andydawn

Port A

2011-10-19T12:51:00.001-05:00

This summer we headed down to Port A with Marcus’ parents. Marcus grandparents bought a condo there when he was young and he grew up vacationing there. We had a blast relaxing by the beach, swimming, and cruising around town in a golf cart! Besides a few minor mishaps (getting stuck in the sand with the golf cart, and Mason puking all night the second night) We had a GREAT TIME surfing the waves!!!

And were off…ready to hit the beach

Mason was so excited about the waves at the beach…he was ready to jump and surf! Madelyn…she is still not too fond of the sand, but we did take her in the water and she did enjoy the waves splashing her!

After a quick dip in the ocean…we were hungry…so what better place to have a quick bite right of the beach! HOWEVER….we drove right into thick sand and got stuck! Finally, after several pushes and a piece of cardboard and about 30minutes we were out :)

YUM….what better than a melting chocolate fudge bar after dinner :)

The next morning we went of a dolphin watching tour. We headed down to the pier and off we went! It was great weather…cloudy and not too hot! We saw several dolphins and a light house. After a few minutes into the tour…Madelyn “I have to go potty” SERIOUSLY…I just took you right before we got on the boat!! Thanks goodness the boat was equipped with a port-a-potty! We got it all set and Madelyn relieved herself! After seeing several dolphins and enjoying a nice boat ride we headed back to the condo!

After several chocolate donuts, chocolate milk, chocolate cake and tons of other junk food…Mason woke up sick ALL NIGHT! The next day he was puny, but we still managed to have a blast by the pool and at the beach :)

September 8th

2011-10-01T15:44:00.001-05:00

Seriously….5 yrs old!!! My boy is 5!!! This year we weren’t going to have a party for him (GASP), but at last minute I threw a little shin dig together for him and a few of his friends. He wanted BATMAN…so Batman it was :) He enjoyed his “party” at Clay’s Restaurant!!! I didn’t have to lift a finger and that was NICE :) I believe the kids had a great time too! They ran around, fed the animals, had a pinata, ate, had cake….fun times!

MASON

loves school
loves soccer
has the sweetest heart…loves his little sister
loves to dress up as superheroes
loves to cut, draw, paint, write letters
can ride his bike without training wheels
likes Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Tom and Jerry, Batman, Robin, Captain America
loves for me to put him to bed every night
doesn’t take naps
just realized he has allergy induced asthma :(
loves the beach, sand, waves, building sand castles, being buried in sand…anything beach :)
makes friends easily….every day at school walking down the hall several kids yell out “HI MASON” several I have to ask him….who is that? :)
has a very active imagination (His teachers have told me several WHOPPERS Mason has told them :)
He loves to skateboard, jump on his pogo stick (very random birthday requests) He was able to buy the pogo stick with his birthday money :)
loves to play catch and hit baseballs with daddy
Can’t wait to ride the bus to kindergarten next year
still had meltdowns like a 2 yr old!
does simple math…adding and subtracting
starting to learn sight words to read
loves to practice writing his name and other letters
loves loves loves chocolate milk
will try MOST dishes I put in front of him…loves shrimp and crab legs and mini corndogs
favorite color orange (for today)
will be Batman or Captain America for Halloween
is very serious at times you wonder if he is really having fun….only to find out he was having a blast!
loves laser tag
not afraid of heights (he will be the one to ride the roller coasters with me)
DOESN’T KNOW WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD IN MARCH…it’s a SURPRISE…at least for as long as I can keep the secret :)
he is very sneaky….loves to sneak downstairs and make surprise gifts for us (a baggy with a treat usually batman chewys in it)
loves to help me grocery shop…likes to help load and unload the groceries :)

I know I am leaving out tons….but I could go on and on! Happy 5th Dude!

Our Mini Vacation

2011-09-30T22:08:00.001-05:00

This summer Marcus and I headed to the Caymans in August. We went for a 3 night getaway. My parents came to our house and held down the fort for us while we enjoyed the beach, relaxing, and each other :) We ate at some YUMMY restaurants, relaxed by the beach, and snorkeled.

Beautiful Sunset Our little friend walking on our patio

The amazing water…so calm and clear! Sting rays would swim up close to the beach!

We stayed at the Westin…our room was on the corner first level walk out right to the beach AHHHHH!

No Training Wheels

2011-09-30T21:57:00.001-05:00

This summer was so hot…it was not enjoyable to be outside for extended periods of time unless we were soaking in the pool. Mason kept asking and asking if we would take his training wheels off his bike….with us being out of town so much too…we FINALLY were able to take them off! Right before his 5th birthday we stripped the bike of the training wheels, suited Mason up in head to toe gear and sent him off! Marcus worked with him for quite a while one Saturday afternoon. By early evening Mason was a confident 2 wheeled bike rider. The next step was teaching him how to start and stop by himself. That Sunday he hopped back on the bike and mastered stopping and starting in no time. My mom said when I learned to ride a bike I wouldn’t stop my bike…when I was ready to get off I would just JUMP! I’m glad he has decided against that ;) I am so glad he loves to be outside riding his bike and playing…Madelyn however is my homebody who loves some TV!

I’m A Big Girl Now!

2011-09-30T21:51:00.001-05:00

Madelyn had been using the BIG potty for a while! We would put her up on the potty right before bath time or when we were changing outside from our swimsuit. This summer was so busy…I just couldn’t find a LOOOONGGG stretch of time we were home to get down and dirty and finally potty train my lil girl. Some say their second child would watch their OLDER sibling and want to be just like them…not my Madelyn! She did not care at all if she sat in a dirty diaper so I was unsure how this little process was going to go! SOOO finally in August when Marcus and I returned form our vaca it was GO TIME! I had been talking up big girl panties for quite some time so we were off to our fav store TARGET :) There she picked out her favorite character panties and we went to the dollar isle and she picked out tons of dollar prizes and some M&M’s. We were armed and ready! There was no turning back!!! She again proves me wrong.

Day 1: One pee pee accident…no poo today!

Day 2: I knew we were in for a long day of back and forth to the potty since Madelyn who is usually regular had not pooed the day before! We had just walked in the door after making a donut run! She said “i gotta poo poo” so I hurriedly swept her up and off we went! We sat and sat and sat…I knew she needed to go, but was just not confident enough to go. Well I bribed and bribed her to go and she wouldn’t. Just as I was about to take her off the potty…our garage door to the house OPENED! I think that startled her and WAHLAH poo in the potty! It literally scared the poo out of her. From then on she has had NO problem pooing in the potty :) HOWEVER, that afternoon she did have another pee pee accident for only 2 accidents total!

Day 3: 1 tee tee accident and LAST ACCIDENT :) from here on “I ready to go tee tee” and she has right in the big girl potty :) Mason wasn’t too terribly hard to potty train, but Madelyn MUCH MUCH EASIER :)

Soccer

2011-09-30T21:20:00.001-05:00

This season is Mason’s 3rd season to play soccer….This is by far his favorite sport! He is a great little player! We are 4 games into the season and he just keeps getting better and better. This last game he scored 5 goals :) The first game Marcus had to coach one of the teams (we play 3v3 and split team into 2 teams) I think Marcus really enjoyed it…the kids did great! I am sure Coach Marcus will get a chance to coach again very soon ;)

The Purple Dragons

Our cheerleader is trying to find some shade :)

The Woodlands

2011-09-14T13:00:00.001-05:00

A few years ago my family took a family vacation to The Woodlands Resort! After debating….we decided we would go there again this summer for our family get together again! The kids have a blast with the many activities they offer. We were at the pool all weekend long swimming, sliding, getting balloon animals made, face painting, listening/dancing to the band, making smores, and of course eating…drinking…and spending time together! We headed to the pool first thing in the morning and stayed pretty much till dinner time. We would eat at the grill at the pool, and then play a little more till the little bitty ones were EXHAUSTED! Mason even convinced Papa to slide down the big slide with him….Papa happily went ONCE :) with him! After the fun filled weekend swimming and just hanging out our mini vacation with Nanny and Papa was over…time flies when your having fun!!!

