Pool Time

Makena loves to play catch. She played every day. 

We all had to switch off playing catch with Makena - ha!

Me and Mason sat in the shade and listened to music while watching the others play in the pool. "Don't Touch My Truck" was a hit song and we listened to that a lot. Addison caught onto the words (and sounds) pretty quick. 

Apparently he didn't like the song we were playing - ha! Such a sad little boy. 

Addy with her cousins. She got to see Parker and Makena on this trip but missed out on Brayden, Nolan, & Conner. We loved having cousins along to play in the pool with! 

Almost the whole group! (missing Grandma & Grandpa). We had a good time! 
 

Working on the back float

It was great having Makena with us on vacation as Addison was constantly wanting to be in the pool!! Makena would get in the pool as much as Addison wanted. Plus, it was really fun to just hang out with Makena without everyone else around. 

Makena is 14 and is going into 9th grade. I can't believe how grown up she is! 

Addison was playing with her hair and making a mustache for herself. She was pretty impressed with Makena's mustache - ha! 

My mom bought these little sticker cards that LuAnn told her to buy, you have to match the stickers up with the numbers on the card and it makes a picture. Kind of like a color by number. These two girls had fun putting them together. 
 

Addison was letting Ryan throw her up in the pool. Then she would go under water. This would have never happened a few months ago!! 

And working on her back float. She didn't want to do the back float in swimming lessons but did much better while in Florida. Makena helped her out too. 

She didn't spend ALL her time in the pool. She did do some coloring and watched her iPad. She likes to color a little bit on each page of the coloring book. She colors the whole book in a couple minutes :) 

As I writing these posts, I'm excited as I just booked another trip to Florida for November :) We have a couple vouchers left to use by December, so it was a good excuse. Plus, COVID is really affecting my work and adding lots of stress, so it will be a welcome vacation. 

Mason's First Dip in the Pool

His face doesn't really show his emotion, it looks like he didn't like it but he really didn't mind the pool! 

Addison thought she should help Mason swim. 

Brother & Sister in the pool! 

Addison wanted Mason to jump in - Ha! Keep in mind, he was just 2 months old. She was singing Humpty Dumpty and when she says "have a great fall", Mason was supposed to jump in. 

Mason was only in the pool about 5 minutes. He didn't cry, so it was a success! 

 One morning, Ryan took Addison to pick out donuts at Dunkin Donets. She was soo excited. It's been two months and she still talks about it "Um hey Dad? Remember when me and you went to Dunkin Donuts in Florida?" Ha! 

Let's play a game

She frequently has to get out of the pool to go talk to Mason.

Even on vacation, we still have to work. Mason needed to work on his tummy time and lifting his head. He was not a fan. We tried to put magna tiles in front of him to encourage him to lift his head. 

We played Up & Down the River and Spades almost every day. It was fun! Makena is so calm, laidback, and polite. Don't let her fool you. Start playing a game and that girl is ruthless! Not only does she want to win, she wants to take the rest of us down while she does it! 

And while we played cards, the kids either napped or just hung out. Addison would watch her iPad :) We did play some Old Maid and other games with Addison. I just apparently didn't take pictures of that. 

Little dude is getting ready for his first swim! Lucky us, Nolan gave us a swim shirt. 
 

Sweet Corn in FL?

Addison was pretty excited for sweet corn for our dinner. The rest of us were not so sure...... sweet corn in Florida?? Hmmm...... 

It actually was pretty delicious. We ate a ton of sweet corn this year, Addison was so excited every time! 

So we did swimming lessons last winter but hadn't been in a pool since. We were shocked at seeing Addison in the pool this summer. She used to need us to hold onto her, or be pretty close..... but not this time! She was very independent and it was so nice. She loved having Parker and Kelly to play in the pool with her. 

She is taking a break and eating some Twizzlers. She would be in the pool all day long if we let her! 

And Mr. Mason in his pool-side lounger. Ha! It's a travel bassinet and we had his travel fan. This kid just loves being outside.

 

It was quite hot. Florida in July = Hot. But when you are constantly in the pool, it's not so bad. We went up to the big pool one afternoon. Everyone said they didn't like the temperature of the pool, it was too warm. I thought it was perfect! I don't like cold pools. 

Ryan, my parents, and I could not get over how independent Addison was in the pool. It was amazing. 

Mason's first flight

Little dude was 9 weeks old! He was getting better at laying in the bassinet outside while Addison played in the pool. Shade is an issue at our house. There is none. Ha! No trees and with a south facing driveway, we are pretty much always in the sun in the front and backyard. We just had to get through this summer and next summer we can put sunscreen on him! 

