Happy 5th Birthday Zane!

I can't even believe I'm typing this...my baby is 5!!! I remember that day so vividly. It was one of the best days EVER! It's amazing to think how far Zane has come in a few short years! We basically had an entire week of celebration in Zane's honor...it was fun! The first celebration was at Jo's house on Tuesday. We decided to celebrate early so Zane could celebrate with two of his buddies, Ryan and Sammy. We took some Cars cupcakes and he got some really nice gifts from everyone there!

The babies hanging out!

Sammy, Zane, & Ryan ready to open gifts!
"Happy Birthday to You!"

Wednesday Zane celebrated at school. Again, he took Cars cupcakes. After Zane fell asleep Wednesday, Matt and I blew up some balloons. Thursday morning I snuck into his bedroom and put them on his floor before he woke up. I went in to wake him up and I sang Happy Birthday to him, then told him to look at the floor. He just grinned and said, "Mom, how did you do that?" Oh, it's the simple things! On Thursday, his actual birthday, he went to Jo's house. We gave him one present, a stuffed Buzz Lightyear, that morning, so he had to take him to Jo's. Matt didn't have to work that afternoon, so he picked Zane up early. He thought maybe they'd go to a movie or do something fun, but all Zane wanted to do was go home and wait for Mason and I (he knew when we got home he'd get the rest of his presents). For supper, he requested a corn dog and corn & macaroni...so his wish was our command!

Happy Birthday!

Zane & his Pixos

Birthday supper...corn dog and corn/macaroni

Mason all smiles for the big birthday

FIVE!

We had so much fun celebrating Zaner! This weekend we went to Iowa. The boys had a great time on the farm, as always. They could live there! We've been missing Grandpa/Grandma Beggs! Grandpa is in the hospital with an infection. Please keep him lifted up in prayer for a speedy recovery and the ability to come home soon!

Zane-isms

• Zane loves to wear cowboy boots, but I don't enjoy it when he puts them over his jeans, and I always tell him he looks like a "doo-dah." Last weekend he put his boots on and his pants were tucked in. He came up to me and said, "Hey, Mom! I like to look like a doo-dah!" Apparently the same weekend he told Papa Farmer that he looked like a doo-dah, but then Papa explained to him that he did that so his pants wouldn't get dirty, so now that's Zane's explanation as to why he does it as well!
• Zane: "Mom, I want to go to Grandma Ee-ah's."

Amy: "Well, Zane, we can't. She is at the hospital with Grandpa. Remember, he's sick."

Zane: "Mom, will Grandpa Ee-ah get better and come home soon?"

Amy: "I hope so honey."

• As he was working on the computer at Grandma Farmer's Saturday, he made a Mr. Potato head that was a doctor holding a bottle. He told Grandma, "I am making a magic potion for Papa Ee-ah to make him all better!" (He loves them so and misses them)!

Mason's Marvels

• Zane has been really proud of Mason talking and will always point out to me when he thinks Mason "learned a new word." On the way to Iowa Friday, Zane looked over at Mason and said, "Hey Mason, say 'duck.'" Mason looked right at him and said, "Cow!"

Zane the Fisherman!

What a crazy week of weather! If it wasn't raining, then it was raining! My kids had their field day rescheduled because of the weather. They were pretty disappointed, but at least we have something to look forward to this week now!

One day this week when it was storming, we were hanging out in the house listening to the rain and thunder. I explained to Zane that when I was growing up we would say that the thunder was God bowling with the angels. So I asked him if he thought God was bowling with Grandma Kathol since she was an angel now. It spawned a huge conversation that went something likke this:
Z: "I won't see Grandma Kathol anymore. Why did she get sick?"
A: "Well, sometimes when people get old their bodies get worn out and then God needs them
to be an angel."
Z: "How did God get Grandma Kathol?"
A: (thinking...hmmm...what did I get myself into here) "I'm not sure. He just really needed
her to help him out."
Then it began to thunder more.
A: "Do you think Grandma's still bowling?"
Z: (hand at his ear, listening) "Listen! I can hear it...Grandma just got a strike!"
A: "Yea Grandma! Let's cheer for her!"
Z: "Yea Grandma! Good job getting a strike!"
A: "Tell her you love her!"
Z: "I love you Grandma Kathol!"
Wish I would have had that all on camera!

This weekend we stayed with Matt's parents. Poor Zane, all he wants is to plant corn or beans, and it has been raining the last 3 weekends! They keep telling him, "maybe next week..." and one of these weeks it'll happen! So this weekend Old Papa asked Zane over to go fishing. He "planted" a couple of poles so that the fish would bite and Zane could reel a couple in, but little did he know that Zane would do fine all on his own! We got a phone call that within 2 minutes of Zane being there he had already caught 2 fish! And they kept coming! We had to go and take a look for ourselves. Check out these pictures of his very successful fishing excursion!

Do you like the fishing pole? Fancy!

