Rodeo

Every Feb/March we get excited....it's RODEO time ;) Last year Mason had a blast watching the trail riders come through Katy and going to the rodeo. This year was a bit different since we have a new member to the family.... I did not attempt to take Mason to the rodeo with our playgroup by myself! We waited for Daddy to take off work and go with us. Let me just say our rodeo experience this year was DRAMA!

It started off GREAT! We started off at the petting zoo...Mason was hesitant at first but enjoyed feeding the animals. Daddy took him in to pet the animals while I fed Madelyn. Daddy did a great job getting do good action shots of Mason!

Then after the petting zoo we went to see the cows..and watch one getting milked. Can you spot Mason and Daddy?

From when Mason was itty bitty he loved TRACTORS!! SO, off to ride the big tractors. This was his favorite part of the Rodeo last year. He did not want to get off :)

NOW FOR THE DRAMA!!! I needed some chap stick so I reached down to the bottom of my stroller to unpack the basket to get to my purse which was hidden at the BACK of the basket. Well...IT WAS GONE!!!!!!!!!!! Everything was in my purse, keys, ID, Credit Cards, phone...everything. There was NO way the purse just fell out...it was hidden behind the camera case, diaper bag, sling, and blanket. I retraced my steps...and knew it has to have been gone during the petting zoo. NO PURSE! The lady at the petting zoo did say a MOM can by and took this black purse (the color of my purse) that her daughter left. So I was off to lost and found to report my purse stolen!!! At this time I was in a PANIC...how were we going to get home...my credit cards...EVERYTHING! As I was walking into the lost and found room a Police officer was walking in with my purse! I was SOOO SHOCKED to see my purse and HAPPY! At first they asked for my ID to make sure that I was who I said and that it was my purse...HELLO...my ID was in my purse. SO they took one look at the ID (YES it was still there :) and decided it was me and handed over my purse. I rummaged through my purse to see what was missing...NOTHING...everything was still there in the same place it was left. I was LUCKY! It's a mystery...there was no way my purse fell out someone had to take it, but not quite sure who took it and ended up not stealing a single thing in my purse!

Now that the drama was over...back to the rodeo. We decided it was time to go to the carnival. We bought some tickets rode some rides and played basketball. Of course you can't go to a carnival without a Funnel Cake...Mason's favorite ;) Overall, the rodeo was a success, but I was ready to leave and get back home for a much needed nap :)

Yes..Madleyn is in the sling...she loves it :)

2 Months

Times flies much faster with the 2nd one (so everyone says :)! I remember back to Mason's first few months...and they went quick, but not as quick as these last few have gone. Night and Day...that is all I have to say about my two babies :) Not only do I have a boy and girl (the obvious difference) I have two different babies that I LOVE dearly. That is a different post all in itself! Today Madelyn turned 2 months old! She is a VERY HAPPY baby...easy going, laid back, and full of smiles. She is a big lil girl :)

(We go to the doctor Thursday the 26th so I will update with her stats and pics.)

Eating: She eats every 3-4 hrs during the day. She is a great burper and doesn't spit up at all. I swear she would go forever all day and not eat if I did not make her. She is a quick eater..she will nurse for about 10 minutes total!!! At first I worried, but when she has had bottles I have pumped at least 4 ounces and she guzzles them down :)

Sleep: I like " routine," so we started early with Madelyn's bed time routine. I LOVE my sleep and you know with a newborn and lil one around...sleep is hard to come by. I hate to type this then Madelyn prove me wrong, but she is one HECK of a sleeper AT NIGHT that is :) She takes a little cat nap around six for about 45 minutes. Then when we put both Mason and Madelyn in the bath at around 7:45...sometimes earlier sometimes later :). Then Madelyn eats one last time around 8:15 she is swaddled then off to dreamland. I put her down around 8:45. She sleeps till 7:30am!! Sometimes she wakes around 5:30am but just for a little snack then back to sleep. That is right almost 12 hours!!!! She is one happy camper in the morning too! At first I did not swaddle Madelyn..she did not seem to like it, but momma did not like waking up because she was hitting herself in the face and waking herself up. When she would wake herself up I would think she was hungry and try to feed her. She would nurse for about 2 minutes just to fall fast asleep again. SOOO, I decided I was going to try swaddling again and WALAAAAA...she liked it and stayed asleep longer ;) YEAH for swaddling. (something Mason HATED with a passion)

