The Brown Family

2010-03-29T21:02:00.002-04:00

Kailee has been on the move army crawling and can get to wherever she wants to go quite fast. She is also pulling herself up into a standing position a lot lately. She thinks she is pretty cool that she can do it all by herself, she usually just starts cracking up at herself. The only problem is that once she is up she is "stuck" and doesn't know how to sit herself back down (unless Mason "helps" her by knocking her down). I can always tell when she does it in her crib, at first there are only giggles then the tears follow shortly after!

I remember Mason going trough this stage I am just not sure how long it lasted. She is going to be walking before we know it!

2010-03-21T22:20:00.002-04:00

Kailee is 10 months old and as you can see, she is very curious and on the move. She wont even sit still for her monthly pictures anymore!

My St. Patrick's Day cuties :) (Kailee trying to wiggle out of Mason's arms).

Mason proudly wearing his hat that he made for St. Patrick's Day!

2010-02-19T22:31:00.007-05:00

Kailee is NINE MONTHS OLD

She...

*is 17 # 12 oz and is 28 1/4 inches long (32nd percentile for weight & 75th for height)

*is clapping

*is saying mama, dada, (and Andy swears he heard a "mommy" but I think that was coincidence!)

*is scooting all over the floor and can really get to what she wants now (Mason is NOT a big fan of this!)

*is learning sign language, Mason is my assistant teacher :)

*is going through separation and stranger anxiety

*loves baths

*has 7 teeth

*is no longer interested in baby food and is eating table food and LOVES everything-Praise God!

*still taking 3 naps a day

*is very curious

*sucks her thumb at night and likes her pacifier only while she is in her car seat

*FINALLY has enough hair for a little pony tail YAY!!!

*is such a huge blessing to our family! She and Mason bring us so much joy everyday!!

2010-02-11T18:33:00.004-05:00

My little Valentines...Mason already celebrated Valentines Day at preschool with a fun party!

Here he was playing his favorite game, Musical Chairs!! I was volunteered as the room-mom and stayed for his whole party (Kailee was not as excited about it as I was, that meant she had to stay in her car seat for 2 hours). It was super cute seeing all of them get so excited passing out their valentine cards and treats. They had a huge feast toward the end of class where they got all sugared up right before they sent them home :)

Kailee has mastered the art of clapping her hands together! It is so cute to watch her because she gets so proud of herself, SO cute that I thought I would share it with you step by step!

Step #1 (above)-concentrating very hard to make sure it is successful!

Step#2-already proud of herself as her hands come together for the first time!

Step #3-cracking up laughing because she is so proud of herself!

Step#4-All done and making sure Mason and I are still watching before she attempts it again!

Step #5-she repeats steps #1-4 MULTIPLE times a day which makes for a very happy girl!

2010-02-01T18:43:00.006-05:00

Pre-earrings...VERY happy girl!

Right after getting them...very blotchy from crying (she gets that from me)!

Getting used to them :)

Last Friday after I got home from work my mom and I pierced Kailee's ears! I have been wanting to do it for a while, but kept forgetting about it. After one too many "oh, what a cute little boy" comments about her I quickly remembered! Poor Kailee one day she will grow some hair!

Grandma Char gave her a cookie as a distraction and we put her in the bumbo chair on the counter. I would definitely not say she was a fan of getting them done :( It was really hard to watch her go through it because she kept looking at us like 'why would you do this to me'. After they were both done she kept a very close eye on us just to make sure we were not up to anything else.

Thankfully she will never remember it and they are darn adorable :)

2010-01-27T11:12:00.002-05:00

Mason coloring while waiting for his dental appointment :)

Ready and excited to start!

Holding "really-really-really still".

LOVING Mr. Thirsty

All clean...look at those pearly whites!

Mason had his first dental appointment on Monday (1/25/10). He did great! He was so excited as we waited in the back lounge for Mrs. Darlene to come and get him. Every time he would hear someone walking in the hallway he would ask "OH! Is that Mrs. Darlene?" When it was time he proudly walked down the hallway and climbed into the chair. After guessing that he had 3 teeth, they counted them and then shined them up with cookie dough toothpaste. He picked out strawberry for the fluoride and loved it! He did so well he got to pick out prizes and then was spoiled by getting a beanie baby from Mrs. Darlene!! Hope he doesn't expect all of this special treatment every time ;)

2010-01-24T23:07:00.006-05:00

Children are a gift from God. Psalm 127:3 proclaims that "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." As believers we are called to recognize that children belong first and foremost to God. God in his goodness gives children as gifts to parents. They not only have the awesome responsibility of caring for this gift, but also the wonderful privilege of enjoying the gift. Because children belong to God and are given by grace as gifts to parents, it is only proper and appropriate that children be dedicated back to God.

Today was such an exciting day...it was Kailee's dedication!! We went to church last night so that Kailee would be nice and rested, feed and happy for her special day today. We got there just in time however pastor Bob must have been a bit long-winded this morning because the main service got out really late which meant that the dedications started really late! Thankfully Kailee was such a good girl she just looked around, played peek-a-boo and was plenty entertained by trying to rip my necklace off! She did great during the actual service as well :)

We are so blessed to have Kailee in our family and today we made our official promise to God to bring her up in a loving, Christ-centered home. We are so thankful to be surrounded by great family and friends who love and support us. Please pray that we would have wisdom and grace as we raise her.

Lullibies

2009-12-21T13:30:00.003-05:00

Who needs toys when you can just play Rock Band and Guitar Hero with Dad?!
What a nice soothing activity right before bed :) Yes, I was even talked into playing it for the first time but was only trusted to play Bass guitar. I hate to admit it, but it was kind of fun.

Seven Months

2009-12-21T13:24:00.002-05:00

I know, I know it's freezing outside, but I had to snap Kailee's 7 month picture in her onsie to share with you her cute chubby thighs (please also note the sock indentations on her legs)! I LOVE them!!

2009-12-10T16:15:00.002-05:00

Mason went on his very first candy cane hunt last Saturday morning! It was FREEZING outside and for some reason I thought it would be inside since they had switched it from park to the elementary school. At least Mason had his hat and gloves! Thankfully it only lasted 15 minutes!! I'm not sure what he liked better...the hot chocolate or running around looking for candy canes!

Since the candy cane hunt only lasted 15 minutes, we decided to head over to Three Cedars to check out their winter wonderland. I thought everything was absolutely beautiful and could have stayed way longer, but Mason was kind of nervous of all of the motion activated deer, snowmen, etc. If it moved, he was afraid of it :(
He did enjoy looking at the Nativity!
On our way home we stopped at the bike shop in South Lyon where we saw Santa and a real reindeer! (sorry all of the pictures are on the good camera that wont upload to my laptop)
What an exciting weekend!

Kailee had her very first teething biscuit today and definitely had a good grip on it! There was no confusion on what to do with it!! However, we did have many tears when I took it away. Praise the Lord that she and Mason are opposite when it comes to eating :)

2009-11-22T22:12:00.005-05:00

BLESSED

Tonight Andy and I headed downtown to volunteer with some members of our small group (thanks Caleb, Theresa, Becky & Matt) at the Detroit Rescue Mission. We got there at 4:30pm and helped do a little bit of dinner-prep work. Our duties were then to serve the meal, fill water cups, pass out pie, bread, plastic wear and napkins. Most importantly I think just being there to smile at them and let them know that they are worth our time was the most rewarding job! It was so heart-breaking to see how many residents are there due to their lives falling apart and loosing everything they have whether it be due to the economy or poor decision making; either way still so sad. I came home feeling very blessed! I can't even imagine losing everything. We are SO thankful to have jobs, a home, basic necessities, family and friends who are there to love and support us, and especially thankful for the money we paid the babysitter for the evening!!
I hope we can continue to pour into the lives of people who need it! With Thanksgiving coming this week it has been great to reflect on what I truly am thankful for!

SIX Months

2009-11-18T16:23:00.002-05:00

My BIG girl is 6 months old!! I have been packing baby clothes away like crazy lately,she is getting so big SO fast! She is squirming around (not crawling yet), sitting up by herself for brief periods of time and saying "DA-DA"! We are continually working on Mama, but for some reason she doesn't want to say that yet. Her favorite thing is still watching Mason run around the house and she LOVES chewing on anything that she can get into her mouth!

BIG Helper!

2009-11-15T21:57:00.003-05:00

BIG helper on the ladder :)

Mason and I tag-teamed to talk Andy into hanging Christmas lights outside (even though we had to promise we won't turn them on until AFTER Thanksgiving)!

Now we just need to talk him into letting us put the decorations up INSIDE!!!

Out of Commission

2009-11-15T20:32:00.006-05:00

Last week was pretty rough for all of us! Mason woke up with a really high fever and cough last Saturday. I called his pediatrician on Sunday after a sleepless night and surprisingly they did not even want to see him in the office they just called in an Rx for Tamiflu with all of this Swine Flu hype. Thankfully it did help almost right away and he seemed to improve pretty quick. I unfortunately came down with Bronchitis on Monday and then Kailee was at the doctor on Thursday after she came down with the same high fever, runny nose and cough that Mason had.
Thankfully Andy stayed healthy during all of this (I have no idea how!) and was a huge help. There is nothing harder than having two sick kids when you are sick yourself :(

This week hopefully all will be back to normal-back to preschool and back to work. Kailee is still on the mend, but getting better each day!

Mason is still doing really well with the potty training! I think the fish really helped! Unfortunately we have already had to replace a couple of them but Mason does not seem to be bothered by it. He is enjoying feeding them and watching them swim around.

