The Masons- 2008 in review

Here's our Smiling Claire, when she was still very new! She always gets that tounge in there. . .

Here's Ben, during the last month of having his Binky! One of the ones he had hidden in his room turned up this week, and I made him throw it away! He's pretending to be asleep. . .

Ben and Claire together. Awwwww.


30 Seconds later. . .

My cheesy little Ben!!!

Rock Star Ben! Our Hearth is his official stage. That's where he goes to sing and dance, these days. . . Maybe we'll start selling tickets.

Claire's favorite pastime since she was mobile-- Removing Laundry from baskets.

Claire learned to Crawl!!!

Boxer Claire-- Two big bruises, and a VERY nearly broken nose.



Ben's favorite pastime-- PLAYDOUGH!! How else do you keep a two-year-old who just had his tonsils out busy and quiet?
(Claire loves the camera-- those are her fingers in the way. . .)

The essential Bathtub picture, for future embarrassment purposes.



Our little Flower, Claire!! Thanks, Aunt Lacey for helping us accesorize!!

Hope you enjoyed that, hopefully our family will send us some of the pics from our California trip so we can share those, too. If I don't get back to the Blog before the Holidays, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERY ONE!!!!

Recovery in process. . .

Hello, all!

Quick update this Monday night. Ben is bouncing back from his surgery so well! His appetite has been better the last week than it has his entire life, it seens like!! We're really excited about that. Hopefully he'll put on some weight. He does choose inconvenient times to be hungry, though. Just as we're leaving for the babysitter, or right before he goes to bed, "Mom, I'm HUNGWY!!!!!" Potty training is coming along, at Ben's chosen pace. We'll get there, hopefully soon!

Claire is doing great- she has now entered the copycat phase, and will try anything. She even knows that the word cheese has two meanings-- so, when we're eating cheese as a snack, she is also giving me the silliest, scrunchy nose grin she can find! She already had two bottom teeth, and she now has three new teeth on the top, and the fourth will come through any day now.

Josh and I are keeping busy, too-- this weekend is Ben and Claire's birthday party. Next week are their birthdays, and then two weeks later Christmas is here!! So many preparations. . .

I'll do my best to keep up, and also get some new pics up on the site!

Well, these past couple of weeks have been very busy for us again. Ben got his labs done last week for the Endocrinologist visit in December. ("Mom, I went to doctor, an he POKE me!! I cry.") Claire managed to get roseola, which was not diagnosed until it had completely run its course. It is contageous, so we were concerned we may have to postpone Ben's surgery. Luckily, he didn't show any signs of getting it, so the surgery went ahead as planned yesterday. It went really well-- our ENT's comment was, "After removing the world's largest tonsils, Ben is doing well." Once we got him calmed down and everything, he has been just his usual self. Instead of letting the nurse wheel him out to the parking lot in a wagon, Ben pulled the wagon himself. After that I knew he would be just fine. Keeping him relaxed, and keeping him from doing too much physical activity will be the real tricky thing!

Ben is getting too smart!! A few days ago I was trying to tell Josh a story, and Ben kept interrupting (and poking me. . .), so I asked him to please let me and daddy have a conversation for just a minute. He replied, "MOOOOOOOM, have con--ver--sation wif ME, pwease!!!!!" A couple of weeks ago, he asked Josh if we could get a tractor at our house. Then, Josh said, "What do we need a tractor for, Ben?" Ben thought for a minute, and then he said, "If we get twactor at our house, it would put break on our house. Don't get me twactor, Daddy. We don't need twactor." He's incredible! I love that I'm starting to be able to reason with him. The other thing that I love that he does lately, is when I lie down with him for a couple of minutes at night, just before he goes to sleep, he rubs my back like I do to him when I'm trying to get him to relax. It's the sweetest little thing! Except when he does that to your face. :o)

We finally figured out how to speak Claire, as well. For the last month or so, she would say "Awu", and I didn't figure out what she was saying until last week. I was rocking her to sleep, and I said, "Love you, Claire." She responded with, "Awu." Then it all clicked!! That has got to be the sweetest first EVER!!!! I was just amazed. What a little sweetheart. Claire is getting braver, when it comes to standing up. She's walking along furniture a lot, and she's starting to try to stand up in the middle of the floor.

