A letter to my four year old!

Mason with the pretty princess Belle at a local park

My sweet Mason is four years old. The years have flown by and I can't believe that 4 years ago you came into this world a tiny preemie and scared us all to death. I think it's clear that you were just ready to live life to the fullest and you haven't slowed down since! You have learned so much in the past year and I'm amazed at how quickly you pick things up. You can spell and write your first and last name (along with your brother's) and I know you will thrive in your new pre-K class. You are so sweet and love to give random hugs and kisses. You are also extremely social and will run into a room of strangers with no hesitation whatsoever. We have long conversations every day and you love to talk. You always ask a ton of questions and want to understand anything and everything. Your extreme excitement over the smallest things makes me so happy (ice cream, going to the pool, or even getting a cheeseburger for dinner). Your current favorites are 'Planes', puzzles and anything outside or in the water. You are also a little daredevil and will try anything. On a recent trip to a local fair you rode every single ride and loved every second of it. We're still working on getting you to listen better. It's not that you don't 'listen', but you only obey if you want to (I guess that is typical 4 year old testing us). You still love your little brother, but don't like sharing your toys with him. It is so cute when you decide to play big brother and show him how to do things, though he doesn't always want to be 'helped' and that makes you really mad. You are still very independent and particular about your stuff and your routines. Bedtime is easy as long as we follow the 1 hour process. I can't believe what a big boy you have become and I'm looking forward to many more fun years ahead! We love you Mason!

Twins?

Everyone always asks me if Mason and Matthew are twins. They had their annual pediatrician visit last week and here are the stats.

Mason at 4 years:

• Weight: 32 lbs (17th percentile)
• Height: just shy of 38" (7th percentile)

Matthew at 2 years:

• Weight: 31 lbs, 11oz (91st percentile)
• Height: 36" (87th percentile)

In case can't do the math, Mason weighs a whopping 5 ounces more than his 'little' brother and is about 2 inches taller. There's always hope for a growth spurt, but I know from experience that great things come in small packages :)

Memorial Day 2014

Bryce and Mason weren't exactly sure about tubing. We never went faster than idle speed :)

We kicked off the summer in style with a super-fun Memorial Day weekend. We started off the weekend with the very first Friday night at the Branches pool for the summer season. Friday nights at our neighborhood pool are a weekly social event, with food trucks and lots of socializing to celebrate the weekend. It was fun and Mason jumped right in the water. Matthew took some time to warm up to it, but he loved the baby pool. Mason is still using the 'puddle jumper' swimmies, but he does great and we'll probably do private swim lessons later this summer. I'm kind of dreading it because I don't have to worry as much about him as long as he's wearing his swimmies (and we do have lifeguards at our pool).

Then we went to the lake for the rest of the weekend with the Packer's. Mason had a blast with his BFF Bryce at the lake. We took the kids in the boat, did a little tubing and spent every afternoon in the pool at the condo. We had perfect weather and it was an awesome weekend! No one wanted to go back to work or school on Tuesday. Oh well. At least summer is here!

Matthew really likes the boat this year

Sweet Tessa wasn't as sure, but she did good!

 

Silly boy after tubing!

Birthday Party at the Railway Museum

This year we decided to throw the boys a joint birthday party. Their birthdays are within a month of each other and right now, they 'share' a lot of the same group of friends (and most of Matthew's friends are siblings of Mason's friends). We decided on a train themed party at the Southeastern Railway Museum. We had never been there before and I highly recommend it for a low-key party. The younger kids loved being able to climb and play on the old trains and the 'big kids' (adults) really enjoyed the historical aspect. It wasn't crowded at all, so we basically had the whole place to ourselves. Mason isn't technically 4 until June 7th, but he keeps telling everyone that he is FOUR now. I guess it's hard for a 3-4 year old to separate the party from their actual birthday.

Getting everything setup in our rail car for the party!

Mason with his buddy Raj

Matthew and Daddy on the train

Mason with Mimi

My (almost) 4 year old!

My 2 year old baby!

