Mason and Alice

New Baby!

2011-10-29T13:22:00.001-05:00

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-09-04T21:07:00.002-05:00

Mason had his first day of Kindergarten back on August 17th. He's been having fun and making many new friends. He even seems to learn something now and then. Here are some pictures from his first day.

Mason walks or rides his bike to school each morning. On the first few days, Alice tagged along.

Mason's buddy Leo goes to first grade, so they walk or ride together most days.

Looking for Mason's line...

Waiting for the bell to ring. Mason did not seem to have any anxiety.

Jeni's last day with two kids in the house -- for another 8 weeks or so.

Nobody to talk to in line on the first day. Two weeks later, he has lots of friends to talk to.

I have to say that there was a lot of pollen in the air that morning. Or maybe the traffic kicked up some dust. For whatever reason, my eyes were just a bit watery....

Stitches

2011-07-29T14:53:00.002-05:00

Mason had a run-in with our neighbor's usually sweet dog.

Afterwards he was at the emergency room until 11:40pm waiting to get stitches. He thought it was pretty cool to still be up past midnight.

Today he is doing great and says that sometimes he forgets that he as an "ouchie."

Here is he this morning.

St. Louis trip

2011-07-26T20:56:00.002-05:00

We just got back from St. Louis where we saw some sights (sites? it seems that either makes sense) and visited with our friends, the Murrays.

Mason points the way to the Gateway Arch.

The nice lady didn't get very close to take this picture.

We didn't go up in the tram. Probably a good thing. Mason didn't handle sitting in the demonstration one very well.

Aaaahhhh, look out above you!

It was over 95 degrees that day, and the kids were a little cross with us by the time we stopped for lunch.

They quickly relaxed in the AC.

We stayed at a nice hotel that was run by idiots (long story). We just have a few picture enjoying the hotel AC.

On Sunday morning, we went to the highly recommended St. Louis Zoo. I think the heat was affecting our enjoyment.

(This is Bridget, by the way.)

We went on a train ride which helped cool us off, though we didn't see many animals. The tunnels were neat.

The best part was the penguin area because it was very cool inside and you can get very close to the penguins.

I may get another job as a wildlife videographer.

June and July

2011-07-26T20:50:00.002-05:00

Alice is sure cute in her new towel isn't she?

We went to the zoo to see the WildKratts with our family. Mason was in awe.

Summer fun tires Alice out and she has been falling asleep on the couch. She is difficult to wake up when this happens as Mason shows.

When awake she is cute/devious looking.

Gillian came to visit and Mason and Alice took her to see the Park District farm.

Fun times!

May

2011-05-22T21:23:00.002-05:00

May has been busy. We visited Allerton Park for Mother's Day.

Mason turned 5 and graduated preschool in the same week!

We visited the Shedd Aquarium, too.

Jeni and the kids went to Lake of the Woods one day.

Mason's Aunt Amy got him a trailer bike and we towed Alice around the neighborhood yesterday. Fun? Yes! Safe? Uh...

Reaction to the big announcement

2011-04-28T21:18:00.001-05:00

Big announcement

2011-04-27T17:37:00.002-05:00

Ahem...is this thing on?

Expected arrival: October 31, 2011

Some movies

2010-03-05T21:39:00.002-06:00

Two more

2010-03-05T21:18:00.001-06:00

Mason got a cool new shirt.

Alice at the library with her friends Anna and Fletcher.

February was fun

2010-03-05T20:58:00.002-06:00

I guess I'm on once monthly posting schedule now. So here's what happened in February....

We went to Corey's birthday party a few weeks ago. Alice and Mason both really look forward to seeing Corey and Joe (Alice can even say "Coco" and "Jojo"). When they get together they play really well together.

Mason and I read "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and then decided to grow some Munchkin mustaches.

We went to the Children's Discovery Center in Bloomington-Normal. We highly recommend it.

Afterwards, we met my cousin Jamie for lunch.

I'll end this post with a picture of Mason and Alice with their mohawks.

Still here

2010-02-04T22:21:00.002-06:00

I've fallen off blogging a bit obviously. Everyone is still here though!

Alice has learned to climb onto the kitchen chairs and then, to our surprise, onto the kitchen table. The girl just needs a place where she can dance without her brother bothering her.

When she isn't dancing, Alice likes to imitate Mason. Here she is in a "chair" that she made from a toy train table. The towel is a blanket just like Mason puts on his lap when he watches TV.

Alice did not try to imitate Mason when he was doing this.

Nana and Pop visit

2009-11-11T06:52:00.002-06:00

Mason and Alice had a visit from their Nana and Pop (as Mason decided Ken's dad should be called) over the weekend.

On Saturday we went to the park and enjoyed the swings.

The highlight though was probably our bike ride on Sunday. Jeni hadn't been on a bike in two years and Alice had never ridden in the bike trailer before. Mason was good and scooted over to make room for Alice and some toys.

Poor Alice was tired and would fall asleep only to awaken when we went over bumps. She and Mason did pretty well together though. Jeni did great as well.

Time to rake the leaves

2009-11-04T21:09:00.002-06:00

Last weekend was our first pass at raking up the leaves. The trees in the back are still about half covered, which means that we'll have to rake again soon and Mason will have another chance to jump into the leaf piles.

Alice enjoyed just sitting in the pile with the occasional nibble of a leaf.

This might be the best picture of Mason and Alice that we've taken in months.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-04T21:04:00.002-06:00

Mason and Alice both dressed up as robots for Halloween. We went trick-or-treating with Leo for the third straight year. He went as Charlie-Brown-as-a-Ghost.

I think you can see that Alice is still awake when this picture was taken, but she fell asleep soon after.

