...and is ready to play some guitar hero!Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
small group babies
i've mentioned before that when our small group first formed, we were the "mwok" group... married without kids. a lot can happen in a few years!
some of the group moved, others joined, and several had babies. we had a mini-reunion tonight in honor of the phillips' visit to the states. we're now up to five babies and two on the way... unfortunately, we only had 60 percent represented tonight.
avery, mason, and aiden
*i took 46 photos and this was one of the only ones where all 3 were looking at the camera... let's just say that avery & aiden weren't the ones complicating things :)
big boy...not so big smiles
out of the 230 pictures i took today, i have 5 smiles to show for it... thank goodness for digital cameras!
brad took this one!
brad took this one!the flight home...
before we knew it, our vacation week was up. saturday came and we worked to squeeze all our stuff back into the suitcase so we could check out of the condo. our flight out wasn't until 4:30, but we had to be out by 10 am.
the drive to norfolk was uneventful and mason fell asleep on the way. knowing that it would be a long day, we drove in circles for a while to maximize the nap. when he woke up, we returned the bus and headed into the airport - 4 hours early!
we killed 45 minutes checking in (the southwest employees stationed at norfolk are WAY more picky than the ones in houston... my dad and i moved golf balls back and forth between bags so we could meet the under 50 pound weight limit). we spent another 90 minutes waiting to argue with avis over bogus rental charges and then grabbed a bite to eat. before we knew it, we only had an hour left so we headed to the gate. much like the flight over, mason giggled and wiggled while we waited. pappy provided excellent entertainment in the form of his blackberry and mason slobbered all over it until it ceased working. yup, pappy bought a new one on monday! :)
we boarded the FULL flight and made it to chicago with little incident. you should ask grammy about the stroke of luck we had in seating arrangements (all three of us in a row) as opposed to some rather large strangers who were the last to board.
our layover in chicago allowed enough time for dinner and for mason to change into his pjs for the last leg of our journey. of course, with minutes to spare before we boarded mason required an emergency diaper change - mere moments after we returned from his first one. crisis averted.
the plan was for us to board, mason to get his night-night bottle, and then sleep peacefully in my arms for the 2.5 hour flight. the best laid plans...
mason refused to sleep, and instead wiggled and climbed all over me for the entire flight. as an expert sleep fighter, he knew that if he slowed down for one minute, he would be sound asleep. so, he didn't.
to be fair, he wasn't crying or screaming. he just wouldn't sit still. at one point, the flight attendant asked if she could walk him down the aisle. sure. why don't you do a few laps around the plane. in fact, you can just keep him until the flight's over. (i didn't actually say it aloud, but i admit that i did think all of the above thoughts!)
what, you think i'm exaggerating? check this out... here we are, sitting ON THE FLOOR of the plane (i did lysol the area first) trying to prevent the meltdown...
and the best news of all... daddy was waiting for us at baggage claim! we missed him!
the drive to norfolk was uneventful and mason fell asleep on the way. knowing that it would be a long day, we drove in circles for a while to maximize the nap. when he woke up, we returned the bus and headed into the airport - 4 hours early!
we killed 45 minutes checking in (the southwest employees stationed at norfolk are WAY more picky than the ones in houston... my dad and i moved golf balls back and forth between bags so we could meet the under 50 pound weight limit). we spent another 90 minutes waiting to argue with avis over bogus rental charges and then grabbed a bite to eat. before we knew it, we only had an hour left so we headed to the gate. much like the flight over, mason giggled and wiggled while we waited. pappy provided excellent entertainment in the form of his blackberry and mason slobbered all over it until it ceased working. yup, pappy bought a new one on monday! :)
we boarded the FULL flight and made it to chicago with little incident. you should ask grammy about the stroke of luck we had in seating arrangements (all three of us in a row) as opposed to some rather large strangers who were the last to board.
our layover in chicago allowed enough time for dinner and for mason to change into his pjs for the last leg of our journey. of course, with minutes to spare before we boarded mason required an emergency diaper change - mere moments after we returned from his first one. crisis averted.
the plan was for us to board, mason to get his night-night bottle, and then sleep peacefully in my arms for the 2.5 hour flight. the best laid plans...
mason refused to sleep, and instead wiggled and climbed all over me for the entire flight. as an expert sleep fighter, he knew that if he slowed down for one minute, he would be sound asleep. so, he didn't.
to be fair, he wasn't crying or screaming. he just wouldn't sit still. at one point, the flight attendant asked if she could walk him down the aisle. sure. why don't you do a few laps around the plane. in fact, you can just keep him until the flight's over. (i didn't actually say it aloud, but i admit that i did think all of the above thoughts!)
