progress

The addition is really coming along. Ryan has been working like crazy on it. Well, in between all the fun stuff we've been up to. It has been really nice to work on it as much as we can, but not to stress about getting it done right now. It's all about balance. And I use the term "we" very loosely. I can honestly say that I haven't been much help. Unless you call keeping Mason out of the mess helping. There's been lots of painting going on and I can't really help with that. There's also been lots of ceiling hanging...and it turns out I wasn't really tall enough for that. I did actually help with about 10 boards though I'll have you know:) Mostly I've been cheering him on and feeding him BLT's. And cleaning up. Mason helps with that too:


Here's what we have so far (and I realize now the lighting is pretty awful):


The floor is in, now we are just waiting for carpet for the rest (coming Thursday!!). The ceiling is hung and both light fixtures are up. We have the bathroom door on the left and our bedroom door on the right. We're still painting and hanging trim. And the floor really needs to be mopped. We've done it once, but we just keep tracking junk all over it from the unfinished parts of the house. I'll give it a good scrubbing after Thursday. Or maybe I can talk mason into it!

family and friends

The last few weekends have been full of good times with family and friends. It started 3 weekends ago when my sister and her husband surprised us with a visit. We went to the football game, I fed them BLT's and we stayed up way too late playing games.

Then last weekend my best friend mindy and her sweet family (and dog:) came for a visit. The little ones napped and we ate egg salad sandwiches. Then we went to the park. So much fun! I wish I had remembered my camera. Olivia was army crawling all over the grass. Java was chasing the frisbee. Mason was chasing the frisbee (after he pulled his usual stunt of screaming in the swing...I don't know why he doesn't like it). Then we all went and got ice cream. We had green chili and sopapillas for dinner and a mad game of pictionary. Did I mention that Ryan and I made a huge comeback and won the game? I see a rematch in the near future though.

That brings us to this weekend. Homecoming weekend in our little town. On Friday our friends Tim and Megan stopped by with little Brenden. It was fun watching him and Mason play. They are two months apart. Oh, and I fed them BLT's.

Is he playing with MY toys?

Isn't he a cutie?

I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm glad he never dropped that truck:)

Then on Saturday Lacy came over for breakfast, which was a real treat since she's in college now. We had some really great conversations. I love that girl. It was just what I needed.

Next stop: the football game. Go Bobcats! They pulled off a great win. The weather was beautiful. I enjoyed hanging with Mason and my cousins at the game. Then we headed into the gym to watch Karly's volleyball game. Another win.

Today started off with a beautiful morning and a long walk. Just me and Java. It was a great time to slow down and think. I realized (again) how thankful I am for each of these relationships.

On another note: I can't stop eating BLT's or egg salad. We've been making bread like crazy.

wordless wednesday

a boy and his dog.

Daisy usually doesn't stray too far from the little one. Java prefers to keep her distance unless of course mason is eating. It's nice having a clean up crew. Mason sure has taken a liking to Daisy. He even grabbed her face between his two hands and tried to give her a kiss. Daisy has got to be the most mellow dog because I'm pretty sure she didn't even budge. This is about as close as mason gets to snuggling. He is constantly asking to be "up" but he doesn't mean to sit on your lap. He wants to sit in his own spot, right next to you. And he wants to pile as many toys as possible on his lap. It's a pretty fun game.

But this boy sure knows how to play hard and he will let you know when he's ready to sleep. Then you might get a few snuggles in. He'll start rubbing his eyes and crawl up next to you for a few minutes of lovin' before he heads off to bed. And in the morning one of the first things he does is stand up and call his dogs. He likes to play a few rounds of peek-a-boo with them and give Daisy a few pats on the head before he's ready to get up and start playing again.

wordless wednesday

tub time

Even though we cut mason's hair, Aunt Kati and I were still able to give it a little style!

things I'm loving...

• a vase full of flowers from our garden
• surprise weekend visits from my sister and her husband
• the way mason raises his arms and makes a little puff sound when he tries to say "up"
• canning (so far peaches, pears, and beets. And green chilis tomorrow.)
• chilly mornings
• picking tomatoes from the greenhouse
• my job
• arby's
• all the progress on our addition (two weeks until carpet!)
• good friends
• watching mason play with ruby
• bagels for breakfast with freshly ground almond butter
• watching Friends with ryan in the evening
• chasing mason around the house and hearing him giggle
• 3 day weekends

a few things I'm not loving so much:

• car shopping...I hit a deer on the highway and had to say goodbye to our little red subaru
• the never-ending stickyness in the kitchen from all the canning of fruit
• liars
• mason waking up early in the morning, standing up in his crib and turning on the light (did I mention that his bedroom will have carpet in two weeks...almost time for him to move in!)
• second graders who insist on tasting our science experiments

a little something...

Things have been a little fun in our family lately:) First I found out that my sister was pregnant and Mason was going to have a little cousin in March. Then a few weeks later we found out I was pregnant. Mason is also going to have a little brother or sister in March. We are so excited! It's been pretty awesome sharing this experience with my sister, Kati.

a new do

Hey Mason. How could we let your hair get so long? It was getting a little crazy looking. People were starting to comment. Family members were starting to comment. Mason was having a hard time seeing. It was time.

Now, I've tried a lot of things since Mason entered our lives, but cutting a toddlers hair was not one of them. I asked my cousin (the pro:) for help. She told me to just pull a section straight out, angle it, and cut away.

So we gave Mason a bag of animal crackers and started combing. And pulling. And angleing (is that a word?) And cutting. Ryan and I couldn't stop laughing. Mason couldn't stop moving. I kept saying "I don't know how to do this!" Yet we kept cutting.

And here's the new do. I'm pretty sure he thinking "what have you done to me??" And "can I please get down now?" It's pretty rough for him to be outside and have to be strapped into a chair. I want to run!! That's what he's thinking.

We spent the next while running around and playing hide and seek.

I love this one! You can totally see all the un-evenness that came from the pulling and angleing and cutting. Hey, at least it's shorter. I did follow him around for the rest of the evening with a pair of scissors because I kept noticing things.

Oh Mason. Your first haircut. Where has the time gone?

wordless wednesday