It's Here!!

I can't believe Christmas is already here!! This has been the best Christmas season. It is so fun to have Mason old enough to really understand and be excited about everything going on. Now that we have 2 kids we have been trying to start some traditions that will hopefully last through the years. Here are some of the things we have been doing to celebrate to this year.

The day after Thanksgiving we went and watched Santa arrive at University Mall in a helicopter. Remember how Mason loves helicopters and is asking for one for Christmas? It was the perfect way to start off the season. Mason waving to Santa as the Helicopter was coming down. The big man himself. Mason just wanted to stay and look at the Helicopter all day. Brynn was so excited she could hardly contain herself. We stayed until the Helicopter flew away. It was REALLY windy when it was taking off. Here we all are being blown away.

Decorating the Tree was definitely interesting with all of Mason's "help".

The Festival of Trees was a lot of fun. Mason, of course, found every tree that had a train under it. He was convinced this was the Dinosaur Train, so therefore, it was his favorite. He then informed us that this butterfly tree was Brynn's favorite tree.

We took the kids to Thanksgiving Point to sit on Santa's lap. Mason was SO excited the whole time we were in line. When it was finally our turn this is how his conversation with Santa went

Santa: How are you?

Mason: (barely audible whisper) Two. Holds up two fingers (Oops, thought he asked how old are you.)

Santa: What do you want for Christmas?

Mason: Stares at Santa

Scott: Mason, what do you want for Christmas?

Mason: Santa, what do you want for Christmas? (voice getting a little louder)

Santa: (a little thrown off by the question) Ummmm.

Scott: Mason, tell Santa what you want for Christmas?

Mason: Ummmm Looks to Daddy for some help

Scott: A big................blue.......

Mason: HELICOPTER!

Santa: Well, I'll see what I can do.

Mason totally got stage fright when he was talking to Santa, but as soon as he was done he told us all about how he had talked to Santa and told him he wanted a big blue helicopter. Apparently the conversation went perfectly in Mason's eyes. As for Brynn, she just smiled and laughed the whole time she was on his lap which was SHOCKING since this girl has some serious stranger anxiety.

We also got to see some of Santa's reindeer outside.

We did the Polar Express ride.

Scott and I saw A Christmas Carol like we do every year. Mix in some Family and Work Christmas parties that I don't have any pictures of and we've had a very busy and very fun month. What a great time of year. Merry Christmas!!

5 Years

December 18, 2004 is the day we started our life together.

Just the two of us.

In our little basement apartment.

Working and going to school.

We were young.

We were in love.

A lot has changed in five years.

Now there are four of us.

In our little house.

Working and raising our children.

We are a little older.

But we are still very much in love.

I can't wait to see what the next 5 years bring.

And all eternity after that :)

I love you, Scotty.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

The Polar Express

Remember how Mason loves trains? We decided it would be fun to take him on the Polar Express ride on the Heber Valley Railroad this year. When we booked the tickets we didn't realize what we would be starting. In preparation, I took him to the Library and checked out the Polar Express so he could become familiar with the story before the ride. It immediately became his favorite book. He has carried it around with him for the last 3 weeks. He asks me to prop it open to the page with the train on it so he can look at it while he plays with his trains. He takes it to bed with him and falls asleep reading it. The first time this happened I put the book away after he was asleep and later that night he appeared at my bedside nearly in tears asking where his Polar Express book was. The problem is, it was due back at the Library last Saturday but he won't let go of it. I think someone will be getting this book for Christmas. We recorded the movie when it was on TV even though I wasn't sure if Mason would like it, but he loves it. It shows everything about trains that he loves, including the conductor saying all the right things like "All Aboard" and "Tickets please!". He would watch the movie every day if I let him. Nothing beats watching the movie, reading the book, and playing with his trains all at the same time.

My mom has a train that goes around their Christmas tree. When she got it out this year Mason would just sit and watch it go around and around while talking a million miles an hour telling you everything about the train and how it was like the Polar Express. Unfortunately he ran it until it started smoking and then stopped working altogether. He was so heart broken when it died that my mom being the sweet Grandma she is went out the next day and found a new train for her house. It will be interesting to see what happens when it gets put away after Christmas.