Virgin Islands….BVI’s

2011-09-14T12:40:00.001-05:00

This summer was the summer of the Caribbean for me! I love love love the beach…that’s no surprise….so I jump at any chance to see as much of the Caribbean as possible. Each year my friend Whitney and I take a girls birthday trip and this year we had a hard time deciding where to go! One day I came across a CHEAP flight to St. Thomas. We had already decided we were going to Grenada on a pretty good deal for Travel Agents, but then when I found this cheap flight we jumped on it and changed our minds. We were set…had it all planned out for several months! While there we visited St. John, Virgin Gorda BVI, Yost Van Dyke BVI, and I FELL IN LOVE!!!!! This is by far my most favorite Caribbean destination and I have been to quite a few islands.

Day 1: We had clocked a whopping 4 hrs of sleep getting up for our 6am flight out of DFW. I had flown in the night before at 10pm and we stayed at the Hyatt at DFW. We were TIRED, but very excited to get to the beach. After traveling and arriving in St. Thomas around 3pm we were ready to be at the Hotel (Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort) and get relaxing on the beach….well that did not happen! After arriving and LONG STORY SHORT told we did not have a hotel room and we had to stay down the road and cab back and forth to the hotel to eat/use beach. After a VERY LONG DAY…we were headed to our new hotel The Ritz Carlton! Thank goodness they had rooms available :) After they heard our HORROR story, they picked up our dinner and drinks while we were there :) That saved us some $$$ We were exhausted so we headed to bed early so we could be rested to LAY ON THE BEACH all day :)

View from our room!

Day Two: We decided to head to St. John and spend the day over there! We started off by eating at Woody’s and then we headed to Trunk Bay Beach! IT was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen!!!!! We stayed there till it was time to watch some soccer finals! We headed back to the ferry area where there are fun shopping and restaurants. We ate dinner and watched the USA women loose :(

One the ferry ride over to St. John

Day Three: Our LAST day and the BEST!!! We decided to do an excursion to the BVI’s to see The Baths in Virgin Gorda and Soggy Dollar Bar in Yost Van Dyke :) We took a power boat through the Virgin Island passed by Tortola, and then boated around the BVI’s! We snorkeled, ate lunch on a private island, and had a blast :)

Impromptu Visit to SeaWorld

2011-09-14T12:30:00.001-05:00

After a call to one of my best friends Whitney, and my mom…my plan to take Mason to SeaWorld was set! Mason was so excited to be meeting Whitney in San Antonio to have a fast fun filled couple of days visiting SeaWorld and the River Walk. First we had to stop over in Austin to drop off Madelyn at my parents to stay with them. At first I didn’t think Mason was going to be able to leave Nanny and Papa’s with out a fight to stay there, but he was very excited to be staying in a fun Hotel and seeing Mrs. Whitney again :)

SeaWorld:

Journey to Atlantis was Mason’s favorite…we rode this ride 6 times in a row and never had to wait in line :)
We Dined with Shamu and had a front row table to watch our own little pre-show up close and personal!
We watched the penguins be fed…Mason really loved the penguins :)
We fed the Flamingos
It was the best timing…one of the cloudy days this summer, and there hasn’t been many!

Back at the Hotel: We stayed downtown just off the River Walk

We took the boat tour on the river walk
We swam
Mason built forts between the two beds and ATTEMPTED to sleep in them…until the fort kept falling
Mason loved playing out on the balcony

While we were having fun….Madelyn was at Nanny’s having her own fun!! Overall we were there for a short time but made the best of it ;)

Turks and Caicos 2011

2011-07-27T20:45:00.001-05:00

Our second annual vaca to our favorite beach…Turks! We headed out at 4am to the airport for our 6am flight :) The kids always do great! They are super excited when we wake them up early….then they crash by the time we take off to Miami. We have a short 1hr layover and then a quick 1 hr flight into the Turks. We land and are on the beach by 1pm! The kids had a great time again this year and are ready to go back!

Swimming at the pool! Our room was on the first floor walkout straight to the pool, so we hung out there tons. They also loved the pool because there is a swim up bar and they would go order smoothes! They also have a swim up smoothie bar in the water park area of the resort! Did I mention how much we LOVE Beaches Turks and Caicos!

Hanging out at the beach….building one of MANY sandcastles! It was cute…all the kids would all come together and build huge sandcastles!

While Mason would play in the sand…Madelyn spent most of her time lounging on the chairs…drinking her smoothies or just relaxing!

Getting ready to have a YUMMY dinner at “the cook in front of you place” as the kids like to call it! Mason…was not wanting to have his picture taken…i had to sneak one in while he wasn’t looking. He was SUPER tired after a long day at the beach…he was lounging outside on or porch while we waited to escorted to dinner!

He livened up when he got to “help” cook our shrimp!

Playing frisbee one morning with daddy waiting to go have breakfast with all the Sesame Street Characters! The were so excited to eat breakfast with Elmo, Big Bird, and Abby Cadabby…Madelyn more than Mason! However, tides changes once we go there in person with the LARGE FURRY CREATURES! We had a great breakfast overall!

Parasailing: I love parasailing…however last summer I did not parasail when we went to the Turks…so I knew I wanted to this time. SOOOO….my lil buddy decided he would parasail with me! He was excited…but on the boat ride out into the ocean…he did get a little scared. The driver soothed things over when he released the HUGE spider man parasail we would go up in! It was so much fun! Mason had a blast…looking all over the island, looking below for fish, sting rays, and even trying to look to see if he could see Houston! :) We were only up for about 15 minutes, but it was so much fun!

Hanging out around the Resort: This year I did not get ANY pictures at the Water park! Mason still loved going down all the water slides, playing of the pirate ship and swimming up and getting smoothies! Madelyn’s favorite part was getting popsicles by the dozens! She also loved the pirate ship! Usually we would start by the pool then make our way down to the beach! Madelyn still is not too much of a sand fan, so she would just sit and watch…sometimes we would take our iPad down to the beach and let her relax watching a movie. Mason however…loved to be buried in the sand! At one point he looked at me and said “Mom, I just love the beach” Here are a few pictures of us just hanging out around the resort!

We’re Sailing on a Boat: This trip we decided to rent a private boat to take us on a tour of the Turks! This by far was one of the best days we had…and we had many reservations about leaving for a 5hr excursion on a boat with Madelyn…however we were prepared! Our butler stocked us up with food/drinks/snacks/towels etc…and we were off. We stopped a several islands looking for Sea Shells, Conch Shells, Sand dollars, Crab. We also made a pit stop to check out the Iguanas! Our driver also took us snorkeling! Mason LOVED to snorkel and watch all the fish. We took turns snorkeling and Madelyn stayed on the boat, fed the fish and watched movies :) She was a great little boat traveler…she even took a nap on our way back to shore :) The kids ALL 4 :) had a blast exploring the Turks!

Better Late Than Never…

2011-07-04T21:22:00.001-05:00

April

In April we took a little mini vacation to the Atlantis in the Bahamas! The kids had a blast and so did we. The resort was HUGE HUGE HUGE, the water was amazing, and the weather was perfect. We had a great time sliding down the many slides…I think that was Madelyn’s favorite :) We floated down the lazy river, and built sand castles on the beach. Mason’s favorite was playing in the sand! We did swim with the dolphins and Madelyn was fearless! She loved every minute…Mason…was ok watching not participating! I don’t think he liked it that dolphin blew snot on us ;) Over all our trip was a fun getaway to the beach….the place we love most!

EASTER

Lots of Easter Egg Hunts
Grandparents to help us find them
BLESSED!

T-Ball-PIRATES

This season Mason played for the Pirates! Lets just say…by the last game he decided he liked t-ball. With 5 games left Mason fractured his wrist! (he was running to his game with a friend, kicked a bucket and fell on his wrist) Thank goodness it was just a fracture and only had to wear a splint. Mason really likes soccer….you are always moving! Batting was his fav part :)

My Princess Party!

