growing up mastbrook

Saturday, January 27, 2007

I love you mommy!

Are there any sweeter words to hear from your child? Nicholas told me for the first time tonight that he loved me. :) It's amazing how those 3 words just melt you no matter what your mood is. Today we headed down to Fort Worth to the Fort Worth Stock Show. Nicholas and Alex loved seeing all the animals. We saw cows, horses, rabbits, and sheep. Nicholas also rode a few of the midway rides and had a ball. We're really enjoying having Scott home before he starts his new job. We find ourselves asking each other what day it is. I'm guessing this is somewhat what it's like to be retired - minus the toddlers and babies of course. ;)

Thursday, January 18, 2007

We have a job!

I thought the time would never come, but we finally accepted a job! Scott has accepted a job with Capital One here in the Dallas area. Here are some interesting stats that lead us to this point:

# of companies considered 85
# of companies sent resumes 66
# of headhunters worked with 8
# of phone interviews/discussions 45
# of on-site interview days 19
# of offers 5

Scott will be starting on February 5th so we're enjoying a few weeks off as a family before he gets started on his new position.

Alex is teething like a madman these days. He officially has 14 teeth now - 2 more teeth and he'll have all his teeth (minus his 2 year molars). I didn't think he'd catch up to his brother in the teething department, but I'm starting to think now that maybe he will.

This morning at MOPS we had a speaker who talked a bit about what motherhood was like for her. It was really interesting to get another perspective and she reminded us that we need to live in the moment and remember the days when our children are young - and she's right. The time goes so fast; blink and you'll miss it. So many times we spend so much time just trying to get through the day, that we forget to look at everything that's happening around us. This past year with Alex hasn't been the easiest year, but I would hate to think that when my children are grown and I think back to the time when my children are little, all I can remember is what a challenge I thought it was. I guess that's part of the reason I've started this blog- to try to remember a few more of the little things. Because as the speaker told us today, we are very good at celebrating the firsts, but you never know when something that your child does could be the last time he does it - we need to cherish it these moments with our children.

On that note, I'm going to add a few disjointed thoughts of "isms" I want to remember about this time for Nicholas and Alex. I still can't believe that Alex is going to be one in just a few short weeks. I feel like he just made his way into our family. And while he can be a bit more spirited than his brother, we wouldn't have him any other way. He's crawling like a speed crawler lately and his new thing that he loves to do is play peek a boo with his blue blanket. Every time you bring him in his room to change a diaper or get ready for bed, he crawls over to his crib, stands up and pulls the blanket through the crib. He then proceeds to completely amuse himself playing peek a boo. It's too cute for words! He's starting to become more like a little boy too. I always find that such an amazing transformation. I almost had tears in my eyes today when I turned around on the couch and saw Alex and Nicholas playing trains together at the train table. I really hope for them that they are the best of friends. It seems as though every day we get a little bit closer to that point. Alex also tried his first sippy of Milk today. He is such a character when he drinks. He is like a fountain - he has to sprinkle half of whatever he drinks all over himself and his surroundings. Nicholas is such an amazing little boy. His favorite toys right now are his Leap Bus, his train from his grandma Jane and of course his sheep and penguin, with the Dolphin from Grandma Christine and the tiger from Great Aunt Nancy coming in a close second place. He likes to do everything himself. He gets his own cereal and his own bowl and spoon in the morning for breakfast. We are starting to work on potty training as well. I think it's going to be a slow go, but that's ok. He's very big into his stools as well which he calls "skools". He love to watch me cook and always has his stool on hand so that he can get a better view. The stool also comes in handy for him to turn the kitchen lights on and off.

Alright, I suppose that's enough babbling for now. Off to bed! :)

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Ok. As promised, here are the finished pictures of the quilt:




Teeth, Teeth Everywhere!

So where to begin? How about Alex. He is busting out teeth left and right! He's just popped two new molars and has at least one more tooth that's about a week away at best from popping. After that he only has three teeth left (with the exception of his two year molars) before all his teeth are in. Meanwhile my friends baby who is 2 weeks younger than Alex has no teeth yet! It's really amazing to me how different babies can be. Continuing with the teeth theme, we're getting ready to set up a first appointment for Nicholas to head to the dentist. It will probably be within the next month or two. That should definately be interesting!

One more note to add for Alex is that he slept ALL the way through the night on Tuesday night. That is the first time he's done that since his first night out of the womb! He slept from 8pm to 8am. It's just too bad I was wide awake at 3:30am completely ready for him to be awake and not able to get back to sleep. *sigh* such is life. Last night he was back up again one time, so alas it was temporary.

Finally, onto the eternal search for the perfect job. The Seattle job is out so it's down to the two Dallas jobs. I do have to say, I'm definately relieved to not have to be moving - it's just so much work and we both really like Dallas so I think this will be a good decision in the end. Scott is having a terribly difficult time deciding between the two positions he's been offered. I don't think he can go wrong with either one though, so whatever he chooses we'll be excited. He's expected to make a decision by tomorrow so stay tuned for the big decision!! I've started working part time from home too. It's been really nice to have a little something to do that challenges my mind more than a challenging dinner recipe or remembering who needs to be driven where and when. ;)

Oh, and for Connie - I did finish the quilt and I have to say that I am quite proud of it; despite the fact that I messed up the edging. I am going to attempt to place a couple pictures of the finished product up on the blog later this afternoon once everyone's down for naps. I can't wait to share it! :)