Mason's 3rd Birthday

Mason celebrated his third birthday on July 10th. Because we knew that we would be in Houston on his actual birthday, we had two parties. For the first party we had Mason's friends over to our house back in June. Since Mason loves all things Toy Story, I thought it would be fun to take all the kids and parents to see Toy Story 3, the weekend it came out in the theaters. I had no idea how Mason or Taylor would do at the theater, since they have never been to the movies before.

All the kids came over to our house that morning for cupcakes and to open presents. Afterwards, we loaded up and headed to the theater. I chose a morning show to avoid getting in the way of naps or lunch. It worked out perfectly. The entire time Mason sat on the end of his chair with his mouth open with excitement. He was thrilled and loved every minute of it.

Since Taylor is quite the wiggle worm these days, I was more worried about her more than any of the other kids. We decided to bring in her car seat and buckle her in during the movie. I recommend it to anyone with little kids. She was so comfortable that she slept through the entire movie. I was able to watch the movie in peace. By the way, if you haven't seen Toy Story 3 yet, go see it! It's a great movie.

For Mason's party in Houston, we rented the clubhouse in my parents neighborhood. We had Mason's party there last year and enjoyed the convenience of the space. Since we already had a party, we kept this one mostly family and small. Adam's grandparents came in from Frisco for the occasion. It was so great to see everyone and we are blessed to have so many friends and family love on our little boy. Thank you.

Taylor dancing

Mason got a Woody doll

Toy Story DVD

Opening presents

Tried to get picture with the birthday boy, but he was too budy having fun with the balloons.

Mommy & Daddy with Mason

Blowing out the candles

Mason loves candles, so we put all the candles on the cake.

Playing with the balloons. Best entertainment for the party, kept the kids busy for hours.

Yummy cake.

The Kaye's with Katelyn

Guests

Mason's cousin Faith playing hide n' seek

Mason holding his Toy Story plates at his friends birthday party. He really needed a haircut.

Mason & Daddy

Mommy & Mason

Friday Favorites

This weeks Friday Favorites are a bit brief. My allergies have flaired up due to the Houston weather, so I'm a little under the weather.

5. Watching Mason & Taylor play together.
The other night I was helping my mom do dishes and I looked into the living room and saw Mason & Taylor going back and forth chasing each other. They were both laughing up a storm and having so much fun together.

4. Eye Appointment.
It has been 10 years since I had my eyes checked. My vision isn't really bad and nothing is blurry, but I strain all the time, which gives me headaches. Trying to find time to get to an eye doctor when I'm home in Bakersfield is impossible, but luckily I can find time to do it while in Houston.

3. Hobby Lobby.
Yesterday, I had some time to kill while waiting to pick up my brother from football camp, so I decided to stop in Hobby Lobby. It's horrible that they don't have one in California. Luckily, you now can purchase online, but it's not the same. My heart skips a beat every time I walk in.

2. Taylor dancing.
Mason has always loved to dance, but not Taylor has really gotten into it. She has some sweet moves and it's pure joy to watch her shake it.

1. "A Heart Like His" by Beth Moore.
I just finished this biblestudy last night and I recommend it to everyone. My heart has been molded and transformed through this journey and it was exactly what I needed for this season in my life.

Blessings

There are many things I love about Texas, one being Kingsland Baptist Church. We switched churches so that my sister and I could go to church with friends from our school. I wasn't really thrilled about the idea and tried to fight it. Changing churches right before I started high school meant new friends all around and I am not a huge fan of change.

During that time, I began to build friendships and learn to like our new church. It was hard for me to admit it, because I didn't want to leave my old friends behind. However, I still remained friends with everyone from both churches. God taught me a lot during that process of change in my life and I'm so glad He did.

This past Sunday, the sermon was about "Suffering to be a Blessing." When you think about suffering in the Bible, usually you think of Job. Job suffered to be a blessing. Suffering is never easy and this doesn't mean that you can't cry, mourn, ask why, or be angry. It means that we are right with God through our suffering and when this happens, our thinking will align to His way of thinking and that is when we will be a blessing.