2011-02-09T13:54:00.001-06:00

Our baby is 2….and she shows it in true “terrible 2” fashion! Our DRAMA MAMMA! We had a Princess party at Inflatable Zone….she couldn’t not stop talking about “my princess party” She wanted to carry around her princess plates and napkins until it was time to P-A-R-T-Y!!! (which was several weeks away!) We invited her friends, planned for pizza, princess cake, jumping a a grand ole’ time! I think she KNEW it was all about her MORE than MASON did at her age! Maybe just a girl thing ;) The day came and she was more than ready to party…for a little bit at least. We arrived, her friends came and the bouncing began…for a bit until she spotted those darn princess plates and napkins which she played with for the majority of her party! Oh well, it’s her day and she was content doing what she wanted to do! Her friends had a blast jumping around! It was so fun watching the littles bounce and slide down the big slides! I think Mason was just as excited about her party as she was!!! He was such a great big brother helping her celebrate her day!

Mason was right there in the mix and wanted to open ALL her gifts…good thing Madelyn didn’t mind :) She loved all her toys and played all day with them…and so did Mason :) After her party….SEVERAL of us came down with a HORRIBLE stomach flu that lasted for almost a week! It was awful. With everyone plus grandparents sick at ONE house…NO FUN! Cold and Flu season ADIOS!!!!!!!!

ALL THINGS MADELYN:

DRAMA Queen
Sucks her thumb
Can take her brother down
Has to pick out her own diaper…she used to HAVE to have one with Cookie Monster on it….but now she likes the one with Bert and Ernie on it!
DagO and DogA are her fav’s! She loves watching Dora and Diego and has to carry around a Diego bag stuffed with all her fav toys in it: Dora doll, Minnie figurine, Ariel dive sticks, the list grows daily!
Daddy calls her B, Mason calls her B too and Sister
She went through a phase where she loved watching Tom and Jerry
I call her a bag lady…she loves to pile all her toys into her grocery cart and stroll around the game room seeing how much she can fit into her cart.
She LOVES her babies. She loves to feed them, rock them and sing Jesus Loves Me to them!
She will STICKER you to death! She loves them and loves WEARING them on her BELLY. OR getting band-aids and giving herself fake boo boos!
He favorite princesses are Ariel, Snow White and Cinderella. Ariel is by far her most favorite!
She likes school doesn’t cry when I drop her off unlike her big bro did!
Loves you to read her books, then she reads them back to you.
She can count…not too far, but repeats when Mason counts
She knows her colors: red, blue, green, orange, pink, yellow, green
Loves to watch videos of herself and Mason.
For the longest time would call the grandparents the opposite names….Called DD-Nanny and Nanny-DD and same with grandpa’s
Loves Apple Juice and eats about ANYTHING :)
Loves to pile toys in her bed and sleep with them…sometimes I think this wakes her up too early in the am…I try to limit, but she DEMANDS all her fav toys!
Loves to wear her fav 3 pj’s: Minnie, Ariel, and Tinkerbell

She is such a mess, but a wonderful mess we love dearly! I am gearing her up for her BIG GIRL ROOM! I have purchased her bedding and am just needing to order her furniture!! I can’t believe we will be crib free here at our house…FOREVER…or until grandkids :)

2011

2011-02-03T22:48:00.001-06:00

Minus a few hours! Just at dark (6:00ish) we celebrated the New Year with a fireworks show for the kids. I knew Mason would love them, but was unsure how Madelyn would react! Well…turns out she loved them more than Mason! She threw the biggest fit when we ran out! They enjoyed watching the “mini” fireworks’ show in our backyard! Our friends, Audrey, Brian, Ella and Evan joined us! The kids had a BLAST!

Time for the BLACK CATS!!!!

The End!

Merry Christmas, DD and Daddio!

2011-02-03T22:35:00.001-06:00

This Christmas we loaded up the car and headed to Abilene to spend Christmas with DD and Daddio! The kids did fairly well during the drive! They played with some of their new toys, snacked, watched new movies, and slept! AND….when they awoke we were at DD and Daddio’s house! Of course they were NONSTOP! They were ready to play! We had a wonderful Christmas there and are so thankful for our families to share these precious times with! Thanks for everything!

Opening gifts Christmas morning! The kids got a ton of fun toys to add to their collection! They had so much fun playing with them!

Mason and Madelyn loved putting on a show for us! We gave them a mic and they sang and danced for a good hour! It was tooo funny!

They were sad to pack up and leave and head home! We had a wonderful Christmas and Santa was good to Mommy and Daddy too!

Santa Baby!

2010-12-25T22:10:00.000-06:00

Mason at 4 and Madelyn almost 2= BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! Mason understands, anticipates, excites, LOVES everything about Christmas! He loves to tell us the story of Jesus’ birth, loves to sing Christmas songs, loves the thought of Santa coming down the chimney to HIS house! I remember all the excitement and magic this time of year brought me when I was young, and I love to “relive” this special time through my kids! It is truly the best!

Elfie! Made an appearance a little after Thanksgiving ready to “hide and watch” to make sure Mason and Madelyn were being good! Madelyn…could have cared less! Mason…loved playing hide and seek with Elfie every morning. He did question his ability to fly back to the North Pole…and wondered why he was like his “stuffed animals” and not “real” looking! YIKES! Seriously his questions were making me question how much longer Santa would really be REAL!

Twas’ the night before Christmas…Well really December 23rd (we were traveling to Abilene for Christmas so Santa stopped at our pad a few days early) We sat out cookies, milk and of course our list making sure Santa really knew what we wanted….since Elfie could have forgotten to tell him!

Our stockings were hung….And FILLED to the BRIM with fun $1.00 isle items and an umbrella and flash light and movies!

Santa came and he DELIVERED! Mason’s fav gift was his POLICE car and Madelyn loves her Dora Backpack and Elmo doctor kit! They both love playing in the kitchen!

Mason woke first and could NOT stand it! He was ready to JUMP out of the bed and run downstairs to see if Santa came!

He was so so so SPEECHLESS! He ran downstairs and did not know what to do! He ran straight for the police car and pretty much stayed in it for a while! At this time Madelyn was awake and ready to come see her stash!

They played for a good while. Marcus and I got ready loaded up the car and we were off to Abilene to DD and Daddio’s house! I thought it would be hard for the kids to leave their new toys behind only a few hours after they got them, but they grabbed a few of their fav toys and that kept them somewhat happy in the 5hr car ride :)

Merry Christmas, Nanny and Papa!

2010-12-24T21:34:00.000-06:00

Nanny and Papa traveled up Houston to spend Christmas with us! The kids were so excited to see them and even more excited to see their trunk full of fun gifts they brought! They loved bringing in the gifts and putting them under the tree until it was time to tear into them!

Thank you Nanny and Papa for a Wonderful Christmas! Mason LOVES his guitar and Madelyn loves her baby stroller and play set! They always love to spend time with yall. We also loved our gifts too! Merry Christmas!

Party Time!!!

2010-12-16T21:05:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pics of Mason and Madelyn’s Christmas parties at school!

They both had a book exchange and fun treats! They were most excited about the balloon they each got!

Children of the World

2010-12-16T20:57:00.001-06:00

Mason’s class was “Children of the World” in the Christmas Program! They were sooo soooo precious!!! He loved every minute of his performance on the stage!

Christmas in NYC

2010-12-16T20:53:00.001-06:00

I have been dying to go to NYC to see the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center!!! SOOOOOO….this year was the year! A friend, Nicole, and I went for a quick trip up to NYC to see the tree and of course SHOP :)

We got there the day it was lit. We decided we didn’t want to be STUCK standing watching the tree, so we walked and shopped up and down 5th and listened to Mariah Carey, Josh Grobin. Then when the tree was lit we took pictures and headed back to the Plaza. We then took the whole next day to SHOP SHOP SHOP till we dropped :) We ate a quick breakfast then we were off. While we were eating in the hotel Nicole spotted Tommy Hilfiger! That was our only Celeb siting except for the restaurant we had dinner at…Jessica Alba had a private party there!!! It was a fast FURIOUS trip, but so so much fun!!!

Christmas Tree Pics

2010-12-16T20:45:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pics of the littles by the Christmas Tree! They love to go hold their gifts and smile big for a quick pic!

