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.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Mason

My baby boy is 6 months old today! It is so bittersweet...I love watching him grow and change but I feel like it is all happening so fast!

THEN

NOW

Here are some things Mason can do now

*Mason still nurses at 7, 10, 1, 3:30, 6 and then usually before bed. He also now eats cereal once a day mixed with a fruit or a veggie

*He can get anywhere he wants to go by rolling! He gets all the way across the living room in no time!

*He still sleeps through the night but has been taking less time to sleep during the day. I think he has a hard time sleeping during the day because of his loud sister!

*Mason loves, loves, LOVES his sister! She makes him laugh and smile all day long. As a mom, I love watching them interact and spend time together

*I think he is starting to get a tooth

*He is really starting to love his jumperoo and actually jump in it!

*He plays with toys and can grasp things and grab for things.

*He talks and laughs all the time! He loves his voice and loves hearing it! He screams and yells too...just because he can!

*He recognizes his name and will look if you call him

Mason has been such a blessing and a great addition to our family. There were times early in my pregnancy that I thought I was going to lose him and the thought of not having him just breaks my heart. I can't imagine our lives without this little blue eyed man in it! He has completed our family and filled my heart with more love than I thought could fit. You never think you can love another as much as the first but it was instant love. We love our little Mason Tason Chunkey Monkey! Happy Birthday baby boy! Can't wait for the future and all the fun and excitement that is to come!

Double stuffed!

Yesterday my wonderful husband came up with the idea to put Sydney's old boppy pillow inside the case with Mason's. Mason's is so flat because he is so heavy and even with the boppy I have to prop him up with something else underneath it. It looks quite funny but it works like a charm! Since I plan on nursing him for atleast another 6 months (that's my goal anyway) that seemed like an easy inexpensive way to help prop up my big man!

Side view

Double stuffed!

My very BIG boppy pillow!

Potty training

Well, I finally made the decision last week to actually do this potty training thing and not go back. So last Monday we started with pullups and every 30 to 40 min I had a song go off on my phone and that meant it was potty time. She did really good on Monday. Tuesday was horrible! She hardly peed or pooped on the potty at all and kept going in her pullups. So, I talked to my mom and she said just put her in underwear. I will admit I didn't really want to do it because I didn't really want to clean up the mess but I knew she was right. Sydney would just keep peeing in the pullups because she knows she can. So, Wednesday we started our underwear. By mid-day we ran out! I had to pull out the ones that don't quite fit her because she had peed in all of them! Thursday and Friday morning were more of the same. I headed off to Ohio for the weekend and I was so excited to have my mom help me! Sydney peed on my mom's rub and my mom, in a very stern voice, told her she was not to pee or poop at Grandma's and she was to only pee and poop on the potty. Since then, only one accident and that was yesterday! I am so happy she is finally on the potty training wagon! It took such a long time to get her to want to do it and I kept giving up, which is probably why she never took me seriously and always knew she would end up back in a diaper. But I told her this time I meant it and no more diapers unless she is sleeping. I even let her in underwear on the car ride home from Ohio on Monday. That was a horrible trip, she made me stop 6 times and she never went once! She peed the minute she got home. I had put my mom's little potty in my car in the front seat so when we did stop she could just go in there because it is too difficult to take her and the baby in to go the to bathroom. It worked out nice having it but she really just wanted to sit up front and see all the buttons and mess with everything! She is her father's child! I am not sure how long she will be in diapers at naptime and at night but the last two days she has been dry after her nap so maybe that diaper will be dropped sooner than later. I am so excited to not have to spend money on two sets of diapers! I can not even express how proud I am of Sydney. She doesn't even have to be reminded to go to the potty, most of the time she just goes in on her own! What a big girl I have!

Congratulations Sydney on becoming a big girl! Now you can go to school (when Mommy's ready to send you!) I love you my baby girl!

Some pictures of my babies

This week I decided to skip my weekly post for each child and just post a handful of new pictures I took of the kids today and one of Sydney from the zoo.

Mason during his photo shoot! I love this little man so much!

Big blue eyes!

This picture is so cute to me! I love the way his face looks and his big old cheeks!

My big girl! Where has the time gone?

My babies together

One of my favorites!

Sydney on the train at the zoo

I am not sure how often I will be updating this blog. We have a lot of things coming up for us and it's getting harder and harder for me to take time out to do this. I will try to update as much as I can and keep everyone posted on the fun and exciting things that are happening in the Stephens household. Mason will be 6 mon in a few weeks and Sydney will be turning 3 at the end of next month. We are looking forward to her Barney party and Halloween! Then it's almost Thanksgiving and then Christmas is right around the corner. Where has this year gone? I feel like I just had Mason in March and now we are 6 months later and only a few months from Christmas and 2011! I want time to slow down!