Let the Celebratin' Begin!

Oh my, I cannot believe May 2010 is finally here... the month that my sweet baby will turn TWO!!! We will celebrate his 2nd birthday on Tuesday, May 11th. It's really an emotional roller coaster. We're sooooo blessed to have Mason Thomas and that he is growing so big and healthy, but at the same time are missing those times that he was a teeny tiny newborn in the 3rd percentile who would cuddle in our arms all day long! Marc and I were talking about potty training the other day and then decided we weren't really ready to seriously start the process cuz then that meant there would be not sweet baby diapers to change! :) Whenever he is on the changing table I am reminded of laying him on there to change his little onesies with those long skinny legs hanging out! And now he is almost twice as long as the changing table and kicks the shelf above it almost knocking down every book & picture frame on the hutch! Oh well... :)

Today was Mason's last day of Big Red School for the semester and he got to have his first 2nd birthday celebration with all his little school friends! Some other parents and I were in the observation room and the teachers invited me into the classroom to take some pictures of the little birthday party. Since the Big Red School is part of the education program at Western KY, many education students & others studying fields working with children are involved in the school and work as interns. So there is an observation room for students to come and observe the kids' interactions and parents are welcome to observe as well. I have loved watching Mason in his classroom with all of his friends & teachers. He has learned so much in school and just loves being there. He never wants to leave when it's time for me to come and pick him up! This semester flew by so quickly and we're so ready for a new semester to begin. On the other hand, I love having my baby home everyday!

I had this big plan of making some homemade, dairy-free cupcakes to take for Mason and his classmates to eat, but I ended up being stuck in Nashville Sunday & yesterday after the flooding and didn't have a chance to make the cupcakes. So, I searched Kroger over looking for SOME kind of dessert that was dairy-free and they don't even make them! Well, I was looking for all of 5 minutes since it was on the way to take Mason to school this morning, so I just kinda browsed. I ended up buying regular little cupcakes in the bakery section that are full of the most milk & butter. Thank you. So, Mason didn't even get a birthday treat at his own party, and even worse, treats that his own momma brought! Oh well. He didn't even seem to notice. Another mommy brought some fruit so he was too busy chowing down on grapes anyway. I did bring his little birthday bib with a cupcake on it so at least he could have something special in honor of his birthday.

I tried to get some pics from the observation room through the blinds... Look at my big boy drinking out of that cup! That's one of the things everyone said he would learn there. I didn't believe it, but now he drinks out of a cup like a pro! We're still not ready to give up sippy cups, though.

I cannot get over the student:teacher ration! There are about as many teachers as there are students! Love it.
Mason being a goober. He's sitting across from his good pal, Audrey, who also goes to church with us. And check out the 2 little blonde boys in blue. They're twins and live in our neighborhood. All these little children are so sweet!

Look at that big 2 year old!

Momma & Mason Thomas

Playin' outside after the birthday party... They have the neatest play area with a sand/beach area, water fountain, lots of pretty flowers, sidewalk chalk, cool slide, and lots of cool toys! Wouldn't you love for this to be your backyard??

Tryin' to figure out which color of sidewalk chalk to use. We've never played with this at home, but he got some at his birthday party. I'm excited to bust it out and decorate our driveway! :)

Hangin' with the teachers... The lady on the right with short hair is Mrs. Lisa. She's the director of the Big Red School and the one who called me when I was standing in the middle of Cool Springs Galleria back in January to tell me that she had made a spot for Mason to be in the program. That was a HUGE answer to prayer! So I'm so grateful for her.

What a blessing that my son loves going to school so much! And he's not even 2 yet! Oh my, we have a looooooong road ahead of us! Hopefully he'll keep loving school. We're so thankful for his fun, outgoing personality and that he's always been okay being away from us and being around people he doesn't know. He's been a little clingier lately and is experiencing some separation anxiety, but he warms up very quickly and adjusts to whatever situation he's in. His momma didn't really talk to people til she was 12 years old, so he's off to a very early start! :)