Spring Break, Woo Hoo!

So, we had an interesting turn of events this year for spring break.  Many of you have heard about it, but I thought I would bring everyone up to date as I get inspired to catch up on blogging.  Off the topic, I think that word is so funny.  It reminds me of clogging, which reminds me of... okay nevermind you don't care.  

So to kick off our Spring Break our plan was to go to our regularly scheduled doctor's appointment Friday afternoon to check on the baby sister and then go get Mason and have dinner.  The little mover and shaker decided to change the plan and have an irregular heartbeat.  Then we found out I would be staying overnight to have the Pediatric Cardiologist check on her little heart.  

By 7pm or so, we were worried, hungry, and in the new hospital, which by the way is really nice. The staff was great and that helped a bunch.  Josh ran to pick up Mason and some dinner and came back to visit me.  Mason was excited to show me his security badge and ask me, "Mommy are you getting the baby sister out today?"  

I told him not yet, and to tell her to stay in to get healthy and strong first.  He leaned over to her and said, "Don't come out yet baby sister, you have to get big and strong like me."  He then proceeded to tell us how when she comes out he is going to teach her how to dig dirt out with his shovel.  Ah, my little garden boy.  

So the night dragged on and I had some contractions and finally morning arrived and Josh came back to visit me.  The Pediatric Cardiologist arrived with his brand new equipment and did an ultrasound to check on her heart.  He was so great.  He talked us through the whole exam and showed us all that he was looking for.  No wondering what he was looking at.  He reassured us that her heart looked healthy and strong and that sometimes the little ones have these irregularities in the womb and work themselves out later on.  We ended up staying until late that evening for a few more tests and such.

The whole thing was kind of like when I had Mason.  Go home from work on Friday and suddenly life changed.  So I was asked to stop working and rest a bunch to keep the baby happy and growing where she is.  So far so good.  Our family has been great and so helpful with everything.  Josh and Mason are maximizing their father-son time in the garden (be on the lookout for new postings. I will try to keep you updated while resting.)  

I am taking full advantage of my new duties as "resting baby grower", napping a bunch and from time to time I even make it out to supervise the gardening in my fancy new chair from Larry and Lynn.  

STRIKE!

Rented shoes, a ball, and good friends.  It sounds like it's time to bowl.

It had been many years since my last time bowling.  After playing in the snow and taking a cozy afternoon nap we were ready for a night out on the town.  We found the local bowling alley and taught Mason about the joys of a good 'ol game of bowling.  Grandma and Grandpa Roetker would be so proud!

Daddy and Mason found the brightest ball they had and set her loose.  

Mommy could barely contain his excitement to get him to wait for his ball to return, let alone pose for a quick photo.

Mighty Green was back and ready for gutter ball number 2!

Before we knew it, Mason had perfected his game, with a little help from the man that brought out "The Ramp". 

What a clever invention!  Look out pins, here comes Mighty Green!  GO! GO! GO!

WOO HOO!

I think I worked up an appetite.  Where's the nearest chips and guacamole?

SNOW! Part 2

Mason is laying in bed scrolling through songs on his "pod" (his little kid MP3 player from Valerie) as he is trying to fall asleep and he keeps selecting Elizabeth Mitchell's "Frieght Train".  He loves trains, so it is fitting that he loves this song.  I am hearing it as I am getting work done for a project at school tomorrow and thinking "Freight Train going so fast..."  Hmmm, life seems to be going SO FAST!  Is it really already March?  Have we really not finished our Tahoe post?  We had intentions of sharing with you sooner, but somehow life carried us away yet again. Not that I am complaining. Quality time wins out over blogging any day.  Speaking of.... here is the next installment in SNOW!

After many a tastes of snow and snow shoeing,

Joshua and Mason "hit the slopes".

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. I say this next one speaks of the joyous emotions felt by a wee 2 year old on his first sledding adventure.

They made it look so fun.

Mommy decided to give it a whirl.  She rode solo, well... + unborn baby sister and was greeted by Mason at the bottom.

SNOW!

It's good to have friends. Even better if they have access to a condo at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe. Our great friend, Valerie, just so happens to fit both descriptions. We were invited up for the weekend and couldn't say no.

Mason had been to the snow once before, but his experience was limited to this:

This time, he was a bit more engaged. 

It took almost no time at all for Mason to get the hang of his new snow shoes.

He was off and trekking into the white wilderness.

Valerie gave Mason his first lesson in proper snowball formation.

Not bad for the powder she was working with. Hazzah for Val!