Mason these days….He LOVES LOVES LOVES to pretend play. He loves to dress up in his super hero costumes and his police man costume. He is such a little smarty pants! He is fully of questions and loves to tell stories! He is Mr. Independant! He loves to do everything his self and even loves to do everything for Madely….I am sure that will change! He loves Tom and Jerry, Batman, Mickey Mouse, and Max and Ruby (which I can’t for the life of me figure out why?!?!?!) He enjoys school! He has many friends he loves to play with there and enjoys learning and playing. He goes 5 days a week and if his birthday wasn’t in September he would EAT UP kindergarten!! He is asking for a power wheels police car, batman house, Iron Man, games for Christmas!

Madelyn these days…She is my STINKER! She know what she wants and SHE WILL GET IT….if she can help it :) She has the sweetest lil voice who asks for DIEGO every day. Madelyn loves to watch Diego, Dora and Tom and Jerry with Mason. She is getting into Mickey Mouse too! I can get her to wear bows because Minnie wears them :) She LOVES Cookie Monster on her Diapers…I buy Pampers and she HAS to have the EXACT diaper with Cookie Monster and Big Bird on the back…when I run out of that exact diaper…I have to work my magic and “lie” and tell her they are on there or she will go BANANAS!!!!! She goes potty on the BIG POTTY every night and sometimes throughout the day….however I do have a feeling she is going to be harder to potty train than Mason…STUBBORN!!! She loves for me to sing Jesus Loves Me at bed and loves to wear her Cow PJ’s :) She is asking…(even though she doesn’t know it…) for babies, kitchen, books, and Elmo for Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-29T13:45:00.001-06:00

We have so much to be thankful for…our two lil ones, family, friends, health…and so so so much more. This year we headed down to Austin to spend Thanksgiving with my family. This year we decided to take advantage of someone else’s cooking at Texas Land and Cattle!! We ate tons of yummy steak, desserts, and had a great time visiting with the whole family! That night Marcus, my dad and Paul went to the FREEZING cold UT A&M game!! After the game, my mom, sister and I headed out for Black Friday shopping. That was an adventure all in itself!!! We had a wonderful time playing with cousins, eating, and shopping…I just can’t believe Christmas is almost here!!

Our backyard palms lit for christmas :) We have lights on the front too but I did not get a pic of that yet! These pics don’t do it justice…it looks even better!

Playing Catch Up!!

2010-11-24T20:57:00.001-06:00

The past couple months have flown by and we have been very busy!! Needless to say I am behind! Here is what we have been up to…

~Mason played soccer again this Fall and this season was MUCH MUCH better than last. He LOVED it!!! One game he scored 6 goals!!! He was on FIRE :) I think me may “try” basketball in the winter!!

~Halloween: We went to the yearly pumpkin patch, but Mason wanted every pumpkin and Madelyn just wanted to run around. We did however come home with a wagon full!! This year I handed the Halloween Express magazine to Mason to pick his costume! It was kinda early when he chose to be the Black Spiderman. I was nervous once I ordered it he would change his mind and it would be too late…but he was so excited for Halloween to come to put his costume on. Madelyn…I figured I have at least one more Halloween where I can choose her costume (even though she is a girl who KNOWS WHAT SHE WANTS!!!)…so she was a bumble bee. She loves to dress up. When Mason puts his costumes on or plays dress up she is right there with him dressing up as Iron Man, Spiderman, or whatever costume Mason is not wearing :) On Halloween we went to a fun festival in our neighborhood and then went trick or treating around the neighborhood. Mason had a blast….Madelyn was not a fan of the festival but loved getting new candy at each door we knocked at. She would have to try all the candy even before we got home! Mason had so much fun going around getting candy and seeing all the kids in their costumes!

~Mason’s Thanksgiving Feast: The kids had a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast. They did a little class program for us parents in their classroom before they DUG in!! Mason had a such a sweet class with wonderful teachers and kids.

~Other Fun pics…

Waiting to give Santa their list…Madelyn NOT a fan…Mason could have sat on his lap for hours talking to him :)

Hula Hooping…one gift Mason has asked Santa for :)

Not many times do I get a pic with my two…and Mason was not feeling it!!!

Climbing a tree at DD’s house!! LOOKS CAN BE DECIEVING :)

Swim, Splash, and Play….Mason’s 4th BIRTHDAY!!

2010-09-27T21:34:00.001-05:00

This year there was no question as to what kind of party my lil guy wanted!!! Just so happened we had the perfect place :) The invites went out and countdown began to the perfect party day!!!! The week was VERY VERY rainy…thunderstorms and days of just RAIN!!! I had high hopes…the “very trusty” weather channel had sun shine predicted for the Saturday ONLY!! Well the day came and sunny it was…PERFECT!! Most of his friends we invited were able to make it and we were so happy to share this special day with them doing what Mason loves to do best…swim! With balloons galore hung, the swim toys ready…I wasn’t sure what to expect?!?! Would all the kids swim…would they want to play on the boat, would they be afraid of the pool…etc. However, they all jumped right in and had the best time ever!!! They would have stayed swimming all afternoon. After all the guests left we opened his gifts and played all afternoon with Nanny, Papa, DD, and Daddio….Mason couldn’t have had a more awesome day. Watching him play with his friends and enjoying his day put a huge smile on my face :) Happy Birthday BIG boy…we love you very much!!

The goodie bags and ready for the guests to arrive!

Getting ready to eat pizza and playing on the playset…Mason’s big birthday present!

The guys glued to the TV watching football! The kids loved to hang out on the infinity edge!

Singing Happy Birthday!!!

First Day of School

2010-09-09T21:17:00.001-05:00

All summer Mason has kept asking when he gets to go back to school. He has loved school and I am thankful. You would have though differently if you saw me drop him off when he first started(a few years ago), but always had a smile on his face and did not want to leave when it was time to go home! I just knew Madelyn would follow suit. SCREAM…CRY…HATE every minute of school. However, this Tuesday her first day she proved me wrong…for which I am thankful. She did cry, but proceeded to have the best day ever. Then throughout the week she would point to herself and say “me school!” I am so happy (for now) my two scholars :) love school and are happy!

Happy Birthday, MY BIG BOY!!!

2010-09-08T12:35:00.001-05:00

4 YEARS OLD!! How can that be!! Happy Birthday BIG BOY…we can’t wait to celebrate your special day with all your friends and family this weekend at your party! We love you!!

One of his gifts we gave him along with both grandparents was this playscape :) HE LOVES IT!!! Mason and Madelyn have both enjoyed playing on it! Thanks Nanny, Papa, DD, and Daddio for putting huge smiles on your grandkids’ faces ;)

I HEART Boston!!!!

2010-09-05T13:00:00.001-05:00

I HEART Boston! I HEART Birthdays!! I HEART Black Eyed Peas!!! AND…..it just so happened I got to celebrate my 30th in a wonderful city FRONT ROW watching the group I love the most!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, Marcus for taking me and getting us the tickets to BEP! I had never been to Boston before and I fell in love….maybe not with the winter time, but the city was awesome! We had a full 3 days to enjoy Boston.

Right after we landed we were off to Fenway Park to watch our good friend, John Lackey, pitch for his new team!! We had AMAZING seats, thanks Krista and John. I love the field. It is a smaller field, but the fans are great and Marcus really loved when they sing Sweet Caroline in the 8th every game…I think that was his fav. part :)

The next day we did a Duck Tour…it was fun and it was a great way to see the city…all the historical sights. It was fun because it was half on land then they drove the bus into the water and we did a cruise of the Charles River. After the Duck Tour we did some shopping on Newbury street and ate at some fun restaurants as well. Later that night…BEP!!!!!! As I got ready to see the Black Eyed Peas with Krista, Marcus went to the baseball game again!!

After a LONG FUN night dancing….we slept in and I headed to the Mandarin Oriental Spa at our hotel for a massage..it was nice to relax and enjoy our last day in Boston! We headed back to the Fenway Park one last time before we had to head home! I had a great 30th…and on my real birthday Marcus, Mason, and Madelyn did not disappoint. They had even more surprises up their sleeves. I can’t wait to see what the next decade has in store for us!!!

