I went to school happily and had fun during water play. Barbara picked me up from school at noon (an hour early).  She drove me to Mommy's office for their Christmas in July party.  Everyone said I was still as adorable as the last time they saw me and that I was talking now, which I did not before.

Grandma came over and I showed her how well I can kick a ball.  We went to the library with her.

I sat on the bathroom counter covered up with my blankie, while Mommy got ready for work.  We talked about a lot of things.  That was a nice way to start the morning.
I pulled the trashcan out to the curb and I helped fold a load of clothes.  I like doing chores.
Barbara and I are taking turns watching my television programs and the Olympics.  Normally I am not very generous about what we watch on television.
There are a lot of free books for children on the Internet for Kindles, but they really need to be in color.  I bet Barbara gets an iPad one day soon so she can share these books with me.  Mimz and Grandma have some on their iPads and I do enjoy reading that way.  I like playing games on iPhones and iPads also.

Mommy and I played all day, just the two of us.  Remember how on Friday afternoon I took most of my toys and put them inside my big tube/tunnel?  Well, instead of Mommy and me cleaning it all up, we just added to it.  Boy Barbara will be surprised at the condition of my toy room when she comes back from her weekend at the lake.
I did not have any accidents all weekend but I still want to poop in a diaper because I want to stand up instead of sitting down to poop.
I am really getting good at kicking a ball and I think it is a lot of fun so I want to do it a bunch.  I can kick with either foot but I prefer to kick with my right foot.
I was playing with the water hose in the backyard, when Barbara came home.  She said she enjoyed the weekend at the lake with Grandma.  They cooked, exercised in the swimming pool, and sat on the couch watching the first three days of the 2012 London Olympics.
Barbara showed Mommy and me how to make quick work on the big clean up job needed on my toy room.  She just worked her way around the room and in no time she had all my toys put back in their place. 

Mommy treated me to McDonalds this morning.  We went inside and watched the people and I did us the potty while we were there.
We went for a long walk in the neighborhood with me in the stroller.

We went to the mall so I could ride the Merry-go-round.  I do not need anyone to hold me on the horse any more.  I did have on a seatbelt.

I have been pretending to be in the Olympics since we are watching that sporting event every day.

I do not know what sport this is, but Grandma said it looked like a bad hurdler.  haha

I must have done this same thing twenty times and Mommy and Barbara wondered when I would get tired.

I had a few little hurts, but that did not stop me from doing it again.

Mimz went to Camp Longhorn to pick up Morgan.

I was constipated this morning.... I'm so glad when that is behind me.

 Dan, our neighbor next door was having two trees cut down ....

 I watched the entire process.  I wanted to go outside to watch....

but it was hot outside and was safe from flying debris.

Here is another of my funny faces.
During the day I played doctor, fireman, and farmer.  I have quite an imagination.  Oh, and of course, Hannah and her bunny were here (in my imagination).
I made up a new game today, all by myself.  I have a big tube or tunnel that I can crawl through. 

 I played with it for more than an hour with no input from Barbara.  I started by falling on top of  it, then I pulled it all around the upstairs, then I put a few things in it and pulled it around. 

 Finally, I decided to fill it up... with whatever I could lay my hands on.

I started with my kitchen stuff ...

I

 When I had one end filled, I started on the other end..

 ... adding things from my toy bins, balls ...

...and every little car I own.  I worked hard.  When I was finished I laid down and in just a few minutes I was asleep.   Cleanup is going to be a big job... I think Mommy and I will do that tonight while we watch the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics... she does not know what lays ahead.  She has not seen my handwork yet.

I had a good morning with Mimz, waking up at 7:15, eating a fair breakfast, and playing until time for school.  I said, "Let's go, Mimz.  I'm ready to go see Hannah" and headed out the door.

.... GREAT NEWS.   I pooped on potty chair at school TWO times today.  I told Miss Janet I needed to poop and that I wanted to go in my diaper.  She said, "Oh, Mason, let's go on the potty and I did.  ..... Everyone is so proud of me.  Mommy said, "That is soooooooo  cool."   Grandma said, "Good job, Mason."   Barbara said she was proud of me."
Next Tuesday I am going to start wearing big boy pants to school.  Miss Janet agreed to pay close attention to me and help me be successful in my efforts to grow into a really big boy.
Before I took my nap I helped Yuri clean Mimz home.  I am a good helper.
It was evening playing with Mommy and Barbara. 

