the many adventures of owen and mason

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:22:00 +0000

Here's Owen singing Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Mason can be heard chiming in but he was too interested in watching the screen on the camera to actually be IN the movie. Such sweet little voices...not too sure of all the words in spots so they just make up stuff. So cute.

Kids say...

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:36:00 +0000

I picked the boys up from school today and the teacher gave me this recount of her conversation with Owen.

Owen: I have poo-poo
Teacher: Poo-poo again?! *begins changing diaper* Where'd you get all that poo-poo from?
Owen: From the poop store!
Teacher: Ohhh! Well, where'd you get this hiney? At the hiney store?
Owen: *with all certainty* No. At the bottom store.

After nap the other day I forgot to change Owen's diaper. He was playing in just his t-shirt and he finally came to me and said, in a very concerned yet sweet voice, "my diaper is swinging, Mommy." He then spread his legs and showed me how it moved. I was cracking up!

Mason has become quite the little conversationalist lately. When he is trying to tell you something that he's not quite sure about he kind of stutters while he's trying to form his thoughts. But when he is absolutely sure about something, he will tell you all about it like it's fact, while giving these little "yes" nods with his head and really gesturing with his little hand. It is the cutest darn thing when he does it because he is so sure of himself. Writing about how cute it is doesn't do it justice. I really must capture this on video!!

When either of them see something funny, out of place, or just plain confusing, they'll say (for examples sake, take the kid-sized bench we saw), "look at that bench! what'd that happen?!" Obviously they mean, "how'd that happen" but it's just funny that they come up with these ways of expressing themselves.

They still play with "Mine" (their talking hand) but now it has morphed into many, many Mines. They are constantly trying to configure their hand or tangle their fingers in funny ways and then show us what they did. They even ask us what kind of Mine it is because they want us to name it. Like I posted earlier in January, we have Mine, Mommy Mine, and Baby Mine...we now also have Bug Mine (thanks to Aunt Lindsay), and Bunny Mine (pointer and middle fingers up, ring and pinky making a mouth with thumb). All the other crazy "Mines" don't have names yet. I was reading that having an elaborate imaginary friend can be a sign of a GT kid, so Owen and Mason...keep that imagination going!!

Unofficially, they are about 36" tall, Owen weighs 31.6 lbs with clothes on, and Mason weighs 31 lbs with clothes on.

Fun in January!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:28:00 +0000

We've had a fun and busy January so far. Several trips to the zoo (if you ever want to see active Cheetahs, go on a really cold day), belated Christmas with Paige and Blake, a visit from Granna, play-dates with friends, and lots of playing with Christmas toys!

Owen and Mason also had their very first teeth cleaning. I was nervous because Aaron was out of town for work which left only one parent for two possibly screaming toddlers. I have to say, my kids go with the flow because they climbed right up in the chairs (which weren't even side by side) and did everything the hygienist asked. Not a single tear was shed and they were super proud of their goodie bag full of toothpaste, floss, and new tooth brushes!
Here's Mason checking out all of his loot!

From Drop Box

And Owen showing it off. They both did PERFECT!

From Drop Box

Here's an album of all of our cutest pics from the last several weeks...

January Fun

Here is a hilarious video of Aaron playing with Owen and Mason. It all started when they tried to sit on his lap and he'd move his leg and they'd fall on the floor. They thought it was hysterical...and then all the other silliness followed. If you're in need of some true toddler belly laughs and a brighter day, watch this video. The video itself seems stretched vertically so everyone looks kind of narrow...but I think you'll get the gist. And yes, he is doing it all in his work clothes. What a great Daddy!!

Big Boy Beds!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:16:00 +0000

Just before Christmas company arrived for the holidays, Aaron and I completed Owen and Mason's big-boy-bed project that we started in November. We found some (ugly) beds at Ikea and bought them with an "idea" in mind. Their room isn't totally transformed yet (mainly, a fresh coat of paint in a new color) but they do have new big boy beds. These will likely tie them over for a few years, until they are old enough to sleep in bunk beds...and then Mommy will finally get to pick out the Pottery Barn ones she's been drooling over for months! It just didn't seem practical right now to go all out since they can't fully use bunks yet. In the mean time, we "Ikea-hacked" some beds for them as a labor of love...and boy do they LOVE them!

