ROAAARRRRR!!

Dad celebrated his 62nd birthday at our house. I knew all the grand kids were in town and I love birthday parties so Friday Mom asked if we could have dad's birthday party over at our house and I got started planning. Any one who has ever been to their house can testify that Bill Mauch Loves lions! And just a few weeks ago they had a party at their house and I caught him asking some of his friends if they wanted to play "Elbow Tag" Soo I thought, "Hmmm....maybe we should play some games for dads party, but I'll need a theme"...no better theme than a "Lion Birthday Party". We all drew lion faces on ourselves, gave a big RROOOOAAAAARRRR and started playing some "Lion Games" We started the games out with "Lion Freeze" to the Lion King soundtrack, then moved onto "Lion Musical Squares". Next, was our version of duck duck goose AKA "Lion, Lion, Mouse" then we played "King of the Jungle" and finished the games with Pin the Tale on the Lion. I had fun playing the games but I think Owen enjoyed them the most...at one point I heard him say, "This is awesome!!"

Mason is taking his turn at Pin the Tale on the Lion...he didn't want to keep the blind fold on.

We threw some meat on the grill had some yummy roasted potatoes, salad, fruit and rolls.

Here's my favorite part...I love to create cute cup cakes and these are my favorite ones I've made so far! Mason picked out the chocolate cake, I dyed frosting two shades orange and brown, used cinnamon honey popcorn for the mane, chocolate chips for the eyes, pretzel sticks for the whiskers and pink marshmallow for the nose...they turned out super cute and yummy too!

"Happy Birthday Dear PAAApaaa, Happy Birthday to You!!"

I really have never seen another kid who loves sweets more than Mason...he gets soo excited about dessert!!

YUMMMY!

Okay, just had to get a close up picture!

After dinner and cupcakes there was ONE LAST Lion event...A Lion Hunt...I gave Papa and the kids a paw print and on the back was a clue to where they could find the next clue and so on and so on...This is kind of a fun tradition we have in my family at birthdays or sometimes at Christmas for a big gift...we have a scavenger hunt...however, I know Andrew would have laughed at my clues...I know I sing preschool songs for a living but me coming up with clues that Rhyme and are understandable lack a little in the area of creativity...good thing they are young enough to not really care.

The first clue on their Lion Hunt lead them to the garage ...Mason said..."yook, A clue a clue...like Blues Clues"

Then they all had to ROOOAAAARRR and went upstairs, then out to the van then back up stairs then to the coffee pot then finally...

Finally after following all of their clues they came to the Lion Treasure...Papa's Gifts.

WATER BALLOON TOSS...yes, this was a request of Papas that we could have water balloons at his birthday party.

Watch out the balloon toss turned into a BALLOON FIGHT!!

Since everyone was already wet we decided to get out the Elmo Splash Mat and play some in the water! Alyssa and Owen Take their turn down the slide onto the Elmo Splash Mat

Mason actually, for the first time, allowed the water to spray really high...he usually just barely wants to see it come out of the holes...guess his cousins liking the water "big" made him want it that way too!

Everyone just watching the kids slide over and over and over...we moved the slide and mat like 4 times to keep the yard from becoming a mud hole. I was really surprised to see how many times they were going down that slide...and I would have thought Alyssa would have been over it first...but she actually loved it the most!

Mason and Olivia took turns "driving" the fire truck ...over all the afternoon/evening was wonderful! I hope Mason remembers this day...I'm sure he wont, I've defiantly come to see that there are TONS of things that parents do for their children that their children NEVER remember! But that's okay, I'm not going to stop trying to create fun memories for my family! I'm sure there were lots of days like today in my childhood that I cant remember so I was glad to pay back my parents in a way by hopefuly creating a fun experience for everyone... And I also discovered that I think if I'm going to continue having Masons birthday parties at my house then I need to cut down the list of invites...how can he already have so many friends???

h

I need you Jesus

"I need you Jesus, Jesus is here, come quickly" are the words I heard Mason say last night as I was laying him back down at around 2 AM. This past week with him discovering his new found ability of going pee pee in the potty coupled with his new awareness of the dark in his room at night and thunderstorms he's been unusually fearful at night. The night light has helped and I think we need to stop going in his room in the middle of the night. Although hes waking requesting to go pee pee, the past two nights hes been too 'out of it' to actually stand and pee.

