Mason is 4!

My only son turned 4 a few days ago. Time flies. Mason was born during a very rough time for both sides of our family. He was about the only good thing to happen in the span of about a year. He was a much needed light in our lives. I try to remember that feeling I had then, when he is pushing my buttons now. He is such a sweetheart but he really knows how to get me worked up too. I wouldn't trade him for the world though, we will figure each other out eventually. This year Mason was all about volcanoes, dinosaurs, hurricanes, and just about anything scientific you can think of. He desperately wanted a volcano cake so I did my best to make that happen. It turned out pretty well I think. I was proud of myself I will admit. It took two cake mixes and tons of frosting to get this thing looking remotely like a volcano but Mason loved it and that's what counts.

For his birthday I found a science-lab-in-a-box. He has completed all the tasks except for painting the globe. He has crystals growing, he built a volcano, and had daddy set up his weather station and rain gauge. Here he is digging for dinosaur bones while his jealous sister looks on. He takes these safety glasses to bed with him now. What a cutie.

Grandma and Grandpa gave him a noisy dinosaur that has bitten all of us and growled in all of our faces. What fun boy presents are!

Mason will be starting preshool in the fall and can't wait. He is ready to go. Drew has been his own private teacher lately and he will have no problem keeping up with class. He is a smart little guy when he will slow down long enough to talk to you. He is still a lover of Fire Chips (Doritos) and also loves broccoli. He adores Bree and loves to hold and kiss her. It will be fun to watch their relationship as they get older. I am so thankful that I have been blessed with this sweet, and sometimes sour, little boy in my life. I love you Mason, even though you rarely want to hear it!

Bree's Blessing

Bree is 3 months old! I seriously cannot believe she has been around that long. Time flies when you live in a foggy haze of sleep deprivation. Actually, the past 3 nights she has slept through the entire night from 7pm till about 6:30am. Perfect! I find myself holding on to her a little longer than usual, trying to get every little bit of snuggling I can before my sweetheart decides she is too busy to lay quietly in my arms. I am soooo going to miss snuggling babies but I am soooo looking forward to having 4 big kids too. She is already working on her tummy muscles and is a pro at holding her head up. Oh my sweet Breezy. She still cries when she feels neglected, but she has longer and longer spells of contentment. Hopefully as she gets bigger and can amuse herself the cries will stop. She has found her fist to suck on and I think that helps a bit too. If only she could have found it 2.5 months ago!

Here is our family on Bree's blessing day. I figure we have about 5 years before I will pay to have a picture done professionaly, especially with the attitudes some of my kids have. I love Mason's look.

This is Bree before her blessing. The dress she is wearing was worn by me and my sisters, and all 10 of our daughters. Its kind of short on Bree but she was 3 months old when she was finally blessed. The bib was made by my grandma and the tatting around the edge was made by Bree's great-great-great grandma. Pretty cool. Hopefully my girls will have some girls that can also be a part of this tradition.

As Paul was walking to the front of the chapel with Bree she started to cry. Imagine that. I figured she would scream through the whole thing but she miraculously stopped crying just as Paul started the blessing. I was so surprised and so proud of her. Makes me think she knows exactly what she is doing and can shut it off if she wants to. It was a beautiful blessing and I am so thankful that all our family could be there. We ended up with 35 people at our house after church having a taco party. We had a great time with everyone there and we were so thankful that the 2 hour drive didn't deter them from coming. We are blessed with an awesome family on both sides. My kids are surrounded by family who would do anything for them and love them so much. What a blessing family is. I can never express how much my family, and my in-law family mean to me. They are the best!