Feeding the squirrels

2009-11-04T21:01:00.001-06:00

Mason and I carved a pumpkin and we have also been refilling the bird feeder regularly. In other words, we've been feeding the squirrels. They are pretty entertaining though.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-04T20:53:00.002-06:00

Like last year, we went down to the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur to buy some pumpkins (including black Japanese pumpkins) for making pie (and cookies and brownies and muffins).

We also took lots of pictures.

Fall walk in the woods

2009-11-04T20:48:00.002-06:00

We've really been enjoying the fall (when it hasn't been raining). A few weeks ago we went for a walk in Busey Woods with Bubba and Gramp (Mason's new name for Jeni's dad).

Yes, Mason's sweatshirt is on backwards. He likes it that way sometimes.

Welcome back

2009-10-29T21:59:00.002-05:00

Wow! Time flies when you have two kids.

Things are going well with us. Just busy with work, pre-school, swim classes, learning to sleep through the night, etc.

Here are some pics from the last few months. More are on our Flickr page.

Alice back when she was happy to ride in the carrier.

Mason hiding during a game of hide-and-go-seek.

Mason at his first day of pre-school (and obviously wanting to go play).

Another picture of Alice taking a bath.

Mason holding a bug at Allerton Park.

Alice can scoot....life as Mason knew it is over

2009-08-02T21:44:00.002-05:00

We're still mostly babyproofed, but Alice puts everything in her mouth (which Mason didn't really do). Life as we knew it is over for all of us.

Potpourri

2009-08-02T21:40:00.002-05:00

Here are a wonderful assortment of beautiful pictures.

Feeding Hogarth apparently requires boots now.

Alice during the part of the bath she enjoyed.

Alice before she learned to scoot around the floor.

Mason and his new friend Ainsley (who is really his old friend Ainsley).

Museum of Science and Industry

2009-08-02T21:32:00.002-05:00

We took Mason and Alice down to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We got Mason excited by telling him all about the trains and planes in the Hall of Transportation. He did enjoy all of that, but later he only wanted to talk about the miniature electric circus. On to the pics!

Mason driving a combine.

Alice spent a lot of time in her stroller, but seemed to like all of the activity.

These last two pictures are in front of the huge model railroad.

Mason and I are in front of the formerly-known-as-Sears Tower.

Summer pictures

2009-08-02T21:19:00.002-05:00

I've fallen into the habit of only updating this blog once a month. Too busy in the summer! Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

We took cousin Joe (and aunt Amy) on a train ride for his birthday. Before the ride we had lunch at a train-themed restaurant.

Right after this picture, Alice hit her head on the table and laughs turned to cries.

We took the train down the line a few stations then got out and walked around a bit.

Alice's 6 month check up

2009-06-30T20:40:00.002-05:00

Alice had her six-month check-up yesterday. She was a good little trooper. Mason went along and consoled her after her three shots. He also was a bit of a hero during the car ride home. He said, "Stop Allie!" and told Jeni that Alice was about to eat one of her bandages.

On to the stats!

Alice now weighs 19 lb 5.5 oz (94.5 percentile) and is 28.5 inches long (99.5 percentile). Those numbers put her in the 44.6 percentile for weight-to-length ratio. Time to start basketball practice?

Too hot for shirts

2009-06-25T21:38:00.002-05:00

This weather is terrible. So Mason and Alice did without shirts at dinner tonight.

You'll note that Alice can't keep her eyes off of her cereal spoon.

We had beets which Mason really liked, especially the pink stains they left behind.

He was a bit disappointed when his tongue was no longer red after he brushed his teeth tonight.

Happy Father's Day to me!

2009-06-25T21:33:00.001-05:00

I had a nice Father's Day. Jeni made us waffles for breakfast and then we went to a park for a walk in the bugs and mud and then a picnic.

We had a good time despite the heat.

Mason's first picture of Alice

2009-06-25T21:31:00.000-05:00

Jeni has been teaching Mason to take pictures. They plan to take pictures of Mason's favorite things and then make a collage of the results.

Here's Mason's first picture of Alice. Pretty good!

Summer camp!

2009-06-25T21:27:00.002-05:00

Mason is attending "camp" at a local forest preserve. Each Wednesday morning Jeni, Mason, and Alice drive out and Mason learns about animals, insects, and plants while Jeni and Alice relax with some other parents.

Some of Mason's friends are attending as well. Here he and Natalie show off their hats.

Mason showed absolutely no apprehension about being away from Jeni for the hour and a half of camp. This made Jeni both happy and sad.

Just another post with cute pics of our kids

2009-06-25T21:22:00.002-05:00

Alice is sleeping so well these days, but is having a few issues with the heat and a cold that she is getting over. She is still sleeping, but does a lot of moving around her crib and grunting/moaning.

We thought she looked like she was doing tai-chi so we snapped this picture.

We didn't want Mason to feel bad so we snuck into his room to take this.

So they don't feel like we are making fun of them, here is a picture where they both look really nice.

Baseball in the yard

2009-06-15T21:02:00.002-05:00

Mason's uncle Chris visited this weekend and brought Mason a belated birthday present of a baseball glove and tee. Mason has been having a lot of fun with them.

Alice posed for some pictures with her grandparents.

And we occasionally have a request for Hogarth pictures so here you go.

Happy sleeper

2009-06-15T20:57:00.001-05:00

Now that Alice is sleeping so much, she is much happier during her waking hours. She and Mason "play" together a bit too, now that she can sit on her own.

We took these pictures of Alice a few days ago after a bath. We put some mineral oil in her hair to try to get rid of her cradle cap. It worked a bit, but had the side effect of making her hair a bit stiff.

Our backyard

2009-06-15T20:52:00.001-05:00

Our backyard is looking pretty good so far this year. I'm sure that later this summer, when it doesn't rain as often, everything will die because we won't water. For now though we have been having some fun back there.

