District time....

It is tournament time in the AAU wrestling world. We made the 1.5 hour trip on Saturday morning in time to weigh-in. Mason had been trying to watch what he ate the last couple of days of the week so that he could maybe wrestle the weight class below what he had been wrestling. He weighed in at 55.8 lbs so we had him run for a little bit to see if he could get the .8 off. Didn't work, and that was fine with us. However, he was a little bummed because the kid that has been beating him did drop a weight class, so they didn't have to wrestle each other. No reason for him to be bummed, right?! Well, Mason just really wanted to beat him so he was bummed that he wasn't going to get another shot at it.

He still had some tough competitors to go up against. A mother always wants to believe her child will do well, but sometimes you just never know. The rule is that the top 8 in the bracket move on to regions. So, I figured he would probably make it to regions. I wasn't prepared to actually have him wrestle the championship match!!! He did so well and we had to wait quite a long time for that championship match to come, as all of the other wrestle-backs needed to take place first.

Needless to say, we walked out with a 2nd place medal!! He did so well and will be seeded pretty good for regions that will be coming up this weekend!

Preparing

When we had Koryn, a lot of the things we either bought or received for gifts were girl things rather than neutral. I blame myself for not thinking ahead and getting things that were not gender specific, and I think I mainly did that because I didn't really think that we would have another child. So, now I have to deal with it. I have recently been looking for things that I can do in order to keep the same things that I have, but just make them more neutral. One of the things is a bumbo seat cover. The one that we currently have is purple and that just won't do for a little boy! Take a look at these and PLEASE give me your input on which one you think I should purchase from etsy.com (great site for handmade items by the way!!) I am horrible at making decisions!

Choice #1

Choice #2

Choice #3

:)

All I can say is that I am one proud mother. My kids never cease to amaze me and put a smile on my face!

Although the newest little Jones has been causing me to be rather crabby, I still love to see all of the things these 2 can do. There have probably been more times than not lately that I have yelled or gotten upset about piddly little things. I know as soon as I get upset that I need to calm down, but these darn hormones are just making me crazy lately!! Of course, I tell them sorry after I have gotten mad and we go along with playing, but I really do hope that they know I will not always be cranky!

How can I be mad at this smiling little cutie?! She has become quite an independent little girl who now loves to feed herself, let Mom know when it is finally time to get out of the bathtub, put lotion on after a bath, and even try to get her socks and hat on by herself. There are a few times when she will really get upset if I don't let her do things by herself, especially feeding herself, but most of the time she tries and then allows me to do it when she realizes that it may be just a little too hard for her to get done on her own. Her dad thinks that she is going to be a mute child because most of the time she will grunt or point at what she needs. But, sometimes men just don't listen to the little things. I have actually heard her say numerous word (whether some of them were mistakes or not!) She very clearly says "mama" when she is trying to get my attention, apple was a favorite last night, peak-a-boo is faintly heard as she is covering and uncovering her eyes, and of course 'daddy' and 'bubba' for Mason just to name a few.

And this is one exceptional little man. We travelled to Watertown last weekend for wrestling, even though he wasn't feeling that well. He got a first place bobble-head trophy and I think that he walked away feeling glad for going and not staying home.

Last night, he and his dad went to visit a friend of ours for some wrestling tips. I used to babysit for our neighbor and hung out with them quite a bit as a young girl. Their youngest daughter is also my goddaughter. Their oldest boy is an amazing wrestler and his dad told me that we should bring Mason down sometime for some tips on some moves he can use. So, I took him up on his offer. The boys came home in a pretty good move and were even practicing some of the stuff he had just learned. It is so good to see them share something special like wrestling. I can see how proud his dad is of him whether he wins or loses. Only a couple more weeks before Districts!

Princess Carrington

Ok, so I have to dedicate this post to my niece and god-daughter, Carrington. She had her 4th birthday party this weekend and I decided to do something special for her. I LOVE to give gifts and I usually try to make them pretty special. It is so rewarding to see the look on people's faces when they receive something that you have put thought into.
I had been looking at some pictures from a lady in the area that makes cakes. She had made a couple of castle cakes and I had told Ashley about them. But, by the time I contacted the lady there just wasn't enough time for her to get the cake done before the party. So, I decided to ask my soon-to-be sister-in-law, DaRae, if she would try her hand at making something. She is pretty creative and I knew that she had made a couple of cakes for her nephews before. She said she would try and this is what she came up with....I was VERY impressed and think I might see if she would teach me! Carrington was thrilled with the cake and it tasted SOO good!!
I have enlisted her as the official cake maker for my kids' birthdays!

