Updates - Kate at 5.5 years and Mason at 2.5 years

This is a little late, but I want to do an update on Kate now that she is five years old and on Mason now that he is two years old!  My heart aches when I think about how quickly they have grown.

Kate
Justin and I are so proud of our little girl. She is kind, funny, energetic, curious, attentive, sweet, compassionate, artistic, smart and loving.   She is always thinking of her mommy and loves to buy or pick flowers for me any chance she can.  I love that about her.

 

At the age of five, she is wearing size 5T clothes (some 6), size 10 shoes and no longer naps.  She is very good about laying down and either playing or reading in her bed until Mason wakes from his nap, which is almost as good as napping!  Occasionally I will lay down with her to make her sleep if I know she's going to be up late that night and once in a blue moon she might fall asleep on her own if she's really tired.

Kate is still a very picky eater and lives off of chicken nuggets, French fries and pizza.  She also loves chocolate chip muffins, orange juice, lemonade, grapes, peanut butter crackers, popsicles, ice cream and cheez-its. We make her lunch every day and most of the time she picks out what she wants to eat in her lunches at the grocery store while we are doing our weekly shopping.

 

Kate is very creative and loves to draw and paint, especially pictures of our family.

A family picture I have hanging in my office.

 A Bumblebee.

The mommy bumblebee, the baby bumblebee and their hive.

 

While we were down in Naples over Christmas, we went and visited Gaga, who lives in an assisted living facility.  There were several elderly people sitting in their wheelchairs in the hallways, sleeping.  There was one lady we passed who was slumped down in her wheelchair, wearing a wide brim hat.  As we walked by, I saw Kate walk in front of her and slowly, get as low to the ground as she could to see the woman's face.  When I said, "Kate!" she responded, "Mom, I'm just looking!".  Silly girl.  Later that day at the hotel, there was one guest room that had the door propped open and Kate poked her head in as we walked by.  Justin and I got onto her and once again she exclaimed, "I'm just looking!".  She's not shy, that's for sure!

As precious and sweet as our little girl can be, she still has her moments where she tests our patience. Since turning five, Kate has been throwing dramatic fits again.  I thought we had gotten past this but apparently not!  Every day she cries and whines about getting her hair brushed that I'm once again on the verge of cutting it all off.  I told her she has to be a big girl to have long "princess hair" and if she keeps acting like a baby (crying) we will cut her hair short again.  I've been threatening this a lot so it might be time for me to follow through.  Thankfully, it's been several weeks since she's had a full blown tantrum so hopefully this was just another short phase.

Another big issue we are having with Kate is her talking back to us.  A couple months ago she lied to me about making her bed and as I was telling her how disappointed I was, she told me "Just go buy yourself another little girl"!  Wow.  I stood there for a second and then calmly told her God made her just for Mommy and Daddy and that we didn't want another little girl - she was stuck with us.  Lord have mercy...some days I'm not sure how to parent this strong willed child.

Recently, we had a girls day and went with Nanny and Gigi to see Cinderella.  Kate loved the movie - I hope we can all get together to see another movie sometime soon.

We love our sweet little princess so much!

 

Mason
 

It's been a while since I've done a detailed update on Mason so I have a lot to share.  Mason is the sweetest little two year old - although some of the "terrible twos" are starting to show through.  He is generally very easy going, obedient, and polite but if we tell him no or he doesn't get his way, he is quick to show his disapproval.  He has started to shout "no" put his chin to his chest and cross his hands.  He will occasionally throw himself on the floor crying and kicking his legs, but that usually results in a spanking so he will start shouting "No spank me!".  He is working on remembering his manners (saying yes mam/sir, please and thank you) and loves to talk.  His speech has drastically improved lately and there's not much he can't say.  Every now and then I have to ask him to repeat things, but for the most part we understand everything he says.  I love seeing his little personality shine through. 

 

Mason is currently wearing size 2T clothes and size 6 shoes.  He wears a size 5 diaper during the day and size 6 at night.  Speaking of diapers, he has started to show more of an interest in going in the big boy potty and has gone a couple times at school  Last night, we let him pick out a potty seat and underwear (Paw Patrol) so we will be prepared for potty training.  I have decided I'm not going to push the subject, at least not right now.  Kate was so difficult that I'm hoping Mason will be easy compared to her.  We will see! The sad thing to me is this is the last "baby" stage left - I know I won't miss all the diaper changes but I'm not ready to let go just yet. 

 Proud of his new potty seat - and I love the license plate, Ready To Go.

Mason also still sucks his thumb but it's usually limited to when he's upset or tired.  I try to tell him "you don't need that thumb" but not make a big deal about it.  I'm hoping one day he will just quit sucking it.  Most of the time he will take it out of his mouth if we tell him.  Mason still takes one nap a day (generally 1.5 to 2 hours long) and sleeps from 7:30pm to 6:30am every night.

 

Mason is the only kid I know that sleeps with a hard medal object every night - a school bus.  He LOVES trucks, tractors, garbage trucks and boats, but school buses are his favorite thing right now.  It's so funny listening to him in the car every morning.  I hear non stop chatter in the back talking and pointing out every truck, tractor, semi truck, garbage truck, school bus and "city school bus" (city bus) that we pass.  And trust me - there's a lot!

 

He loves to listen to bible songs in the car and has started singing along.  When the song is over, he will say "Yay! I did it".  A couple times this past week I have changed the route we take to get to school and the second morning I did it, Mason started fussing at me saying "I not like this way.  Go other way Mommy".  He has strong opinions at two and half! 

One of my favorite things Mason says is "I snuggle you". Mason also says BIG in his deep voice and adds it before certain words: BIG truck, BIG tractor, BIG Momma (Justin laughs at that one while I cringe). While we are shopping, Mason usually pats things like toys and says "I need that".  One time while we were in Costco, he walked by the wine and patted each bottle and told me, "I need that.  I need that, Mommy".  I smiled and thought to myself, if one of us needs that, it's me!

 

Here are some pictures I have to share:

 He loves to sit in the front seat any chance he gets.

 His "cheese" face. I love that scrunched up little nose.

 Watching TV in the oddest spot.  He sat there through the entire show.

 

 Mason's artwork!

 Crazy boy.

 Bath time fun with Camden.

Kate didn't want to get in with them since it was "yucky boy water".

Matching pjs. 

 The chocolate from his cookie made it look like he had a little mustache. 

 I love his organizational skills - lined up in order from biggest to smallest.  He is my child.

Mason at the "Trike-a-Thon" at school benefitting St. Jude.  They both raised $60 dollars with a little help from family members (plus Kate contributed $5 of her own money - I could have burst with pride at her generosity). The kids took their bikes to school during the event and got a certificate for participating (there's no picture of Kate because she didn't ride her bike).  Just one example of how Mason shows up his big sister.

Mason's teacher, Ms. Amanda, sent me this picture one day while he was at school. 

 Twins! 

 Mason's first night in the "big boy" bible class. He did so good and loved every minute of it.

We are so proud of our little man!

 

Justin and I regularly talk about how lucky we are to be blessed with two beautiful, adorable, sweet children.  Everywhere we go, they both get compliments about how precious they are.  Mommy and Daddy love you both so much and are so thankful to God for you!