Mason really likes his swing.

We also have a little garden. We had bunny issues until I put a little fence. Hopefully we'll have some tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries later this summer.

Nice farmer!

Shhh.....Alice is asleep

2009-06-15T20:44:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, Jeni and I decided that we needed sleep and that we would need to get Alice to sleep through the night.

So for three nights when Alice would wake up, we let her cry until she fell back asleep. And then, it worked! Just like that! For the last week Alice has been sleeping from 7pm to 6am, sometimes waking to eat around 1am. Additionally, she is a very good napper now as well.

Hooray!

Mason had been acting up a bit, but now that Alice is napping and Jeni and he can spend time together during the day, he is doing really well.

He still loves to "read" books.

Visit to Nana and Papa's

2009-06-07T21:51:00.002-05:00

Mason and Alice had a nice afternoon with their Nana and Papa last weekend.

Mason rode one of Papa's many bikes. He had three adults around him, so we figured he didn't have to wear his helmet. Also, purposely bailing off the bike is no longer funny.

Alice just waited on the porch with Nana.

Isn't that a beautiful picture?

New toys

2009-06-07T21:45:00.002-05:00

Because Alice enjoys her jumper so much, but we don't have door jambs from which to hang it anywhere in the house but our bedroom, we borrowed some exersaucers from some friends. She loves to stand in them and watch her brother play.

Pony tails

2009-06-07T21:41:00.002-05:00

Jeni bought little rubber bands for the long hair on the top of Alice's head.

So of course Mason also wants a ponytail.

Aren't they, uh, cute together?

Mason can almost ride a bike

2009-05-20T21:25:00.002-05:00

Mason got a hand-me-down bicycle for his birthday. Thanks Joe and Corey! He never really got the hang of his tricycle, but he and Jeni have been working on the bike for the last few days. He just about has the hang of it, though is prone to becoming distracted and riding into the grass.

This video is a bit long (~2 1/2 minutes) so don't worry if you can't make it to the end. But if you're ever in town we can show you the entire 6 minute version.

Alice loves to bounce

2009-05-20T21:21:00.002-05:00

We pulled the "Johnny Jump-Up" out of the attic for Alice to use. We only have a few doorways from which to hang it, so she only gets to bounce if one of us is in our bedroom.

She can bounce forever in it.

And Mason wanted a ponytail in his hair again today by the way.

Mason's birthday trip

2009-05-18T22:01:00.003-05:00

On Mason's birthday we traveled to nearby Monticello and their railway museum.

We walked around and through the display trains first.

The big excitement was an actual train ride. It was a beautiful day and the train ride was a nice length for a three year old (30 minutes or so).

Mason is a pretty great three-year-old. It is hard to believe how quickly the time has gone.

Update: Video!

Mason is three now

2009-05-18T21:46:00.002-05:00

And he really likes to remind us of that.

We had a nice little party at our house, and the weather cooperated so we spent most of the afternoon in the backyard.

We invited some family and three of Mason's friends. The kids made bird feeders and stuffed nest-making materials into little cages to hang from trees. They really seemed to like it.

"Betty", "Jughead", and "Veronica" went for a ride in the wagon.

Alice got lots of lovin' from her GGMa, Nana, and Papa.

Mason had a really great time. And of course, he couldn't wait to eat cake.

Spring Picture Potpourri

2009-05-18T21:33:00.004-05:00

This post will just have some pictures from our spring. You can always go to our Flickr page for more

Here is Mason with his friends Natalie (standing) and May. The other night, Mason told me that he loves Natalie "really much" and will be marrying her when he is four. Of course, today at the park he became infatuated with a little girl that he met there, so I hope Natalie is keeping her options open.

This is our most recent family portrait (in front of downtown Urbana's beautiful parking deck).

Mason likes to dress up in all of the medical stuff from his surgery. Here he and his friend Audrey are ready to make you feel all better.

Alice got to spend a bit of time with her Aunt Amy a few weeks ago. This picture also does a good job of showing off Alice's "healthy" thighs.

Finally, here is Mason in front of his 100-piece zebra puzzle. He usually wants a little help finishing it, but this day he completed the entire thing by himself. I think that we could probably buy him a new 60-80 piece puzzle every few days and he would be in heaven. Is there a Netflix for children's puzzles?

Brookfield Zoo

2009-05-18T21:24:00.002-05:00

Last month, we took a trip to the Brookfield Zoo with Jeni's parents. The zoo is displaying animatronic dinosaurs this summer, so we have a nice picture of a dino eating Mason and Jeni.

Later Mason took the zoo map and helped us find our way.

While Mason and I rode the carousel, Jeni got this lovely picture of Alice.

Semester done- Recommence blogging

2009-05-18T21:15:00.002-05:00

School's out for the summer, so I finally have a bit of time to update our blog.

Alice is doing very well. As you can see in the pictures, she has started to eat rice cereal. She really likes it and we think that it helps her to sleep a bit longer at night. We can usually depend on her to sleep from 8pm-3am and then until 6am or so. Much different than a month or so ago when she awoke every few hours.

Alice has started to scoot around the ground a little. She can spin around on her stomach and back, and can push around in a line (just a bit). We think that she watches Mason too much though and wants to skip straight to walking. She loves to stand (with support of course), and bounce around in her "Johnny Jump-Up".

We can hardly believe that she'll be 5 months old on Saturday.

Easter

2009-04-19T20:43:00.003-05:00

Mason, Jeni, and Jeni's mom colored Easter eggs one afternoon before Easter.

On Easter Sunday, Mason found all of the Easter eggs that I hid. I guess that I'll need to hid them a bit more slyly next year.

