After dinner the other day, Brenna took two toothpicks, unbeknownst to us, and then frantically called me over. This is what I saw...

The first picture is what she wanted to show me, and then she insisted that the toothpicks were dancing, and asked me to take pictures of them in many different poses and places. So funny.

Mason's 1!!!

Mason, How I love thee. Ok... that's maybe the wrong mood to set. But I do love this boy more than I can say. He is one, and I am feeling a little panicked at how fast he's growing. I think with Brenna I was pretty excited for her to grow, although I did enjoy her as a baby too, I was just so excited to see who she became, and I am excited with that for Mason too... just NOT SO FAST! I had to move him to a bigger car seat last week, and I was planning to put it rear facing, but our car is too small. I almost cried. I am not ready for him to be facing forward! He's still a baby, and we were both happy the other way. Dang small car trying to make my baby a man...

Anyway... onto more logical thinking. I love this little man. He has brought so many happy things into our home and family. I think he is the cutest boy around, and I could happily kiss his cheeks and forehead all day (but sadly enough the days are fading fast that he will allow snuggles like that with mommy). I love watching him walk around, and now start trying to copy his big sister. He loves walking around with that floaty around his head like in the pictures and always has a big grin on, like he knows he's being funny.

He is finally sleeping better, and that is a huge relief for me. It took 11 months, but he is now occasionally sleeping through the night! If he's up it's usually only once now too. He is a big boy, weighing in at 23.75 lbs and 31" tall. He was in the 65th percentile for weight and between 85-90% for height. Everyone at the doctor's office commented on how tall he was. He was pretty upset about his shots, but I think he's forgiven me for his rude birthday surprise.

We celebrated with a very small party at the park on a cold friday evening (I know... it wasn't really cold, but I forgot a sweater and was wearing short sleeves). He got a neat train set from Grandma Cook and mom and dad got him a water table for outside. Also some clothes and things, but he didn't care much about those. Grandma and Grandpa Smith's present is coming with my sister on Monday, and Mason is very much looking forward to that ;).

So, basically, I love him, I'm sad he's growing so fast, and I now get overly emotional when talking about missionaries because the days seem to be going too quickly and I know one day I'll be sending him off for two years and wondering where the time went!

Catch Up

I hadn't realized how much I'd neglected blogging! My dad mentioned not seeing any pictures in a while, and so I checked and saw how long it'd been! We have had a bit of fun lately, and I will try an catch up, but slowly! I need to do it today though because tomorrow Mason will be ONE! And I need to save a whole post for that too! In exciting news, Jeremy has had some progress with his finger, but is still worried about the middle joint since he hasn't been able to bend much yet, or straighten it completely. Thankfully it is not looking as twisted anymore, but he will go to the doctor tomorrow to get another check up and see if anything else needs to be done.

We got to go on a date! Which is a rare occurrence around these parts. It was so much needed and well appreciated! We went to Februany... haha Subway. $5 for any footlong. We splurged and each got our own footlong, but then probably regretted it a bit when we both ate our whole footlong and were stuffed. It was delicious though. We then went to a surprise birthday party for our Bishop, which was a lot of fun, although no longer a surprise due to some uncontrollable mishaps! Then we stopped at the store and got some mystery food for a game. I got the game idea, and my valentine gift for Jeremy off of this new website I found called The Dating Divas. Great site! Good date night!

Mason is a cutie like always... I swear I can't get enough of this kid! I could kiss his cheeks all day if he'd sit still! *sniff sniff* He's growing up so fast!

Brenna did this water transfer from bowl to bowl for about an hour. She could have done it all day and been totally happy. I have about 10 pictures of her with the biggest ear to ear grin like there's nothing she'd rather be doing. She is learning tons these days, and will talk your ear off if you'll listen! Today she was trying to say something but kept stumbling over a word, then she looked at me exasperated and said "I can't say it!" it was cute. She is sad that she doesn't get a present on Mason's birthday and can't quite understand why. She keeps telling me it's her birthday too.

My brother and sister-in-law got a big inflatable ball at Costco, so we had to go try it out at a park. Mason and Ava... not fans. The three girls loved it though (Brenna was a little unsure if it got rolling, but loved being in there with her cousins). Brenna LOVES her cousins, and it's fun to see them play nicely (usually) together and enjoy eachother's company!

So, that's what's been going on with us. I have started teaching piano again (just one student... we'll see how it goes), and so far I am enjoying that! My student is a little older (8) and I like that more than the 4 year olds I had before! We got a new niece on the 10th, and although she's far away, we know she's adorable and can't wait to meet her!

Oh, and my sister Jessica gets here in 4 sleeps, and I can't wait!!!!!

Mason's Walking

I have been meaning to post this for a week now, but Mason started walking last week, and it became his favorite form of transportation overnight. For months now he's been cruising along furniture and across the room with the help of a crutch of some sort, but he seemed reluctant to let go. He had taken a step or two, but nothing major. And then he woke up on Thursday morning of last week and was suddenly keen on walking everywhere! He refuses to crawl at all now and just follow Brenna wherever she may go! It's fun to see him walking, but crazy how fast he's growing up! His first birthday is in two weeks!

*In this video, please ignore the mess. In the second part, Brenna is giving everybody "shocks" (shots) with her doctor kit, which is one of her favorite things. Also, Jeremy wanted to show off what his hand looks like post-surgery. I will write a full post on that after Tuesday when he gets his bandage off and we know more!

Brenna's Hair Cut

Alright, I decided that Brenna finally needed a haircut. Her hair had become a bit of a pain, needing to be up in some sort of fashion to look decent. She has sort of funny hair. The top half is pretty straight, but the bottom half, and also around up the sides in the front are really really curly. I LOVE her curls too. I used to worry that if I cut her hair, her curls would fall out since it was mostly just the bottom few inches that was curly, but now that she's over 2 1/2 and her hair is still really curly, I wasn't concerned anymore!

OOPS! I was wrong. I only cut off about an inch, and I was surprised when it dried... straight! There are a few curly pieces up the side still, but now they look totally out of place since they are really the only ones! I cut her hair Saturday night before bed, and then on Sunday morning we went to church. I was playing the organ, so sitting up on the stand I could see her most of the time, and I have to admit, I got a bit choked up off and on when I'd see her and be surprised again by the lack of curl! She's always had curls, and I don't think she's any less beautiful, but it was hard for me to part with!

I didn't take any pictures, unfortunately of the before and after because I really didn't think you'd even notice the cut. BUT yesterday I did decide to straighten the straggler curly pieces for fun, and again, I spent the whole day getting choked up on and off because it was so different, but so cute! Anyway... long post about a silly haircut, but it was quite a milestone.

This is the week before at church in nursery (I recently got called to be the nursery leader in our ward)

These are pictures from our photo shoot after we straightened her hair.

Ignore me in this picture... it was the best one of Brenna but the worst of me! haha