He definitely keeps us on our toes. The conversations around here have been hilarious! He asks some crazy questions...I need to start writing them all down to share.

Our Newest Additions

2009-10-30T21:29:00.002-04:00

A week ago I told Mason that if he started going to the bathroom like a BIG boy then I would buy him 'real' fishies! One thing you have to understand is that we have been trying to get him potty trained for so long that I thought this was just going to be another failed motivational tool (I know, my positivity has been overflowing with this whole potty training ordeal)! When we started this summer we tried all kinds of motivation: first stickers, then M&M's, followed by movies and then the prize system all to no avail (he would tell me he "did not like these things anymore"-oh dear!) I was actually told by my pediatrician to give up for a while and then restart weeks later because he was obviously not ready. So, when we started this back up again I promised Mason if he filled in the reward chart then he could go to the store and pick out 2 fish. Since I was totally convinced that he would walk down the isle getting married in a pull-up since he is too stubborn to be potty-trained (OK, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration) I really did not think that we would end up owning any fish. Well on Thursday he had filled in every square on his sticker chart, so off we went to buy his fish!

Here he is showing the "man-helper" which ones he wanted :)

Just a bit excited! He could not wait to get his hands on everything!

Watching "Nemo and Dorothy" swim around as he explained to them they could not have a snack if they did not eat their dinner!

...and more watching!

Since we almost had a near casualty with them already we had to set some rules:
-NO hands in the fish bowl
-NO sliding the bowl across the counter because we don't want them on the counter
-NO feeding them unless an adult is around

So, even though I did not think we would end up with fish, it is fun to see how much Mason enjoys them! Hopefully I am better with fish than I am with plants :)

Fall Snip-its

2009-10-29T10:21:00.005-04:00

Our kiddos! They are such good buddies now that they can interact with each other. Kailee lights up every time Mason goes zooming by, it is so cute to watch! I can no longer put her to bed without Mason kissing her head first and he is the one who "needs" to wake her up in the morning. He has definitely turned into her protector and is such a big helper!! They are both amazing kids!

Kailee started eating cereal now that she is 5 months old!! Although it is time consuming (since we recycle the same bite about 5 times), it has been fun to start this new adventure with her. She on the other hand has made it perfectly clear that we have to feed her the cereal AFTER her bottle because it is just not fast enough when she is really hungry...a concept we have no experience with but love!

Her 5 month picture! Happy as always :) She is rolling over like crazy, scootching around (mainly just in her crib) and is working on sitting up. She is content to just hang out and chew on toys but mostly loves when she has someone to talk to!

Stacy and I took the kids to the Zoo-Boo a couple weekends ago and had a great time! Mason was a bit confused as to why were at the zoo, but not there to see the animals but he sure enjoyed collecting all of the candy. It was chilly, but we were so happy it did not rain!

One of our very close family friends Jodi got married last Friday! She is one of our 'girls night attendees' . Wendi, Jodi, Stacy and myself all get together about once a month to hang out and chat. We are looking forward to our November night out to hear all about Jodi and Eduardo's honeymoon :)

Our fall has just been SO busy! I hope things slow down a bit but with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming I am not holding my breath!!

Basement

2009-10-12T21:49:00.003-04:00

We started a project a couple of weeks ago...finishing our basement!! One of my patients who is currently laid off from his carpentry job came in to get his teeth cleaned and he was ready and willing to do any kind of work to help him pay some bills. We have wanted to get our basement done for a while, but just could not afford it so this worked out great for all of us! We worked out a great deal and he got started on it that next week!
Mason loves "helping" when we go down there to paint, clean up, etc. The other night we told him we had to go down to do some work and he ran into his toy room, grabbed his 3 hammers and his hard hat and told us he was ready to work! He has really enjoyed this project!
It is going pretty fast, we had wood floors installed yesterday and our carpet should be installed tomorrow! It will be less than one month from start to finish!! WAY faster than doing it ourselves :)

Noah Luke

2009-10-08T16:04:00.001-04:00

Here he is!! SO cute!

My First Nephew Has Arrived!

2009-10-08T14:31:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to my sister-in-law Sarah and her husband Marc as they welcomed their little baby BOY into the world today! Noah Luke was 8# 1 oz. She had him via C-section and is recovering from HELLP Syndrome. They expect Sarah to recover and be out of ICU tomorrow. Please pray that she would have no lingering effects of the syndrome so that she can start to enjoy their family of THREE!

We are all anxiously awaiting photos of little Noah. I will share them when I get them!!

A Look Back....

2009-09-28T21:38:00.004-04:00

Our handsome little man was born on 9/28/2006 at 10:34 am. He was 8pounds 8ounces and 22 inches long!
The poor baby was SO colicky due to a horrible case of acid reflux. Little did we know that it would land him in the hospital with a feeding tube when he was 6 months old :( He struggled with a food aversion until he was over 1 year old. Looking back, it was only the grace of God that got us all through this very tough time.

Mason at 1 year old. Look at those chubby cheeks! He was much happier once he could get around and see the world. He is still SUPER nosey today!!

At 2 years old he was talking in full sentences! At his 2 year check up his pediatrician said he had a 3 year old vocabulary. Such a smart little guy. His food aversion at this point was a thing of the past!!! Praise God!!

And now...our BIG 3 year old!! So much has changed in the past year! He amazes me each and every day with the things he says, does and understands.
We had so much fun today! He came down the stairs this morning and immediately spotted his present sitting on the kitchen table. I have never seen him come down the stairs that quickly before (Christmas is going to be a lot of fun this year). He started tearing into it and found a bag full of new trains!! He was so excited. The bad news...he could have cared less about breakfast, but eventually he made his way into his chair and crowned himself with his birthday hat. Thankfully he was excited about the muffin (or maybe just the candle) and ate in record timing so that he could get back to playing with his new toys again.

Grandma Char came over to watch Kiki in the afternoon so that we could go out for a special birthday lunch at McDonalds just him and I which included ice cream and all :)

Our neighbors Sarah with her daughter Kaydence and Carrie with her son Noah came by in the afternoon and evening to wish him a happy birthday and shower him with fun gifts.

Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday wishes, phone calls, and presents. It is so hard to believe that he is already 3 years old! He has been such a blessing to our family. I don't know what we would do without him.

Stay tuned for more pictures after we have our family party on Saturday (Thomas the Tank Engine-themed of course)!

Preschool Birthday Party!!!

2009-09-27T22:30:00.004-04:00

Mason celebrated his birthday at school last Thursday (a few days early). I must say I was excited to make him brownie bites with frosting to send to preschool and he was SUPER excited to take them and share them with his "new friends". He got to parade around with this birthday hat the whole 2 hours which he thought was really special! I had to laugh because I remember these birthday hats from when I was in elementary school and I never wanted to wear mine, I didn't want it to mess up my hair :)

I'm not sure if you can tell, but Mason is still LOVING school! I do love seeing his huge smile every morning! He cracks me up!

His first ever school project was a tambourine (thankfully it is a quiet one as it only has beans inside of it). In honor of his birthday he also got to bring home the "Share Bag" in which he gets to pick something from home to put in it. We close it up and he has to help me write down three clues for his classmates to guess what is in the bag. (Thanks to aunt Stacy sharing with us her feelings on how many germs are on that bag, we have kept it in the laundry room since Thursday!)

Tomorrow is Mason's actual birthday and even though we are not having our family party until Saturday I think he will be excited when he sees his present on his breakfast chair in the morning :) I cant believe my little boy is turning 3 already!!

A Bitter-Sweet Pediatric Visit

2009-09-21T20:53:00.005-04:00

I took Kailee to her 4 month check up today. She now weighs 13lb 8oz and is 24 3/4 in long. She is growing like a very cute weed!! She also had to get 3 shots so my poor baby girl has been crabby the rest of the day :(

While we were there, I asked our pediatrician about Mason and the whole potty training situation. While he usually does pretty good with the pee situation, he had A LOT of accidents last week and did not even care. Also after 4 months of potty training he will only go into the bathroom when he is sent, he has yet to tell me he has to go. So, her suggestion was to give up for a week or two and do NOTHING! After talking with Andy and a couple girlfriends I decided to give it a shot since Mason is moving in the wrong direction anyhow. So for the rest of the day today I did not send him into the bathroom to go and sure enough he did not go himself :( needless to say his pull-up was SOAKED by the time we changed him and he did not care! NOT GOOD! So I am completely frustrated and obviously hoping and praying that this 1-2 weeks of a potty training hiatus will do the trick. He is technically supposed to be trained to go to school, but the secretary said as long as he is in a pull-up and doesn't have a major accident it should be fine.

I love Mason dearly and I keep reminding myself that his strong-willed personality will be great one day, but for now it is giving me a huge headache!!

Our Thursday

2009-09-17T13:06:00.002-04:00

I dropped Mason off for his 2nd day of preschool. He jumped right in and started playing with all of the toys. He did ask where I was going, but I just explained to him that he was going to stay with his friends today to play and learn and that I would be back to get him. He just responded "oh, OK mom". I am so thankful that he responds well to new situations!

digging in to NEW toys!
Mason with his name tag on...SO cute. Their mascot this year is DORA!