Jeni got Mason some Jelly Belly jelly beans, but he doesn't seem to like them. Maybe he got a "buttered popcorn" one?

Alice: sleeping and eating

2009-04-19T20:33:00.002-05:00

Alice is eating very well and getting much bigger. About a month or so ago, she began to have some problems keeping food down and in. She's only gotten better now that Jeni has cut dairy and eggs out of her diet.

At the same time that Alice had her gastrointestinal problems, she also stopped sleeping quite as well. She now wakes up two or three times a night instead of only one or two. We hope that as her stomach matures a bit she will go back to her old ways.

She is still very cute though so Jeni and I can't be too upset.

Mason's thumb

2009-04-19T20:24:00.002-05:00

So I think the last month has been the longest posting drought in this blog's history. Kids and work are keeping us busy.

About a month ago, Mason had surgery on his right thumb. He had never been able to straighten it, a condition called "trigger thumb." Champaign-Urbana lacks a pediatric hand surgeon, which necessitated numerous trips to Springfield.

The good news is that the surgery went great, Mason can bend his thumb, and a few weeks later the scar is starting to fade a bit. Mason was very brave during the whole process and loves to show people how his thumb works.

Alice can push up and roll over

2009-03-19T21:39:00.002-05:00

Alice has been able to hold her head up for a few weeks now, but has recently started to push up while on her play mat.

She can also roll over onto her back, but only after much fussing and gnashing of gums. Here Jeni caught her mid-roll.

Alice has a brief statement

2009-03-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-19T21:10:00.003-05:00

Jeni had a St. Patrick's Day photoshoot with the kids.

At first Alice was not enjoying herself.

As soon as Mason joined her on the chair, she had a great time.

Mason likes to give Alice little kisses throughout the day.

She is learning to fight back a bit; here she's tickling his ear.

Mason also insists on giving Alice lots of hugs. She is very patient with him.

Mason, being two, can't sit still for long of course. he was soon out of the chair and running around.

We hope everyone had a nice St. Patrick's Day!

Nana and Papa come to visit

2009-03-19T21:00:00.003-05:00

Mason and Alice's Nana and Papa came for a short visit last weekend. It is tough for them to come in the Spring because as an accountant Nana is busy until April 15th.

Here are a few pictures from their visit. We forgot to take the camera to the park, but we did go (and Mason and Alice have been outside often during the last week).

Morning time?

2009-03-19T20:46:00.002-05:00

(Mason often asks, "Morning time?" when I go into his room in the morning.) We've got a pretty good morning routine down. Alice usually wakes up once between 2 and 4am, and then again between 6 and 7. I'm up by then and have a chance to shower and start breakfast before it is time to wake up Mason. And depending on when Alice wakes up, she might watch Mason and I eat breakfast while Jeni showers.

Mason still loves doing puzzles and playing with his trains. His imagination has really grown, though, and he does a lot of role playing and building. Here he is doing an Africa puzzle one morning.

Alice is almost always in a cheery mood in the morning, at least until 8 or 8:30am when it's time to eat and take a nap.

Alice is quite different than Mason already. One example is her ability to fall asleep without being soothed. Mason never just passed out; we always had to rock him or have him on our chest. The other morning Alice fell asleep in her bouncy seat. She didn't sleep long, but Jeni was able to take a picture.

Two kids have kept us busy

2009-03-19T20:29:00.003-05:00

So it turns out that having two kids will keep you busy. I've also been doing a lot of grading and lecture planning in the evenings when I would usually post pictures. Spring break is next week (huzzah!!!) so I've got some time to update this here blog.

Jeni had a birthday. We didn't do anything too exciting. Jeni did get a haircut about a week later. That meant that she was away from Mason and Alice for 2 hours. I was able to stay home and Alice cooperated by sleeping until Jeni got home. We have since started to give Alice a bottle with some success.

Alice at two months

2009-02-25T21:34:00.002-06:00

Alice's two month birthday came and went on Monday. We've been busy, so didn't really do anything special.

She is still doing very well. She even slept through the night once this week! Most nights she has to wake up at least once, but she has started to go to sleep in her crib around 8 or 9.

She continues to eat very well, though she still spits up, sometimes a lot. Jeni brought her in to the doctor today for shots, weighing, etc. She is 24 inches long (but Jeni thinks the nurse undermeasured) and weighs 13 lb 5.5 oz. Both of those are above the 90th percentile. So she's big, but well proportioned.

Here she is after a bath. Her hair still curls and sticks up, and doesn't lie flat for a few days afterward.

When Alice is awake and not too hungry, she loves to make eye contact, smile, and laugh. Here she is on Bubba's lap a few weekends ago.

Alice spends late afternoons in the automatic swing. She'll usually sleep, but only after staring at the moving fish for a while.

Thanks to the swing, Jeni is able to play with Mason a bit and make dinner for us all. So thank you swing makers!

Mason and his toys

2009-02-25T21:23:00.002-06:00

Mason has started to play a bit more imaginatively with his toys.

He has been able to put train track pieces together for a while, but this was his first success at building a loop. He likes to put animals from his zoo in the loop and have trains chug around them.

He also like to reenact scenes from the Thomas television show or books. In one story a train attempts to chug through some water covering the tracks, but gets stuck. A helicopter drops supplies via parachute to the stuck train. Mason even added the fencing on either side of the track. (By the way, Jeni made the parachute with a breast pad and some string. What a talented Mama!)

Yesterday, Mason made "Mason" and "Alice" with his Legos. Mason is taller and has brown hair. Alice is shorter and has blue hair, probably because Mason couldn't find the other brown piece.

