Haylie and Mason were in the backseat together on the drive home from my grandparent's house in Forty-Fort tonight. We'd been in the car almost two hours and it was already 8:30. Haylie had been dozing, but of course Mase wouldn't sleep and was starting to get really tired.
When he started whining pretty loudly, Haylie opened her eyes and looked over at him.
"Mase, could ya calm down over there? I'm sleeeeeeping."
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thankful
It's Thanksgiving and I'm sitting on my couch, in an empty apartment, waiting for my frozen pizza to cook. Don't feel bad for me though; I haven't had a day alone in eighteen months and hey... I guess Thanksgiving is as good a day as any. Still, being here alone is definitely a strange feeling and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad.
Mase is in the Poconos with George and his family. I'm sure they're having a great time and I gave George my camera so I'll have pictures later. In the meantime, I'll be catching up on a little blogging and a ton of cleaning and laundry. And I'll most likely still have nap time.
It just wouldn't feel right if I didn't say what I was thankful for before digging in to the strangest Thanksgiving dinner of all time, so..
I'm thankful for... (in no particular order)
A warm apartment. Six straight hours of sleep. Ice cream. 20% tippers. A maintenance man who doesn't mind fishing bath toys and toothbrushes from the depths of my toilet. My Nikon and my iPod. Burt's Bees chapstick. A fantastic, involved daddy for Mason. My own daddy. My baby's smile.
Mase is in the Poconos with George and his family. I'm sure they're having a great time and I gave George my camera so I'll have pictures later. In the meantime, I'll be catching up on a little blogging and a ton of cleaning and laundry. And I'll most likely still have nap time.
It just wouldn't feel right if I didn't say what I was thankful for before digging in to the strangest Thanksgiving dinner of all time, so..
I'm thankful for... (in no particular order)
A warm apartment. Six straight hours of sleep. Ice cream. 20% tippers. A maintenance man who doesn't mind fishing bath toys and toothbrushes from the depths of my toilet. My Nikon and my iPod. Burt's Bees chapstick. A fantastic, involved daddy for Mason. My own daddy. My baby's smile.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
What Sound Does an Elephant Make, Anyway?
I'm obsessed with checking mamabargains.com even though I rarely buy anything. Actually, I've only ever bought anything once but they have some really awesome stuff at 50% off or more and as soon as it sells out they put up a new bargain. Aaaaanyway... my first/only purchase so far?
These wooden Animalz (plus five or six more that I'm saving for Christmas) that I got on sale for $3.50 a piece (instead of the usual $7.50). I'm using them to teach Mase animal sounds. So far he can kind of moo, he squeaks for an oink, and neither of us have any idea what sound an elephant makes.
These wooden Animalz (plus five or six more that I'm saving for Christmas) that I got on sale for $3.50 a piece (instead of the usual $7.50). I'm using them to teach Mase animal sounds. So far he can kind of moo, he squeaks for an oink, and neither of us have any idea what sound an elephant makes.
But the sheep is his favorite. And the kid can baaa like nobody's business.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Jumpers
There's just something about beautiful fall weather and a big pile of crispy leaves that makes everyone feel good. The smell, the feel... everything about it takes me back to simple, more carefree times. This afternoon, Mase and I went out and tried to find the biggest, best piles of leaves we could (without doing any raking ourselves, of course).
We played in the grass along the road first, where a couple of houses had raked all their leaves up to be collected.
When I texted a picture to my mom, she replied back that it reminded her of when my brother and I were little. I showed the picture to a girl from work who said she wished it was socially acceptable for her to jump around in the leaves.
From our roadside leaf pile, it was off to the park (don't worry, park pictures to follow in another post).
We slid and we swung and we climbed... until we saw the mother of all leaf piles:
It was way bigger than it looks in the picture, too. Huge. At this point, Mason knew how it was done... and he did what any self-respecting baby in his position would do. He jumped.