Today also marks 4 months since Kailee was born! I can't believe how much faster time goes by with the second baby! I am SO thankful that she is such a good girl! She is a great eater and an awesome sleeper! Praise God!! What a happy girl!
SOOO BIG already! She loves sitting up so she can see all of the action! She also likes grabbing for toys, which is why I had to take numerous pictures before one turned out, she kept knocking over the blocks :)

Preschoool :)

2009-09-16T16:13:00.003-04:00

Tuesday was Mason's first ever day of school! It was a bit hard to get him out of the house but only because he was being a slow-poke not because he did not want to go. Once we got to the church he jumped out of the car and ran into the building, I think he was a bit excited! We were first greeted by the secretary Chris who is super sweet and then by Mrs. Lach, his new preschool teacher! Our first project was to pick out a sticker that will be used to identify all of his belongings such as his cubby, coat hook, projects, etc for the year. He picked...ELMO! We then handed in all of his paperwork and quickly went to work on a puzzle! We met some new friends and I was very encouraged as I saw him sharing nicely (without having to be reminded)! What a fun first day of preschool!

puzzle time

Ready for school :)
a picture with mom!
so cool with his Thomas backpack!
and his favorite part of preschool is...
the donuts and chocolate milk :)

Tomorrow will be his second day and I wont be staying this time. I am just praying he does not have any accidents (PS-I still HATE potty training)!

Gearing Up!

2009-09-13T22:35:00.003-04:00

This week we are gearing up for Preschool! (I am sure there will be a lot of pictures of a cute boy with a backpack on here Tuesday...so check back soon!) He says he is excited about going so hopefully that holds true! Tuesday is going to be more of an orientation/welcoming day so I get to stay with him. I don't know if they do this more for the parents or the kids but either way, I am excited to stay and see what his school days will be like. I will pack my Kleenex ;)

Today at church we held our community picnics where we gear up for the fall small group season to start. I'm excited to say that next Wednesday we will be opening up our home again to young families to study The Prodigal God. I am excited to see what this year holds for our group. Every year we talk about serving and it seems every one's schedules get too busy! So, this year we decided to kick off our season last Wednesday at Gleaners Food Bank in Howell. It was amazing to hear all of the stories that one of the head volunteers shared with us. Some sad, some inspiring, some exciting and of course a lot that were tear jerking! While it was amazing to hear that they used to serve 300 people per month and now they serve 3000, it was sad to think that SO many people need so much help now due to the economy and other circumstances. Thanks to the 11 total people we had serving, we helped to sort, stack, store and stock over 2800 pounds of food in just a short hour and a half. This really inspired me to want to organize a regular schedule for our small group to serve, whether it be at Gleaners or elsewhere!! Even with our busy schedules, that short hour and a half made a difference! So, that is my personal goal...to carve out the time to make a difference somewhere, somehow!

TOP: Kelly, Matt, Christine, Me,Becky, Andy, Matt.
BTM: Lisa, Rob, Brandon, Brian.

Myrtle Beach-Part 2

2009-09-08T22:30:00.006-04:00

Our little fish! Mason LOVES swimming!! He started swimming all by himself when we were on vacation. It was so cute to watch him kick his legs super fast to keep his head above water. He thought it was pretty cool that he could do it all on his own-he also learned how to twist himself around in circles to keep himself afloat. Needless to say he slept great every night due to getting great workouts everyday in the pool!

This was our beautiful view from our 14th floor balcony! The sound of the ocean was SO peaceful and relaxing. If it were up to me, we would have had our door wall open all the time to hear the crashing waves, but since it was 93 degrees we had the air conditioner blasting at all times so I could not justify wasting the electricity! Directly below our balcony was the hotel pool which was also a nice view, but nothing beats the beach!

Mason taking a swim at dusk. We let him stay up past his bedtime most nights. He loved the water park and the lazy river! In the lazy river he would just hang out and check every one else out, needing to know what they were doing, what their names were and knowing if they could swim. It did crack me up as I realized that he is such a people watcher just like someone else I know (sorry, I cant help myself..people are so entertaining to me!)

Ahhh, the beach! My favorite place....well used to be until we had kids and now have to lug our whole house there and back (from the 14th floor mind you). Andy and I learned our lesson! The first day we took the stroller (which we had to lift up the stairs, over the bridge and back down the stairs to even get to the sand), and lets just say a whole bunch of other large necessary and yes some unnecessary things to the beach. By the end of the week we were carrying a pretty "light" load. It felt like as soon as we would get to the beach, lather up in sun screen and settle Kailee into our new spot it was lunch time! So, as nice as it was to go to the beach it was also kind of a pain in the rear! Not to mention all of the sand that gets all over everything!

So not that you can tell by his smile, but this is Mason's FAVORITE toy of grandpa Rusty's!!! My dad bought a motorized scooter that he takes to the campgrounds they stay at so that he can motor all around and check out everybody's RV's and the campground itself. Well, it now serves another purpose...to entertain Mason! We could use this as a bribe for just about anything (potty, eating his meals, etc.) He loves, loves, loves going for rides on it! Grandpa's toys are always cooler than his own!! Who knows, the popular thing at this RV park were golf carts with custom rims...maybe Rusty will feel the need to get one of those too :)

We had such a great time, I'm so thankful that we were able to go. I am really looking forward to our Florida trip in April! There we are only a couple steps away from the beach :)

Myrtle Beach-part 1

2009-09-01T21:39:00.003-04:00

Kailee and Grandpa Rusty in the drivers seat of the motor home :) She needed a new view after 2 days of riding in the back seat.

Mason did such a great job there AND back! He stayed entertained with his DVD player, coloring books and his trucks. He loved driving them up and down the isle. Of course there was a LOT of snacking going on too :)
While we were there he kept telling us that "he needed to find his home somewhere" and "he needed to sleep in his bed"-apparently he missed his bed and toys!!

Mason watching his "show". Lets just say he watched quite a few of them!

Kailee with her hair blowing in the breeze :) She was such a good girl! I tried to leave her in her car seat as much as possible, even to "auto-feed" as Grandpa Rusty now calls it :)
She would eat, play and sleep every 3 hours and then repeat the cycle. She loved her freedom of being out of her chair as well. She would get so excited and was such a social butterfly when I would get her out.

5 Years!!

2009-08-20T23:09:00.003-04:00

Five years ago Andy and I committed to spend the rest of our lives together! We could not have asked for a more perfect day! It was mid-high 70s, the sun was shining, our family and friends were there to support us and of course the food and chocolate fountain were unforgettable as well! Thankfully we had no horror stories, everything fell right into place.

It is amazing to look back at all of our pictures and remember all the little things that are so easy to forget (i.e.-Jenni and my sister-in-law Sarah peeking around the corner while Andy and I saw each other and exchanged gifts before the ceremony, or how little my nieces were). I kinda miss the craziness of planning all of the little details of a wedding. Only 30 more years and then I can help Kailee! It's kinda funny think that we were not even thinking about babies at that point and now we have 2 beautiful kids! A lot can change in 5 years!!

Happy Anniversary honey! You are the best! I could not have asked for a better husband! I Love you!

BIG Girl!

2009-08-19T23:28:00.002-04:00

Now that Kailee is 3 months old, I decided to unpack the BUMBO chair! As you can tell she loves it!! Any time I put her in her swing or carseat she does crunches to sit up so that she can see everything that is going on! She enjoyed sitting on the dinner table tonight! I have to say she is a bit nosey and I have NO idea where she gets it from ;)
She is growing up way too fast.

Catching Up!

2009-08-18T23:12:00.002-04:00

Mason graduated from his first swim class ever on Saturday!!! He did such a great job! He now likes to swim by himself-even though he really does not know how! It will be fun to see how he does in South Carolina! We bought him a new swim vest so that he can have a bit of independence while swimming but stay afloat so that he can keep learning!

Uncle Josh came home for a couple days and came over to spend some time with the kids before he moves to ALASKA! He brought Mason a train whistle (which Mason loves a bit too much) and a cute book. Kailee got a cute sweatshirt! Mason loved hanging out and playing with him and he was asking where he was today. So cute!
Good luck with your move Uncle Josh, we will miss you!!

Celebrations!

2009-08-17T23:37:00.007-04:00

Yesterday was Andy's 29th birthday! YES, he is still in his 20's and trust me I hear about it all the time :) We had a birthday dinner for him at his parents house with all of his favorites: veal parmesan and of course his mom's homemade chocolate cake! He is such a great dad and a fabulous husband! I am so blessed!

We LOVE you honey! Happy Birthday!

Today our little Kailee Grace turned 3 months old!!!
It has been fun to see how much she has changed! She loves watching Mason run around and gets so excited when he actually stops to talk to her or kiss her on the head!

Mason is such a good big brother. He is getting more and more protective of her! He hates when she cries and always wants me to "go get her"! It is so cute to watch them interact together. I can only imagine what it will be like when she is moving around and chasing him around the house! He loves to "teach" her new things, he knows that if he says he is teaching her something then he wont get in trouble for using her toys or laying on her activity mat!

Happy Girl!

2009-07-31T22:09:00.003-04:00

So first I need to start by saying...sorry! I always said I would never put one of these elastic hair bows on my baby's head, in fact I think I even promised someone I would not, so I am sorry...but I did and I LOVE it!

Kailee is now 2 1/2 months and she is smiling, cooing and even laughing out loud which cracks me up! She is really developing a personality! It is amazing to see how much she has changed in such a short time. She loves watching her loud brother run around the house and she gets excited when he stops to talk to her or give her a kiss. Her favorite game is currently pat-a-cake which Mason likes to do with her as well.

I think she may be a little social butterfly since she loves a ton of attention!

SO Far Behind!