Mason and Marty

2009-02-25T21:17:00.003-06:00

Our friend Marty came to visit the University a few weeks ago and he spent the night with us. Mason and Marty became fast friends, and Marty read "Scuffy," a book he had brought for Mason, before bedtime.

Marty may move to the area. If so, maybe we can organize some playdates for the two of them.

Thanks everyone!

2009-02-25T21:12:00.003-06:00

Jeni's friends in playgroup made us many good dinners since Alice was born.

This post is a thank you to everyone who helped make our life a bit easier.

So thanks to Rachel, Cathy, Kelley, Kate, Mia, Virginia, and Katie!

Katie and Kenny visit

2009-02-04T21:37:00.003-06:00

My cousin Katie is a freshman at the University and comes to visit when she's not too busy at school. A few weekends ago, she came by with her brother Kenny.

Katie is a great babysitter so once Alice is able to drink from a bottle and sleep a bit longer, we hope that we might get her to watch the kids.

A big day

2009-02-04T21:31:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday was a fun day.

Alice tried out the baby carrier for only the second or third time. She seemed to like it for a bit.

After her nap, Jeni took some pictures of Alice stretching. Alice is a champion post-nap stretcher.

Then at night, Alice and Mason took a bath.

Alice is smiling

2009-02-04T21:26:00.002-06:00

Alice is now smiling at Jeni, Mason, and I. If we smile at her, she will smile back after a few tries.

I took some pictures of her while she was in a good mood.

Beautiful isn't she?

Last week, Alice went to the doctor. She is up to 11 pounds, 14 ounces (quite large) and 23.5 inches (quite long).

Mason-- looking good

2009-02-04T21:17:00.002-06:00

For some reason I decided that rather than bring Mason to the barbershop last week I would cut his hair myself.

It turned out pretty well, for my first time anyway.

Mason is learning to brush his teeth. We are trying to teach him to spit so that he can use real toothpaste. He usually can't help himself and swallows though.

Mason wanted Jeni to take a picture of him jumping off his stool. He misjudged and hit the door before the floor.

He is a bit clumsy so has learned how to take a fall. Hitting the door was no problem.

More family visits

2009-01-21T21:06:00.002-06:00

Alice met some of my family as well when we went to her Nana and Papa's house.

Mason was excited to play in the snow with his cousins, Joe and Corey. They had built a snow fort in the yard after a big snow and Mason helped them with a little maintenance.

Corey led their efforts at digging deeper and piling the snow higher.

Joe got some snow in his mitten, but otherwise had a good time.

Mason didn't have a shovel, but made do with an old dustpan. He also had issues with snow in his mittens. There is money to be made selling mittens for toddlers that cannot be removed except by an adult.

A bit later my grandparents came over, and my grandma got to meet Alice.

Alice meets more family

2009-01-21T20:41:00.002-06:00

Alice went on her first road trip last weekend. She slept all the way to the burbs and back, which was nice, and got to meet more of her family.

She wore a dress for the first time. I think that she is too young to know what women go through to look cute. It was tough to get the tights on and to get the dress all buttoned up.

Alice met Jeni's cousin Gillian.

Jeni's Grandma Gene also came to visit.

Alice napping

2009-01-21T20:12:00.002-06:00

Jeni took this cute picture of Alice napping. I think you can see that Alice is gaining weight.

She says that Mason and Alice were smiling sweetly at each other once Alice awoke, but by the time she got the camera out, they looked like this.

Bathtime is lots of fun

2009-01-13T21:02:00.003-06:00

We've been giving Alice sponge baths during Mason's bath time. She spits up a lot and we need to get the stink off her.

Mason loves bath time. Alice doesn't like being scrubbed with the soapy rag, but loves having warm water poured over her and being rubbed with lotion afterward. When her hair gets wet it curls.

And then for at least a few minutes, they're both clean and fresh.

What a nice big brother!

2009-01-13T20:58:00.002-06:00

Mason likes to entertain Alice by kissing her and singing her songs. Here he sings his ABCs between bites of a snack.

Alice often responds to him by turning her head, or by opening her mouth (part way to a smile, I think).

The many faces of Alice

2009-01-13T20:53:00.002-06:00

Jeni got some nice pictures of Alice making funny faces.

Laughing?

Touchdown?

Farting?

We are quite excited that Alice slept from 10:15PM to 5:15am last night. She was quite fussy and didn't nap much yesterday so she was very tired by the evening, but we're hoping that it was a sign of things to come.

Second Christmas

2009-01-03T14:35:00.002-06:00

Last weekend, we had a second Christmas, this time with my family.

Mason liked opening more presents, but enjoyed spending time with his cousins even more, I think.

We didn't take any pictures, but here are a few from my sister Amy

Mason update

2009-01-02T21:29:00.002-06:00

We don't want to give short shrift to the original subject of this blog, so here's a quick update on Mason.

Mason is doing very well, all things considered. Any anxiety he has about his new sister only comes out at bedtime when he only wants Jeni. Even then he doesn't usually put up too much of a fight. Most of the time he is very patient with us and is interested in what Alice is doing (or having done to her).

He really is turning into a little boy before our eyes. His latest milestone is becoming fully potty trained. Jeni and I are very proud of him and brought him to get his own fish a few days ago.

At first he thought Dorothy (Elmo's fish's name) would be a good name, but in the end decided on "Neno" which is his pronunciation of Nemo of "Finding Nemo" fame.

Mason invites all of our visitors up to his room to see his new fish. If you ask, he will proudly tell you what he did to get earn his pet.

Usually, Neno lives up on Mason's dresser so this kind of thing doesn't happen.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T21:20:00.003-06:00

Everyone in our house was asleep by 11:30PM New Year's Eve. At least we saw the ball drop in New York.

The next morning we took some pictures of Mason and Alice.

We also took a little movie. Mason loves to give his sister kisses.