To help him be able to go to sleep Chris reminded him that Jesus never leaves him and that he's

always with him even when Mommy and Daddy leave the room...well it brought such an emotional wave of love for God and my little boy when, unprompted by me, he let go of my neck for me to lay him down and said, "I need you Jesus!" He then looked at me as I was wrapping him up in his favorite blankey and tucking him in, and said "Jesus is here, come quickly" I said, "You're right Mason, Jesus is here" he turned his head to the side, closed his eyes and went right back to sleep.

What an awesome reminder for me that sometimes I need to let go of whatever it is that I'm trying to master on my own, or whatver it is that I am afraid of or what I may want to put my trust in and instead call out to my savior "I need you Jesus, Jesus is here, come quickly"

Corduroy

Mason goes through phases where he wants to read a book over and over until he has it memorized. Yesterday he and I were playing the "sleeping game", which I love. Heres how you play: Mason tells you to lay down in the bed, he turns the sound machine on covers you with his blanket and says okay mommy close your eyes its time to go to sleep then he tip toes out the door and closes it shut and leaves you alone to "Sleep" for about 2 mins or so...sounds short "2 mins" but we play it over and over so 3o mins later I've had a great little rest and Mason has had a blast playing a game! Well, yesterday he added some story time into the bedtime routine with one of his all time favorite books "Corduroy"...now if you read him this book there is no skipping pages or even words for that matter he will correct you. The clips are a little hard to understand but if you know this book as well as Mason you may be able to follow along. He did the whole book through without stopping with me these videos are him doing it a second time with Chris so he gets a little silly distracted by daddy but I wanted to include it anyway.

Amazed

I was feeling some freedom that I could leave our little boy for a little while to start making dinner...he told me he was making a train and when I came around the corner heres what he had made!

He said, "Yook Mommy I found all my cars and truks and yined them up and now they are a really big train...you yike it dont you?...CHUGGA CHUGGA CHOO CHOO...ALLL ABOARD!!"
Me- "Of course I like it...I love it"

No Shorts...but I really think that was KEY to him "knowing" when he needed to go!

I'm still in shock at the fact that Mason and I just decided on Monday to give the potty training a try and here it is Sat morning and I really feel like hes "got it" I know that I am to expect some accidents if he gets excited or is in the middle of playing but he tells me when he needs to poop and pee and he makes it to the potty and we've even been wearing shorts the past two days. His little sticker book is really filling up but sometimes he doesnt even care about getting a sticker he just is proud of himself and wants to go back to playing...Hes soo big I cannot believe it! Yesterday we made a venture to BiLo and he went right before we left the house I showed him as soon as we got there that BiLo had a bathroom too if he needed to go and he looked at me and said with his head to the side and wearing a little grin, "Mommy, I just went remember, did you forget?" Last night he woke up again to go pee and then it was right back to bed and yesterday morning he woke up with a dry diaper and I was freaking out because he said he didnt need to go but I put some blankets down and decided to trust him and an hour and 1/2 later he said I need to go peepee now...I was releived and amazed that he could hold it so long...maybe road trips to KY wont have as many stops as I was expecting!! :)

Since we've been in the house alot this week we've had the opportunity to play and Mason has been loving to sing and destory the bonus room!! Mason got this microphone from Joya when we helped her move into her new place and he loves singing in it! The second video of him dancing is really toned down to how he actually dances to the truck music.

Its going well!!

