Cute little boy update

It's been a little while since I talked about the kids, so here is an update about them.

Mason is four now and back at preschool. He goes mornings this year. It's technically all day, but I think he is too young for that, and since the only reason I even send him is for the speech therapy, I pick him up before lunch. We bought a van at the end of July, so I have a vehicle now, which makes picking him up possible. It's so nice having the van, side note, appointments and things are so much easier now. He's not a huge fan of being picked up early, he complains he wants to eat lunch there, though I know he wouldn't enjoy the food, it's always sandwich meat on yucky bread right now, though I've seen signs they are preparing to have hot lunches.

Mason is talking so much better now, which means we get cute funny sentences and stories from him now. Last night he told Mike a story about a cat driving a blue truck who went and got a rainbow truck, and when Mike asked, "Who drives a rainbow truck?" he answered, "A cat!" in a "Duh dad" tone of voice. He also says, "Fine" a lot when he loses an argument and for awhile he was saying, "Mooooooom!" in a "you're clueless" tone of voice. Glad he dropped that one. He has also discovered the word "Why?" so I am getting a lot of those questions now.

He dresses himself for the most part these days, though every so often says he needs help with something like socks that he's been doing for a long time. He's getting more independent too. Half the time when I walk him to Primary, he makes me stop at the door rather than taking him to his seat, and today he wouldn't let me walk him all the way to the bus. He brings home all sorts of art projects from school that he likes to show me and explain. Like he had one yesterday where he traced numbers with glue and glitter and he was showing me all the places he put too much.

Aiden is two now, and a jabber mouth. He talks so much better than Mason did at that age, but he's picked up a lot of the same funny speech things that Mason did (like "na-na"for "all done"). He's very good at asking for things he wants using words, and he enjoys having Mason at school. He gets very cuddly with Mommy while Mason is gone.

He is usually the first to wake up, almost always by 7 am, and he isn't quiet about it. He gets up, comes out of their room, shuts their door (very loudly usually) and comes in our room, usually with some toy. Even when he climbs in bed with us, he is very loud, talking or playing with the toy, and demanding that Daddy get him cereal. He rebels against bedtime as well, playing possum until we leave and then playing in his bed, or sometimes in Mason's bed, which means Mason doesn't get to sleep on time either. Mason has been taking a lot more naps lately as a result.

He's in nursery now, which was a bit of a fiasco the first few months, but he loves it now, runs right in without prompting. It's been good for him, teaching him to be a bit more independent so he isn't under my feet as much.

One thing he does which is super cute is he cleans up after himself, or tries to. The other day, for example, we were trying to get him to come in for dinner, and when we went in the front room to see what was keeping him, he had a washcloth he had gotten from the hall closet. He had spilled my water all over the floor and was trying to clean it up. It was a bit too much for a washcloth to pick up, but it's the thought that counts right? This tendency does make for more laundry though, because he always goes for a clean washcloth or towel when he spills his cereal in the morning, and usually tries to put them back in the drawer when he is finished, which probably explains the occasional smelly crusty rag I've been finding in there.

And then child number 3!  We are having a baby girl in about three months! We are super excited about it, especially the boys. Aiden likes to pull up my shirt and blow raspberries on my tummy, while Mason puts his mouth up against it and talks to the baby. Mason also tells me all the time, "I want the baby to come out now!" We are doing a home birth in a tub this time, I'm looking forward to it. I really don't like hospitals, and don't feel they are especially helpful for the laboring process. It'll be nice to be at home where I can sleep in my own bed with my husband right there and my boys where I can see them. I felt terrible when Mason had to stay at Grandma's for two days when I had Aiden. I feel like the transition is scary enough without being separated from Mommy and Daddy. They will be going to my aunt's house during the actual labor and delivery (unless it happens in the middle of the night), but then they get to come home.