The Things They Say and Do

Hunter calls Grandma Mohs- Grandma Penny and Grandma Black- Grandma Caxi

Mason kicks his feet together when you pick him up, especially if he's mad

Hunter wants to buy a motorcycle (for one dollar)

Mason likes to touch the toilet and hang out in the area behind the toilet

Hunter told me, after seeing balloons decorating displays at Borders, "Mommy, I like balloons." Oh the simple pleasures in life!

Mason still does not quite trust that I will have a bottle in his mouth within moments of his waking up.

Hunter likes Chicken with Stars Soup

Mason still does not want regular food. He gags in panic and then throws up.

Hunter did the monkey bars by himself today (four rungs)- July 24, 2008

Mason can pull himself up to standing. He smiles a big toothy grin!

Hunter now knows that people who ride motorcycles need to wear a helmet or they might get a big ouwy (How do you spell owy?)

Mason refuses to drink any formula except for Similac Sensitive!

Why is it that?

Why is it that when parents take their children to church, the children act as if possessed by naughty little spirits? A few months ago, we could send Hunter to Sunday School during our service and could hold and cuddle Mason as he slept in our arms. No longer. Now that it's summer, Hunter sits (I use the term "sit" quite loosely) alongside us as I forgot to enroll him in Summer Sunday School (who would have thought you would need to enroll) and Mason has found his voice and has decided that cuddling with mommy and daddy is a very low priority. He laughed quite loudly as he hit Mitch in the face with both hands during church today. He threw his bottle. Etc, etc, etc. He and Hunter have now joined forces and are determined that their parents burn zillions of calories during a forty minute church service and miss most of the sermon because Hunter wants to talk about why they dimmed the lights and how much longer we need to be there. Actually today went better than usual as I was able to coax Hunter into my lap for some snuggling and rocking. I even heard some of the sermon as I cuddled him. I'm not sure if Mitch heard much. He battled Mason's newfound energy and desire for independence. To end- Hunter yelled as we walked out of church today, "WE DID IT!"

Through New Eyes

I had the opportunity this afternoon to view my two sons through new eyes. My husband and I, along with Hunter and Mason, attended a work function at his boss's father-in-law's home in Medina (quite the house, by the way!). Hunter was thrilled by the sight of the pool in the backyard and spent the majority of his time working the water. Hunter became more comfortable in the water the longer he was in it. He even used a water noodle and kicked his way around the pool. You can only imagine how intensely nervous I felt. I really was beside myself, as I had Mason on my lap, who was more than happy to stay snuggled up to his mommy, and was concerned that Hunter would get nervous, or go under, and we, his parents, wouldn't be able to get to him quick enough. All was well, despite my nervousness. Anyway... to capture the point I wanted to make. Many of the individuals at the party commented on Hunter's muscular body. Already at four-years-old, Hunter has broad shoulders, muscular arms, and abs (for goodness sakes). I imagine he will be quite an athlete. And girls beware! He is a flirt, as is Mason! He also has the most joyful attitude. He bonded with many of the guys that Mitch works with. He played water basketball, etc. with them and fit right in. Mason debuted his flirtatious self the other night at karate and has been going strong ever since! Today at the party many of the women commented on Mason's bright blue eyes and snuggability factor! Mason even allowed one of Mitch's coworkers to hold him, as long as he had me in sight. Mason even showed has ability to problem solve. Because the area around the pool was paved, Mason, who has recently started crawling, crawled around on hands and feet, to preserve his knees, which are already quite red from all the carpet crawling! Baby genius!

Both boys were placed into bed this evening exhausted and happy, which is one of the best feelings a mom (or any parent) could have. I know my boys had a fabulous time, loved life, and are exhausted because of something truly positive!

Best!

Karate Focus and Into Everything

Hunter earned his white belt on Tuesday evening after he completed his first full session of karate. Because we had talked about the importance of listening to the teacher and doing what the teacher says, Hunter made sure to look in my direction every five minutes or so to either wave or give a thumbs up! As a mother watching her son, I felt nervous and proud and giddy all at the same time. As I watched Hunter walk around the large room with the padded floor, I wanted to jump up and help him as I sensed he felt lost and uncertain about what to do next. I stayed put.... He figured it out. As I watched him yell out Choo Be and mimic what his classmates were doing, I cheered (in my brain). I really cheered when Mr. Dingman presented Hunter with his white belt and then proceeded to hug him and follow him over to Chuck E Cheese, a well-earned treat in my opinion! We head to karate again tonight for a second go and probably more Chuck E Cheese games. We don't stay for dinner but we do play at least five games before we head home.

I've made some observations about Mason this week as well. For one, he claps his feet when he is happy and when he is down-and-out angry. He hates his high chair and I now know why. He wants to be on the move at all times. This morning, as Mitch and I drank our coffee and read the newspaper, Mason crawled around the baby-proofed areas of our home, probably in search of anything that might be dangerous and overlooked by his parents. Even as I type this entry, Mason knocked over a lamp. There's no way around having a lamp, as it IS a source of light in the evening, so I don't know what to do about that. Mason is still unable/unwilling to eat anything other than pureed foods and formula. When I give him a cracker (or anything of that nature), he proceeds to gag and then throw up. He threw up after a bit of oatmeal yesterday. The doctor said Mason might not be ready for table food until 12 months which is completely fine.

Mason and Hunter are bonding as brothers more and more everyday. We headed to Bennigans for dinner last night and Hunter was careful to stop everything every once in awhile to give Mason a hug and a squeeze (you'd need to see it to know what I mean). We followed dinner with a trip to Macy's to buy Mitch a new shirt and tie before tomorrow's very immportant SNS presentation. Hunter ran circles around the stroller and made Mason laugh everytime!

Thoughts I Want to Hang Onto

Hunter ran nonstop from the moment we arrived at the farm until we left. He is very concerned that everyone be included in the fun and wants to make sure that whoever we are visiting is in sight when we are driving somewhere. If they are in the car ahead of us, he yells, "Go Dad Go!" If they are in the car behind us, he constantly questions, "Are they behind us? Are they still behind us?"

Mason has the most genuine smiles and most curious personalities I have ever seen. He can only eat pureed foods (chunky foods make him gag and then.... ). He loves cords and paper and anything else that is NOT a toy. He can crawl... And Fast! He prefers that Mommy hold him. He crinkles his nose when he smiles and he has the cutest teeth! He likes to show them off. He looks like his mommy as a baby as Mitch and I confirmed tonight as we took a stroll down memory lane with our picture albums. Mitch and I were once young, as illustrated in our photos.

We set up the slip-and-slide today and Hunter thought that was the best- for about twenty minutes. Mason experienced an ice cold pool for the first time and was not pleased.