Eight Months!

My baby boy is 8 months today! He is becoming quite the mover and the shaker!

-He now has one tooth...finally!

-He now eats two meals of solids a day and is starting to drink from a sippy cup.

-Mason's new trick is scooting backwards! He is soooooo close to crawling! He get's up on all fours and then he can't figure out how to get his legs going.

-He loves playing on the floor now! I just get all his floor toys out and spread them all out on the floor and he just moves to what he wants to play with.

-He is such a happy baby. He really only cries when he needs something.

-He loves to play on the floor as well as his jumperoo. He gets that thing going!

-He is super chubby and I just love it! He is wearing size 4 diapers and wearing mostly 12 month clothing. He still wears some 6-9 or 9 mon but his jammies are all 12 mon!

I can't believe that I am already thinking about his first birthday. I know I have four months but time is flying by and with the holidays coming I know it will be March before I know it. Happy Birthday baby boy!

Holiday Cards and Shutterfly

I was just informed of this great deal by Shutterfly. If you blog about their great products then you get 50 free holiday cards! Awesome right! I have never actually sent out holiday cards let along ones with a family picture on them. I am so excited to send some great cards out this year!

I have ordered from Shutterfly before and everything has always been great and of high quality. I have ordered four different photobooks in the past and I love them! They are a great little photo book to look back on and I didn't have to do a thing but upload my pictures! I have also ordered personalized calenders before and they were a great gift for the grandparents! You can even add special holidays and dates that are personal for your family. You add your own pictures and sayings and they do the backgrounds and put them all together for you! I have also recieved a book from them as a gift and I loved it. Be sure to check out Shutterfly for all your picture needs!

To make your own calender go here... www.shutterfly.com/calenders
To check out their photo books go to... www.shutterfly.com/photo-books

Here is the link to get your own free Holiday cards!
http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Another Milestone

Well folks, we have reached another milestone...new car seats! Mason is currently still in his infant carrier but man is he heavy and Sydney is in a Britax Marathon Convertible car seat. Syd could stay in that car seat for a long time yet by the weight, the weight limit on that seat is 65 lbs. But I think she will outgrow the height sooner than later, not sure of the limit though. But Mason's weight limit for his car seat is 22 lbs and he was 20 lbs last month. I am sure he is close to that limit now. So Mason will be moving to Sydney's car seat and she will be moving to a booster seat with a 5 point harness. We ended up getting her a Graco Nautilus 3 in 1. I love it because the head rest can be raised and she won't outgrow the height. I think this is the last car seat for her because this seat can be used with the 5 point harness till 65 pounds and then a high back booster with the regular seat belt and then just a booster. So it was definitely worth the money. I haven't moved the kids car seats yet...I want to go to a local store here in town and get them put in professionally and learn the correct way to put them in. We never learned how to put the Britax in when it was rear facing. We just never moved it until she was ready to be forward facing! Silly! So I want to learn! I am so over carrying Mason in his infant carrier but him not being in it leads to a whole new set of problems. Putting him in a cart at the store or having the stroller? What to do with Sydney when I have to carry him and hold her hand? I think things will be a little more complicated without the car seat. It is a little bittersweet to get rid of that infant carrier because it will be the last time I will have one in my car (probably!). My babies are getting too old too quickly!

Pajama Party

Last night at Bunco we had a pajama party! Great idea Becky! I, of course, don't have pajamas, just sweats, and I was told that was not good enough! So Lisa was kind enough to pick me up a pair from consignment and Sarah washed them for me! What great friends! All I had to do was pick them up and change! I took Syd this time because Becky, Lisa, and Sarah all have little girls around Sydney's age. Sydney is the oldest by about 4 months. It is so fun to watch them interact and play together! They had a blast and were pretty good. It got a little loud and rowdy toward the end of the night but we didn't really have to worry about them too much. We only had about 50 potty breaks between the four of them! If one of the girls had to go, then the others thought they should too! The food was awesome! We had cheesy chicken alfredo with garlic bread and no bake cookies! AMAZING! I am so happy to be a part of this group. Sarah asked me to join about a year and a half ago and I am so glad she did. I have made some great friends and I so look forward to my one Tuesday a month! Keith watches both kids, unless I take Syd, and I get a whole night to myself! I am so grateful for the friendships I have made and the amazing girls I have met. We always have a good time and usually do more talking than actual playing! Last night we actually played the whole round and I even won two prizes! I won Toy Story 3 (which I loved and am so excited about!) and a basket with popcorn, candy, and tissues (which I will need because I cried the first time I saw this movie!).

