The Hilarity of Two Children

Sometimes, there just isn't a sane moment to be had. The upside is that these two are sweet, fun kids - as these photos and video attest.

2 months old!

It's hard to believe that last Friday, Sophia Grace was 2 months old. She is becoming more social. She loves to smile at us and enjoys watching the family. Caleb still loves to give his baby sister kisses. Our Sophie Girl has adapted well to mom going back to work (though I'm off now for Spring Break). She is beginning to stretch out feedings, particularly at night. She even slept through the night (9pm-4am) once last week. Mom and Dad are hoping for this to continue soon...
We are in love with our beautiful baby girl and are enjoying getting to know her better.

Getting Ready for Bath

One night last week, before Caleb's bedtime and Sophia's bath, Caleb wanted to hold Sophia. What beautiful kids!!! When Caleb saw this pic he remarked, "Look, they're naked!" In this photo you can spot Sophia's birthmark, which is about the size of a large strawberry. The pediatricians said that this will start to shrink when she's three or so.
Sophia is really enjoying her baths, though getting out can be difficult for her (it doesn't help when the room temp is in the high sixties!). Caleb can't wait until Sophia is old enough to join him in the big tub, and makes do with helping mom and dad bathe Sophia!

Three Year Old Fun

Caleb was using the bathroom. He really has grown pretty independent with this. Chris went to check on him because it was too quiet. This is what he was up to. Then, he dressed himself afterwards. Isn't independence fun?!

Beautiful Girl

It's hard to believe Sophia Grace has been with us for 7 weeks now. We are beginning to settle into a routine of sorts. Sophia eats every 3 hours or so. She continues to wake up for a late night feeding and then once in the middle of the night. I am getting used to our 2 am date and have gotten pretty good with waking up at 5 am and functioning pretty well. When I say functioning pretty well, that depends on the day. This morning I signed Sophia into the nursery at church as "Caleb Mason age 7 weeks." Oh well... We got to church on time (without Daddy who didn't feel well and was resting at home). Sophia has begun to smile and is doing so more often. She is beginning to talk, which is fun to hear. She is also awake for longer periods of time. Caleb is still in love with his baby sister. We actually are working on him NOT kissing her so much. We are so blessed by our two wonderful children. Thank you God for each of our kids.

Uncle BJ's visit

Last week, Uncle BJ came by to meet Sophia and to visit the family. Highlights of the visit for Caleb included swimming in the pool at BJ's hotel with Daddy, Nana and Papa and playing downstairs with BJ. Caleb enjoyed wrestling and making a fort with BJ. Sophia spent most of the visit asleep, but enjoyed meeting her uncle.

Joey

Caleb put on the snuggli
and walked around with
his joey. He is learning
to take care of all kinds
of babies.

Easter Attire and Papa

Caleb hangs out with Papa on the steps sporting his new duds. He wanted to wear the coat all morning and finally took it off when it was time to eat. Though his socks are another story... Sophia shows Papa her new dress. She seemed to cooperate for pictures better with Papa then with her parents.

Easter

Easter was a busy day! We rushed to get everyone ready for church first thing in the morning. Sophia wore her first dress. She had a headband on, but during the service Chris noticed her accessory was cutting into her head. So much for fashion. Caleb looked very stylish in a cord jacket and tie. What does it mean when you kids look better than you? After enjoying the church service, we went to Papa and Grandma Elliott's for a big dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

Watertown

Daddy plays the wii while Nana and Papa watch the kids. Nana reads with Caleb. A very common scene. Papa enjoys some time with Sophia while she hangs out in the bouncy chair.

Grandparents

We love having our children's grandparents so involved in their lives. We are fortunate to be able to see Papa and Grandma Elliott from time to time. Here, Papa is reading to Caleb (Thomas of course!) and Grandma is getting some Sophia time.

4 weeks old!

Sophia is already 4 weeks old. (Yes, we are getting this up a bit late) She weighed in at 7 pounds 6 1/2 ounces and was (still) 19 1/2 inches long. Currently she is in the 6th percentile for height and 7th percentile for weight, but considering the fact that she's gained almost 2 pounds already, we don't think she'll stay there for long. We are still trying to find some kind of schedule, but are settling in. Sophia is doing great. Mom and Dad are trying to adjust to the lack of sleep. Check out this video of Sophia hanging out on the changing table.

Caleb and the Snow Tunnel

Caleb had a ton of fun with the late season snow. We're supposed to thaw out next week, so who knows when we'll see this much snow again...but our hearts won't be broken if the answer is "November".

Happy Feet

Caleb Meets Sophia

A clip of that meeting - I think it's safe to say that Caleb is smitten with his little sister!

Sophia Grace

Sophia Grace was born this week! On Monday, amid such cold temperatures that most local schools were closed, Sophia entered the world via emergency cesarean. It turns out that she was breach and had her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Our doctor joked that Sophia "made herself a necklace". We let her get away with it, since she was such a nice doctor and took such good care of both Kim and Sophia. Kim and Sophia came home Wednesday morning, at around 9, and have been great ever since. Thanks to all our friends and family for your prayers and support!

Future Yankee?

Snow Fanatic!

Last year at this time, all Caleb did out of doors was whine and lose his gloves. This year he's shoveling (although he seems to get more into the driveway that off of it, not to mention all over himself), sledding and just generally loving our wintry weather!

