Happy New Year

We hope this year brings everything you could want, we are truly blessed. Our resolutions are same ol same ol, maybe we should think of changing them up so we could generate some excitement from them. My sister in law tells me you have to eat something green, ham, and black eyed peas for New Years to bring prosperity, health, and wealth. We only ate something green this year. We did it last year, but failed to do it this year. Ooops.

Bedtime Stories

Nana had all the grandkids in bed one night to read them an bedtime story. What a treat to get a book read to you from the author and what a bonus that the author is your Nana.
http://www.maginthat.net/

Visit from the Greats

Mason and Ellery are blessed to be the youngest of 5 living generations. Great Granny and Grandpa Wilson made a trek down to visit us at Nana's. They bought a GPS but had it in Spanish on their ride down so I don't believe they thought they made a good investment. Rob got them squared away so we hope they had a more pleasant trip home. We had a really good time visiting with them and are grateful they took the time to come visit. I don't think they realized what an adventure it would be.

Bath Time Fun

The mommies went into town to run some errands and when we got home the daddies had bathed all the babies with Nana's help of course.

I need a Jordan

Jordan is so good with Ellery and you can see she truly loves her. I need to figure out how to get her home with me to help me out with the kids. She is a great big sister to Isabella and a wonderful cousin to Mason and Ellery.

Spin Spin Spin

We had some fun with the kids while visiting with Nana. We were playing ring around the roses and got a chuckle out of watching the kids walk afterwards and someone got the idea to spin them in chairs. The video of Isabella is a lot funnier than Mason and she is much more outgoing as you can see. Mason was done after one round and we pushed him to do it while Isabella was requesting more.

Uncle Todd Visits with his clan

Uncle Todd and Aunt Jill arrived at Nana's today with Jordan and Isabella. Isabella and Mason are a almost exactly a year apart. Isabella brings back flashbacks for how Mason was a year ago, just a little more petite and talks a lot more than Mason ever thought about talking. We were greeted with kisses and I think the girls are all going to be buds. I see poor Mason getting dragged into dress up and playing house in the future.

Doing the Dishes

My mom used to tell me the reason she had kids was to have free labor and someone to help with the chores. She was kidding of course, but now I am not so sure. We are home for the holidays and visiting Nana and I walk into the kitchen and find Mason doing the dishes. He was thrilled and slinging water every where. I might have to get Nana one of those "Caution wet floor" signs.

Stocking

The picture on the left is Mason at 6 months and Ellery is on the right in the same outfit and she is 10 months.  Needless to say I would love to open these stockings anytime.  

What I got for Christmas

It was a joy watching Mason open presents this year. In the beginning he was having fun just holding them and bringing them to you and not so interested in opening them. Once he learned a present was inside the present he was more excited to open them. Rob was on call Christmas Eve and Day so we didn't open the "real" presents until today. We did however open stockings earlier and Mason was thrilled that he got markers. He was marching and walking around saying "Hoorah, I got markers". Poor Ellery had one gift to open but enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper more than the stacking barrels. Mason's favorites this year were Mr. Potato Head and a durable kids digital camera. Rob and I were both spoiled by Santa Spouse this year as well.

Ellery 10 Months

I can't believe Ellery is 10 months old. It feels like the month has flown by. She is talking more and more everyday. I came around the corner to pick her up from the gym the other day and she was waving hi to me. She is becoming more and more possessive of her toys and food. She loves to feed herself but prefers the crackers to any fruit or veggie and has mastered drinking from a cup. She also loves books. If you need to redirect her or distract her I get her attention and show her the book and she is moving across the floor towards it. She sometimes will cry in the evenings when you take the book away from her to put her asleep. She is expressing her independence more and more each day. We have caught her standing on her own a few times and a few steps but probably more of an accident. She is terrified of men now and won't let them hold her. She lights up when she sees her daddy and goes directly towards him to be picked up. She sleeps from 7-7 but she isn't as easy to put down as Mason. All we did with Mason was put him down and he didn't cry or fuss about it, he was a poster child and Ellery is the same poster child, but the poster child that cries for 3-15 min before she goes to sleep.