what, you think i'm exaggerating? check this out... here we are, sitting ON THE FLOOR of the plane (i did lysol the area first) trying to prevent the meltdown...
and the best news of all... daddy was waiting for us at baggage claim! we missed him!
pea green soup
editor's note: the following post is a little more graphic than most posts, but since the blog serves as mason's baby book, this is one milestone too disgusting not to note... :)
it was late afternoon when we left the plantation to head the 45 minutes back to williamsburg. we had dinner reservations at 6 pm, so we thought we'd go to jamestown on the way home to get a little more educated about life in the 1600s. based on our guided tour at the shirley house, we thought a drive-through experience would be a little more appropriate, and we'd heard that the jamestown settlement had a pretty good one.
mason ate his bottle around 3 pm, and then we followed up with his veggie snack (peas) at 4. he didn't really seem hungry, but i chalked that up to eating his bottle late. he ate about half of the serving, then suddenly - without warning - emptied his stomach. mason has never puked before. i hope it never happens again.
without being too graphic, let's just say that the incident lasted approximately 5 seconds, but it was quite the event. the 6 ounce bottle and the half jar of peas blended smoothly and offered a hose-like spectacle for aunt kant's (and my) viewing pleasure. biggest puke ever.
miraculously, the bib mason was wearing and the blanket in his lap protected him from the mess. and in a stroke of luck, the car seat captured the rest, without it soaking into the fabric at all (apparently it had very well placed slits, with an even more convenient plastic compartment). he didn't have a single drop on him!
with all this excitement, we missed the jamestown tour (the driving tour closes at 4:30 and we arrived at 4:35), but made it to dinner on time. needless to say, mason didn't eat much, but his mood was greatly improved!
it was late afternoon when we left the plantation to head the 45 minutes back to williamsburg. we had dinner reservations at 6 pm, so we thought we'd go to jamestown on the way home to get a little more educated about life in the 1600s. based on our guided tour at the shirley house, we thought a drive-through experience would be a little more appropriate, and we'd heard that the jamestown settlement had a pretty good one.
mason ate his bottle around 3 pm, and then we followed up with his veggie snack (peas) at 4. he didn't really seem hungry, but i chalked that up to eating his bottle late. he ate about half of the serving, then suddenly - without warning - emptied his stomach. mason has never puked before. i hope it never happens again.
without being too graphic, let's just say that the incident lasted approximately 5 seconds, but it was quite the event. the 6 ounce bottle and the half jar of peas blended smoothly and offered a hose-like spectacle for aunt kant's (and my) viewing pleasure. biggest puke ever.
miraculously, the bib mason was wearing and the blanket in his lap protected him from the mess. and in a stroke of luck, the car seat captured the rest, without it soaking into the fabric at all (apparently it had very well placed slits, with an even more convenient plastic compartment). he didn't have a single drop on him!
with all this excitement, we missed the jamestown tour (the driving tour closes at 4:30 and we arrived at 4:35), but made it to dinner on time. needless to say, mason didn't eat much, but his mood was greatly improved!
the picture we sent daddy...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
the plantation with no escape...
after a lazy day of golf (for the boys) and spa treatments (for the girls) on thursday, we set out to see a real life plantation on friday. after a 45 minute drive down the most winding road i've ever been on, we arrived at our destination... just moments before the bottom fell out of the sky. we signed up for the guided tour of the main house and crowded on the porch in an attempt to stay dry. hmm... old house, small group, 10-month old teething monkey baby... what's wrong with this picture?
as you can imagine, mason was not the most quiet guest on the tour. he and the one other kid on the tour took turns squirming and crying out. when it finally got to the point that i thought it was disruptive, i tried to escape the tour unnoticed (something about mason chunking his pacifier at 350+ year old antiques). it was not to be. the tour guide turned, looked at me, and said "where do you think you're going?" i responded, "well, it appears that my child is being a bit disruptive, so i thought i would go outside for a few minutes so the rest of you can enjoy the tour."
"you're not going anywhere." what?? keep in mind that this is the same lady who moments ago was shooting mason and me looks to be quiet. and now we were banned from leaving? i'm still not sure what that was about, but lucky us, we remained in the tour... squirms, squeals, whines, and all.
we survived and the tour finally came to an end. i normally love these types of tours. but after wrestling a 22 pounder for 45 minutes, i was ready to call it quits! mason and i returned to the car for a bottle, while my dad and the rest of the family grabbed photos of the rest of the grounds...
as you can imagine, mason was not the most quiet guest on the tour. he and the one other kid on the tour took turns squirming and crying out. when it finally got to the point that i thought it was disruptive, i tried to escape the tour unnoticed (something about mason chunking his pacifier at 350+ year old antiques). it was not to be. the tour guide turned, looked at me, and said "where do you think you're going?" i responded, "well, it appears that my child is being a bit disruptive, so i thought i would go outside for a few minutes so the rest of you can enjoy the tour."