If by "love them" you think I mean they stay in their beds at night and go right to sleep, you're wrong! What I mean by "love them" is they can get up whenever they please. It's probably a good thing I'm blogging about this a month and a half late because, had you asked me before Christmas, in the 3 nights they used their beds before company took them over, I would have told you things were going swimmingly. However....I'm not sure if it was the crazy holiday schedule (I'm beginning to rule this out because we are still dealing with these issues), or the insecurity of a big bed instead of a crib-sized toddler bed, but our perfect night time routine was turned on it's head! Used to, we'd lay them down and they'd fall asleep. This was even true after the transition from crib to toddler bed crib. Not anymore. Now it's up and down because of imaginary boo-boos, books in their room (yes, books...they've ALWAYS been in their rooms but now they have a problem with it...go figure), wanting a different blanket, etc, etc, etc, etc.....do you get the gist? They have learned the art of stalling! Bedtime was now taking an hour and a half to get to sleep and it was wearing on our patience. We tried this and that, trial and error solutions that led no where. However...yes, another however...for the past two nights I think we've made some headway! I don't want to speak too soon, but last night it took 30 minutes to fall asleep with minimal escapes from bed. Tonight was a record 15 minutes with a one-time, one-offender escapee. I sure hope this lasts!

Of course, there are some other things they love about their beds too. Our new bedtime routine consists of Owen climbing into Mason's bed for hugs and kisses. They both stand in the middle and give each other a big hug and then tip over (with the assistance of Mommy or Daddy to prevent a crash landing) while saying "weeeeee!" This was something they couldn't easily do in their smaller beds. Then they trade 20 or 30 kisses each to whichever part of the other's body they land on, all the while giggling because it tickles. After a short while of that, they're off to do their coveted "jobs." Owen dims the light and then turns it off on the way to his bed, while Mason pushes the button to the aquarium. Mason's trend lately has been by the time Mommy and Daddy want a hug and kiss, he's all "kissed" out from Owen. A kiss on the forehead will usually do for him and then he requests his sheet to be pulled "all the way to the top" (meaning all the way over his head). Owen, on the other hand, HAS to climb in his bed all by himself, then stand up on his bed and "squeeze really tight" for his hug and kiss from Mommy and Daddy. Do NOT try to help him into bed and do NOT pick him up for his hug and kiss. If you do, he will get out of bed and start over. So silly. Owen is particular about his sheet too...he doesn't want one at all!

You're probably thinking that all of this prep for bed takes 20 minutes! Thankfully, it only takes about a minute or two before they're both in bed - for the first time at least. We treasure these moments because before we know it they won't need us or want us to tuck them into bed. Two-year-olds are most definitely opinionated on just about everything, and ours are no exception! We will gladly continue tucking them into bed in whichever way, silly or not, makes them feel comfy, cozy, and loved.

Here's some pictures of their new beds before, during, and after the redo. Of course, there are pictures of Owen and Mason's first night in their big boy beds. And, I must say, watching my dad and Aaron carry their cribs to the garage brought tears to my eyes. Where does the time go!? Please enjoy!

Big Boy Beds!!!!!

New Year's with Granna and Granddaddy

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:39:00 +0000

Well, 2010 has started off pretty busy which means I'm finally getting around to our New Year's pictures! We celebrated in Austin with Granna and Granddaddy by eating a fabulous meal at Maria Maria and heading downtown for the annual NYE celebration on Town Lake. There were artists displaying their unusual projects: everything from a fire tornado, to crazy swings that lit up and changed colors. There were probably 15 swings hanging from several giant oak trees, all changing colors while the riders listened to funky music. The boys, of course, thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen! Owen and Mason were so excited to watch the fireworks show over the lake that they had no problem staying awake for all the fun. Of course, while we were waiting, we had to try the kettle corn and giant brownies.

Here's Daddy "helping" Owen and Mason with the popcorn...notice he keeps faking them out. They thought it was hilarious!

The next day we went to San Marcos to spend the day with Numna and Bee. We had a relaxing day playing with scented play-doh and enjoying each other's company. Owen and Mason also gave Numna her belated Christmas gift (that did not arrive in the mail in time). I took a video (which is fairly long) of her and the boys looking through it. Feel free to watch it, but I mainly wanted to capture the moment of just her with Owen and Mason, having their little conversation together. I know videos like this will be ones I truly cherish.