Merry Christmas

Cousins

Uncle Tom and Aunt Laurie came down for a visit with their children and spouses. It appears this holiday season theme is "reindeer". We decided to capture the moment and pose the cousins minus Ellery since we put her to bed. We realized we had the oldest and the youngest cousins together. TJ and Melissa are the oldest with Ellery bringing up the rear. It is around a quarter of a century of time. It was enjoyable watching everyone with the kids. We are lucky we have the kids now to lure people to come and visit us more often.

Ellery and men

Ellery has a strong aversion to men right now, Rob thinks it is great and hopes she stays this way through her teenage years. It is worse in the evenings than in the mornings, but if you look at her or get to close to her she will start crying. We had a few cousins visiting for the holidays and we were thrilled to have them around, but Ellery wasn't feeling the love. We told them they might have to visit in the morning next time.

Rat Cages

Mason enjoys going to the gym with me now. He used to throw himself on the floor before entering the child care center and now he runs in and doesn't wave good bye. I picked him and Ellery up the other day and Ellery greets me with a wave like she was saying hi and Mason grabs me and tells me to come watch him go through "the rat cages". He then informs me that he likes playing in "the rat cages". I quit calling them the rat cages when he threw a fit to be left, I put a more positive spin on them. I did hear Rob asking Mason the other day if he liked the rat cages so I think it is stuck and not a negative play area anymore.

Closet Fun

Ellery loves to follow Mason around and play with him and he is surprisingly doing a lot better with sharing and toleration. He loves to call for her like the dog and he says "Ellery, COME here" or "Ellery, come on". She is getting more vocal and doesn't let him take her toy without a fight now. We first taught him if he was going to take a toy from her that he had to give her something different and she didn't seem to mind but it is a different story now. If he takes something that she had and gives her something else she still goes after him to claim her original toy.
Today Rob was playing with the kids upstairs and calls for me to come peek at them. Mason had coursed her into the closet to play in his box.

Yummy Cake

I think the best part about having a birthday is getting a cake. I also think Mason shares my same enthusiasm about cake. I let him have a piece of cake for breakfast yesterday and Rob threatened to blog it, yet I come down for breakfast this morning and who is feeding Mason cake for breakfast? Rob!!! So I decided to beat him to the punch and blog it myself!

Snow and Ice

It has been bitter bitter cold here. We might have received a lot of snow in Milwaukee, but the wind didn't cut through you like it does here. We did however have our first accumulation of snow the other day of a few inches. It was waiting for us in the morning and I was able to tell Mason to go look outside. He was thrilled to see the snow and kept saying he wanted to step in it. It wasn't the fluffy fun snow it was snow mixed with ice so it was a bit crunchy so I didn't bundle Mason up to play in it. We go out on a few errands and Mason loved walking in the snow and stomping his feet afterwards. Now when we go and get into the car, he requests to step in the snow first. He is delighted with the smallest things, at what age does one stop remembering those delights?

Make a Wish

I love celebrating birthdays because of the cake. Rob stated he didn't need a cake and I quickly reiterated how much Mason would like for him to have a cake, not to mention me. Mason was thrilled to help blow out the candles and jumping in his seat to get a piece. We could potentially have a problem in the future, Mason stated he wanted to eat the balloons which is the highest cake to frosting ratio currently my favorite portion. Rob and I are perfectly matched for cake eating, he likes little frosting and I like a lot. Mason might become my competition for eating cake.
We spoiled Rob with gifts wrapped in Christmas paper, but they weren't Christmas gifts. We finally got him the Planet Earth series along with a wine aerator, and the Trans Siberian Orchestra DVD. We might regret giving him the Trans Siberian Orchestra DVD because Rob has a tendency to watch things over and over again, but so does Mason so it should be perfect for them. We tried to get a babysitter for tonight and were unsuccessful so I am taking Rob out for sushi tomorrow night. One of the many down falls in having a birthday so close to the holidays is that everyone else is busy with parties. I think Rob has a list of down falls for having a birthday so close to Christmas.

