A newbie and a repeat {costumes that is}

Halloween.

Not my absolute favorite holiday.

Too many scary movies on TV.

Too many scary costumes.

Too much candy.

Then I had kids. And those little sweethearts certainly make it more fun. Have you ever seen a baby or toddler in a costume that wasn't cute??? Me neither. There's just something about dressing up those teeny little people in adorable outfits that make me want to eat them up!

Here's Kensie last Halloween...

Not only do I love the bright red and green colors in this berry fairy costume but I knew it would fit her for a few years.

I was 4 months preggers with Mason in that pic. Crazy what can happen in one year!

So this Halloween, I give you the newbie "pumpkin" and the repeat "fairy". Twice as cute and twice the size!

At least one of them is able to sit still.

And what's better than trick-or-treating vicariously through your children?

{As long as they get 3 Musketeers and Milky Ways that is}

Oh, come on...you know you do it too.

Happy Halloween!



Not the Halloween post you were hoping for

Nothing too exciting to report around here these days. I finished my last treatment for my legs last Monday--meaning I spent the next 5 days in an ace wrap with my feet up as much as possible, arms reach from pain killers, hardly sleeping at night, explaining to Kensie that mommy has a "boo boo" on her leg {one thousand times} and trying my best to keep the munchkins elbows, knees and feet from kicking my bruised areas as much as possible. Oh, and we never left the house--not once. Which I'm fine with actually. I'm a home-body and don't mind it one bit. It was just difficult to make the time pass quickly. I thought about taking Kensie to the mall purely for the sake of letting her play on the playground but I didn't feel like hobbling around the mall. So we had lots of friends and playmates come over last week which helped a ton! And if you are wondering why I didn't get child care help...I honestly wanted them around to (a) make the time pass (b) give me something to do (c) they make me happy despite the work sometimes.

Add to that, I think I saw my hubby maybe one night last week? Yeah that sounds right. In fact, besides my recent leg issues, this is the time of year when the temptation to become bitter starts to creep in my life. And I have to go to God with my frustrations and ask for peace and grace in our marriage. It happens every fall. And it boils down to one reason. My husband works A LOT. He works for a family business. A trucking business. A business that he is amazingly talented at. One that I am SO proud to see his talents flourish and be appreciated by so many people. But, it's a business that revolves around the holidays. Basically, their business delivers food {mostly refrigerated} all over the Midwest. And the holidays {as we know} revolve around food. So, as late summer turns into fall they get super dooper busy when it comes to trucking. There are loads to deliver left and right as stores and restaurants restock their shelves for the holidays. He is a dispatcher and office manager and has a looooonnnng list of duties. I don't know how he does it all.

And as a result, my husband tries his hardest to keep up with the madness at work. Meanwhile, I try to keep up with the madness at home. We pass each other occasionally as one heads to bed, or the other gets up, or we attend public functions like church and small group and other get-togethers where we are in the "same place" but not really "spending time together". Weekdays are the same as weekends. No break, no routine. Just a Dad working crazy hard for this family and a Mom keeping things running at home, but it's like they live two separate lives. And the cycle basically continues until January. Where the busyness slowly fades and I feel like I have a husband again. And we can talk about things other than work and schedules.

Thankfully we will be taking a week of vacation here soon. As in, 3 weeks away! We are headed back to Cali {the land where I'm from and the land that I love} for a family reunion on my Mom's side, take the kids to Disneyland for the first time, and to celebrate my sweet Grandpa who is turning 90 this year! Such a sweet old guy that I have not seen in forever...

I love that he's wearing Puma's. He's so hip and young!

A trip like this has not happened since before we had kids. "Excited" does not even describe how I feel about it!!

***

And you might see some pics of some adorable kids in Halloween costumes in the next post....you might.

Mason milestone {self-entertainment}

Our sweet boy has been one giggly baby ever since he was just 6 weeks old.

He squeals when he sees Kensie. He laughs the moment anyone plays peek-a-boo up close with him. He melts into giggles at the slightest tickle...especially under his chinny chin chin (just like his daddy!). It's adorable. Kensie didn't laugh out loud until she was at least a year old. She was a very serious and observant baby. It's so funny how different siblings can be.

I know I've already posted a few videos of Mason laughing.

But, this week was different. He hit a new milestone.