2009-07-26T10:54:00.003-04:00

Rock Hunting-Mason's favorite activity these days!

Loving on Kailee :)
His FIRST ever pony ride at Lansing's Potter's Park Zoo! He loved it! The Pony's name was "Fox" (don't ask!)

Yes, we are still potty training! Even while at the zoo in front of his cheerleaders. (This one is for Darlene!) LOL!

This summer has been flying by! We have done so many fun things despite the weather. Last weekend we went to visit our friends Catherine and Dwayne who now live in Chicago. We had a blast with them. Unfortunately, all of our pictures are on Andy's camera so I am not sure I will be able to post pictures from that trip.

PHOTO SHOOT

2009-07-15T14:29:00.002-04:00

Kailee at One Month
Mason and Kailee-he is such a proud big brother!
I love this one!
Our family of FOUR! (That still sounds weird!)

We had our photo shoot a few weeks ago! Thanks to Jenn Webber we ended up with some great shots! She came out to our house for the first half of the session and then we headed to McHattie Park in South Lyon for some outdoor photos. (stay tuned for those!)

A Dose of Kiki

2009-07-11T23:31:00.003-04:00

Sucking her thumb :)

Her adorable outfit from Aunt Cherie! A bight tight, it won't be fitting for much longer.

I love this one-it shows all of her chins (OK and her chubby arms too) !

Her 4th of July Dress.

BIG Boy

2009-07-03T21:22:00.002-04:00

Who can resist these cheeks??
We have been seeing a lot of them lately!!! We are trying the naked potty training method after many attempts (and failures) with potty training! It has been interesting to say the least! We started it yet again after he showed interest at his Grammie's house during the day on Tuesday. So Wednesday morning I decided to just let him run around naked and let him learn what it feels like when he has to go to the bathroom and teach him where it needs to go! After a few puddles and a few strong-willed "discussions" to get him to sit on the potty, we are making progress!!

We had our family BBQ at the park today in South Lyon and along with our car full of our usual stuff came the potty chair (we no longer can leave home without it!) It seems kinda mean to make him sit there and watch everyone play, but it actually worked as great motivation (OK, so did the cookies Grandma Char kept giving him) to have him use the potty and then he could go play. Maybe we need to go the park everyday :) He ended up keeping his underwear dry for over 4 hours while we were there. I was not sure how the transition from naked to underwear was going to go, but Andy and I were quite shocked that he did awesome and had NO accidents today!

Mason was a bit hesitant to share his Fritos with the twins. After all, it is kind of embarrassing to have to keep pulling your pants down at the park in front of everyone, he deserves his own chips!

Play-Do time or potty time?
BOTH! Gotta motivate him somehow!

SIX Weeks Already!

2009-07-01T15:07:00.007-04:00

For Kailee's six week birthday last Sunday we went out to Grandma and Grandpa Rutherford's house to celebrate! OK, so that is not the true reason we went there, we went to hang out on the boat! We had a great time even though it was quite windy. Mason was a champ jumping right into the chilly water that it took Andy a good few minutes to adjust to :) The boys kept drifting away from the boat due to the wind so we had to tie a line to Andy's life jacket so that they would stay close by. With him tied, we slowly pulled them across the lake where it was more calm! It was Mason's first time tubing without a tube or what my dad now calls "noodling"! It was really fun to watch how calm he was about all of the waves getting in his face, I really think swim class has helped!
I still can't believe Kailee is six weeks old. The time goes much faster the second time around, especially with the speed that Mason keeps! She is getting so big and is starting to track people and noises. Her smiles are so cute (even if they are from gas). She has been such a good eater and sleeper! She has now slept 3 nights in a row for me :) HOORAY! She is such a blessing and I can't imagine our family without her!

Swimming

2009-06-30T23:04:00.006-04:00

Here is his afro Aunt Jenni :)

Mason started swim lessons two weeks ago and he loves it! I was so proud of him as I watched him jump right into Andy's arms with no problem. I guess I was not sure what to expect for 2 year old lessons, but they played fun games like Red Light/Green Light, Hokey Pokey, and I Spy.
I am so glad that he likes the water. I originally signed him up because he liked to swim in the bathtub and I want him to be comfortable swimming in my parents lake this summer as we plan to spend a lot of time there!
Way to go Maso!

Balloon Fest

2009-06-30T21:25:00.003-04:00

Last Weekend we went out to the Howell Balloon Festival to see the hot air balloons and the fireworks. As we were driving into Howell we saw a bunch of hot air balloons in the sky, Halle and Mason were amazed. Unfortunately we got there too late to actually see them launch. We had a couple hours until the fireworks started so we let the kids ride the rides. Halle and Mason had a blast as they ran from ride to ride. You would never have known it was past their bedtimes! They were the perfect riding partners! Halle would help Mason into his seat, buckle them in and then guide him in the right direction as the ride ended. Mason loved having her right beside him as it gave him more courage to do some things that I'm not sure he would have without her (i.e. ride in the first car on the alligator rollercoaster)! Thanks Halle :) Mason's favorite part of the evening was when Andy won him a giant white Tiger which he still LOVES! Maybe next year we will get there earlier to actually see the hot air balloons too!
PS-Mason did not like the fireworks so I guess it is a good thing we let him play first!!

Our New Van!!

2009-06-23T19:59:00.004-04:00

I have been basically begging for a van for quite some time now even though I said I would NEVER drive a "mom-mobile" and used to make fun of my sister all the time (sorry Stacy!) After now having two kids and a double stroller to haul around everywhere, the Torrent was a bit tight on space leaving no room for groceries. After MUCH convincing, Andy finally agreed and I drove home our van last night! It is kinda pathetic how excited I am about it :)
Andy tried to convince me that we needed to stay within our budget and the station wagon above just needed a bit of work but would do the trick. JK.

Here is our new family wagon!!!
I'm not even going to tell Mason that it has a DVD player in it yet, otherwise we will have to watch his "show" every time we are in the car, even if it is a 1 mile trip! He is so good in the car and I don't want to ruin it! I will introduce him to it next month when we go to visit our friends Cat and Dwayne who just moved to Chicago. I'm so excited to go and excited that our new van will fit all of us and even our luggage!

BRAVE Little Man!!

2009-06-18T23:18:00.004-04:00

The Hot Air Balloon Ride! Poor Halle was SO tired, I don't think she had as much fun as Mason.
Yes, I was lucky enough to ride the train as well since Mason was not tall enough to go without an adult! Once again he is the only one having a grand old time!
The Petting Farm at the Fair.
Cute Cousins!!

Stacy, Andy the kids and I stopped by the Hamburg fair tonight for a bit. We only had an hour and thought that would be plenty of time to let the kids ride a couple things. Mason had a great time seeing all of the animals and riding the rides! He shocked us! We did not think he would go on them, but just like the go-karts he blew us away and loved them! They also went on a cute Dragon ride which the dragons went high into the air. I had to laugh because I don't think Andy would have even braved that one! I think Mason is going to take after me with his newly found "love" of rides. We may have to go back on Saturday and spend more time since it proved to be worth our while :)

1 Month

2009-06-17T22:57:00.004-04:00

Happy 1 Month Birthday Kailee :)
A lot can change in one month!!
She ...
*is staying awake more during the day
*is very inquisitive...loves looking around
*has already outgrown the newborn size diapers and a couple onsies are a bit tight
*likes her real bath-likes having her body submerged in the warm water-HATES being cold when she gets out!
*is sleeping a good 5-6 hour stretch at night then every 3-4 after that
*goes through diapers in record time
*just might wear every outfit twice due to the blowout diapers!
*absolutely hates being naked, she even gets nervous during diaper changes
*enjoys her swing
*likes being on her stomach (even sleeping on it-I know, I know-not good!)
*is SO cuddly
*is often called Kiki, Kailee-Bug, Kailers, Smelly girl (due to the nasty diapers) and even M&M (for mini Mason)

Mason is doing great with her! He is such an awesome big brother, he now even shares his favorite toys with her. He loves kissing her head or kissing his finger and then transferring it to her head which is super cute!

4 Weeks Old..already!

2009-06-13T22:17:00.002-04:00

Someone is getting chunky and it is NOT Mason!!!
My favorite of Kailee's sleeping postions with her butt way up in the air!
She was DEFINITELY worth the wait :) (thanks for the shirt Ellie!)

It has already been 4 weeks since Kailee was born. Where has this last month gone??

LATE Night Out

2009-06-12T23:14:00.002-04:00

Friday night Mason got to stay up WAY past his bedtime!!! We went Putt-Putt golfing and go karting with Marc, Sarah, Grammie and Grandpa. I really thought Mason would chicken out when it came to our turn to get into the go karts since he would not even get into a toddler Jeep a couple nights before but he didn't. He loved it and wanted to go again as soon as we got off! One of the highlights was that he got to ride in the "blue popcorn car"-it had the Pop Secret logo on the side!
After the go karts we headed over to the putt putt course. By this time it was already an hour past his bedtime but he loved golfing! I should have taken lessons from him, I would have ended with a much better score. He would walk up to the hole, put the ball a couple inches from it and then hit/guide the ball in with his putter. It was really cute. Kailee was carted from hole to hole, however sidewalks would have been helpful. Thankfully our double stroller is pretty easy to manuever! We all had such a great time. We are sad that Sarah and Marc are leaving to go back home already tomorrow :( The week flew by!

