Kindermusik & Partyin' Down at the Library!

Today Mason and I had a very busy morning! I love it though that we have all these events to get to every Monday cuz it forces up to get up and moving and start the week off right! We have been going to Kindermusik every Monday morning at the First Baptist Church here since August. We're sad that the last class was this week! We made some good friends, and Marc even has a new good buddy he made at Dad's Day last month! Mrs. Mary Anne has been teaching Kindermusik for 30-something years, so she definitely knows what she's going. She's kinda strict on us, but I guess that's a good thing so that our kiddos get the most out of music class. The class was very small, just 3 of us and our babies; Clayton (14 months), Jasmine (6 months), and then of course, Mason (19 months). So, it was very interesting seeing how these babies of different ages grow and interact as the semester goes on. We had a ton of one-on-one attention from the teacher. It has been a new & exciting experience for us... I never thought that Mason and I would be dancing the Do-Si-Do and Tango with our new friends, a foot massage just a few minutes later, baby aerobics, and reading time all in a period of 40 minutes! We do such a wide variety of activities and they all work together in the child's development in ways you don't even realize while you're actually doing them.

Clayton, Jasmine, & Mason after our Nov. 23 class... they were just a little sleepy & cranky since it was the end of class so they weren't up to posin'! These kiddos are worn out after 40 minutes of singin', dancin', swayin', readin', gettin' massages, and being lifted up over their mommies' heads! Oh, life is so rough!

Clay & Mason after our last class today
Terri & me with our sweet boys! We've watched Clayton grow from this very chubby baby who was barely crawling, to this tall, slender, little boy who's walking all over the place! Mason was barely walking when we started and is now the hyperactive kid who's running all over that room! :)
Mason & Mrs. Mary Anne

After Kindermusik every Monday, it just works out that it's Toddler Time at the downtown library! It's just right up the street, so we head on over there and have a few minutes to look at some books before it's time to start. This has given Mason so much interaction with some older kids and has been his first experience really to sit at a big kids' table to listen to stories, do crafts, and eat snacks. At library time in Nashville, we would sit on the floor and he would always practically sit on my lap and act kinda shy around all the kids. He would just sit very quietly and listen and stay right by his Mommy's side. Well, now he is sitting straight up in his chair during craft time and "chatting" away with all the kids, and standing right beside all the big kids directly in front of the story teller during story time. Today, I looked up and he was holding some little girl's hand! They were standing facing each other and just staring at each other while holding hands. I wasn't quite sure what was going on! I definitely was not like that; I was so painfully shy until about 7th grade. I would not talk to anyone except for my Daddy! I wanted him to hold me all the time and I would just lay my head on his shoulder and not look at anyone. Mason's always that kid that the others' surround, just like his Uncle Jody. I don't know if it's his spunky little personality, his crazy spike hairdo', or the fact that he speaks this jibber jabber Japanese soundin' language! He is definitely not my little baby anymore. :( Even though he's growing up so quickly and we miss those days of cuddling a tiny, sweet newborn in our arms, we are so blessed to have our big, healthy 19 month old! This is definitely a challenging, but super fun stage!

Mason's good buddy from church, Lydia, is sometimes at Toddler Time with us when she's not in big girl school and she always takes such good care of Mason!

I don't know what kind of face my son is making here, but Lydia sure looks awfully cute! :)

Mason rummaged through the diaper bag in the middle of the story and manged to pull out his soft baseball. So there goes the attention of all the children! All eyes were on Mason's ball after that!

Snack time... Lydia had a special visitor today since her Mommy had to leave early for the dentist... her Nana! Lydia's grandparents (Josh O.'s parents) go to church with us as well, so it was nice to see a familiar face at the library! Here she is helping Lydia & Mason with their snacks.

As soon as the librarian put down the book she read to everyone, Mason was the first to get his hands on it! He just sat right down and got comfortable and read away! The book was bigger than he is!

It always takes us 30 minutes to get out the door to leave the library cuz Mason has to check out all the books we pass on the way out!

Destroying a book display

We are LOVING living in Bowling Green and this town is jam-packed with fun things to do and lots of great friends! Still close enough to Nashville to visit often, closer to our friends in Louisville, and pretty much halfway between both sets of Mason's grandparents. We're so thankful that God has led us to such a great place!