Annual Girls Trip

2010-08-14T14:38:00.001-05:00

Each year one of my best friends Whitney and I take a little vacay just us girls. We have been to NYC, Vegas, but this year Cancun!! My friend Sheri came along too and we had a blast. We had 4 relaxing days soaking up the rays, swimming, jet skiing, playing water volleyball, shopping and hanging out! The water was awesome, the resort, Le Blanc, was amazing, and I can’t wait till next year :) It is awesome how we hardly get to see each other, but when we do it is like we never skip a beat!

Morning Swim

2010-08-14T14:19:00.001-05:00

Morning swimming is always refreshing! Our backyard pool area is shaded until around 11ish. We love to take a quick dip in the pool, burn some energy, eat lunch and hopefully take great naps :)

Madelyn has now had a month of swim lessons and she is quite the lil fish! She can roll to her back and flip back over and swim to the edge of the pool or to the closest person she sees! I am so proud of my two swimmers.

Happy Birthday, Madden Joseph!!!

2010-07-09T07:06:00.001-05:00

We love you so much and can’t wait to celebrate your birthday this Saturday!

Water Babies

2010-07-08T21:33:00.001-05:00

Every chance we get we spend splashing in our new pool. Mason has become such a great swimmer…swimming across the pool, diving for sticks while Madelyn loves to hang out on our big top step or cruise around the steps in the hot tub. We had a fun Father’s day pool side. We also spent the 4th with my sister’s two soaking up the rays with all the kiddos! We also enjoy cooking out in our new kitchen…the kids love to sit in the barstools and watch a lil t.v. We have enjoyed our summer and can’t believe it is half way over ;(

4th: My sister, Jenny, came to Houston to visit for a few days. We spent our awake time poolside. After we put the kids down we even had a great spot by the pool to watch some fireworks! It was a fast and furious visit, but we had a great time…now off to Austin this weekend for Madden’s 1st birthday!!

I NEED TO GET BETTER AT THIS!!!

2010-06-23T14:48:00.001-05:00

BUT…I don’t foresee that happening. We do many fun things, I take tons of pics, but I fail at the follow through! This summer is flying by fast and furious. I was prepared with tons of activities for us to do which has made all the difference. Here are a few pics of what we have been up to…Lots of our time has been spent in our backyard paradise, but I have yet to upload all the pictures…that is next post!

Hide and Seek: Mason showed Madelyn where to hide then he FOUND her!! He still loves to tell people where to find him!

Splash Park Fun: Ok we don’t have THAT in our backyard, but we met up with some friends and had a BLAST!!!

BEP Concert at the RODED…whish was a WHILE ago, but WAS AWESOME from the Action Seats!!!

Mason’s T-Ball Party: They had a blast shooting the water guns, playing on the Swing Set (SHHH….but that is what we are getting Mason for his birthday :) and bouncing on the bounce house!

A trip to Austin to visit my parents and dinner with my 2 cousins:

Me and Marcus’ trip to Jamaica with friends….THE ONLY PIC I TOOK :( out our room door straight to the beach :)

Daddy’s big Soccer and Football Game with his company. Marcus WAS the halftime show!! He bet he could catch a pass against a former college football player. He was given 7 tries…HE DID IT on the 3rd try :) Mason and Madelyn loved watching Daddy in action! Marcus scored in soccer and football…MVP!!!!

Many boat rides around the neighborhood: We love to take the boat around feeding the fish and ducks…the kids love driving with daddy!

Surprise Party for Daddy: Marcus turned 31 and I threw him a surprise party and he was surprised!!! We did not do much for his 30th so I wanted to do something FUN FUN for this year. I GOT HIM GOOD! It was so much fun planning his Casino themed party!!! I had it at our clubhouse. I rented a casino company to come and have black jack, craps, and poker tables there. I had Mexican food for dinner and we partied all night! We had a great turnout…even his two brokers from Connecticut and Kentucky were there!!!

The Cake Let the games begin

Guests Mr. Bartender

Arriving… Singing happy birthday SHOCKED

Playing black jack Serious Poker game going

At the end of the night….Melanie was the BIG winner. I gave a prize to the person who WON the most “money” and Melanie hit the big jackpot!!!

More to come as we stay busy busy busy this summer….

Turks and Caicos

2010-05-27T22:21:00.001-05:00

This past week we took a fabulous family vacation with Marcus’ parents and brother. We headed to the Beaches Turks and Caicos. I knew as we were landing the water was going to be nothing short of amazing!!! It was an awesome vacation with lots of fun in the sun! The weather was wonderful, the resort was AWESOME (would totally recommend for families) and the kids had a blast. They loved playing in the pool with DD and Daddio, building sand castles and collecting sea shells, and the absolutely loved the water park on the resort grounds. I think Madelyn loved all the yummy sweets she consumed! Thank you so much for such a wonderful vacation!

How do you pass time in the Miami airport……(our first flight left at 6:00am and the kids were up since 3:45….but they did AMAZING…slept on both flights :)

Look who was there to greet us at the resort: BERT! Madelyn not so sure…

The Room…it was 2 steps away from the pool :) very convenient

One room had bunk beds and yes…Mason slept up top one night! I wasn’t sure he would stay all night up there, but the last night he did and loved it!!!

Day 1: Swim, EAT, Play…playing on our patio before we suited up for the day

We had a cabana at the pool and beach reserved for us everyday that way the littles could get out of the heat and in the shade. It was fully stocked with all the drinks and food we needed. That is what is nice about an all inclusive resort :)

Water Park FUN!!!

At the water park there was EVERYTHING you could imagine for the kids…restaurant with sesame street characters, popsicles, a smoothie bar, ice cream, pirate ship splash park, slides, surf simulator, lazy river, and much more! We would hit the water park every day…sometimes just with Mason when Madelyn was asleep since he wanted to do slides and she was much happier just swimming in the baby pool.

The Pool: we spent the majority of time here swimming in the morning, eating lunch and just hanging out! It was nice that when we put sister down for a nap we would just take the video monitor with us to our cabana and swim and we would be just steps away! Mason was starting swim lessons the day we returned from the Turks, but while we were there we worked on swimming…he eventually started to love to go under and remembered everything he was taught last year from lessons!! I am so glad….I just hope sister loves it as much…she starts lessons in just 1 month!!!

The Beach: This was by far the most beautiful beach and water I have seen! Mason loved building and destroying sandcastles while Madelyn was not sure about the sand in her toes!

The Fam:

We had a great time, thanks DD and Daddio!

First Swim in the new pool

2010-05-19T08:35:00.001-05:00

I was dying to get the kids in…so we suited up and headed to play in the pool for the first time! They loved it… we swam for over an hour before we had to get suited up for Mason’s tee-ball practice.

Pics of the Pool

2010-05-19T08:24:00.001-05:00

After 3 LONG months of waiting…our POOL is finished. It has been finished for about a month and we LOVE LOVE LOVE having it! The kids are in swim lessons and excited to swim every day! We have a big step that they play on with a fountain and Mason loves to get in the hot tub…it is like a mini kid pool when it is not heated :) I can’t wait to swim all summer long and even into fall with our Houston weather!!

Hot tub, fountain Wet edge…Hot Tub

Infinity edge to lake Fire strip

Path to boat Pool at night

the fountains shoot really high :) more night pics

Hometown Team: Astros

2010-04-14T21:13:00.001-05:00

This spring Mason is playing T-ball and he LOVES it. He gets to play with some of his friends which makes it even more fun!!! His team is the Astros and they had their first game this past weekend. Despite the RAIN, THUNDER, and LIGHTENING (which in my personal opinion they should have called the game) Mason had a blast. He had 2 hits, rounded the bases and played short stop next to one of his friends. They seemed to chit chat the whole time :) He is finally getting the hang of running to first base after he hits the ball...instead of running after the ball he just hit! I love watching all the lil ones playing…they are sooo cute especially in their uniforms :) Here are a few pics of Mason and his first Astros outing!