3 Weeks Old

2009-06-09T10:36:00.002-04:00

OK, so I am a bit behind! Kailee was 3 weeks old on Sunday. We celebrated by hanging out at Sarah and Marc's baby shower! What a shock, Kailee slept the whole time while she was passed around from person to person. Mason had a great time playing with his cousins and his all time highlight-throwing ice over grammie and grandpa's fence after the coolers were emptied. I am surprised he did not have frost bite by the time he was done!
Congrats again Aunt Sarah and Uncle Marc, we are excited to meet baby "Luke" in September!!!

Nicknames

2009-06-03T21:32:00.002-04:00

Growing up, I have had many nicknames but the two my family used the most were Seis and Shanny. Seis came from when I was little I could not say sister and would say seister so it stuck and from then on I have been Seis.
When my oldest niece Hannah was little she could not say Shanny, so she would just call me "E", and it stuck.
Well my twin nieces can not say Mason so he now answers to "Mayna" and they are now calling Kailee "Kiki".
So our family is now known by Turbo, E, Mayna and Kiki! Gotta love nicknames :)

Two Week Check Up

2009-06-02T17:28:00.003-04:00

Kailee weighed in today at 8 pounds 9 ounces and is now 21 1/4 in long! She is growing like a weed. She got an A+ on everything else too! Her hematoma on her head is healing nicely and should be gone in another week or so.
Yay for a healthy baby!

2 Weeks Old!

2009-06-01T18:07:00.003-04:00

I am a bit behind needless to say on the photos and posting! Now that we are all finally healthy, we have been able to adjust to having two kids. It is hard to believe that Kailee is already 2 weeks old. We are SO thankful that she continues to be a good eater and sleeper! Mason has adjusted really well. He is such a good helper and does not seem to have much jealousy :)
We will keep you posted on her two week check up tomorrow! It is still funny to think that tomorrow is her official due date!

SICK

2009-05-27T21:34:00.002-04:00

I am now on a Zpak after a trip to the Dr yesterday. My bacterial blood count was high and because Kailee is now here and we don't want her sick, they put me on the meds to wipe out this nasty infection. She said another day or two and it would have been full blown bronchitis. Not good! Our nights consist of either Andy or I sleeping on the couch due to me coughing constantly. I wish the cough would stop so that I could sleep while Kailee is sleeping!
On a better note, Kailee went for her one week weight check today. She is gaining really well! She was 7 pounds 4 oz last week and 8 pounds this week!! This is GREAT having a baby that eats well :) We are so blessed!

Happy 1 Week Birthday Kailee!

2009-05-24T10:54:00.006-04:00

I can't believe how fast this week has gone by! It is still funny to think that I was supposed to be induced this coming Friday! I am SO glad she came early!!
On the other hand ever since we have been home from the hospital Andy and I have had a sore throat. I went to the Minute Clinic and got tested for Strep just in case. Thankfully it came back negative, however now I have a nasty cough to go along with it. Please pray that Kailee and Mason do not catch it. I feel kinda guilty, I try to only hold her while nursing and then into the bouncer or pack n play she goes. Hopefully it will run it's course quickly so that I can cuddle and kiss her as much as I want to!!

Happy Birthday Kailee Grace!!!!

2009-05-18T22:00:00.003-04:00

She's here!!!! She graced us with her presence 2 weeks early!
Welcome Kailee Grace Brown to the world!! She was born Sunday, May 17th at 6:32pm weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20.5 inches long!
We had a MUCH better experience than last time :) My water broke at 4:30pm after having contractions on and off for 3 days. Thankfully I was only dilated to a 4 when I got to the hospital so I was able to receive the epidural this time (it is my new favorite thing!). About 5 minutes after getting the epidural, I fully dilated and starting pushing. I only had to push through 5 contractions and then she was here! So all in all, I was only in labor for 2 hours and 2 minutes! Good thing Novi Providence is so close and that Andy is a fast driver!!
We are so thankful for all of your prayers, phone calls, meals, help and friendship! We are so blessed that she is nice and healthy~now we just need to work on Mason's transition of our family of 4.

37 Week Check

2009-05-13T16:28:00.003-04:00

I just got back from the OB and I am dilated to 2 and 70% effaced. My midwife is thinking that because I was dilated to 3 and 70% effaced with Mason for over 2 weeks, she does not think that I will go early but did say that anything can happen! They ended up scheduling my induction for May 29th at 6:30am . Kinda early in the am if you ask me (and especially Andy), but apparently they like to do it the very first thing in the morning.
So it looks like we will meet baby Kailee on the 29th unless she decides to come earlier.
:)

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-10T21:55:00.003-04:00

We were still having a hard time deciding on the spelling until everyone spelled our baby's name KAILEE on their cards and then ...I opened her new taggie and well it says it all...(thanks to my mother-in-law Audrey!!) It was pretty unanimous! KAILEE Grace it is!!
PS-Andy even wrote it down on paper today and asked our waitress at Mongolian BBQ how to pronounce it and she pronounced it correctly! Hooray ;)

Showered in PINK!!

2009-05-10T21:38:00.003-04:00

A HUGE thanks to Jenni, Sara, Krysta and Laura for throwing me an awesome PINK party last night! They thought of every little detail (which is not surprising, they are so creative and crafty!!) Cute decorations, favors, phenomenal desserts, punch and beautiful flowers.
I feel so blessed! Thank you, thank you, thank you I had such a great time!!

Another OB visit

2009-05-06T15:52:00.004-04:00

I went for my 36 week check today. I did not gain any weight this week (weird-guess I can keep on my double cheeseburger routine) and I am now only measuring a half of a week smaller (instead of 2 weeks like last week). My blood work came back perfect and the 24 hour urinalysis came back OK. I still have trace amounts of protein in my urine but it is not anything they are worried about! My BP was up a bit from what it is normally, but I also had Mason with me and he was cranky and ready for a nap!
Baby sounds good her heart rate was 135-140 bpm. I was really hoping that they were going to tell me that she should be here any day, but no such luck!! They did not even check to see if I was dilated today, bummer. I think I was being overly optimistic.
Looks like I still have 23 days left....

36 Weeks

2009-05-05T23:16:00.002-04:00

23 more days....
I go for another OB appointment tomorrow and I am really praying that it is smoother sailing than last week!
PS-who ever thought it would be a good idea to make a maternity shirt with horizontal stripes?? Not a good plan!

Out With the Old

2009-05-04T21:22:00.004-04:00

Mason LOVES his new swing set!!
Hopefully this will keep him VERY busy once his sister gets here :)

A Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine!!

2009-05-02T21:17:00.004-04:00

This morning we headed out to Greenfield Village to see Thomas the Tank Engine!! Our friends and neighbors John and Carrie let us tag along with them since they have a membership (thanks guys)! Mason had been waiting for this day for a long time! We first rode the Carousel and had a blast, I don't think we could have wiped the smile off of his face. We then headed to the activity tent where he patiently waited in line to get a tattoo of Thomas on his arm. He was so funny holding SO still to get it done. We did some other little activities that the park had which were fun (riding cars, coloring, watching the "spinning train", got an ice cream, etc) and then finally around 1:30pm we were able to jump in line and watch for Thomas to pull up. He was so excited and just kept telling Andy and I how cool it was! It was so cute to watch him get so excited.
Our train ride lasted about 20 minutes, he loved every minute of it!! It was so special to be able to do this with him as he is going to have to be sharing the attention with his little sister very soon!

4 More Weeks!

2009-04-27T16:26:00.002-04:00

Well, I am down to the last stretch (literally)! I only have 4 more weeks to go and honestly I have no idea how my stomach is going to stretch any further!!
I gained 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks, but when she measured me, I am only measuring at 33 weeks (2 weeks behind schedule). She said she is not concerned because I have a small stature and that it could be that my abs are so tight (yeah, I have no idea-did she SEE my stomach?? Do I even have abs anymore??)
I also have to do a 24 hour urinalysis because I had blood and protein in my urine. My Stage II kidney disease is sneaking back into the picture for some reason. Arrgh!
So, needless to say it was not a very positive visit, but Kailee's heart sounds great so that is what I am focusing on!
32 days and counting.....

A New Swing Set for Mason

2009-04-26T14:11:00.002-04:00

We started our weekend by purchasing a new swing set for Mason on Friday. Andy was about ready to kill me when he read the reviews and found out that it takes 18-20 hours to build it (sorry honey!). I have to admit I was even a bit overwhelmed when we took out all of the pieces and started sorting them. Of course, nothing was labeled so I (with my Type A personality) had to quickly sort and label all of the hardware into separate ziplock bags and then put them in alphabetical order. I was also kind of hoping this would help ease the pain of it taking 18-20 hours to build! We ended up getting a good jump start on it on Saturday morning after he picked it up, but then unfortunately due to the crazy intermittent thunderstorms he did not get as much done as he was hoping to. Mason knows that he is getting a new swing set but thankfully is not impatient for it to get done. It does not yet look like a swing set, so until he sees the finished product, I don't think he really gets it. Kinda like the concept of his little sister, he still thinks we are just have to go pick her up from Costco :)

Up for a Vote

2009-04-16T21:32:00.002-04:00

So Andy and I still keep going back and forth about the spelling of our little girl's name!

In no particular order....

Choice #1 Kayleigh

OR

Choice #2 Kailee

Cast your vote!!!

