my big boy

Our big boy is growing up... We've been trying to put the brakes on but its not working.

He'll be 3 in a few months!!

Our friend Gloria gave us the advise before Carter was born that just because we have a new "baby" in the house to try not to force Mason into being a big boy. He's still our baby. Thus he's still sleeping in a crib, until last night...

We've had this bed in his room, just sitting there, not pushing it and last night he said he was ready.

To be honest we weren't pushing it for selfish reasons, we like/need our sleep and we have fears that his accessibility to the floor, then the door, then our room, might be just too much freedom for this guy.

But this morning at 6:45 I was greeted by the sweetest little towhead standing by my bed saying "Mommy its light outside". And it made it all worth it... Don't worry I am by no means under the impression that it is going to be this blissful every morning.

Its hard to say ALL of the amazing things Mason is doing. It seems like every week it is something new. The big one is that he is almost totally potty trained. We still use a diaper at night but nonetheless I am SO PROUD of my boy. He is a puzzle king. He is very spacially minded, you should see him with blocks, Lego's.. you name it he is so focused. We 're working on writing letters now. For my own memory, he has known his ABC's for a good year now and he counts to 20, he is just a little sponge. He will be starting preschool in a few weeks. I'm a little nervous to be honest. I guess I can see why moms cry when they drop their baby off at kindergarten. Its all starting, school, friends, activities... time away from home, away from us, from me, but I know he is ready and I know he going to thrive. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

I took him on his first little sailing adventure over the weekend and he was so brave. He held on tight and watched the water splash over the bow of the boat. We saw a seal, pelicans and dolphins. It was a perfect day to celebrate my first baby, who is now such a big boy.

Carter is 9 months

This cutie of mine is 9 months and he's crawling!!

He has grown in the past month, still 20 lbs and 28 inches long, which means we're in for a growth spurt soon. This little boy is on the go. he is getting more confident every day and he is starting to crawl from room to room just exploring. He is still all smiles and he has two new little teeth to show off now. He is waving bye-bye now, he claps, stands with support and tries to stand on his own. He starting to push his little grocery cart by himself walking, but we try to limit that, crawling is enough for now. We're all placing bets as to how soon he'll be walking by himself.

bike rides

For Mason's first birthday my parents gave him (and me) the ibert bike seat. We love it. Its always been our thing, bike rides. just me and him. what could be better?

this was taken on our mother's day ride to the rose garden

a german shepard

I'm not sure if it is true of toddlers in general or just ours but Tom and I decided that Mason is kind of like a German Shepard. For you dog people, he's a working dog. He functions better if he has a job to do.
For example... yesterday-

"Hey Mason, lets go outside and play"
"No thanks mom"
"Hey Mason, I have a job for you"
"What's that mom?"
"I need you to go outside and move some dirt so we can plant our tomatoes"
"OK, mom, no problem. I can do that job!"

Just like that.

meal time at our house

is crazy
but fun

its never a dull moment around here.

My boys

M+C

I've been trying to do a better job of capturing these two on film... I'm not going to lie its hard!

family in spring

My sister's family came down for a spring weekend in Santa Barbara.

It was so nice to see the cousins together and to have some nice quality time with my sister.We just watched the kids-  ran after the kids. It was beautiful week. We had a many nice beach and pool days all together and to top it off we saw my cousin Nate get married in Arroyo Grande. My only complaint, like a broken record, is that I wish we ALL lived closer...

Harrison (almost 5) & Miss Harper (1)

How sweet are they?

outside bath

We are constantly finding any way to get outside.. so why not take our bath outside?
I love this time of year, warm days, cool nights, stays lighter later... An important thing to a working mom because that means later bedtime and more play time.

pasta boy

My mom sent this to me today and I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud in my office. The funny thing is I've been working with M teaching him how to slurp his pasta and he still can't really do it. Tom says its because "he's all Dutch". So maybe Carter got a few of my Italian genes after all. Thank goodness someone did.

Carter Ellis is 8 months!

Carter is 8 months

He is growing up so fast. 8 months is scary, that means a year old is just around the corner. He is getting so big. He is 20lbs and 28 inches long and trying to move that little body of his. He has no interest in crawling. In desperate times he'll scootch but really that's only to get into position to pull himself to standing. I'm fearful that walking is around the corner. And really I can't blame him, crawling will not help him keep up with his brother any faster, he's going straight to running, I'm sure of it. He is still all smiles. No teeth yet, which is a blessing. He's doing just fine eating everything in front of him and often protests "baby food" because he wants what we're eating. His current favorites are swinging and water play. I can't even wash my hands without him leaping out of my arms. He's definitely a baby that you have to hold with two hands, he will often try to make a leap to something that he sees or wants. Seeing things through his eyes has been so much fun. With two life has gotten more crazy and more fun exponentially! That paired with Carter starting physical, occupational and speech therapy has encouraged Tom and I to not work so hard outside the home. A carpe diem sort of thing. So starting this month we'll each be home one extra day a week and we both couldn't be happier about it. Life is too short! And I mean look at these two....

Mason took this picture, he is quite the master of the iPhone and I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing..this blondie keeps us on our toes. The look on Carter's face is like  "oh ok, that's how its done, thanks Mason".

JOY

family portrait

My dad used to take us to the breakwater after a good storm in Santa Barbara to watch the high surf crash against the wall. So I'm trying to keep up the family tradition. I'm happy to report that I'm the only one that got hit by a wave.

Carter my boy

It doesn't get much sweeter then this...
CEB 6 1/2 months
Sits by himself, smiles, laughs, laughs hysterically at his brother, eats anything he can get his hands on, he prefers what we're eating over any 'baby food', loves the bath, wants to play at the playground just like his brother, loves other babies, sings himself to sleep, he coos, says baabaa, daadaa and I think I've heard him say maamaa but it might be wishful thinking, has the biggest, warmest smile as seen above. He spoils his parents, that's for sure.