Photo with Santa/Christmas Card Pic

So after learning last year that Mason's not a big fan of having his picture made with Santa, we took a non-traditional approach and this is what will be on our cards this year. Enjoy.

Its A GIRL!!!!!!!!

Congrats to our wonderful friends, Matt and Jamie Baker, who welcomed daughter # 2 into the world today. Sarah Houston Baker was born at 4:49 p.m. and weighed 6lbs and 12oz. I cant wait to meet this sweet new addition to a much loved family of ours.

Gingerbread Cookie Fun

We decided to have a little Family Fun Night tonight. We made our own Gingerbread family...minus Max. We had a great time. Check out Will with his gold teeth!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time

Here are some pics of our tree and Mason on our way to see Santa. We have really been trying to get him excited about meeting Santa. We tell him Santa brings presents and candy. For some reason when we ask him what Santa brings he says "candy, prensents.....and socks!" When we finally went and saw Santa, he went right up to him and said "Where's my candy?" Can't wait to show everyone his picture with Santa. We will get it back next week.

What I am Thankful for...

Just wanted to take this time to refelct and show gratitude for all my many Blessings. I am truely Blessed and wanted to give Thanks for all the things that are great to me. I took time to list a few things I am thankful for this year (not in any order).....

1. Health and Safety of our family-I am so thankful for our good health (when we have it). Between wrecks, asthma, hospital stays, and the cold Will can not get rid of, I have really learned to appreciate having good health and being safe. It was definately something I took for granted until this year. I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my body when the doctor came in and told us Mason had to be admitted to the hospital this summer. Watching your baby get an IV put in and having to hear respiratory therapist come in and say things like " oh, the lady that worked last night told me ALL about you," is so painful. I don't know how people find the strength and dedication to take care of sick loved ones everyday. I am so glad we have a wonderful doctor who takes the time to listen to our concerns and gives us many options to choose when deciding how to take care of our child. I am thankful for all the prayers and well wishes from others when one of us is sick. Its so hard being away from family and home, but so comforting to know there are people here willing to change there plans and sit at the hospital with my son, so I can go home and shower or take a nap OR drop everything to take care of you when you pass out at work from being sick and stressed!!!
2. Parents-I am so thankful for not only my parents, but my family..brothers and Wills familiy included lol. My parents drive 13-14 hours here to come and clean my house and change light bulbs, move and put together furniture and babysit so Will and I can see movies. They send us cards and happies and Ole Miss Tee-shirts (even though they are DIE HARD MSU fans, hey every family has black sheep, I'm ours:0) , and sometimes the occasional $20 for things like Halloween and Thanksgiving. My sweet Momma even cuts out wedding annoucements and such from the local paper and mail them to me. They always call after not hearing from me for more than two days to make sure nothing is wrong. They listen to my worries and always make me feel better about the things that stress me out. They are always postive about everything and give me an optimistic view when I so desperately need it. They also dont critcize the choices we make, even dumb ones (ok well they stay on me about spanking Mason and my choices of hair color, but that's about it) They spend thier Christmas break and 4th of July vacation keeping my child so I can go out with friends and even go on the Honeymoon I never had that I am getting soon. They are the best parents ever. I am so greatful and thankful for them. I am thankful for my brothers too. They are the BEST uncles to Mason. They are always interested in what is going on in his life and call multiple times to check on him when he is ill. I am also greatful that they get along with Will. I always know when one of them is calling us, b/c as soon as one cell stops ringing another starts. I hope I get along with thier wives, if they ever get married. Next, the inlaws, I am thankful for the love and support they provide to us. Will's Dad and Step Mom are here right now, giving us a break and cleaning our house and cooking for us. It is nice to have so many people who love us and love Mason and want to be in our lives. Lastly, I am also thankful for the 3 sweet neices I have to love an spoil. Caylee, Samantha, and McCarty are great cousins to Mason.
3. Work- Can I just say.. I hate work:) I feel like I work ALL the time.....prolly b/c lately I do. I got a PRN job this year. As much as I hate working more...I am very thankful and greatful that I have not one, but two jobs that enable me to pay off debt, build savings, buy my son endless toys he does not need that clutter my home, pay bills and get us through hard economic times, allows me to have nice things for my home, and provide us with the health insurance to provide us great medical care. I am also glad for my PRN job, b/c it has gotton me back into a part of my profession I love and really enjoy. I am thankful for all the people I am able to help at work which gives me a great satisfaction in life.
4. Friends- I am so so thankful for all the texts I got today wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all my sweet friends who always make time for dinners, cookouts, parties, and playdates while I am home. I am thankful for old friends I don't see or talk to much. I am thankful for new friends who spoke and befriended me even though no one else would.I am thankful for friends who inspire me to be a better mom, wife, and person. I am thankful for friends who let us be involved in there great moments like weddings and babies. I am thankful for friends who listen to whine about the whoos in my life, who call me when they have problems b/c I was the only one that would understand, to those who forgive me, for those who love me anyway and those who drop everything to help me organize the 10 year reunion I am resposible for. Bless you all and may you all know how special you are to me.
5. Will- Where would I be with out this man? Isn't wierd how we are partenered up another person for a life time of memories? I am thankful for a great husband who gives Mason a bath at night so I can watch reality TV, a man who tells me good job even when I fail, a man who eats food I cook even though it is never any good. A man who works very hard to provide for our family..a man who puts up with me!!! I am so thankful to be married to my best friend. He makes me laugh, he tells me what spots I missed on the Christmas tree (yeah, I put up my tree this moring, yeah, im on the ball today), soon he will be telling me all the words I misspelled on these blog postings. He calls me at work to wish me a good day and listens to my stories about bad days. He makes me look forward to the future and inspires me to be a better person. Even though we are so opposite of each other, we manage to tolerate and cohabitiate together. He is a fantastic parent and is always inspiring me to do better. I am thankful for his fun spontaneous spirt, like planning a honeymoon for us, since we didn't really get to have one when we got married. I am thankful to have someone I love as much as him, that loves me just as much. He is even sorry and sypathetic when he does things like removing my toenail and almost another by stepping on my bare feet while wearing shoes!!! Lastly, I am thankful for the future I am getting to spend with him and that his in my life.
6. Mason- What a great little guy. I am so greatful and thankful for all the happiness and joy he brings into my life. I am thankful for the way he makes me feel and the pride I get from being not only a mom, but being his mom. His smiles. He independence ("no mommy, I do it). His curiosity ("whats that bangage on your foot for") His need for me (" I want my mommy") His help ("here Mommy, put this on the tree") His love ("love you too, mommy"). His routines, like singing and saying his prayers at night. And my latest...I am thankful that he doesnt like to sleep with pajams on and kicks off the covers. Sounds crazy, but according to my mom I was the same way. Trust me, when you have kid that is the exact replica of you husband in every way, shape, and form, you take what ever similarities you can get, no matter how little:)

