Clifton Days {and a visit from Biscuit the dog}

Today we took the train to Clifton Days with Shay, Jeremy and Jaxson and Kristie and Casey. We all met at the train station and we almost missed the train {imagine that}. It was a fun, relaxing time for all of us.

Mason on the old caboose ...

Payton on the old caboose ...

Mason looking angry and his Batman towel we bought

{we are redoing his room and bathroom in Batman} ...

Chicky ...

My adorable nephew, Jaxson ...

Also along for the ride today was Biscuit ... he is the class {stuffed} dog at Mason's school and this weekend it was Mason's turn to be Biscuit's daddy. We had to let Biscuit experience things in life that he had never experienced ... I think we did pretty good!

Here is Mason and Biscuit {and Mommy} riding a train ...
Mason and Biscuit riding a horse ...Mason and Biscuit sitting in a firetruck ...

Some of our other adventures with Biscuit this weekend ...
Mason and Biscuit making cookies ...
Mason and Biscuit at t-ball ...
Mason and Biscuit reading a story before bed ...

Christmas Cookies in October

One of my favorite things about Christmas is baking cookies throughout December. Every year, the girls in my immediate and extended family get together for an entire day of baking cookies. Things have become pretty competitive {my sister tries to show us up with her expert decorating ability of cut outs}, but we have so much fun and we laugh a lot.

One of my favorite cookies are spritz. I love them and I could eat them all day long. I've been craving them two months early this year, so the kids and I made a batch of them today. Instead of making Christmas shapes, we made cars and boats ... and we used red and pink sprinkles {which are each of the kids' favorite colors}. They are all gone now. In fact, I think they were all gone within 24 hours. Oops.

Mason and Payton dousing the cookies with sprinkles decorating the cookies ...

Wordless Wednesday: I love it

A conversation with Mason

This morning I told Mason he needed to get dressed before he could watch tv, so off to his room he went. I went in to check on him as he stood in front of his closet trying to figure out what to wear. I pulled a shirt out and said ...

Me: Here, how about this shirt.
Mason: No Mommy, I want to look cool!
Me: Dude, this shirt is cool.
Mason: No it isn't Mommy, it has flowers on it.
Me: They aren't flowers, it is a bandana print.
Mason: No, I want to look cool.

I digress. The kid is worse than a girl when it comes to clothes. So then we move on to a green Gap polo that has the number four on it ...

Me: Okay then, wear this shirt ... look, it has the number four on it. {In our house, the number four signifies Brett Favre.}
Mason: No, that was the Packers. {Inferring that Favre no longer plays for the Packers.}
Me: But dude, he is still number four with the Jets.
Mason: No Mommy!

So then Kyle intervenes and takes Mason to show him that his green Gap polo with the number four on it matches Kyle's green Jets Favre jersey with the number four on it. Mason still didn't budge. Sigh. The yellow shirt it is.

The Creed of Babies with Down Syndrome

My face may be different

But my feelings the same
I laugh and I cry
And I take pride in my gains
I was sent here among you
To teach you to love
As God in the heavens
Looks down from above
To Him I'm no different
His love knows no bounds
It's those here among you
In cities and towns
That judge me by standards
That man has imparted
But this family I've chosen
Will help me get started
For I'm one of the children
So special and few
That came here to learn
The same lessons as you
That love is acceptance
It must come from the heart
We all have the same purpose
Though not the same start
The Lord gave me life
To live and embrace
And I'll do it as you do
But at my own pace