Mason's 2nd Birthday, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Disney on Ice, and a Water Park!

Our baby is officially 2! My oh my that is hard to believe! I don't know why, but with both boys I have had a hard time with them turning 2. One was really fun and a big milestone, but 2 has been hard...I think it really means they are not babies anymore! Monday night Matt, Zane, and I blew up a bunch of balloons and snuck into Mason's room to put them all over the floor. When he woke up, he sat up in his bed and said "Boons? Floor?" We spent some time that morning playing in the balloons! They traveled from there, to our room, to the living room over the next couple of days!

Happy Birthday Mason!

Tractor from Jo!

Cupcakes at Jo's

Opening presents at home

Wednesday none of us had to work or go to school, so we scheduled family pictures. This was not our best photo shoot...I'm hoping we got at least one photo we can use for Christmas cards! We met our photographer at Union Station. Right away the boys saw a dinosaur outside (they currently have a dinosaur exhibit), so I think that had their minds off of photos...as well as the fact that we were heading to Papa's house after we finished. After pictures we did go see the dinosaurs. Zane was in awe and Mason was scared!

Digging for bones...

Scared Mason...amazed Zane

For Thanksgiving, we stayed at Matt's parents' house. We had a "potluck" Thanksgiving for everyone who wasn't going somewhere else. We ended up with Matt's grandma, grandparents, parents, brother and sister, uncle, and my parents. Matt's uncle made prime rib...YUM! I think that needs to be our staple meat for every holiday! It was fun to hang out with everyone and relax for the day! That night Matt and I headed to Des. Moines. We went to see Harry Potter with Matt's sister and then we stayed at the mall to "Black Friday" shop. There was only one item I really, really wanted...and I sat in line for 3 1/2 hours for it. Lucky for me I got it...and Zane better like it! I'll let you know after Christmas!

Friday we went to Disney on Ice with the Baker family. The boys really liked it! After the ice show, we went to our hotel, which had an indoor water park. It was so neat and a lot of fun! It was good to see Porter and Tate, as we don't get to see them too often!

Zane & Porter ready to see Mickey!
The boys with all their toys...

Cotton candy!

There's Mickey!

Grandma being "carted" to the water park!

Zane trying to be like the big boys...

CHEESE!

Masers enjoying the pool

We spent the night Friday, and came back to KC Saturday. We were anxious to get our house decorated for Christmas! We spent yesterday figuring out how we wanted to decorate and where we wanted the tree, and the rest of today actually getting things out and up. After lunch today Zane came downstairs and began screaming, "Mom! Mom! Buzz is here! He's in the tree!" Well, he was right, our elf, Buzz, has returned to our house for the season! We have been talking about Buzz for some time and wondering when he was going to come back to see us. Zane was so excited he couldn't stop jumping, laughing, and hugging us! But...now we have to be extra good because Buzz reports to Santa! Zane wanted to make Buzz a picture...and decided to also make Santa one. He told Buzz what he wanted for Christmas and then put these to pictures under the tree, all the while explaining to Buzz that he was to take them with him tonight.

Pictures for Santa and Buzz!

Mason is Turning 2!

It is hard to believe...but our little man is turning 2!!! This weekend we headed home for the Beggs Thanksgiving and we also celebrated Mason's birthday with that side of the family. It took Mason awhile to warm up to everyone there...he isn't too fond of crowds...but he eventually came around. He enjoyed opening presents and really loved his big gift...his very own four-wheeler! Our friend Tara made his cake, it was so neat!

Mason changing the baby...

Mason's cake!
Opening presents

"Cheese!"

"Get this thing outside!"

Big man on campus!

Zane crying/pouting...he wanted to ride the 4-wheeler!

"Take me back outside!"

Up above there is a picture of Mason changing a doll. You should have seen that! He said, "Baby poop!" Then he asked for a wipe, cleaned the doll up, kept saying "PU!" and then said, "Butt up baby!" when he put the diaper back on. I guess you could hear the things I say when I change his diaper! :)

Cousins playing Twister

"I want to go outside!"

I'm having a hard time believing that it has been 2 years since we welcomed Mason to our family. It seems like he has been with us forever! We are so lucky to have 2 amazing boys...they make our lives so full and rewarding!