Another update to come forth soon. . .

Long-winded. . .

Hello, Everyone!!

We survived our trip to California, and when we got back is when things really started to get busy for us. So, I apologize in advance, but this blog is going to turn into a novel in a quick hurry!!
Our vacation was AWESOME!!! The house we rented was perfect-- enough space to fit everyone and not feel crammed in, with a pool and spa to boot! I loved it, and hope that we can go back again someday. It was a very busy week! We started with the Wild Animal Park in San Diego, which was awesome. They had so many animals that I had never seen or heard of, and many that I had. They had lions, which were beautiful to watch and had a lot of energy. Gorillas, very stinky. Ben loved feeding the ducks, although while we were getting the duck food he didn't like it so much-- there was a goose standing right next to the machine, and it kept hissing at him! I can imagine it was scary, because it was eye-level. After we moved, though, he was okay. There was also a duck in the Flamingo territory, that was acting just like the Flamingos! It cracked me up to see this duck standing on one leg, imitating very closely the movements of the birds around him, despite the fact that he wasn't so graceful as they.

We also spent a day at SeaWorld, which was awesome!! Ben got a real kick out of the whales and dolphins splashing. There were Flamingos there, too, and they actually herded them down the street we were on. It was funny-- one of them got right in Ben's face (again, eye to eye), and made him a little nervous. He loved seeing Shamu (although until after the show he called him Shampoo), and the penguins. There was a Sea Lion and Otter show with a Halloween theme, that I particularly liked. Ben slept through that one, but he said he really liked it.

We spent two days at Disneyland, which were pretty fun, despite the fact that Claire pooped out of her diaper five times in the two days we spent there. Blast Von's Market for not having Luvs. Grrrr. . . Thank heavens for extra changes of clothes!! Anyway, Ben had lots of fun the second day particularly, because we went to California Adventure, and found the Bug's Life area. I was so glad to find a place for the little ones to have fun, because BOY was it dull for them most of the time. Ben did get to go on the Matterhorn, and his assessment of the ride was, "It go weally FAST!! PPPSSSHEEEEEW!! And it went wound and wound, and a scawy monster go RRRROOOAAARRRR, and got on wollercoaster, and HE GET ME!!! ON WOLLERCOASTER!!!"

Last the best of all, we got to spend two afternoons at the Beach. Claire loved eating the sand, while Ben loved digging holes with his cousins, and playing in the water. Josh and I loved the waves-- we didn't catch any huge ones, but we did get to do some body surfing on the waves we did get, with the surf boards they had at the house. I had forgotten how salty the seawater is.

Since we've been home, it's been crazy like I said. Claire had Croup when we got home, and luckily recovered from it before needing to see the doctor. It wasn't too serious. Then, this week she tried to stand up underneath my piano bench, and then she fell over and hit her nose so hard I thought it was broken!! To look at her bruises, you would think so too. I took her to the doctor that day, and they checked everything out, and it really isn't broken, but the poor girl looks like she was in a boxing match or something.

Ben has had big tonsils for a long time, but while we were in California I really could not believe how bad he was snoring. So, when we got back to Utah, we took him to see the doctor. Apparently he had strep, too (go figure-- the kid acts the same when he's sick as when he's well), and the doctor referred us to an ENT. We saw the ENT last week, and they said that his tonsils definitely need to come out. So, here's how the next two months are panning out for us: Next week, Ben will get some Lab work done so that he can have a follow-up appointment with an Endocrinologist (a growth doctor) in December. The week after next he will get his tonsils out. The week after that is Thanksgiving. The week after that, he has a follow-up appointment with the ENT. Two weeks after that are Ben and Claire's birthdays (yes, both), and that same week Ben has an appointment with the Endocrinologist about his Labs. The week after that, both Ben and Claire have their well-child checkups with their Pediatrician, and that just happens to be the week of Christmas as well. We definitely are in crazy mode!!!

