Autonomy continues

Mackenzie with our tree, Rapunzel's, hair

Mack grows up a little more every day. Yesterday, she put her hair in pigtails. Not just any pigtails but REAL pig tails! She often emerges from her room dressed for the day, in outfits that usually make sense. As school approaches, I said to her how much I would miss her but that I am happy that she's excited for school. She replied " Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine and you have Mason to keep you company." She is 5 going on 25 and it breaks this mama's heart!

Hair:Done!

I happened to have my camera pointed at her when the fire truck's sirens went off

Being silly

Anatomy of a tantrum

Oh yes. We are definitely in that phase. And in true Mason form, he puts his whole heart into whatever he's doing, including tantrums. Don't get me wrong, 95% of the time, he is one jolly little guy. But it doesn't take much to push him into tantrum mode and once he's there, you have to see the process through. Sometimes a tantrum consists of banging his head on the offending object /nearest object . That usually escalates into full out crying and then leads to the infamous flat on the belly, crying into the floor pose.  And before we know it, the storm clouds pass and the sun comes out again!

Click collage to enlarge

Pretty toes, stinky toes

Mackenzie is looking forward to her second week of ballet! Last week, she had so much fun, declaring that she was going to be a marine biologist, swim teacher AND ballet teacher.  The class is 35 minutes and there are 6 other girls that dance along with Mack. She think it's so funny that ballerinas always have " pretty toes" but likes to do the " pretty toes, stinky toes" stretches ( bringing the toes upward and then stretching them downward). I'm so excited to see Mack learn and watch the recital at the end of the 5 week class. Don't worry, I will record it and post it here!

First position

Pool party and other happenings

Mack and the guys had fun playing together in the pool one afternoon.

And later, Duncan-Mack came out to play

Mike gets the best greetings every morning . Mason
is so excited , he just bursts into giggle fits and follows him saying " DAD! DAD!"

Mack has been wearing her shark tooth lots lately
as she's back into marine biology

The reading corner

Mack was quiet after she got out of the tub and I found her
crouched under her bath towel, reading a book.

Colorful days

Mason isn't quite ready for finger painting but there isn't much that he doesn't want to be apart of.  He is a lot let tempted to eat the paint these days , so that's progress!

Painting pals

Buffalo Bill Days

 We had so much fun a few weeks ago in Golden during the Buffalo Bill Days festival. My mom grew up in Golden so it's always fun to go there with her and listen to her stories. The day was cooler and cloudy which was perfect for us!

First up- breakfast at Pepper Jack's.

Gram's got Mack a really neat geode that they cut open
right in front of us! It was a surprise for all of use to see
the sparkly white insides.

Kenzie got to ride the mini-ferris wheel as well as
travel through the obstacle course and bounce in the
blow up pirate ship.

And of course, cotton candy!

Hanging at the rivers edge

Mason had fun getting out at the river bank, too

Mx4

Little Miss on the porch of an old school house

Mason had the ladies eating out of his hand.

We ended the day with a quick bite to eat at a local coffee shop/cafe before heading home.

15months

Mr. Mason is 15 months! He had his check up and, to none of our surprise, Mason had lost weight. Between his 12 month visit and his 15 month visit, he teethed three molars and some canines on top of the fact that he is a very, very busy kid. Add to that his new found walking skills and it's easy to see why the scale went in the wrong direction- from 22lbs to 21.9 lbs. Thankfully Mason is actually a great eater so the doctor wasn't worried. We'll recheck him again a his 18 month visit. He was not at all happy about the shots, throwing  a crusty at the nurse who gave them as we left. He recovered quickly and is back to himself.

Mason is such a little chatterbox. He's always got something to say or is humming to himself as he wanders around the house. He's mastered the ups and downs of the stairs and is pretty quick on his feet. Typically boys vocabulary matures more slowly than girls but that hasn't been the case with our little mimic . He's picked up works very quickly and uses them frequently.

A bit of sibling rivalry has crept up. Before now, Mason wasn't really impinging much on Mackenzie's territory. Now that he is mobile and more curious, there are often battles over my lap and toys. Thankfully, my lap is big enough to hold two babies but sometimes those babies just don't wanna share. I reworked our routine a little bit which made even more room for some special mommy/Mackenzie time after her quiet time, while Mason is still asleep. This is also a great time for activities that aren't so "Mason Friendly" ( those that really attract his attention and usually result in a project of Mackenzie's being manhandled) . That seems to alleviate things greatly  although , that fact is that Mason just wants to be near his sister, a fact that Mack doesn't always find flattering. Despite the bit of trouble, Mack is still the first to hug her little brother when he's hurt and is still very protective over him. Growing up right in the middle with four siblings, I understand just how each of them feels

He sure loves her!