It's easy for me to think that if I just get through this struggle in my life, then things will be better and I can be a blessing then. But God wants me to be blessing in the good and the bad. He never promised life would be easy and He never promised we wouldn't suffer. It's through the struggles and the suffering in our lives that He molds us and teaches. That is when we grow.

Taylor

After writing the post about Mason, my attention was directed to the kids dancing and clapping of the hands. Of course I had to join in the festivities, therefore not leaving time to write Taylor's post. With the peace and quiet of the evening, and no interruptions, I can finally get around to her update.

In the last month, her personality is really coming out and I'm thrilled about this. She was a very calm and quiet baby. I remember thinking to myself that she would be the timid one and Mason would be the center of the party. Boy was I wrong. Whatever Mason is doing, Taylor is right there with him. They both love being the center of attention.

Taylor is a chatterbox. Even the doctor was blown away at her last appointment by how much she is saying and speaking in sentences. The girl is seldom quiet and if she is, you better go find her. From the minute she is awake, she is asking where everyone is by name. The minute you see her, she will say "hi" until you say it back to her. We joke that she should be the greeter at church on Sunday's.

As friendly and outgoing as she is, there is still a bit of separation anxiety. Usually she prefers Adam and I to hold her. If someone else tries, she thinks we are leaving her and begins to cry her little eyes out. Most of the time, we experience this on Sunday's when she goes to the nursery at church. However, this happens even with family sometimes. Mason went through this phase at that age, so I'm not too worried about it. It breaks the grandparents hearts, but she still says hi and blows them kisses.

The girl loves to give kisses and makes a big "muah" sound at the end. I've noticed she will kiss me when someone new walks in the room or she doesn't want someone to hold her. I think it's her way of marking her territory.

Most of the time, Taylor and Mason play well together. She will follow her brother around the room and do whatever he is doing or say what he is saying. She really looks up to him. The other day, Connor did something to Mason that Taylor didn't like. We were in the car driving and all three were in the backseat. I turned around and Taylor shook her little finger at Connor and pinched his arm and told him "no!" I had to hide my laughter and explain we don't pinch. But I was so proud of her for sticking up for him. No one messes with her bub!

Miss Thing also loves clothes, shoes, accessories, and jewelry. A true girly girl. As soon as she is dressed for the day, she will walk in the room and go over to whoever is in there and begin pointing out her dress, bows, and shoes. I've even caught her twirling. It's hilarious to watch. She is our little fashionista.

Her hair is finally long enough where I can put it up. I can get two little pig tails in, but she usually will pull those out. Bows are starting to make a comeback, which makes me happy. As of lately, her hair is pulled to the side up top. It sort of looks like pebbles.

I will do better about posting on them more often.I'll even get around to posting pictures.

Ten on Tuesday

Even though it's late in the evening, I still wanted to get around to doing my Ten on Tuesday. This is Chelsea's 40th week of posting Ten on Tuesdays.

1. How do you take your coffee on an average day? How do you like your coffee if you are splurging?
I prefer to drink my coffee with just a splash of cream, nothing else. Even if I spend a little more money on coffee somewhere, I might order a vanilla spice latte.

2. What is your genre of books to read?
Autobiographies. It's like being a people watcher through books.

3. Where do you want to retire if you could go anywhere?
If I had the luxury of retiring anywhere, it would be Lanikai, Hawaii.

4. The 17 year old you is told to write a 10-minute speech. What topic would you have picked?
Wow, back then I probably would have talked about peer-pressure.

5. What word describes you best.
Optimistic

6. What is the next event you are looking forward to?
Family vacation in a few weeks.

7. Do you like to discuss controversial topics or do you prefer to avoid those type of conversations?
There is a time and a place to discuss controversial topics. That being said, I do enjoy talking about politics, money and world issues. The key is respecting that someone can have a different opinion than you.