Sledding with Caleb

Caleb loves the snow. We had about 6 inches by Tuesday morning, at least, and we got ourselves a sled. I completely forgot how much fun it was to get numbingly cold and wet!

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Autumn is here!

Stupid leaves...

Halloween

Caleb enjoyed some Halloween fun as a train engineer!

Sleepy time

Caleb is one creative sleeper - I wonder if his dream in this case was a bit of a cliffhanger!

Caleb's Song and Dance

New Addition to the Family

We can't wait to welcome our baby girl to the family!

Mason men

Painting...

Caleb has become very interested in painting. So far he has painted rocks, scrap pieces of wood and that traditional medium - paper. Here he is slipping a request for refreshment in with his need to thin his paint.

The Crayola Kid

Caleb is a budding artist, but occasionally gets carried away! His Uncle B would be proud of this kid!

The Fun of Not Being Fearful

We just got this fun pic from Caleb's Uncle B, and I have to tell you how surprised and pleased I was when I saw it. I am amazed that Caleb didn't freak out when we did this. In fact, he was so bold with this little frog/toad that he picked him up repeatedly by himself (relax, he was gentle). I love that Caleb trusts us and wasn't fearful of the little critter. Listen, if I was 2.5 years old and someone placed some unknown, bumpy brown thing on my shoulder...well, it would be a good thing I was wearing diapers.

The Thomas Craze

Caleb has been enamored with Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. He longs to watch their shows, play with the toys and even discuss their exploits over dinner. It is mind-boggling to watch him engage with the toys in play the way I used to (ableit at an older age) with other toys. It just seems as though he's growing up much too fast. But creative, imaginitive and mostly uninhibited play is why it rocks to be a kid! Also, check out the images I've uploaded to "The Box" to the right!

Housework

We've been hard at work on this old house - a fresh coat of paint has been added, and soon the whole package will be redone. Fresh painted shutters, a repainted door and other updates should be hitting this page soon.

Potty Training Tricks

We've been making passes at potty training with 2.5 year old Caleb. One of the incentives we've offered is "big boy underpants". Replete with Thomas the Tank Engine characters and bright, fun colors, you'd think they'd be a blast. But Caleb has proven to be a tough customer, and, in a show of defiance - or perhaps confusion - has misplaced his underwear...

Updates

I hope that many of you have noticed the changes to the blog - there have been many. I'm in the process of uploading movies and images, so please bear with me and check back frequently!

News

It's been too long since I regularly updated this site, other than to throw a slideshow or set of pics up. To catch us all up, I have some news to share: Kim and I are expecting our second child sometime in late February or early March. Caleb is having fun with predicting whether it will be a boy or a girl, but is consistently happy with the idea of being a big brother. At 2 and a half, Caleb is beginning potty training, with some success and definitely a lot of patience. As Kim and I approach a new school year, we're excited at the new start and I am in particular chomping at the bit. AS those of you who have been more "in the know" are already aware, the past year was insanely difficult. With the help of a summer job at Home Depot, I am ready to go. This is my tenure year, so I may be absent - or maybe more present - this year as I focus on intergrating more technology in a more disciplined way. I hope to keep a psuedo-blog with my students, as well as some other web-based tools, so that I can reduce paperflow and increase my productivity. In other news, I've added a "widget" that will allow you to download images or files of mine. This will help me keep the photos new and reserve this space for text updates! Wish me luck!

Cousins...

http://rapidshare.de/files/31263890/Caleb___Joshua__640_x_480_.wmv

Okay...That really didn't work, did it?

The Photoshow software is AWESOME...but the website won't let me use music that they disapprove of. So I am still making the shows, but we're going to host them out so we get meaningful music. Also, I'm sure you'd rather be able to download the videos and watch them at your leisure.

The first installment: http://rapidshare.de/files/31263282/Singing_in_the_bath.wmv

New Way of "Blogging"

To all,
This may be the last time I use this blogsite. I've stumbled on a way to share our family's experiences more easily - and frankly, more dynamically. Venture on over to http://www.photoshow.net/masonshows, and I think you'll agree. Look for more updates through this website - and thanks to all who faithfully checked this blog, even when I disappointed by not being current.

Chris

A Wagon Ride for Two

Caleb has been haging out with his Caleb-sized Pooh bear for a couple of days now, including taking a house-tour in a little red wagon. Thanks, Aunt Carrie, for giving Caleb such a great friend!

 

Bubbles!!!

When he's not eating them, Caleb loves to gather the bubbles around himself!

 

Easter Celebration!

Caleb's Aunt Carrie, Grandma and Grandpa Mason and his Mom and Dad were together for Easter - and enjoyed a great weekend to boot!!!

 

Easter Sunday!

Caleb was all decked out on Sunday for church!

 

New Lamb

Caleb's mom's friend, Sue, gave Caleb this wonderful Lamb. He's loves to snuggle up to her, and totes her all over the house!

 

Good friends

Caleb had a friend of his over for dinner and some playtime! Kate was a blast, and Caleb sure enjoyed her visit!!!

 

Dad's Hat

Caleb enjoys borrowing his dad's hat, which actually helps to prove that his pop doesn't really have that large a head after all...