Fall Festival #2

This afternoon Mom, Teresa, Mason and I went to the Fall Festival at Temple College.  There was (loud) music, hayrides, candy, and games, so it was a perfect Halloween time!  First, we went on a hayride.  Mason seemed to enjoy it - he loves tractors and trailers, so it was totally up his alley!

(Yes, we match.  Aren't we cute?  =)

Then Mason and Grammy went fishing!

Then we blew bubbles, because bubbles are awesome. 

After our fun and busy day, we were both looking forward to coming home to rest!  After some Veggie Tales, yogurt, and a bath, my little Pumpkin was passed out, and mommy is soon to follow!

Fall Festival #1

This morning, we went to the Fall Festival at Mason's daycare.  We decided to dress him up as Woody from Toy Story.  Grammy bought him some Woody pajamas, we found a hat and badge at Walmart, and Teresa found him some cowboy boots to complete the ensemble.  Here he is at "dress rehearsal" at Grammy and Grandpa's house.

Such a handsome little cowboy!

We had fun at the Fall Festival.  The weather was beautiful, and Grammy, Grandpa, Teresa, and James came to join us too.  It was really nice to be able to just watch Mason run around and explore without worrying about him getting into trouble.  Unfortunately, the boots were a little big, and the hat was a little small, so he didn't get to wear those to play in.  He's still adorable though!

 Yeehaw Cowboy!

Of course, Mason wasn't the only one who had fun...

We're off to Fall Festival #2 this afternoon!  I'm sure I'll be posting again! 

Happy Halloween!

Elmo the Pumpkin

We finally decorated Mason's pumpkin yesterday with his adorable and very scary Elmo.  Mason was very excited about playing with the pumpkin first, or "ball" as he so lovingly called it.  I think it was a little too heavy to throw!

 He thought it was pretty stinkin' cool that he could pull Elmo's hand out.  (And of course, the moment AFTER I took this picture, he flashed me a huge smile.)

We're still working on the Halloween costume for his Fall Festival at the daycare next week!  Don't worry, you know there will be tons of pictures!

Seriously...

Just when I think this kid can't possibly get ANY cuter...he DOES!  We've had a really good few days.  I've made more of a conscious effort to make sure I give him at least an hour of undivided attention before bedtime, and it's really made a difference.  I've also been trying really hard to leave my frustrations WITH work AT work instead of coming home already flustered.  It's not always easy, but it's totally not worth the headache and the mental separation from my little man.  He still gets upset when I'm cooking dinner or cleaning up and I can't sit with him, but I just do that stuff really fast and get to the good stuff!

Last weekend, we went to the library and we checked out a few new board books for us to read, since most of his books are getting a little boring (after reading them 17 kajillion times).  One of the books we got has the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" so we've been singing it a lot.  The other night (and several times since) he has totally started singing it on his own, but his version is soooo much better!  He'll put his hands on his head and say "Head, Toes!"  It totally cracks me up.  This morning he was singing "EIEIO" except it was "EOEO".  He just amazes me with how much he's learning.

Which brings me to my daycare update - I can't believe how amazing our daycare is.  He is learning so much and getting so much love it (almost) makes up for me not being with him all day.  The social interaction and crafts and lessons that he gets to do are awesome, plus he is now saying "more" and "please" and using sign language for both.  His teachers love him and tell me how awesome he is all the time.

I just love him so much.  He is the coolest kid, and I'm a lucky mom!

Pumpkin Patch, Then and Now

Today we went to the pumpkin patch with the Scotts.  It's hard to believe it's been a year since we went!  My, how things have changed! 

First we painted pumpkins (here's a little "Then and Now" for you!)

                                                Now                                                   Then

Then we took some pictures by the silo.

    Now                                              Then

After that, we used the beautiful pumpkins and scenery to get some good pictures.

 Now                                              Then

We did a few things this year that we didn't do last year, like watch the animals:

 Mason was most content watching safely from the other side of the fence...

And we played tetherball:

We had fun, but couldn't help but think of how things have changed in one short year!  Mason has very much developed his own personality and temperament, and he has become so independent!  He wants to do everything on his own, thank you very much!  It's fun to watch him explore and be adventurous, but it leaves mommy and daddy needing a nap!





I just wanted to say...

that you amaze me, little boy!  Okay, sometimes you drive me crazy too, but times like tonight, it's like I see you with new eyes and am reminded how lucky I am.  You are so handsome and funny, and cuddly when you want to be.  You talk up a storm and love to be chased.  You want to be treated like a big boy, and you've even learned to say please when you want something.  You love to read and we learned this week that you love stickers - especially when you get to put them on my nose!  Your teachers love you and tell me everyday how much they enjoy being with you.

Sometimes I forget to remember how blessed I am...

Home Sick

I don't really have much to say today, but I'm in the mood to blog.  =)  I'm home today, with my little stinker.  Yesterday afternoon, he had a temperature of 99.5.  I was already planning on taking a half day this afternoon for my dentist appointment and Mason's 18 month check up, but I decided then that I should go ahead and take the whole day - he's supposed to be fever free for 24 hours before going back to daycare, so I didn't have much of a choice.  So I was working on sub plans last night, when I looked over to find this:

He was totally passed out right there on the dining room floor.  Poor baby!

Well today, of course, he's fine!  Besides the snotty nose and cough that he's had for a month, he's his normal rambunctious self!  Works for me though - it makes it more like a vacation day than a sick day!  We spent our morning playing in the cabinets - his new favorite game is climbing in and closing the door behind him.  He says "Bye!" while he's closing the door - SO cute!

This weekend we went to the Scotts' house to have dinner and see the new baby.  Somehow I got out of there without any pictures of Miss Penny, but I did get a cute picture of Mason sitting at the table:

Which prompted us to stop at Walmart and get him a booster seat of his own!

The weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous!  We hung out outside at Grammy and Grandpa's house and enjoyed the nice weather (but NOT the mosquito bites!)

Mason's 18 month check up is this afternoon - I'll try to post again about how it goes!