Mason's Birthday Friends

This is Kate, Madeline's best girl friend. They made "berry pies" all evening, picking the berries from a bush outside our garage.

This is Kerry, my very dear friend and confidante.

Two sweet neighbor gals, Jadin and Brodie, are always offering their able hands to play with the kids in the cul-de-sac. They are extremely entrepreneurial, sending out fliers to offer their service as cleaners, babysitters, and even offering back massages.

The boys in the foreground are Cooper and Campbell. What good friends they are to Madeline and Mason! They have learnt well from their parents what it is to be faithful friends.

And so the party was well attended with all those loved ones (minus family) we hold dear.

Christmas 2007

Jay gave Madeline her first scooter for Christmas. It's the old fashioned Radio Flyer with 3 wheels. He also included in her gift a helmet, knee, and elbow pads, for those inevitable spills. She likes riding it, although she has to build up her leg muscles and coordination a bit more.

Madeline also received a set of new, dramatized Bible stories on cd. I replaced her broken boombox with a new one, and Grammie and GrandBud gave her some new stories to listen to. She is fascinated with the account of Noah's Ark and keeps it on "repeat" all night. I guess it's better to hear the screaming of folks left outside the ark than Britney Spears' latest disc. (I could make an unsavory comment here, but I won't.)

If you click on the above picture, you'll see Mason's first knife. Jay thought it wouldn't be too early to get his son started on a knife collection. And his first one should be a Buck. Mason's been having fun cutting up the carpet, some of his stuffed animals, and his sister's hair!
(Do you really think we'd open the package yet?)

Mason is a very curious little guy. He loved watching Madeline open her gifts and play with them as opposed to playing with his own gifts.

But Mason does love to play with balls of all shapes and sizes...and textures. This "hairy" ball is one of his favorites, sent to Madeline and him by their cousins in Alaska, Luke and Niccole.

These are certainly not all of our Christmas pictures. I have yet to filter through them all and I will eventually add the best ones of our time in El Centro with our sister-in-law, Vicki, and her boys, Caleb and Asa. We all spent the holiday with Gramma and Grandpa. If you visit Jay's blog (see the link in the margin), you can watch a video he made with the boys. We had such a great time! Thanks, family, for giving us such wonderful memories.

Thanksgiving 2007

I love this picture of the King and lil' prince. I just can't say it with more sincerity: Jay is the best Daddy to our children. They are so blessed to witness his model of integrity and tenderness.

Although the picture is a bit blurry, you can certainly make out our smiles. Jay may have sacrificed his presence in the photo but he was sure to keep his seat at the table and indulge in our tasty feast. He made is annual cornbread dressing, which was by far his best batch yet. And of course, we couldn't have Thanksgiving without Cherry Coke Salad. And, yum-yum, Mimi's mashed potatoes were sensational! I know all my readers probably have warm, wonderful memories that they are recalling of their Thanksgiving celebration. But we delighted in God's lavish provision of comfort, bonding relationships, laughter, and spiritual discussions...not to mention the After-Thanksgiving shopping spree! What a kindhearted, unsparing and generous God is ours!

Thanksgiving fun

Before picking Poppy and Mimi up from the FlyAway station, Jay took Madeline to Van Nuys Airport. She rode her tricycle down their "runway" and had a grand time with Daddy.

Mimi loved feeding Mason...and Mason loved having a new face to watch as he ate. Amanda is so good at keeping him preoccupied with her fun voices and faces that he eats all his food before he knows it!

Poppy and Mimi brought Madeline some dress up accessories: a fuzzy tiara, a pink tutu, and a "glass" purse that included a brush, mirror and a set of sparkly rings. She loves being the princess, and I don't mind as long as she knows who's queen!

Mason got a monster truck that's soft on the outside but has a "voicebox" that rumbles and growls and sounds just like a real truck. He's not sure whether to cuddle with it or run from it!

And of course our celebration wouldn't be right without some story time with Poppy. Madeline looks like she's found the perfect recliner...although I don't think he'd like to be called a La-Z-Boy.

...well, a couple of tricks.

At first, Madeline didn't quite understand the whole knock-on-the-door-and-they-give-you-candy idea. She simply followed Campbell and Cooper around to each house. After about 30 minutes, though, she caught on to the scam. No matter what costume she was wearing, whether or not she said "Trick-or-Treat", or if she looked scared by the decorations, the person behind the door would reach their hand into a large bowl of candy and hand her several. She was delighted! Her cavity pot was getting heavier and heavier to carry. That's why we came along, actually. Soon, she was outrunning the boys to get to the next house.

At this particular house, she looked up and saw a large, hairy spider hanging from the eaves. She wasn't quite sure what to think. After she rang the doorbell, and no one answered (to her chagrin), she knew exactly what to think: "I've been tricked!" Later, she told me and Jay that she got "a little frustrated" when she knocked and they didn't answer.

I'm surprised Mason wasn't giving me a scornful look. "They dressed me up in this silly thing, and I don't even get any candy!"

We really did have a great time. It's wonderful to see how big and spooky our family is getting each year.

All Treats, No Tricks

This Reformation Day we went out and plundered the egyptians. We joined our friends, the Ficketts, who live near several streets where they do it up big for Halloween.
The "Pirates" house is always our favorite.

Campbell dressed up as a swamp creature and Cooper donned his Darth Vader costume. Of course, Bill and Kerry looked fresh from the kitchen in their chef's attire; Notice what lurks under Bill's hat, hailing a recent animated movie. Kerry informed Jay and me that we are required to dress up next year. I thought we were dressed up: a working dad and a housewife with 2 kids.