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and takes time to look back and reflect on all the things they are thankful for this year.

Thanksgiving fun!

K..so I got a shorter, darker hair cut. And yes, you are seening purple in my hair. Just a few streaks. I think Im secretly stressing about being older and almost 30 and am rebelling against myself. Or I just wanted to do something wild and funky for once:)
Mason and I attended his annual Thanksgiving lunch with all the families from daycare. We had a great time. There are lots of new babies and school. It is scary to think that MY child is now a big kid and not a tiny baby anymore. This BOY drinks out of a regualar cup. Can you say BIG BOY. He tells me all the time he is a big boy. I have a great video of the kids singing the Blessing, but of course MY child was looking around, playing, and NOT singing, so I am not posting it.

FYI, for those of you don't know.....I signed up for drinks b/c I was the last one to sign the list and it was filled out by all the parents who accually get there kids on time. Really, I would have made something:) WELL I decided to go to chick fil a since they sell gallons of tea and lemonade by the gallons. My bill.....$13. Yeah a gallon of lemonade is almost $8 and the tea was like $4 something. I was so annoyed by this. I mean really $13. Who charges that much for lemonaid? Whatever, I don't even like there food that much!!

Here I am trying to get Mason to hold his placemat. It is so cute. The feathers are his handprints. He is doing such a good job in school. I am so proud of him. He has had a hard time adjusting to the daylight savings time change. Plus, his allergies are all crazy again (runny nose, itchy eyes, exema on his face, ect). Most mornings I have to wake him up and bribe him with candy to get up dressed andget his teeth brushed. NOTE bribery doens't work with this guy. We had two mornings last week where he was so cranky, he cried when I left him at school. There is nothing, I mean nothing, worse to me than having to leave Mason when he is upest and crying. It is heartbreaking. Fortunately, this doens't happen often and he stops right after I leave. Still, I don't like seeing my little guy upset.