Happy Birthday Daddy

I have been working with Mason the past few days on wishing his daddy a Happy Birthday along with singing the song. What a treat. I gave him a piece of paper to make a card for Rob. I told him to draw a cake and write happy birthday and he started singing the song as he did it. I ran for the camera, but missed my moment so I had to bate him to get him to sing again. I have a wonderful husband and the kids have an amazing dad and we hope he has a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY tomorrow!!!!! Mason is extremely excited for his daddy's birthday but not for the right reason. He is excited because he knows cake comes with birthdays and he saw the cake and beamed with joy. We might be lighting the candles tomorrow morning and wishing daddy a happy birthday sooner rather than later so we can cut the cake!

Let the How's Begin

Mason is becoming more and more inquisitive. We haven't hit the why stage, but we are in the "how's it work" stage. He first response when something isn't working is "it needs batteries". He thinks everything runs on batteries these days and after he is done with thinking about the batteries he then goes for the "hows it work" question. I am sure I give him a much more elaborate response on how it works but my responses answer his question and he then says "ohhhhh" and carries about his business. Today's business walking around naked in mommies shoes!

Uno Dos Tres

Rob taught Mason to count to 10 in Spanish over a month ago and I never got around to capturing it on video. I am amazed at how fast he catches on. He does give Grandma Debbie credit for teaching him although it was his daddy who taught him. We don't know where the comment came from, but it came out of left field. He tends to focus on one person each day and that is who he calls on the phone and talks about. He spends a lot of time on the phone with Great Great Grandma Gray and Grandma Ellen. He couldn't stop talking about Nana and her dog Toto a few days ago and every time he plays with his thomas the train he says "thank you Papaw". Moral to the story the kid is loved by lots of people and I think he knows it!

Reindeer Games

We have been spreading the holiday cheer and then some. We went to Rob's work Christmas party last night and knew we were going to have a good time when the shots were broke out at 8:15pm. Rob had a better time than me, ever since my early morning wake up calls I seem to keep myself a bit tamer at parties. He did multiple shots and paid for it today while I did shots, but I was sneaky and did shots of water and claimed it was vodka.
We did come home with a gem of a gift from the gift exchange. Since the party people were a little under the influence the exchange was a free for all. Instead of drawing numbers everyone went and picked a gift. One of the girls who has the honor of working with Rob in the office wanted him to have this wonderful dancing reindeer. Prior to kids I never knew how dancing fish, flowers, or animals aka hamsters ever sold. Not only did Mason love the dancing reindeer, Ellery is amused by it as well. She even cries when Mason hogs it or takes it away when she finally gets a hold of it. Even Hudson had to get a closer look at it. I wish I had a better video to post of it, but I of course let the newness wear off of it and in a desperate attempt this is all I could capture.

HO HO HO

We took Mason and Ellery to see Santa at Mason's school today. We got two very different reactions. Ellery was terrified and didn't think Ol St. Nick was very saint like. I couldn't resist the photo opportunity but in doing so I might have forever scared her of the jolly ol man. She wasn't very pleased and I don't think I helped out any of the other toddlers watching trying to decide if they should approach him.
We decided to take a different approach with Mason. We didn't force him to sit on his lap, we let him observe and make his own decision and he got close enough to touch but not without his daddy.

Haircut

Went and got Mason's haircut today and he was less than thrilled, but his hair was a mop. His bangs were almost in his eyes. My mom used to let my brother have hair like this and now he shaves it bald. The lesson I took from that is I better not keep Mason's hair too long so he won't shave it all off when he is old enough to do so. I don't have to worry about it now as you can see he doesn't like cutting his hair.

Kiss it right here

We have created a kissing fool. When Mason falls down we always kiss it to make it better no matter how big or small the crash is. The plus side is when he falls and it really hurts he calms quicker with a kiss, but the down side is when he falls and it really doesn't hurt, it still requires a kiss. Today he hit his fork on his tooth and wanted me to kiss it. So he opens his mouth and points to his tooth and says "right there". Sometimes if you kiss his body part that hurts but didn't plant the kiss on the right area you have to kiss it again as he points and says "no, right there".

