Cousins, A.K.A., Best Buds

I love watching these two play together. It's probably one of my favorite things about going to Idaho. You can tell Mason is an only child. I guess we need to practice sharing more with other children. Mason didn't want to watch what his other cousins were watching on TV so we got the little DVD player out for him. It's a good thing his cousin was being patient and was content to watch the movie over his shoulder.

We went to see the baby farm animals at the fairgrounds while we were in Idaho and I think the boys had more fun playing in the little pools filled with pea seeds. I didn't think we brought any seeds home but when I did laundry I kept finding more that they must have been "hiding" in their pants.

"Hey! Where'd he go?"

Mason: I'm king of the mountain!!!

Teigan: Not if I can help it!!!

One of Mason's favorite things to do while at Grandma and Grandpa Turners' house is to ride the little four-wheeler around the yard. This time around, Grandma went out to Aaron and Vanaes' house and picked up their four-wheeler so Mason and Teigan could ride together. Looks like we needed a third so Violet could ride too.

Mason's New Favorite Thing To Do

So, I know that I have really neglected our blog lately. I'm finally sitting down to do a little updating and share a few videos of Mason thoroughly enjoying some time with Travis and his harmonicas. There was a lot of video taken and it was hard to narrow it down to one or two so I went ahead and posted these four. I hope it isn't overkill.

Travis decided he needs to learn a few real songs. In case you can't tell, Mason is doing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Apparently, that would be a good one for Travis to learn.

In this last one Mason just started putting one harmonica away at a time but one of the harmonicas don't belong in this set so there wasn't ever enough slots to put them all away. My baby cracks me up. I hope you enjoy.

twin baby boys have a conversation - part 2 ORIGINAL VIDEO

I stole this from a friends status on Facebook and it was too good not to share. It really makes you wonder what they are thinking. I love the mismatched/missing socks.

Because It's Been A While

So I've been thinking I need to do a blog post but haven't sat down to put any thought into one until now. I don't have very many new pictures to work with because in our hurry to get to the airport on time we left our camera in Idaho earlier this month. There have been a couple of times I wished I had it here to capture some of the things that Mason has been up to or getting into. On the other hand, when I do pull out the camera he usually stops what he's doing and stares, glares or he hides. I guess I'm not sneaky enough.

Here are a couple of pictures. They are a little random but I thought they were worth sharing.

We stayed with Nick and Jenny for a night last time we went to Idaho and Mason had fun playing Wii with Uncle Nick. I love how he aims by resting the butt of the gun on his eye.

Lately, Mason has really been liking our bed. He loves to get in and play with my clock radio, baby monitor, touch lamp and doodle with the pen and paper I keep on my night stand. On this particular day he stuck the post-it on his forehead by himself and left it there for quite a while.I snapped a few pictures and left. A while later, Travis brought Mason out to the kitchen where I was cleaning or making dinner (I don't really remember which but it's not important anyway) and showed me what Mason had drawn. Unfortunately his latest work of art was up and down his arm. Also unfortunate, I didn't take a picture of his very pink inky arm. We later discovered that the drawing didn't end with the paper and his arm. He also started coloring on the quilt we have on our bed. I guess he thought it needed more pink in it. Luckily, it all came out. I think. I can't see it anymore so it's good enough for me.

A Conversation...

Annie was in the kitchen making dinner, and Mason and I were playing in the back of the apartment when we had the following conversation:

Mason: Daddy, you go find Mommy.
Me: Okay. What do I do when I find her?
Mason: Ummm...Okay.
Me: Should I give her a kiss?
Mason: Ummm...No hanks (thanks).

What We've Been Up To

Anyone who knows Mason knows his love for trains. Thomas in particular. He brought home a pretty decent haul from Christmas in Idaho. He has a lot of fun driving the train around the tracks but not before having Mom and Dad "help" set up the tracks for him.

Travis works from home when he can so as to avoid wasting time walking back and forth to the library. Quite often Mason wants to go back to daddy's little workspace in the bedroom. I pulled out the gates and have used them a couple of times to keep him out in the living room so Travis can work but Mason lets us know how unhappy this makes him. Travis thought he would make a quick little fort in the couch to keep Mason happy one day and it worked better than I thought it would.

BEHOLD THE BLIZZARD OF 2011

We started hearing last Friday or Saturday about this blizzard we were going to get. Apparently it was quite the storm spanning over 2,000 miles. Chicago received 20.2 inches while we ended up with 18.7 inches. I saw reports of snow drifts that were 3 to 4 feet high. That's a lot of digging out.

So here's how we handled this paralyzing storm. As soon as it stopped snowing and blowing we went out and made sure we could get to our cars. Getting to our cars proved to be pretty easy. Digging out the cars on the other hand... we'll see.

We wanted to take Mason sledding and we had thought about this before the storm blew in but never made it out to buy a sled for him. This was our solution. We put a pillow in a laundry basket and used one of Travis's old belts to pull it. It was quite a success and Mason loved it. That is, until he saw and wanted to go to the park. The snow was too deep and the "sled" kept tipping over. We gave up there and decided to just walk around. Mason didn't agree with that decision and we ended up going home with the promise of watching Cars (one of Mason's favorite movies). Three times we went out and three times Mason was promised a movie or rather bribed with one so he would come inside quietly.

We will have had Travis home most of the week. He worked Monday and Tuesday. Places starting closing early on Tuesday due to the storm, and Wednesday and Thursday were snow days. Sometimes it's weird to have him home this much and I have to keep telling him to get back to work. Hopefully next week will be business and usual and we can all get back into our normal routines.

Christmas Vacation 2010

With Christmas Vacation 2010 came a few more firsts for Mason. He saw Grandma Smith and Aunt Tara shoveling snow one morning and decided he better help. Grandma and Grandpa Turner got a little 4-wheeler for the grandkids to share and Mason loved riding it. If you look closely you can tell he is a lot like his mommy because he wore his slippers while he rode. Not the greatest picture as far as showing what is happening here. Christmas morning Mason's cousin got a sled and we all went sledding while Grandma stayed home and got Christmas dinner ready. Mason loved going down the hill with Aunt Tara. I wasn't wearing proper shoes for sledding and the one time I went down one of my shoes fell off. It was still fun. Cold, but fun. The first half of Christmas Eve was spent with the Turner side. Mason loves playing with his cousins. He wasn't very interested in having his picture taken so this is about as good as it gets. Maybe an aunt or uncle got a better one with their camera. Best buds. Being dressed alike was not planned. I think they were watching a movie or they probably would have both been looking at the camera. We got home from church the first week in Idaho and there was some good snowman snow so I told Travis he should go make a snowman for Mason. Travis' dad got there about the same time and helped build it. Then Mason went out and helped put the face and buttons on. They made him facing the house so Mason could look out the window and see his snowman. Another first and he loved it.