We do a bunch of Olympic activities since the Olympics are on television.  Here I am either being a long jumper or maybe a very bad hurdler.

More of the same.

I had been trying a new hair style and decided I liked this look.  Funny me!

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out of I'm Proud candy
I don't want my blankie upside down

It has been a long time since I have given Barbara a rough time, but this morning was one of those days.  I was not being agreeable in any way.  I did not want to eat, even though Barbara fixed me pancakes, fried eggs, and bacon, all of which I normally enjoy eating.  I drove a truck into my plate and sent my eggs flying.
I wanted to wear a diaper, but this was one battle I did not win.  I cried for several minutes but got over it.  Oh, another thing I did was not let Barbara write a quick email.  I kept trying to pull her away from the computer.  After a couple of warnings, I ended up crying in Time Out for two minutes.  By the time I got out of Time Out, Barbara had finished her note. 

I like playing "kick a bunch of balls down the hall."
Before noon, I was back to my normal self, playing happily and being helpful and agreeable.  I had left over breakfast I could have eaten for lunch, but I only played at eating, so Barbara heated up some fish sticks for me and I still did not eat them with relish.
I spent over an hour resting listening to Barbara read some books and tell some stories but I did not want to go to sleep so I played hard for another hour, then I finally I fell asleep at 2:45 and I woke up at 5:15.  By this time I was hungry and I was busy eating fish sticks and drinking milk when Daddy came to get me.

Woke up happy and needing to rush to potty. This morning makes exactly one week that I have been training. Oh, what a good boy am I!
At school I used the potty one time. That is a start!
I am having my first crush. There is a little girl in my class named Hannah. She has a bunny that she brings to take her nap with and I talk about Hannah and her bunny several times a day. I even pretend Monk Monk is "Bunny." I dumped a cup of water on Hannah's head today during water play.
I took a lunchable for my lunch and I ate all of the meat and most of the cheese and crackers. I would say it was a success.
PaPa and Grandma arrived at my home just a few minutes after I got home from school. PaPa was leaving for his job in Nigeria today and he wanted to spend time with me before he left.
We had a blast.  We played with my hundred balls, trying to toss them into my big laundry basket.  When we had about half the balls in the basket I dumped them all out.  Grandma and PaPa were surprised.  They did not realize that that is how I play that game.  Barbara knew that I would not let them get all the balls in the basket.  Then we started throwing the balls at each other. 
The most fun thing was our playing "keep away."  PaPa, Grandma, and Barbara all tried to keep Monk Monk away from me.  I was laughing so hard there were times when I could hardly stand up. 

I have a big tub of Megablocks and after I dumped them onto my mats I fell into the pile.  It looked like I was swimming in blocks.

 Barbara has been talking about the Olympics.  In this picture I am getting ready to throw a javelin.......

... made by putting four straws together.  Barbara won bronze, I won silver, and Mommy won gold.  Her javelin flew all the way across the room into the wall.  No wonder she was an outfielder when she played softball.

 Oh what fun!

 It was too hot to be outside where I can blow bubbles....

 so Mommy came up with the idea of me blowing bubbles while taking a bath!

This picture show the trophy Bridget's office volleyball team won by winning a tournament at her company picnic.  See her OU gnome?

I have mentioned that I can go fast on my scooter.  I can ride it faster than Mimz can ride Pop's scooter.  We do have a rule that when Mimz tells me to stop or wait for her I have to mind immediately.  Mimz bought me some motorcycle shoes.  She also bought me some Vans that are for riding skate boards and such.  Mimz likes shoes and so do I!

Here I am using my scooter as if it were an edger.

Video of me using scooter as an edger.

I have watched Mimz and Mommy put on makeup and I decided I would give it a try.