Bye Bye

Ellery started waving hello and bye bye the other day and it is just precious. She waves backwards toward herself, but she is trying. She is also trying to talk more and mimic us a bit. She is always enthralled with Mason, she follows him every where. Some days he is ok with it and other days it is a different story.
I finally caught her hitting herself. We can't quite figure out what she is thinking when she does it. She recognizes that it hurts but still doesn't stop. Who knows, we probably shouldn't find it funny but we do.

Dream Dream Dream

I was brought out of my slumber last night by Mason calling to me saying he was "scared". When asked what he was scared of he states "monkey". I have no idea what the monkey was doing or why it scared him, but he quickly went back to sleep, but not before he asked me to "get out of my bed". He is still proud of his big boy bed and he is sharing it on his terms only. He did request that Ellery sleep with him one night and he does let you read books to him in bed, but he does let you know when it is time to get out of his bed. Clearly is doesn't matter what time of day or night it is he is lucid enough to let you know when your time is up.
As I got back into the bed that I am welcomed in I then hear owls hooting outside my window. At first it was just one owl hooting but I think it might have been a mating hoot because shortly after I hear two owls hooting and then none.
Back to the monkey, Rob had a meeting the other evening and came home with a lovely door prize. A monkey that has hidden rubber band arms and legs so you can catapult it across the room. It not only flies, it makes a hideous sound when it lands. Mason loves it, but it is a bit scary looking. It also has a helmet not pictured due to the fact that it flies so hard and fast it won't stay on the poor thing. I used to be able to play catch with a ball, but now Mason wants to play catch with the monkey.

Bath time Fun

We had a fun time playing in the bathtub tonight. Everyone got mohawks. Well, Ellery's hair is always sticking up so it really wasn't that much different for her, but finally sticking up in a styled way. Mason had a good time pouring water on his and Ellery's head and watching the mohawks disappear then then requesting another style.

Papaw Jim and Grandma Debbie

Fun was had by all this weekend. Papaw and Grandma Debbie came up for a visit and had a good time. Mason's first words one morning was "Jim, Papaw Jim" he wanted to go find him and play. The good news is that Papaw is an early riser so we would go downstairs with him and find Papaw and watch Barney and then play play play. Mason liked playing baseball with them and Grandma Debbie kept telling him to hold is tongue out while he tried to hit the ball and he followed her instructions through and through. It was hilarious watching him. Papaw was more serious and was teaching him how to stand and hold the bat correctly and Mason was again an excellent student and followed lead. Ellery was spoiled as well. Papaw will hold her until she cries and then he is quick to pass her off. I think they left exhausted but really enjoyed the time with the kids.
I did go out and eat lunch with just my dad and really enjoyed myself. It has been so long since we took time for just the two of us and it really meant a lot to me. Might have to become a trend when he visits from now on.

Brown Bear

Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see? I see a Mason looking at me. It is from one of Mason's favorite books. Usually the brown bear sees a colored animal, but today he saw a little Mason.
We went shopping with Papaw and Grandma Debbie this weekend. We spent a lot of time in the sporting good store while Rob and Papaw peeked at shotguns and other manly items. Mason had a great time looking at real stuffed animals. He requested his picture next to the brown bear and liked giving his best bear growl.

Mesmerized by Barney

Papaw came up for a visit and I had to get supper on the table so I put Barney on the TV and this is what I came back to. Everyone was snuggled up watching Barney, I even heard Papaw singing along to a few songs.
Mason is very interested in Papaws prosthetic legs and more enthralled when he takes them off. He didn't want to touch the stumps at first but warmed up to touching and looking at them later. He then points to his stumps and says "uh oh, what happened". We don't think he understands everything yet, but he understands enough to question something isn't right. He was first in line to help when Papaw took his legs off or was putting them on.

Fall Leaves

Mason had a great time playing in the leaves on Thanksgiving day with his cousins Colt and Cody. They were real good sports about letting him crash though the pile and building up another mound for him to plow through again.