Laughing without the help of anyone. Without anyone looking at him, making faces, or tickling him.

Just him. By himself. Self entertaining.

And thankfully I was close enough to the camera to capture it.

Enjoy...

Some FYI's:

{1}The metal thing he is playing with is not sharp at all (it's one of those cheap puzzles you solve--like the kind you put on the coffee table and let guests fiddle with. Greg loves those things! ). He is teething like crazy and I think he loves the way it feels in his mouth. Always given under supervision, don't worry.

{2} He has not laughed independently like this ever since. Maybe it had something to do with being overtired and close to bedtime perhaps? Who knows...but cute nonetheless.

You know you married a good man when...

... he makes the baby's bottle {EVERY morning} before he leaves for work so as soon as I hear that siren baby in the morning I just grab it and go...

... he has to work late {again} but makes the effort to come home just before the kids go to bed so he can (a) see them (b) spend time with me until I go to bed, and then (c) goes back to work to finish up into the wee hours of the morn...

... he gets to church early to help set-up chairs, then rushes home to help me get the kids out the door...

... he drives calmly and quietly even though we are at least 15 minutes late to church {after the above situation}. He despises being late to anything--especially church...

... he sacrifices his Sunday afternoon nap by putting up baseboards in the house for 3 hours...

... he makes an emergency run to buy tampons and never complains or holds it over your head later...

... he always notices when I've cleaned...but never criticizes when it's messy...

***

Yeah. I'd say I married a good one for sure.

THE END

My favorite street

I love our neighborhood, especially during this time of year. I have a "route" I like to run or walk regularly. Sometimes I push the the kids in the stroller. And sometimes {if I'm lucky} I enjoy a nice run alone.

Time to clear my head. Relieve stress. Pray. Think. Not think. Just me, myself and I.

And this is my favorite street...

Sometimes, I'll loop back and run it twice before I head home. The trees are what get me. This picture doesn't do it justice. And I'm pretty sure people think I live on that street. They always wave and smile as I pass by their house. So, I wave back...imagining that I do. Little do they know I live 6 blocks away.

Not a whole lot of running though these days. I just finished my second round of treatment on my legs today. It's going okay...but, I'm ready to stop popping the pain killers, take these ace wraps and stockings off, and get back to feeling somewhat normal again. Two weeks down and four more left!

Our bedroom

I like to call our master bedroom "cozy" aka small. There's only enough space for our king-sized bed (which I wouldn't trade for the world!), two nightstands, and whatever you can hang on the wall.



I snagged this painting from an auction at our public library




this mirror as well as both nightstands were left from the previous owners of the house when we bought it. I'll take free stuff anytime thank you very much!


It's weird but honestly, I don't mind how small it is. In fact, our room is the smallest of the three. We don't really "hang out" in our room except for bedtime. And I like that. It's a simple room that meets two needs: to rest and to connect with my husband. That's it.




Found the sign at Hobby Lobby. I would love to incorporate more quotes and bible verses into our room.






The only thing that would be nice is a larger closet (not even worth taking a picture of, trust me). Maybe another post entirely on that whole issue some other time....we have a unique closet system in our house.

Mason photo shoot {she's done it again!}

These photo's don't need any captions. They speak for themselves.

And that my friends, is why we keep going back to this talented lady. She captures babies and children at their absolute best!

Now, if only I can decide which ones I want to frame...hmmmm.




And just for fun, I looked back at some of Kensie's photo shoots to compare.
Here she is at 8 months...now scroll back up and look at the last one of Mason in the bucket.

Are those two siblings or what?!

After-nap playtime

We have a new routine after naps lately.

If Kensie wakes up, I bring Mason in with me to get her. They both squeal with delight when they see each other and Kensie immediately asks if Mason can come in her crib to play.

Likewise, as soon as Mason starts making noise through the monitor Kensie rushes down the hall to "help" me open the door. She climbs up the side of his crib and begs to get in. Mason (who usually wakes up on his stomach) pushes up on his arms as high as he can lift his head to see Kensie's face. He then shrieks with smiles and laughter. How can you say no??

They end up playing together for up to an hour sometimes. So, I just plop down in the chair and peer into the crib as they giggle and play with each other.

So cute to watch them become buddies more and more everyday. I'm so thankful they love playing together...for now anyway.