Happy Birthday, Mason!

Dear Mason,

Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy! I can't believe that you are THREE years old. It seems like just yesterday that Mommy and Daddy were headed to the hospital to have you evicted from the comforts of your warm home - you were NOT in any huge hurry to come out but once you made up your mind there was no stopping you from making your grand entrance into the world.

You have grown and changed so much in the past three years. You are so determined and strong willed. You want to do EVERYTHING that Mommy and Daddy do and are such a big helper. You have a fiery personality and get frustrated sometimes when you can't do things the way you want to. But you're learning and catching on quickly. You LOVE your big brother so much and you two have become great friends and playmates but DEFINITELY go through the fighting that siblings go through.




I hope you have a great birthday sweetie! You will always be MY BABY and my love bug - I love you more than words can say! We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Mommy

Ramen Noodles

Last week Jack came home with a note that said: "Libby & Tim, Jack likes Ramen noodles. He would like you to buy him some the next time you go to the grocery store. Miss Rachel". So we asked him if he wanted us to get them when we went the the store and he said "yes" - so we bought chicken flavored Ramen noodles on our next trip to the grocery store.

This past Sunday I fixed them for Jack for lunch and well, wouldn't you know it, the picky eater has a new favorite food!!! Woo Hoo! He ate almost a whole package! But I was given strict instructions NOT TO CUT THE NOODLES because he likes them very very long (Mommy taught him how to slurp them up - shhhhhh!) and also had to check to see if he liked them with the broth or not and was told "just the Ramen Noodles Mom! That's how Miss Rachel eats them for breakfast".

At least we know now that he will be able to survive his college years thanks to Ramen noodles!

Big A, Little A, What Begins With A?

Aunt Annie's Alligator, A A A !

Dr. Seuss's ABC book is one of the boys favorite books. Jack can pretty much recite the entire book on his own and Mason's not too far behind.

Sunday night we were at Grandma Marilyn and Grandpa Rick's for Easter Dinner and Mason and Grandma Marilyn were reading the book together (actually Mason was helping Grandma read it since he knows it better than she does) and I couldn't help but capture a few of their moments together.

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Coming Off Of The Sugar High

Boy did we have a sugar high this weekend! Between our annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt & Petting Zoo on Saturday and our own egg hunt on Sunday, the boys CLEANED UP in the candy department! Thanks Easter Bunny!!!

I thought that I was doing well to control the amount of candy that they got in their baskets by getting them NON-EDIBLE stuff but didn't think about how much candy they would get if I stuffed 20 plastic eggs for each of them to find on Sunday morning (Duh!!!). But that's what Easter's all about....right? Anyway, here are a few pics of our weekend and a few videos as well.









This is our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. They divide the kids into groups and literally spread about 1200 eggs out in a 15x15 area and let the kids go at it. Mason and Jack were in the 2 1/2 to Kindergarden age group and it was a bit overwhelming for them. It was like mayhem when they said "Go" and out of the 11 eggs that each of the boys were SUPPOSED TO GET they only were able to pick up about 5 each before they were all gone. Talk about disappointment....but that's okay, they put candy in the eggs that Mommy and Daddy aren't to crazy about!

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Then it was time for OUR OWN Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday morning. The Easter Bunny was a bit generous and left about 40 eggs for the boys to get. Thanks EB!!
Please note Jack running by the oh.....10 or so eggs on the ground asking "Do you see any more?" Tim and I got a kick out of that!

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Happy Easter!

Glimpses Of Easter's Past

I was browsing through some pictures today and started looking at old Easter pictures. Again, just blows my mind where the time has gone! Feels like JUST YESTERDAY that we were taking THIS picture on Jack's 1st Easter:

And then I found these, Jack was 18 months old and Mason was pretty much done cooking - I was SO VERY PREGNANT at this time and couldn't wait for it to be over!


Our next Easter was with Mason & Jack and we could have a REAL Easter Egg Hunt - how fun was that!!!



Last year they both were really into it and enjoyed our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt a bunch - but it was SO COLD (look they have on their WINTER COATS!).



I've always enjoyed the holidays but now that I have children, they have taken on a whole different meaning for me. It's so fun to live the excitement through them!

Thanks Mom & Pop for such wonderful childhood memories of Easter's past. I hope that I can leave Jack and Mason with the same as they get older!

They've Come So Far!

This post is totally UNRELATED to me or my family but a story that has touched me for about a year now and it speaks volumes for the love that a man has for his daughter.

iparenting.com features a "Dad Of The Month" and this month have chosen Matt Logelin (www.mattlogelin.com)! "Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a father who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man and a father. Above all, the Dad of the Month is dedicated to his children. Rich or poor, famous or not, he shines as an example of what fathering is all about." Check out the awesome article HERE.

Congrats to Matt Logelin and his precious daughter Madeline for such a wonderful honor!!!

Also - Matt and Madeline will be on Oprah on Monday, April 13th - make sure you check your local listing for what time they will be on!!!

Dishes

We have gotten to the the point in our home, where neither Tim or I can do ANYTHING in the kitchen without Mason's help. Fixing breakfast, dinner, or emptying the dishwasher are his FAVORITES to help with. Jack shows some interest but not nearly as much as Mason does.

Saturday night was a bit different, and something I HAD to catch with my camera. Jack was VERY willing to help Daddy and even wanted to learn how to do the dishes so Tim obliged. I couldn't help but smile to see "my three men" in the kitchen - what a sight it was.

A stool will become a PERMANENT FIXTURE in the new kitchen to make sure that Jack and Mason can continue to help whenever they want to - I don't want to NOT let them participate in something that they think is SO FUN (eventually they'll figure things out on their own).

WFKD!

Every year, the first weekend in April, the August A. Busch Wildlife Center and the Missouri Department of Conservation along with Ducks Unlimited put on Wetlands For Kids Day. IT's a f fun filled day of activities that allows children (and their parents) hands on activites to explore and learn about the out of doors. Birds of prey, wildlife exhibits, and other fun hands on projects kept over 2,000 children busy in the wonderful spring weather this past Saturday.

Jack and Mason know the event as "Bear's Activity", as my Dad is responsible for the coordination of the whole thing. We always pray for sun and warmth for the day and this year, Mother Nature obliged (somewhat). We had sun and temps in the 60's (but it was a tad breezy) so we couldn't complain - and the boys had a blast! They even got to see Sophie, Aunt Tricia & Uncle Hank so it was doubly fun!!!