Other than all of that, we are basically back to the same old routine-- get up, get fed, get ready, go to work/daycare, get home, get fed, go to bed. Ben and Claire have started their own morning routine, while I'm putting on my makeup and doing my hair. Claire either crawls around the floor and eats whatever she can find while I'm not looking (eeewww), or clings to my legs and stands up trying to balance herself on her feet while I do my thing. Ben is a different matter. He stands on the toilet, and for the first five minutes or so he brushes his teeth by himself. Then, he puts lotion on his hands and then on his face, then he rubs it on the bathroom counter. He always asks to put makeup on, and I always explain that it's only for girls and he's a boy. Then he says, "I'm Daddy!" or "I'm Claire!" and I'll respond with, "No, I'm Claire," and we go back and forth with that a little bit. Then he takes the squirt bottle and sprays a few spots along the front of his hair (because he hasn't figured out how to hold the bottle away from his head and still make it spray). Then he squirts me a couple of times. Then I take the squirt bottle away. He tries to steal my brush to brush his hair. He always loses that battle too. Then he tries to get hold of anything he can on the counter, and at this point he usually gets kicked out of the bathroom, and the door gets locked until I'm finished (two to three minutes later).

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Love you all, and if I don't get to post again until after the holiday this month (I really will try, but I make no guarantees), then have a Happy Thanksgiving!! There really is a lot to be grateful for right now, even in this time of Economic and Political turmoil, and I want you all to know that I'm grateful for YOU, your friendship and for just being there!!!! AND for reading my blog, which gets longer and longer each time I post. Sorry again.

This is Halloween

Has it seriously been almost a month since I last posted? Crazy.

Josh has been hard at work this month, between his job and School. Thank goodness, this is finals week!!! WAHOO!!! He has a test on Saturday, and then we are free, FREE as the wind!! (Okay, at least for two weeks, until the next term begins. . . ) We'll put up with the business-- there are only a couple of more classes to go, and he's finished with his Bachelors!

We're really getting excited for a family vacation that is coming up-- On October 11, we're flying to San Diego for a week of fun and (hopefully!) SUN!!! We've been planning this trip for SO long, it felt like it would never come. Now, the excitement has set in, and Ben asks every day if tomorrow is the day we get to go in the plane. We're going to go to Disneyland, and I'm REALLY excited because it will be decked out for Halloween!! From what I hear, the Haunted Mansion is made up into a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme, which I am REALLY excited to see!! I love the Nightmare Before Christmas-- particularly the music. GO DANNY ELFMAN!!! :o)

I bought Claire her first pair of shoes today-- some that I fell in love with about two months ago, and finally broke down and bought today for two reasons. 1. It was the last pair in the store. 2. They were on sale. Anyway, Claire hates them. I'm sure she'll get used to them-- we probably should have bought her shoes earlier! I think she hates the idea of having a shoe on her foot more than she hates the shoes themselves. Maybe she has my taste, and really likes them. . . Somewhere deep, deep down inside of her. . .

I'm also very excited for Halloween this year!! I loved trick-or-treating with my little spider last year. Yes, that is chocolate and caramel on his teeth. That was the first time we took him trick-or-treating, but we're really excited to go again! Maybe this year he'll learn to only grab one piece of candy, instead of taking as many as he could before people would take the bowl away from him . . . :o)

But, I think my favorite costume of all for Ben was his first Halloween-- A bag of Wonder Bread.

We haven't bought this year's costumes yet, but we're searching for that one perfect one for each of the kids. I'm sure they will turn up soon. . .

Until next week (or maybe two, or seven or four), Take care all!!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

It is truly amazing what changes can take place over such a short time! This year alone, Josh has changed jobs, both of us have changed positions at work. The kids have grown so much!! Our friends and family situations have changed. It's just incredible!

Claire is now crawling, and picking up speed quickly!! She has already started trying to pull herself up to various objects-- chairs, boxes, our couches, the fireplace (I guess it's time to put our blanket back to cover the rough edges of the hearth stone again. . .), etc. I love how different it has been to watch both Ben and Claire develop. At the age that Claire is, Ben was already a climber! The same day he started crawling, he began mounting objects. His favorite was the rail across the top of the stairs. He would climb up to a standing position on the bottom of the rail, and play with Josh-- that was his favorite thing to do! Ahhh, how things change.