3 in 1

2010-04-09T22:04:00.001-05:00

Easter

We had many fun festivities leading up to Easter day. 3 egg hunts, an Easter Extravaganza in our neighborhood and Mason’s class Easter party. We went to visit the Easter Bunny at the mall…much to my surprise Madelyn didn’t scream just a little sad face…Mason by now is a pro at telling them what he wants!!! We woke up early and headed to the 8am service and when we returned Mason and Madelyn were excited to see what the Easter Bunny had brought them then we headed out to the front yard to hunt the eggs the bunny had left. Madelyn was more interested in playing in the mud with no shoes on than finding the eggs. Sweet Mason did help her out until he realized Madelyn was throwing the eggs out of her basket as fast as he was putting them in….then he decided to keep all the eggs in his basket :)

T-Ball

Mason has started playing T-ball with 2 of his friends. He is enjoying playing ball…I will have to say he seems to like it more than soccer. His first game is tomorrow…one thing we really need to work on is after he hits the ball he runs after the ball instead of running to 1st! It is so cute to watch all the little guys and gals playing.

Pool

We are seeing the light at the end of a VERY VERY long tunnel. After a total renovation of our back yard…adding a pool, outdoor kitchen, and bathroom we are finally about to be FINISHED…just in time for SUMMER :) We had the landscaping done last week and they plaster the pool next week and then FILL er’ UP!!! I am so ready to get things back in order. The front yard is still a mess. Along with the backyard renovation we have been doing some other little projects around the house that have kept us busy busy busy!

Much to do….no time to post

2010-03-11T21:26:00.001-06:00

Updates….

POOL:

We have had a lot more progress and I would guess we will be all finished with the pool, outdoor kitchen and bathroom addition in about a month. It is so exciting to see it all come together!

KIDS: Here are some fun pics of the kids the past several weeks! Rodeo is in full force and I have seen Kenny Chesney and will see Black Eyed Peas this next week…SO FUN…can’t wait to take the kids to all the fun activities!

Other fun pics: I am taking a camera class about how to use my fancy camera and love it…here are a few pics of things we have learned… I have only had 2 classes, but did not even know my camera did all these fun things :)

This past weekend I headed to NYC with my sister and Kelly…we had so much fun…no pics of that weekend :) We have been busy busy and so glad to see some warmer weather headed our way…hopefully to stay! Madelyn is growing so fast…she is saying so many words…she can for the most part say anything (within reason) that we ask her to say. She is still eating like a champ and poor thing has been sick…anything Mason brings home from school she gets :( Mason is a lil toot! He is all about being at home. We will be out and say…I want to go home and play. He also says “ This is our house and no one can live here but us…well Nanny, Papa, DD, and Daddio can” He is also “about” to outgrow his naps BOO HOO BOO HOO! We have a busy summer planned with several trips planned, wedding, birthdays, and relaxing by the pool…I wouldn’t have it any other way :)

Vail Vacation

2010-02-17T15:46:00.001-06:00

This past week we went to Vail with my family and sister’s family. We had a wonderful time skiing, tubing, playing in the snow, and hanging out! It was beautiful there. Mason had a blast, but the babies for the most part stayed inside warm and cozy. We also met up with Jason and Kelly our aunt and uncle while there…it was great to see them. Mason loved having snow ball fights and tubing (he was in his own tube and flew down the mountain and couldn’t wait to do it again)! Madelyn LOVED climbing the 2 staircases at the condo and EATING all day long :) Mason and Madelyn were so happy to see Nanny and Papa and their Aunt Jenny and Uncle Paul and cousins too. We were sad to leave, and can’t wait to do it all over again next time :) We were there when Vice President Biden was there and my parents saw him at a restaurant in Beaver Creek one afternoon and as we were leaving to come home we saw Air Force Two at the airport! However, our flight home was AWFUL!!! At first we were scheduled to land early, but ended up flying all over Texas landing in San Antonio where we sat on the airplane for 1 1/2 hrs. before landing in Houston because of a storm :( Over all we were in the airplane 6+ hrs. Thank goodness we got Madelyn her own seat…Overall they did really well…a few minor meltdowns from lil miss who only slept 45 minutes on the plane! We didn’t arrive home until 10:00pm and the kids weren’t in bed till 11pm…so we have been playing catch up on some much needed rest :)

View From Condo Playin’ with Papa

Snowball fight with Kylie Playin’ in the snow with mama

More snowball fights with Nanny…Mason won :)

Madden…with those big baby blues!

Building a snowman with Papa

The only time I could get Madelyn out in the snow…NOT A FAN…yet :)

On the Gondola Ride up to take Mason tubing

Walking through Vail Village Night Night time!

Hopefully I will upload the pics from my other camera which has the picture of Air Force Two on it…SOME DAY!

BREAKING GROUND!

2010-01-24T20:44:00.001-06:00

How can you keep a 3 yr old occupied ALL DAY LONG??? Have a tractor dig a HUGE hole in your backyard! They came and dug on Thursday of last week. Mason was ready to swim that night…It will be a LONG few months of “Can we swim yet???” Mason was so excited to wake up to the sound of the tractor I could hardly get him and Madelyn away from the window…he wanted to go dig with them. He even went to get his shovel to help! Needless to say we are so excited and can’t wait to SWIM ALL SUMMER LONG!!

Notice baby doll had to watch too!

Can you say HURRY!!!!

I love this face!!!

Coming THIS SPRING…

2010-01-24T20:33:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Precious B

2010-01-24T20:27:00.001-06:00

What a wonderful wonderful year we have had with our lil girl! As the saying goes, “Time Flies When You are Having Fun!” We had a small get together to celebrate Madelyn and her first year :) We go to the doctor at the end of January so I will have her yr. stats then. Here are some of the things our BIG TODDLER is doing:

Walking (started a 8 months)
Saying several words: Ba Ba Doll, Daa (dog), up, Mama, Dada, Bi (bite)
Loves Whole Milk from her sippy cups
Eats whatever we eat…(never really ate baby food)
Claps
Shakes her head NO
Points at everything she wants
Loves to carry purses
Loves to put things in her purse and take them right back out (could do this for a LONG time)
Loves to play in her bed for a bit before you can get her out
Seems to gravitate more to men :) Will let Papa and Daddio carry her around and hold her…The grandma’s get a little jealous, but she warms up to them really fast too!
LOVES LOVES LOVES her baby doll…sleeps with it…we take it everywhere!
Fake cries to get what she wants
Takes 2 naps ranging from 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs
Loves to look at pictures…especially the ones I have framed lining our staircase.
Would EAT ALL DAY LONG if I let her!
Doesn’t like Peaches
Tries to do everything her brother does!!!

I know I am probably missing a few…We love her so much and love watching her grow and change DAILY! Happy Happy Birthday lil Girl…we love you so!!!!

We had a wonderful day and Madelyn ate too much sugar that afternoon at her party she DID NOT NAP :) She was so happy to just roam around the game room carrying her purses and playing with her new toys :)

~UP~

2010-01-10T20:20:00.001-06:00

I guess I can mark this down as Madelyn’s first “real” word! For the last couple of weeks she runs to Mason’s chair, the couch, the ottoman, our arms and moans for us to pick her UP. So we have been saying UP all the time. Today was too cute…she came running over to me sitting in the chair and she said UP if a big girl voice…and I picked her up and she rested her sweet lil non hair head on my chest…it was too precious! Even though Madelyn has her own “sounds” for her baby doll and other fav. toys, and has been saying momma and dada, I have to count UP as her first real word!

REALLY…can my baby be turning 1 in only 9 short days!!!

Christmas ‘09

2010-01-03T21:03:00.001-06:00

This was such an exciting Christmas. Mason was so excited for Santa to come visit and for Jesus’ birthday! Madelyn…well last year I was frantically getting ready for her arrival and this year she was all over the place…what a difference 1 yr can make. I can’t wait to see both my babies next year at Christmas…I love living Christmas through their eyes. Marcus’ parents came down to celebrate with us before we headed out to Austin to celebrate with my family. Mason kept saying, “I am too excited for Christmas!” The only sad part was both my babies were sick with RSV :(

WARNING…Lots of pictures!!

Christmas Eve we opened up gifts from DD and Daddio…Madelyn loved pulling Daddio around the house and he was more than happy to follow behind :)

SANTA LEFT A LOT OF LOOT!

By Noon on Christmas we were opening round 3 of gifts in Austin. Thank you Jenny and Paul for hosting and cooking a WONDERFUL Christmas Dinner!!

The Babies…Look at Madden…he has the most beautiful blue eyes…and IS THE HAPPIEST BABY EVER!!!