EASTER

2009-04-12T22:43:00.004-04:00

Showing off his new trains from his Easter basket at Grammie and Grandpa's! (I have no idea what I am doing!)
Mason went to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny Saturday morning!
Hayden with her Easter Bunny ears!
OK, this was take #4 and we still have one with eyes closed :( We missed having Hope!
The Easter Tree with prize filled eggs! Mason started singing "Best of Both Worlds" when he picked the Mylie Cyrus sticker!
Posing with Hannah and Halle!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T16:09:00.003-04:00

We started out the day with GREAT news that Hope was going to get to come home this morning!! HOORAY!
Ted stopped here to drop off the 3 other girls and then left to go get Stacy and Hope. At least they are able to get to spend most of Easter Day all together even if they are super tired!
We enjoyed an amazing brunch here and then watched all of the kids do an Easter egg hunt and pick prize filled eggs off of the Easter Tree.
Now that Mason's nap is over we are off to have dinner with Andy's family.
Pictures to follow....

Another Hope Update

2009-04-11T21:25:00.002-04:00

Well, the enema definitely worked...Hope ended up going to the bathroom 5 times and after they weighed it all it was over 1 pound worth!! She was SO backed up.
She was feeling better this morning and even pushed a little play shopping cart around the hospital (the first time she has walked in a couple days). She is eating a bit and drinking, but they will not let her go home until she is able to go to the bathroom again without assistance. So, she is spending another night and should come home tomorrow.
Thanks for all of your prayers. It is so scary that just having the flu virus did all of this to her little system, but we are thankful that it is not something worse and that she will make a full recovery!
Have a very Happy Easter!!!

Hope

2009-04-10T20:33:00.002-04:00

My niece Hope was admitted to U of M hospital Thursday after having the stomach flu on Sunday and Monday. She spent a few hours in the ER on Monday to get hydrated as she could not keep anything down. She left with a script for an anti-emetic to keep her from throwing up. Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week she no longer had a fever and was not throwing up so we thought she was recovering, however she was VERY lethargic and would not even sit, stand or walk by herself ( if you know Hope that is very unusual! She is usually all over the place)! So, Thursday my sister took her to U of M to see what was going on and after many tests, the doctors found out that she has an intestinal blockage which was caused by the stomach flu. Basically the virus shut down her bowels. She had to have a CT scan today because they found a small lump in her abdomen, but it turns out that it is just from her being so backed up.
They did a suppository tonight and nothing happened and when I left the hospital at 7pm, they were waiting for the nurses to do an enema. If that does not do the trick, then they are going to use a scope to try and "break things up". As a last resort they may possibly have to do surgery :(
So, please pray for my little niece who is just not getting any rest, has been poked and prodded at each end and is in pain. Please also keep my sister and her husband in your prayers as they have not slept and are trying their best to keep Hope comforted during all of this. We are praying that all goes well tonight with the enema and that she would get to come home tomorrow.

Easter Egg Dyeing!!

2009-04-05T22:41:00.003-04:00

He had so much fun coloring his eggs. Orange is his favorite color, I am actually quite surprised they all did not end up orange!

Our Weekend

2009-04-05T22:29:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple picts of Mason driving-he has so much fun driving home from the mailbox (please keep in mind we only have about 10 houses in our sub, so there are hardly ever any other cars)! He also LOVES honking the horn over and over, I am sure our neighbors love us!!

Friday Andy took me out for my birthday. This is the 3rd time I got to celebrate it this week :) Kinda dulls the pain of turning 30!! We went to Stillwater in Brighton for dinner which was delicious and then we headed to The Melting Pot for dessert. I LOVE that place. It is probably a good thing that it is expensive, otherwise I would be there all the time!

Yesterday I had to work and then we hurried into Novi to get a Rain Check for a swing set that we want for Mason and the sale ended yesterday. After that I headed to a friends house to celebrate her 30th birthday party while Andy and Mason hung out.

Today after church we got to finally hang out and relax a bit :) I feel like our last few weeks have been pretty busy. We colored Easter Eggs with Mason tonight which was a lot of fun and so cute to see him get excited doing it (pictures to follow-they are on Andy's camera).

Tomorrow I go to get the 2nd area of Basal Cell Carcinoma out of my back. They are also going to take the stitches out of my neck, which will be nice to have that start healing.
I am REALLY hoping it does not snow as much as they say it is going to, I have to be there at 7:30am!!

CVS

2009-04-05T22:01:00.003-04:00

I just got back from CVS and did awesome! I love couponing. I did end up spending money (I had NO gift cards-bummer), but still ended up getting some great deals!! I also bought 3-12pks of Coke Zero which are not pictured. Sure I really don't need 6 bags of M&Ms, 6 cans of Pringles or 6 bags of coffee right now, but since they were on such a great sale and at a low price, I got them before my coupons expired.
My total was $187 and after my coupons and ECB's from my free Easter Baskets this morning, I spent $68 and then earned $20 for my next CVS run.

One Layer

2009-03-30T20:38:00.003-04:00

My appointment was at 7:30am this morning (along with everyone else's!) I quickly learned that this clinic schedules everyone for the day at the same time in the morning and they take you based on who gets there first-I wish I would have know this!
So, I was probably the 8th or 9th patient taken back. It is quite a process that you go through. A nurse comes in to evaluate the area, the surgeon comes in to check it, another nurse comes in to give anesthesia and then the surgeon comes back to start the surgery. They take a layer of skin at a time, so they removed the first layer and then (in your hospital gown) you go back into the waiting room to wait for the lab to process it to see if they removed all of the cancer the first time around. After about an hour and a half in the waiting room, they called me back again and said that it looked clear they got it all in the first layer-HOORAY!
So, they re-numbed the area and attempted to start stitching it up...however because I am pregnant they were unable to use Epinephrine (controls bleeding) in the anesthetic and also had to use a different cauterization technique that obviously does not work as well because all of the sudden I saw a tiny fountain of blood squirting up and out of my neck (Andy would have passed out). I got really nervous thinking maybe he knicked my carotid (my imagination is very vivid)! They immediately covered my face and upper body with a draping since they were having trouble stopping the bleeding. Thankfully they were able to control it and stitched me up. I got two layers of stitches-one inside and one outside. I will get the outside layer taken out next week when I go for my area on my back.
After they were done, I got really hot and dizzy. My BP dropped to 70/50 and had to lay back and have OJ and cookies. After a few minutes I felt much better and was able to go. So, all in all I was there from 7:30 til 12:00pm. Would have been sooner if I did not have the dizziness episode.
I have to admit I am really not too excited to go do this all over again next week but am so thankful that with this procedure the success rate is 99% effective for removing all of the cancer cells, so I am not complaining!!!!
The site is a bit tender and I am having trouble turning my neck. It feels like the tissue is pulled really tight. Hopefully after a good nights sleep and a tylenol, I will be fine for work tomorrow!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-03-29T16:37:00.002-04:00

We have been crazy busy lately! Seems like we have had something every single day. I actually went to bed at 9:30pm and slept for 12 hours because I was so exhausted!
Thankfully things will be calming down a bit this week. Please pray that all goes well tomorrow as I go in for surgery to remove the skin cancer on my neck. I am really hoping that I do not have to stay there all day, but it just depends on how much they have to remove.
I go back again next Monday to get the area on my back taken care of. Unfortunately they will not do both areas the same day since I am pregnant. They are worried about the bleeding. Bummer!

Scary Hair

2009-03-29T16:33:00.004-04:00

Grandma Char...please help!!! Mason has a HUGE afro these days and is in desperate need of a haircut!!!

Bravery

2009-03-24T20:50:00.003-04:00

Every year Andy, Mason and I go to Florida for 2 weeks in late April-early May. This year due to my pregnancy we are unfortunately not able to make it (all for good reason, but still sad we are not going). We always have such a great time. My sister and her family are usually down there at the same time and my parents are too most years. It is an annual vacation that my parents started with us when we were kids and now we have carried this on with our child(ren). Andy gives me a hard time because we always go to the same spot.
SO, I went online searching for vacation spots (other than Florida) and booked a one week getaway to Myrtle Beach in August. Yes, it will probably be very hot there in August...but I wanted to go while I am still off work for my Maternity leave. I don't think it would look too good if I went back and then a month or two later asked for the time off. The resort we are staying at has an indoor/outdoor water park and an indoor/outdoor pool, so if it is scorching we can always stay in the air conditioner and still have fun!
We are going to be driving (since we will have to pack the whole house)-it should take us 14 hours, so that will be very interesting! We will be packing our ear plugs to wear in the car! Our current plan of attack is to drive through the night to make it easier on Mason (or us depending on how you look at it).
So, this is going to be our 5 year anniversary trip, and birthday presents from each other (or at least that is how I am justifying it)!

Birthdays

2009-03-23T21:25:00.003-04:00

Today is my sister's birthday! We are supposed to celebrate both of our birthdays this coming Sunday, but Mason and I could not resist taking her a beautiful bouquet of flowers this morning.
Our birthdays are only 9 days apart, so needless to say we have always celebrated our birthdays together. I remember having to always "share" our birthday cake. So if she wanted a Cabbage Patch cake, I got talked into what a good idea it was (the power of influence of an older sister is pretty strong!) Now, I love celebrating together...it makes it more fun especially with all of the kids.
Happy Birthday Stac! You are an amazing sister! Love you!

Appointment

2009-03-20T21:22:00.004-04:00

I had another OB appointment this past Wednesday. I had to do my 1 hour Glucose test, hopefully it will come back clear.
My midwife said I was measuring about a week smaller than I should be (I am 29 1/2 weeks and was measuring at 28 weeks). I have also been having the ongoing pressure, so she decided with a combination of these two things that she wanted to send me for an ultrasound just to make sure everything was OK.
So, off I went to get another ultrasound. Thankfully the baby is measuring just fine (and actually measuring at 30 weeks), even though my stomach is not. The ultrasound tech also said everything else looked great, no need to worry about the pressure!! Praise God!
It is hard to believe that I only have just over 9 weeks to go! I am already at the point where I now go every 2 weeks for appointments. It's getting close and I am so excited to meet our little girl.