Ben has begun once again to pass the point where Josh and I can fool him into doing/thinking what we want or need him to do/think. In the past, Josh and I have avoided giving Ben soda by telling him it would make him sick, and it is only good for Mommy and Daddy. Those days are over. Today, during Sacrament meeting, he and Claire were sharing a sippy cup with water in it. Ben told me, very matter-of-factly, "Mom, this ony good for me and Cwaire. Not for you and dad. This make you sick." I could have died with laughter just then. It was a very close call!!

I was just reviewing our blog postings, and realizing the changes that have come even just since the beginning of the blog itself!! I hope y'all aren't bored by my ranting and raving, but I do enjoy doing it. It has become a great release to me, and who knows-- maybe some day I'll come up with something that's really worth writing about!! :o) Stay tuned!

To Laugh

This week I remembered something very valuable—how to laugh at myself over situations. Unfortunately, the details are still being worked out. For example, I’ve remembered how to laugh at a situation after it’s been done for hours, but not during. That’s a true skill!!

I have a new schedule at work to go along with a new position I got. It’s a later schedule, which is hard, but it’s okay. A few nights ago as I was forcing Ben into his pajamas, he said, “Mom, we need go Gwama’s.”

I said, “Not tonight, Ben.”

“But we NEED to, Mom.”

“Mom, we need go fimming (swimming).”

“Not tonight, Ben.”

“But we NEED to, Mom.”

Now, imagine this conversation repeating itself about 50 times. Later that night, when I went to bed, I told Josh about the conversation, and we had a good laugh. Boy, I sure could have used that earlier!!

Or, how about when I’m feeding Claire, and she knocks the bottle out of my hand and it falls on the floor. She now says, “Uh-oh, Uh-oh. . .” Then she does it again and again. It’s dang cute, but not while it’s happening. It’s maddening, and I can’t bring myself to laugh about it until after the fact.

Here’s the kicker. A couple of nights ago, Josh was snoring. I felt bad, because I made him roll over, and over, and OVER again. Then, when I was legitimately afraid that the kids would wake up, I nudged him, and tried ever so gently to ease him into this fact. “Josh,” I said, “I really don’t want you to take this the wrong way, because I don’t mean it to be rude, but you’re snoring really loud, and I’m afraid you’re going to wake the kids up, so could you go sleep on the couch, or on the water bed, or something?” My dear, sweet husband, who really has a hard time waking up in the morning, let alone in the middle of the night, said, “Emily, that doesn’t make one bit of sense.” Rolled over, and started snoring away.

Me and my quick temper were furious. So, I got out of bed, closed the kids’ door, closed our bedroom door, and went downstairs to sleep on the waterbed. Josh told me the next part of the story—he woke up about five hours later, rolled over, saw that I was not there, and said to himself, “Crap. It’s going to be a bad morning.” And it was. I couldn’t bring myself to get over my temper until the afternoon. Now, I wasn’t overtly angry, or rude, I never yelled at him for it, I just kept running over the situation in my mind, until I was perturbed. What I said made PERFECT sense, why the heck could Josh not get it? Well, I had to get it out of my head.

So, that night when we went to bed, I said, “Josh? I have to say something. Last night when I asked you to go sleep somewhere else, because you were snoring so loud, you said that what I was asking did not make any sense. But it did—it made PERFECT sense. So, now I’ve decided that you were just being a jerk.” At that point I busted up laughing. Josh told me how the story went from his point of view, and that when he woke up he had realized what he’d said, and that it did make sense. It just did not connect at 2:00 in the morning. We must have laughed for half an hour at ourselves—again, I was in fear that we would wake up the kidlets, but luckily we didn’t. Phew!!! But what a relief to be able to laugh at myself. I’ve made a goal to do that more often.

And today, in local blah. . .

It’s a crackup to be the teacher of the 7 year olds in primary. I love it! They always have some comment that is hilarious. Last week, we had a lesson about being kind to others, even when others were not kind to them. At the end of the lesson, the kids were supposed to draw a picture that showed kindness. One of the kids in my class pipes up, “ I’m going to draw something DANGEROUS.” Of course, being the teacher, I said, “Just make sure that it’s something showing kindness, too.” This prompted a number of children drawing something that they deemed “dangerous” but also kind. The first child drew two people hanging off a cliff, but being kind to each other. Another one drew a carnivorous dinosaur and an herbivorous dinosaur eating together. A third child drew “dangerous scribbles,” as she called them, playing a game together. You can’t get much more creative than that.