Here are the pictures from our fun weekend! We even had a picnic on Granna and Granddaddy's newly-poured slab for their new home!

New Year's Eve (and day)

Here's a little video similar to the one in the last blog post of the boys singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." I couldn't resist posting this one of Owen because the way he sings it all by himself and holds his note out just cracks me up...and he's SO proud of himself too. I love it!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:56:00 +0000

Owen and Mason sing one of the songs they learned at school. I like Owen's hand motions :)

Christmas 2009 - The best one yet!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:56:00 +0000

We played host again this Christmas as our little house filled up with 13 people for the holiday. Both sets of grandparents, Uncle Kyle and Aunt Lindsay, and Bee, Numna, and Grandma Mary (all the way from Mexico, Missouri) stayed with us. We (of course) had a great time. Daddy, Mommy, Granddaddy, and Papi spent two days before Christmas doing the age-old ritual of assembling Owen and Mason's big present from their grandparents - their very own playground/fort/swing set for the backyard!

Christmas Eve was nice as we all went downtown to get in the spirit and to hear another inspiring message from Dr. Wende at First Methodist. We came back home and had the tamales that Bee brought, which has quickly become one of our traditions.

Things quickly took a turn towards the chaotic as we realized that with all of the drilling and ratcheting in the backyard we had completely run out of time to wrap gifts! Thankfully everyone pitched in and helped us out.

We were also scrambling to take care of some of prep work for the big Christmas meal. Why it's a tradition to have a big meal in the middle of such a hectic time, I will never know. Anyway, I had decided that this year the turkey, the centerpiece of the meal, would be our contribution. I have never cooked a turkey before, so we had some adventures with that. My dad helped and spared me the task of dealing with turkey innards and we put it in the brine to soak overnight. Just then we realized that I hadn't thought far enough ahead to have a roasting pan on premises. So, in a story to be detailed later, we drove off at 11 PM and toured the city, eventually coming to a bizarre yet effective solution!

Christmas morning was of course a hit for Owen and Mason, and we all had fun seeing the joy through their eyes. Every year it gets better and better! They were shocked to discover that the milk and cookies they'd left out for Santa were gone. They had a great time opening their presents, although they never seemed to get enough time to play before they had to open another one. Eventually, they pleaded with us: "No more presents!" Later on, when we look back and wonder if Owen and Mason were spoiled as kids, there should be no doubt.

We gave them a little break and let everyone else open their stuff. Mommy and Daddy (I'm never sure when to use 1st and 3rd person in these posts, but here I mean Erin and I) ended up spoiled a little bit, too, as their big gift was a new TV.

After the second round of gifts, Mason and Owen went outside and discovered their brand new playground! Of course they knew just what to do. We're looking forward to a lot of memories as they play with that over the years.

So all in all we had a wonderful time. We are definitely blessed to have the families that we have. Thanks to everyone who came for making it a Christmas to remember, and to everyone else we hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Christmas 2009

Meet "Mine"

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:06:00 +0000

Owen and Mason have created a hand puppet friend that they have named "Mine." Mine doesn't wear any clothes (there is no actual puppet they put on their hand), he is simply just their hand. Mine loves to talk to everyone, loves to talk to other Mines, and loves to switch between Mine (all the fingers), Mommy Mine (3 fingers), and Baby Mine (2 fingers). Mine also loves pretending he's in different scenarios and giving people different pretend objects, like milk, ice cream, trucks, etc. You will likely see a lot of Mine in our Christmas pictures and will probably wonder why Owen and Mason are holding their hands in such funny positions if I don't go ahead and explain. Here's Owen and Baby Mine.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:27:00 +0000

We were determined this year to do lots of Christmas-y things to get the boys excited about the holidays. We started off the season by getting our Christmas tree decorated the weekend before Thanksgiving. We like to enjoy it for as long as possible! Numna gave the boys some new ornaments this year...the letters O and M...so those were the first on our tree this year.

Christmas Tree Decorating 2009

We also headed out to see the lighting of the 40 foot Christmas tree near where we live.
Here's our family getting ready for Santa to come light the tree. (M, O)

The kids thought it was pretty cool.

