2nd Mothers Day

It was a nice and quiet day today! We all took a walk this morning and Brett and the boys played for part of the day while I got through some of my never-ending To Do list. During the morning nap I got to watch an entire TV show! We also had dinner out for Mother's Day at my favorite fast-food sushi place, Maki. The boys opted for PB&J instead of sushi, but I had 2 rolls to make up for it!



And even though these two look like they are up to no good in these photos, I am proud to say that they were very well-behaved at dinner. There was a little girl who was screaming her head off and her parents had to move everything outside, but the boys did very well aside from a few squeals of joy (who can hold back really, when you're having that much fun? Especially in a large room that echoes!)

Ethan did temporarily forget his manners with all of the eavesdropping he was doing. The table behind us seemed to be of great interest to him.

Choo Choo

Today was a great day to get outside with the boys - only in the 70s and fairly cloudy - but no rain! So we took advantage and drove down to Zilker Park to ride the Zilker Zephyr. This little train takes about a 20 minute ride through the park and the boys had such a great time! They are definitely train fans!




Video that Brett took of Mason while riding the train:

1 Year Checkup

Today we had the one-year check up! They were very unhappy campers about their shot, but I don't blame them - that needle was a big one! Otherwise, everyone is doing good and here are the latest stats:

Mason:
Height: 30 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 25 lbs 14 oz (80th percentile)
Head Circ.: 49.25 cm (>95th percentile)

Ethan:
Height: 30 inches (55th percentile)
Weight: 22 lb 15 oz (50th percentile)
Head Circ.: 47.25 cm (75th percentile)

First Steps (Videos)

Okay, so these aren't the actual first steps, but who can be prepared with the video camera when that happens? And Mason is actually up to as many as 10 steps at once, but never for the video camera, so here are just a few clips of each of them trying to put one foot in front of the other!


Mason's steps:





Ethan's steps (or as this first one should be labeled, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!") He got so frustrated trying to walk like his brother that he forgot how to even stand up and stay standing!





And here is a video of Mason giggling - because that boy somehow knows that you just have to laugh at life once in a while!

Beef, It's What's for Dinner

Mason is apparently both our meat-loving and tex-mex-loving boy. Oh yeah, he is totally Texan. We went to Chuy's last night and I gave both boys some of my beef soft taco. Mason LOVED it...and the re fried beans...and the rice. He literally couldn't get enough of any of them. Ethan promptly made his "I don't think so move" where he picks it up - stretches his arm out to the side - and drops the offensive food on the floor (without even trying it of course). And tonight I made a ground beef, brown rice and tomato dish and Mason was eating it by the fistful. Ethan (after first dropping some on the floor) finally came around when he realized that it was his only entree option and seemed to tolerate it at least.

Ethan's 1st Steps for the Record (no video)

Happened today and went something like this...
step, step, dip down to almost sitting (psyching us out), then recover, a step sideways, then another step forward!

Waving, Blowing Kisses, Clapping Hands

No video of clapping hands right now though I could probably get that on camera at absolutely any time - all I have to say is "Yay!" and both boys will start clapping their hands. They clap their hands for themselves all the time (they apparently think they are pretty special), they wave a lot (especially when they see something or someone they recognize), and Ethan blows kisses about 50 times a day. Of course, when I go to videotape those kisses, he gives me only one. But with no camera out he will blow 15 or 20 or more in a row and then he'll randomly hand them out at places like the grocery store.

Here is a waving video of Mason:



And 2 videos of Ethan blowing a kiss (the second includes some waving):