Sharing with a treat

Mason is still having a hard time sharing these days. Some days he lets Ellery play with him while others he gathers his toys and hides them from her. He hides them by either sitting on them or putting them up high where she can't reach. This is a day that he hides them by sitting on them and I am trying to get him to tell me what he is doing, but he is distracted by what he finds on his finger.

Hair and Cooking

I can't get enough of this little peanut. She can now climb the whole flight of stairs without assistance and is quick enough to get up 2 or 3 when I turn my back on her for a second. I am also loving the hair. Rumor has it that I had hair like hers that stood straight up. She also is starting to really enjoy playing in the kitchen. I will sometimes find her and Mason playing it with Mason trying to make her eat his play food he made. "Here Ellery, have a taste of waffle."

Geeks vs Nerds

Is it better to be a geek or a nerd? Anyways we have them sitting on our sofa playing on their computers. Mason found them in action and then retrieved his computer so he could join the fun.
It really is a joy watching Mason interact and interpret things. He has been watching football on tv with us. I don't find it near as bad to have sports on in the background when Mason is around. He does enjoy watching it and will now run through the house and fall down like he has been tackled and then ask for help when getting up. We didn't realize he was mimicking the football players on TV at first but then we watched how after they were tackled the team helped each other up we realized that is why Mason was requesting assistance.

Treats

Publish Post

I am addicted to Family Fun magazine and I have to say Mason was delighted to make these treats with me.
I also learned that we never taught Mason what a turkey says. When I asked Mason what sound a turkey makes he looked at me with a blank stare, but he was quick to catch onto the gobble gobble.

Festive Hats

I spent the day cleaning up the house and putting up some Christmas decor. Rob is on 24 hour shifts every other day until Wednesday. It was fun putting up the tree and putting garland and lights around the house. I found the Santa hats and wore it around periodically and found one for Mason as well. I then found Mason's old baby santa hat for Ellery and waalaa it fit. I know a lot of people don't enjoy the Holiday's, but let the festives begin.

Growing up to the big boy bed

Mason slept in a twin bed for the first time tonight. We were a bit leery in switching him over after all the holiday commotion but we went for it and it went off with a huge success. He beams with delight over his new bed. We also learned he is having more trouble than what we thought with sharing. He isn't willing to share his bed with anyone yet. When Rob and I tried to lay in it he dictated that we move and get off. He does give a delayed please at the end. In a way I like seeing him in the bigger bed, it gives me a false sense of him being small again because the bed is so much bigger than him.
Here is the funny story on how we have acquired these beds. One of Rob's partners sent out an email asking if anyone wanted two twin frames and boxed springs. We of course jumped on the idea and when Rob brought them home I asked where are the mattresses. He informed he read the email wrong and that the mattresses weren't included. So we added buying a twin mattress to our never ending to do list. I hadn't completed that item on my list yet, but Rob took Hudson out for a walk with some family members and ended up meeting one of our neighbors who just happened to be moving two twin mattresses into their garage and was going to take them to goodwill. What are the odds? Crazy how things just work out for you.

Happy Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving in our new home was a lot of fun. We had 10 people from Rob's family over and it was a real treat. Mason was in heaven playing with everyone and I don't think Ellery spent any time alone.
I did brine my first turkey and I would highly recommend it. We had two heritage turkeys (free range) and I cooked one in an oven bag the day before and the other one I let sit in the brine for 24 hours and it melted in your mouth. I also made a cranberry sauce with red wine and it turned out heavenly as well. It was a lot of fun spending time with everyone and the real bonus is we get to eat on all the leftovers.
We are truly blessed and have a lot to be thankful this year. It is the smaller things we take for granted these days and have been trying to slow down to actually reflect and enjoy them. We have so many things at our finger tips and it is hard to imagine not having them or having to deal with much larger issues people are facing these days. Count your blessings, I know I am!

