Movin' On Up

Mason and his buddies have been heading to karate every Tuesday night since the fall, and we hit a big milestone today! They got their first belt promotion, from white to orange.

As Kushinda, the master, explained it, they are not fully accepted into the community until they hit this mark, so it was kind of a big deal. While they're still working a lot on the basics, they have mastered the art of following directions. Here's Mason performing the technique to move on:



Officially receiving his belt:



The new crop of orange belts:



And, the entire class -- as you can see -- there's a big range of skills and age levels, but all in all they have fun each week when they meet!



Lastly, striking a proud pose with Dad-O after the festivities:

New wheels

Check out the daycare kiddos rockin' their new ride. It's like a stroller bus!

Random Cuteness

About a month ago, Mason and his daycare buddies started going to karate class. On Tuesday nights, I meet up with them to make the trek down to 135th Street for the class. They all look SO cute in their uniforms with their little white belts. Here's a couple of videos from last week's class. They're getting the hang of it a little more each week.





And, last but not least, Mason helped me get a jump on Christmas baking. We made M&M cookies last weekend. Here he is helping out -- or sampling the brown sugar that Mommy spilled.