Ben has started drawing “letters.” He’ll draw a line on a paper, and say, “Look mom, A.” I’m pretty excited about the time when he’ll actually allow me to help him form the letters on the paper. I think that day will be soon. I’m starting to wish he was as excited about potty training as he is about letters. We’re having a major challenge even getting him interested. He’ll sit on the potty, but he will not do anything. I’m open to suggestions from any other parents who have experience in this topic. VERY open!!

Claire is on the verge of crawling—she gets up on her knees and she bounces back and forth. She just can’t seem to get the forward motion of it, and ends up going backwards. She also has two teeth that just cut this week!! Hooray!! Ben has been waiting for Claire to have teeth for a long time. “Mom, we need buy Cwaire teef. Cwaire need teef, Mom.”

We have been enjoying the Olympics, the last few weeks. Ben is particularly interested in the swimming. “Watch fimming, mom? You watch wif me? Where’s Michael Phelps, Mom?” He’s now Michael Phelps’ youngest fan. :o)

Tune in next week, for my essay on Paper Mache.

Busy Summer. . .

Hello, Everyone!! It has been one heck of a busy month!! Lots of fun, though. On the 3rd and 4th of July, we went to the Riverton Days celebration. We saw a parade, which was tons of fun. We even got to hear the music that the marching band was playing as it walked by!! Typically we get skipped over-- the drummers are keeping time of course, but we don't get to hear the music. :o) Then on the 4th, we went to the carnival, and enjoyed Riverton's FABULOUS fireworks show!! They dazzle every year-- this year there were 6 times that I thought, "Oh, this must be the finale." I was wrong every time. It was amazing. The kids liked it, too! Ben, who really loved it last year, was a little scared at first (??!!??), but then he enjoyed it at the end. Claire did really great-- she didn't even cry!

The next week, the kids and I went up to spend most of the day at the Evans Family Reunion. It was so much fun!! I was so glad to have all of Ben's cousins there, to play with him. It would have been really difficult, had it not been for them! It was really great to see my family, particularly my extended family whom I have not seen for a VERY long time (years, I don't know how many).

The next weekend, Josh and I and the kids went camping with Josh's Dad. That was so much fun!! Here's a picture of how Ben spent 90% of his time:

I was sure glad that Tony, Josh's dad, had that little shovel!! Also, I am REALLY pleased with my $10 purchase of the dump truck shown here. I can't tell you how much fun Ben has had with that toy this summer! He just can't get enough!!

Here's another shot of Ben with his new favorite toy:

Luckily, it is too big to take to bed with him. He would, if I let him!

Claire also had fun on the camping trip-- Here she is, with her Aunt Lacey's cool shades on:

I was suprised at how long she kept those glasses on!! Isn't she cute?!

The next weekend was the 24th of July-- Fairview Days, with Josh's Mom and her family! It also was busy, but fun. We saw another parade, and we went to the derby (Ben loved watching the cars crash! Two cars got rolled over-- that's a record!), and then after the derby were fireworks!! Ben slept right through. I tried everything to wake him up-- I shook him, I did a blowfish on his cheek, I called his name, and rubbed his head and shoulders, and there was no response. It was amazing! The next day, me and my sisters-in-law took a trip to Ephraim. We visited Polly's Brain Freeze, which is now connected with what used to be Fat Jack's Pizza- it's now Roy's. We stopped in at the Drug and Gift shop, and the Mercantile store. It was a lot of fun to see my old College town. :o) Sometimes I miss the Snow days. . .

Claire is getting so close to crawling now. I can't belive it-- she'll be crawling by the time she's 8 months old, for sure. She gets up on her hands and knees, and rocks back and forth. If she can't get what she needs that way, though, she is also an expert at rolling. She can roll across an entire room, if she sees something she wants!

Ben, much to my surprise, has really shot up in height within the last few weeks-- since we last measured him a month and a half ago, he's grown a full inch!! We'll see if it is enough to put him back on the growth charts.