Neighborhood Harvest Party

Several families from our subdivision hosted a Harvest Party for the kids. They had games like "Mummy Wrap", a cupcake walk, and a wishing well (hook a bag of treats). They also provided activities like making magnets, face painting, pumpkin decorating, and coloring. And of course we had food; the parents provided lots of yummy dishes like: vegetable soup, pizza, chips and homemade salsa, croissant wraps, chocolate-dipped pretzels, cupcakes and lots of candy. Madeline and Mason wore their costumes; Madeline was a buzzy, bumble bee and Mason was her "Hunny" pot. They were adorable! Although we did get some needed rain during our festivities, it didn't dampen the spirits of anyone there.

Could it be? I'm 33!

)

For my 33rd, Jay took me to our favorite Italian restaurant, Sicily. We had a great meal (Italian quesadilla filled with mozzerella, pine nuts, basil, chicken and sundried tomatoes topped with a creamy tomato pesto sauce, a green salad with gorgonzola cheese and walnuts, and the angel hair pomodora with fresh tomatoes. Of course I couldn't leave without indulging in their crispy, sweet-cream filled, chocolate-dipped cannoli. I think I packed on 33 lbs., one for each year of my life! Then we attended a local High School football game with our friends Bill and Kerry and their two boys. The game ended in a tie and was a nail-biter at the end. (Notice the beautiful October moon we had lighting up our sky.) A thrilling end to a remarkable year. Truly, the Lord has crowned me with lovingkindness and compassion, and satisfied my years with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle (Ps. 103:4-5).

Oh, the Places We'll Go

Mason is now my little stair climber. If I don't hear him playing somewhere downstairs, I know he's happily taking himself upstairs. I have long-since forgotten the fun of climbing stairs, but for him, each ascension is an accomplishment. We have not yet covered the descent, which I'm sure he'll enjoy just as much...and perform twice as fast. Each day has enough trouble of its own!

Shiny, Happy People

I'm so thankful to the Lord that He gave us 2 joyful children. They make each other laugh...and of course it's contagious; Jay and I find ourselves laughing right along with them. Madeline is trying out all her silly faces (imitating Mack on Cars) and Mason thinks they are hillarious. Isn't God good and creative to give us a sense of humor? I wonder what makes Him laugh.

Santa Baby

Our family has matching stockings; maybe you do, too. Because this is Mason's first Christmas, we had to order his stocking and it came in the mail a couple of days ago. Jay opened the box and called Mason over to him. When Jay realized the stocking was almost as tall as Mason, he packed him inside. What a darling stocking stuffer! I'm not sure he'll hang securely from the mantle, though.

Little House Under the Barstool

Madeline often pretends that she has her own little house under our barstools. And lately, Mason has been joining in the fun. Sometimes he will crawl over, pull up on the bars and stand up. But then he realizes that he can't get down and he cries for help. Yesterday, he crawled up inside the barstool and sat there contentedly while Madeline played house with him. He didn't interact much but he had fun gnawing on the bars and watching his sister talk and make "pancakes".

Grandpa, will you bring us your tools?

I walked in to get Mason up from his nap today and, boy, was he up. This was the first time he has stood up by himself in his crib and, by his expression, he didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. It was just at the beginning of August that Grandpa lowered the crib some because Mason was getting up on his knees. Now we will have to lower his bed to its lowest setting before Mason starts to crawl out of it.

No Butter or Syrup

I'm constantly amazed how much growth takes place in Mason's life in just one month! Just a few weeks ago he gagged when trying to eat small bits of cereal. Now he's snarfing down pancakes! It took him a while to get the food pried out of his fingers and into his mouth, but he quickly saw the advantage of loosening his digits. Hmm...gone are the days of a clean highchair tray, but I'll gladly wash it while trying to grasp these beloved moments of his development. By the way, if you click on the bottom picture to enlarge it, you can see his first two (bottom) teeth that came through on Sept. 5 and 15. We just praise the Lord for such a beautiful, maturing baby boy.

Where's Waldo?

Madeline loves to give Mason toys to play with when he's in his crib. Sometimes she overdoes it but he doesn't seem to mind.

Swing (S)low, Sweet Chariot

Today was Mason's first trip in the swing at the "big" park. Our neighborhood park doesn't have a swing, but the park about 2 miles away does, so Madeline always wants to visit that one. Mason seemed to enjoy himself. What do you think?

My best friend, Kate

Madeline has a playdate with a neighborhood friend almost every week. This week, they played in their pretty dress up clothes, rode the tricycle and car, and drew with chalk out in our cul-de-sac. Sometimes they paint, play store, draw on the whiteboard or go to the park. We love having Kate come to our house because she is so sweet, loves Jesus and is a good influence on Madeline.

Not ready for the hard stuff

I tried giving Mason his first piece of cereal the other day. He seemed ready, even excited to eat it. Then, he realized there was something foreign in his mouth and started gagging. He not only spit out the cereal but some of his previously enjoyed breakfast. Oh well; we'll try again next week.

Ready? Set...Action!

Madeline experienced her first movie in the theater yesterday. I say "experienced" because the volume was up so loud you felt like you were in the movie, not just watching it. We saw the VeggieTales, "Jonah", and enjoyed popcorn and Junior Mints. I confess I brought in my own juice boxes. Mason enjoyed watching about 30 minutes of the movie before nodding off; I couldn't believe he slept through all that noise! Anyway, it made me remember seeing my first movie in the theater (The Fox and the Hound). Madeline did much better than I did: no sobbing, no leaving the theater, no nightmares about howling pups and frantic foxes. I guess she's more mature than I was. Well, if you can remember what your first movie was, leave a comment and we'll reminisce together.