Playing games…Marcus played Wii Tennis and Mason loved playing Twister with Kylie..notice Madelyn interrupting the game :) She wants to be everywhere Mason and Kylie were. Sorry for the blurr.

The family pic…Iove this one Madden is getting Kylie’s headband :)

All I Want For Christmas…

2009-12-14T14:49:00.001-06:00

Today Mason and Madelyn went to visit Santa! The past years Mason wanted NOTHING to do with Santa…this year was different. I had been talking about going to see him all morning and getting him excited about going. Only time would tell. Madelyn, on the other hand usually cries in others arms other than mommy and daddy…so I pretty much “thought” I knew how her visit would go. So we arrived and before I could even stop the stroller Mason jumped out and was sitting in Santa’s lap already discussing what toys he wanted. I took Madelyn over crossing my fingers and sat her on his lap. She was content…not crying…not smiling…just staring at him. I think it helped that Mason was on his lap with her. So JUST IN CASE we did not capture the moment at the Mall I took a few pictures of them all dressed up before we headed off. The picture I did get at the mall was ok…neither of them were smiling… but hey…they weren’t screaming either :)

All they want for Christmas:

Mason’s List:

Lightening McQueen Race Track
Diego Rescue Pack
Texas Tech Football Helmet (every time football is on he asks to have this..)
Games
Cookies (gets this from his momma…chocolate chip cookies are my weakness ;)
Chocolate

Madelyn’s List:

Her Two front teeth (they are coming in and would be much happier if they made their appearance BEFORE Christmas :)
Baby Doll (she has a specific doll she carries everywhere LOVES it)
Busy Zoo Block
The Learning Kitchen
Glo Worm
Activity Table

I have a few more things up my sleeve I think they will love! I can’t wait. Only 11 days left!!!

Rare Winter Fun!!!

2009-12-09T15:17:00.001-06:00

Everyone knows it is not that often you see SNOW in Houston. All week long on the news they kept saying snow on Friday. I just brushed it off thinking if it did snow it would be a little flurry that would melt before it even hit the ground. Well Friday rolled around and we had sleet/water/ice mix all morning. So I thought that was it. Then, Mason’s teacher called and said that they were closing school at NOON….ARE YOU KIDDING!!! The roads weren’t icy, slick or snow even on the ground. CRAZY! Anyways, we headed Friday to pick Mason up from school and as we were leaving it started to snow a little more. By the time we picked him up the snow flakes were getting bigger and bigger. By the time we got home….SNOW WAS EVERYWHERE! YAY…we were all so excited! Mason thought we were going to go skiing right then and there. (Only because we are heading to Vail this Feb. for a family trip with my family and have talked about how it SNOWS there and we will get to ski) So of course we bundled up and headed outside for some snow FUN! Mason however did not like the snow flakes falling and getting into his eyes so he had to wear his sunglasses :) What a wonderful Friday Afternoon! Funny thing…we are looking to put a pool in and we had a meeting with a pool guy that afternoon as it was SNOWING :)

Mason had so much fun building a snowman, having a snowball fight and just running around sliding in the snow ;) Poor Madelyn watched from the window!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas…

2009-12-09T14:59:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pics of the decorations around the house. My challenge this year was to decorate my 12ft. tree I purchased ;) I still need to get more for the tree…that will come next year!

That is the start to my decorating…:)

Thanksgiving ‘09

2009-12-09T14:50:00.001-06:00

This year we stayed put in Houston and Marcus’ parents came up to share Thanksgiving with us and his brother, Monte. We had a wonderful time. Lots of FOOD, FOOTBALL, FISHING, and Decorating for Christmas! Oh yeah…SHOPPING :) It was fast and furious just like always, but such a wonderful Thanksgiving! The kids had a great time playing with DD and Daddio and stuffing their bellies…especially with pecan pie!

Yes…Madelyn ate ALMOST ALL of the plate full above ;) She is a bottomless pit :)

BOO!

2009-11-02T09:54:00.001-06:00

We had a blast this Halloween….even though we were ALL SICK :( The whole month of October we have only been well for about 1 1/2 weeks…it has been NO FUN! However, Mason was sooo excited to dress as Dash and sister as Minnie Mouse. He was ready to fill his pumpkin full with candy. First, we got dressed headed to Uncle Monte’s house to trick or treat and show off our costumes. Then we headed to our clubhouse Halloween party. There they had a magician, pizza, a clown making balloon animals and much more. It is getting hard to take Madelyn places…she just wants get down and walk everywhere. She doesn’t like to be held much or in a stroller :( So we stayed for a bit then headed home around 7 to get ready to go trick or treating. Mason was sooo excited he loved ringing the door bells and saying "trick or treat” or “Happy Halloween!” Madelyn did not make it too long after 7…with only 1 nap and not feeling great she was ready for bed EARLY :( When we were done we poured out all our treats and ate until we were sick :)

It was too cute…When they were in costume Mason would not let anyone call him or Madelyn by name you had to call them by their dressed up name…Minnie or Dash.

NYC in a Nutshell…

2009-10-19T15:15:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Marcus and I headed out of Friday morning for a weekend of fun, friends and baseball. Thanks Nanny and Papa and aunt Jenny for taking care of our lil ones while we were gone :)

View from hotel room: (Central Park)

It was such a fast and furious weekend, but we managed to have a blast!! First, we arrived and went to see our friend, John, to say good luck! Then we were off to Nike Town to get a few essentials for the cold rainy weather forecasted. Then off to the game…

We rode the subway to the game…it was a quick trip :) Yankee stadium was AWESOME! The fans on the other hand…AWFUL! They just could not stop talking…PROFANITY to us. Thank goodness we had officers and security around us since we sat with the players’ families.

Around the stadium:

Warming up and First Pitch:

John pitched good, but unfortunately they lost both games. On Saturday we went shopping, watched college football and went to Game 2. Game 2 was much more exciting…it lasted 13 innings and sadly our team lost again Darn that A. Rod for hitting a tying homer!!! We made it back to the hotel LATE and got just enough sleep to wake up and catch our flight early on Sunday. We had a great time, but we were ready to pick up our babies! Hopefully they will win the next several games….if they do….. OFF TO THE WORLD SERIES :)

1st Tooth

2009-10-14T20:59:00.001-05:00

For a while now I have been thinking Madelyn is teething. She is always chewing on her fingers or anything she can get a hold of. So a few days ago I saw her gums white and swollen and it looked like a tooth might be poking through. I felt for myself and sure enough….1 little tooth poking through on the bottom left. Her right one isn’t far behind and about to come through too! The only signs she has had were the constantly chewing and swollen gums and runny poo. She is eating mainly the food we eat…she frowns when I pull out the baby food. She is WALKING everywhere and loves to follow her big bro around. My baby girl is growing up too fast!

In other news…

The past few weeks have been a HORRIBLE start to October. Mason was sick with a virus and then Marcus had an upper respiratory infection then Madelyn poor girl had a 103 fever with an UTI infection. After many doc visits…tons of pokes and prods we are all well and feeling great! It was a tough two weeks with everyone sick around the house :(

This weekend Marcus and I are heading to NYC to cheer on the Halos! Our friend John Lackey pitches against the Yankees in Game 1 of the 2nd round of the playoffs. I am excited to go to the new Yankee stadium. I also HEART NYC! It will be a whirlwind of a weekend but I am sooo excited! GO ANGELS!!!

The Tigers

2009-09-27T14:57:00.001-05:00

Mason had his first soccer game this Saturday. I did not know what to expect…We have been pumping him up, playing soccer every day with him, talking it up!! He was PUMPED for his first game. The team practices for 30 minutes before the game then the game is 30 minutes following practice. I do have to say that is nice. It was so cute watching a team of 3 yr. olds practice :) It was even better watching them play. They play 5 on 5 with no goalie. Soooo…Saturday we headed out to our first game. We got Mason all suited up ready to run wild! It was SUPER hot outside and I knew Madelyn would not make it too long in the heat. Once we arrived Mason and Daddy kicked the ball around until everyone showed up. Then the team practiced before their first game. It was soo cute watching them….It was fun chaos!!!!! Madelyn made it for 45 minutes before she was exhausted, hot and just not wanting any part of being in the hot sun anymore, so I had to leave with just 15 minutes left in the game. Of course the 15 minutes I was gone…Mason SCORED…not just once but 2 times :) The ball got loose from the crowd of players and Mason ran up and dribbled to the goal…thank goodness it was the right one ;) The Tigers won 4-2. They like to keep score and have a winning team and a loosing team to teach the kids. I was so proud of Mason listening to his coach, being nice to his teammates and playing hard. He LOVED his first soccer game he kept telling me. He was so pooped he passed out on the way home!