The girls showing me their eyes! Playing in the kitchen

Sydney wearing the Bunco mask!

Cindy and I were the first two to get Bunco's, so we got the wear the masks!

The girls playing "Bunco", looks like Sydney is giving Hannah the business

The four happy girls!

Thanks girls for all the great memories and for the many more to come!

Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

Sydney's 3!

My baby girl turns three on Tuesday! Where has the time gone. I am so depressed about her becoming a preschooler and no longer being a toddler. It seems like such a big step to me. Sydney is my little comedian. She makes me smile, laugh, cry and yell all in the same day! She is just like me which is why she can get on my nerves so much! She is just growing up way too fast and she acts so old! She talks very well and holds and sustains a conversation like a pro. She makes me so proud!

Here are some things that my big girl is doing
*Sydney loves telling knock knock jokes. Her favorite one is knock knock, who's there, Boo, Boo who, Don't cry it's just a joke! She laughs and laughs!
*She loves dressing up and playing pretend. I have noticed in the past few months her ability to make up stories and do dramatic play with her dolls and toys. She has always been good at independent play. From the very beginning I wanted to instill in her the ability to play by herself and entertain herself. Sometimes she plays by herself in her room for hours without a peep. I play with her of course but she loves to play by herself as well. This has made me having Mason much easier. She is able to play and not need me as much so that I could/can focus on Mason when I need to.
*Books still have a special place in her heart. She loves reading and always has. We recently took our first trip to the library and she loved it! We have gone twice now and she loves borrowing books and bringing them home to read. She can read for hours and hours.
*Sydney loves to bake and cook with me. I am starting to let her help me more. I have a bit of OCD in the kitchen and I don't like a mess but I am learning that the fun she has outweighs my need for cleanliness.
*SYDNEY IS POTTY TRAINED! I am so happy to add this to the list. She wears a diaper at naptime and bedtime but that's it. I am so proud of her for making this big step. She has trouble getting her pants up and down by herself so most of the time when we are home alone she only wears a shirt and her underwear.
*She still loves Barney and Dora but her palatte is expanding. She likes lots of different Disney movies and Strawberry Shortcake. She also likes Max and Ruby and a lot of the Nick shows. She loved Spongebob and ICarly as well. I know that makes it sound like she watches a lot of tv and she does but to defend myself she has the tv on for noise but she doesn't sit and watch it all day.
*Some of Sydney's famous lines are, "Mom, quite acting like a freakin child!", "Ok, ok, just relax!", "Booty booty booty booty rockin everywhere" and the list goes on and on. She is HILARIOUS!

I am so proud of Sydney and become more and more proud of her everyday. I love her with all my heart and she is truely the best little girl. I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing but she is just so much fun to be around. Happy Birthday Big Girl! Mommy and Daddy love you!

TEETH or should I say TOOTH!

Well, Mason is almost 7 months old and no teeth. Sydney had teeth at 4 months and by now she had four of them. I was starting to worry but secretly loving it because I haven't been bitten (with teeth) while nursing him. Today I peeked in and I saw that tell tale little slit! I think he will be sprouting a tooth within the next week or so. It is so bittersweet because I have been loving the no biting and his big toothless grin. I am so in denial that he is getting older. He can sit up by himself now and is eating one food meal a day of baby food. Starting next week I am moving to two meals a day. Teeth are just the beginning of him losing that baby look.