Video of me putting on makeup. 
Mimz took me home to Barbara late in the morning.  I don't even have to wear a diaper when in the car because I am doing such a good job with my potty training.
Soon after I got back to Mommy's house, I said I needed to t-t and off I ran.  I have even gotten better about stopping to wash my hands.  I have yet to forget to ask for my I'm Proud candy.  Though I have forgotten to get it at Mimz' home a time or two.
We rarely buy orange juice because I seem to prefer to drink milk or apple juice, but Barbara wanted some.  She froze a small amount in a little plastic cup, let it start to thaw, then broke it up with a fork and spoon.  I had an orange slush.
I sometimes bring home part of my peanut butter and jelly sandwich or my chicken tenders, so Barbara asked Miss Janet what the other children bring in there lunch.  She said the same as Mason or Lunchables.  Barbara bought me a "Lunchable."  It had 8 little rounds of turkey, 8 little bites of cheese, and 8 crackers.  She gave me four of each for my lunch today and I ate it all, so I'll take the remainder to school tomorrow for lunch and we will see if I eat it all.
This was an extremely busy day of play: read books, Play dough, doctor, blocks, Hide and Seek and drive trucks all over the upstairs.  Along with trips to the potty.  I have been training for a week and I only had one accident and that was not my fault.  I was outside working with PaPa, and Barbara and I both forgot to think about potty training.
A conversation I had with Mimz:  At home we were talking about Mrs. Finch's car wreck.  Mimz told me how important it is to be careful and pay attention while driving.  So when we were driving and it started to rain I said "Are the streets slippy?"  After Mimz said yes I said "Mimz be careful and pay attention I no want to get hurt."  My little brain is working all the time, and I remembered what Mimz had told me earlier.
Another first for me at Mommy's home.  From talking to Mimz, Barbara knows how much I like pancakes, so she bought some Bisquick and for dinner tonight we had pancakes with butter, syrup, and bacon.  First time we have had pancakes or bacon at Mommy's home.

I found this OU headband in my toy bins.  I wore it for a long time.  We did not turn on the television at all after my nap or for the rest of the evening.  Mommy, Barbara, and I just played and talked.

Daddy, Mimz, and I played at Mimz home all morning.  I love riding my scooter and I ride it so fast Mimz can't keep up with me and Daddy has to jog to keep up.  It is hard work and I am good at it.
Two books Mimz has on her iPad that I really enjoy are I Like Boots (that should be no surprise) and Busy Machines.
After lunch Daddy and I went to his apartment to do laundry and spend the night.
I did great with potty training all weekend.  I am a quick learner!

When I woke up at 7am, Daddy had already been at work for an hour and a half.  I played hard all morning and was ready for a big "breakfast" when Daddy got home.  Mimz fixed us bacon and eggs.  I love fried eggs.  I ate two.  Before noon Daddy and I were napping together.
I did not have any "accidents" today!  Everyone is so proud.  A funny thing:  I fell asleep wearing my big boy underwear.  Mimz said we should have seen her trying to put a diaper on me.  I would not stay on my back so she had to use some creative diapering techniques.  She says I really keep her on her toes.
Mimz and Grandma have some children's books on their iPads.  I love them and I fell asleep reading them this evening. (Barbara and Mommy have to get an iPad to share so I can read books and play games on it.  I do have a few games on Barbara's phone that I can play (and I do a good job) but it is pretty tiny.

This was a very good day... routine but I never got in trouble so no Time Outs. 
It was another day of Potty Training and I did super... no accidents.  For some reason I forget I need to wash my hands when I finish but I never forget to claim my three pieces of I'm Proud candy.
I ate well, I played happily, I was just a good boy having fun all day. 
Mommy and Grandma were at a scrapebooking retreat but Mommy came home for a couple of hours to play with me.

Part 1 of working puzzle video

                                                      Part 2 of working puzzle video
I found some of my old puzzles in the closet, but they are too simple for me.  I'm not a little boy any more.
Mommy and Barbara both really enjoy watching me play by myself.  I carry on a conversation and don't even seem to notice that they are watching me. 

 I really concentrate when I am working with Play dough.  Here I am using my pizza cutter.

I am super good about helping put away Play Dough.  I have learned from experience that if it is not put away properly, it hardens and is then unusable.