9 Month Ellery

Ellery is now 9 months and I think she is finally looking like she is growing. She is still a happy girl with a smile that brightens the room. She is starting to say mama and dada more and babbles non stop. She also will clap her hands together when you do or when you play patty cake. She isn't saying bye-bye yet, but I think she is getting close. She pulls up on anything and everything including the dog and the dog dishes are still a favorite hot spot for her. She is a cruiser on the furniture and when you hold her hands she will try to walk with you. She also now pulls up onto her knees and doesn't need to hold anything for balance. She loves to lay on pillows and is taking a liking to stuffed animals. I hear a baby doll calling her name in the future. She drinks ok from a sippy cup and loves to feed herself. She goes crazy on self feeding bananas, I think that is her favorite so far. She has also learned to cry when Mason snatches her toy and she has my patience, which is saying she doesn't have much. If she is trying to get a toy or starts slipping while she is pulling up she lets you know she needs assistance and isn't happy.

I want to take a nap

I was cleaning for our upcoming Thanksgiving company and was downstairs in the basement when Mason informed me that he wanted to take a nap. It really isn't that unusual for Mason to let me know when he is ready for a nap what is unusual is that he went and put himself down for a nap all by himself. I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor when he informed me he was ready for a nap and I asked him to give me just a minute. I noticed it was silent in the basement and called out for Mason with no response. He was no where to be found in the basement or main level. I walked upstairs to his room and find him laying in bed all snuggled waiting for a hug and kiss.

Visiting Nana

We had a great time with Nana while we were back. It is a real treat being closer to family and spending more time together in the flesh. Nana had a lot of fun toys the kids liked playing with and some of them are nicer than the toys we have at home.
Mason was also spoiled by his Nana. She had him cutting paper with scissors, pouring his own syrup from a mini syrup container, taking pictures with a real camera, mixing real pancake batter, and playing on real exercise equipment. She really knew how to handle him and let him express his own independence. She did inspire us on Mason's Christmas present. We are going to get him the new digital kid camera that fischer price came out with.
Note: Mason's favorite pal "Double" wanted to be in this picture"
Nana also has her 3rd book being published. I think it is my favorite story so far. We are very proud of her. Check out her site: http://www.maginthat.net/
I think it is pretty cool we can read our children books that their Nana wrote and published.

4 of the 5 Generations

It was Ellery's first time seeing her Great Grandma Carol in person. She is blessed to have a Nana, a Great Grandma, and a Great Great Grandma.

Happy 60th Anniversary

While we were back visiting family we were able to go out to eat with my grandparents and celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. I think it is a wonderful thing and not something that everyone gets to celebrate. My mom was brave enough to take a short road trip with us and the kids over to Hutchinson, KS. I was also able to catch up with a cousin that I hadn't seen since the 80's and meet his family.
We did have to drive through Yoder, KS and we passed a hand painted sign that said fruit cake on the side of the road. I looked at Rob and told him we could stop on the way home and get him some fruit cake. Rob was raised on fruit cake and is one of the last remaining people on this earth that actually like it. I think he thought I was kidding because on the drive back my eagle eyes were in search of the sign and once I saw it I made him pull into the drive of the old farm house. The sign on the door said ring the bell and come on it. I rang the bell and came out with fruit cake for Rob and homemade cinnamon rolls for everyone else. What a roadside treat.

Happy Meal

Mason had his first Happy Meal and I don't think he would have found the toy without some help. He was in heaven just eating french fries and having his own ketchup. He did get a little excited when he realized he got a toy as well. The sad news is that he really liked the toy, it was a monkey, and probably going to be his new favorite toy for the weekend until Papaw brought out Thomas the Train toys.

Visit with Papaw

We made a detour on our road trip in Salina, KS to eat lunch with Papaw and Grandma Debbie. Our fine dining experience happened at McDonald's in the play place room. We decided to let Mason blow off some energy while we all chatted. Papaw spoiled him with Thomas the Train trains that make noises and light up. Mason played with them in the car latter and he would say "thank you papaw" out of the blue. I think he really likes them.
It was fun watching Mason in the play area. They had a spiral stair case that went up really high and Mason started climbing it but then realized he was getting a bit high so he stopped and came back down. He wanted to go higher but it just took him 20 minutes to warm up to going higher and higher. He would climb up a step further each time and then say "look at me" then climb back down play in other areas and then turn around and do it again until he finally reached the top. He did reach the top but he didn't go into the crawling tubes, maybe next trip.