Sweet babies

Yesterday I had my 27 week check-up which included the "oh so tasty" gestational diabetes test. The stuff they tell you tastes like orange pop really does not. I tried to drink it as fast as I could, but found myself wanting to vomit after every drink I would take! On top of that, I got really gittery afterwards for about 20 minutes and then proceeded to fall asleep in the waiting room after the sugar had wore off. The nurse is supposed to call today if the results were not good, and so far I have not heard from her. No news is good news! On the up side of the appointment, babies heart beat was "beautiful" as my doctor put it. We talked for a bit and I realized that I really don't have that much time left before the sweet baby arrives! We scheduled my next 3 appointments, with the 3rd being 9 weeks away and that will be my 36 week ultrasound!! I am overjoyed by this because we will get to see its face again and it will be much less alien-like.

Koryn has only been to 2 wrestling meets with us, and tested mommy and daddy's nerves the whole time. You can't blame her for wanting to run around while being cooped up in a gym for 3-4 hours, but it gets tiring having to run after her and while watching where Mason is going to be wrestling at. Moments like the one above make me think that she is still a sweet baby and won't get much more time to be the baby. I have been a little worried about how she is going to react to the whole baby thing in May since she has quite an attitude and personality of her own, but maybe she will surprise me and just be totally into the little guy. Either way, she is my little girl and will even if she won't be the "baby" anymore, she will still be one in my eyes!

Old friends

January 23rd was our wrestling tournament in Britton. There was a pretty good turn out and it was nice to not have to travel and waste a whole day. Although, standing on my feet from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM in the concession stand was a little hard on this pregnant mama!

Mason had a great day and we even got to see some of our old friends. When Mason was in kindergarten, his friend Tyson was also in wrestling with him. Tyson was (and still is!) a very good wrestler and it was good for Mason to start out with him. However, the beginning of their 1st grade year, Tyson moved and Mason was left as one of the only boys in his class in wrestling. We saw Tyson at a couple of meets but always hoped they wouldn't have to wrestle each other as Tyson is a pretty tough little guy (and knows his stuff!) When we saw them on Sunday, it was great to get to talk a little bit, but I was definately relieved after Tyson weighed in and realized that he wouldn't be in Mason's weight class. Then, about a half hour later Craig came and told me that Mason and Tyson would be paired together. I was a little worred, and so was Mason! He knows how tough Tyson is.

Well, the first match started and Mason and Tyson were paired to wrestle each other. I know Mason is tough, but I didn't think he was that tough! He really held his own and there were a couple times I actually thought that he could have a chance at winning. He made it to the last period and Tyson ended up pinning him. It was a little hard for him to lose since he is used to winning lately. But, it was very good for him to get experience wrestling someone that gave him a little run for his money.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150388580950571

If you follow the above link, you can watch the video of the who match!

He ended up getting 2nd, so it was a great day!

This past weekend we went to Aberdeen for their tournament. We always hope that Mason will not get put into a 5-man bracket as this means that he will have to wrestle more and be more tired out, along with us being one of the last people to leave the tournament. So far, we haven't been so lucky. Oh well, chalk it up to more experience, right?!
He successfully pinned his first 3 kids. We thought the last kid wasn't going to be too tough, but he proved us wrong. Mason and he ended up going into sudden death overtime and Mason lost by 2 points. He was pretty bummed (as were Craig and I), but he did get 2nd place for the day, which we think is pretty darn good!

We also got a very pleasant surprise on Monday morning when we found out that he got a nice big picture in the sports section of the Aberdeen American News! We were definately proud parents and I think he was feeling pretty good about himself, even if he did lose the last match.

Champ!

I have been kicking myself again lately for not taking pictures like I should. Hence, the lack of posts lately!

We have been VERY busy as the much awaited wrestling season has started! This is Mason's 3rd year of wrestling, and you can really tell that things are starting to kick in for him and make sense. In the previous years, he did awesome, but it seemed like he didn't really know what he was doing. He was in the learning stage and most of the time he just found himself to be a little tougher than the other kid and win the match. Well, this year is much different. As we drove to Clark on Saturday, these were his words to me,

"Mom, guess what move I am going to do first. I am going to put the kid in a head-lock and then trip him and then I'll pin him!"

He was so excited about this move and guess what, he did it all 3 matches and pinned all 3 kids!! It is amazing to see how all of that clicks in his head! Sometimes I think that I enjoy it even more than he does!

We also went to Aberdeen last weekend for the NSU tournament and he got 1st place there too! He had to be in a 5 man bracket, which means he had to wrestle 4 kids instead of the normal 3. He was pretty tired out, but did a great job!

You can tell that the pictures are not very good quality. I did remember my camera at the NSU tournament, but I haven't gotten the pictures off of the card yet. So, this second picture is from Craig's phone. However, I did forget my camera when we went to Clark this weekend, so the top picture is also from Craig's phone. I am so bad!!!