Flashback Fridays

Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought it would only be fitting to look back on Mason's first Halloween. I picked out his costume a month after he was born. I loved that this monkey costume had a banana on the head. Isn't he the cutest monkey ever?

Teething

It looks like Taylor is following in her brother's footsteps when it comes to teeth. Mason started teething around 2 months old. His gums would get all swollen and then go back down. This repeated until he was about 10 months old and he then got his first two teeth at the same time.

When you look in Taylor's mouth, you can even see her tooth buds under her swollen gums, but this has been that way since she was about 3 months old. Every morning I check to see if she is any closer to this milestone, but no such luck. So until then, she is feasting on biter biscuits and teething rings.

The other night, Taylor enjoyed her very first biter biscuit and loved it. I remembered how messy those things can get, so we stripped her down to her diaper and let her go to town. It was the highlight of her day.

Flashback Fridays

Adam & his brother, David, have a love for ALL sports. However, this is probably the only time you will ever see either of them wearing anything saying "Spurs" since they are huge Rockets fans. (Notice the matching haircuts)

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

I haven't really posted anything worthwhile, at least in my opinion, because it has been a bit chaotic in my house. There are moments when I think to myself that I'm so glad that Mason isn't going thru the dreadful "terrible two's" and then I get a wake up call and realize that it just comes and goes in spurts.

I would say that 80% of the time, Mason is a very well behaved two year old. He is polite and actually says "yes" instead of "yeah", and says "thank you" and "please" without being forced to say it. Then there are some days that start out with Mason sitting in time-out for the first 30 minutes of his morning. Great way to start the day, right? It's been like that for the past two weeks.

I really believe that a majority of these issues are due to his maturity level and not being able to communicate his feelings thru words. He has separation anxiety and doesn't understand that if he can't see us or if we leave, that we will be back shortly. How do you explain it to a two year old so that they can understand? This will usually then lead to him being mad and expressing his frustration thru slapping or throwing his toys. This is something he doesn't see at home or at any of his friends houses. How do I teach him to explain his frustration? Maybe I'm just asking too much, I don't know.

If I had to describe his personality in one word, I would say passionate. He loves his family and friends so much and shows them thru a ton of hugs, kisses, and knuckles. But he also has a passionate temper. Sometimes if he gets really upset and sad, it then turns to anger.

So the reason I haven't really posted anything fun or upbeat all comes back to this. I don't expect everything to be good all the time, but I just miss my sweet little boy. No one has a perfect life and we all face struggles. I want to be real. This blog is about the good, the bad, and the ugly and I would say this is the ugly.

As frustrated as I am with his strong-willed personality, I am thankful for that his characteristic.
I pray daily that God will help him to use if for good and channel that energy into something productive, as he grows into a young man. Until then, I'll be searching for my sanity.

Flashback Fridays

Although this picture isn't as old as some of the others, it was still almost 8 years ago (college days). We were out at Canyon Lake and it was my nephew, Jared's, first time on the jet ski. I have so many great memories taking the jet ski out and this was one of my favorites!

A day to celebrate

Happy Birthday Daddy!

7 months later

Seven months later and I finally finished decorating Taylor's room. It's hard to tell in these pictures but her room is painted in Sunbreeze Yellow and it compliments the hot pink and black so well. The letters were a gift from my cousin, Taylor, who also hung the same letters in her room years ago. I thought it was only fitting to use the same letters for our Taylor.

Recipe Sunday

I enjoy finding new recipes and I especially love finding blogs that are all about food. For instance, if you enjoy baking, then check out this site and this site. I have so many recipes that I can't wait to try. I usually plan out our menu for the entire month ahead of time. I cook at least three days out of the week, which allows for leftovers during the week and we like to eat out every once in awhile on the weekends.

A childhood friend of mine has a great recipe blog and I pull a lot of ideas from her site. Not long ago I tried one of her on the go meals, Bacon Calzones. Looking forward to something I have never made and the fact that it was easy, made it that much better. I decided to make them again tonight, but changed the recipe up a bit by adding chicken.

I cooked the chicken with the green onions and added half of a Hidden Valley Ranch packet for additional flavor.

Added the bacon

Ready to go in the oven

Right out of the oven

Ready to eat

Adam gave it a 9 out of 10.

I think next time I make it, I might add some Alfredo to it. I love experimenting with flavors.

Flashback Fridays

This was taken outside The Smithsonian when I was in 5th grade. My dad took my sister and I on a trip to Washington DC for a long Labor Day weekend. Notice that I was sporting the fanny pack.

Walgreens Photo DVD's

Yesterday, I was thumbing thru my Walgreens weekly ad when I came across this great coupon for a Personal Photo DVD for just $1. I couldn't pass up this deal, not to mention that all of the proceeds go directly to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The only problem was choosing which pictures I wanted in the DVD.