Pictures of Alice

2008-12-30T22:20:00.001-06:00

Here are two pictures of Alice.

Sleeping yesterday...

Ready to go to the clinic today...

Portrait time

2008-12-30T22:17:00.001-06:00

Jeni and I tried to get the kids (feels weird to type that) to sit for a picture. The results were so-so. We'll try again tomorrow.

I think that they became bored.

Christmas

2008-12-30T22:04:00.002-06:00

Jeni's family came down for Christmas. We had a good time doing the usual Christmas things, and Jeni and I enjoyed spending the holiday at our house.

Here are some pictures of the fun.

Mason was happy to get socks and a stroller for his doll, Pea Soup.

He was happiest, though, to open various "Thomas the Tank Engine" tracks, cars, etc. They are taking over the house.

Jeni's favorite gift may have been Utz Cheese Balls. She is a simple woman with simple tastes.

Alice update

2008-12-30T22:00:00.002-06:00

Alice saw a nurse practitioner today and checked out very well. Her weight was down to 8lbs 10 oz, but is now up to 9 lbs 7 oz. She eats a ton and has slept for 4 hours at a time the last few nights.

She is still not awake very much, but when her eyes are open she is starting to look around a bit. I haven't noticed her fixating on a face yet.

So far, so good!

Meet Alice Josephine

2008-12-24T16:35:00.002-06:00

Alice Josephine was born December 23 at 10:38am. She weighed 9 lbs, 1.2 oz and was 20-3/4" long.

Alice and Jeni are doing very well. Feeding is going great and Alice slept for at least 2 hours at a time last night. So there's hope for us all yet.

Pictures are here:
Flickr

More will follow, I'm sure.

Time to start thinking about renovating the blog....

Reporting that there is nothing to report

2008-12-13T12:39:00.002-06:00

We all wish that the reason you haven't heard from us lately is that we have some news to report on the baby front. Unfortunately, it is not so. Jeni is still very pregnant and is having some strong, occasional, contractions that are not birth-related.

Last weekend we had 1/2 inch of snow, so Mason and I went out to make a snowman in the front yard. Mason was excited to wear his new boots and snowpants.

I pulled Mason in a little sled around the yard. Then he got out and we put snow into the sled to take back to our snowman. In the end, it ended up more as a snowlump but it did have a carrot nose, twig arms, and sunglasses.

The warmer weather this week melted him and Mason and I got sick after being outside, so it wasn't a completely successful outing. I did tell him that the next time in snows more, we'll have another go at building a big snowman.

Christmastime is here!

2008-11-30T21:22:00.003-06:00

With Thanksgiving over and December here tomorrow, we decided that this afternoon would be a good time to put up decorations. We bought a full-size artificial Christmas tree and set it right in the middle of our front windows.

Mason was too young to put decorations our little tree the last two years, but he had a lot of fun with it this year.

Mason and Jeni smiled for this awesome picture, but our dumb camera didn't focus correctly. I'm posting it anyway.

It took a few takes, but we finally got a nice family picture, maybe one of our last as a trio.

More Thanksgiving visitors

2008-11-30T20:34:00.002-06:00

This weekend, my family came to visit for a day. Mason woke up Saturday asking when Joe and Corey would be here. They watched movies, went to the park, and played all day. Before Joe and Corey left for home, the three boys put on new pajamas from Nana.

Before getting his pjs on, Joe entertained everyone with a little dance.

Corey showed off his tongue long enough for me to get a picture.

The boys are getting better at posing for pictures, though Mason is starting to lose interest in "cheesing" for the camera.

Before Joe and Corey left, Papa read some books to the boys.

T-minus 3 weeks

2008-11-30T20:22:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving was also the end of Jeni's 37th week of pregnancy. Here's a picture Jeni, Mason, and Pea Soup to mark the occasion.

Just today Pea Soup shifted around so her back is now directly in front, rather than off on Jeni's right side. Is this a sign?

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T20:14:00.002-06:00

We didn't travel for Thanksgiving this year due to Jeni's "condition." Instead, her family came down for a few nights.

We didn't make Jeni cook. I made turkey, sweet potatoes, and pies. Mason's grandpa made potatoes and dressing.

Mason helped Uncle Chris put out the olive tray.

Mason took a bath and Chris drew some nice scenes on the wall.

Mason spent a lot of time with his Bubba, but we didn't get any pictures.

Two pictures

2008-11-18T21:21:00.002-06:00

Here are two recent pictures of Mason.

First, here he is in front of a house decorated with pumpkins in Arthur.

And here's Mason and me this morning after Mason finished his first puzzle (with a lot of help). I think he did it at least five more times today and has gotten better at fitting the pieces each time.

Raking leaves

2008-11-18T21:12:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we raked...and raked...and raked. Our trees are lovely most of the year, but when the leaves fall my attitude towards them changes. This year we filled 19 bags.

Jeni is now 35 1/2 weeks pregnant, but she still was able to help by raking. Bending over is a bit problematic so I did most of the bag filling. Mason mowed the lawn when he wasn't jumping into leaf piles or playing with his toys. Unfortunately, some of the pictures turned out fuzzy.

Dinner at Nana and Papa's

2008-11-18T20:46:00.002-06:00

We traveled to the 'burbs a few weekends ago to see family. We won't be traveling much now until Pea Soup is born and we wanted to get in one last trip.

We had dinner at Nana and Papa's and Mason really liked playing with his cousins Joe and Corey (or C as Mason says). But first we ate.

Corey is six and is very good at playing with the younger boys. Here he is pushing them on a little cart. Minutes later while negotiating a turn in the foyer, the cart tipped. Mason cried a bit, but really just wanted to get back to playing.