So far the potty training is going really well! And Mason is very proud of himself! He is really starting to know that "feeling" that its coming! I started out asking him to go but he would say, I'll tell you when I need to go...I remind him but for the most part he says, "Its coming, we better hurry" We have sat on the potty 3 times now to try to poop, he hasn't given me much grief about sitting there I read him a story and he says..."well, thanks for trying I dont have any poopy right now, maybe later." I love his responses to situations, they are all so grown up sounding....just the other day he was playing with some sunglasses while we were waiting to check out and he couldn't get them back on the shelf and he said, "UGGH, I'M FRUSTRATED"...what 2 yr old says that? :)...sorry about the rabbit trail there... My biggest shocker with potty training so far is that I wasn't prepared for him to already, only in day 2, to be asking me to get him out of his crib to go potty. During nap time he said, "MOMMY, I NEED TO PEE PEE" So I went in got him out and sure enough he went on the potty then was able to fall asleep about 20 mins later. Then bedtime again (But this wasn't as fun). He goes to bed at 8 so at 830 he calls out "MOMMY, MOMMY I NEED TO GO" I went in and cant believe the words that came out of my mouth..."you have a diaper on do you just want to go in your diaper?" What was I thinking? Thankfully he said no I need to use the potty...SO he did, washed his hands and put his sticker in his book then again at 145...same thing Crying MOMMY, I went in and he said, I need to go pee pee...so there we went again and he was right back to sleep. I'm hoping that he wont need to go as often in the middle of the night?? What else can I do but get up and get him out of the crib...I guess hes getting so big I need to move him to the big boy bed so he can just get out by himself...I know you're probably reading and thinking..."what, hes 2 1/2 and still in the crib??" But he loves that thing and he such a good sleeper I've not wanted to mess it up...I'm thinking maybe we will make that big transition mid September. Its so sad that he's growing up so fast! In a span of 3 months he will seem to transition from Toddler to Big boy! :( But I'm proud of him, I am hoping today we will have some success with poop on the potty. All day yesterday, other than nap and bed he was bottomless, I think that's whats helped him to know he needs to go so quickly and if he barely starts to go its like one or two drops...much less of a hassle then changing his clothes all day...I think I'll keep this bottomless routine up for the rest of the week and add shorts with no under ware next week and the week after that add some underwear...We aren't going anywhere, just staying around the house, I thought I was going to go crazy but Mason and I have been spending some quality time together so its been fun to just make the days all about him and its also sad because I know that our lives are going to change so much come mid November when Baby Micah arrives...its going to be a fun change but none the less a change that we will all have to adjust to!

Firsts

Little Ceasers was having a training day before their opening and we got an invitation to get free pizza!! Well, really the only time Mason has pizza is at a party or even an at home Pizza Party, like we have in KY...so he said I neeed a party hat and balloons...so Chris made him this hat and I blew up a balloon...wala...pizza party!! Here he is checking out the balloon...he wants to play volley ball with it after his pizza is all gone in his tummy...he ate 1 and half pieces and was nervous that there wasnt going to be enough for him to have as much as he wanted.
One of Masons new things is loving to Pretend Drive! But here is is "REALLY DRIVING WITH DADDY" through the neighborhood...he thought he was BIG STUFF!! and in reality he really is getting to be "big" :(

First time Flying a kite with Daddy!!

I feel like we've done so many new things in the life of Mason the past couple of days... hes had a lot of firsts! Unfortunately the first new thing has been him being really a bit difficult. The main thing that gets him upset is getting his diaper changed and going somewhere new or leaving once we are there. Mason is typically a very easy boy that is extremely corroborative but hes been testing us and whining and crying...just being very emotional...he cried over the fact there was only one egg left in the egg carton???

The second first was his first time going to Chucky Cheese or as he calls it "Chucky Cheeseits" It was Benjamin's 3rd birthday party place. Mason loved the token money, the band up front and unlike most of the other kids he wanted to follow the Chucky Cheese Mouse everywhere! But of course his favorite part was the cupcakes!

The third first was him waking after being asleep for about an hour and half with the most horrible scared scream that you've ever heard...Chris ran up to his room and Mason said, "I'm scared of the dark daddy!"...how pitiful is that and of course when you need a nightlight you don't have one. Well, he opened Masons door and turned the light in the next room on and that worked for about another hour then it happened again!...Scream, we go in and again, "I am afraid of the dark"...plus he had somehow leaked through or should I say past his diaper, his pj pants were wet and his diaper was dry???...he was sooo upset. So Chris told him he was going to go get him a night light and Mason said okay but then he got so scared for Chris to leave so long story short the whole family took at 10 pm ride to Harris Teeter in search of a night light! We plugged it in and it worked like a charm...he slept just fine all night!

The fourth first was him getting to fly a kite. He saw a kite in one of his little people lift the flap books and he said, "maybe one day my daddy will buy a kite for me" and Chris did just that, but we've been waiting for some wind to be able to fly it. We started out in the back yard but there wasn't really enough space so we drove over to the other common area in our neighborhood and that was a great spot. Chris would get it started and Mason could do it all by himself...he loved it...I did too, there is something really fun about flying a kite!