8. Would you rather add 4 free hours to each day or add 1 extra day to the week?
1 extra day to the week, that way we could have a three day weekend.

9. If you created a sports team, what would your colors and mascot be?
My husband would do a better job at answering this question. I suppose blue and while and the mascot would be a mustang. Those are the colors of my high school and the mascot, see I'm not good at this question.

10. If you had to be a teacher, what subject would you teach?
Government. Growing up, I loved English and thought about it for awhile, but I don't think students know enough about Government as they should.

Mason

It's been awhile since I have written any sort of updates on the kids. I figured I would do one for each. Mason recently celebrated his 3rd birthday and yes pictures were taken and he had two parties. When I have more than 30 minutes, I will get around to posting about it.

Mason has a fascination with Toy Story. He has seen all three movies and has a plethora of Toy Story items. His 3rd birthday parties even centered around it. One minute his favorite character is Woody and the next it's Buzz. He even thinks he is "Andy" the main character. This probably has something to do with the fact that "Andy's" little sister in the first movie is a baby and has blonde hair.

His favorite game right now is Hide and Seek. He prefers to count, while I hide. When I jump out, I usually scream and try to scare him. Most kids would cry, but our son loves it. The best part is he screams like a girl. It cracks me up every time and anyone else that is around to witness it.

He's been spending a ton of time with his cousin Connor. I love that they are close and have the same admiration for one another. They will be the best of friends growing up. Mason really looks up to Connor. With them being only 16 months apart in age, they share a lot of the same likes and play very well together.

Mason still loves to wake up his little sister in the mornings. As of lately, he usually wakes up around 6:30am, so I try to keep him entertained for a bit, while Taylor sleeps a little longer. He always wakes up with a gusto of energy. Since we are all sharing a room together, while staying at my parents, if I don't usher him down stairs right away then the whole house would be awake due to him.

We are struggling with a very picky eater. His favorite foods consist of biscuits, waffles, toast, spaghetti, grilled cheese, certain chicken nuggets, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and sometimes mac n' cheese. See the pattern? The boy loves carbs. He will eat a ton of fruit as well, but doesn't really venture out to other meats or vegetables. This issue will be discussed in more detail with his doctor at his yearly checkup when we return.

Unfortunately, he still hates haircuts and getting his nails trimmed. I grouped these together because his reaction is the same with each. Actually, I'm sure he hates getting a haircut more than anything. The other day, it took four people to hold him down. I certainly dread these days, but I hopefully go into them each time will be different.

One thing that I have heard over and over again from friends, family and and acquaintances is that Mason is very loving. He has a huge heart and wears his heart on his sleeve. I love this about him and I pray it's a characteristic that continues to develop into adulthood.

Ten on Tuesday

Being on a semi-vacation here in Texas has made my posts inconsistent. It's not on purpose, I'm just soaking up every minute I can with my family. This weeks questions are a little different but different can be good. Thanks Chelsea.

For each of the following 10 categories, tell us which brand/product you use and why.

1. Cellphone - Razor Phone. I've had it for awhile and I only use my phone for talking and texting. Not afraid of technology, just don't like the obsession people have with phones these days.

2. Email - Hotmail. I had a yahoo account when I was younger, but I always got a ton of spam and their filter isn't the best. I haven't had any problems with Hotmail.

3. Toothpaste - Colgate Max with Breath Strips. We like the cinnamint flavor. We bought it once and liked it so we stick with it.

4. Car - Mazda 3 and F150. Adam's is a company vehicle and the Mazda 3 was actually Adam's choice of car. When he got the company truck, I took the Mazda 3 and sold my car. I have had a very good track record with Mazda and can't complain.

5. Writing Utensil - Adam used to work for Argent Mortgage. He would get boxes and boxes of company pens in the mail to give to his clients. When he left the company, we had a couple of boxes left over with these pens. They are great and are all over our house.

