Thomas 2008

Have a little boy, then you are sure to know who Thomas is. Thankfully Thomas came to OKC this year. Normally he only comes every other year, but last year he came for the Oklahoma Centennial Celebration. Here are some of my favorite pics of the day.

He's getting so big.......

Love the finger in his ear.....

We were laughing so hard.....

Mason and daddy....

I love my boys...

Dewey

Sometimes I like a book that is just a nice, feel-good, kind of story. Well "Dewey" is just that book. If you are an animal lover and a book lover then this book is for you!!! It's a short story of a library cat that changed an entire town. Dewey lived for 19 years at the Spencer Public Library in Spencer, IA. And yes, I did have to get a box of Kleenex for the last few chapters.

Click his picture and it will take you to Amazon.com

Alphabet Soup

I LOVE toddlerhood....although we are almost to the end of that stage. For lunch yesterday I gave Mason "Alphabet Soup"....BIG HIT. He LOVED finding all the different letters. He didn't even realize he was eating veggies along with the letters. He had so much fun, it took him over 30 minutes to eat, but it was well worth it. He was so proud of himself. We had a GREAT day together. Here are some shots of lunch..... (click on this first pic to see it bigger, what a great smile!)

Finding all the different letters in his soup

Eating his letters and his veggies without knowing it!!!

Bringing Up Boys

I love to read. However it has taken me MONTHS to read Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson. For example, in the past month, I have had a miscarriage and have been battling Vertigo and a horrid sinus infection for 2 weeks. So reading, has not been on the top of my list. Thankfully, I finished the book today.

If you have children, you undoubtedly know that boys are different. Not better or worse than girls, just different. They just seem to have their own set of challenges and lets not forget joys. "Boys will be boys"..."Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails"...."Don't worry he's just a boy". Are all constant reminders of differences.

Our son, Mason, has been the biggest joy of my life! I love how he loves to learn, he gets so excited by seeing the moon in the daytime. Trying to catch bubbles can provide hours of fun and laughter. Watching a worm slither on top of the grass is awe inspiring. How sad is it that we all grow up and seem to lose that great curiosity and wonder of life in the world and nature around us. I'm so thankful that I have Mason to "remind" me almost daily of all the wonderful things life has to offer us.

Parenting a boy...especially those "active" ones can be a challenge and a great blessing at the same time. If you are having behavior problems this book is for you. If you are not having behavior problems this book is for you as well!! James Dobson does a great job with this book and I will now recommend this book to anyone I know that will be having a boy. Anyway, if you have a son....will have a son...or have a boy in your life -- whether you are an aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, etc. This book is for you. It's an easy read and provides us a glimpse into a little boys (of all ages) world and how to protect them and parent them while protecting their God-given strengths.

Here are some websites for you to check out on this book as well.
http://www.bringingupboys.com/

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/

Lost and Found

If you know me very well, you know I LOVE pictures. I love to scrapbook, I love looking at pictures, I love taking pictures, I love everything about memories. Well, unfortunately we don't have very many photos of Mason's first 6 months (if you know us, you know why). Anyway, I am usually the one behind the camera, so pictures of Mason and I together are few and far between.
Anyway, Mike had take some pictures of us in January of 2006. I printed them out and gave them to the grandparents, but didn't save any for myself as every penny was put towards his medical bills. I have been looking for two and a half years for these pictures and I thought that I did not have them saved. I was heartbroken. For the last 2 weeks I have been suffering from Vertigo and haven't been able to do much of anything. Since movement makes me sick, I've been trying to sit and sort through my computer/scrapbook/stamp/quilting/storage room. And guess what....I found an unmarked CD and I put into my computer. Guess what!?!?! It had the jpegs I thought were no longer in existences. Can I tell you how happy I am? I can't wait to scrapbook these.
Again, these were taken on 1/15/06.

Football Season!!!

