Two tubes later. . . .

Mason is home and doing great! He did amazingly well this morning deviating from our normal routine of warm milk as soon as he wakes up! Blake and I were both pleasantly surprised. We were scheduled to be at the surgery center at 7 a.m., and not a minute earlier, since that's when they open. We had to wake Braden up so he could be ready in time, which is always a gamble. He tends to be much happier when he wakes up on his own. He did great this morning, but did have a "crick" in his neck, which needed lots of extra attention.

We were only in the office about 10 minutes before they got Mason in his "gown" and Blake in his scrubs and hair/shoe covers. Sorry, I didn't have the camera!!! He took Mason back, while Braden and I played a round of Go Fish in the waiting area. It was less than 10 minutes and Blake came back out. They put Mason under with a little gas, and in less than 30 minutes he was waking up. I remembered from Braden that he wouldn't be in a very good mood when he woke up. We heard him cry a few minutes before they came to get us. I went back to be with him, but even I couldn't bring much comfort. The nurse said they're just in a "funk" from being hungry and feeling funny from the anesthesia, etc. He finally fell asleep about the time the little guy next to us woke up with his own set of tears.


Having some grapes when we got home. You can see the cotton ball in his ear with a little blood on it.

Dr. Baker said his right ear looked great, but his left ear was infected, so we'll keep an eye out for drainage, but the tubes should take care of it in the future! We have to get him used to wearing ear plugs, that should be interesting!

He has a little bit of blood in one ear, enough to fascinate Braden, but so far seems to be fine. He doesn't have much on his tummy, some apple juice and grapes, but I think after a nap and a good lunch he'll be perfect. We hope!

Please send Mason good thoughts tomorrow!

He's getting tubes put in his ears!!!! We are very, very, very, very happy about this! Big Brother got them at 18 months and life was so much better! After an average of an ear infection a month (sometimes more) since November we've been broaching the subject with our pediatrician, but they didn't want to discuss it until he turned 1. So we made our own appointment with the local Ear, Nose & Throat doctor, on July 15, and he scheduled us right away! Prior to our ENT appointment, we took a trip to QuickCare on Saturday, with a diagnosis of infections in both ears. After a 5 day antibiotic, there was still fluid, but no infection. Dr. did a quick hearing test and said Mason was mostly hearing things as if underwater.

We arrive at 7 a.m. and it should take about 30 minutes. Send us good thoughts!

Love, love, love our neighbors!!!!!

We had plans to attend Tyler's "surprise" birthday party on Saturday night in Fayetteville. Everyone met at the Powerhouse in one of the private rooms. Tyler was quite surprised to walk in and see so many faces staring back at him!

We knew it was going to be a late night and had arranged with our dear, dear neighbor, Sabrina (mother of Braden's best buddy, Will) to watch the boys from about 4 to midnight. About mid-week she called and said words that were music to my ears "why come home, you two should just stay the night!" So we did! Much to Blake's surprise, I made the arrangements for us to stay at Inn at the Mill where almost 10 years ago we got engaged.

Blake and I cannot fully express our gratitude to the Arbuckle's for giving us the peace of mind to take that time for ourselves. It was MUCH NEEDED and we are so thankful to be in Pittsburg, KS, and have the friends we have here, ESPECIALLY our wonderful, wonderful neighbors!

THANK YOU!



Sunday morning, in front of the waterfall where Blake got down on bended knee. The sweetest part was that two different people asked if we were the newlyweds.

Our Future Executive

Blake got these great shots of Mason doing some serious work at Braden's desk on Saturday afternoon.

This serious work included chowing on Braden's markers and crayons!

Dad must have put them up higher, "hmmm how can I get my hands on those markers?"


This is poor Braden just trying to get a drink of Water, and Mason won't leave him alone!

We are ready for Kindergarten!

Friday afternoon, I picked Braden up a little early and we had a "special day" of shopping for school supplies and new school shoes. We got a little snack first at Starbucks, chocolate soy milk and a cookie for him and a smoothie for Mom! Then we walked over to the shoe store. It was not as simple as "these look cool" he had to try them on and see if he could run super fast in them. So we got the pair that (on sale) could make him run the fastest.


Then we headed to WM. I didn't have the supply list with me but had seen them in the store. I was trying to remember which items were listed and Braden was sadly disappointed to find he only needed crayons, a plastic box, tissues and baby wipes. He wanted markers, a ruler, glue, and mechanical pencils! He kept insisting that his nose was NOT RUNNING so he DID NOT need tissues. We also passed on the wipes, but I have plenty at home to send on the big day!

Almost 9 years. . .

It's appropriate that Kelly's Korner has "Show Us Your Wedding Dress" Friday, so close to our anniversary. On August 5, Blake and I will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. We only have hard copies of our pictures, and these are just a few that I had scanned in to have copies made. The best part of this dress was the back. The pearls on the neckline continued all the way around the scooped back. The train was two long tails with pearls attached, that hooked to the dress with three satin roses.

It was a beautiful day, a dream wedding, and the perfect groom!