It turns out that snowballs are even better for eating. 

When asked what the delicious frozen treat tasted like,

Mason replied, "Mmmm, tays lie a paw-sic-uh!"

A final post before the new year is upon us...

Well, it seems as though time is moving quickly these days as we are enjoying good times for the holidays.  We had a great time on our trip last week and it is hard to believe it is New Year's Eve already.  I have been feeling a need to organize things, get rid of junk that clutters our tiny home, go through the closet and remove unworn items (Why do I have button up shirts?  I never wear them. Well there is one I like...but I never wear that one either.) You know, start the year organized and refreshed.  

This feeling has remained merely a feeling as I lounged about today playing blocks and trains with Mason.  He recently discovered that toll gates are incredibly fascinating while we were down in LA for Christmas visiting my family.  He had read about them in a book of his called Traffic.  You may know it, it is about a little car on its way home...wait, what am I saying? It is highly unlikely you have ever seen it.  It was on the "give away table" at school as they were thinning out the library collection.  Anyway, you can imagine what it is like.  It is a running commentary of what you would see out your window if you were on a drive.  Take Mason on a drive sometime and you will notice all that you ignore and take for granted each day.  He is an observer.  He takes it all in and tells you all about it as you travel from place to place.  He particularly loves when you drive through tunnels, by trains, by fountains (even ones that aren't working), machines at work: bulldozers, back hoes, jackhammers, etc.  

This book introduced him to the wonders of the toll gate.  The text is simple: The toll gate is shut.  The toll gate is open.  You can create your own visual.  Mason loves these pages of the book and will go back to them numerous times each read.  Well, when we entered a parking garage in Santa Monica last week, what did we see live and in person???  Not just one, but several toll gates.  Just about every day we got to see this brilliant invention.  At the Farmer's Market on Christmas Eve, Mason kept searching for more toll gates and had Grandma stand and watch with him as many cars came in and out.  He gave a detailed explanation to Grandpa who had missed out on the fun when he met up with us that day.  He was sure to tell him about how the toll gate was open, then when the car went through it shut, complete with hand gestures so he could really get the idea. 

Well, today while building, Mason discovered that one of his train track pieces had...you guessed it, a toll gate.  "Mommy, play toll date with me."  Gs are still pronounced Ds.  So, much of my morning was spent taking turns opening and shutting the toll gate and driving my little truck through.  If I stopped to try to do something else around the house I was called to back to toll date duty.  I finally gave up on trying to motivate to do something more in the way of being organized and embraced the giant mess of toys and played toll date with my boy.  It was a great day.

Happy New Year, may you find time to notice the simple things around you.  

Local Flavor

So we recently took part in our local Christmas tree lighting event.  It was a chilly Thursday evening and excitement was in the air.  Mason was reluctant to wear a coat, but decided it might be worth it when the hopes of a possible cookie treat was in his future. OOOOOoooohhhh!

There was a big band that must have been freezing, especially the horn section. Mason loved the music and gave generous applause at the end of each song.


All the pageant winners from our little city got to introduce themselves to the crowd.  Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance on stage as well as two dogs masquerading as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Mason liked them, too.

After a sing-a-long, they lit the tree.  The photo is a bit dark, but the tree was quite pretty on that wintery evening.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for family.  Mine arrived in town yesterday.  Mason was busting with excitement as he peeked out the tiny window at the top of the door.  Poppop! Uncle Tis, Dama! (Gs are pronounced D right now, our favorite is when he wants to eat "pomedamates").  It was a rainy morning and the fam arrived just before lunch.  Mason ran out the door to greet them bouncing with joy. We all had lunch and then after all the excitement of showing his favorite things, he crashed out for a long nap.  

Later that evening, he played like the wild one he can be after a solid 3 1/2 hour siesta.  He pounded on his drum and led everyone in singing his favorite songs.  He paraded through the house dancing with tiny teddy and so on.  Then as the evening crept on he developed a crazy cough that would not quit.  We tried the steamy shower room idea, the warm shower, the propped up pillow and still the cough.  As the wee hours of the night fell upon us he got a bit wheezy.  Josh was an absolute trooper.  He hung in there and tried to let me sleep amidst Mason climbing me and hacking away. We had to force the baby mask and asthma inhaler, which feels like absolute torture as he wiggles and resists it with all his might.  Yet, he finally slept and I lay awake worrying about our little guy.  Somewhere in there I fell asleep to wake with a dead arm that was under him and a body that was teetering off the edge of the bed.  He woke again struggling to breathe and we wrestled and got him to take a bit more medicine.  He slept the remainder of the morning completely taking over my spot and sprawling as I once did.  I couldn't sleep, so I did laundry and found some fun bargains online and did a bit of holiday shopping.  

