Our Little Blessings

It's this time of year when you start counting your blessings.  There's so much in life to be thankful for, but we are most thankful for two healthy kiddos.  We are fortunate that they get along - Mason adores his "sisser" and Mya genuinely seems happier when he's around.  They consume every waking of hour of our lives these days, but we cherish the time we have with them.  Busy schedules, home-ownership stresses, work stresses - they all melt away with a smile from Mya or an "I love you" from Mason.  We are truly blessed.

Wishing you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!

The Slaying of the Diaper Monster

It took what seemed like forever, but Mason is finally, officially potty-trained!  We tried and failed (and gave up) many times over the past six months, but finally (at the encouragement of daycare) decided it was time to try a little harder.  A few weeks ago we put Mason in training pants because it was obvious he thought Pull-Ups were the same things as diapers.  The first week in training pants was accident after accident after accident.  There was lots of laundry and tons of frustration during this phase.  In spite of all the incentives we had in place for trying (M&M's from the giant M&M dispenser), going peepee (army guys), and going poopoo (Matchbox cars), Mason didn't even want to try.  Slowly things started getting better.  He started going at daycare from time to time, but still had accidents there and always had accidents at home.  Eventually we had a breakthrough - one peepee.  From there it got better, and got better fast.  And now we've gone a full week without an accident! 

I remember when Mason stopped drinking from a bottle and I thought at the time that being bottleless was such a wonderful accomplishment.  Mostly because I didn't have to wash them anymore!  But this is so much better.  It's not so much the expense of diapers or trying to change them when Mason would rather be doing something else - it's the sense of pride we feel every time he has a success. 

No potty pictures to share, but here's a fun one of Mason in the bathtub, with a "beard like daddy." Does Adam have a beard? No, but he gets awfully burly after just one day of not shaving.  :)

Kids Say the Darnedest Things, Part 3

Mason said so many cute things this weekend that I just had to post a new edition of Kids Say the Darnedest Things. At dinner last night Adam said we should really be writing all these cute things down - lest he forget that's exactly what I'm doing on this blog!

Masonism #1: Adam's new TV addiction is the AMC series The Walking Dead.  As I was cleaning up in the kitchen last night, Adam flipped over to watch a few minutes of this show.  Mason looked up at the TV and told Adam matter-of-factly, "Daddy, this isn't for me."  My smart little boy! 

Masonism #2: Adam made a delicious chicken and gnocchi soup for dinner, and used half potato gnocchi (that are white) and half wheat gnocchi (that are brown).  So Mason sits down to eat and looks in his bowl, and exclaims, "Gnocchi!" Yes, our child has quite the food vocabulary already.  But he scooped up a brown gnocchi and asked what it was.  When we told him it was gnocchi too, he said, "No, that's Hundley."  Anyone who watches Curious George with their kid knows what he meant by that.  (George is friends with a white cat named Gnocchi and a brown dog named Hundley.) 

I just love that everything is so straight-forward with children.  Things either are or they aren't, and everything is one or the other.  Someday he'll develope a gray area, but it's kind of refreshing to see the world in black and white through his eyes.

Pumpkin Hunting

Last year we took Mason over to Gull Meadows and decided to do the same this year, but earlier in the season to avoid the massive crowds this time. It was a chilly Sunday morning, so we had to bundle everyone up. Mya was so cute with her Julia hand-me-down coat - her fat face actually fills up the hood! Everyone had fun, and the trip was a poinant reminder just how quickly kids grow. Last year we didn't let Mason do many of the activities - he was too young to do things alone and we were too big to do some things with him. This year he did it all!

I think his favorite part was riding around the farm in this little "train" pulled by a tractor. We didn't even bother to walk along side the train, just waited for him back at the start. He also had fun on the giant tube slides, which he didn't go on last year because the line was too long, and the jump pillow, which he didn't go on last year because we were afraid he'd be smooshed. The highlight of the day was when we sat down to eat iced pumpkin donuts and after one bite Mason proclaimed, "This is the best bagel I ever saw!"

The First Sign of Fall

Adam has been jonesing for fall - cool nights, hoodies and football season. It's finally here, and our newest Spartan is ready to go! She wore this little number for the MSU vs. Notre Dame game, but it apparently didn't work as we lost. It was a rare year in which we didn't make the trip to South Bend, but Adam's dad only got two tickets this year and we decided not to buy any separately - mostly for childcare reasons. But we still had fun by inviting over Adam's cousins (Derek & Emily - Mason's godparents) and their kids. Derek has always been a mild Michigan fan, but we've helped to intensify his rooting interests with our anti-Michigan mentality. We usually get together with them to watch the MSU vs. U of M but they couldn't make it this year so we had to switch weekends. They were the surrogate Irish fans for the day and luck was on their side. Thankfully we followed up the loss with a trouncing of Central Michigan (sorry mom & Megan!) but next week we start a nasty stretch that includes games against Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin. While we're hoping MSU wins them all, as long as we win the Michigan game we'll be okay. :)

Whirling Weekend

This past weekend was so jam-packed full for fun, it's hard to know where to start. On Saturday we went down to Edwardsburg to celebrate Adam's cousin's marriage. Colin and Christina had a little one in May, so we got to compare chubby babies. :)

Then on Sunday we kicked off the day with Mya's baptism. She was such a good little girl during church, but when it was time for her baptism she cried and cried. (St. Ambrose does baptisms after the normal mass.) We finally got her calmed down for some pictures with Fr. O'Leary and her godparents - Megan and Dan. Yes, she is shoeless in this picture!

After the baptism we returned home for a birthday celebration for Mason, Adam and Colin. Of course the star of the celebration was Mason. He was such a happy kid opening his gifts, especially as he opened more and more Thomas trains! After everyone left and we were getting him ready for bed, he told Adam "I want to say thank you, but everyone's gone already." A moment that makes a mommy's heart melt to be sure. It is hard to believe our little guy is three already. The time just flies and flies.

Summer Wrap Up

We wrapped up the summer by visiting Grandma & Grandpa one weekend and Nana & Papa the next.

Mason was in train heaven (and so was Grandpa) the entire time we were in Bridgeport. The train-lovers hid in the basement a few hours and played with Grandpa's model train set on Saturday. Then on Sunday we all went over to Junction Valley Railroad to ride the trains.

For Labor Day weekend we went down to the lake for the last time of the summer. In a Pure Michigan moment, we went from the searing heat of summer on Saturday to the crisp winds of autumn on Sunday. Yes, summer was officially over. And as you can see from Papa's shirt, football season is upon us. The highlight of our trip to the lake was Adam's luck with fishing. Within 30 minutes he caught three 16" bass just fishing off the end of the dock, and cleaned and cooked them too.