Nana got a hug from all of the boys.

Mason was exhausted the next day and had a number of mini-meltdowns. I'm sure he thinks it was worth it though.

Trick-or-treating around the neighborhood

2008-10-31T21:45:00.002-05:00

Mason and his friend Leo went trick-or-treating together again this year.

Leo was a pirate (a bit of an obsession with him).

This picture was taken at the beginning of the night when Mason was still remembering to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you." Later in the evening he was a bit scatterbrained and was running around a bit crazily.

Like last year, the boys tired of walking and were happily pulled by Leo's dad, Jeff.

For some reason, Mason was singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and Leo was singing "I'll Be Working on the Railroad" for a good part of the night.

Jeni and her pregnant belly dressed up like The Big Black Engine (which has a vital role in the book "The Little Red Caboose"). They look pretty good together.

Here are a few movies Jeni took at the last house of the night.

Trick-or-treating at the retirement community

2008-10-31T21:38:00.003-05:00

Jeni and Mason and their playgroup friends gathered at our house this week for a costume party. Then they walked to a retirement community to show off their costumes and trick or treat.

This is as close to a group picture as you can expect to get when this many two-year-olds are involved.

Halloween preparations

2008-10-31T21:31:00.003-05:00

Jeni did a great job for Halloween this year.

She and Mason decorated the house last week.

Mason is a fan of trains and has memorized "The Little Red Caboose" book almost totally. So Jeni found him an engineer's hat and made him a caboose costume. Mason looked great.

Glee club concert

2008-10-31T21:16:00.002-05:00

Mason and Jeni went to hear the UI Men's Glee Club over lunch this week. Several friends from their play group went along to enjoy the free show.

To avoid parking hassles, they took the bus.

Mason knows how to share and often does. He'd like to offer you a bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Jeni is getting very...pregnant, but she still had room for several children on her lap.

After the show the kids jumped on the risers to sing together.

At least Mason was looking towards the camera.

Arthur and the Great Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-14T20:23:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, Jeni, Mason, and I took a day trip to the town of Arthur. We had a very nice time because even though Arthur is a very small town:

It is home to the largest Amish community in Illinois so we got to see horse-drawn buggies on the street. We also went shopping for Amish-made furniture. FYI: The Amish in Arthur are allowed to ride bicycles.

Arthur is the home of a central Illinois barbecue competition, so we got to sample some tasty food for lunch. Some bluegrass bands were also performing which Mason loved.

The "Great Pumpkin Patch" is just outside Arthur. They grow hundreds of types of pumpkins and squash there and in the fall open the farm up to visitors. Mason got to see all types of farm animals, including goats.

We also had an apple cider slushy and bought some pumpkins (including a black one originally grown in Japan).

It was a very nice trip.

My excuse for not blogging

2008-10-14T20:20:00.003-05:00

Our big fall project has been to replace all sixteen windows in our house. The old ones were not great to begin with and were getting worse after 25+ years.

Two weekends ago, Jeni's parents and grandparents came down to help us with the windows and Mason. Thanks to their help we got all of the windows installed. Since then our evenings have been taken up by insulating, caulking, and now trimming the new windows.

Since then the weather has been unseasonably warm, so we don't know if they've made a difference yet. They do seem to keep sound out better than the old ones.

Underpants time

2008-10-14T20:11:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in the last post, Mason is potty training now. One of our strategies is to leave him in his underpants (or naked), because he usually won't go in them. If he has underpants and pants on, or a pull-up he will.

So anyway, there are a lot of opportunities to take pictures of Mason in his underpants.

Here Mason is with his cousins, Joe and Corey.

Mason watches Sesame Street a few times a week.

And here Mason is working on his new workbench. My Uncle Jim got it from a yard sale and after a hose down, it is good as new. Mason loves it, especially if he sees me working around the house. So thanks, Uncle Jim!

Life getting in the way

2008-10-14T19:49:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted any pictures of Mason. I could think up a lot of excuses, but I'll just get on with the blogging.

First, Jeni is doing very well. She is now 31 weeks pregnant (!) and is feeling all kinds of movement. I can push on a lump and our #2 will push back which is a fun little game until Jeni makes me stop. Jeni's due date is still December 18, so we probably won't be traveling much for the holidays. Of course, if Jeni had her way, the baby would come a few weeks early and we could make it home for Christmas.

Second, Mason is also dong very well. He is making good progress on potty training and wears underpants most of the time. He still has accidents, but seems to be figuring out when he needs to go. We are rewarding him for certain milestones with "Thomas the Tank Engine" trains and track pieces. Right now he has two trains, a caboose, and three pieces of track. The trains and caboose together are longer than the three tracks, which is kind of pathetic.

Mason is also talking or singing all of the time now. Sometimes he'll make up his own songs or stories, which is fun for Jeni and I. He has also decided that the new baby's name is "Pea Soup." We don't know where this came from, but it has been consistent for a few weeks now. So I guess "Pea Soup" it is.

On to the pictures!

A few weeks back, we went to the Zoo with Mason's Bubba and Grandpa. Everyone was excited to see the apes.

After the zoo, we went to Lalo's Mexican Restaurant for food and margaritas.

After a few drinks, you want to join the band on stage.

And you end up riding a polar bear before the night is through.

Actually, an older couple did look askance at Jeni when she was sharing some of her (non-alcoholic) margarita with Mason.

Mason the bookworm

2008-09-07T21:17:00.003-05:00

Mason could have books read to him all day it seems. He is a big fan of Curious George and will patiently read an entire book and then want another one right away. We try to indulge him as much as possible, of course, especially when he brings us one of his favorites and asks, "Book, please, Dada," or "George, please, Mama," while pulling us towards the couch. Sometimes, we just need a break though. How soon until he can read to himself?

