super hero dad

madelyn had a 'super hero dads' day at school today.  i didn't get all of the details (and failed to send matt with a camera), but it sounds like it was a really fun day!  from what i could gather they made a tie-dye style cape, made bubbles madelyn could stand inside of with a hoola-hoop, and madelyn got a rainbow painted on her face.  i think they were there for about two hours.

madelyn's truly happy picture.

the more posed version.

since i was taking picture of madelyn with daddy, mason wanted his picture taken too.  love.

can mason sleep in my bed?

well, he's almost in the bed... love.

house - week 1

looking up the driveway through the two-car garage

looking at the front of the 'house'

back of the house, walkout basement - master bedroom side

looking into the walkout basement from the back yard

mason heading down the walking trail.  our lot is on the right-side.  he looks so little next to the large tree.





matt checking out our backyard.

mason, matt and madelyn walking from our 'house' to the neighborhood park (i drove the van with maddux).

lunch at the zoo - post #1,000

we went to the zoo for lunch and some fresh air.  injuries aside, we had a nice time.  here are some pictures from our day.  love.

first time maddux went to the zoo sitting in a stroller.  he was pretty excited about it and was awake the whole 2-1/2 hours we were there.  i think he smiled the whole time too.

this picture just captures madelyn's outfit for the day.  her gloves are intentionally different.

mason is getting really confident on the rope bridge.

all three happy lunch faces.

 

we went to check out the garden to see if any of the flowers were blooming yet (a few were).  they were both so happy to be sitting on the caterpillar at the center of the "maze".  madelyn takes a windy path, but mason takes the circle path all the way around the outside perimeter before walking down a straight path on the other side.  i couldn't get them both smiling at the same time so these are the best of each of them.

 

the happy kids heading out.

touch my face!

madelyn loves to talk to maddux and cuddle with him (usually his head).  her enthusiasm, volume and speed usually result in maddux crying or a general startled expression.  i have been trying to help her understand that when she moves less and stays a little farther back, he can see her better and will smile/laugh more.

now that maddux has started reaching for objects (and my face), i knew that if she was patient he would reach for her.  and he did!  she was so very excited and pleased that she didn't move a hair while she was excited telling me, "he's touching my face!  he is touching my face!".

when she wanted him to do it again she held her head still but pointed to her face saying, "touch my face."  maddux found this hysterical and was belly laughing every time she said it while pointing.  she was getting a little too excited by the time i got the camera and he was moving towards startled/crying, but he gives one belly laugh/giggle.  love.

the past 24 hours

yesterday was just a tough, long day.  and it rolled right into today too.

last night mason broke out it hives/welts on his face during dinner. as best as i can tell it was from the honey mustard salad dressing he was dipping carrots in because it was on his face in the areas where the skin was reacting. the weird part is that he has had the dressing before. i am going to test another spot on his face tonight to see if that is definitely the source of the reaction. it really freaked me out because he has never had it happen before, i wasn't sure what to do, i was alone with the kids, and he kept running around playing which made it difficult to watch him for more symptoms. once i showed him his face in the mirror he let me examine the rest of his body (for spots) and posed for some nice pictures i could share with daddy (and post here).

it was time to clean up all the toys and get ready for bed.  mason picked up some cars, madelyn picked up a few of her toys, but the bulk of their stuff was just left all over the place.  this has been an ongoing struggle here - cleaning up the toys - so while the tub was filling up for bath time, i bagged up everything that wasn't put away.  i filled a whole bag up in their room and hauled it out to the living room so i could fish the toys away from the trash (artwork, magazines, miscellaneous papers, and other odd and ends).  we just have too much for this apartment and it is hard for me to walk around.  we have been reclaiming toys each night all week but last night was the biggest haul yet.  anyway, back to the injuries...

when i took mason's shirt off for bath time his nipples were bright pink/red.  i use the past tense because it looks like he picked them off his chest.  he has been playing with his nipples a lot lately, but i hadn't noticed him doing anything yesterday and he was wearing a shirt all day.  so if he did do something it was while he was in his room for nap time.  again, it freaked me out a little.