We went with Cate, Owen and Mason's friend from school. The three of them had such a good time together. (Owen on left in both pics)

We also had fun visiting Santa about FOUR different times! Such a big change from last year when all they did was scream and cry. This year they LOVED him! (M, O)

Amazingly, it also snowed this year in Houston! Rare! The kids thought it looked cool from inside the house but weren't too impressed with the giant flakes hitting them in the eyes. (M, O)

Owen and Mason really enjoyed their Nativity and Santa's sleigh toys this year. (O, M)

Here's Mason with mini ornaments on his ears as earrings. YES, he thought of this on his own, and he was quite impressed with himself in the mirror, as you can see in the pictures.

Owen had fun with this carousel that was given by my grandmother to my sister and me when we were little. My mom has since passed it on to our household for Owen and Mason to enjoy. And boy did they! We finally had to put it out of reach!

Another cool thing we did this year was go see the Kansas City Southern Railroad's touring Christmas train. The line was long, the weather was wet, and the kids could NOT understand why they couldn't get on the train right away. We waited our turn though, and the kids thought they had died and gone to Heaven! Here is a small album with pics from our train adventure.

Santa's Choo Choo Train

We all got together again with Cate and her family for some yummy Mexican food and a Christmas celebration in their neighborhood park. We saw Santa yet again, sledded down a snow hill, watched some fireworks, and just had a fun time feeling Christmas-y! Here's another album of some cute pics and videos (proof that my kids are fearless).

Christmas in the Park

Fall Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:11:00 +0000

A while back we all headed to the park for a family day. We rode the train and the paddle boats, had a picnic, saw some live music, and just had a relaxing day.

Family Day at the Park

We also met up with Owen and Mason's cousin, Kennedy, when we were in Austin for Thanksgiving. The kids had tons of fun running down the hill and riding the Zilker Zephyr.

Zilker Park

Also during the fall, Owen and Mason discovered markers, helped Mommy celebrate turning 30, and had their very first school party!

November 09

We love Mickey!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:57:00 +0000

A few weeks ago we took the boys to see Disney on Ice, which they absolutely loved. Growing up, we were a Disney family so it is exciting for me to see them light up when they see Mickey. I'm looking forward to the day we can take them to Disney World...but for now, this works for us!

Here's a cute video of the Mickey Mouse March. We listen to this song over and over in the car so the kids were totally into it when they sang it during the show! Watch to the end...it's so cute!

Here are some pics from the day...

Disney on Ice

All The Singing Ladies...

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:52:00 +0000

Surging to the top of Owen and Mason's favorites list is Beyonce's "Single Ladies," which they have renamed to "All the Singing Ladies." Here are a few short videos of them singing the parts they know. Owen is the main performer in these videos, but don't be fooled. Mason can belt it and bust a move when he's in the mood - which is always when the camera isn't rolling, of course!

(Another) Brag Alert! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:56:00 +0000

We're 2 1/2 years old and learning to write already! All I can say is WOW! I used to teach 4-5 year olds who had trouble learning to write letters (and even recognize them, for that matter)!

And since they've known all their letters since before 2, we've also been working on reading, starting with the sight words I and see. I figure if they can recognize a letter, a shape, an object, etc. then they should be able to recognize a word. Right? The book we like right now is "I See Colors," and each page says "I see (color)." They are learning to use picture clues to help determine what the sentence says. The page that says "I see red" has a cat painting everything red (Owen's favorite page, of course). They are very good at one-to-one correspondence (pointing to each word and saying it) which will also help when counting objects.

It is just amazing to me to see them doing all of these things that my Pre K students were learning, and many found challenging. Again the other day Owen put together an AB pattern with the giant black and red checkers at Cracker Barrel. I have a video of this but it seems to be taking a while to upload to YouTube.

Santa! I know him!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:39:00 +0000

Mason and Owen were all about Santa this year! I think we've seen him 4 times so far!

Dear Santa...

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:12:00 +0000

...here is what Owen and Mason have told me they want for Christmas. Pretty cute and pretty funny!

Owen:
Red!!
A red present
Stickers
A red bicycle
A red playground
Puppies
A Diego bicycle

Mason:
Stickers
A green present
Toys
A blue bicycle
A baseball bat
A playground for our backyard

Mason says Owen wants a baseball bat, Mommy wants stickers, and Daddy wants green stickers and a ring.