Likes: Madelyn loves watching the ceiling fan, her mobile, and laying on her play mat. She "sometime" likes the swing :) She is very content when I put her in the baby sling. She will fall fast asleep. She likes the strolls we take while big brother rides his bike! She likes to be held too! She loves to burry her face when she is trying to fall asleep.

Dislikes: She is not a fan of being tired...when she is tired she will let you know then just a few minutes later she will be off to dreamland. She likes her paci, but at certain times....like when she is trying to fall asleep. Otherwise, she spits it out! She dislikes loud noises. She can tell when I leave the room. I left her in her swing to put something up and as soon as I left she started to cry. I quickly went back into the game room to see what was the matter and as soon as I walked in and said "baby sister girl" she got the hugest grin on her sweet lil face. Naps are not on the top of her list right now. She seems to cat nap all day unless we are on the go then she will sleep in her stroller or in the car. As long as I am getting good rest at night I am a happy camper ;)

The sweetest moments are right after she eats she looks up at me with those big brown eyes and gives me the cutest grin and sweetest giggles. She is irresistible :) I think I was much to nervous the first time around and did not get to fully enjoy all the little things and with the second I am finding myself soaking in every little smile, laugh, coo, cry! It is truly amazing how much they grow and learn in such a short time! I don't know how good of a "girl" mom I will be. I can't seem to remember to put bows in her hair...or put her MILLIONS of cute shoes on her. Boys are simple, shorts and a shirt and maybe a comb through the hair and we were good to go :) I am a girly girl though, but also a tomboy so I guess I will get the hang of getting my girl all dolled up. At least I don't have to worry about doing her hair for a while...she doesn't have much :) And by the looks of it...if she is like her daddy or momma she will have THIN FINE hair...poor girl!

~Spring Break~

This week Mason had his first Spring Break! He headed to Austin for a couple days to stay with my parents. He had such a wonderful time. He headed down Sunday and stayed till Wednesday. Baby sister, daddy and I were left back in Houston and were sad to not have Mason here to keep us company! The house was MUCH MUCH quieter without him here and we missed him so. HOWEVER, Mason had such a wonderful time in Austin I don't think we were missed too much. Here are a few pictures of Mason's fun filled Spring Break in Austin.

Spring Break Checklist:

1. Ride Choo Choo Train at Zilker Park- CHECK



2. Ride bike around neighborhood-CHECK



3. Get Ice Cream with Aunt Jenny- CHECK



4. Watch Cars with Nanny and Papa-CHECK



5. Stay up WAY past bed time- CHECK PLUS



6. Run Nanny and Papa Ragged- CHECK PLUS PLUS

When I went to pick Mason up on Wednesday he had had a BLAST and was ready to tell me all about it :) I was soooo ready to see my lil guy again. He kept giving me hugs and I held on tight. On the way home Mason and Madelyn slept....thank goodness...did not know how that was going to go traveling with the both of them for the first time :) Now Mason is ready to go ransack DD and Daddio's house ;)

Mr. Postman

*This picture was taken at MDO when they were learning about community helpers...of course he choose to dress like the mailman :)

Mason is really into pretend play. He loves to pretend he is cooking for me with his play food and microwave. He also loves to pretend play with his stuffed animals. When we are outside riding his bike...he sometimes pretends he is the mailman delivering the mail. When he is quietly playing he is always "pretend" playing...it is so cute to hear the conversations and see the "pretending" he comes up with! He has quite the imagination :)

I'm In Love With A....