Zane-isms

• Friday evening all 4 of us went to get our flu shots. I didn't tell Zane about it until we pulled into the parking lot because I knew he would be very upset. As I anticipated, he began to cry. He put on his brave face and stopped crying. Then when we got into the room, he volunteered to go first. He wanted me to hold his hand, and right before she gave him the shot, his lip began to quiver. When she gave him the shot, just as he was about to cry, it was over. I wish I would have had my video going...because his reaction was priceless...he got huge eyes, his mouth came open as in surprise, and he did "silent cheers" with his hands. I don't know if he was shocked or proud of himself...but it was great!

Chicago and the Sickies!

It has been a little bit crazy around the Baker household lately! Last Sunday I left for Chicago. There was a National Quality Education Conference. Five teachers (including me) from my school submitted proposals and we were accepted, so we went there to present. We also went to other sessions while there. It was a good time! The morning I was to be picked up at 5:15, Mason woke up at 2:00 and had gotten sick in his bed. He got sick again at 3:00. So...I was up from 2:00 on, worrying about him, and worrying that I was leaving for three days! Matt reported that he ended up having a great day Sunday and didn't get sick again, so that was good! Unfortunately Jo and her kids got it also, so she was closed on Monday. We are so lucky to have an amazing friend, Mary, who called Matt and offered to watch Mason so he could go to work. That was an amazing offer! Here are a few random pictures from home and Jo's house:

Zane's homemade "bed"

The lovebirds...Mason and Nora
Mason ADORES babies!

I had a fun time in Chicago, but missed my boys terribly! They picked me up at the airport...standing by the gate and Zane was holding a sign he made that said "Mom" with an airplane. I wish I would have thought to take a picture, but I was holding back tears...it was so good to see them again! Friday afternoon Jo called and I could hear Mason sobbing in the background! She said he woke up early from his nap and could NOT stop crying. She knew something was wrong, that's just not our boy. So I called the doctor and they had an appointment open, so Matt left work to take him. It ended up that he had a sinus infection and bronchitis, so we got a "kid z-pack" for him. He seems to be doing well, and except for the episode at Jo's, we never would have guessed he was sick!

Friday evening my parents and Adam came down. When they got here Matt and I went on a date! Saturday morning we did some shopping, then headed to Arrowhead for the Northwest/Pitt State game. It was COLD out there, but we had a good time! The Bearcats barely pulled out a win, but they did, so we were thrilled!

Me, Mom, and Karol at the tailgate party

After the game, Mom, Dad, and Adam had to head home, so we went out for pizza and then to Target (see Mason pushing Matt and Zane around below). We purchased a new camera, so we're going to have fun playing with it! Then we got a couple of movies from RedBox and headed home to have movie night!

Target on a Saturday night...

One of our camera's first photos...

This morning around 9:30 Zane got sick! It's been a week full of illnesses! He stayed in bed ALL DAY LONG and slept most of the day. Right now, as I type, he is sitting beside me and cannot stay quiet...I think he's making up for lost time. He and Matt are going to stay home tomorrow morning to be sure he's okay.

Zane-isms

• Today we were talking about going to Burger King for lunch, and then Zane got sick. As soon as he got sick, he looked at Matt and said, "Dad, I want to eat at home so the people at Burger King don't get sick." I thought that was pretty sweet of him to think of that!
• Zane is such a great artist, and I'm always telling him that he "gets that from his Dad." So yesterday when he was trying to make something, and asked Matt for help, he said, "I just think about what to build and I build it, because you give me the artist." I guess he took me literally (you get that from your dad).

Mason's Marvels

• Before going to Jo's each morning, Mason and I review what he's going to do there. I say, "Mason, what are you going to do at Jo's today" and he says "Share...Be nice..." Well, this week he added a new one. "Share...Be Nice...No hit!"
• Yesterday I was making pumpkin bars and Mason just got out of the tub. He was in the kitchen licking the beaters with frosting on them, and all of a sudden he said, "No peeper!" I looked at him and he was holding his peeper (privates) and telling it "no" because he was going to the bathroom. Don't worry, I sanitized!
• Mason peed in the toilet twice this week! He was so proud of himself!