I've been asked by friends why I have never started a blog...well because we actually have a family website (www.themansellstory.com). And that satisfies the question of blogging and we go on with other conversation. However after the blog addiction I have developed since being at home after Mason was born in April, I really feel a bit left out. Our family website is mostly pictures with the occasional paragraph commentary of a picture. And that's a bit boring. Plus, everyone has cute blogs and my family website isn't cute at all! So as I sit in the quietness of my house (big thanks to a Baby Einstein DVD) I've actually spent some time creating a blog. How cool is that?!

Anyway

Recent happenings at our house basically revolve around our two kids - Madi and Mason.

Madi is 2.5 years old and is a bit of a diva. Everything must be clean,

everything must be in its place, and everything she wants must be perfectly the way she wants it...I think it is a "two

year old" thing/phase/nuisance. She loves her Ariel camera and her Minney Mouse cell phone. She's

attached to a cat that she lovingly calls "meow." Madi is a picky eater and prefers cooked carrots and vanilla soy milk over most "real" foods. Her favorite snack is "fish" otherwise known as gummy snacks to the rest of the world (we originally bought her Nemo shaped gummy snacks...hence the name "fish"...we've gotten cheap and have started to buy them at Sam's now, but they don't have Nemo shapes in the cheap section...but they are still called fish by miss Madi). She loves to dance! Her favorite kid song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider", but ask her what her favorite song is and she'll say "Apple Bottom Jeans." And yes, she does know the entire chorus to "Apple Bottom Jeans" better than she knows "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Mason is almost 3 months old. He seems to have an intense infactuation for Baby Einstein DVDs and ceiling fans. When I talked to the doctor about Mason's vocality (screaming) for hours (and hours and hours), he smiled and said that babies like Mason need extra stimulation because "studies have shown" that babies "like that" have higher IQs...so we thank the ceiling fan for adding IQ points to our child's score (*reread last sentence with sarcasm*). Once you ignore the screaming (for hours and hours), he really is a happy baby. Really. He smiles, giggles, coos...all normal baby things. He is very physical and can bear all his weight on his legs already. He loves sitting up (he does pretty good at that too) and can roll over from his back to his stomach. I think he will crawl sooner than Madi mainly so that he can keep up with her! He LOVES Madi and will actually stop crying when she gives him attention. Though you can't really explain to a 2.5 year old that she needs to play with a baby so he is happy. I try though.

Brit and I met in college at the University of Alabama. We lived in the same building at the University Downs appartments off 15th Street. We became friends (and secret crushes) while in college, but didn't truly date for a few years. We went out once (to Highland's Cafe) and then didn't date again for another year...we were engaged a year and a half later, and married in June 2005. Brit is a website designer and owns his own company (www.octanemedia.com). He loves anything that is fast and/or a challenge. Recently he has gotten into mountain biking, but still loves motocross (and he is counting the hours until Mason can share the love with him). I am an 8th grade science teacher. In my spare (haha) time I like to spend time with my family, get together with friends, take Madi to the park, paint, etc.

So cheers to the beginning of our blogging story, may it be a journal, an adventure, and an entertainment for my spare time