CEILING FAN!

If you want to see the most precious smile or hear the sweetest little laugh and coos....just put Madelyn under the ceiling fan :) She loves to watch it...she can spot them a mile away in every room. She also loves watching her mobile on her play mat and her swing! It is sooo cute!

*please excuse the unmade bed and weird angle...it was hard to get them both in the pic since our ceilings are really high!

2.5

My baby... my baby is 2 1/2 yrs old! I can't believe it....time has flown! He has grown in so many ways. It amazes me how much they learn in just their first few years of life. I can't wait to see what the next few years, decades hold in store for you, Mason! You are one boy full of life and personality and I love watching you grow and change DAILY!

*We have been fully potty trained now for several weeks! YAY!!!

Our Day

Here is a glimpse into our day:

7:15 am: Madelyn wakes...she did great last night! I put her down at 9:15 she woke at 3:00am to eat then went back to sleep until 7:15 GOOD GIRL! She eats her breakfast and dirties a diaper and then we play a bit before going to get Big Bro from bed.

8:00 am: Mason wakes! Baby sister and I go get him up from bed :)

*I take Mason to the potty right when he wakes up and then it is time for breakfast and Mickey.

*While Mason is watching Mickey I get him ready for the day. Today we are meeting one of Mason's good friends, Hunter, at Pump It Up to bounce! When I tell Mason what we are doing he is SOOOOO excited!!!

8:30 am: We head downstairs to watch more Disney Channel while I get ready ( a little makeup and a hat) before we head out at 9:00. Mason and Madelyn hang out and play a bit before she dozes off before we leave.

9:30: Pump It Up here we come!! The boys have so much fun they ran, bounced and played for 2 hours straight...we were the first ones there this morning and the last ones to leave! We had to potty once while we were there :)

11:30: We head home for some lunch of chicken nuggets, pears, and yougart. Madelyn ate her lunch at Pump It Up

12:30: We play a bit in the playroom then wind down to get ready for nap. Before nap we usually watch an episode of Mickey or a movie. Today is Movie Monday on The Disney Channel and I DVR'd Dumbo. While Mason and I were watching it Madelyn dozed off.

1:30: Time for NAP! Mason reads 2 books to me and I tell him a story then he is off to dreamland.

2:00: Madelyn wakes for a 2nd lunch then she fall right back to sleep :) Yay...I can rest too!

3:45: Mason wakes from his nap singing and talking to himself...Madelyn still snoozing away!

*I take Mason to the potty again :)

After Mason's nap he requests to watch Mater (Cars the movie) on his T.V. He watches Cars until Daddy gets home around 4:30! Time to play with Daddy :)

My Brown Eyed Girl

One Month Old

Seriously! One month has gone by...REALLY! I felt like the last month of pregnancy CRAWLED by, compared to this first month that I have had with Madelyn. It has been wonderful :) in every sense of the word! You forget just how much they grow and change DAILY...I can't take my eyes off of her...except to sleep of course. She has already outgrown some of her clothes!

Sleeping: She usually stays awake for about an hour sometimes more before falling back asleep (she likes to be held) She is usually awakened by a big diaper blowout OR Big Brother Mason :) However, I think she likes some noise around when she is sleeping. Sometime I feel she would never wake to eat if I did not make her. She goes for about 4-5 hrs sleeping before waking during the night. I usually put her down around 9pm then she wakes from 1-2:30am then goes right back to sleep until 6:30-7am!

