Mini Van

Uncle Tom had to go out of town on business and flew out of the Omaha airport and brought down one of his company mini vans. He conveniently left it at our house and suggested we test drive it for the week. We took him up on his offer and I am surprised to say it wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be. Don't get me wrong you definitely don't feel sexy and feel like anyone is doing a double take on you driving down the road, but something has to be mentioned about its convenience. The kids loved getting in and out and opening and closing the door by a push of a button was nice. Mason really loved pushing the button to close the door and I had one of those slow motion moments when Ellery pushed the button while I was on the other side and she was happily smiling at me and leaning on the van while I watched the door coming at her. As I sprinted around the car to get her I missed her get away move and she was smiling as big as can be and tickled she got to push a button. I'd still prefer an SUV, but my mind isn't so closed to a mini van.

Sunny Outside

I walk around the corner and find Mason and Ellery sitting in the chair together in peace. That is odd enough, but then Mason informs me it is too sunny outside.

Garbage Man

I find all sorts of innovative things Mason does with his toy. He really is like a sponge and notices things that I don't think he notices.
Our friendly piggy finger puppets found themselves being garbage collectors. It amazes me how small children's minds work, they really do think outside the box and play and put things that we don't in our adult life due to limitations we put on ourselves for no unknown reasons. My kid has inspired me to break down these barriers and go the imaginative distance.

Come On Ellery

Ever since Ellery started walking Mason likes to call her and hold his arms out for her to walk into them. He has proven he can multi task and talk on the phone and hold out his arms calling for her sister. He gets really excited and says "Come here Ellery or Come On Ellery". He also has taken up to holding enticing toys for her to come get as well. She is walking more and more each day but still prefers to crawl. I think it is because she can go faster and keep up with Mason.

Sibling Love

I was capturing pictures of Ellery in her bows when Mason snuggled up into her and requested I take a picture. What an adorable fun loving brother. For the most part they get along great. Ellery looks up to Mason and loves to follow him where ever he goes. She is starting to show some independence from him, she will put her arm up to claim personal space along with toys if Mason approaches to quickly.

Colors

This is an "I think my kids are above average" entry. Not to worry, I am sure they will do something that will burst my bubble or question what path in life they are choosing but for today I am a boasting mama. Ellery can climb up into the chair herself. I am impressed because Mason couldn't/wouldn't climb on anything at her age. Also, look at how Mr 2.5 years can color. It appears he attempts to stay within a certain area rather then scribble on the whole page.

Peas in a Pod

Mason now enjoys crawling into the crib with Ellery. We will be playing and he with either state "I go wake up Ellery" or he gets excited when he hears her and states "Ellery is awake, I go get her" too cute. Sometimes he will look at me and then hold up a finger to me and say "I'll be right back" as he takes off to get her. He also refers to her as his baby sister. When people ask him who she is he says "my baby sister".

Scary Car Wash

I filled my car up with gas today and decided I should buy a car wash for 2 reasons, the car needed it and I used to love car washes as a child and I wanted Mason to experience it. I had two options, the touchless or the soft brush. The soft brush is what I grew up with so I pulled in and told Mason what to expect and what was going on. I either didn't explain it enough or my child is scared of car washes. He wailed the whole time, I traumatized him and since he was screaming and crying Ellery decided she should join in as well. So my fun time at the car wash wasn't so much fun.

Nap Time

Mason still takes a nap in the afternoons, but it has become increasingly hard to get him to take naps on the weekends for some reason. I kept at it today for 1.5 hours and he finally went down, but I found him doing interesting things and had to promise we would go see daddy at work if he took a nap. One might ask how do you get your pj top into this design. I believe he took his right arm up through the bottom of his shirt and out the neck hole. He wasn't bothered the least bit by it. He did take a 2 hour nap after this and I was true to my word and took Mason and Ellery up to the hospital to say hello to Rob since he had to work all day and night. My ulterior motif was to get Ellery weighed. She is up to a whopping 14.5 lbs that puts her almost to the 25%. WOOO HOOOOO!