The fifth was our journey yesterday, I was planning on going cold Turkey the 1st week of August with potty training but Mason kinda lead the way yesterday...So... Mason did a huge poop so I got a rag and washed him off and decided I should let him air out a little so I just put his shorts on without a diaper and he went to the potty 3 times without fuss!! I made him a little book out of construction paper stapled together..."Mason's Potty Sticker Book" and hes been putting stickers in it..I figured that way it would be something I could take with me when we go out. After the 2nd pee in the potty he said he wanted to wear some underwear so I said okay and he had just a tiny little dribble come out and he said...Ohhh I feel the pee pee coming out we better hurry and he finished in the potty and the next time he told me again he needed to go...He refused to go before his nap but I put a diaper on and left the underwear on over top ...well, about an hour into nap he called out, "mommy I'm going potty! I'm going potty" So I went in and he had already gone in his diaper but that pretty much ruined nap time...we got up and went downstairs where we proceeded to watch a little "i can potty" video I picked up for free at one of Marbi's Y consignment sales. Its really cheesy all it is are different clips of kids going potty and going out to play and coming in to potty I think it was made in the 80s the hair is pretty entertaining! It has several catchy songs though...my favorite..."My potty, my potty I use it everyday, I use it for my poop and pee, then I go back and play!" After the movie he was all excited about it and we were talking about getting ready to go potty and he took a drink of H2O and started going on the floor but finished in the potty he said...oops I had an accident like those kids in the video. After bath he went again with no trouble, Chris came home and he went again with no trouble he was proud to show Chris how he could do it! Then right before bed we were hearing him pass some little toots, as he calls them, and we told him he may need to go poopy and we were on the way to the potty and he pooped in his shorts...He didn't get upset about it though...Overall I feel pretty good about his first official day of no diapers...so we're off! Chris told me that Success is when preparation and opportunity meet...well, I have read lots of blogs, sites and talked to other moms about their successes and so when Mason presented the opportunity I deiced that this was it...so now I'm just praying for lots and lots of success!! Today will be day 2!

GA Family Vacation

Mauch Family Vacation this year was spent in GA at Marbi and Andrews house. We've all been trying to make efforts to take a family vacation together we've been to the beach twice and we decided to go to GA and am I glad we did! We piled in their house which was plenty big to hold all of us! Mason, Chris and myself camped out down in the basement with one of the big screen TVs and the pool table and everyone else had their own rooms too...it was great! We started the days with good breakfasts, some time playing the Wii, we made picnic lunches, ate family dinners around their big table, took walks to the farm animals at the end of the road, played in the neighborhood pool, went to Stone Mt, watched movies and most importantly just enjoyed spending time with each other. I love that we have such wonderful times when we are all together and I really love that I actually like to spend time with my family, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to dread family time.

Andrew let Mason use the water hose to spray the grass and Mason decided to turn it into playtime with the water hose! He first learned this fun game while at Papa and Grandma's house after playing in the lake we stripped him down and sprayed off all of the lake grime, He loves getting the hose!

Watch out Marbi, hes after you! "you yike the water don't you Marbi? Its just water you don't have to run away from it!"- Mason

For a little playtime for the kids we went to Alyssa's school and the church, while the adults were taking a tour I watched all the kiddos play on the playground they loved it! I kept trying to get a pic of all of them together, that's a difficult task!

SLIDE
Alyssa

Olivia

Riding in Grandmaw and Papas van is THE BEST when you are a kid because you get to watch a movie...even if you're only driving 5 mins away! All the grand kids were in the van the whole weekend anywhere we went...they loved it and I think Grandmaw and Papa liked it too!!

Wrapping up the night sharing some Dippin Dots...Aunt Sheilas Treat!

To get to the top of stone Mt we took a sky lift ride, Mason thought it was like the rocket ride from Little Einsteins!


Marbi and Mason walking out on top of Stone Mt, I think it resembled the moon!

I absolutely love it when Mason wraps his arm around my neck when he gives me a hug! It feels so good plus it makes for a really great picture :)

The whole Family on top of the Mountain! Brent, Mom, Chris, Me, Sheila, Andrew, Marbi, Dad, Owen Mason and Alyssa...oh and Olivia is hiding behind Mason

Olivia slept on part of the train ride, I asked Mason if he wanted to take a nap like Olivia and he looked at me like"Are you crazy mom?" He said, "no I don't want to seep right now"

This train ride was the highlight of Masons trip to Stone Mountain!

Waiting for the train!

I SEE THE TRAIN!! Here it comes...ALL ABOARD, CHUGGA CHUGGA CHOO CHOO!!!!!!













Stone Mt had lots of shows, here is the science show, this was a big hit with Owen, he was jumping up and down and cheering, he LOVED this part!

This was us waiting for the nature show to start...this show was crazy, Owls and Hawks were trained to fly RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD!! A little too close for comfort, especially for heads with no hair!

We ate our picnic lunch and all had a great time but Owen was a little bit nervous about the bees!











Here is a video of Masons favorite part!! The train ride!