I think I have scarred Mason for life taking so many pictures of him over the years. Most days he refuses to "say cheese" for me. Not sure what I'm gonna do about Christmas cards this year. He did, however, want to pose for me the other day. We got this little down vest (thanks Janell) and he likes it. He wanted to put his hands in his pocket and say cheese for me.
SUCH A BIG BOY. 2 and 1/2. Where does the time go? It is so wierd to not have a baby anymore. And don't bother asking about baby #2. Mason is absolutly forbidding it. He says nonono to having a sibling. "Im your big boy Mommy" is what he says to me when I ask him. I even try to hold the other babies at daycare to show him what it would be like with a baby. BAD IDEA....he got so MAD he tried to hit the baby. He didnt like the idea of Mommy holding another baby!!

Fun Times with FRIENDS

I hope everyone will be happy to know I HAVE FRIENDS!!! After three and half years here I have finally made friends. Ok, so maybe it hasnt taken that long, but I finally feel like VA is our home and we here for a reason. I admit I never meet a stranger, but it very hard for me to make friends. ESP, here. People just arent has hospitable and easy to get to know. Plus, I" talk wierd" as I am told frequently. I feel so blessed, b/c for so long the only things I had to look forward to were Will and MAson and coming home to see my freinds and family in MS. Part of that was my fault since I AM married to my best friend and we only have each other up here and b/c I already have great friends in MS, why make new friends. It feels very good to be able to have a support system here, to call people and make plans and do things. I thought I would share with everyone things about some of them and why I think they are so great. Of course, there are more great friends, I just dont have pictures of them right now.

Me, Pam and Stacel

Pam is my BESTIE at the Berryville campus. She is fantastic!!! I have many kids in her room which is great except one day this summer, she was the only one in the room b/c the teacher had called out and we were short staffed. I rearranged my schedule and stayed in the room to help her out for the morning. We were so stressed by the end of the day. Behaviorally, challenged ten and eleven year old boys, can really ware you out. :) So anyway, we have been really close since then and because of that day we decided we needed a happy hour. Yes, our kids make us drink!!! Well, this has become a once monthy routine that we all look forward too. We are constatly trying to find excuses to do happy hour (bithdays, ppl getting new jobs, ect. YAY happy hour. We have so much fun!!!


Trish, Stacel, Pam, me and Erinn.
Us at our November happy hour Erinn's going away happy hour. She is our OT. She is a hurricane Katrina refuge. So she knows what it like to have to move away from everything you know. She is a great listener and has definatly taught me to be a better therapist. This girl has more passion for her job than anyone I know! She also works PRN with me at the nursing home which is great. We love to collaborate on pts (yeah we'er nerds) Her and her husband Jeremy are so good to me. And love Mason (what's not to love?) They live close by which is wonderful b/c they often feed me. However, Erinn has gotton me drinking and needing coffee on a daily, which is something I never thought I would do.

Terry, Janell, Cindy, Aimee, Chris, Crysal and Me at the Staff Excellence Banquet

Terry has a big family and is always giving me parenting and maritial advise. Ok not ALWAYS, but sometimes. She always makes me laugh and is so thoughtful. I appreciate her b/c she always invites us to do things with her family, when WIll is at market, so I am not alone.

Janell is great beacuse not only is she a great teacher, and crafty, she has a baby who is a month older than Mason, BUT about a size or two bigger. We get ALL of Broden's hand-me-downs, which I absolutly love. She and I sit around and constantly discuss our kids and make sure they are developing right. You get a certin paranoa working with special needs kids. We keep each other in line with develpmental milestones.

Cindy- Cindy is like the best SPED teacher ever. I have learned so much from her professionally. She always colaborates with me and is always intrested in whats new with speech pathology. The woman reads my Advace magazines for gosh sakes!! She is also so good to our family and to Mason.

Aimee...georgous and smart..I actually hate her. J/K. Aimee and I bonded when I was pregnant with Mason b/c she had super nasty awful morning sickness like me. Shes the one who really told me what to expect while I was expecting:) SHe is probably the nicest person I have ever met. She has two adorable girls Autum and Ayla and has the best heart and strength of anyone I know.

