5 Year Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my best friend, love you honey!! Thank you for blessing me with my two beautiful children and 15 years of love. 10 years dating and 5 years married. I know it will only get better!!

Summer Vacation

Family photo before leaving the lake after our week of vacation.

Ella eating a smore with Momo while watching Annie. Too cold and rainy to have a fire outside so I did them in the oven.


Mason chilling outside at the lake.

Mark and I got tickets through one of his reps for rooftop tickets to a Cubs game. Mom watched the kids and went to Chicago for 2 days and had a blast. Went out to eat several times, had some beverages and walked all around Michigan Avenue. We brought back deep dish Chicago style pizza for dinner. Ella loved it!

Ella getting ready to swim at the lake

Mason being a cutie

Mark & Ella going fishing in Papaw's boat

Mommy & Ella going for a paddle boat ride. She wanted to help so bad but still can't reach the peddles.

Ella & Daddy catching fish off the sea wall.

Best idea ever: hooked Mason's bouncy seat to tree outside in the shade. He loved it!

Boat rides

Mason pulled himself to standing on the gate and would walk across.

Ella even got to go to the movies for the first time with Mark on a rainy afternoon. They left around nap time and she fell asleep on the way there. It was questionable whether she would stay awake for it. She woke up they got tickets, glasses (yes it was 3D), and of course popcorn. Mark said he caught her a couple times trying to reach out and touch stuff during the movie from the 3D effects. Mark went in and tried to get some popcorn and Ella nudged him away.

We absolutely love going to the lake for a week, wish we could do it more often. Everyone was so relaxed after our week away from home.

Strawberry Picking with the Padget's 2011

Mason went for his 9 month checkup yesterday afternoon. I got to leave work early to pick the kids up to go and I was hoping Ella would have had a nap but no such luck. Didn't matter they were both little angels (which of course you probably already knew).

Mason stats:
22 lbs 11 ounces
29 1/2 inches long

Everything checked out perfect on him and he didn't even cry when he got his shot & finger prick. Ella held his hand and was very supportive big sister. Even taught him how to blow raspberries on the mirror in the room. Said we can bump him up to 8 ounce bottles and start him on more table food. The Doctor pried open his mouth and he is getting ready to get 3-4 teeth on the top of his mouth.

Got home and was able to play in the backyard for a little bit and then made dinner and went to the park in our neighborhood to play in the water. Kids fell right to sleep last night and slept like champs.

Easter (West Virginia)

Ella at Easter Egg Hunt at Twin Falls

Mason at Easter Egg Hunt at Twin Falls

So we left on Thursday before Easter to go visit Mark's family in West Virginia. Biggest mistake ever on my part is donating blood on that Thursday. I have never had such a bad reaction to donating blood. I was shaking, had the chills, the aches, and of course I had not completed our packing so when I got home I didn't feel like finishing it. I laid down for a while with many interruptions from Ella. We finally got to leave an hour later than expected. I know I was bound to forget something.

The DVD worked like a charm and Ella watched the entire Snow White movie before finally falling asleep. Mason rode like a champ also. It was around bedtime when we left and he just fell right to sleep not a peep. When we got the hotel Ella kept asking are we in the mountains yet but it was dark and we were only in Huntington, WV so not really big mountains yet. I told her yes and she was very taken back by the hotel. "Wow mommy, that sure is a really big house!" I told her "yes honey, and it has lots of bedrooms." We finally got everything to the room and Mason transferred directly from the carseat to the pack-n-play, rolled over and not a peep. We gave Ella her own bed and she just kept shying before finally falling asleep. Mark and I just kept saying really - is she going to do that all night while she sleeps. We already know that she snores but the shying, really?

The next morning of course Ella was up bright and early at around 7:30 am. Mason was still sleeping so I took Ella to breakfast. It was very yummy and free with our hotel stay which made it even better. After Mark and Mason ate we went swimming to try and wear the kids out for the remainder of the car ride. Ella loved it but it pretty much assured us how much she is need of more swim lessons. After we all got cleaned up we got on the rode again. I had called numerous times to the park trying to get our cabin switched to a 3 or 4 bedroom with no luck (I was hoping for someone to cancel) and was told that we if get there prior to checkin time it would not be a problem because one of the 3 cabins we rented for the weekend had no one in it the previous night and we could hangout in there. NOPE - kept telling us that they weren't ready yet. So Mark and Ella hung out inside the lodge and Mason napped in the truck. Once everyone got there we were finally able to get our keys but we decided to eat dinner in their restaurant before going to the cottages.

We debated on how to sleep with the kids in our 2 bedroom cottage because we didn't want Mason to wake Ella up or vice versa. So we each took a child in separate rooms. Have to say that I made out like a bandit. Full size bed all to myself and Mason who sleeps like a champ. He didn't wake up occassionally because of teething. Even if Mark and I had shared a room - a full size bed with us not very comfortable. Although in college we used to manage to both sleep in a twin - but we were young and crazy in love and never mind to much information.

We got up and ate breakfast and Mark's family started to arrive. They brought Easter dinner and a ridiculous amount of Easter presents for the kids. They definitely spoiled them. Ella & Mason went to the park's Easter egg hunt. Ella found lots of eggs and even won a play golf set as a door prize. The kids were able to play outside all day at the cottage & the playground in the park and took a couple walks even. The weather was gorgeous and glad everyone was able to make it.

Sunday Mark and I debated taking the kids to the Twin Falls at the Park but decided no because it was colder, drizzling, and you had to walk a ways to get to them, which personally isn't a whole lot of fun carrying an extra 20+lbs with you (sorry Mason). We'll try it again when they'll both remember it. Of course the DVD decided to stop working on the way home so it was a very long ride. Stopped a little over half way to have lunch but the last 45 minutes or so of our trip were brutal. I ended up climbing in the back of the truck to help entertain Mason which worked for a little while. He was done with the truck and personnally don't blame him. It was a long ride home. It was much easier to split up like on the way there.

It was a very nice long weekend with the family. Ella is still playing with her easter eggs and has kind of forgotten about her candy. That is a good thing because Mark and I have eaten most of it!

Promise to be a better blogger after our vacation next - I think I have a 2 pretty cute excuses and they are both mobile now. Look out here comes Mason, what a charmer!

Allergies

This blog is to discuss how much I hate allergies and how they affect our family. I am the luckiest of the four because I only occasionally get some seasonal allergies that affect me, but my poor kiddos and hubby. I took Mason for his 6 month checkup on Friday and he has a little runny nose and cough and some puffy eyes and Dr. said it all has to do with his allergies. So I asked again what about Ella's and explained how often we have to give her Zyrtec and how her poor little legs are broke out and her eyes also are puffy and of course the peanut episode. Yes I got the answer I have be waiting for...we are finally going for allergy testing. Poor little girl should not be this miserable while playing outside during the spring & summer. Do they get this from Mark whose allergies are also always haywire or from this loving Ohio River Valley weather? Been trying to get Mark to go to the doctor for his allergies for years but he won't do it. Stubborn men! Glad my little girl will finally getting some relief of hers.

Mason 6 month Dr. Appt

Mason went for his 6 month appointment yesterday and dr. said he is doing very well. He weighed 18 lbs and 12 ounces and was 28 and 1/8 inches long. Dr. said to start giving him veggies. So last night and this morning he has had carrots with his cereal. This morning we went for his pictures - what a ham!!