6. Lotion - Right now, Vaseline Sheer Infusion. I have extremely dry skin and KP, so I can't just use any lotion. I was using Eucerin and have been for years, but I had a coupon to try it and I found it works just as good without the greasiness of Eucerin. I might have to switch back in the Winter depending on how cold it gets.

7. Interior paint - We used Valspar on our house. I can't recall the names of all the colors in the different rooms, but we were very pleased with the paint. It was also recommended to us by a painter that used to paint houses for custom builders.

8. Soda/Drink - I don't really drink Soda. I prefer Water or Iced Tea.

9. Laundry Detergent - Arm & Hammer for Sensitive Skin. I have sensitive skin and if I switch to something else, I break out in hives.

10. Medicine - The off brand of Tylenol or Ibuprofen. I prefer to have both in the house so you can alternate if need be.

Friday Favorites

This is the most blogging I have done in one week. It feels like things are finally starting to get back to normal, if that is even possible. This has been a delightful week for many reasons. Here are my tops five favorite moments or things happening this week.

5. Getting my hair trimmed.

Even though my sister is a hair stylist, I'm not that great at getting my hair cut as frequently as I should. This is partly due to the fact that she is the only person that has cut my hair for over 15 years and when I have let someone else cut it(twice), I feel like I'm betraying her. Christina (my sister) completely understands, but I'm loyal.

Even though she was busy, Christina was able to fit me for a long overdue trim. My favorite part of getting my hair done is sitting down to have your hair shampooed. Completely relaxing to me. I tell her all the time that I wish someone would do that for me daily and style my hair.

Last time I was home, I had her order my favorite new shampoo and conditioner, called ENJOY. It's perfect for my hair. I have very fine hair, but a ton of it. Therefore, making it look thick. I haven't colored my hair in several years, but I do style it frequently, and I prefer a hydrating shampoo and conditioner. 4. Adam's vacation.

We have had the pleasure of 10 whole days with Adam. I'm trying to soak it all in, because as soon as Sunday rolls around, he will leave to go back to California and it will be another 5 weeks before we see him again.

3 & 2. Katz Coffee and Bagel Cafe with a friend.

I decided to combine the two since Bagel Cafe is one of my all time fav places to go in Katy and they serve my favorite coffee, Katz Coffee. This morning, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Kathleen for some bagels and coffee. I introduced her to my favorite spot and we enjoyed our breakfast and chatted. The last time I saw her was probably her brother's graduation, but we have kept up with each other through the blogsphere. I brought my camera, but forgot to snap a picture. Since I will be in town for awhile, we hope to meet up again.

2. Eclipse.

Originally, I had tickets for the midnight showing the day it came out, but my plans changed and I had to give away my ticket. This week, I finally had a chance to see the movie. Overall I was pretty pleased with it. My favorite movie thus far. Breaking Dawn was my favorite book in the series, so I think it will top all the other movies.

1. Mason's 3rd Birthday.

July 10, 2007, Mason David Gregory Kaye was born. My little boy is turning three tomorrow and he can hardly contain his excitement. Last night he was so excited, that he was too wired to fall asleep. We celebrated his birthday with his friends this year and hadn't planned on having a party for him with family, until we got several requests from family members. Tonight we will have a small get together for cake and presents.

4th of July Weekend

Hurricane Alex didn't even hit Houston, but we received a TON of thunderstorms, rain and flooding. Adam flew into Houston Friday afternoon and it took me 4 hours to pick him up from the airport due to Houston drivers. People need to learn how to drive in the rain.

We had the pleasure of spending the weekend with both sides of the family. Adam's brother and wife came in from Waco for a few days. It was the first time all of us were together since November for Laura & Matt's wedding.

Saturday night, we headed out to El Tiempo Cantina for some delicious Mexican food with Adam's siblings and spouses. As we were dining, our friend, Don, happened to be at the same restaurant and stopped by our table to say hi. It was a nice surprise, considering the last time we saw Don was almost 3 years ago.