Old Papa and Zane reeling one in!
Mason trying it out...

Look at all of these fish Mom!

Mason is happiest when on the 4-wheeler!

This one keeps looking at me!

The boys with Papa

I'm not sure who was happier about the fish...Papa or Zane! I don't think it could have gone any better! They decided to try again Sunday, but did NOT have as good of luck...they only caught one in an hour and a half...but it was a big one! I think Zane got a little more frustrated Sunday, but now he sees what fishing really is like! Saturday was Craig's birthday, so Grandma Baker cooked an amazing dinner for us Sunday. It was so nice to hang out at their house on Sunday! We don't get to do that enough!

Zane-isms

• "I don't want to live in Kansas City." Why not Zane? "I want to live with Grandma."
• Lately we've been hearing "don't make me come over there." or "Don't make me spit on you." Yuck on the last one!

Mason's Marvels

• Mason was drinking out of his sippy cup and bumped the cup into the chair. It hit his mouth and he began to cry. He was holding onto his mouth where it hit and all of a sudden he said, "OW!"
• Mason loves his "ban kee" and carries his blankies all over the place!

Happy Mother's Day!

This week the weather sure took a turn! Thursday night we had high winds, rain, and hail. It woke us up, and when we went to look outside, Matt noticed that it had split out tree in half! We were both pretty disappointed about it...we planted that tree before Zane was born and have enjoyed watching it grow through the years (sappy, I know). Now we'll have to decide if it will continue to grow okay or if we need to plant a new one. Zane thinks we should glue it!

We headed to Iowa for our weekly racing trip. This week we stayed with my parents. The weather this weekend was COLD! Dad had to cover his flowers because it was cold enough to frost! Because of the cold, the races were cancelled, so we decided to go bowling. Zane was really excited to go! As you can tell from the video below, all he wanted was a strike! He was getting very frustrated, you could tell he was tired! Anyway, we played a couple of games and had fun! We went out for ice cream after bowling. It was a fun evening!

Zane going for a strike...

And STILL going for a strike...

Grandma, Mason, & Grandpa cheering us on!

Spare? NO!
Mason & Papa reading before bed

Sunday was Mother's Day so Dad and Matt grilled steaks for us. They did an amazing job! I am so blessed to have two amazing children and one amazing husband! THAT is my Mother's Day gift!

Zane-isms

• One night Zane pushed Mason. He stopped, looked at his hands, and said, "Hands, stop doing that!"
• Lion, Zane's stuffed animal, was sitting in time-out. Zane got him out and said, "Okay lion, you can get out. Remember, don't hit Mason."
• Zane was sitting in time-out this weekend. From where I was, we could see each other. He looked right at me, smiled, and winked while he made a clicking noise with his mouth. And I was supposed to keep a serious face?!?

Mason's Marvels

• Some of Mason's new words are: "Buzz" (Buzz Lightyear); "tow" (cow); "Nuh Nuh" (Nora); "Bae Bae" (Braeden); "puh puh" (purple); "Dae" (Dale)
• When I say to Mason "do you need a diaper," he will pull up his shirt and reach down at his diaper.
• Watch out around Mason...he imitates a LOT of words!
• This weekend Mason was walking around looking for Papa. I said, "Where's Papa? He's gone." Then Mason dropped his hands down on his legs (like saying "oh darn.").

Let's Go Racing!

Last week's weather was up and down...and up and down again! It rained and was nice and rained some more. We stayed busy no matter what the weather! One night while out to eat, Mason discovered ranch dressing! He likes to "dip" his food, usually in barbecue sauce, but now has another thing to "dip!"

Yummy ranch dressing!

See how much I love it??

Zane posing for the camera

I think I need some more...
Ryan & Zane playing at Jo's

Zane & Ryan swinging

Mason playing at Jo's

Rain, rain, go away!

We weren't sure what would come of the races this weekend because of the rain, but they ended up having them! Friday when I picked Mason up and we were going to get Zane, I said to him, "Mason, who are we going to see?" He looked at me and said, "Papa?" What a smart kid! All day Friday and Saturday, Zane kept talking about wanting to go to the races. He was very concerned about the noise and wanted earplugs, which we didn't have, so we had to buy some. I thought maybe he'd forget about it and want to stay at Grandma/Papa's house, but he didn't! He went with me and really enjoyed it...until he got a splinter in his hand! All of a sudden he was ready to go to Papa's house, so Craig came over to get him.

Mason's Marvels

• Some of Mason's new words, "cow" "cereal" "juice" "bed" "blankie"
• Grandma reported to us that Mason walked over to the toilet and said "pee."
• Mason can "count!" If you say to him, "let's count," he'll say "twooo, twooo, ah!" (2, 2, go). If you start counting and say "1," he will continue with "twooo, twooo, ah!" The other day I was asking Zane to finish something and started counting so he would get going, and Mason heard me, so when I said "1" to Zane, he went on with his counting!