Christmas...Whew!

Boy was it fun and fast this year. All you other moms and dads with little tikes...once they hit two, the instinct to tear paper kicks in!

It has been a hectic week at Mason's house. Amber had to work until Friday, her folks came in Monday, and now all the sudden it is the day after Christmas. Where did it go? Mason has been recovering from an ear infection with a ruptured drum...soooo the few nights leading up the big Day were filled with sleepless nights...not due to the excitement of Santa Clause. Finally, Christmas night, he decided to sleep all night...yesssss!!! Now back to work. Ugh.

Starting last Saturday, the 22nd, Amber decided it was time to potty train. After ten accidents on Saturday, she wasn't so sure of herself. Then Sunday, only one...and only one since then. We are so proud of our little man! We have No. 1 down pat and he is coming around on No. 2. I feel like I will be receiving a raise if I don't have to buy diapers any more! Whooo hooo!!! I have done my best to show my son how to sit on the pot and read some literature...I think he is getting that also!

What to tell? Mason got a new Radio Flyer scooter, which he is still figuring out. Hungry Hungry Hippo, which you must all come watch him play. Every time his hippo eats a marble, he says, "Mmmmmm." It is hilarious. Also, a battery powered Thomas engine. You wouldn't thing that one AA battery would make the train set new all over, but it does. :-) Many books, many hot wheels, and many clothes. We are truely blessed.

We had Christmas eve dinner with Amber's family here at our house. Christmas day, Amber, Mason, and I, opened out gifts here at home then proceded to my mom and dad's for Christmas there. We decided this year to have Christmas supper rather than lunch so that no one would be hurried or rushed in the morning. It was nice. After way too much to eat, we played a few games of dominoes (interesting with Mason in your lap) while the women chatted in the living room. Then off to bed...the first complete nights rest in three or four days.

I guess that is all I have to report. I would ask you all to pray for my sister-in-law's neice Betsy. She has fluid on the brain and the doctors don't know why and they can't get it to stop. She is in the hospital in Ft. Worth. The family is having a tough time on many fronts, so add her to them prayers if you will.

We pray each of you had a day as wonderful and joyfull as us, celebrating the birth of our Savior. Also we pray each of you have a new year filled with hope and happiness as we enter 2008.

The Little Gym

Who'd of thunk it? Buy a mid-sized office space, put mats all over the floor, throw in a few balance beams, a couple of uneven bars, and some music and you would have an instant birthday hit. Booked all day every weekend for 1 1/2 hour partys. This Saturday we went to Mason's friend Landyn's birthday party at the Little Gym.

What a blast. You would have thought that Mason had already participated in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics in the "All Around" gymnastics competition. He ran straight in and hung from a set of uneven bars with his feet out in front in the proper position. All the other parents asked if he was in gym or had been there before. I apologize as a father and parent, I have not taught him to refrain from showing out yet. :-)


After all the playing we went into the refreshment room for cake and presents. You would have though that Mason had never had cake, or a Hi-C in a box. His mama had a hard time keeping him from wiping his hands on his clothes. Mmmmm...cake is good!

If you ask me, the Gym is a good idea, but the schedule was poor planning. You feed a dozen three year olds cake and punch, then make them sit down and watch one kid open all the gifts...not going to happen. We had to put Mason in "lockdown." As you can see for yourself, he is fairly distraught. Eventually we did get to play more though!

He slept good Saturday night. Sunday we had a day of church, naps, and play. It didn't seem to bother Mason that the Cowboys lost, so I didn't let it bother me either. Mason talked his Nana into getting under the train table and inspecting daddy's construction of said train table. He tells you where each nail is and babbles on about how it is put together. I'm sure he know more than I do already...just don't tell any of the people I am working for!

And finally, on a sad and happy note all in one. Mason will be privileged to join Ms. Tina Sorrell and others at the Methodist Readiness School starting in January. We are very excited that he was able to get in such a wonderful school. His current care provider had decided to return to work after this spring semester and we were going to have to find alternate care then. We are sad that he will not get to play with his dear friends he has made at "Mrs. Julie's" any longer.

He has loved his time there, but I know there is much to learn and fun to be had on the loop in J'Ville! What can I say, I went to preschool there and look how great I turned out! Ha!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas! As Mason said repeatedly tonight as he sat in the entry way playing with his monster trucks, "Ho, ho, ho...Merry Christmas!"

Dallas, TX

What can't you do in Dallas, TX? I mean, when you are two years old and your Aunt Jaime invites you to see the train exhibit at Northpark Mall, what else could match that? We had a action packed weekend with lots of fun and friends.