Sunday morning we went to church and had the pleasure of watching a 94 year old woman get baptized. It was the sweetest thing and brought tears to my eyes. After church and naps, we headed over to Laura & Matt's for a bbq. Taylor was super tired after eating, so we took her home and the rest of us went to see the fireworks at La Centerra in Katy. Seriously, the best fireworks show I have ever seen. Highly recommend it to anyone next year. You will not be disappointed.

Finally, I promised pictures. My camera is getting plenty of use right now, so check back for more over the next month.

David, Matt & Adam

Tab, Laura, & Emily

Tab & Laura

Adam & Tab

Grandpa & Mason

Daddy with Mason & Taylor (the house isn't crooked, I just didn't take the picture right)

With my baby girl.

Taylor waking up from her nap and holding her baby Molly.

Mommy & Daddy with Mason waiting for the fireworks to start. This was after a haircut.

Mommy & Mason with Granddad and Uncle Kris

The boys waiting for the fireworks to start

Ten on Tuesday

It's been awhile since I had the pleasure of having time to sit down and actually do the Ten on Tuesday posted by Chelsea. My excitement peaked as I read the questions and couldn't wait to answer them.

1. If given the opportunity, would you choose a mediocre job that paid well or your dream job that paid poorly?

I would choose my dream job. Yes, money is nice, but I would rather love what I was doing. Money can't buy happiness and the things it does by only buys happiness until something breaks.

2. What is your favorite thing about the 4th of July?

I LOVE THE 4TH OF JULY! It's my favorite holiday. Grilling outdoors with family and friends, swimming, watching the fireworks, and celebrating the Nation's birthday and being thankful for everyone that has served and is serving for our freedom.

3. What's the most random fact that you know about American history?

Only two presidents signed the Declaration of Independence: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and both of them died on the 4th of July exactly 50 years after signing it.

4. What is the best fireworks display you have ever seen?

This year's fireworks at La Centerra in Katy. Best show I have ever seen and we had front row seats. We pulled off of the side of Grand Parkway and sat about 100 feet from where they were going off and had a spectacular view.

5. Who taught you how to put on makeup?

My mom. When I was a child, she used to put her makeup on at the kitchen table with a big mirror. I would watch her every move.

6. Have you ever gone through a financial planning process?

Yes, I recommend Dave Ramsey to everyone! Debt free is the way to live.

7. What was your favorite outfit as a kid?

I don't think I had one.

8. Do you prefer a beach, lake, or the pool, or no water?

On any given day, the pool, then the lake and then the beach. Each have their own qualities that I love.

9. Do you recycle? If not, why?

No. It's not that we don't care about the environment, but I just don't have the time to take it the recycling center. Our neighborhood has a monthly pickup, but it costs and I think it's stupid to pay someone that much money to recycle.

10. What are your thoughts and feelings about the Twilight Saga?

At first, I thought it was stupid. I'm not into vampires and thought it was a lot like the Buffy craze. My sister was very into the series from the beginning and after the movie came out, I was at her house and we watched it. It was good and she lent me the first book. I read the entire series in less than 10 days.

Bodily Fluids

I seriously miss blogging and more importantly, miss blogging fun posts that include pictures and something worth of substance, but the last month has just been blah. It is known as "the month of bodily fluids," which I think speaks for itself. There is nothing exciting that can come from it.

Unfortunately, the kids stomach bug followed us all the way back to Texas. Taylor threw up right before we boarded the plane and I didn't even have a change of clothes for her. Luckily, I had her blanket to keep her covered, but I certainly got some looks. Then she threw up all over herself in HEB. I felt so horrible for her and was mortified. Finally by Wednesday, she started to feel better. Unfortunately, both my parents came down with the stomach bug. Praying it doesn't spread any further.

Adam is here in Houston with us for the next 10 days. It's the first time he has had a vacation when we didn't have a wedding or some event planned. Being able to enjoy this time as a family is something I have looked forward to for a very long time.

Brief delay from blogging

The craziness hasn't subsided yet. Once it does, I will finally get around to blogging again and posting pictures.