Public Service Announcement

I have been on a fire safety kick lately. I told Gary we've lived in this house for a little over a year now so we should probably change out the batteries in our smoke detectors. So I went to Home Depot and got enough batteries to change out all 7 smoke detectors in our house. Gary climbs up the ladder to change out the first and we got quite the surprise. Our detectors do not need batteries, they are electric. That was not the surprise...none of them were plugged in! How can that be??!!! We thought that was something the inspector checked when you have a home inspection, but apparently not. So, we have been living in a 2 story house with 2 kids upstairs, and 0 smoke detectors working. How crazy is that???!!! So please take this time to check your smoke detectors for batteries/electricity...thanks. I know one reader's husband (he's a fireman) that will not find this funny.

Cowkin or Pumpboy

Otherwise known as a cowboy pumpkin. I have taken the easy way out so far this year. Mason and I went to Market Street where he picked out his pumpkin. On the way home I asked him what kind of face did he want the pumpkin to have. So I made up all kinds of options for him and he finally got excited about the cowboy. Gary, being the talented artist that he is, was instructed to make the cowboy pumpkin face, complete with scary teeth. So not only did Mason not go to a pumpkin patch, but we didn't carve the pumpkin either, we used a Sharpie marker instead. It was such a nice, neat, clean pumpkin experience. Poor kid was jipped this year.

He also decorated his own little pumpkin too. He is such the artist, just like his dad. Note, the little pumpkin sitting next to the cowboy pumpkin. By the way, thanks CeeCee for the cowboy hat. At least it's being put to good use. Also note the nice leftover chocolate icing around Mason's mouth from the chocolate cake he happily shared with Mama. He's definitely my child.

My little helper

On another note...where do kids learn to be such manipulators? Yesterday, Mason did something wrong, I don't even remember what it was, and I was talking to him in a very calm voice about it. In his most pitiful voice, his reply was "Mommy, don't yell at me. Don't get mad at me." I was taken aback and then laughed to myself. Where did he learn that? Well, I told Gary about it and to his astonishment, he did the same thing to Gary today. I was witness to that too and Gary didn't even raise his voice at Mason. I am afraid of what the teenage years may hold for us if he has already learned how to try to manipulate us now. Yikes!

Little ears and voices

Another example of little ears hearing what we say...Miles was barking in the backyard so Mason goes to the back door and opens the screen door to yell at Miles. In his little boy yelling voice (which is sometimes hard to understand but I knew exactly what he was saying) he said, "Miles, get in here. Dog, that's enough...I know you heard me!" I was laughing out loud at him with the last part because that is what I tell Mason all the time when he has ignored my request or question.

Hangin' Tough

I waited 20 years for this and it was well worth the wait...NKOTB. That's right. New Kids on the Block reunited just for me to come to Dallas so that I could see what I missed when I was in junior high. You may snicker in disbelief, but it was so much fun! We even made our own shirts to pay homage to our favorite New Kid with the help some iron-on transfers. We each picked our favorite from back in the day and his name was front and center on our shirts. Let me just say that Christy had some spelling issues in making the shirts, as she misspelled Joey and Donnie (not with a Y). Joey she corrected, but Donnie she never realized it was misspelled. It sure was funny when it was pointed out while eating dinner before the concert. There was no hiding it then.

It was absolutely crazy! I have never heard so many screaming 30 year old women before in my life. They sold out American Airlines Center and it was loud. There was only one incident involving undergarments being thrown on the stage. I have to say that my arm is sore from waving it back and forth so much and my throat hurts from yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs. It was definitely worth the money and the wait.

And for those who were wondering...yes, they sang "The Right Stuff, Hangin' Tough, and Step By Step" and performed pretty much the same exact dance moves from 20 years ago. There were even a few ladies dancing in the aisles doing the same. I promise I was not one of them (but I probably could have).

Laugh if you must, but we had so much fun and talked about it all the way home. Thanks Crystal, Heather, and Christy for joining me in a trip down memory lane to junior high. By the way, we only tight rolled our jeans for a photo op.

...all the time

Mason has started adding "all the time" to the end of everything.
I love you all the time.
I miss you all the time.
I eat that all the time.
I like CeeCee (my mom) all the time.
I go to school all the time.
I want to ride the horsies all the time.