For Your Viewing Pleasure!

2009-09-25T13:31:00.004-05:00

**Sorry you have to tilt your head. We were at our friends Laura and Peyton's house to show them I am not crazy and let Madelyn show off her new trick...WALKING :) Here she is in action...

One Step, Two Step, Three Steps....and MORE!

2009-09-24T21:46:00.003-05:00

At only 8 short months Madelyn is walking!!! She is getting more fearless each day. I thought since Mason walked early Madelyn would give me a breather and just sit like a little lady on the floor and play contently with her toys around her….WISHFUL THINKING! :) I have my running shoes on and am exhausted at the end of each day…they keep me on my toes!!!

She went on to take a few more steps until she reached our Kangaroo Climber!

~Snapshots~

2009-09-24T21:35:00.003-05:00

Here are a few snapshots of the past couple of weeks! My babies are growing like weeds!!

The Carnies Came To Town....

2009-09-17T20:48:00.008-05:00

Just for Mason's 3rd Birthday Party!!!! After
MANY birthday party celebrations for our playgroup buddies it was Mason turn to host his Carnival Birthday Party! We celebrated as a family on his real birthday and then this past weekend we got ready to PARTY with all our friends and family!!!! Thank you thank you thank you so much to all the grandparents...I could not have pulled this off without your help!!! Seeing Mason's big smile and amazed stare as he arrived at his party was priceless. Happy Birthday Buddy!

The Cake and Cupcakes

The Favors

One would throw the tennis ball then they would all run after it...they did this for a long while :)

I rented a carousel...it was a big hit. They LOVED it ;)

Singing Happy Birthday....Mason blew out his candles early...He was ANXIOUS to eat his cake ;)

Playing Ring Around the Rosies...they started it all by themselves...it was tooo cute!!

Giving baby sister kisses....Thanks to Nanny, Papa, and DD for taking care of her during the party!

Ready to TEAR INTO THE GIFTS!!!

2 Steps

2009-09-14T14:57:00.004-05:00

For a bit now Madelyn has been standing for periods of time on her own. She recently has taken her FIRST STEPS. She will only take about 2 then plop on her booty! SLOW DOWN lil girl!!!! She can also be sitting by herself and stand up on her own. It is so cute because Mason will cheer her on...and yell "baby sister took 2 steps" I know he can't wait for her to walk so they can chase each other around the house and WEAR ME OUT :)

Happy Happy Birthday lil Rascal!

2009-09-08T10:01:00.007-05:00

You are our baby...you will always be our baby! 3 sweet, fun filled, happy, and fulfilling years you have been here and we are so excited to see what the next 3+ will bring in our lives together. Curious, particular, outgoing, talkative, imaginative, big hearted are just a few simple words to describe you. I love how you love your sister, how you look up to your daddy, how you love me to read you books and stories each night, how you look forward to your grandparents to come see you. You are full of life and love and we love you lil rascal. Happy Happy 3rd birthday!!

**Birthday Party pics to come after Saturday's Carnival Birthday party!!! We gave Mason a new big bike and fishing pole for his birthday along with some other lil things. We had a busy day at school, riding our new bike, catching a HUGE catfish that broke Daddy's rod, and running through the back yard!! We love you buddy!! Happy Birthday!

Turning 3

2009-08-07T21:01:00.003-05:00

My baby....I love him so!

~Cruising~Climbing~Jumping~OH MY!!!!!

2009-08-07T20:38:00.005-05:00

In a blink of an eye...Madelyn is hitting so many milestones I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Honestly I thought since Mason crawled and walked on the early side Madelyn would take her time and be my observer...WRONG!!! The day she started sitting on her own she decided to take off and crawl. She has always been able to go from stomach to sitting position on her own when she was able to sit on her own. THEN...for sure she would wait to start pulling herself up...NOPE! When I put her down for naps, I love to watch her on the monitor crawl around and stand up in her crib...she does this for a while before plopping back down to settle to sleep. She has started jumping holding on to her crib side...I know we don't have much longer before she props that leg over the crib and climbs out...my fingers are crossed!!!! Mason did that before a year old too!! YIKES :) Now Madelyn loves to pull up on anything and everything and cruise around and around and around. One other thing she loves to do is CLIMB!! She gets this cute grin on her face, focuses on the red slid on Mason's Kangaroo Climber, and darts straight to scale the red slide. I of course am right behind her to catch her if she falls...which she never does! I am more tired now chasing her around at the end of the day than I was when she wasn't sleeping through the night. What am I to do....I have a feeling walking is not too far away for my lil stinker...only 6 and a half months old...WHAT AM I TO DO!!!!!!!! PAUSE TIME :)

Peek a BOO!! Pulling up

My sweet

Me and my sweet :)

~Sisters~

2009-07-23T14:09:00.005-05:00

....That is what Mason calls her ;) Madelyn absolutely LOVES her big bro! She lights up when he is around....he thinks she isn't so bad either :) I can't believe she is 6 months old!!! We have been quite busy and many mastered many new milestones! Since 4 months old she has been eating cereal and now she is eating solids...she is not a fan of many...she likes sweet potatoes, Pears and Applesauce so far...NOT MANY! She is still nursing and taking a bottle...however she is getting less interested in nursing and it seems she is weaning herself. Madelyn has been sitting up for a couple of weeks now and is CRAWLING!!! Mason did not crawl until 7 months but walked at 9 months....hopefully we have a while before she walks....!!!! I have had to lower her bed to the LOWEST setting...she is pulling herself to standing and jumping....I really hope I don't have another climber like Mason...he was climbing out of his crib before 1 YEAR?!?!? Madelyn is sleeping great at night (7:45-7:00) and naps....well I can't complain they are at least 1 hr or longer each one. It amazes me what babies learn in just a short period of their life...AMAZING!

STATS:

16lbs 10 ozs- 63%

25 1/2in- 41%

Here is a lil video of Madelyn on the move.

(notice the chocolate stain on her shirt...Mason thought he would share his treat with her :)

My Fish!

2009-07-17T09:23:00.007-05:00

Last spring was Mason's first time for swim lessons. We only took for a few months. He has always enjoyed being in the water, but was not a "swimmer". This summer I knew we needed to get him back in and swimming! Since I have Madelyn, swim lessons that require me to be in the pool would have been a challenge. We have a few friends who have used this one lady who does private swim lessons so we decided to try her. He goes 4 days a week. I was sooo excited to get Mason swimming on his own and loving the water!

Here is a little clip of Mason after just 4 lessons!!! (BEFORE he would not even come off the steps unless he was being held and he WOULD NOT go under..."I CAN'T WANT TO GO UNDER" Mason would say...and look at him now!!) And we aren't done yet...more swim lessons to go :) I am so proud of him.

!!!???..WHAT..!!!???

2009-07-13T20:22:00.003-05:00

Madelyn is CRAWLING! For over a week she has been getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth...but I did not think she would take off so soon...she is just a week shy of 6 months old!! My baby is GROWING UP :) Of course she just goes a few feet in front of her. If you put a toy out in front of her...SHE WILL GET IT!!

**Video to come soon**

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2009-07-10T20:56:00.001-05:00

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2009-07-10T20:55:00.001-05:00

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Madden Joseph Wakulat IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-10T20:48:00.004-05:00

Welcome Bruiser ;)

My sister, Jenny, had her BIG guy July 9, 2009! We headed to Austin to meet him...he is SOOOOO precious! I couldn't be more happier for Jenny, Paul and big sister Kylie!!

Madden Joseph Waklulat

9lbs 6ozs

20 1/4 in

3:40pm

**We love you Jenny, Paul, Kylie and Madden**