i went to get their towels (the only bathtub is in the master bath but we hang their towels in the bathroom next to their room) because i forgot to grab them before starting the bath; i was a little mentally exhausted from my day.  mason tried to get out of the tub while i was gone resulting in him landing on his face and scraping his forehead a little.  mainly there was crying.  i hustled through bath time and told them that there would be no books, straight to bed.  i think they both knew that they hadn't made the best choices all day and there were no arguments. 

i was sorting through the confiscated toys trying to get it down to an amount i could stack in our closet to keep them away from the kids (there isn't really much for storage in the apartment) when matt got home.  i think my face told him how hard the day had been. 

today i took them to the zoo.  the kids didn't deserve to, but mommy did.  and we all really, really, really needed a day outside of the apartment to stretch our legs.  i am happy to report that the behavior today has been a vast improvement over yesterday, but the injuries just kept on coming.

mason was running down a hill at the zoo and tripped. this caused him to slide to a stop on his face. there is a scrape on his forehead next to the one from the bathtub fall, but his hair hides them.  thankfully, the scrape is pretty minimal and it didn't really bleed at all.  i think it scared him (and me) more than anything.

we had a nice time at the zoo.  we saw a few new (to us) exhibits and then went to have lunch.  after lunch the kids were playing in the jellyfish exhibit (there is a play area) with some other kids.  they were running across a long stretch of gym mats.  and then madelyn collided with the boy she was running around with!  his head hit her in just the right spot to give her an instant bruise and knot on her cheek.  i am sure it is going to be pretty impressive tomorrow.

thank goodness tomorrow is saturday and matt is going to be able to give me a little break.  this week has been mentally exhausting!  i am grateful that all of the injuries were minor.  it definitely could have been worse. love.

going to think

today started out pretty rough.  i think i got a total of three hours sleep last night.  the kids are in a funk and madelyn had to go to her room three times to calm down before 7:30am.  i had a full work day with several meetings and was concerned about how things were going to go. 

thankfully, they settled down before my first meeting and were playing very nicely and very quietly.  unfortunately, there was a thump, mason crying, and madelyn running to their room and crying.  i was almost done with my meeting so they just had to wait (it wasn't serious crying so i wasn't really too worried).  i figured it was just more of the same - not sharing.  i muted my video meeting and told mason that i was almost done and would be right out.  he stopped crying and went back to playing.

once i came out i saw that he had bit his bottom lip.  i cleaned him up (there was a little bit of drool blood) and gave him an ice pop for his lip.  then i went to see madelyn. 

she told me that he had bumped his head on the wall and that she didn't help him do it (when i asked her to show me where it had happened, it seems more like he tripped on some toys and bumped his lip on the block table).  i asked her why she ran straight to her room to cry after it happened.  she said that she "came in to just think."  so i asked what she had to think about.  "the weather."  and that made me smile/laugh - and why i did this post.

mason is fine and it was a very minor injury.  you couldn't even tell by the time he finished the ice pop (which he shared with madelyn so there were no hard feelings if she had helped him into the injury).  love.

"spit shower"

this weekend matt was buckling mason into his carseat when mason sneezed a big wet one all over him.  matt exclaimed, "gee, mason, thanks for the spit shower!"

madelyn said, "dad!  there is no such thing as a 'spit shower'". and then laughed and laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

what made me laugh is that she said it again to herself a few hours later like it was a really great punchline, "spit shower", with some more giggling.  so funny.  love.

the diaper change

i think mason is getting a little too old for diapers...  love.

fruit cup

today i gave the kids fruit cups with their lunch.  it is very rare that they eat individual serving items at home.  i think that this might be the first one mason has ever had too.  he took it off to play once he had finished up his lunch.  (and, no, i didn't rinse it out first - oh well.)