Josh and I are doing well, also-- We both just got new positions at work! Josh in investments, and I will be helping people in the Lobby at Regence. We both start our new positions in a couple of weeks, and we're really excited!!

This week, I turned the big 2-5, and I realized I'm getting old. Granted, I'm not THAT old. . . But I am old! Last month, when we had Stake Conference, the local Mission President spoke. He asked the elders to come stand up front. My thought process was this, "Look at those young men. It's amazing the amount of work they have, and they're just my age. . . . Wait a minute. . . I'm at LEAST 4 years older than ALL of them!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" That was the moment that my age really hit me. AIEEEEEEE!!

To be honest, I am not really worried about it. It just strikes me as amazing how quickly the time passes.

Making Great Strides

Yes!! We, at the Mason household are making great strides. Benjamin has tried THREE new foods within the last week—INCREDIBLE!!! He apparently likes grilled chicken marinated in soy sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and olives. What’s more is that these foods did not replace any of the 10 foods that he already eats!

And there was much rejoicing. “Yaaayy. . .”

Benjamin has become a great talker. He’s in the copycat phase right now, where anything I tell Josh, Ben has to tell him too. It’s really funny. He also talks a lot about getting his driver’s license (yikes!!), and an Ipod because he loves ear buds. He’s started telling me the things that he loves, and the things that are his “favite.” He loves his silky blanket, and his bus is his “favite” toy. If I say, “I love this song!” Ben echoes, “I love this song, too, Mama!!”

Claire has started rolling everywhere, but she only likes to do that if Mommy is sitting on the floor playing with her. She pushes herself up with her arms, and can get one leg underneath her. I can tell she’s getting ready to crawl! She can also scream really well. If in the next few months I have to ask you to repeat what you say multiple times, that would be the reason why! She is very much a girl, with her high-pitched, high-volume screams. She has started on baby foods, and it’s hilarious to see her eat. She gets so excited that we almost can’t get it in her mouth because she’s bouncing all over the place! Claire is also very skilled at getting her bouncy chair going—she pumps with her legs, and boy can she bounce! She hasn’t bounced herself out yet, but I have a feeling that she would if I didn’t buckle her in! She’s very cheerful if mommy is in her line of sight. She’s got the cutest smile with adorable dimples!

Watching both of these kids grow and develop is so much fun!! Both Josh and I are really enjoying it. Josh is doing great at Fidelity—he is really enjoying working there, and learning so much about investing, and stock trading. What a great opportunity his job change has been for our family! We have really been blessed. He is also on track to graduate with his bachelor’s degree within the next year—just a few more classes. Wahoo!!

As for me, I am working hard. I’m hoping to go back to school soon—as soon as Josh is done. We decided long ago that it would never work for both of us to go to school at the same time. Josh’s school is priority #1, mine is #2, and that is just fine! I cracked open one of our college algebra books this week, and realized how much I’ve forgotten already! EEEK!!! It’s so easy to just let it go.

We’ll keep the site updated, as things move onward and upward!

To Be Unafraid

This week I've been thinking about things that we're afraid of. For instance, I'm afraid of snakes. The way they move, their fangs and their venom just scare me to death. I'm also reluctant to come out of a lit bathroom into a dark house (this due mostly to the fact that Josh has successfully managed to hide in the hallway and scare the crap out of me, many times. Nathan, my brother, was good at that, too. . .)

Claire is very easy to startle. All I have to do is sneeze, and she jumps a mile. She really doesn't like raised voices, either. Sometimes. if the dogs at Grandma's house get too close, she starts to cry.