Saturday we woke up early and shot up to Big D in a flurry with Gigi and Granddad. We arrived at Aunt Jaime's apartment and quickly left for the park. Boy did we have fun there...so much fun that we left the camera in the car. Mom had hers, so we will have pictures from the park at a later date.

After a quick bite for lunch, it was off to the hotel for a nap...Mason at least. After nap time, it was back in the auto and off to Chris, Alison, and Josh's house for a quick visit. We had a great time catching up with them and lov'in on their little guy. Josh and Mason played well together, didn't seem to bother them that one was a Longhorn and one was a Bear. :-)

Oh yeah, left the camera in the car at Chris and Alison's also. UGH.

After our goodbye's, we were off to the Cheesecake Factory. Nuff said. We all walked out of there about 10lbs. heavier. This was Amber's birthday meal, so no one held back! Whew...I didn't know I could eat that much. We were also priviledged to meet my sister's "friend" Jason. He was very pleasant and we enjoyed his company for dinner...hopefully we will see him again. Hint, hint. Then off to bed...no trouble sleeping after all that food.

Finally, finally, Sunday was here. The day to see the trains! We went to the mall early, arriving 30 minutes before the shops opened, only to find out that the train exhibit didn't start until noon. So, we roamed around, shopping here and there, ate some lunch and then headed to the "show!" Mason loved it. He had a look of awe on his face the entire time. You could tell he really wanted to touch them, but had enough respect and restraint to know that he couldn't. We could have spent all day in there and he would still want to see more. I would recommend it to anyone with kids.

Sad times, sad times, we had to get in the car and come home. The Masonator slept a little over half way home, which was good. I think Gigi did also. :-) At any rate, we had to go back to work yesterday to get some rest from the weekend!

Just Digg'in

As we are about to celebrate our two year, five month birth date, Mason is funner (I know that isn't a word) than ever! We have so much fun with him. He has such a different personality than either of us. I see little quirks of mine and small subtle things he does like Amber, but mostly he is a person of his own and that is so cool.

The weeks just fly by, and we don't really have a lot of excitement during the week...but on the weekend, watch out world! This weekend we got to RIDE ON A BACKHOE!

This treat (for Mason) was courtesy of my parents septic system malfunctioning over the Thanksgiving holiday. I helped my dad redo all the field lines on Saturday morning and Amber made sure Mason was there to see the tractor in action.

I think the boy will be a tractor operator. He gets such a thrill out of making the bucket go up and down and turning the steering wheel back and forth. We could have rode that thing all the way to Montana and he wouldn't have cared.

Look at the pumpkin man here. As strange as it is, our little man has a special place in his heart for pumpkins and acorns. These are two of his favorite things to play with...along with dirt.

His favorite toys right now are his miniature monster trucks (oxymoron), his basket of groceries, his Thomas train set, and his Frosty the Snowman stuffed doll. Mason is crazy about Frosty. He goes around singing the song all day at the top of his lungs..."Fwosti da snow man was a jowy happi sowl." One of his favorite thing to say now is "Mama...what chu been doing?" "Daddy, where hab chu been?"

As I began saying, he is tons of fun. I can't remember what it was like before he was around, but it couldn't have been as fun as this!

Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving is about all that was happening around Mason's house this week. Here is a snazzy picture of he and his Gigi playing with his new construction set on Thanksgiving day. As many presents and "surprises" as this boy gets from his grandparents (both sides), Christmas is just going to be another day. Ha!

We had a nice day at my folks. Amber's dad was able to come up from San Antonio and we enjoyed his visit. Jaim-o got to come home also. Although I did not get to spend much time with her, Mason always enjoys his time with his aunt Jaime.

Mason is getting smarter by the day. I have realized that kids discover the same things more than once and in more than one way. Take Mason's toy plastic car that squirts water, for example.

First he realized it was a toy and played with it in the tub. Next, he realized it was a car and made motor sounds and drove it around the tub. YESTERDAY...he realized if he filled it up with water he could squirt mom and dad AND the whole bathroom! We could hardly tell him to stop for laughing so hard. :-) We were both soaked.

He is also speaking very well. Complete sentences and complete thoughts...except when the imagination kicks in and he starts making up words. Tonight I was a "shaker" and he was a "snipper." Whatever that means. He plays very well by himself. I think his Magnadoodle was our best investment thus far.