Shopping Anyone?

Mason went shopping around the house yesterday and was filling his cart with all sorts of toys and balls. We then placed Ellery in the cart and off he went around the house pushing her. I think she was thrilled to be a part of the action rather than watch from the side lines. When I went to take her out he didn't want me to take her, but it was making us a bit nervous watching him. I think these two are going to be two peas in a pod.

My Little Peanut

We go from one extreme to the other. I am a bit sensitive on how small little Miss Ellery is. Everyone thinks Mason is a giant for his age and she is extremely small. I can't change it and I do hope she is a petite one, but I would like for her to be tall. She is eating solids like a champ and she sleeps through the night so I know she is getting enough nourishment. She is starting to pull up on all fours, but I think she is going to be the child that rolls to where she wants to go. We can't leave her on the middle of the bed anymore because she is never where you leave her.

Out but not Out and About

Man your position......Our morning rituals started when we had Ellery and Rob was basically gone half the month of March. Mason is our early riser and the first words out of his mouth are "Nemo" it was cute in the beginning and easy for me. I would take Mason and Ellery back to bed with me and while I fed Ellery I put on Nemo to keep Mason occupied. Therefore, I could dose in and out of sleep and stay in the horizontal position longer. Well, Ellery is now 4 months old and we still do the morning ritual that consists of watching Nemo while feeding Ellery while in the horizontal position. After 20-30 minutes of Nemo Mason starts asking to eat. Some days Ellery is awake and comes down stairs with us and other days she is fast asleep in our bed. This particular day I left two asleep in bed.

Update on the Javier Adventure

I haven't heard from Josie, the lady interviewing us with the camera man from court tv from our "u" turn incident. Rob thinks they found much more exciting things than a drunk passenger with a chatty kathy wife. I should have asked to be handcuffed, the cop was cute I should have requested to be frisked. Darn it, my prime time debut will have to wait.

Needle in a Haystack

I was out shopping today and when I went to admire how I looked before I made a big purchase I noticed I was missing a diamond earring. Rob had given them to me for Christmas 2 years ago. The year we only gave each other things that fit into stockings. I cheated and bought a stocking that came up to my waste where Rob stuck with the traditional size and filled it with shiny sparkling earrings that I adored. I of course hit the floor at the department store looking for my earring. I even took off the other one that I had and placed it on the floor to give me a visual of what I should be looking for. I had no luck at the store and walked out with my eyes glued to the floor and sidewalk hoping to spot something sparkly. I came home with tears in my eyes treating the earring like it was some sort of family pet. Rob was very supportive and said, maybe you lost it here, but call the store just in case they find it. I called the store and left my name and number. About 3 hours later Rob comes walking down the stairs and says, look what I found in the shower and pulls out my diamond earring. MY HERO. I had given up on finding my earring and wallowing in my pity when he saved the day. He wasn't taking a shower, but just looking around the house on where I might have lost it. I am happy he is completing his fellowship and going to practice medicine, but his CIS skills could be a back up for him. The crazy thing is that the store called later to ask me how big the diamond earring was because they think they had found it. I informed them that we had found my missing earring, and it goes to show their is honest people.

Ellery left behind

Mason is back in swim lessons and Rob was busy working the other day so I was able to go with Mason. That meant we had to leave Ellery with a babysitter. I left Ellery with Nadina the 12 year old girl who lives across the street. I think she is still a little young but it was only for an hour and she really enjoyed holding and playing with her. Every time we are outside playing Nadina comes over to play with Mason or hold Ellery for a bit. We also went to music in the park last night and Nadina and her family came over to say Hello. They then held Ellery for the rest of the night.

Mason is doing great in swimming lessons. He will float on his back with a lot of encouragement and isn't afraid at all. They have us take the kids to the side of the pool and make them climb out and then they are supposed to sit down on the side and lean forward back into the water. Mason climbs out like a champ, but he doesn't want to sit to get back in, he wants to stand and jump back in.