Mason finds a way to include the Polar Express in every part of our day. One day he found an empty diaper box and immediately it became the Polar Express. Of course I got to be the lucky person to pull it around and around and around until I thought my back would break. We even went to the North Pole and picked up Santa. After weeks of feeding his obsession over the Polar Express we broke the news to him yesterday that we were going to take a ride on the Polar Express. Today might as well have been Christmas. Seriously, we could cancel Christmas and he probably wouldn't even notice because today was more than he could have wished for. All day he kept asking if it was time to go yet. When we finally got up there he was in train heaven. He loved seeing the big black locamotive that looks just like the Polar Express. Here he is standing on it's "bumper". The three of us. (Brynn stayed with Grandma so she didn't have to endure the cold.) Mason getting on the train car with his ticket in hand. Mason favorite part was walking around outside and seeing the train, but once we were on board it was really fun. All the kids are wearing pajamas like in the book, we got cookies and hot chocolate to drink, elfs handed out the book and everyone read it together, and we sang Christmas Carols. We went all the way to the North Pole where Santa came onboard and talked to each of the kids and gave them a bell. Mason loved the bell! Sometimes he says he wants a bell when people ask what he wants for Christmas (because that's what the boy asks for on the Polar Express). After we left from the North Pole Mason sat on my lap ringing his bell. The ringing got slower and slower until it stopped and I looked down to find him asleep, dreaming of the Polar Express, I'm sure. It was a nice calm ride back listening to Christmas Carols. Mason did wake up when we got off and begged us to stay with the trains. He made the statement, "I don't like my house, I like the Polar Express!". What a great day! This might have to become a yearly tradition.

Things to do

I have so many fun things to blog about, but can't seem to find the time. My to do list seems to be growing faster than I can check things off. Today I added to the list baby-proofing the house because the little one is on the move...YIKES!! Now I really won't be getting anything done during the day. I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season like we are. I promise some great Holiday posts in the near future.

All Brynn Wants for Christmas...

...is her two front teeth. (bottom, that is)

And she got them!!

Brynn shocked us all by popping out her first 2 teeth last week. Unfortunately I blamed the low grade fever and fussiness caused by a bladder infection on teething for 5 days before taking her to the doctor, but we got that taken care of and now she's back to her happy self. I can't believe my baby has teeth. Hopefully she'll protect hers a little better than her brother has.

Obessed Much?!

It is no secret that Mason has some obsessive tendencies. Every once in a while something catches his interest and becomes the center of his life. Need I mention our fleet of garbage trucks? Lately, Mason's garbage trucks have had a little bit of competition for his love and attention. I just wanted to share about Mason's new loves.

• The Red Helicopter.

I'm not positive when or where his love for helicopters began. It could stem from watching the Life Flight helicopter fly over our house several times a day since our house seems to be along its route between hospitals. Or it could be from the Balloon Fest on the 4th of July when we looked at the Life Flight helicopter across the street the whole time instead of the balloons. Regardless of how it started, Mason has a fascination with helicopters, particularly "The Red Helicopter" (Life Flight). Last month I took him up to Discovery Gateway Children's Museum where they have a real Life Flight helicopter for kids to play in. We spent nearly the entire time playing in the helicopter. Mason was just overflowing with excitement and still talks about it. We now go on field trips down to the hospital to look at the helicopter as a reward for Mason. All he wants for Christmas is a "Big Red Helicopter". They happen to have some really cool big BLUE helicopters at Costco so we told him Santa is only making blue Helicopters this year. Now if you ask him what he wants Santa to bring him he will tell you a "Big Blue Helicopter". I can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning. We framed this picture for Mason after he carried it around with him for several days and got upset when it was bent. He keeps it on his dresser next to his bed so he can see it when he's going to sleep. We occassionally find it in bed with him when he's sleeping. So sweet. Mason is really a good little artist for a 2-year-old. He constantly asks us to draw helicopters for him and then he tries to draw one himself. A couple weeks ago he drew this helicopter 100% by himself. When scott got home he thought I had drawn it. That not only tells you what a good job Mason did, but also what a horrible artist I am :)

• Trains

Last Christmas, Mason liked "choo choos" a lot. We kind of did a train themed Christmas for him including a train table and train sheets for his new big boy bed. He has continued to enjoy trains since then, but in September when he was introduced to the new show Dinosaur Train, he became obsessed. For those unfamiliar with Dinosaur Train it's a new show on PBS that is actually pretty cute. Mason likes the dinosaurs, but it's the train that truely captivates him. He has to have his trains in hand while watching the show so he can pull it around whenever they are riding on the train. We can often hear him singing "Dinosaur Train, Dinosaur Train, We all ride ride ride.....the Dinosaur Train" which is part of the theme song. He also likes to find tunnels for his train to go through so he can announce "time tunnel approaching!" like the conducter does. It is so stinkin' cute. Although he doesn't really know who Thomas the Tank Engine is, he has one Thomas train (thanks Stacie) that is his favorite. He calls it his "front blue face train".

I love how passionate Mason is about things. I hope this passion carries over to all areas of his life as he gets older.