On a different note. Yesterday I caught little girl trying to pull herself up to standing in her crib on the monitor. So I raced upstairs with my heart down in my knees to find her gnawing on the crib rail almost all the way up in standing. Needless to say, I lowered the crib mattress immediately. Today, she pulled herself to standing all the way up by herself. Yikes! She is 6.5 months old. That girl is definitely keeping us on our toes. I did finally get the top of the stairs gated yesterday, now I'm working on the bottom.

A man in the making...

1. Man's hideout (oven box)

2. Buddies (stuffed animals)

3. Cold one (sippy cup o' juice)

4. Remote control (doesn't work)

5. Snacks ( cheese & cheerios)

6. Couch (Thomas the Train)

7. TV (little DVD player)

8. Sitting in your underwear

Funny phrases

A few conversations with Mason this week:

We were all driving to dinner this evening and Reese was starting to cry in the backseat. Mason says, "Baby Ree crying, I don't think she like me". Gary and I had to crack up at that one.

Yesterday I was trying to get him to eat his chicken at dinner. After repeating "eat your chicken" several times, Mason scoots close to me, starts stroking my arm very gently with his hand, and says in a very sweet voice "Mama, I love you all the time." I laughed and gushed, but still made him eat his chicken. It was a nice try to get out of it though.

We have had a recent problem with Mason crying each day I drop him off at MDO. It has been getting better. This morning as Gary was getting ready to leave for work, Mason told him "Daddy you go to work? I pick you up. You don't cry." We just had to laugh because it is the same thing I have to tell him each time. Wouldn't you know he didn't cry this morning. It was great!

Man card suspension

Gary would probably rather me not tell you what all we did this weekend, but I'm going to spill the beans anyway. We joke about the fact that Gary's "man card" has been temporarily suspended because I made him go to the So You Think You Can Dance show Friday night at Nokia theater. He will tell you that I made him go, but he watched just about every show with me this summer so he is a fan too. Apparently, there were a lot of women who brought their husbands or boyfriends because there were a lot more men there than I would have ever imagined. But...you should have seen the line for the womens' restroom at the intermission. CRAZY!

Gary did earn his 'man card' back on Saturday after watching college football all day long.

On Sunday, we decided to take a spur of the moment trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. Mason was so excited when we told him where we were going. This only happens about once or twice a year so it was a big deal that we didn't even plan for it. Each time we go to the zoo, we always take a minor detour and stop in Hurst for the best Mexican fast food ever...Rosas's Cafe. They are a staple when you live in west Texas, and that is one of the very few things we miss about west Texas. Usually, we buy extra and take it home and freeze it, but this time we had lunch first and then went to the zoo. So we have to wait probably another 6 months or so until more beef fajitas with queso. Yum!

I followed in the footsteps of a friend and made the decision not to take the camera to the zoo. I have to say it was quite liberating. Not feeling like I had to have the perfect picture at every exhibit. Plus, Reese wanted to be carried the majority of the way. So it worked out well for everyone involved.

We even took the kids to the park later when we got home. I joke with Gary saying we would have won a parenting award on Sunday since we had so much fun and it was all about the kids that day. It's so easy to get caught up with work, cleaning, cooking, and living that sometimes the kids don't get the attention they need at all times. I'm working on it.

Get Your Guns Up!

There was quite a bit of celebrating today during the Texas Tech game. Mason is working on "getting his guns up". Right now they look more like antlers or ears, but we get lots of practice during a Tech game. It was a close a little too close for our comfort today, but they managed to keep it together and advance to 6-0. My sister commented on how profound Coach Mike Leach is during his post game interview..."Coach, how did you get it together at the end? Well, uh, um, er...like Sharon Stone said after finishing one of her movies...no guts, no glory." Coach Leach is a very interesting man to say the least.

Caves, flashlights, and little toes

Mason has a "cave" in the livingroom (a.k.a. the oven box) and it has lots of his stuffed animals, a pillow, and his blanket in it. He was all about Reese checking it out until he realized she could crawl and was headed straight for his animals. Hence, the concerned look on his face in the second picture, which was followed by "Mama, come get her!"

Our nightly routine...using the flashlight to locate geckos along the back of the house. For added fun, tonight he was using the flashlight to locate dog poop. The dogs have been very helpful in "hiding" a lot of poop for him to find with the flashlight.

Reese has been doing this with her feet ever since she started in the high chair, about a month now. I don't know why, but I think it is the cutest thing, this death grip she has on the tray with her first couple of toes. She does it everytime.

6 months

I can't believe she is 6 months already. She has been such a sweet baby and is truly a blessing.

