Visiting Daddy at the Fire Station!

Saturday afternoon we visited Mark at the Fire Station.  It is really fun to get to see him in his working environment and Mark really loves for us to visit!  This was Maddies first visit and I think she enjoyed it as much as Mason and I did.  Well it did start off a little rough with Maddie freaking out about the sirens and Mason freaking out about a rubber snake, but they both eventually warmed back up to daddy and played for the remainder of our visit.  We stayed for a couple of hours and got lucky they didn't have any calls during that time.  Here are some pictures from our visit!

Fun Times at the Fire Station!!

Blessed!

When I'm at work I really miss these precious faces....


When I'm missing them or I need a quick pick me up at work I look through the pictures and videos on my phone(seriously love my phone)! Here are a few that made me smile today!






Happy Wednesday!
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Family Fun Day

Saturday afternoon we headed to Waxahachie for dinner and to run a few errands.  We ate at Johnny Carino's and Maddie sat in a high chair for the first time at a restuarant and she looked like such a big girl.  She is so pleasant everywhere we take her.  I am so thankful to have such happy children!

After dinner we randomly decided to go over to the Midlothian airport in hopes of seeing the air show that was going on.  We got there and had just missed all the planes in the air, but we were able to see a few cool planes on the ground.  We didn't stay long because we didn't have a stroller and it was hot.  Mason didn't want to walk so we each had a kid on us.

  Needless to say we were in and out in less than 20 minutes.  It was free so it was not a big deal.  We were hoping to see the hot air balloons up close but of course we were there at the wrong time.  So we headed over to Sonic for some ice cream and to kill some time before all the hot air balloons launched.

Around 8 all of the balloons were suppose to launch so we parked in a parking lot nearby and sat in the bed of the truck and watched all of the balloons.  We only saw about 5, but we all had a good time and Mason really liked the balloons!  I love days that turn into spontaneous family fun!!

Happy 7 months Maddie!

Maddie turned 7 months old yesterday and here are some things she has been up to this past month.




She is officially sitting up without support. I still put pillows around her when I'm not within hands reach just in case she falls over.
She is eating stage 2 foods. She has eaten everything that I have given her with the exception of green peas. She has also started feeding herself mum mums and she has tried a few cheerios.
Maddie has been sleeping in her crib for the first half of the night. She is normally in bed by 8. She usually ends up in our room after 11. She still wakes up once in the night to eat.
Maddie is eating 5 ounces of formula every 3 to 4 hours and eats 2 solid meals a day.
She is still wearing size 2 diapers and can wear 3 to 6 month clothing.
Maddie really enjoys sitting on the floor playing with toys. She reaches for toys and is starting to show an interest in crawling. When she is on her tummy she tries to reach for things and kicks her feet. I'm sure she will be crawling soon. A few times I have laid her head at one end of the crib and when I go check on her, her head is at the opposite end. Today I laid her on her back in the living room floor while I put Mason in the bath tub and came back to find this....



Mason had left a bag of cereal on the floor and Maddie slung it everywhere!

Maddie is still squealing a lot but has now added mum mum mum to her vocabulary.
I have started bathing the kids together most nights and Maddie seems to really enjoy this time. She splashes around and tries to play with Mason's toys. Mason is still learning to share, but he loves having her in there too!
Maddie is changing and growing so quickly. She is such a content and happy baby! 
Here is her 6 month pic taken at school.

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Lazy weekend

We actually had no plans this past weekend and it felt great. I was able to clean the house and do all the laundry for once!
Friday night Mark was working so I picked up Mason first and we went and rented a few movies. We had never done this and boy was he excited. I promised him pizza and popcorn. He picked out Tarzan, which I hadn't seen in years. He loved it!





Satuday we ended going back and renting Home On the Range, another older Disney movie. Mark and I had never seen this one and it was actually pretty entertaining.
Don't worry he didn't eat the whole bowl, he was nice enough to share with mom and dad!





Sunday we just hung around the house and the kids got a good nap.
Maddie said momma or a version close enough to it. And I have three other witnesses that also heard it. Please contact me if you need there names. Haha. I tried to get it on video but I wasn't fast enough.
Here is Maddie sitting up all by herself playing!





