags for blankets. She also got a new baby doll that looks a lot like her. She wore her cute fuzzy brown dress with leggings that day and was adorable! If she'd only keep her cute pig tails in!

After presents and breakfast we got to talk to Elder Charlie in Rhode Island! We were on speaker phone from my parent's house and it was really hard to hear through all the static, but he sounded awesome and is doing great on his mission! It's crazy that he's down to about 5 months! Can't wait to see him. I can sense from his letters and emails a mission has been a great thing for him! Gotta love that kid!

We had a yummy dinner at my sister Suzy's house and spent a little time with them before heading home for naps and of course . . . more food! It was so great to have Christmas on a Friday so there was a couple of days to recouperate and play before heading back to work! Christmas is so magical with kids and I'm greatful for the child whose birth we celebrate. We are so blessed for His sacrifice and for the love He offers each of us. I hope you all had a great holiday season with your loved ones.

Some of the collage photos are small, so you should be able to double click on them to see them larger.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

We had a great Christmas Eve! Since we didn't officially make any Christmas treats this year, we decided to let the kids make sugar cookies for Santa. Mason helped mix up the dough and roll it out. Tristyn joined in to cut them out. Mason's had a great time with the flour and his clothes were covered in it! They helped frost and decorate the cookies, but more sprinkles ended up in their little mouths then on the cookies! It was a fun project and based on the note left by Santa, he and Rudolph both enjoyed the cookies!

After cleaning up the cookie mess, we got to open our Christmas Eve gifts . . . new pajamas. Mason liked his robot pjs and was so excited about opening more gifts that he ended up opening all of our pajamas! They also opened a couple of books for their bedtime stories. As you can see in the photos, Melissa started with the Eeyore pjs, but we ended up switching since Santa got the sizes a little confused!

After we read stories, both kids peaked through the blinds to check for Santa Clause! It was so cute! It took Mason a bit to get to sleep, so I'm sure he was super excited for Santa to sneak in a and leave presents under his tree!

Bonsai

A couple of weeks ago we went to Bonsai with my sister, DanaRae, and her family. It was our first visit there and the food was yummy (I need to find a recipe for their salad dressing), but Mason freaked out the second we sat down and flames shot up from the table next to us! He covered his ears, buried his head, got down on the ground and didn't come back up the rest of the meal. Tristyn was asleep at first and it took her a minute to wake up and enjoy the atmosphere, but she loved the food and probably could have caught a shrimp in her mouth if we had given her the chance! I think all of us caught at least one of the few that were tossed to us. Braxton was the only one brave enough to eat with chop sticks (they were jimmied to make them easier to use, but I'm more comfortable stuffing my face with a fork!).

We had a great time, so thanks for inviting us, Bennetts!

Scary Movie

Our kids both love to watch Snow White right now. Mason has the "dig, dig, dig" and "Hi Ho" songs memorized and it's fun to see him sing and dance along. He also does the "brrr, brrr, brrr" face washing thing.

Although they both beg to watch it and could watch it 10 times in a row, they still hide when the witch and mirror scenes come on.  This is Tristyn bunkering down between the couch and chair to protect herself! I'm not sure if she learned it on her own or from watching Mason hide, but either way it's cute!

Up the Hill

Mason didn't mind the long climb back up the sledding hill . . . he sang and recited poems! Love this kid!