Josh can be startled, but it is really not easy, and usually has to be a really unexpected situation. Like when I leave for work in the morning, if I forget something that I really have to have and I run back home for it, Josh really freaks out because he doesn't expect anyone. A couple of times, he's been ready to hurt an intruder, when he realizes it's just me. :o)

Ben is another matter. He is deathly afraid of the vacuum. One day, the breaker tripped in our house while Josh was vacuuming, and he left the vacuum on while he went out to flip the switch back on. Ben took the opportunity, while Josh was out, to investgate the vacuum up close. Unfortunately Ben was still inspecting it up close when the switch was flipped. Ihave never seen Ben jump as high or run as fast! He is still frightened of the vacuum. When it comes to animals, however, Ben knows no fear. He's not afraid of any dog, including Grandma and Grandpa Evans' dog, Stuffy, who is four times Ben's size, if not more. During Memorial Day weekend, we went to my Grandma and Grandpa Bartlett's house for a short stay. Grandma and Grandpa Evans came, too. Grandpa Evans decided to take Ben to a farm to help feed the calves. Grandpa Evans showed Ben how one calf would suck on his finger, just like he would suck on a bottle. Ben decided to try it himself, and put his finger out-- that calf sucked Ben's whole hand into its mouth!! Ben just pulled it out, looked at his slimy hand, wiped it on his shirt, and walked away. He has no fear of animals.

Now, whether these fears are rational or irrational, it is very strange how different they are from one person to the next. I hope someday I'll figure out why there are so many differences, and perhaps be able to be unafraid. For now, I'll just deal with them, and laugh the easy ones off. As for snakes, however. . .

Soccer Mom or Octo-Mom?

Soccer moms are awesome-- they have perfect children, a minivan, and their kids are involved in every event they can possibly schedule outside of their kids' school time. Soccer moms are always on the run. They can make it to two piano lessons, and four soccer games in the span of four hours, all on the same day. A soccer mom's kids never have dirty clothes, because the laundry is always done. The fridge at a Soccer mom's house is always full because they can run to the grocery store in between all their other activities. They are the "cool" moms, with "cool" houses where all their kids' friends want to come and play. :-) Soccer moms never have children under the age of four. A Soccer mom is a super hero. Someday I want to be a soccer mom.

But for now, I get to be Octo-mom. Octo-mom has eight arms, so that when she goes to the grocery store she can carry three kids, push the cart, and unlock the car doors with the remote, without dropping anything. Octo-mom can also keep everything bad out of one of the kids' mouths, while she runs to catch the other child who is running into the road. Octo-mom is has super hero reflexes-- when she hears her child crying, she is on the spot in less than 60 seconds. Octo-mom can take care of the kids, do the dishes, and cook dinner all at the same time. When one of the kids wakes up in the night, Octo-mom has super-hearing powers. Octo-mom's super reflexes throw her out of bed to be at their side quicker than the child can decide to start crying. Octo-mom knows the foreign languages that each one- to two-year-old speaks, and acts as an interpreter to others. Octo-mom can put all the kids in the bathtub, and follow bedtime routines while she's juggling with the other two arms. Octo-mom is a super hero, too.

If one of these moms fits your description (or if both of them fit your description), then I wish you the best of luck-- being a super hero is the hardest job of all, and it's a job that you don't get out of. But that is okay, because it is the best job in the world!! I have to run-- both the kids, laundry, and dinner are calling. :-)

Fun Stuff

Being a mommy is a ton of fun!! It is also a lot of work, and takes much patience. More than I have sometimes. Other times, I get to the end of my rope, and my kids find some way of relieving the pressure.

Ben, this week, has gotten into the habit of dressing himself (or attempting to), UN-dressing himself (which I’m not so very fond of), and putting his shoes on by himself. Very independent, I know. Well, one morning, I was having a hard time getting him to let me help him put his shoes on. I gave up for a time, so that I could get Claire dressed and ready to go. While I was getting Claire dressed, Ben came into the room, grabbed his flip-flops, and said, “I got it mom, don’t worry ‘bout it.” I did a double take, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Claire has had a hard time this week, too—she had to get shots on Monday, and was very sad all day. She wanted to be held constantly, and it was really hard to get things done. That night, after I fed her, I was getting her into her pajamas, and she was being really ticklish. I was hardly touching her, and she was laughing so hard she got the hiccups. Even after we finished getting her dressed, she was just smiling and happy the rest of the night. It was so dang cute, I just couldn’t stand it.

This weekend we went to Logan to see some of my Snow College roommates. We had so much fun!! Ben played so hard that it took him two days to recover. Claire was so good. Ben enjoyed the Logan Zoo (or running around it). I decided it was the perfect size—we were able to walk around the entire zoo, and Ben didn’t get bored or tired of walking.