WalMart Run

2009-03-16T22:30:00.003-04:00

I braved a WalMart run tonight WITH Mason. I have been couponing at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and even Kroger for a while now, but decided that tonight I was going to try WalMart.
So, off I headed with my $95 worth of cut coupons. I did get a little nervous while I was checking out because it is hard to pay attention to make sure that things ring up on sale that are supposed to be on sale while trying to keep Mason quiet and occupied. The only bummer was there were about 10 items that were not on the same sale as what the Internet sales indicated (regional differences). However, my total was $91 before coupons and $4o after!!! I used $51 in coupons (and WalMart does not double them, so that was a lot for me). I ended up with 22 FREE items.
So for all of the stuff pictured above I only paid $40.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It still amazes me that people don't use coupons or "do not have time" for it. I don't NOT have time for it. It only takes a few hours of my week and saves our family a ton of money.

A Sunny Day at the Zoo

2009-03-16T22:01:00.004-04:00

Almost as tall as the bear ;)
Loving the seal swimming by.
Mason telling Ellie what is next and Ellie looking for confirmation!
Spotting the Gorilla.
SO sweet...holding hands as Mason asks Ellie if she wants to go see the penguins as they stroll along :) It's an official date!

Mason and I headed to the zoo today, it was such a nice day for it (a bit chilly when we started, but it warmed up fast). We ended up getting an annual membership for our family since my hopes are to go a lot this year.
Jen, Ellie and Shay met us there. They too have an annual pass so we made a commitment to meet there as much as possible. I am going to need something to get me back in shape after Kailee is here!
Mason loved seeing all of the animals, but by far the seals were his favorite. We were a bit disappointed that the polar bears had to move out of their exhibit today and were not swimming around, but we can always catch them next time. Other than the bears, all of the other animals were out and pretty active compared to when we usually go see them, which is usually on a hot summer day.
Mason's other favorite thing to do was running around with Ellie just enjoying the freedom and spring weather. They have been cooped up for too long!

Fun Weekend!

2009-03-15T22:19:00.002-04:00

We had a great weekend!
Friday we headed to our church for a Family Fun Night. They showed 2 Disney movies, had a ton of crafts, bounce houses, slides, balloons, and good (unhealthy) food! Honestly, it was so packed in there that it was hard to move, but it was a lot of fun and Mason had a great time. We saw a lot of friends there and my sister even came with 3 of her girls which was fun. Saturday I was able to leave for a couple hours and spend the afternoon with my friend Becky getting a pedicure, going shopping and even fit in some lunch. Saturday night Mason and I went to church since Andy was already there directing service and afterward we headed to Red Robin since I was craving a turkey burger.
This afternoon we headed to Berkley to hang out with Brian, Jenni, Ellie and Shay. We walked to dinner and even ate outside since it was so nice out and then even walked to get an ice cream. I love that the weather is starting to change :) I do not however like the fact that it is hard to walk with all of my ligaments being stretched and my sciatic bothering me. I feel so out of shape!
Tomorrow we are going to go to the Zoo since the weather is supposed to be even nicer!!! Spring is in the air.

Bounce U

2009-03-11T22:23:00.003-04:00

Today Mason and I went to Bounce U for a morning of fun! We met Carrie, Noah and Luke there along with Rachael, Lucas and her little guy Mason.
Mason absolutely loved it. He was running around, bouncing everywhere and after the first little while he was even going through the obstacle courses and down the BIG slide all by himself. He also enjoyed the baseball game and was surprisingly good at it (better doing it by himself than with me helping-LOL).
We will definitely go back, it was a great way for him to play and expend a ton of energy as we wait patiently for nice weather to get here.

Ok-so they are not bouncing here, but both boys LOVE Thomas!! A definite highlight!
Obstacle course...
Mid-bounce, before getting knocked in the head with these pillars which he thought was hilarious!

March 30th

2009-03-11T21:45:00.002-04:00

I scheduled my surgery today for March 30th. I will have to get to Henry Ford at 7:30am and the nurse said it could be an "all day event". Apparently they remove the skin layer by layer, but with each layer that is taken off, it goes to the lab and they freeze it (which takes 2 hours per layer) and then check to see if the cancer is still present, if it is then they come back and take another layer-if not then they stitch me up and I get to go. I requested to have both spots done at the same time, but they said they usually only schedule one at a time. I would love to get both out of the way ASAP.
Thankfully the surgeon who is doing it is also a plastic surgeon so hopefully both spots will look OK once they are all healed up.

Dreaded Call

2009-03-10T11:04:00.003-04:00

I got a much dreaded call from my Dermatologist this morning telling me that the two spots that were removed a couple weeks ago are indeed both Basal Cell Carcinoma. I had a feeling that they would come back abnormal, they always seemed irritated. The good news is that once I go back in for more treatment they should be fine. These do not spread nor do they grow deep into the skin to affect the lymph nodes. There is a good chance that I will have more spots in my lifetime however. I have had way too many sunburns.
The bad news is that I need to have further treatment to remove more skin around both areas (my neck and back) as soon as possible, but they are not sure if I should do it now because I am pregnant. I have a call into my OB to see what they recommend.

$aving Money!!

2009-03-09T13:48:00.002-04:00

I just love saving money!!!
Mason and I went out first thing this morning to make our Walgreens run. We definitely got some awesome deals!!
To give you a summary, We left with a huge cart full of stuff (one lady even commented if I put one more thing in there, Mason was going to have to get out and walk!) I spent $59.00 and saved $102.00 PLUS I will be getting another $11 back in Mail In Rebates and have $27 to spend on my next trip in register rewards. WHOO HOO! I ended up getting 6 packs of diapers for $14.00 and I will get another $4.50 off once I submit my receipts-making it $9.50 for 6 pks of diapers :)
I just love saving money, it has now become a game for me :)

A Week Later

2009-03-07T21:02:00.002-05:00

It has now officially been 1 week since Mason got rid of his pacifier. I am so proud of him he has not asked for it at bedtime, but he has been waking up crying in the middle of the night. I am hoping now that we have hit the one week mark it will get easier for him. It is taking him longer to fall asleep, he is getting up earlier in the morning and his naps have not been good at all :( So needless to say, we will all be excited when there are no more memories of "buddy".
It will be interesting to see how he reacts when he sees his sister with one (if she is anything like Mason was, she will want it from day one at the hospital!) Hopefully he will not regress at all.

Sneak Peek

2009-03-04T20:32:00.004-05:00

Today I headed to Care Net in Berkley to get an ultrasound, my 4th ultrasound this pregnancy. When I heard that they needed pregnant volunteers to come in to get an ultrasound, I was definitely willing and of course very excited to have another look at our little girl. Care Net's hope and prayer in getting this new equipment is to help change the minds of women who are in a situation of an unplanned pregnancy and are considering abortion. This new machine will hopefully give the mothers a meaningful glimpse of human life so that they can see the realness of their unborn baby inside of them. Their prayer is that once the mom can see the baby that she may not even be able to feel yet inside of her she will reconsider her decision and choose life!
My ultrasound today was different from my other ultrasounds in that there was an "instructor" and then 2 other ladies who were learning from her and becoming familiar with everything. I felt like I too was also learning at the same time. In my other ultrasounds, they would just zip through so fast and tell you that everything looks good, but I felt like I didn't really get a good, SLOW glimpse of everything until today.
It was also fun to see an ultrasound of our baby at 27 weeks instead of 17 weeks. What a difference! We could see her opening and closing her eyes, smiling and could even tell that she has chubby cheeks already :) Pretty amazing for being only about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds at this point.
Getting the ultrasound today makes me that much more excited to have her here!

Transitions

2009-03-02T15:51:00.002-05:00

Transitions are always tough...
Mason did great the first night without his pacifier and then last night he was up quite a bit crying. He never asked for his buddy, but he was inconsolable. His naps also usually run about 2-3 hours but yesterday and today they have been less than an hour :(
I am praying that he adjusts quickly without it! As much as I want to get sleep, I also want to tough this out so that we are done with it before the baby gets here.

Say Goodbye to Buddy!

2009-02-28T21:48:00.002-05:00

Tonight was a BIG night in the Brown household! Mason went room to room searching for and collecting all of his pacifiers (or "buddies" as we call them). After they were all gathered up, we explained to him that the Paicifier Fairy was going to come in the middle of the night and take them to all of the little babies who really need them! Surprisingly, he did not have a hard time with this...maybe because he knows he is going to get a present in the morning and his love language is gifts (just like his dad). So off he marched to put them on the front porch. He did not ask for buddy as he went to bed, but it is taking him much longer to fall asleep. I hope it is not a long night and that we are done with the pacifier forever!
You can watch it here:
http://vimeo.com/3414941

1st Trip to the Library

2009-02-26T13:35:00.003-05:00

Lefty (Grandpa Rusty will be proud!)
Mason's first trip to the library went pretty smoothly. The whole way there we talked about how we had to be quiet and use our "inside" voices. I tried to explain that people were there to read, he kept telling me we needed to whisper because people were there to sleep, but whatever works.
He first spotted the huge bin of toys and quickly went over and dumped them all out. So much for being quiet! We did end up reading a few books, picked a few to take home as well as 2 DVD's and even colored a picture. The librarian was very nice and even invited us back for their Wednesday morning kid program where they have music and story time. That may be our best option rather than going while the adults in there are trying to read and concentrate.
We did enjoy our field trip and have already read through all of the books once!