Owen says Mason wants stickers, Mommy wants Pluto, and Daddy wants green stickers and puppies.

30

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:27:00 +0000

So I turned 30 about a month ago and am just getting around to posting about it...yes, that's how un-excited I am about it! My wonderful hubby, my parents, my sister, and bff Paige and hubby Blake, all worked their tails off to pull a fast one on me! I knew my parents were coming in to town to watch the kids while I went out with a few friends. The day of the "party," my mom mysteriously got sick and couldn't get out of bed. What I didn't know was that they were all at Paige's house pulling off a big surprise. They know me well and knew they had to make it seem like it was my idea to end up over at Paige's later that night. I thought our "party" was canceled and that Paige's mother-in-law was going to watch O and M while the 4 of us went out to dinner. Here I come, bursting into my surprise party with all of Owen and Mason's gear for the night!

The theme was great...80's...complete with Tang, slap bracelets, splatter paint, and everything else 80's that still hides out on store shelves. It was a ton of fun and my first-ever surprise party. Many thanks to everyone who celebrated with me and an even BIGGER thanks to my hubby, fam, and bff for all the hard work! It was totally radical, dude!

Erin's 30th

First Time Trick or Treating

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:03:00 +0000

We caught the very first trick or treat on video. They're naturals.

Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:45:00 +0000

So this year was Owen and Mason's first year to go trick-or-treating. We didn't do much to prep them for it other than explaining it a day or so before the big day. Later that day I heard Mason griping at Owen for "not keeping his hands to himself." Of course, I had to go regulate and when I asked Owen what he was doing he told me "I knock on Mason and get candy!" Evidently he thought he could knock on something and it would spew candy all over the place. I suppose he was disappointed when he discovered that wasn't the case, but the actual trick-or-treating the next night did plenty to make up for it.

We started Halloween by heading to our neighborhood Halloween festival, which wasn't too much more than a moonwalk, but the kids were thrilled. Later that evening we had a couple of families over for some pumpkin painting, cookie decorating, and trick-or-treating. Matthew, our neighbor's little boy, lead Owen and Mason to the first house and showed them the ropes. That's all it took. After they realized that candy was involved, they were all three sprinting to the rest of the houses. I saw Mason running with this hilarious expression on his face that seemed to say, "outta my way, I got this down!" He was dead serious! I figured they'd last for about 15-20 minutes but we had to drag them home after an hour! Their pirate hats and hooks didn't make it out our front door, but my two little pirates wore those darn eye patches for the entire hour of trick-or-treating!

Overall, they had a blast and they looked darn cute in their costumes!

Halloween 2009

Fall In Lubbock

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:09:00 +0000

Well, it seems that we've made it a sort of tradition to head up to Lubbock every Fall. It gives us a chance to feel some cool fall air for once, to do the corn maze and other Fall-centric activities, and most importantly to get some good time in with Mimi and Papi. Oh yeah, and every other year there's a football game I'm particularly interested in attending.

This year was no exception. Owen and Mason had a great time hanging out with Mimi and Papi and the weather (with the exception of a very cool and windy afternoon at the corn maze) was great. Kyle and Manda were in town, and our friends Paige and Blake made the trip this year so we had a bunch of our favorite people around.

Owen and Mason made pumpkin cookies with Mimi, and I'm pretty sure they set some sort of record for most sprinkles per cookie with that batch. On Saturday, the kids had fun with the grandparents at Papi's party for his department while we went to the game. On Sunday, we did our best to get in the Halloween spirit. We got some little pumpkins for Owen and Mason to paint, and our first-ever Jack O' Lantern was carved.

Overall it was a great, relaxing weekend. And what could top it off better than the first Aggie win in Lubbock in 16 years.