It took about thirty seconds for me to realize there was no good reason for Mase to be having all the fun. Not socially acceptable? Ha. Lucky for me, having a baby gives me permission to do whatever silly, ridiculous thing I want. So... I jumped.
As Mason and I were rolling around in the leaves giggling like crazy, two sixteenish-looking girls walked past. I watched them say something to each other, wave to Mase, and then dive into our leaf pile. They got up quickly, looking around, making fun of each other, and brushing the leaves out of their hair.
A few minutes went past and a woman (in her forties, maybe?) who had been eating lunch at a picnic table came over to us. She asked Mason's name, said she was on her lunch break but had wanted to do this all day... and jumped right in with Mase! I couldn't believe it. It made my day to know that my baby had made hers.
I don't care who you are... there is nothing like a pile of leaves and a beautiful fall day.
We played in the grass along the road first, where a couple of houses had raked all their leaves up to be collected.
When I texted a picture to my mom, she replied back that it reminded her of when my brother and I were little. I showed the picture to a girl from work who said she wished it was socially acceptable for her to jump around in the leaves.
From our roadside leaf pile, it was off to the park (don't worry, park pictures to follow in another post).
We slid and we swung and we climbed... until we saw the mother of all leaf piles:
It was way bigger than it looks in the picture, too. Huge. At this point, Mason knew how it was done... and he did what any self-respecting baby in his position would do. He jumped.
It took about thirty seconds for me to realize there was no good reason for Mase to be having all the fun. Not socially acceptable? Ha. Lucky for me, having a baby gives me permission to do whatever silly, ridiculous thing I want. So... I jumped.
As Mason and I were rolling around in the leaves giggling like crazy, two sixteenish-looking girls walked past. I watched them say something to each other, wave to Mase, and then dive into our leaf pile. They got up quickly, looking around, making fun of each other, and brushing the leaves out of their hair.
A few minutes went past and a woman (in her forties, maybe?) who had been eating lunch at a picnic table came over to us. She asked Mason's name, said she was on her lunch break but had wanted to do this all day... and jumped right in with Mase! I couldn't believe it. It made my day to know that my baby had made hers.
I don't care who you are... there is nothing like a pile of leaves and a beautiful fall day.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
That Poor Girl
I babysat Haylie this morning. Krissy had made the babies an appointment to get their pictures taken at JCPennys in Altoona this afternoon, so as soon as she got back from her meeting, we got them all dressed up and ready to go. While Krissy was taking her stuff to the car, I snapped a couple quick pictures of my own.
I assure you, those were the best pictures that were taken today.
We got there around one. Judging by Mason's naplessness and the looks of the girls behind the JCP counter, this was not going to be a pretty sight. To my surprise, though, the first fifteen minutes went pretty smoothly. Mase and Haylie held hands, posed for some pictures in front of the corny Christmas tree background, and even smiled a little bit. Haylie got some pictures alone, and just before Mason was getting ready to take his place in front of the camera for his solo shots, the photographer girl looks at the computer.
"Uh oh".
I assure you, those were the best pictures that were taken today.
We got there around one. Judging by Mason's naplessness and the looks of the girls behind the JCP counter, this was not going to be a pretty sight. To my surprise, though, the first fifteen minutes went pretty smoothly. Mase and Haylie held hands, posed for some pictures in front of the corny Christmas tree background, and even smiled a little bit. Haylie got some pictures alone, and just before Mason was getting ready to take his place in front of the camera for his solo shots, the photographer girl looks at the computer.
"Uh oh".
Yeah. The flash wasn't working. Every single smiling, loving, perfectly-posed shot was completely black. Somewhere between that moment and the flash being fixed was when Mason had his first ten meltdowns, so Haylie went first this time. She stared, blank-faced, at the girl and the stupid Elmo doll she kept putting on her head. The photographer, obviously regretting her tragic mistake, kept at it while Krissy ran to the car for a Teddy Graham bribe.
