Christmas Eve

I LOVE Christmas Eve!! Every year, we go to church, out to the Walter's house, and then home to get ready for Santa to come.

Disney/Florida Trip

Last week, we took a quick trip down to Florida. We spent 2 days at Disney, and then went and spent 2 days with Mason's grandmother and 2 uncles. We had such a great time. The battery in my camera died, so I will have more pictures to show later, but here are a few from the trip. Stratton and Mary Mason were exhausted by the time we finally walked into the park, they were both passed out in the stroller. It was truly a magical experience for Mary Mason, and she can't wait to go back!

MM's trip with Aunt Me

Meri Lee picked Mary Mason up and took her to my mom's house for a few days. It was sooooo quiet at my house while she was gone - Stratton was lost without her. They shopped for Angel Tree, went back to Canton Square to look at the lights, and played around the house since the weather was so bad outside.

Jackson Trip

We stayed at my mom's house during Thanksgiving holidays, and Mary Mason and Stratton had such a good time. MM made a bird feeder that she hung outside, we went to Canton Square to see all of their Christmas lights where we rode lots of fun rides, and Stratton became friends with Santa Clause.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Jackson at Mason's aunt's house. We always have such a great time. We eat good food, and then have a great time playing games (musical chairs, hula-hooping competitions, bobbing for apples, popcorn races, etc.) The kids had so much fun, and we can't wait for next year! Thanks Aunt Pat!!!

Dance Class

Today was Mary Mason's 1st day of dance class. I'm sure you can tell from the picture just how excited she was to be there. She really was excited to go, but she will never smile for me when I want to take her picutre. When she got home, she showed me everything she learned and asked if she could go back tomorrow, so I think she had a really good time. Thanks Becky!!

Finally Walking!!!!!

Stratton FINALLY stopped crawling this week, and started walking everywhere. For a few weeks he practiced but would only walk across the room. Then, he got sick and had a little setback. But Monday morning he stood up and never sat down. He's been walking everywhere ever since!!!

Singing

Mary Mason and the other children at church sang "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" for EJ Mullens baptism today. She practiced for 2 weeks singing non-stop around the house. When it came time for her to sing at church, she went up front but didn't really sing. Here she is singing a little bit of the song at home when she wasn't so shy.

Happy Halloween!!!

We had such a fun Halloween!! Mary Mason dressed up as a princess, and Stratton was a frog. I even joined in on the fun and dressed up as a princess with Mary Mason (no picutures of me in my costume though). We got together with friends and had pumpkin painting, a hay ride, and trick or treating. Everything was going great until Mary Mason fell down and hurt herself, and then we had to cut the night short and go home to clean her up. We didn't get to finish trick or treating in our neighborhood, but we had a great night anyway.

Jeep Ride

So it's been about 3 weeks since Mary Mason got her Barbie Jeep for her birthday from Uncle Bubba (Matthew). She wouldn't ride it the day she got it, and kept telling me she was scared of it. Mason took her outside Friday afternoon and talked her into climbing in. Once she hit that pedal, she had a smile plastered across her face. I don't know who had more fun, Mary Mason or her passenger. Stratton loves playing with the radio and really wants to drive. If you live on or near our street, watch out for the newest driver in the neighborhood.

Cedar Hills

A few weeks ago, we piled up in the car (3 adults & 5 children) and headed to Cedar Hills. The kids had a blast!!! We all had a picnic, went on a hayride and to the pumpkin patch. They rode ponies and a train, and saw all kinds of animals. The weather was perfect and we all had a great time!

Swingset

This is the new swingset MM got for her birthday. She has played on it everyday that it hasn't been raining. Both the kids have such a good time on it.

Birthday Morning

Mary Mason's 3rd birthday was on October 6, a few days after her party. On the mornings of their birthdays, I always fix them cinnamon rolls with a candle. Here's MM blowing out the candle on her birthday cinnamon roll!!

MM's 3rd Birthday

Finally a few pictures from Mary Mason's 3rd Birthday party. She had such a good time. She got a Barbie Jeep from Uncle Bubba aka Matthew, a set of Handy Manny tools (she LOVES to fix things), and a new swingset. I can't believe she's already 3 (she acts like she's 23), and I can't wait to see what the next year brings!!

parties

We have several good friends getting married this fall and winter, and we're going to be busy celebrating their upcoming marriages with lots of fun parties. Here we are in Greenwood about to go to a party for Sparky and Jenny Kate!!

Before going out

Drinks at the Alluvian before the party with Emily, Heather, and Madelyn

Football Game

We loaded up the RV and headed to Starkville last Friday for the 1st football game. It was a CRAZY weekend, to put it mildly, but Mary Mason had a blast. I now know that Stratton is still a little too young to enjoy himself. There was so much going on, and Mary Mason was not in a picture taking mood, so this was the only shot I got.

Zoo

I took Mary Mason on her 1st trip to the zoo last week. She had such a good time, except her almost 3 year old attention span really showed. She would be so excited to see the animals, and when we got to them about 5 or 10 seconds would go by and she would say, "Ok, let's go see something else." The weather was perfect, and Aunt Me came and met us. I can't wait to take her back again!

MM looking at the elephants

MM watching the sea lion show

Her Favorite part of the day: The Carousel Ride

1 year shots

I took Stratton to the doctor Wednesday for his 1 year old shots and checkup. He's doing GREAT!!! 23 lbs and 29 inches + 16 teeth!!!! We go back in 3 more months for another checkup. I can't wait to see how much he grows. Sorry, no pictures, I forgot to take my camera.

Stratton's 1st Birthday

Stratton turned 1 on August 27, and we celebrated with a small family party. As you can see from the pictures,
he REALLY enjoyed his ice cream cake!!!

Hair Cut

I finally broke down and took Stratton to get a haircut. It was starting to get pretty long in the front and was hanging in his eyes. None of the pictures of the acutal haircut turned out, so here are some before and after pics of him. He looks like a little man now, not my baby boy. Surprisingly, Mary Mason agreed to get her's cut too. It's short, but looks really cute. Thanks, Igor!!!

Mary Mason's new haircut

BEFORE

AFTER