after a while he somehow got the idea that it was the fruit cup was the perfect size to be a hat for maddux.  and to my amazement, it stayed on!  maddux was just looking around like "what is going on here?" and the cup stayed on for what i would consider a long time - maybe 20-30 seconds.

of course that called for camera time.  mason was very proud and wanted me to take his picture over and over with maddux.  i think i took twenty before he was satisfied. these two were my favorite smiles.  you can just see how truly pleased he is with himself.

but then madelyn wanted a turn and requested that it be a movie.  enjoy the silliness.  love.

pretending

mason has finally figured out how to play 'pretend' with madelyn!  i think the mimicking has helped him get there and it is so cute.  they either give me 'presents' or 'cake'.  when they give me presents i pretend to open them and say thank you and when they give me cake i pretend to eat it as they gobble theirs up too.  mason 'eats' his in one big, happy gulp before running off to get some more.  sometimes they scoop it off the floor or they 'make' it in their room and just run back and forth bringing us cake after cake.  i love it.

mason also seems to know his colors.  at least he knows red, orange, blue, and green.  love.

trucks!

the forecast was not pretty for today.  not pretty at all.  this morning they were calling for hail, wind, and tornadoes, especially in the afternoon - which was when i was planning to take the kids out to see the trucks digging.  thankfully, the sun actually came back out and, after checking in with the builder, we loaded up and headed out.  i had to wake maddux up so that we could beat the storm (it is a 40 minute drive each way from our apartment).  i am glad that we made the trip and we actually got to see them dig quite a bit and watch the rocks for the driveway be delivered.  now the fun really begins!

our new neighbor talking to the crew when we got there.

the kids were really excited and a little bit respectfully fearful of the large equipment.  they are standing on the public walking trail that goes around our the side and back of our lot.

looking up the lot from the back.  we will have a walk out basement.

i was trying to take a picture of the kids in front of the truck, but they wouldn't look away from it long enough for me to get a picture of their faces.

one of two loads of rocks for the driveway being dumped.

madelyn thought that it was too loud.  and sometimes it was - like when the back of the truck would slam back closed.

mason riding on the shoulders of our builder (they have been so great with our kids).  my mom pointed out that not all houses start with "digging a hole" so let me explain that there is literally a hole in the ground for the basement foundation.  the ground on our lot slopes so that the basement will have a "full exposure" in the back (see previous post with house plans).

maddux waited in the car because i didn't want to worry about the carrier while walking on the uneven ground and watching the other two around the heavy machinery.  i left the van window open so that i could hear him if he cried.  every time i checked on him, he was just going to town chewing happily on a burp cloth.  after we had been there about a half hour watching them work, maddux started to cry so we loaded back up to head home for dinner.

mason took his shoes and socks off in the car on the long ride home.  when we get home, i just close the garage and either madelyn or i unbuckle mason and then he gets out, closes the van door, and heads up the stairs (he also likes to turn off the light for the stairs and close the door).  today he was taking longer than normal so i went to see what he was up to.  when i looked he was just coming around the turn in the stairs carrying his socks and shoes!  i was so impressed that he brought them in without being asked!  and he looked so cute and proud of himself that i ran for the camera.  he made it to the top of the stairs before i got back, but the picture is still pretty cute.  he exclaimed "i did it!" (or at least his version of it) when he got to the top.  love.

comments

i normally know everyone who leaves comments and have their personal email address.  so i have been responding to comments through email.  i am going to start to answer questions in the comments section going forward.  we will see how this goes.  maybe i will change my mind - again.  for comments with more personal questions, i will still respond privately.

do any of my blogger friends have any suggestions for how to add my responses to the comments section other than commenting myself?  love.

is it hot in here?

this is how mason looked when he woke up from his nap.  and the back of his head was just as wet. 

it was a beautiful day today.  i think that the high was around 70.  so we turned off the air and opened up the windows.  it was very comfortable in the apartment.  but we don't open the windows in the kids' rooms because we are on the second story and just don't feel that it is safe.  so their rooms are a little warmer.  okay, maybe they are a lot warmer.