Fall in Lubbock

Pacifiers are for Babies!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:03:00 +0000

Well, it's official! The pacifiers are outta here! But let me back up a minute. If you know my kids, you know they are attached to two things: their pacis and their blankies. Mason was to the point where he wanted one in his mouth and one in each hand. Owen wanted green pacis, Mason liked orange or blue. Our pediatrician recommended at our 18 month check up that we ditch them by the time they were 2. So, Aaron and I decided to give it a try after the holidays last year. We started weaning them off and only letting them have them at nap, bed, or car time. But that was proving to be pretty tough since the kids would magically find a paci or five laying around somewhere (most likely from Mason's group of 3). We kept pushing off giving it a real hard try knowing their 2nd birthday wasn't until May. Let me qualify this by saying that our doctor strongly encouraged ditching the beloved blankies at the same time. She has seen kids turn to thumb sucking because the blankies remind them of the pacifer. When we went in for the 2 year appointment, Dr. Nguyen was so impressed by their language and knowledge that she wasn't too worried about the pacifiers, so she said "eh, by the time they're 3." And so, we quit worrying about it, hoping we would, some time in the next year, get up the courage to go cold turkey. We knew toddler beds were looming in the distance as well and we didn't want too many changes all at once. It just seemed there was never a good time, not to mention we needed a weekend with NOTHING going on because we figured nobody would be getting any sleep for a while with all the crying. So, status quo we were, 3 pacifiers and all.

Until last Tuesday, that is.

It's no secret that the darn pacifiers make the kids drool. We had been noticing more and more that they really disliked having a soggy shirt and would accept that as a reason to give up their paci for the moment. Last Tuesday was no different. Mason's shirt was soaking wet and I pointed it out to him. He said, "I need a bib!" Mommy said, "No, you need to get rid of your paci!" With that, he took his paci out of his mouth, handed it over to me (Owen followed suit), and said "pacis are for babies." Both he and Owen have said that before but for whatever reason I didn't take the pacifiers in the car to run errands later that evening. And they didn't ask for them OR cry for them. Hmm. Was I on to something? This was, mind you, completely unplanned. At bedtime we decided to see how long we could make it before caving in and giving their pacis to them. There were definitely some tears but only whimpering, not the full out tantrum like I was expecting. Aaron and I knew they'd need a little help so we stayed in their room patting their backs, telling them they were doing a great job, reminding them that they were big boys, and letting them know we understood it was a very hard thing to do. About an hour later they were asleep. Not bad!

The next morning, Mason woke up and announced that he "went ni-night without a paci! Pacis are for babies!! I a big boy!!" while Owen woke up crying and asking for his. Totally the opposite of what I would have predicted, by the way. Luckily that day was a school day and since day one, we have left pacifers at home. Their expectation was already set, and they knew how to nap without one (at school, that is). I think the timing helped me too, because I probably would have caved the next day had they been at home with me. Night #2 was a bit easier but there was still some asking for pacifiers. Simply reminding them that we "gave them to the babies" made it all okay. Morning #2 was almost an exact repeat of the previous morning. By nap time I was feeling good that we might actually be done with pacifiers. I knew from school that they could fall asleep for nap without a pacifier so that's what we did. Night #3: piece of cake. And here we are a week later and they haven't had a pacifier since! I think it is safe to draw a trend by now!

If I would have known it was going to be that easy we would have done it a long time ago! So, for all the moms who think their kids are way too attached to give up a pacifier, think again. You just never know. Oh yes, we are still using the blankies and there has been no thumb sucking.

I have to admit, we did get a bit ambitious after this. We were so surprised at how easily they adapted that we thought we'd give potty training a "real" try. I expected them to watch this little movie (that is supposed to be guaranteed) and viola! Not so. Let me just put it this way: after about 45 minutes of wearing only underwear, I decided I was just fine with diapers! Every 30 seconds someone else was peeing through the undies onto the floor. Owen thought it was cool to wet his undies so he could get another cool pair. So, now we are formulating a new plan of action and the "real" try is coming again soon. Upon the suggestion from a friend, we are going to try starting off with some "cool" undies and if they wet them, they have to wear plain white ones. Maybe this will discourage Owen from wanting to wet the ones he's got on. That would be nice.

speaking of potty training...
HOORAY FOR OWEN!

Today at school, Owen told the teacher he had poo poo! She checked his diaper and told him he was clean. He told her "no, in my bottom." This is the first time either of them have given us warning. We have been talking about telling us before we go in our diaper and today it paid off. I think he had his "ah-ha moment" on what it must feel like to have to go potty. I am crossing my fingers that we have turned a corner in this daunting adventure!