Eating: Madelyn GUZZLES down her milk!! She is a gulper :) She can eat in a record 10 minutes! Sometimes she eats longer, but for the most part she is quick and to the point. During the day she eats every 3 or 4 hrs and at night about every 4-5 hrs :)

Likes and dislikes: Madelyn LOVES to be held. She loves her lil butt patted and she LOVES to snuggle (something Mason never liked) She is beginning to like her baths...it soothes her at night time before bed. Madelyn loves her Baby K'TAN sling...she falls right to sleep when I put her in it. She doesn't like when she has a belly ache (who does), She doesn't have too many dislikes YET :) We have gone on a few walks while Mason rode his bike and she seemed to like strolling through the neighborhood. If she poos during the night and I don't hear it she will sleep through it and it won't even phase her. I feel awful when she does wake to eat that she has been sleeping in a poo diaper!

Madelyn has BIG BIG brown eyes. When Mason was born he had BIG grayish blue eyes where Madelyn's are brown! She does have a ring of blue around her brown though...they are beautiful eyes :) We have nicknamed her Squeaky...that is all she seems to do..awake, at night, ALL DAY...she squeaks! I love those sounds :) We cherish every moment we have with her and Mason and love watching Mason with her! He is doing MUCH MUCH better having his lil sister around!

Go Check These Out!

THANKS, Ashley!!! I love love love my sneak peek :) I can't wait to see the rest! You are awesome!!!!!

www.ashleyallenphoto.blogspot.com

Call Me Crazy

After a few weeks of ENDLESS diapers and a 2 yr old ready to potty train...I decided it was time to say goodbye to the Pampers and hello to Mickey and Thomas big boy undies :)



Day 1: Feb. 9th- We had 3 accidents, but realized he DID NOT LIKE pee pee running down his legs!



Day 2: Feb. 10th- Mason had school today. They have a policy that they can't come in underwear until they have 2 weeks accident free! So Mason will wear his pull up and his Mickey underwear over the pull up until he is accident free. They will take them to the potty often and when Mason tells them he has to go. He did great at school and pee peed on the potty.



Day 3: Feb. 11th- Morning no accidents :) Evening one accident...daddy took Mason to play outside and they were playing too hard and forgot to come in and take a restroom break! Only 1 accident today!

Day 4: Feb. 12th-School again...No accidents at home after school!

Day 5: Feb. 13th-After one accident of tee tee in the morning...Mason decided he did NOT LIKE that feeling anymore! He went poo poo in the potty, "I POO POO A LOT" as Mason said, and was accident free the rest of the day. Today he started telling us more ON HIS OWN that he needed to go to the big potty.

Day 6: Feb.14th-After playing all morning and a trip to Target we are accident free and "I POO POO A LOT" again in the big potty!

.....So far we are on our way! Mason wears his SLEEP UNDIES (pull-ups) for nap and bed time and we put Mickey, Thomas, or Lightening McQueen over them. With the first week almost under our belt....Mason has surprised me once more and done an amazing job taking on this new task! He is SUCH A BIG BOY!

Go Fly A Kite

This week my parents came to visit Mason and Miss Madelyn :) They never come empty handed...and this trip they came with a Kite! Not just any kite a CARS kite with Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater on it ;) He LOVED it...and so did Marcus. It was a WINDY day out, thank goodness, so after Mason woke from his nap Papa, Mason, Daddy, Mommy went to fly his Cars kite. It did not take long before the kite was soaring in the sky! However we did have some kite crashes...into the house and in the lake, but that did not stop Papa from getting the kite back high in the sky. After a while Mason wanted to ride his bike so Marcus took the kite to the front yard and had more fun flying it than Mason did! The next day Papa decided that the kite was not high enough in the sky and that it needed longer string, so we trekked out to Target and Walmart in search for longer kite string. We found it and that afternoon the kite took off again HIGHER in the sky. That is when I decided I need to try flying it! I was not quite the kite flyer Mason and Daddy are....because within a few seconds of me flying it....Lightening McQueen took a nose dive right into the lake....on the opposite side of the lake from our house. Needless to say...the $5 kite was a GREAT purchase for the WHOLE FAMILY :) excluding me...I will just take the pictures next time!