Long Time No Post!!!

I am sure everyone has been on pins and needles WAITING for me to blog....ya right ;) We have been pretty busy these past few weeks and things don't seem to be slowing down one bit, but that is how I like it! In the past few weeks we have:

• said goodbye to our old house (man when you move you find out all the lil friends who have been living with you YUCK!!!!)



• moved into our new house (I am LOVING it!!! Mason did not skip a beat..he LOVES playing in his game room and in his new room)



• unpacked, unpacked and MORE unpacking (the NOT SO FUN part)



• Went/ well was supposed to go to the Kentucky Derby (Marcus still went)...I went last year (click HERE for last year's post) and it was AWESOME! I was sad I had to make the decision to stay home, but glad I finally unpacked the LAST of my boxes. Thank goodness my parents were coming down that weekend to watch Mason because I turned up sick right before I was supposed to leave :( Thanks Nanny and Papa for entertaining Mason while I unpacked and organized!



• Now this weekend we are ALL headed to MEXICO with Marcus' family! This is the first of many lil vacations we have planned for this summer, SO FUN! I can't wait to let Mason play in the sand and swim with the fishes :)

For now, I will leave you with these pictures from the weekend...I still have a few things to do around the house before I take pictures and post pictures of the house....I am sure you JUST CAN'T WAIT :)

Happy Birthday DADEEEEEE

Happy 29th Birthday!!

Almost FINISHED!!

The slide show below is of the progress of our new house :) We do our walkthrough tomorrow and HOPEFULLY close next Thursday! I couldn't be happier. I didn't feel like describing all the pictures so hopefully they speak for themself!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Splish~Splash

What a fun day we had today! Today was Mason's first swim lessons. I started early because we will be traveling to the beach, and swimming TONS this summer. Mason has been in a pool last summer, but was not sure how this whole swim lessons would go. He did not know what to think at first, but loved the slide! I was not able to get many pictures because I was the only one there with him, so I will get some more soon. He went under, learned how to kick, learned bubbles, learned how to float on his back, and how to get to the side of the pool. Well all with my help or the teacher's help. It was fun and I know he will enjoy it more and more each time we go. When we were leaving and all morning he kept saying POOL POOL....obviously it left an impression on him ;)

Just a cute pic I thought I would throw in :) Looking for the ducks in our new backyard!

Just look at those dimples!

Eating a good breakfast before we go swimming...(don't worry we did not get into the water to swim until 1 hr. later ;)
Observing....look at that funky hair! Sorry the pic is dark :(
Mason's new kicks....he was not quite sure of them, but they grew on him...check out those bruises on his legs...poor guy!

Excited to jump in....actually he LOVED the slide and tried to slide every chance he could get! You mean I have to get in THERE!!! sorry for the blurr :(
**One thing I did notice was the older the kids the more afraid of the water they were if it was their first time swimming or in a pool. Mason is in a "starfish" class from babies to 2 yrs old. Most were kids his age and a one under 1. There are only 5 kids in his class which is GREAT! I am glad we started him early :)

POO POO

BREAKTHROUGH!!!!! Last night we were sitting at the dinner table finishing dinner. Mason said POO POO. OK....we thought....let's check his diaper (he usually poo poos before nap and before bed time) NO, nothing. Then right after we checked his pants he went POO POO. Our lil guy just told us he needed to POO POO!!! Time to buy a potty :)

I am finishing this post a few days later. Now "sometimes" when he needs to poo poo or TT he points to the BIG potty and says "poo poo or TT". So....I am needing some help in which potty is best for boys....What potty should I buy?