Silly Sayings

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:20:00 +0000

Last Thursday I had to go to the doctor and had to explain to the kids that we weren't going to see Dr. Nguyen (their pedi), we were going to see Mommy's doctor. They told me (and later Daddy) that they "took Mommy to the doctor." It melted my heart because I've always heard stories about little boys loving their mommies and taking care of them.

Another day last week they told me to "come on, let's go get on our pirate ship!" They each climbed in their beds and pretended they were in their own ships. They were "going out in the ocean" and their way of driving an imaginary pirate ship wheel was the same hand motion as "the wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round." They told me they were going to see other pirates in the ocean and saying "bye pirate mommy, bye pirate Mason/Owen," that water was coming into the ship (they pretended to dry it up) and Mason called it "ghost water," I guess because he couldn't see it? No idea how he knows that ghosts are invisible considering all the ghosts in his Halloween books are clearly visible. Then they pretended to go fishing and did the actual (yes, they remembered from fishing this summer) hand motion to reel in a fish. Our cat walked in and we pretended she was a catfish, which they thought was hilarious because they definitely remember the nasty catfish we caught this summer. Then it got dark (Mason dimmed the light) so we pretended it was the moon. Of course, Owen had to come help make it dark from Mason's ship (that is where the light switch is) but on his way back he declared there were crocodiles in the water and that he needed help getting back to his ship. I told him to hurry fast so he (and Mason following) ran across to the other ship and were so happy! "I made it, Mommy!" (Which then ended their pirate adventure because now the new game was running back and forth between beds to escape the crocodiles).

This morning the kids woke up about an hour early and were chasing each other around the house and cracking themselves up. Then I heard them giggling while telling each other the "creepy crawlers are gonna get you!" No idea where they heard that term! So funny!

Later, we were at Stomping Grounds (indoor play place) and Owen was on his way to climb up to the top. He stopped and told me "see you later, crocodile!" ("see you waiter, crocodi-yoh").

I know there are so many other funny things they say and I will have to remember to blog them when they happen so I can remember it forever! I love my babies!

Dewberry Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:31:00 +0000

We posted a few pictures in the pumpkin patch already, but I wanted to share the others from our day at Dewberry Farm in Brookshire, TX, just outside of Houston.

Dewberry Farm

This is a pretty funny clip of Mason on the rope swing.

My Full Name

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:43:00 +0000

A few months ago, Owen and Mason learned their full name with me only telling them a few times during one day. I was shocked that it didn't confuse them seeing as how they think their names are just Owen and Mason. I finally got it on video but Mason has a stumble over Owen's name even though he says it perfectly every other day. I couldn't get him to do a retake because he was too interested in getting done so he could use MY camera to take his own pictures (this is why he keeps saying "Mason's turn" and reaching for the camera). He also knows how to show 2 fingers since he is 2, but again, all he could think about was getting it over with so he could have the camera (or so he thought)!

Oh well. They're still cute as can be! And yes, Owen put his hat on just like you see it!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:43:00 +0000

Last Sunday we decided to have a family day at Dewberry Farm despite the sloppy weather. The temperature was awesome, which I'm confident had something to do with why we braved the drizzle and mud. It was totally worth it though. We had tons of fun getting dirty, eating roasted corn and apple pie, and picking out pumpkins, and even cheering on the racing piglets. Because we were schlepping kids through and over the mud most of the day, we didn't have many opportunities to pull out the camera. We knew as soon as one of them slipped down it was all over! Owen and Mason aren't yet the kids that are perfectly happy being covered in mud. We did get some cute pictures towards the end of the day, which is surprising because not more than an hour or so later, Owen had a 102 fever.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Mommy and Daddy Get Away

noreply@blogger.com (Erin and Aaron) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Aaron had to go to Orlando for work at the end of September so I decided to use some flyer miles and meet him out there for several days. We decided it would be fun to go to Disney World but felt SUPER guilty that our kids couldn't be there. We know what gift they'll be getting for Christmas when they're 4! I can't wait!

Disney World

Granna, Granddaddy, and Numna came to Houston to hang out with Owen and Mason while we were in Orlando. They made their own fun at the park, the pumpkin patch, and celebrating Numna's 87th birthday.

A week with the Grandparents