Our flower girl, Samantha and ring bearer, Blake

Blake drove me to Memphis to meet two girlfriends, Sara & Charity. They were two of the most honest friends I had. I tried on a ton of dresses, made my decision. A few weeks later when I went back to get it, I took another brutally honest friend Brooke, and as we were waiting for them to bring my first selection out, we looked through some new arrivals and found this one! The sales lady was kind enough to let me swap.

Our wedding was perfect. We got married at Whitney Mountain Chapel in Garfiled, AR and had our recpetion at Crystal Hall in Rogers. Blake found both locations. I was still at ASU in Jonesboro for the bulk of our engagement, so Blake was a huge help!

Brush, brush, brush

On Monday night I let Mason stand on the stool and play in the sink. I had bought him a toothbrush to chew on while teething, so I found it and we put it to good use. I put a little "training tooth paste" on it and he watched Braden's every move to make sure he did it right. He loves doing whatever Braden is doing!

We left Braden's tootbrush at Papa & Nana's, the night we stayed at Nan & Pop's so Janet was kind enough to give us one of their "extras" nevermind that it has pink stripes, it's for an adult, and Braden insisted on using it at home, too!

What Blake Wants, Blake Gets!

The tradition in this Benson household is that every year for Blake's birthday he regresses back to his southern roots and requests a traditional Southern Fried meal. Fried Chicken, fried okra, mashed potatoes with grease gravy and biscuits. Mason's arrival detained this meal last year, and this year he was still in training mode for his big race. Well, the race is over, so this is what we had for dinner last night! Blake has officially fallen off the nutritional wagon! It was delicious. I've cooked this meal many times and I have to say this was one of the best. He would have loved it I had made Grandma's Mississippi Mud cake, too, but I'm saving that for another night. I was a little too ambitious in letting Braden help whip up chocolate chip cookies from scratch, they got left in the oven a tad too long.

Braden loved helping me prep for this dinner. He helped mix the egg batter for the chicken, then we let the chicken soak in it for a few hours. Then as I peeled and chopped potatoes, he rinsed them and put them in the pan, which he also got from the cabinet and helped fill with water. Mason was an amazing help, too. . .he took a nap!





In the middle of the frying, our friend Will came over for about 45 minutes. Enough time for Blake to let them pick a few veggies from the garden, including this "booty" tomato as Braden called it.

The first bite. This is a very Man v. Food face!

During our dinner, Mason was happy (most of the time) to climb in and out of this chair.

Nice to meet you, Cameron

Carli and Cameron were at a family reunion in Fayetteville, so on our way to Forrest City we planned to have lunch with them, so we could finally meet Cameron in person. Blake got to hold him first, but I couldn't get the camera out in time before he needed to chase Mason down.

This was a great expression from Cameron, looking over Tyler's shoulder.

I tried to explain "gentle" to Mason but he wanted to pat Cameron's head. . .hard.

Mason - 1, Cameron - 2 months, and Braden - 5

Forrest City Marathon

Although we were in town for the Triathlon, it was truly a Marathon weekend. The drive was great, Mason and Braden both did great! That doesn't mean we got there without tears or meltdowns, but they were minimal.


While Braden and Blake headed over to Pop & Nan's, Mason and I stayed put at Nana and Papa's so he could get his nap in. Before nap he decided to color with Braden's new colors, which last about a minute before he decided to eat them.



Early Saturday morning, Mason got very quiet. . . he had found his wipe container and decided to do a little cleaning.



Of all the pretties at Nana's house (believe me he got into everything) his favorite "go to" was poor Taco's doggie bed. Taco is Nana and Papa's chihuahua, and was more than happy to see us go. Mason was not deterred by Taco being in the bed he would plop down anyway!


Braden was thrilled to spend some time alone basking in the "yes you can have chocolate ice cream for dinner" mentality of grandparents, while we went of to Memphis.


The Memphis skyline from the new bridge. Blake wanted Rendezvous Ribs, and he definitely deserved them!



His youngest brother Dean was able to join us for dinner. His wife Carli and baby Cameron were actually in F'ville for a family reunion.



Nan & Pop have a beautiful coi pond in their backyard, with pea gravel around it and pea gravel paths. I remember all to well how stressful this was when Braden was one, and it hasn't changed for Mason. He wanted to get in the pond or eat the gravel. Nan told Braden he could throw one or two rocks in the water and he thought this meant one or two at a time.


Pop instructing Mason on throwing the pea gravel.


On Friday night, Braden got the very special treat of going to a play with Nan. I think it was called "Into the Woods" and it was a compilation of classic children's stories. One of her friends played the Wicked Stepmother, and Braden was very impressed to meet her after the show. He loves plays and this was very special unexpected treat for him!



One of the highlights for Braden was helping Pop dig potatoes out of his garden. They insisted we bring some home, so the boys helped Pop bag some up.




Their yard is so pretty I wanted to try to get some good shots of the boys. Not sure how sucessful we were, but here are a few good ones. Nan had her camera and I had mine, between the two of us there are a few framers!



I do believe this is a framer!







Our final goodbye to Nana and Papa. We literally feel like a tornado swooping in and as much as they love to see us coming, I'm sure they're exhausted by the time we leave!