I've Been Called Worse :)

Mason has said dada for a while. Then it went to DADEEEE now just Daddy :) During these changes he has always called me mama! Then there was a period he wasn't saying mama anymore....I was SAD! I wondered WHY? Well...ever since Mason was born I have had many nick names for him, bubba being one. I was leaving one day and Marcus was there with him and he ran to the door saying BUBBA BUBBA and crying. It clicked!! Mason had given me a nick name too, the same one I gave him....BUBBA! Now that explained all the times I would hear BUBBA when he was looking at me and trying to get my attention :) I had a video of this, but can't get it to upload :(

My Silly Boy

Shoes:

The other day we were driving down the road and I hear from the backseat....MOR MOR MOR (aka MORE) from Mason. I say what do you want bubba? And he keeps saying MOR MOR MOR. I come to a stop light and look to see what he wants....usually it is his dog, or D (drink), or cookie (crackers) . This time he was holding up his SHOE!!!! He then proceeded to SIGN the word PLEASE and say MOR MOR MOR and SIGN more!! My silly boy LOVES shoes :)

Bath time :
Mason LOVES his bath too! We used to have a smaller tub that we put into the big tub for him when he was smaller. But when we would travel he HATED baths...we couldn't quite figure out why. He would take a bath in the sink, but still was not a fan! We finally took the smaller tub away at our house and he only took a bath in the big tub, but we kept the yellow sponge thingy in the tub for him to sit on so he would not slide. Well tonight he stood up to get a bath toy then went to sit back down. When he sat back down his bottom was not on the yellow sponge thingy. He whined and pointed to his butt for me to put the sponge back under his behind. Now we know why he will not take a bath in other tubs....they have to have the yellow sponge thingy ;)

For more of Mason's 18 month/Easter pics go here:
www.ashleyallenphoto.net
Click on View Website
On the bottom right side click on the word CLIENTS
Password: Mason (make sure you capitalize the M)

~Happy Easter~

This year Easter was so much fun! (despite the Easter bunny visit :) Mason LOVED LOVED LOVED hunting Easter eggs. He had an Easter egg hunt with our playgroup, at our next door neighbors, and then again on Easter Day with the family. By then he was a PRO!! He knew to look high and low and even in his CAR TRUNK for them :) What a miracle our precious Lord gave Marcus and me!

ROUND 1: Playgroup Easter egg hunt

Found ONE!

Mason would run away after he found his eggs....he did not want anyone to take them :)

Group pic attempt

Result :)

Round 2: Neighbor's egg hunt
I am such a GREAT egg hunter!!

Round 3: Family hunt


man hunting eggs is sooo much fun :)

*We have a great family pic, but it was not taken on my camera :)

Fergie

My sister and I went to see Fergie at the Houston Rodeo last week. It was SOOOO much fun :) She sang all her own songs plus all the songs she has recorded with Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake. She had 2 "costume" changes during the show....usually performers don't have costume changes at the Rodeo, but FERGIE did :) The rodeo is over and I can't wait to see who the Houston Rodeo will bring next year. (what is really fun to watch is the calf scramble right before the performers sing.....the calf scramble is a bunch of students trying to "scramble" a calf into a square in the center of the field...there are 13 calves and 26 students FUNNY!!!!) Thanks for coming, Jenny!!! Mason loved seeing his aunt ninny :)

*The next day Jenny and I took Mason to get his Easter/18 month pictures taken. I know they are going to turn out SOOOO cute..I can't wait to see the rest of them :) Here are just a sneak peek http://ashleyallenphoto.blogspot.com/

Easter Bunny Visit

Ok...so the Santa Clause visit did not go well AT ALL! I was determined that the Easter Bunny visit was going to be better....Mason was older, the Easter Bunny looked like a big stuffed animal...it WAS going to work! Here is how the day played out:

My friend and I decided to take our babes to see the bunny at Katy Mills Mall yesterday. Our plan...be there at about 10:45am to be first in line when the bunny "opens" at 11:00. Well we get there we weren't first in line but only a few were in front of us. So we waited...and waited...11:00 came and went. The photographer lady dreaded to inform us...The Bunny was late and they could not find a replacement bunny....As she is saying this you hear moms explaining to their OLDER kids "the bunny is sick" Some moms even offered to dress up in the bunny costume for the kids!! DEDICATION!! Well we decided to run real quick into a store and come back to see if the bunny had shown up. Well we were gone about 15 minutes and when we came back FINALLY the bunny had shown, but now we were further back in the line (did I mention it was spring break!!!) We waited and waited and waited some more. Finally, we are almost there..only 2 people in front of us. Well....Let me just say...they should put a time limit on how long you can TRY to make your child smile. This one lady NO LIE tried for 10+ minutes. My blood was boiling at this point....BREATHE COUNT TO TEN, Andrea. Finally Mason's turn. I back him into the bunny...he is giving the bunny high 5's, not smiling, but not SCREAMING either. I look back to see if they got a picture...NOPE. The 2+ minutes he was siting contently in the bunny's lap not 1 picture. Then SCREAM...he starts screaming...and that is when they took the picture. Ok...blood pressure just shot up again. Needless to say I did not purchase the picture, and calmly left the Bunny area with no proof that Mason did not have a fit when he sat on the bunny except after a few minutes. I would love to write about the rest of our visit to the mall that day, but I would be here for A WHILE....so there you have it....what a catastrophe!

Playgroup Field Trips

Trail Riders~ZOO~Houston Rodeo

We have been BUSY! Here are pictures of our playgroup's outings the past couple of weeks! Mason has so much fun playing with his lil friends :)

Trail Riders: I love Houston Rodeo time!! They have great performers, great shopping, and GREAT FUN for kids! We watched as the Salt Grass Trail Riders ride into town getting ready for the rodeo.

Waiting patiently for the riders to come

Look MOM...is that them?!?

So much fun :)

Ok...I think that's the end.


ZOO: A few days later we visited the Houston ZOO. Mason LOVE LOVE LOVES animals, so needless to say he enjoyed the ZOO tremendously!

All lined up and ready to go :)

Mason had a blast on the carousel and at the park inside the zoo!



Houston Rodeo: What does a cow say, Mason? MOOOOOOOOOOO MOOOOOOOOO!! He loves Mooing (is that a word) He mooed in the bath, getting ready for bed...pretty much all night! It was a riot :) At the rodeo we went to the petting zoo and petted baby goats, turtles, and ponies. Then we headed to have their pictures taken in the John Deere tractor. I just knew what was gunna happen when Mason's turn was over.....A MAJOR BREAKDOWN...just like he has when he had to get out of the car at the haircut place!! The boy LOVES cars and he would have been content if we just played in the tractor all day. Next we took them over for a pony ride. Mason loved it for the first loop then decided he would rather me hold him the rest of the ride. What a fun time we had....There is soo much more we DID NOT get to see and can't wait to go back. Mason was pooped by the end of the day and so was I :)

Masona and Jackson....look at those concerned faces :) Too cute!
WOW!! Why is that goat standing on that turtle?!?!?
He loved petting the Pony
Look MOM!! I am taller than the goat ;)

He enjoyed being up close with the goats, ponies, and turtles.

Mason LOVED being up high in the Tractor ;)

Look at my lil cowboy :)

Lap one...happy on the pony......

Lap two...ready to get OFF the pony!

One TIRED boy! Can you see his lunch all over his shirt!!

Last Tuesday night our playgroup had a MNO...mom's night out at the rodeo. We went to see Rascall Flatts...they were AWESOME!!! They sounded just as good live as on the radio. This next week Jenny and I go see Fergie at the rodeo amd Marcus and I are going to see Pat Green...SOOOO FUN!!!! They also have some GREAT shops there too :)

Will My Son Ever Get Any More TEETH!!

Ok...Mason is 1 1/2 yrs old and he only has 6 teeth!!! He got his first tooth at nine months and the second right before his first birthday. His top four came in in January. He has four on top and two on bottom. WILL HE EVER GET ANY MORE TEETH!!! I know they say the longer it takes them to come in the longer it is till they loose them and the better off they are, but I hate to see what life at the Schultz house will be like when all Mason's MOLARS decide to make an appearance at ONCE!!! Patience is a virtue...one that I have been better at since being a teacher and having Mason :)