Video playing with Play Dough

I have been calling Monk Monk "Bunny" for the past week or so.  Barbara finally figured out what that is about.  Hannah is one of my friends at school and she brings her bunny to school to nap with.  Sometimes we play with her bunny and so I sometimes pretend Monk Monk is bunny and I am Hannah.
Monk Monk, baby doll, Mommy, Barbara and I  have been getting sick often around here and that gives me a chance to play doctor.  I like all parts of playing doctor but my favorite thing is giving shots!

 Fireman Monk Monk, Fireman Joe, and Fireman Mason spend a lot of time building a fire station out of Mega blocks and rushing to put out fires and rescue people.

No diapers for me today.  Big boy underwear only!
We read some new books today.  Every couple of weeks Barbara goes through the books GGF John gets for me and finds some that are age appropriate.  I do enjoy reading and especially enjoy re-reading my favorite books.  I like to ask "Why?" and "What next?"  I can get pretty excited when I know what is going to happen next.
Sometimes I am too impatient to wait for each page to be read and I want to skip to the pages I am really interested in looking at and talking about.

 It was oh so hot outside but I insisted on sitting outside to wait for Daddy.

"Daddy is here!"  I was outside about five minutes before Daddy got here, but I managed to get a mosquito bite on my face.   They love me!

Mimz thought she heard me call her name at 6am.  She peeked into my room and I was asleep.  She waited a few minutes and heard me call her again.  This time I was awake and I told her I wanted to ride my scooter.  She explained that it was still dark and still nite nite time. We both went back to sleep until 8:20am so we would have to hurry to get to school on time.  I wanted to stay home and play so Mimz feared that it wold be hard to get me out the door.  She played it smart.  She told me if we hurried I would have time to ride my scooter for three minutes.  When the timer went off, I knew my three minutes were up and I went to school smiling and ready to play with my friends. 
I did tt in the potty and tried to poop but I still want to do that in my "diapee."  Mimz smiled when I told her "that sometimes motorcycle men have to poop in their diapee."  I say some funny things.

   Mimz told me to steer clear of a big ant hill.  It looked harmless until she flicked the top of it with her finger and thousands of tiny ants scurried everywhere.  Boy, Mimz was right, I will steer clear of ant hills!

Our land line phone and Internet have been down since a big thunder storm on Monday.  That is why this blog has not bee undated... that and Grandma and Mommy need to help me remember what happened while I was on vacation.  It may take several days to get pictures from our vacation to Barbara's computer so we can get them posted.

I was the first one awake this morning... a little before Mommy's alarm went off at 6am.   So I had two hours to play with Mommy before she had to leave for work.  One of the things we did was talk about the new potty training method we are going to implement today.
When I wear my big boy underwear and t-t in the potty, I will get three pieces of "I'm proud" candy.  Really it is Skittles candy.  As soon as Mommy explained this to me I was willing to put on underwear and then I announced I needed to go and off I ran.  I was successful and loved getting the candy.

 I went at these times:  7:15, 7:45, 8:20. 8:45, 9:20, 9:40, 10:30, 10:45, 12:45 and 1:10.  That is ten times before I took my nap!

 Every once in a while Barbara would remind me that I need to run to potty when I need to t-t.

I played nicely all morning and had fun playing this new "potty training/I'm Proud candy"game. 
I had one accident at 11:40 when I was outside working with PaPa.  Both Barbara and I were distracted

I helped PaPa bundle up some dead branches that had fallen from trees.

 First wet screen....

 Then wash....

 I just got bitten...

Then rinse two solar screen, so PaPa could put them on the two windows in my big toy room.  Since that room is over the un-airconditioned garage it can get a bit warm in there when the afternoon sun bears down on those windows.  The only bad thing is they do darken the room so we will generally have on the overhead light if we are playing in that room.

Monk Monk 2 and 1.  I wondered if we could tell them apart.  Barbara said yes, because she had mended Monk Monk 2's tail with some brown thread.  You can see it in this picture (on the left at base of tail).  Funny thing is Monk Monk 1 had the same weak spot.  On closer inspection, Monk Monk 1 is stuffed fully, making him a bit bigger and Monk Monk 2 has a label on his right leg.
At Mimz home we went for a ride down the street on Pop's scooter.  We played I Spy and Mimz says I am very good at it.  Mimz starts with the answer being big things like cars and trucks, and then little things like the red flag on a mailbox.
Daddy took Mimz and me out to eat and I wore big boy underwear.  Daddy took me to potty once at the restaurant but I couldn't go.  I waited until I got home.  No accidents!!!! 
Mimz says tonight was special for her because I get to spend the night with her.  She also said she is so proud of my potty training and my playing so well by myself.  I was asleep within minutes of Mimz turning off the television and lights.   