26 weeks

2009-02-25T15:44:00.001-05:00

I know what you are thinking (especially if you read my last post), but I promise I am only up by 5-7 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight even though it looks like I am up by 30!!!

Appointments

2009-02-25T14:03:00.003-05:00

I went for two appointments today.
I called first thing this morning to see if my dermatologist could see me. I have two little spots of skin that always seem irritated and wanted them looked at. Thankfully they were able to fit me in and she removed both of them. She said they did not look good and it is never a good sign when they stay irritated and don't heal. So, now I just have to wait to make sure that everything comes back clear from the lab. She wants to rule out Basil Cell. I am praying that both will come back fine.
I also went for my 26 week OB appointment. I gained a bit more weight, so I am now 20 pounds up from my very first appointment but only 5-7 pounds above my starting pre-pregnancy weight. So that means...more ice cream!!! LOL
I was relieved that all of the pressure I have been feeling is nothing to worry about. She said it could be a combination of things, but she is not concerned about it. She is sending my urine out to just make sure I don't have a UTI. We decided that Kailee will be joining us on May 28th if all goes as planned and she does not decide to come early. That is my grandpa Rutherford's birthday who passed away when I was little and I think it would be special for them to share a birthday.
I go back in 3 weeks for another appointment and the nasty glucose test. Yuck!

Looking Ahead

2009-02-23T16:35:00.004-05:00

I am looking forward to my appointment on Wednesday. I am now 26 weeks and am feeling a lot of pressure. I did not have that with Mason so I am not sure what is going on. Andy is making fun of me since I am already waddling instead of walking.
These pregnancies have been so different! I am guessing it is from all of ligaments being stretched and pulled in all sorts of directions. I also think it is from carrying and lifting Mason. I try really hard not to, but it is hard to avoid sometimes. I am also much bigger at this point than I was when I was pregnant with Mason (it could be from all of the double cheeseburgers-I am hooked on them!)
Only 13 more weeks to go...

Expensive Wash!

2009-02-17T22:41:00.002-05:00

I washed the most expensive load of laundry yesterday!!!
Andy usually leaves his clothes bed-side as he falls into bed late at night. I usually notice that they occasionally make it to the dirty clothes hamper, but the majority of time they do not. So, yesterday I swooped everything off of the floor, dumped it into the hamper started the first of many loads.
As I went to put everything into the dryer I noticed that his zip-up jacket was a bit heavy and sure enough in the pockets I found his new Ipod and our new tiny video camera that we have only owned for a couple days :(
We have had numerous discussions in the past about pocket checking and who should be responsible, however neither of us do it.
I feel awful and am crossing my fingers that both will work after they air out for a few days!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T10:47:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Speaking of love, check out Mason's opinion of his baby sister....

What a little stinker!

Random

2009-02-09T13:37:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was a bit hectic for us. Friday night I went out with my sister, mom and cousin to see Bride Wars which was really cute! Saturday I worked and then we headed to my parents to celebrate my mom's birthday. Mason loves playing with his cousins! He just laughs and giggles the whole time, I think this little sister of his will be good for him-he gets bored! Unfortunately we woke up early Sunday morning to the sound of Mason puking :( Poor little guy had the stomach flu. Thankfully, he is now feeling much better and we are just hoping we don't get it.

This week is going to be busy too. We have small group on Wednesday night, Thursday we have an annual Valentine Banquet that Christian Family Services hosts to raise money for the amazing adoption work that they do (my mother-in-law works there). Friday I am having a coupon party here-you are more than welcome to come! Saturday is Valentine's Day which I am hoping Andy is taking me out (hint-hint) ;)

Today I am 24 weeks pregnant. It is almost scary to think only another 15 weeks and we will have another baby around here. YIKES! Andy was laughing at me yesterday because I was "nesting". I could not stop cleaning! To defend myself...I wanted to disinfect everything since Mason had the stomach flu, but I kept getting distracted into deep cleans here and there or organizing things that probably did not need to be organized. I wish I had the energy to do that everyday!

My parents are leaving this Thursday for Florida for 6 weeks, I am wishing I could go with them!!! I am really going to miss our 2 week Florida trip that we take every year, but it is all for good reason that we can't go! Next year we will have two kids to pack up and take-yikes, we are going to need a car top carrier!

Terry's Update

2009-02-06T17:53:00.002-05:00

Terry's surgery went great! The surgeons were able to biopsy 2 of the 4 lymph nodes that they took out and they all looked clear. Her surgery took way longer than they thought but she is recovering really well and should be able to go home tomorrow! Thanks for your prayers.

Terry

2009-02-04T20:58:00.002-05:00

Please pray for my coworker and friend Terry who is having a major surgery tomorrow. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago and is going to be undergoing surgery followed by chemo and radiation.
She is having such a great attitude and is staying really positive about everything!
Thanks! I will keep you all updated.

COUPONING!!!

2009-02-02T14:36:00.007-05:00

Walgreens
CVS

My new love....couponing!! I went to a class that my neighbor had last March and ever since then I have been hooked on coupons. I used to make fun of my mom for having a coupon for everything, but now that I pay my own bills, they really help out!
I never really realized that there is a "science" to it all, but there is and my shopping trips are now amazingly cheaper!! I went to Kroger last week and my $117 bill came down to $42.50 with coupons....amazing!
Here are pictures of my CVS and Walgreens trips this morning.
Walgreens: All of the above items were FREE after e-mail in rebate and to top it off, I had coupons, so I made a profit of $6, PLUS-there is a $40 rebate on the glucose monitor which means technically I end up with a $46 profit! I don't need the monitor, but I can donate it.
CVS- here are my final costs on the above products...
VO5- 50 cents each
soup- 36 cents each
glade candles- 69 cents each
Palmolive- 59 cents each
Kellogg's cereal- $1.13/box
Energy Shots-Free after Extra Care Bucks
Kotex pads- 72 cents each pack
Fusion Power razor-$4 profit after ECB and coupon!!

My friend Laura is also hooked on coupons and is WAY better at this than I am. I am having her come to teach a Coupon Party Class at my house on Feb 13th at 6:30pm, please come and find out how to save (or make!!) a lot of money!!!!!!!!!!!!! The class is usually$20 per person which pays for your supplies and goes to a missionary project that her hubby is involved with!
Here is her blog if you want to check it out:
http://www.sharpenyourscissors.blogspot.com/

ELMO Live 1/31/09

2009-02-01T12:17:00.002-05:00

Hanging out with Dad waiting for the show to start.
snack time.
Dancing with Dad.

The trip would not be complete without showing Mason Comerica Park.

Mason had such a great time at ELMO. He was a bit unsure at first when Andy was trying to sing and dance with him, but he ended up loving it! Thankfully he is still at the age where we can leave there without spending a ton of money on souvenirs. I did check on an ELMO balloon, but was way to cheap to pay $10 for it. Mason did not even know the difference. :)

WHEW!

2009-01-28T15:23:00.002-05:00

I had a bit of a scare on Monday night right before I headed to bed. I started bleeding. I panicked a bit since Andy was at class and because it was so out of the blue. I called my midwife to see what I needed to do and to ask her what was going on. Thankfully she sounded pretty calm about everything, she told me to see if it happened again and to page her in the middle of the night. If it continued, she wanted to send me in to be monitored. Thankfully it did not last long and tapered off quickly. I then called one of my close friends who is an amazing listener and gives such great advice. I felt so much better after talking to both of them that amazingly, I slept pretty well.
To be on the safe side, she moved my appointment up from Feb 5th to today. The baby's heartbeat sounded great and my cervix looks good-no signs of it thinning. I have gained another 5 pounds, so I am now up to my pre-pregnancy weight!!! I am so relieved and so thankful for friends and family who were praying for us and reassuring me. THANK YOU!

A new room!

2009-01-22T20:57:00.005-05:00

Here is the girl bedding that I picked out in the summer before I was even pregnant! We still have to convert it back to a crib, but otherwise, our daughters room is ready and waiting for her.

BIG Boy Bed

2009-01-19T21:41:00.002-05:00

Mason is lounging in his new big bed surrounded by all of his pillows and friends! He did really well in it last night. He went right to sleep! He was up a couple times, but not too bad-I was expecting worse!
He is loving his new room with the sports theme. He loves telling us that his pillow cases say "Go team" and "All Star". He did not even want to get out of bed after nap today, that is different!
Now if we could only get him to drop the paci habit...

Back in the Swing of Things

2009-01-14T22:01:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was my first day back to work since early November! All went well! It was fun to see everyone and catch up a bit on what has been going on with my co-workers as well as my patients.
It was such a blessing to be able to go back knowing how far I have come in the last couple months. When I left I was nauseous and dizzy and am now doing great! I am so thankful to be feeling better.
I tried to start potty training Mason. He was really interested a couple days ago-to the point where he sat on his potty for 40 minutes just to get an M&M (that is determination)! Yesterday and today have been a totally different story, he has NO interest. HMMM! We even went out and bought him big boy underwear, but still not interested. Maybe we will wait and try again in a couple weeks. I don't know what is worse-to try and just be consistent when he has no interest and just get it done, or try again in a while which could potentially confuse him going back and forth with the diapers.