Everyone riding the train

Conductor Dee - he enjoyed the trains more than anyone :)

A letter to my two year old

I can't believe my baby turned two years old last week! I am amazed at how much you have grown and matured in the past year. You've always had a strong personality and we see more of your independence every day. You have the kindest heart and always greet the people you love with a HUGE running bear hug. This has gotten you the nickname 'Teddy Bear' by the teachers at school. Anytime someone around you is upset, you try to make them feel better by taking them their favorite toy or giving them a hug. You're cautious to strangers, but are also very social, so it doesn't take long before you are fast friends with new people. You still idolize your big brother and want to do anything the 'big boys' do, but you are also content to play by yourself. Especially in your crib in the mornings when you play and sing until we come to get you up for the day. Speaking of singing, you LOVE to sing! You also love to read and will sit and 'read' by yourself. We can't understand much of it until you get to 'THE END - YAYYY!!!' (I've got to get this on video - it's adorable). I love your snuggles and your belly laugh just melts my heart. I fell in love with your dimples from the moment I met you and I still sometimes tickle you just to catch a glimpse of them. You are very stubborn and the 'terrible twos' have been a challenge, but you're finally learning after a quite a few 'time outs'. You are one tough cookie (I guess you have to be with a big brother). You're always falling down or running into stuff (or getting hit by Mason) and usually just bounce right back up. You are very smart and understand just about everything we say. Your speech is also getting better and we recognize more and more words every day. I knew there would never be a dull moment with two boys, but I can't imagine it any other way and you truly complete our family. We love you sweet boy!

A few two year stats:

• Weight and height TBD (Dr. appt next week). Though he is wearing the same sizes as Mason (3T) and a larger size shoe.
• He's a GREAT sleeper!! He goes to bed easy (if we follow the routine) and hasn't woken overnight in months. He always wakes up so happy in the morning and will sing and play in his crib for an hour until we get him.
• He also a great napper - 2-3 hours every day.
• A pretty good eater, but kind of picky. He LOVES fruit! He can eat 4-5 bananas a day if I let him.
  

  

  Just 2 years ago - time flies!

Lemonade Days and Boat Season

With the weather finally warming up, it is entering that oh-so-fun and oh-so-busy time of the year! Mason is playing soccer on Saturday mornings (last game is tomorrow) and it feels like every weekend is planned almost to the hour. My boys love to stay on the go, so I'm not complaining! Last weekend, we went to the Dunwoody Lemonade Days. This was our first time and I was expecting a few rides with some carnival food trucks. We were surprised that it is a full-fledged fair with all kinds of rides, games, food and fun for the whole family! Mason is our little daredevil and rode every single ride that he was tall enough for (and even one he had to stand on his tip-toes to pass :). Matthew wasn't quite as sure, but wanted to ride everything that big brother did, so there were only a few that he sat out. It was a very fun community event and we ran into lots of friends while we were there. Then Sunday we drove to the lake to get the boat in the water for the first time this season. It was a beautiful day and we took the boys on a little ride around the lake. Mason even went swimming at the lake pool, but it was FREEZING!

Matthew isn't so sure about the bumper cars

They loved the rides!

 

Of course he picked the orange car

 

Riding with friends is fun!

And at dinner after Lemonade Days. He did this to himself (showing off for Tessa?)

First boat ride of the season!

Cancun!

 

View from our room!

Chris and I had an amazing trip to Cancun! We stayed at Secrets Silversands (all inclusive) and it was wonderful! The food was delicious, the drinks were plentiful and the resort was gorgeous. We tagged along with some friends as they celebrated their 5 year anniversary. It was so much fun to travel with other couples! There was lots of relaxing, sunning, eating, drinking and just doing nothing! Everyone was ready to plan a trip back for next year, but I don't know if Mimi is ready for us to make it an annual thing. The boys had a blast at the farm, but 6 days away from them was a bit much. Mommy really missed them and was ready to get home!

Chris and I in our taxi from the airport. Yay Mexico!

All the pretty ladies

Mike & Nikki

Me and my love before dinner

Jenn & Derek on their 5 year anniversary!

The whole crew playing cards in the pool

View from our favorite spot at the beachside bar

The largest of the resident iguanas (there were about 7)