Mark found out this morning he passed the national registry test( for paramedic school)! We are beyond thrilled he passed on the first try!! Now he's officially a paramedic!! Yeah!!!!
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Monday Mark graduated from paramedic school. He has been attending UT Southwestern since January. He has not been on shift since Maddie was born and I have loved having him home every night. Now that he is done he goes back to work, which I know he has really missed but that means every third day it's just me and the kids. Here are a few pictures from the graduation.

Mark had to wear his class A uniform and I must say he looked so hansome!!










If you look real hard you can see Mark... He's by the podium.


Afterwards we went to Benihanas to celebrate!


Maddie's first visit to Benihanas! Maybe next time she will actually be able to eat their food!





I am so proud of Mark for working so hard and getting through the paramedic program! Hopefully this is the last time he will have to go to school.(fingers crossed)
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Our Weekend

We loaded up the camper this weekend and headed out to Canton, TX.  This was our second time to take the camper out and everyone had a blast.  We had a few mishaps with the camper such as the fridge and the a/c not working properly but we were able to somewhat fix the a/c.  So glad they were able to get that working because it was HOT!!  Maddie went swimming for the first time and Mason learned how to "swim."  He was able to swim from person to person with the water wings on.  He got tired of the water wings at one point and wanted to take them off.  He had to stay on the step next to Nini and I said that would be ok.  Nini turned her head for one second and Mason decided to jump off the step without his water wings.  He immediately goes under wanter and Nini scooped him up.  He came up out of the water like it was no big deal.  I was just sure he would be coughing up water and crying.  Nope he wanted to do it again.  We are definately going to be signing up for swim lessons next year.  Maddie loved the pool.  She just sat in her little float and stared at everyone, occasionally grinning.

We also did a little fishing.  Mason will tell you he caught a fish but daddy did most of the work.  Mark did the more serious fishing.  He stayed up late both nights and caught some pretty big catfish.  The first night he caught a 9.2 pounder and a 7.8 pounder.  The second night I attempted to fish with him, while ZuZu stayed with the kids.  We waited and waited and waited.  I called it quits after about an hour of zero bites.  Mark wanted to cast out a few more times.  Just when he was about to give up he got a bite.  That fish ended up wrapping the line around the dock and breaking the line.  We couldn't go in at the point.  So he set up again and almost immediately got another bite.  He wrestled with that fish for a good five minutes.  This one was 8.4 pounds.  I am glad that I did not get any bites because I'm pretty sure my pole would have ended up in the pond.  Those fish are feisty and strong.

Sunday we came home and ended the night with haircuts for the boys.  Mason wanted to cut daddy's hair, so Mark agreed.  The only way he could get Mason to sit still was to bribe him with playing outside with the water guns after the haircut.

Maddie and I sat in the wagon and enjoyed watching the boys play!

Afternoon car rides

Everyday when I get off work I go to pick up Maddie first because her school is the closest to work. Most days she is playing in the exersaucer and when she sees me she grins from ear to ear. I love seeing her smile like that, I just know she is happy to see me! It makes my heart so happy! I usually chat with her teacher for a minute about her day then get back in the car to go get Mason. I usually sing whatever is on the radio to Maddie on our short trip.



At Mason's school they usually see my car before I can get out. So as soon as I walk in the door he is running around the corner saying "momma" in the most excited/ where have you been all day voice. Most days I get a huge hug and it is so sweet!
On the ride home I turn off the radio because if I don't Mason is quick to let me know he doesn't want to listen to any music. I always ask him if he had a good day at school. Most days he says "yea" and asks me if I had a good day at work. I love when he asks me that! We talk about what he did at school and what he ate for lunch. Occasionally we will sing or play eye spy.

Today Mason made a fruit loop necklace at school. He was so proud because he could match daddy now( daddy wears one of those necklaces that the baseball players wear.) I'm glad I took these before we left because there were no fruit loops left on the necklace by the time we got home.









I love the conversations that Mason and I have on the 20 minute ride home! Not everyday is this pleasant but I definitely want to remember days like this! It will be really interesting when Maddie starts chiming in on the conversation.

P.S. Mason had corn dogs for lunch today!!
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Visit with grandpa Larry

My dad came into town for the long weekend and we got to see him on Saturday. We spent most of our time lounging around Shana's house and just talking. We did go to Cabelas and walk around. They have a really neat aquarium and life sized stuffed animals to look at. Here are some pics from Cabelas.
This is the only fish Mason will touch! I can't say that I blame him!












After Cabelas we ate at Cheddars then headed home. It was a short visit but we all had a good time!
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