Shopping Spree

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Get your own

We went on a huge shopping spree in Omaha. We found a house on day 2. We are very excited and close on July 16th. Now we have to get in contact with the moving companies through Children's and get it all organized. We are very excited about our house. We are in a very nice neighborhood and the park is right down the street, but we already have a play structure in our backyard. Not to mention that we have a community soccer field in our back back yard. It will be heaven for Rob in teaching Mason soccer. We have 4000+ square feet finished including the basement. Our house here in Milwaukee is only 1400 square feet. We might need a map of our new house along with gps tracking so we can find everyone. We have a wonderful office off the kitchen with built in desks and bookshelves. Our kitchen flows into the living room with a nice fireplace. We have 4 bedrooms upstairs and 3 baths. Let me just say I could live in my bathroom and if we have another kid I could put a crib in our closet and not be cramped. The basement is open and big with 1 bedroom and bathroom along with tons of storage. Our 5 year plan is to get a bar built in the basement and change the counter tops in the kitchen. We are blessed and I can't wait to move in. A nice bonus is our neighbors have a pool. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought because our realtor had it listed on his website. The link will work until we close if you want to see more pictures.

http://markrenner.com/DispListing.asp?ListingID=116674&AdminID=444&PropertyType=A&BuyerID=

Travels Back to Omaha

We are traveling back to Omaha for a big shopping spree. We are going house hunting. Our house is still on the market in Milwaukee, but we hope that will change soon. Our flights are non-stop this time so that will make our travels much easier. Mason enjoyed the colors and the chocolate chip cookies provided my Midwest Express. Most kids fall asleep on the plane, but not ours. Neither one of them slept on the flights, they didn't want to miss any action. Ellery was a champ and smiled and cooed her way through the flight. Mason didn't seem scared this time when we took off and didn't say all done over and over until the last flight home. He was getting restless and kept saying all done as if it would make the flight done and he could get up out of his seat and off the plane.

He did accomplish a milestone while on the plane. He can say all of his other basic colors, but won't say yellow. He can pick it out for you, but is never correct in telling you the color until our plane ride. We were playing with colors and he said yellow for us. More like yallow, but he still said it.

Mason Helping Change a Diaper

Mason likes to climb up on the changing table and stand in front of you while you dress or change Ellery's diaper. Rob was changing her today and he actively participated in wiping her and changing the diaper. It is precious and makes me laugh. He really likes to help with anything he can. If you listen closely at the end when he tries to pick her up you can hear him grunt.

Constant Companions

Mason is my constant companion and really starting to mimic me. He was carrying his monkey stuffed animal around today and holding it like I hold Ellery and giving it kisses. It made my heart melt. Yesterday I shaved my legs in the shower with him and hiked up one of my legs on the side of the shower and when I was done Mason hiked up his leg as well. I wish I could have gotten a picture of a video of it, it was priceless. He also has been helping Rob with yard work and followed him around with his bubble mower as Rob mowed. We bought the old fashioned blade mower 2 years ago and since gas is so high we have really enjoyed it more this year. I am going to have to knick my bad habits since I have an audience eager to give their version of my performances. He also went with daddy and got a hair cut. I am not sure I like this barber of his, but I am too lazy to take him any where else. I have a hard enough time getting into my hair dresses so I am not going to get Mason in before me. ha ha

Ellery is really interactive. She defiantly talks and coos more than Mason did, but I think she even smiles more. She really lights up under her mobiles or anything that moves above her. She is so close to rolling over but can't get over that arm. She really favors her right side, I have not seen her ever roll to her left. She is sleeping like a champ. We put her down between 9 and 10 and she sleeps until Mason wakes her up at 6am.

Mason in sunglasses

I got Mason an inexpensive pair of sunglasses in hopes he would like them and then enjoy the real deal. Rob's first response to the monkey glasses was " you've got to be kidding me" and of course I wasn't. I think they are hilarious. Mason wore them off and on all morning. The monkey glasses are working in wanting him to put them on and leave them. He wore them from the house all the way to the doctors office for Ellery's 2 month check-up. Once we arrived I took the video and then he took them off and said "all done".