I had a great time on my vacation, but it is so good to be home.

I happily helped Mommy find my crocks and swim trucks in my suitcase so I could take them to school for water play today and I helped Barbara fix my lunch. 

I sang Itsy Bitsy Spider while we drove to school and I wore my backpack on my back and carried my sippie cup and towel into Miss Janet’s classroom.

When Barbara picked me up after school I asked if we could go visit Mimz because she lives just a few blocks from my school.   As it turns out Mimz was having lunch with GGM Lil and Aunt Kaki so she was not home.

At home I wanted to play with every toy I have since I had not played with them for several days.  I had balls, blocks, and books everywhere but I did help Barbara “clean up” before Mommy got home.  

I used the potty chair successfully three times today and three times I announced I had just “t-ted in my diapee”.  Fifty percent is not a good rate.   We are going to implement a new plan starting in the morning to see if we can get a better percentage.

This picture was taken by Uncle Andy from his office window.  It is Air Force One, the president's airplane.  Obama was here fundraising.  (Hope he didn't get much... This comment was written by Barbara.)

Woke up in Boston.
We started our sightseeing at the Quincey Market. We saw just a little bit of Harvard, since there were no parking spaces to be had. PaPa drove around while everyone else walked just a little bit, long enough to take a few pictures. We went to Fenway Park. Mommy and I agreed this was the best sightseeing event. We went on a Freedom Trial tour which was a 2 - 3 mile walk. I pushed my stroller some and slept through the biggest part of the tour. Papa said having the stroller was a big big help even though I did not want to stay in it all the time we were touring.
We made it to the airport by 3pm and everyone sat back trying to rest during the flight back home. Our flight landed in Houston at 8:10 and then Bridget, Andy, and Kristan had to catch another flight to San Antonio. Barbara was waiting to drive us home and on the drive everyone one included me wanted to talk about the fun time we had.

I am pretty observant.  I noticed a Monk Monk in a sack ready to return to Mimz next time we see her.  That meant that I had my two Monk Monk's together. First time that has every happened.  It did not bother me.  I just loved both of them instead of just one at a time.

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We drove back to Boston in the evening and stayed at a hotel so we would have tomorrow morning to do some sightseeing.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Tim.

On the drive to Canada.  Aunt Lisa and Cousin Elizabeth went with us.  Uncle Danny and Cousin Austin left to go to a lacrosse match that Austin was playing in.  Grammie and Bubba did not go with us to Canada.  It is a 10 mile drive from the cottage to the Canadian border.
At the border we all got out of the van and went inside the custom's building because we all wanted our passports stamped.  They looked at everyone's passport.  They looked at my birth certificate, and the paper Daddy signed giving Mommy permission to take me to Canada for the day.  I was hiding behind my mom and they wanted to see me.  Mommy moved to make me visible.  They said "he looks like 2009" and then we got back in the car and drove into Canada up to Magog about a 20 mile drive into Canada.  We can now add Canada to the list of Places Mason Has Visited.

Aunt Bridget on the border.  I was asleep or I would have had my picture taken standing like Bridget.  Behind Bridget is a library that is partly in the USA and partly in Canada.  How unique! 

There were a lot of motorcycles and I liked looking at all of them.  They speak French in this city.

When we get back home to Texas I will fill in the blanks as to what these pictures are about.

Since it was Uncle Tim's birthday, PaPa fixed us great steaks and Aunt Lisa fixed us delicious lobster for dinner and we had  birthday cake. 

Grammie only has skimmed milk and I drank it without noticing any difference. 

Mommy says I have been very very well behaved the entire vacation. 

The day we traveled I used the potty three times, since then I have gotten off track, but I'll do better tomorrow.

 

More pictures: