A Spooky House or as Mason would say, "nooky ouwse"

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Mason is starting to grasp holiday festivities which makes things so much more interesting. Our festivities included making a Spooky House, carving pumpkins, a party with cousins, and with friends (thanks Erin and Tommy for another great Halloween party!). This year Kurt and I sported the Snuggie - yes that is right we were Snuggie models. Mason was a football player and my little Sadie bug was the cutest lady bug ever... seriously, look at the pictures.

The other significant highlight of October was a swollen gland in Mason's neck. We first noticed the "lump" the first of October. We immediately got him in to our doctor and antibiotics were started. The lump did go down, but not away. After a few weeks of watching it, a CT was ordered. We headed to Primary Children's and Mason was sedated for the procedure. In order to sedate him, they had to go through a vein on his hand. There was a lot of drama and trauma to get that in. And, there was a lot of crying for "choc -ca -ca- ca melk" since he couldn't eat or drink anything. When it came time for the scan, at first they were telling us that they would use some drug (ask Kurt if you want specifics) that would just calm him down and that stronger medication was only needed for "high anxiety" kids. Well if you know Mason, the first drug didn't even make a dent. We needed the hard stuff and then he just went limp in Kurt's arms. The worst part of the entire day was waiting for the results. I am not the type of person who gets worked up or worried about things when there is nothing to worry about. But, as the day went on I kept getting more and more anxious about the results. Luckily, the blood work didn't indicate that the lump was cancerous. We started another round of antibiotics and we will see where we go from there. I am almost certain though that we will have to do more than just another round of antibiotics because we are almost done with our dosage and the lump is still there. The CT also showed that Mason's tonsils and adenoids are HUGE. We have an appointment with an ENT this week to talk about removing those. I think once those are removed, a lot of his other problems with pronunciation, drooling, drinking out of a straw etc. will be solved. More to come on this topic.

In this picture you can see the lump in his neck. Imagine what it looked like before it went down a little!

September Birthdays and More...

September was filled with college football, bike rides, hunting, the dinosaur museum, rice cereal, Mason choosing his own outfits (against my wishes), and cute Sadie growing up. But most of all, September is a month of celebrating birthdays.

It is birthday season at our house. We started with a Cars themed party for Mason's 2nd birthday. We had been practicing all week singing the birthday song, cheering, clapping, and of course blowing out the candles. All of our hard work paid off; Mason was so funny at his parties to watch. His eyes lit up when the cake came out. He knew exactly what to do. He had a blast opening presents and having his cousins over. Now, he will randomly start singing the birthday song and then change whose birthday it is. Somedays it's my birthday, or grandpa's, or Kurt's. Whenever he breaks into song, if Kurt and I don't join in, Mason will sing louder until we follow his lead. It has been amazing to see how much he has grown up and learned lately, even if what he is learning is as stupid as what a birthday is.

The highlight of my birthday was a surprise Segway ride around the gardens at Thanksgiving Point and a massage and facial. Great day!
For Kurt's 30th, we went to Midway and swam in the crater and Kurt ate all night at the grand seafood buffet.

www.BRAGspot.com

The other night I was talking to some friends about how I needed to be having a really good day to view other people's blogs. If I am not feeling confident and happy with my life when I look at blogs, I find myself depressed at how great everybody elses lives seem to be. I realize that most people only blog about the best stuff, but their best stuff always seems way better then my best stuff. Then, I was talking to another friend who had mentioned one of my posts and how after reading it she was jealous of something in my life that seemed perfect... which made me laugh because my life is far from perfect. So today I am posting a lot of pictures of our August. To the outsider it would appear that the Keisel family is just one fun party after another. Trust me, there were a lot of bad days in August too; so if you are like me, don't get depressed over my

blog.

Brace yourselves for a ton of pictures (maybe if I posted more often I wouldn't have to include so many pictures at one time). Here is what we did this month...

1. A weekend at my parent's house while Kurt was in New York, with friends, to see the Yankees/Boston series.

2. Thanksgiving Point petting zoo. We learned that you should never wear yellow around cows.


3. Sadie has what is called Torticollis. Basically her neck favors one side leaving the back of her head flat on the side she always looks. She was headed for a helmet (the picture doesn't do the "flatness" justice) however I took her to a chiropractor like doctor and he adjusted her skull and then 48 hours later she started moving her neck to the other side. It was amazing! If you know anyone whose child needs a helmet I 100% recommend this doctor first.

4. We went to the Highland splash park and Mason learned that cement is hot enough to warm him up from cold water.

5. We went to Lagoon twice. Mason liked it better the second time when he had more cousins to ride things with. We took him on a lot of "big" rides like the Tidal Wave and Tilt a Whirl. He loved it!




6. We played at home. The highlights being Sadie's never ending smile, Mason trying to read to her, Mason wanting a bow too, and of course a photo op gone wrong.

Mason and Sadie

Life with two kids hasn't been that much different than life with one; Mason still takes up about 95% of my time, energy, and day. Bless his little heart. I am not sure what it is about him that makes him "difficult," but he is. I can say that with confidence now because Sadie is so different, so easy. I know now that I am not just an inexperienced mother who doesn't know how to deal with children. Mason has been hard and the proof is in how easy Sadie is.

The things that make Mason hard are also the things that I love about him. The way he depends on me for everything. I'm not talking about getting him juice or things like that. From the beginning of his life he has wanted me there to witness every step of his day, every car that he pushes, every sound that he hears, and every truck that he sees. His little mind is so complex. He can tell when people are being fake with him - and he doesn't care to please them with smiles or by saying something cute. He is detailed oriented, particular about how he wants things to go, cautious and slow to warm up to something new. He can be the life of the party, but it has to be on his own terms. I love how he challenges me to be a better, more patient mom. In a lot of ways I am glad that I got my demanding child first. I feel like it has helped me learn how to handle the stresses of parenting small children.

And then there is Sadie. Sadie is so patient, independent, and easy going. She is quick to smile and smiles with a sparkle in her eyes. She never gets bored with people talking to her. In fact, she loves it so much I feel guilty when I have to stop talking to her and get something done. She hardly ever cries and when she does it just breaks my heart because she doesn't deserve to cry. But, the best part about Sadie is her awareness. I can't tell you how many times I have been having a busy, stressful, or just a plain BAD day and Sadie knows. It is at these times that she has quietly played in her crib, put herself to sleep, or slept all night. It is a huge testimony to me that Heavenly Father knows me and knew that at this time in my life I would need a sweet baby girl to give me strength.

Motherhood is so fulfilling in so many different ways. I am grateful for the small moments during the day when I can look at my children and appreciate their personalities and what they add to my life. There is no greater achievement or honor than that of being a mother.