Enter Mason, stage left. With cheeks full of Teddy Grahams, the two of them glare, turn their backs to the camera, and try to escape the room. I jump around, dance like a maniac, and stand on my head (not kidding) to try to get my kid to smile. I even bust out the boob. Still nothing.
When Krissy gives up on Haylie, I plop a handful of Goldfish down on the white canvas and hope it lasts long enough to get a few good shots of Mase in. This shouldn't be difficult - he's completely photogenic and he gives the giant smile and the puppy eyes to everyone on Earth. But no. He's surly. And the photographer misses every smile Mason does happen to smile. She gets goofy faces, two of which I bought, but only because we drove the whole way to Altoona for this monkey business.
At three o'clock I stumbled out of there sweating, exhausted, and forty dollars poorer. As we're leaving, Mason turns to the equally exhausted-looking photographer, waves, and gives her the hugest grin I've ever seen.
JCPenny Photography - thumbs down. Mason sense of humor - definite thumbs up.
Enter Mason, stage left. With cheeks full of Teddy Grahams, the two of them glare, turn their backs to the camera, and try to escape the room. I jump around, dance like a maniac, and stand on my head (not kidding) to try to get my kid to smile. I even bust out the boob. Still nothing.
When Krissy gives up on Haylie, I plop a handful of Goldfish down on the white canvas and hope it lasts long enough to get a few good shots of Mase in. This shouldn't be difficult - he's completely photogenic and he gives the giant smile and the puppy eyes to everyone on Earth. But no. He's surly. And the photographer misses every smile Mason does happen to smile. She gets goofy faces, two of which I bought, but only because we drove the whole way to Altoona for this monkey business.
At three o'clock I stumbled out of there sweating, exhausted, and forty dollars poorer. As we're leaving, Mason turns to the equally exhausted-looking photographer, waves, and gives her the hugest grin I've ever seen.
JCPenny Photography - thumbs down. Mason sense of humor - definite thumbs up.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Taking Candy from Strangers
I was so proud of Mason's Halloween costume this year. I had the pants custom made and I painstakingly crafted his vest and tie-dyed both of our shirts myself. We visited Champs, where random strangers took his picture. Seriously. That's how cute his costume was. I plan on making his costumes myself from now on... at least until he's old enough to freak out if I don't buy him a plastic Spider Man mask.
Behold:
Hippies!
I know, hippies probably don't eat bolony. He just wasn't in the picture-taking mood and the processed meat was the only thing that would work as a distraction.
Last year, I wandered around the neighborhood with Monkey Mason in the stroller, watching all the big kids Trick-or-Treating. This year, we were in on the action.
We braved the cold, knocking on every door in Pleasant Gap. I swear, Mason acted like he was an old Trick-or-Treat pro. He grabbed candy from bowls and, much to my horror, tried to run into peoples' houses like they were his new best friends.
I'm not exactly sure what Trick-or-Treating teaches kids about life, but I'm not sure I like it. Mase had no fear. He wasn't even scared of this guy:
Heck, I was scared of that guy.
Regardless, he had a blast, especially on the ride home when he somehow managed to gnaw through the wrapper of a Snickers bar. Crazy little hippy.
Behold:
Hippies!
I know, hippies probably don't eat bolony. He just wasn't in the picture-taking mood and the processed meat was the only thing that would work as a distraction.
Last year, I wandered around the neighborhood with Monkey Mason in the stroller, watching all the big kids Trick-or-Treating. This year, we were in on the action.
We braved the cold, knocking on every door in Pleasant Gap. I swear, Mason acted like he was an old Trick-or-Treat pro. He grabbed candy from bowls and, much to my horror, tried to run into peoples' houses like they were his new best friends.
I'm not exactly sure what Trick-or-Treating teaches kids about life, but I'm not sure I like it. Mase had no fear. He wasn't even scared of this guy:
Heck, I was scared of that guy.
Regardless, he had a blast, especially on the ride home when he somehow managed to gnaw through the wrapper of a Snickers bar. Crazy little hippy.
Happy Halloween!
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