She doesn't normally get her pacifier unless it's nap or bedtime. However, now that she is mobile, I have found that a pacifier in the mouth means nothing else will go in (i.e. stickers, dogfood, popcorn, mail, etc.).

Pages and pictures

I know you guys have been hanging on the edge of your seats waiting for my scrapbook page entry, so you're wait is over. I have been looking forward to completing this page since Reese was born. That's just the silly part of me being excited about a play on words involving Gary's favorite candy. And, I did not disappoint myself either. I'm sure Gary is glad that it is finished and that I will stop talking about it soon.

Reese is officially creeping on her hands and knees. She is never in the same place we have left her, which is going to make me have to keep my house cleaner from here on out. Mason loves popcorn and isn't exactly the neatest eater, and I haven't been the fastest at cleaning up messes either. So between the two of us we have to be more careful now.

Mason goes back and forth between being a camera ham and not wanting to be involved. He was in a ham it up mood today. As mentioned before, he loves his popcorn and has been asking for it everynight after dinner. Boy, does he know how to manipulate. When I was leaving for the retreat Saturday evening, Gary was getting ready to put Mason to bed when Mason says "Daddy, you eat popcorn WITH me in the chair and watch Chicken Little?" in the cutest melt your daddy's heart voice. It worked. They watched the entire movie before going to bed.

On a side note, Gary did survive the 18 hours alone with the kiddos which involved one night. They were pretty easy on him I have to say.

And finally, I don't think Gary and I have had our picture taken together in quite a while, so here's an updated picture of us.

Scrapbooking, football, and chocolate

Sounds silly but that about sums up a great weekend for me. Our Red Raiders blew out Kansas State, I got to scrapbook for about 16 hours this weekend, and there was an never-ending supply of M&M's (thanks Cindy!). I think it surprises some friends that I like to scrapbook, but when you have kids as cute as mine, I would be doing them an injustice to not scrapbook. At least that's my excuse. When I can get my pictures uploaded I'll share my favorite page from this weekend.

Third Day

Last night Gary and I got to go see Third Day in concert and they didn't dissapoint. It was actually our third time to see them in concert and we'll probably go again some day. We got there late so we missed Jars of Clay and the Robert Randolph Family Band, but they came back out for the encore so we did hear them perform a little. We did get to see Swtichfoot and of course Third Day. A Christian rock concert is such an amazing experience. To know that all those people are there to share the music that praises our God and to do it openly is awesome! Then add the excitement, the faith, and the truth that Third Day puts in their music and you have an unbelievable worship experience. If you have never heard of them you're missing out. I put a link to one of their live performances, but it truly doesn't do them justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySJmvDV7FdM

And I wanted him to talk?

On our drive down to see my parents over the weekend, this was a serious conversation Mason and I had. I'll set the scene for you. I was driving on a country road, it was dark, and I smelled what had to have been a skunk...

Me: "Eeeewwwww! That stinks! That must be a skunk!"
Mason: "Mama, I not a skunk, I Mason."
Me: "No sweetie, I smell something stinky and I bet it's a skunk."
Mason: "I not a skunk Mama, I Mason."
Me: "Mason, I'm not calling you a skunk. I smell a skunk."
Mason: "I not a skunk Mama. I Mason."

I could see this conversation wasn't going anywhere.



Apparently I have said this often lately.
Me: "Mason, time for a bath."
Mason: "I'm coming."
Me (a minute later): "Mason, get up here please"
Mason: "I''mmm coommminnnggg."
Me ( a minute later): "Mason! Now please."
Mason: "I'm coming! I'm not going to tell you again!"

Can you believe that!!!???

Le Petite

Reese had her six month check-up today. First of all, I can't believe she is 6 months old already. The second time around seems to fly by. Secondly, she seems to be a little on the petite side so we will be keeping a casual eye on her weight gain over the next month or so. I'm not too concerned and neither was the PA, but the numbers and their trend suggests we should be. But if you have seen her chunky thighs or changed her diaper recently, then you would see that she looks very healthy and happy. So that's why we are casually monitoring her weight. Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 pounds 4.5 ounces (30th %)

Height: 25 inches (20th %)

Head: 17.25 cms (79th %)

Cuteness: Extreme (110%)

And on a side note, I think we have a blue-eyed blonde haired baby in the family. I don't know how, but we do. Her eyes haven't changed and Mason's did at this point already.