Sledding

I was really excited to take Mason sledding while in Idaho, but there isn't any snow. Mike took him out and pulled him anyway :)

Mason was still happy even when he'd tip over. (He doesn't have much range of motion bundled up like that so he couldn't really reach to hold on)

He ate a popsicle before he went out so that's why his lips are blue in the last one...not because he's freezing.

Christmas

We've been having a great time in Idaho. Mason was much more interested in presents this year, however he still didn't care too much about unwrapping them. He liked to carry the wrapped presents around, and he would get distracted by one toy and wouldn't want to open anything else. Here are a few pics...

(We only opened stocking before church because it was at 9:00 a.m. and opened everything else after, just in case you're wondering why Mason is only partially dressed in the first few)

We are very blessed, and had an awesome Christmas. 

Sleigh Ride

We've been in Idaho for a couple of days now, and we're having a great time. Mason LOVES having kids to play with, and so many people paying attention to him. Yesterday everyone went on a sleigh ride for Rebekah's birthday. Mason really liked the horses.

It finally started snowing today. Hopefully it will snow a lot, and stick around for a few days so we can actually have a white Christmas. We bundled up and got to play in the snow for the first time. He face planted a few times and spent about as much time on the ground as he did on his feet, but he loved it.

Christmas Jacket

Here is Mason wearing his new Christmas jacket. I think he's pretty darn cute.

Early Christmas

Santa dropped off some early presents today. We probably should have waited to open them...but we didn't. Anyway, Mike's mom sent some very nice things (including yummy treats). I only took pics of Mason opening his.

I can't wait for him to wear this cute fleece Kris made. (I'll post another pic with him in it). If Mason would say real words I'm sure he'd say, "thank you grandma and grandpa."

Family Pics

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we got to go to Washington to visit Mike's family. I was kind of dreading the flights to and from with Mason, but he was an ANGEL. When I flew to Idaho in September, he wasn't terrible, but he definitely wasn't easy. This time, he did even better. I'd like to think that he remembered what it was like so he knew what to expect and wasn't as surprised/mad that he couldn't get down and run around. So, maybe he'll be a seasoned pro by the time Christmas rolls around.
All of Mike's siblings were able to come, which was awesome! Mason fit right in, and loved playing with his cousins. He was especially good at church playing and sharing toys with Cooper. Seeing how easy it was to keep him entertained with other kiddos close to his age kind of made me want another babe....but I'm not so sure I'm ready for sleepless nights and all that jazz just yet.
I was really bad at taking pics, so my photo documentation is lacking. But, I did get a few gems of him playing with Dutchess (Kris's dog). He would get right up in her face and try to talk to her. He wasn't afraid at all. It was kind of funny because some of the other kiddos wouldn't even go outside unless someone had a hold of her.
The first one is of Mike dancing with Dutchess, and the rest are a sequence of trying to get Mason to ride her.

The last one is a pic I snapped as we were leaving the house to have family pics.

All in all we had a great time, and are already missing family. Hopefully we won't have to wait a whole year to see everyone again.

The Stockings Were Hung

Since we've moved here, I've been trying to get my creative juices flowing more than ever. Mostly because I have WAY more time for it than I ever have before. But, I've also found that the more things you make, the more ideas you get and then there are ever MORE things you want to make. (At least that's how it works for me) Anyway, I've been working on these little babies for a while. I got them most of the way done, and then other things kept stealing my attention. Finally, they're complete and oh so lovely. I have to say, for not really knowing what I was doing they turned out better than I expected.

Also, in case you didn't notice we don't have a fire place. So they hang on our entertainment center.
The green one is Mason's, mine is the red angel (she's even prettier in real life because I sewed a swirly design in gold metallic thread on her dress) and the blue one is Mike's. That's a stethoscope on Santa in case you couldn't tell what it was.

These last ones are hanging on my kitchen cupboards. We're not going to put up a Christmas tree this year because Mason is destructive enough as it is with out lots of shiny, twinkling things within his grasp. So in an effort to still have decorations and have our home still feel Christmas-ey I made these. They started out as just the trees. I saw one similar at Target that I almost bought, then I decided I'd try and make them first. The trees turned out pretty close to what I wanted them too, but with only one layer of felt for the tree it was too flimsy to hang with out flopping forward. So I cut out a couple more stockings and sewed the trees onto them.

Here's to the holidays being merry and bright. We've got lots of exciting plans including LOTS of family time coming up, and we're sooooo excited!

Skipping Rocks

We went to the lake today. Mike had a good time skipping rocks. I've decided that must be a male trait, because I can't make rocks skip. My dad is the king of rock skipping, and tried to teach me...I just never got it. 

Here is a pic of the lovely road going around the peninsula. Fall is in full swing, and the trees are beautiful.

Mason likes to find things to pick up and carry around with him, like sticks.

This next pic of Mike is him running back to us trying to get Mason to laugh. Just prior to this shot, he had been throwing rocks at the seagulls on the rocks to the right. 

Trunk or Treat

Our ward trunk or treat was tonight. Mason didn't collect any candy, but he devoured some sugar cookies and had a fun time running around. Here are a few pics of my favorite dragon.

The last one is him scooting backwards. He really liked how easy it was to slide on the gym floor.