I am thankful for my parents who stayed up countless hours with me and my asthma, my mom that would take me to the emergency room, which I was dreading the thought of last night, my husband that hung in there, the sleep that Mason finally got, the internet for providing quiet entertainment in the wee hours because doing dishes was just a bit too loud, and my brother who can sleep through the chaos of a night in our tiny plastic castle.

Summer Fun

Last year at this time we were heading south for our Costa Rican adventure.  We met up with friends to celebrate Dave's birthday.  It was quite fun and as you may have read on previous postings.  This year we are staying home and family members are coming to visit us.  We did miss out on the Los Angeles "pre-Thanksgiving" celebration yesterday, which was sad indeed making that two years in a row of absences.  So perhaps next year we will be making our way south to celebrate with our LA posse.   

Reminiscing on past events I got to thinking about our summer fun and our good friends out in Boston.  Dave, Jeanne and, Gretchen made their way out here to our place last July, braving the summer heat to see us.  Fortunately, the weather was not the blistering heat it can be in July and we had a great week.  Knowing how chilly it must be in Boston right now, I thought I would send some warm memories their way.  Mason and Gretty had lots of fun playing outside in the water tub (good thing they are both pretty tiny-I think we will need a bigger pool next year),

drinking "fancy" drinks,

and doing a bit of gardening.  They enjoyed harvesting a collection of tomatoes, or as Mason calls them "May-toes".

Mason loves the garden.  He loves to bring in the vegetables and wash them off.  

And those of you who know him, know he loves to eat.  Just the other morning at breakfast he said, "Jelly is tasty.  I like food."  He is willing to try many things.  He loved to try the "May-toes" and really wanted to like them.  He never gave up on trying them, however, 

he just wasn't sure he liked them. Unless they were transformed into salsa, then eating was on. Full speed ahead!

This year as I think about all that we have to be thankful for, I am happy to have my family and friends (near and far), and lots of love and laughter.  

I look forward to more fun at the fountain,

more visits,

more improvements to our garden, (Thank you boys for all your "manly work"!)

more smiles and time well spent,

more chasing bubbles,

and more hugs!  Bye, bye Gretty, see you next time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

And they said, "Let there be bark!"

And then, there was bark.

A ton of bark! Several tons, as a matter of fact! 

And once it was delivered, it had to be moved. At least we had help.

It was, as Mason put it, "Haahh Wuhk!"

Peek-a-Boo Mason!

Mason loves to hide and be found. He likes for you to search for him and find it "challenging" to discover his latest hiding spot. From within his hiding spot he hasn't quite mastered the art of hiding silently. To him if he can't see you, you can't see him, that is all that is needed for a good hiding spot.
I love to ask questions such as, "Hmmm, where is Mason? Daddy, have you seen Mason? Is he under the bed?"
Which typically provokes a hiding Mason to respond, "Nooo."
"Is he inside the closet?"
"Noooo!"
"Is he behind the curtain?"
Giggles and laughter erupt....ahhh, it is the best,
Peek-a-Boo, Mason!

Autumn is my favorite season!

We recently attended a music workshop that was quite inspiring.  One part I could fully relate to was a lesson related to the seasons.  Our presenter was introducing a song and series of lessons where she began with "Autumn is my favorite season!  I love the fall, the leaves, the pumpkins...."  She then told of her students that say, "But Ms. Medley, didn't you say that summer was your favorite season?"  She replied, "Yes, and in a few months spring will be my favorite season."

I feel this way as the seasons change.  There is so much that can be noticed and enjoyed as the earth makes its way around the sun.  Just last week, Mason and I were traveling home as the sun was setting so early.  The sky was a gorgeous mixture of pinks, blues, oranges, and yellows.  We watched it with ooohhhs and aaahhhs.  Then the full moon appeared and we glanced out the other side of the car searching for it as it peeked in and out of the trees and buildings on our journey home.  We couldn't wait to get home and tell daddy of the wonders we saw.  

The fall brings so much more.  The pumpkins, the leaves, family, and celebrations.  Mason's birthday was a huge celebration and is in need of it's own posting, which I will attempt soon.  Most importantly, it brings about time to spend with the boys.  I look forward to spending our week off together next week.  And I promise I won't try to have you dress alike everyday.