Chris is my friend I've known the longest. Not only do we share an office, we live in the same neighborhood! She feeds me too. I got lucky befrinding great cooks. Chris is an OT and looks pretty good for bein 41. yes I know, it makes me sick too. People think we are the same age. We have been through a lot together. She threw me a baby shower visited me in the hospital and cooked me dinner the first night a came home from the hospial after having Mason. She dog sits Max for us and before I got lazy, we would exercise together:) She is a wonderful friend and person. She made pumpkin pie the other night, yummy.

Crystal is one of the funniest people I know. And I don't mean silly funny, I mean dry humor, sarcastic funny. She is alos the most organized person I know. I'm not sure why she's friends with me (guess opposites attract) HAHA. She is a very strong woman and a great mom. She also makes me feel good b/c she doesn't cook. I am so jealous of all you people who can just go home an fix dinner. BAFFELS my MIND. She and I are also going to be on the amazing race together one day (our dream anyway)

The 4-Runner

Ok so for those of you who don't know...I got a 4-runner this past August. Will got a new job, with a new territory, so he decided he needed a car. I took this as my opportunity to tell him that I wanted an SUV. Well, he didn't want my car and can't drive his big Tahoe, so we both got new cars (new, used cars, not new new cars). I got a 4-runner and LOVE it. It is the perfect MOM ride for me. Mason and I have so much room and he can see more things out of it. I love it and I take better care of this vehicle than any other material posession I have (anyone who knows me knows I'm not materialist and treat everything I own like garbage. Ok, not like garbage, I just dont value stuff. Which, BTW, I am getting much better at, taking care of stuff, not valueing, it I mean). Ok so anyway enough rambling....WELL, the day before Halloween I was on my to work as usual. I had just droped of Mason ( thank GODNESS), WHEN I got hit.............by a lady born in 1919 (yes, she will be 90 on her birthday). Of course, looking back it was sorta funny that this super old lady hit me (the sun was in her eyes, she said as she droped her WALKER getting out of her car). Well anyway, I was not seriously enjured, even thought my neck, leg, and back really sore and missed two days of work. I got a rental truck, TRUCK, like pickup truck. My sweet husband drove it for me most days, but I hate the added chaous it added, having to switch keys and having only one carseat, ect. SO FINALLY, after nearly a month and $6000 worth of damage, I got my truck back this week. Mason and I are so happy to have it back and to be back in our normal routine.

I had to get a new door and two new tires:(

Adult Fun;)

So Will and I went to an "Grown UP Party" for Halloween. This is big for us b/c we rarely EVER go out (unless were in MS of course. Here are the pics from the party. How funny is this costume I got for me and Will. I know the blogs are family/kid friendly so forgive me for any vulgar thoughts that may come to your mind.

Me and Erinn, my partner in crime!!
Erinn and Jeremy

Me and WIll....the lock and key.

Happy Halloween

What's goin on??

Will has taught Mason to say "what's goin on?" to people. It is too funny. Mason is too funny. We have had a lot going on. We are kiki free and have been for some time now. The daycare told Mason they threw his pacifer away and he did fine excepting it. We carried it over at home he hasn't had any trouble. Mason had another wheezing episode after Labor Day. The doctor recommended daily medication for it. We debated on it for a few weeks and decided to try it. OF COURSE it made his allergies ten times worse AND after a few days Mason was covered in hives. AHHHH So right now we are just trying to stay healthy and pray we make it through the winter with few problems. We have been busy with school and work. The city is doing construction in front of Mason's daycare...right in front of Mason's daycare. Everyday he wants to see the buldozers, make buildozer noises, and say "move that dirt." We are enjoying our fall weather and getting ready for our trip to the pumpkin patch and Halloween.

Baby Shower Fun

Today, Mason and I attended a shower for my co-worker/friend/neighbor, Heather. We had so much fun. Heather and I have playdates with her kids, Nina and Jacob. We are so excited for her and can't wait to meet Baby Gabriel in January.

Erinn, Heather, and me.
Mason LOVES his Erinn.
It's about time for a trim. Mason and Mommy
Having cake.
Silly boy!!

Birthday Party Fun

Last Sunday, we went to a fantastic Costume themed Birthday Party for our friend Madison Lilly. We had such a good time, esp when the ponies came!!

Spider Man Mason
Getting ready to go.
Playing in the sandbox.
Loving his Mommy
Happy Boy

Madison, the Birthday girl, opening her gifts.
Reagan on the pony.
Mason riding the pony.
Crying because we made him get off.
Riding again.

Squeeky clean cutie