tonight the air is back on.  love.

it's a look...

every now and then mason decides that his pants (and diaper) need to ride low.  he pushes them down to fit this way.  i don't know why.  unfortunately, it has led to one poopie hand for mason.  but it does make me laugh.  love.

more on maddux

we are really getting to know maddux.  he is still the happiest baby so far!  he is very interested about everything going on around him and is getting better and better at interacting with his sister and brother.  i have been feeling a little like i haven't been posting enough about him, so here is a random update with some picture from the past week.

maddux can almost sit on his own for a whole minute.  he could probably sit longer but his siblings are just too funny and he laughs too hard.

he is eating three meals a day (2 or 3 - 4.5 jars at each meal) and i think he might be ready for a 'snack' or two.  i just have to find the time...

putting his thumb in his mouth while in the exersaucer is something new.  he sucks it a few times and then gets excited and jams his whole hand in there.  i am not really sure if he is going to be a thumb sucker or not.  i think he is more into fabric to chew on, but we will see.

we rarely look in on him while he is napping for fear of waking him, but his morning naps jumped suddenly from 30 minutes to 2 hours last week.  matt found him on his side sucking his thumb so i came back with the camera.  the thumb had already fallen out by the time i came in for the picture.

his hair is suddenly starting to thicken up and is definitely going to be dark.  we are still waiting to see about the eyes.  they are dark, but i think they are going to be more hazel than brown.  they seem to have some green in them too.

still lots of love from his big sister (and brother).

mason has been really excited that maddux will reach out and touch his face.  sometimes mason gets a little too excited and a little too loud which makes maddux cry.  but it is still with love. 

maddux generally sleeps from 8pm to 7am.  he takes a 30-45 minute nap in the morning and then a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.  it looks like he is going to sleep more like mason than madelyn, but it is actually better that he isn't that committed to a morning nap because he and mason can nap at the same time in the afternoon for a little bit of a mental break for me and a little bonding with madelyn.

i think that is about it for now.  love.

dig, baby, dig!

so it's official.  we closed on our construction loan today and they dig the hole tomorrow morning.  we went out this past weekend and saw the port-a-potty - a sure sign of construction.  well, we were really there to check out that the steaks for the house were situated properly.  and they were.  our soon to be neighbors came over to find out how the house was going to be orientated on the lot.  we have met them before and they are very nice.  i guess the neighbors were discussing it during book club (yes, i am super stoked that there is a neighborhood book club) and were wondering what our street address would be - since we are on the corner.

any way, the plan is for me to take the kids out tomorrow afternoon to see the trucks digging and then we will go back out over the weekend so that matt can check things out.  we were also informed that there is a neighborhood get-together and that we should join in the fun to meet some more neighbors.  we actually might.  i really need to find out about the preschools (we were too late and madelyn was too young for soccer at the ymca this year) so that i can get them enrolled for january.

here are some pictures and details on our plans.   

matt standing on our 'front porch' next to the 'front door'.

the exterior plans.  the siding will be two different shades of grey (one horizontal and one vertical), the roof is black, and the trim and garage doors are white.



our exterior stone



floor plan.  we worked with an existing plan. so it wasn't my idea to have a closet the size of a small bedroom, but i will have to live with it...

here are some of the renderings of the kitchen.  the cabinets we picked are the 'slab' style in an espresso finish (we wanted black, but this is as close as we could get).  everyone has been giving me grief about having two dishwashers, but we think that it is practical for our life and the number of kids we are hypothetically going to have (4).  plus, we can pull one out and replace it with a wine fridge someday.  here are some of the renderings from the cabinet company.  we are still working on some of the details, like hardware and exact appliances, but this is pretty much it. 

we have also picked out flooring, but i didn't take any pictures.  i will try to remember when we take the flooring samples for picking counters in the next week or two.  we have selected a natural hickory for the majority of the house.  so that is the update.  the kids are beyond excited about seeing the trucks at the lot tomorrow!  hopefully, i will get some good pictures.  love.