Country Living

We had a great weekend. Buying the farm was one of the best decisions we've ever made. I love the peacefulness there. I love sitting the front porch and just being. It was stiffling hot yesterday so I got out the little blow-up pool for Mason while Ellie was napping. His swim was cut short when he kept trying to crawl out of the pool and play in the dirt/grass. He is so busy! And everything goes straight to his mouth. I've decided that when he gets big enough, I may go to pull-ups because diaper changes are often a wrestling match. No matter how much singing or

MY VIEW FROM THE FRONT PORCH

whistling I do he is always flipping around. I wised up today and buttoned the crotch of his jon-jon before I put it on him. Back to yesterday...then Ellie woke up from her nap and she had made the comment "I wish I had a playhouse" before her nap. So I got out the pink camoflouge tent her cousins gave her for her birthday last year and set it up to surprise her. She was excited and she had her snack in there. But as I said, it was hotter than the surface of the sun so after a little while, we packed it in and went inside.
Saturday, we had gone to Bobby and Nancy's to swim. Ellie and Mason had such a great time. I don't quite understand Ellie's fears. They are so random. She's scared of the water, but she cannot understand why she has to be careful around a 1,000 pound cow. She had a good time anyway because she hitched rides on the floats and played on the steps.
Actually, nothing on the farm scares her. For that I am thankful. I'm happy that my kids are growing up on a farm because it was always something I craved as a kid. I loved going to Grandma's house and seeing horses, cows, the barns, the tractors, fishing, and gardening. I also miss the neighborhood life for them some. I wish we had a sidewalk to ride bikes and walk. But I guess we'll get through it and use Nana and Poppop's sidewalk when we can.
We're still in the process of getting this house plan thing figured out. I mentioned yesterday the possibility of adding onto the current house. Brandon jumped at the idea. But now I am wishing I hadn't thought of it. I am afraid his research into finding out if it is a possibility is going to add so much to our building time. I am ready for a new place! I am over it having to be extravagent. I just don't want bugs. I love our house now. I love the location. I am even trying to look at it as kind of shabby chic/ country living. But 20 moths around my bedroom light fixture at bedtime is NOT COOL.

Daddy's Traveling

Brandon is in England for a week. It's hard on all of us, but in different ways. Ellie got up while I was in the shower this morning and came in there and said, "Why isn't Daddy here?" Now she knows where he is. But she misses him so much. They are so close and I hope they can always be that close. I hope Brandon will always respect Ellie and listen to her. He gets a bad rap, but he is a great dad. His traveling is hard because I do not have his help to get everyone ready in the mornings and get everyone fed and bathed at night and I have to do all the kid's stuff in addition to all the farm stuff. I tell Ellie we have to look at the bright side and enjoy it being "just us" and that we do a good job at the chores when Daddy is not there. I enjoy the "me" time when he is gone and everyone is in bed. But these week long trips are hard.
Ellie cracked me UP the other day. She was being a little moody and Nana was on the phone and Ellie was not talking to her and I told mom that Ellie was being Uncle Backwards. Ellie got that. So when mom hung up she said "Not goodbye", "I'm not doing good", "come on turn red" (to the stop light) That kid AMAZES me. Her latest is that she thinks she is magic because she can make stop lights turn green if she says "Come on TURN GREEN!"
Last night as I was rocking Mason after his bedtime bottle, I just looked down at his sweet face and thought how blessed I am to have two beautiful healthy children. I am so thankful that God trusted me to take care of them!

Ellie Jordan

Wow. I had really hoped to do this more than once a week. But I guess anything is good. Ellie's 3rd birthday was Sunday. We celebrated with a party on Saturday with all the grandparents, Biz and Tim. She got a ton of stuff. Brandon and I gave her a John Deere trike with pink and purple streamers and a pink basket. She was a little overwhelmed.
So today is dedicated to Ellie. What a firecracker. She has very defined ideas about how she wants things and she does not give up until they are her way. She is so smart I cannot believe it. She has been spelling for over a year. She recognizes all letters and numbers. She can add and subtract (in concept) and she can write her name! She has an incredible imagination. She has an imaginary family whose lives really parallel our family. George is her husband and Bitty is their baby. They live on a farm. The questions she comes up with on a daily basis AMAZE me. She asked last week if God has a car and what color it is. She remembers everything. EVERYTHING. She brings so much joy to our lives. She told me last week, after I cleaned the house "Mama, you did a really good job on this house!"

Ok I'm a blogger

When Ellie was a baby I did a great job at documenting her milestones. I have not done as well with Mason. And I have not done as well with documenting Ellie's milestones since Mason came along. I have no excuse. I just can't seem to get it together. So maybe this will help me. This first blog will be dedicated to Mason.

My sweet sweet precious Mason. What a gift. As an infant, he was so laid back. He's been easy since day one. A good sleeper. Easy to get back to sleep if he woke in the night. From the beginning I knew he'd be busy. Mason always loved tummy time. He rolled over spontaneously at 3 months then he started rolling on his own at 4 months. He was sitting by 5-6 months. And at 6 1/2 months he started getting up on all fours and rocking. It was the cutest thing. He did that for about 2 weeks and we were all ready for him to take off any day and then...slowly at first...he started crawling at about 7 months! It was long (maybe 2 weeks) until he was pulling up and standing on his own. And now at 8 1/2 months he is cruising. He is into everything. He not very interested in toys or thing he is allowed to play with. He'd much rather get into my purse. Mason is and always has been so friendly. He smiles and everyone and goes to anyone. His Daddy would say that his favorite person is Mama. But I would say his favorite person is Poppop. Sorry Nana, but Poppop and Mason are definitely pals. And then there is Mason's adoration of Ellie. His face just lights up every time she enters the room and he thinks everything she does to him or for him is the funniest thing ever. She can tackle his and roll around on the floor and he just laughs.
Mason is an OK eater. He has never been crazy about bottles. He doesn't much care for a sippy cup. He does like solid foods, but still, not that much. He has been finger feeding himself for about a month and we try new things all the time. This week, we started ritz crackers in small pieces and he loves them. Mason is a really good sleeper. He is ready for bed by 7 pm and I just put him in there and he goes to sleep. Did I say he's sweet? Precious, really! I guess I could gush for days but I will save it for more entries. I hope I can keep this up.