I think one of the reasons Mike fell in love with me is because I LOVE EVERYTHING about football!! I love to play football, watch football, LOVE football weather and who can resist the delectable football munchies that must accompany each game!?!? Anyway, I used to sit and watch football with Mike (Girls, this scores BIG bonus points with guys, you should try it a few times). However, this season I seem to have been "benched" and have been replaced by a "rookie". Can you believe it?? Here are some great TV -watching pics I shot.

The problem...

Here it is.....

This was, BTW, the first time in over a week that I have cooked (LONG story)....... I kind of take this as a "sign" that I shouldn't have to cook anymore! :o)

Uh oh, Silence

So what happens at our house with less than 3 minutes of silence?

Mason gets the uber THICK and greasy lotion that Mike (yes MIKE) left behind (Mistake #1). Here's how it went down.....

Mike gives Mason a shower while I'm in the kitchen making dinner. Mason comes out of the shower, so I get him dressed in his pj's. He's still pretty hot from playing outside all day, so I just put his pj top on (mistake #2).

Now, Mike is giving the dog a bath while I'm setting the table. Mason is 10 feet away playing with his train set. You can see in the pics HOW CLOSE Mason is to the dinner table.

All of a sudden....silence......"every moms warning sign". So I peek around the corner.....and there is Mason. Instead of gasping, or saying "Maaaaaasssoooooonnn", I run (without bursting into laughter) and get my camera.

This is how the conversation went down....
Me - Mason.....
Mason - Whacha doin moma?
Me - Mason what are YOU doing?
Mason - Puttin lo-chin on
Me - Mason are you supposed to be doing that?
Mason - lo-chins nice moma
Me - Mason are you supposed to be doing that?
Mason - Moma I puttin lo-chin on
Me - Mason, lets go see daddy...and take another shower.
Mason - I don't wanna nother shower.
Me - Mason you NEED another shower.

By this time Stanlie is out of the shower....
So I walk Mason BACK into the bathroom and tell Mike (before I round the corner "don't laugh")..... now Mason is BACK into the shower. Now remember this is Eucerin LOTION, this stuff is thicker than spackle!! I thought I was going to have to get mike a putty knife!!!
By this time I'm back in the kitchen making sure dinner isn't burning WHILE trying to clean this "lotion" out of the carpet, the toys, the train set, etc.
A few minutes goes by and Mason is back out of the shower again.....I get him dressed into some NEW pj's. His legs were so waxy they felt like candles!! Pretty funny stuff.
Then 45 minutes (after FIRST stepping into the shower) Mike is finally out of the shower. Remarkably, he did not run out of hot water!! Finally, we all sit down for dinner.....and no, the lotion did not come out of the carpet.

What's really funny....when I walked into the bathroom with Mason, Mike thought it was "just powder".

Summer Fun!!

I think Stanlie loves the pool as much as we do!! I think he just likes to be where we are. I got him from the Animal Rescue Foundation in Tulsa. So we really don't know how old he is. But it will be a sad sad sad day in the Bendabout house when he passes. He has been THE best dog I have EVER had and I have had a dog in my life for the past 35 years!!! Click on the below pic to enlarge it, I swear Stanlie is smiling!!!!
I sometimes wonder if Mason likes the ladder more than the pool!!

A broken heart....

Mike's face says it all!!! We had to ride the train at the zoo, as per Mason's instructions, of course. :o) Well....only one problem....the train was too full by the time we got in line. So it just means we have to wait for it to come and get us on the next trip. Ok? Nope, Mason thought it was the end of the world! He couldn't understand why "Trainey left me". He was absolutely heartbroken. I thought it was hilarious, but as you can see, Mike doesn't have quite the same sense of humor as I do. :o) BTW- this meltdown lasted the entire 15 minutes it took for the train to come back.....thank heavens there were a MILLION pre-schoolers running around so Mason didn't really stand out.....that much. LOL

SEE!!! I told you it was coming back. What relief for the poor little fella!!
Ahhhhhh, this is the face of a happy boy!!
Concentrating on the ride.