A Season to Remember

Tonight Scott officially retired his golf clubs for the 2009 season, and what a season it was. This year Scott played some of the best golf he's ever played. He broke 80 three times (77, 78,79) and averaged in the low 80's the rest of the time. It's a good thing, too, because he had to prove to me it was worth the money he spent on new irons, wedges, and a putter earlier this year. :) In the past Scott has mostly played golf with his Dad and brothers, but this year he had a group of friends at work that he really enjoyed going out with. He also had a lot of fun going out quite a bit with my Dad and was able to keep up with him better than he ever has before. I'm glad Scott has a hobby that lets him have fun and relax and even more glad he's had so many opportunites to do it for free this year. Here's to Scott's 2009 golf season...it'll be one to remember. Here's a little trip down memory lane. These are pictures of us golfing at Wolf Creek in St. George when we were engaged. We look so YOUNG.

Guinea Pig

This picture makes me look like a horrible mother who donated my child to science when really I just had Brynn participate in a simple infant development study at BYU this week. They are studying an infant's ability to interpret audio and visual stimulation at different ages. It looks pretty intense from this picture (sorry it's so crappy, their printer was almost out of ink) but in reality she didn't mind wearing this helmet for 5 minutes while sitting on my lap in a dark room and watching a 3 minute video of short and long yellow caterpillars with corresponding beeps. No big deal. When they called and asked if we would participate I said yes because I am always interested in the results of this type of study and thought it would be fun to be a part of one. The funniest part was when Mason became best friends with the lab assistent who played with him while we did the study and invited her to come play at our house after his nap. Such a social child.

Speaking of infant development, Brynn had a big week of milestones last week when she started sitting on her own and eating rice cereal. Pretty big stuff for my little girl.

We Did It!!!!

He's Potty Trained!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all the advice a while back. I put away the undies and decided to wait until he was older, then low and behold a month later he woke up one morning and asked to wear underwear and did a pretty good job of keeping it dry. It made all the difference once he wanted to do it. I'm so happy I could do a little dance.

A little piece of Heaven

Do you ever wonder what Heaven will be like? Will everyone be dressed in white? What will we do for fun? Most importantly, will there be food? Sometimes I find myself thinking about this. I remember when I was younger and thought Heaven would be the same as it is depicted in the movie Saturday's Warrior ... fog machine going, girls dancing and singing in pretty dresses (oh how I hoped mine would be pink), people being teleported to and from earth. And while I'm certain it will be nothing like that, I still don't know exactly what it will be like. All I know is that a month ago I was spending the morning playing on my bed with Mason and Brynn. The sun was shining through the window and reflecting so perfectly off the white comforter that laid underneath their bare bellies. Brynn was giggling at Mason as he lay beside her playing peek-a-boo. I was in Heaven. I knew then that it doesn't matter to me what's in Heaven, only who's there with me. I am so grateful to be sealed to my family for all eternity so that even after we're gone from this earth we can laugh together in the clouds. And we all know it wouldn't be Heaven to Mason unless a garbage can was there :).

Happy Halloween

Well, here they are, the costumes of 2009. Scott and I dressed up as Swine Flu. These costumes won us the best couples costume at the Bell Halloween Party as well as 3rd place at the Nu Skin Costume Contest. It was also kind of ironic because I spent my Halloween at work taking care of patients with Swine Flu (and no I didn't wear my costume to work). We have offically hit the point where Mason wants to pick out his own costume. I had a costume in mind for Mason, but he informed me he only wanted to be a Dinosaur. He was introduced to a new show, Dinosaur Train, by our neighbor and loves it. Now Dinosaurs and Trains are his favorite thing in the world. So here is Mason our fierce T-rex. If Brynn would have had a say I'm sure she would have opted out of dressing up, but we dressed her up as a pumpkin anyway. Pretty darn cute if you ask me. The costume did have some perks for her, like a nice place to rest.. Our Halloween festivities started off early in the week at a darling Halloween party my mom did for the grandkids. It had everything from witches brew at dinner to spider webs (yarn) all over the house for the kids to follow to their Halloween prizes. Here's Grandma with all the Utah grandkids, unfortunately Rachel Faye had to join the party via skype from Arizona.We had a lot of fun carving pumpkins this year. Scott of course was the artist and carver. Mason was really into it this year and turned to us while cleaning out his pumpkin and said, "this sure is fun, Mom." Here are Scott and Mason showing off Mason's T-rex pumpkin.

Here are Brynn and mom showing off Brynn's baby pumpkin. Brynn apparently loved it, too. Here are all the pumpkins we did this year. Scott's says Go Phillies for obvious reasons. Scott took Mason trick-or-treating and besides a couple episodes of stage fright, he really got the whole concept.I told Scott only to go around one neighborhood because Mason doesn't know any better yet and I really didn't want tons of candy around our house. So this was Mason's loot and look how happy he was with it. Hope everyone else had a great Halloween, too.