Mason is 20 months old now and with the new baby to arrive in less than a month, reality is really starting to hit me hard!
And not because I am going to have 2 kids soon... I am actually getting really excited about our family growing and adding on a new personality to the mix :) , but mostly I am getting anxious that the chapter of Mason as an only child is almost over. Don't get me wrong, I know it will be great for him and completely necessary to not have the undivided attention of both his parents and grandparents since we all live in the same town, but I am a little sad that I might miss something about him in the process... I have no idea if that makes sense to anyone else other than me, but I just know that time constraints alone with 2 will prevent me from even jotting down our new memories as a family of 4.
So, with that said, I am soaking up every last minute over the last month, even if I am one miserably pregnant mama!
Here is Mason decorating his Ice Cream Cone Christmas Trees. We used marshmallows, sprinkles, crushed up peppermint, sweet tarts, m&ms, and of course green icing. It was a lot of fun and we got to eat them afterwards!
And since I didn't get a chance to blog about Thanksgiving, here are the 4-Wheeler (haha, no pun intended) grandkids with 2 more on the way: our little boy, and Wendy is having another in June, wahoo!
We did find some time to take some pictures for the Christmas card, even though I really did not want to be in one... but for memory sake, here we are, me and my 3 boys!
Our Christmas card makes me smile because it really does capture us.
(Even though it isn't a super fancy card, I am proud to say I continued my tradition of making our own cards: 2011 (Front and Back) and 2010)
Front
Back
And the ornaments we made this year:
I tried to hold back since I got a little carried away last year:
And last but certainly not least...
Mason's visit with Santa went well.
The crying was completely expected, but...
kicking Santa and being told by Santa that he would not hold your child... PRICELESS.
And here are some quick updates about Mason since it has been awhile!
The good:
-He knows his colors, and really well! Even the hard ones like pink, purple, orange.
-He is starting to pick up on letters of the alphabet, but slowly, and has really no interest in learning to count although he can say 1-5.
-He is still an amazing sleeper. He sleeps 11 hours at night and takes a solid 2-3 hour afternoon nap.
-Food is still pretty easy with Mason, although introduction to more things has definitely made him a little more opinionated... let's just say he likes sweets. :) He has slowed down quite a bit with how much he eats, and thank goodness, for a while there I was a little worried he was going to way more than me soon.
-He is still all boy and oh so active. He runs non-stop, no lie. Add "Lightning McQueen" shoes to the mix and he now thinks he has to show us how fast he is. I love it!
-He is a really sweet boy (most of the time), loves to sit in my lap, loves to give me hugs and kisses, says "pease" and "ank you" and prays before dinner and bedtime... In fact he is the first to put his hands together to pray which reminds us!
And let's be real, there's the other too...
The bad:
-Mason is by no means a bad kid, but he has thrown temper tantrums a handful of times which resulted in time out in his room (which actually worked!) and on occasion will hit or throw something when he knows he is not supposed to, but it is rare and usually not repeated.
-While he does sleep well, he has started to do things during his nap time when he is suppose to be sleeping, such as empty off the bookshelf, remove all of the pillows, blankets, sheets from his bed, and yell "Dusty" for 10 solid minutes. Yes son, the 7 lb. dog is going to rescue you... :) And every time he eventually lays down and sleeps for 2-3 solid hours.
-He will cry to get his way, which is often related to playing with a certain toy, or bringing his favorite "friend" with us somewhere (Pillow puppy, Teddy Bear, Mickey, and Elmo), or for dessert (which he has requested at breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner). The tears are real, the face is sad, not mad, and this is definitely our parenting weakness because when the cry doesn't work, he stops and pouts and say "pease".
Not sure if I will consider any of the rest of these "bad" things, but I can't really classify them as "good":
-Mason is now scared of the elephant and alligator at the mall which he used to love.
-He is also completely obsessed with all things electronic which I really dislike since he isn't even 2! Ipad, Iphone, computer, TV, radio...
-He doesn't really like wearing shoes or socks, hence our purchase of "Lightning McQueen" shoes, and usually takes them off on his own in the car, in the stroller, in the shopping cart, outside, etc.
I think that just about sums up our lives right now. Baby #2 is keeping me up most nights, but overall this pregnancy has been completely different than the last. No swelling as of yet, huge improvement, which equals less weight gain, amazing improvement, but lots of contractions and spells of sickness. The aches and pains are much different this time around too, but mostly because I am a lot more active this time around and also not swollen and on bed rest just yet. There's hope. We get to have our last ultrasound next week before we schedule our c-section. As of right now we are scheduled for January 17th, exactly 4 weeks away!
The nursery is complete so hopefully I can take some pictures and post that soon. Stay tuned!