Nana and Papa stopped by last weekend and they got pulled to the couch as well.

One last trip to the pool (with Chris)

2008-09-07T21:04:00.002-05:00

Mason's uncle Chris visited us before heading to Chicago for a conference. The pool was open for the last weekend of the year so we bought a waterproof camera and went for a swim.

We had fun in the shallow pool first.

We always go down the tube slide and then ride around the on the lazy river. By the last weekend of the year, the inner tubes don't hold air quite as well and Jeni's center-of-gravity must be a bit off. At the end of the slide, Mason and Jeni flipped over and both went under. Mason handled it quite well, I think. Then we had to get them back in the tube.

They weren't in the mood for pictures for a while.

We really like going to the pool this summer, and plan to start up indoor pool classes again this fall.

By request, Hogarth

2008-09-07T20:57:00.002-05:00

We're open to requests here at hecho-gentry.blogspot.com. A friend from Duke, Nik, wanted a few more pictures of Hogarth. Unfortunately, Hogarth is getting camera shy in his old age. This is the best we could do.

Bubba and Grandpa come to visit

2008-09-07T20:45:00.002-05:00

Mason's Bubba and Grandpa drove down to visit and we went to the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival. Last year, they had a petting zoo that Mason was too little to enter, but the animals were a no-show this time. Instead we just ate.

Mason devoured some fruit, a corn dog, and parts of several ears of corn.

The next day we went to the orchard to see the animals and eat some donuts.

Mason really likes the barn cats. Too bad I'm allergic.

The big excitement was a group of ponies walking in a circle. Mason didn't want to ride them at first. Before we left, he changed his mind. So his grandpa brought him into the ring to pick a pony to ride. Then it wasn't such a good idea anymore.

Tom was very patient. He held Mason and walked around with the ponies for a few rounds. Eventually, Mason did get on a pony and seemed to like it.

Barbecue with Natalie and Audrey

2008-09-07T20:34:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, we went to a barbecue and Mason got to play with Natalie and Audrey. Before dinner, Natalie showed Mason how to throw balls to her dogs.

Mason tried to use the cool ball tosser.

Soon the dogs got tired, so the kids "painted" the deck with water.

It was quite a nice evening. Thanks Luke and Kathy for hosting.

21 week ultrasound

2008-08-28T21:19:00.005-05:00

Two weeks ago, Jeni had her 21-week ultrasound.

It took a while to scan the results, and school started this week, so I'm just now posting the results.

Doesn't she look great?

Her profile:

Her face:

Her foot:

Mason seems like he might be starting to sort of understand what is going on. Who knows? He does still think that he has a baby in his stomach, no matter how often we try to convince him otherwise. He also wants bunkbeds, but "Mama's baby sleep up high."

I should have Jeni write her own post, but I will relate that she is holding up well. She finds it strange that she is so much more tired during this pregnancy compared to Mason. Hmmm..... What's different between now and then?

Camping trip

2008-08-13T22:04:00.002-05:00

Two years ago we tempted fate by taking Mason camping to Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin. He did fine, but wasn't really able to enjoy himself that much.

We went back last weekend along with numerous family members to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. There are a bunch of pictures from the weekend on flickr, but here are some highlights.

Mason really (I mean really) liked the ferry rides to and from the island. Now that we are home, he still talks about it and puts his toys on various "boats" around the house. We were only up on the sun deck for a few minutes before he wanted to go back down to the car deck to explore.

We all took another ferry to Rock Island State Park so we could enjoy the beach on Saturday. Mason went into the water up to his chest, but mostly just threw sand into the water. Here, he shows my cousin Emily proper technique.

Mase has quite the beach body, don't you think?

We all got back across the rough waters in time for the big birthday party. Before dinner we took a family picture.

Mason helped blow out the candles on the cake, but didn't make it into this picture.

Lots of fun was had at the campsite. Mason doesn't often get to just hang out with members of his extended family. One morning my uncle Rick took some of the kids around the campsite in his bike trailer, including Mason and Joe.

On Sunday morning, the family went to a farm that once owned by my great-grandfather and frequently visited by my dad and his siblings in their youth. The farm has a nice rock beach that was a nice backdrop for some photos.

It was a great trip, though very tiring. Hopefully, we'll be able to make it back every few years or so.

Wisconsin State Fair

2008-08-13T21:51:00.004-05:00

We brought Mason to the Wisconsin State Fair two years ago, but he wasn't old enough to enjoy any of the food. We went back this year with Jeni's parents and brother Chris. It took forever to get to Milwaukee, but once there we ate pork, baked potatoes, bratwurst, corn, and cream puffs.

We did take some time to check out the animals. Mason couldn't take his eyes off a cow getting a bath and also liked the chickens. Here he is looking at one of the show rabbits.

See any family resemblance in this picture? Any idea why Mason looks so terrified?

The highlight of any trip to the State Fair is the cream puffs. Two years ago Mason could not partake. This year....

They were both tired when we took this picture, but I think Mason and his Bubba had a good time at the fair.

First 60th Birthday party

2008-08-13T21:45:00.002-05:00

Mason's grandpa (my dad) had his first 60th birthday party a few weekends ago at my uncle Chuck's house. We spent a lot of time in the pool which Mason enjoyed.

At first he was most comfortable in a rubber raft with a mesh bottom.

Later he "swam" around a bit with help from me and his Papa.

Pre-vacation pictures

2008-08-13T21:34:00.003-05:00

We took one last vacation before the school year starts. Before we left, Mason went to Curtis Orchard with his friend Natalie. It was a little warm as you can tell from their sweaty little heads.

That night we gave Mason a bath and tried to get him to wear swim goggles. He couldn't quite get the hang of the elastic.