I love taking pictures and before digital cameras came along, I used to rush to the store and have them printed right away. Sadly, the last time I printed any pictures happened to be from our wedding and honeymoon. That was almost over three and half years ago. I have a ton of pictures that I want to print, but just the thought of uploading all of them to be printed and the cost (because you know I would want all of them), would be exhausting.

So I narrowed it down to Mason's baby pictures. I was only able to put a max of 100 on the DVD, so I then narrowed it down to the first 5 months. It was still a bit of a challenge for me, but I picked out some of my favorites. I went the Walgreens Photo Kiosk and uploaded the pictures, selected the music and that was all.

The DVD was ready last night, but the kids were already asleep and I was assured that since I already presented the coupon, I could pick up whenever I wanted and it would still just be a $1. After I made lunch this afternoon, we made our way to Walgreens. I picked up the DVD and couldn't wait to get home to watch it.

The cover is too cute and personalized with a photo and the title I chose. As I played the DVD, memories flooded back to me and sure enough, tears began to fall. They did a fabulous job and now I think I'm going to have more Photo DVD's made.

My how they grow

The other day I put Taylor in the high chair and she did pretty well sitting up without the straps. It was more of an experiment to see what she would do. I don't think Mason liked the fact that Taylor was in "his" high chair.

Awhile back, I bought some fleece pj's for Mason for the winter. In the fall, the temperatures at night usually cool down to the 50's, sometimes lower. Mason doesn't always keep the blankets on him, so I always worry that he might get cold at night. The fleece pj's are the perfect solution.

The other night, I pulled out the sports jammies and put them on him. I need to mention that I bought a 4T because I wanted him to be able to wear them this year and possibly next year. They were the perfect fit. A little room to grow, but not too baggy. I don't know what size I'll be buying next year.

Speaking of clothes, Mason currently wears a 2T in pants and they are still big on him at times. However, he wears anywhere from a 3T to 4T in shirts, depending on the brand. He still wears a size 8 in his shoes. He has been wearing a 2T in pants since last year, but I bought 4T for most of his shirts so he can hopefully wear them next year too.

Taylor is now in 9-12 month clothes. Although her 9 month sleepers and onesies are getting a little snug on her, so I'm sure she will be moving up a size pretty soon. Did I mention that she has been in a size 4 diaper since July? I look forward to her next checkup to see how much she has changed.

Mason's vocabulary

Mason is learning new words everyday. He still will point out what he is talking about it and will be stubborn at times when I ask him to use his words, but I'm trying to work on it with him. I can always understand what he is saying and he understands everything that I say. I'm sure I have left out a bunch or words, but off the top of my head, this is what I could think.

dog
nana (banana)
walk
toothbrush
aww man
amen
pray
hair
nose
teeth
ball
shoes
boots
dancing
chair
please
no
yes
night night
love you
mama
daddy
pa (grandpa)
granddad
mimi
taylor
sister
maddie
laura
jill
buttons
water
milk
cracker
nuggey (chicken nuggets)
snugglie
choo choo train
plane
train
honk
yay
tree
pillow
door
bird
picture
light
house
dino (dinosaur)
plate
fork
spoon
car
truck
puter (computer)
skype (yes he actually can say it and know what it means)
sit
blankie
color
kiss
bath
bubbles
hot
coffee
bed
mess
ouch
beach
phone
rah rah (ring ring)
hello
hi
uke (luke)
braden
potty
toes
seat
there it is
roll
oh no
sock
bug
poop
book
drink
thank you
mater
boo
silly
church
throw
ray
cookie
out
bike
bicylce
cheese
biscuit
tickle
soap
shh
baby
i don't know
perfect

Save At Home Mommy Giveaway

As I have mentioned before, I love this blog Save At Home Mommy! Right now she is having a fantastic giveaway and if any of you ladies are interested or are a fan of Avon, check it out. You won't be disappointed!

What to write?

I feel like blogging but not really sure what to write about. Any suggestions? Anyone have questions? Let me know what you think.

Church

So I decided to put this in the blog, because I want to remember it years from now. The other day I was at Target (surprise, surprise) and Mason & Taylor were both in the cart. I was busy doing my shopping, when Mason starts saying "church" over and over. I asked him if he wanted to go, and he politely said no. Actually, he says no to a lot of things these days. He continues to say "church" and then points to my shirt. I had a t-shirt on that had a church on it and he totally recognized it. I was so surprised, only because we don't have any books that have a church in it, so the only time we point out church is when we get to church each Sunday. The funny thing is the picture of the church on my church looks nothing like the buildings at our church. He is one smart little fellow. I love listening to him learn new words every day.

Flashback Fridays

My sister & I taken when I was either three or four.