We were so glad we were able to go at all- our lives are so crazy busy with two kids, two full time jobs, a house and yard to care for, and church callings that all require full attention, particularly on the weekends. I am so glad to have such wonderful friends and family who are so flexible. Thanks, everyone!! We love you!!!

The Daily Battle

There is a daily battle at the Mason household. Many tears have been shed as a consequence of this battle, and yet it rages on. Thankfully, no lives have been lost. Yet.

The battle is trying to get a two year old to try something new to eat. I can count on both hands the few things that Ben will eat willingly. Sometimes those few things change (and by that I mean that one food is taken off of the list, and another put on in its place), but it's a very rare occasion that it does. Imagine my surprise this week, when Ben branched out!! He took a bite of a carrot (now, granted it did have cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar), and although he chewed this bite of carrot for about an hour, he never spit it out!! He SWALLOWED it. And another day, we were having French Dip Sandwiches, and I gave him about 1/8 of a sandwich. He asked me to dip it, which I did reluctantly, thinking that the odds of this bite of food actually ending up in his stomach would be slim to none already, without having it dipped in a sauce that Ben knew nothing about. I was sure that dipping the sandwich in the Au Jus had just cut those slim odds in half again. I could NOT believe my eyes when he actually took a bite of that sandwich (including the meat), and again swallowed it!!! Now he didn't take any more bites of these foreign foods, but the fact that they reached his intestines is in itself a miracle. This is always the point where Josh and I excuse ourselves from the table so that we can go into the living room (where Ben can't see us) and have a celebration.

Every day I hope that Ben will realize that there are many more things in this big world that taste better than Ramen Noodles. Until that time, I will continue to wage this battle, and keep my chin up. After all, he is only two.

Bedtime

This week has been a bit of a challenge around bedtime. Ben typically is in bed between 8:30 and 9:00 at night, and is quiet and goes to sleep pretty fast. This week, not so much. So, last night Ben asked me to lie down next to him. In his toddler bed. That's quite a challenge, even for a small one like myself! I did it anyway. Ben had his back toward me at first, and he was arranging his teddy bear and whispering. At first I couldn't tell what it was he was saying, until I started listening really hard-- He was giving his teddy bear kisses, and telling him to "Seep good, okay? Okay." After he put his teddy bear to bed, he rolled over, gave me kisses on my head, told me he loved me while he rested his hand on my cheek, and said the same thing, "Seep good, okay Mommy?" I fell in love.

Claire, too-- this week has been hard to get her down. She hasn't been her normal self. She's been really restless, and wiggley. Then, last night as I was rocking her to sleep, she just went back to normal. She totally relaxed herself in my arms, and she looked up at me for such a long time. Claire coos a lot when she's getting ready to go to sleep, and she did that for so long. I love it because it feels like she is having an actual conversation with me. I fell in love again.

Sometimes being a mommy is really hard, and other times everything about it that's hard just melts away.

By the way, today is Josh's birthday!! Every day I'm glad that I have him with me, as my companion. He's wonderful.

Here we go. . .

I am new to the blog frontier-- this is a bold step into a strange new world. To find time to keep this up will be the challenge.

Not as much of a challenge, though, as trying to keep up with Ben. That boy learns far too quickly. Yesterday I got after our dog, Rex, for going to the bathroom in the house. Today, Ben found a spot where Rex had gone in the house that I had missed yesterday. He said to the dog, "Wex, pee in house!! Bad!! I mad at you, Wex. Go OUSIDE. OUSIDE!!!" He then proceeded to open our sliding glass door, and kick Rex out of the house (figuratively). Perceptive little boy that he is, I have to be very careful of what I say around him. Yesterday after I got mad at Rex, Ben walked around for a half hour saying, "I MAD at you, MOM. I MAD at you DAD."

I never thought that I would be lucky enough to have a good baby again. I thought Ben was good when he was a baby, but he's nothing compared to Claire. That little angel has a smile on her face 95% of the time! She has started rolling from side to side, and playing with toys. I cannot believe how fast she is growing.

Well, that will have to do for now. More to come, eventually. . . .