He is normally a pretty happy baby..... so sometimes I take pictures when he cries. Ha! 

Well, here is our spring break trip.....in July. We left DSM on July 4 and headed to Florida for a vacation. We were so excited to get out and do something! I definitely had some anxiety about flying, but airlines had required masks and added extra cleaning. There was no one in front of behind us (not planned, just happened). I was actually more anxious about Addison than Mason. Addison touches everything. Mason touches me. Ha! 

But people stay away from you. No one wants to be close to each other. No one talked to Mason or Addison (it was wonderful). And we had the row for us, which makes a huge difference! 

Mason did great on his first flight and Addison did great as normal. It's a 3 hour direct flight. We had to go buy masks as we had hardly left our house at this point and didn't have cloth masks. Addison had her's pulled down in the picture because she was eating a snack :) 

She did great with her mask, no complaints. She finally got to use the headphones she got last Christmas. 

Oh man, this big girl got to ride in a booster seat for the first time! Okay okay, she probably didn't quite meet the requirements. This was quite the discussion as Ryan and I didn't know what to do..... but we finally decided that she would be in the car to and from the airport and it was easier than taking a big car seat. She was not as thrown off by it as I thought she would be!  

 

Sparklers

Addison has never done sparklers before. Grandma Rita found a box of them that was about 12 years old, so we thought we would give them a shot. Ha! She was pretty scared at first, then realized they could be fun. 

She has learned about the Statue of Liberty at school, so she is showing us how the statue stands. It's so fun to hear her tell us the facts she has learned! Although if I asked her today, she probably wouldn't remember. She now gets excited when she sees the Liberty Mutual Insurance commercials on TV that show the statue of liberty - ha! I thought it would be fun if she was the Statue of Liberty for Halloween.

 

We had lots of pool days this summer! Addison loves the shark pool and the sprinkler. She now enjoys the goggles, even though she doesn't need them. She is pretending to be my puppy in the pool. My puppy's name is Bullet and he knows tricks. Grandma Rita called when we were outside and she got to see all Bullet's tricks! 

2 months!

Our little buddy at 2 months old! We loved this little red polo, it was one of Nolan's. He looked so handsome and grown up in this polo. 

He's 4 months old now, I need to catch up! 

I can't remember what I did to make him mad - ha! 

But I apparently made him happy pretty quick. 

Mason's stats at 2 months:

Height: 24 inches

Weight: 12 lbs 13 oz

Feeding Schedule: 4 ounces every 2.5 - 3 hours

Sleeping schedule: 2-4 hours at night

Sounds & Motions: You are starting to coo and giggle. We were all so excited the first time you giggled.

Likes: the ceiling fan, hearing Addison's voice, and your pacifer

Dislikes: being held like a baby when you don't want to sleep

You are learning to: follow our voices, and suck on our hand. You put the whole fist in your mouth! 

 At the beginning of July, Addison had been assigned to wear different colors for America's Birthday. So one day was red, then blue, then white, and I don't remember the rest. I wonder if her teachers were surprised that Addison had enough flag apparel for every day of the week! She didn't just wear the colors as they had asked, it was always a flag. Ha! We love America. Oh, and we always wear tennis shoes with our dresses. ha! 

Mom's first run

Around the middle of June, we had a playdate with the Thraen's. Addy & Caleb were sooo excited!! We have learned not to tell Addison "We will go to Caleb's after your nap" because suddenly she lays down for 10 minutes and comes downstairs and says "I took a really long nap, it's time to go to Caleb's" - Ha! So now we tell her "We will go around supper". Then she still takes a nap :) These two play so good together. They played in the pool for a while then had a picnic supper. 

Mom was itching to get exercising after Mason was born! I was cleared to run after 7 weeks. This photo was on our first run together. It was a little rough but we made it! We ran together until I went back to work, but now I'm not sure we have done it since. I just run alone now. Not sure which I prefer! 

I would have liked to sign up for a race after he was born but due to COVID, most everything is virtual. But I should probably train like I'm going to race :) 

He was just so chill during his nap I had to take a picture! 

Ah my flag loving girl :) Doesn't get much more American than that! She loves to recite the fact that the flag has 13 stripes and 50 stars. 

I don't know if I ever posted this one, it was taken the beginning of June when we did family pictures. She was SO EXCITED to play at the park for a few minutes. I think the parks were technically still closed due to COVID, but we played anyways. This girl loves loves loves the swings.