Chris, you will like this, he talks constantly about drums and playing in the band. I think it will be fine if he is in the band, as long as he falls somewhere between "Peetie" from American Pie and Tommy Lee. Either extreme may push me off my rocker! He is excited about Christmas and wants a set of drums. I am told he is getting some from his Nana and Gramps...I hope they come with a large bottle of asprin!

Well, I will leave you all with a picture of our pudding monster. How thankful we are for him. How thankful we are for the priviledge of parenthood. So many things we are thankful for this Thanksgiving and high upon our list are you, our friends and our family.

A Troubling Week

In a week normally filled with excitement and anticipation for the upcoming holidays, dear friends of ours had a tragic death in their family. Steven and Trisha Jones are dear friends of ours and her brother and sister-in-law, Bryan and Sarah Moran, are aquaintences through them. Bryan and Sarah tragically lost their youngest daughter, Audrey Kate, only two years and seven months old. I'm sure I have told many of you personally of this tragedy, but those whom I have not, I ask you to pray for them as often as you can. Pray for Bryan and Sarah, for their stregenth, and peace for their hearts. Also pray for their two other daughters, Caroline and Mary Claire, along with the rest of their families.

At a time of year when familys come together to share the holidays together, sometimes the idea of how fragile life is and how often we take it for granted gets lost. We just expect everyone to be at Thanksgiving dinner, just like last year and the year before that. Only the Lord our God has enough wisdom and comprehension to understand such a tragedy as the Moran family has gone through. Who are we to question God...yet our hearts are so heavy for this family. I ask you once more to pray for them dilligently, and cherish each moment you spend with every friend and family member over these holidays.

On a happier note, we would like to welcome Parker William Travis to the neighborhood. Sorry I don't have a better picture, but this is what I've got. Parker is a little over a month old, mama and baby are doing well and daddy is back to abnormal. He is a cutie!

We are also looking forward to "baby Wade" who is on the way sometime the first part of January! I'm sure she will be a cutie also. I can see she and Parker holding hands already! Ha!

Well, Mason has had a fairly uneventful week here at his house. We went to IHOP on Saturday evening for dinner. Mason had a smilie face pancake with strawberries for eyes and bananna slices for the mouth. He ate all the fruit and didn't have much to do with the pancake...normally one of his favorites.

We also decorated for Christmas this week. That is an event with a two year old running around with ornaments and whatnot. Whew. He is going to be a lot of fun this Christmas, I can already tell.

Mason is excited about his Gramps coming to see him Thursday morning. He is always talking about Gramps' house. He has only been to Colorado twice and San Antonio once, but it is Gramps' house this and Gramps' house that...sorry Nanna. :-)

We will be going to Gigi and Grandad's house for Turkey day. Lots of family as I understand. Mason's favorite thing at Gigi's house is the dirt pile, Granddad had something to do with that. Mason loves playing in it and making "tini tiny hiney slides," as he calls them when he slides down from the top of the pile. It may be too cold Thursday, but we will see. May just have to get bundled up and get dirty.

We wish each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"My Hero's Have Always Been Cowboys"

Oh, so I'm supposed to update this blog thing more than once a month? Just kidding. We had a computer meltdown and are just now back up and running.

We have so much to talk about and so many pictures from the whole month...where to start? Halloween, why not. Our big guy was a cowboy as you can see. He ran around saying "trick-or-treat" and "yee-haw!" We went to our church for the fall festival. Mom and dad went with us because Amber and I had to work in a booth part of the time. Mason had a blast!

His new favorite thing to say is "I did," or "I have," when you ask him a question. He is being stubborn about the "yes sir" and "yes maam" thing, thus the new favorites. What a little toot.

We also went to see Thomas the Train a few weeks ago. That was really right up his alley. Mom got us all tickets and we went to Rusk and rode "Thomas the Tank Engine." The music was a little loud during the ride...Mason held his ears most of the time, but had a load of fun. We got some stick on "tats" and bought us a new backpack from the gift shop. I don't know which one, the crips or bloods, wears the Thomas gear, but we are decked out!

His Gramps also came to see him two weeks ago. That spurred on a trip to the zoo! He always loves the zoo...and his Gramps! They had a big weekend together.

Aunt Jaime came in this past weekend and spent the whole morning Saturday with us. From doughnuts to haircuts to checking out the JFD firetrucks to fixing flat tires, we had a busy Saturday morning. He loves getting to see his aunt Jaime and telling her that she drive a silver jeep and lives in Dallas. (I think she already knew those things ;-)

I suppose that catches you all up on our happenings. I thought I would leave you all with the view of my son that I most often get as I am chasing him wherever he may go. My favorite times are when I can just sit at a distance and watch him play. What an imagination has. How I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

Camping, football and everything Fall

Well, get this, we took our big guy camping Friday night for the first time. He had a blast. We went to Tyler State Park with his uncle Greg and aunt Liz. All the boy could talk about was "pitch tent...pitch tent." Needless to say, he has a book that is entitled "Me and My Dad," which talks about a boy and his dad camping. We pitched the tent and then set up the pack-n-play inside...what a sight...which brings me to my point. Tent, sleeping bags, pillows, food, clothes, blankets, pack-n-play, toys and...no camera. Yeah, yeah...I don't want to hear it. He had enough fun we will go back soon and take the camera...probably will forget the tent, but who can remember everything?

All you Longhorn alum don't get too fired up about Mason in this tee. I just couldn't find a "My First Baylor Tee" at the local Academy. It is hard to find good cheap tee shirts for the boy...this one was on sale for $2.00.

Aunt Jaime was home for the weekend. She has purchased a new silver Jeep and is flaunting it to everyone else who wishes they had a jeep to cruise around in. I am happy for her. She was also home for her ten year reunion. That really makes her old...that really makes me three years older than her old...ugh.

Sunday, we went to church, watched the Cowboys and then took our usual trek down to the Jacksonville Indian football practice field. Mason loves having 100+yards of burmuda grass to run around on. His favorite things to do are climb on the tackling dummies (rectangles, as he calls them) and blocking pads (trapazoids)...then when he has conquored all the foam shapes laying around, we throw the football and soccer ball and he commences to driving his dump truck around collecting them in the bed. Dad always get a good laugh...and shoulder work out.

We are going to see Thomas the Train this Saturday at the Rusk State Railroad. I don't have to tell you how excited he is about that. I'm sure you will all get to see a picture of him with Thomas next week!

Sorry, I had more pictures to add, but my computer locked up.

The "punkin" patch

It has been a fairly calm week here in J'ville. The Indians got their rears handed to them by Whitehouse Friday night. It was Mason's first football game. He was white eyed and in awe. He really liked hearing the band, tapped his foot most of the time. He really enjoyed seeing the two trains go by also. Trains and the band were really all that there was to watch anyway, the Indians don't know a thing about football.

Saturday morning, the wife, the boy and I ventured to Bullard, TX., home of Moore Farms and their kid friendly pumpkin patch. Mason has a tractor video and one of his favorite parts is the portion about the "pumpkin patch," hence, we had to go :-).

At any rate, we made the short trek to Bullard in search of pumpkins. It was quite an experience for the youngster. We got to go on a hay ride into the field (behind a tractor, no less) and pick our own pumpkin. There were also farm animals to pet, corn maze, old time well pump for the kids to pump on, and lots of pumpkins. Who would have thunk it, in tiny ole' Bullard. Mason had a blast.

I am happy to report that he is doing much better at going to sleep. Maybe it was just a phase, or it could have been the wooden spoon mama put on the dresser...hehe! Either way, we are getting better results. Brown's, Jones'...your time is soon!

This is new

Well, this is a first. Never "blogged" before. Must say, I was inspired by Trish and Al. Maybe just jealous that the whole internet was getting to see Matt and Josh and missing out on Mason!

Tonight we are batteling the ever "go to bed" bug. He will not go to sleep...bed time...nap time...ever. Usually by 9:30 or 10:00p.m. Would you lay in the dark for 1 1/2-2 hours talking to yourself ? Mason is a full believer in it...every night.

Poor Amber had to go to Julie's house, Mason's sitter, and spank him today at nap time because he was keeping all the other children awake. Broke her heart, but she was proud of herself when he laid right down and went to sleep afterward. He is a hard headed "buggabugga," one of HIS favorite words.

He is very independent, but wants you there to watch...just in case. We spend hours playing with our Thomas train set and in the rocks in the flowerbed outside our back door. If I knew he loved the rocks so much, I would have done the whole yard that way...then daddy wouldn't have to mow!

We are supposed to go to the "pumpkin patch" on Saturday. He is very excited about that. He has a fixation about pumpkins due to the pumpkin farmers on his tractor video. He also has a fixation about tractors, but who can resist that beautiful green paint with the yellow plush seat?

I will look forward to sharing with you all. You will just have to excuse my typographical errors and poor spelling. Maybe Mason will take after his mother and be much better at those things than his father :-).