"you're not going anywhere." what?? keep in mind that this is the same lady who moments ago was shooting mason and me looks to be quiet. and now we were banned from leaving? i'm still not sure what that was about, but lucky us, we remained in the tour... squirms, squeals, whines, and all.
we survived and the tour finally came to an end. i normally love these types of tours. but after wrestling a 22 pounder for 45 minutes, i was ready to call it quits! mason and i returned to the car for a bottle, while my dad and the rest of the family grabbed photos of the rest of the grounds...
a brush with colonial times
what's a trip to virginia without visiting colonial williamsburg? on wednesday afternoon, mason caught a glimpse of life in colonial times...
there's nothing like a little war re-enactment... 
carriage rides are fun, horse poop everywhere not so much...
tied to the hitching post!
nothing but a bunch of criminals, i tell you! :)
all american boy
bye-bye williamsburg!hanging with aunt kant
one of the best parts about our williamsburg vacation was spending quality time with mason's aunties...
sand between my toes...
after our traumatic monday on vacation, tuesday was much smoother. we drove up to yorktown for mason to get his first beach experience. our original plan was to hit up virginia beach, but the concierge at the resort said, "oh, no, the yorktown beach is much closer, much nicer, and much less crowded!" that sounded like a winner to us, and she was 2/3 correct... let's just say that i'm glad we have a trip to florida planned for september because i'd hate for mason to think that yorktown qualified as a "nice beach!"
it was conveniently located, though, and had the benefit of being surrounded by little shops that we could stroll through... his actual beach experience (after an unanticipated nap in the car and a walk around town) ended up being a whopping 30 minutes. as you can see below, it was met with mixed reviews.
it was conveniently located, though, and had the benefit of being surrounded by little shops that we could stroll through... his actual beach experience (after an unanticipated nap in the car and a walk around town) ended up being a whopping 30 minutes. as you can see below, it was met with mixed reviews.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
license to whine...
we finally caught a glimpse of why mason has been rather whiny this week (unusual behavior for our typically happy-go-lucky boy).
i know, not the best picture, but if you look closely, you'll see the two giant culprits breaking through his top gumline. i also noticed the two on the other side not far behind... looks like we're in for some major tooth cutting!
monday
warning: this post contains gruesome details of a mommy’s imperfections. all perfect parents should vacate the blog immediately.
monday started off pleasant enough. mason woke, played peek-a-boo with mommy when he remembered i was in the same room, ate breakfast, and then played until it was time for his morning nap. after the nap, he was a little congested – enough so to warrant a saline & nose suction session. not a favorite activity for either of us, but certainly effective.
i grabbed what i thought was the saline solution, recruited aunt kant to assist, and then proceeded to squirt it up mason’s nose. enter the ear-piercing scream. wait. something’s not right. fearing the worst, i looked down at the bottle in my hand. omg. not the saline solution. instead, it was the 95% alcohol-content bottle of swim ear. unforgivable.
i quickly grabbed the correct bottle and flushed out his nose. and then dialed poison control. of all the inept actions as a new parent i’ve performed, this one was the worst. i felt more than terrible. and thought i might puke. thankfully, poison control said that other than flushing out his nose with saline (which i had already done) and watching him for any signs of respiratory distress (he was now laughing and playing with his train), mason should be fine. but there’s nothing quite like poison control taking down your name, address, and child’s name before you hang up the phone. could the day get worse?
why yes, of course. less than 30 minutes later, mason flipped over during a diaper change and banged his head on the bedside table. awesome. by this point, i was in tears and passed mason on to more capable hands while i cried in the parking lot.
after waiting a couple of hours to make sure mason was ok, my family dragged me to our intended plans for the day – busch gardens. grammy (the hater of amusement parks that she is) kept mason (which frankly, given my record for the day was a far safer place for him to be than with me). it was a good distraction and we rode rollercoasters until we could ride no more. grammy called to report that mason was playing happily and i relaxed and enjoyed the rides. there’s something about dropping 205 feet at a 90 degree angle at speeds hovering around 70 mph that calms my nerves. love, love, love the griffon!
all in all, it was a wild day. a whirlwind of emotions. happy. shocked. mortified. numb. exhausted. relieved. relaxed. excited. rejuvenated. reunited. to end this post on a happy note (writing it down as a permanent record has been painful), uncle g wanted mason to get a taste of what the griffon will be like once he reaches the required 52”…
monday started off pleasant enough. mason woke, played peek-a-boo with mommy when he remembered i was in the same room, ate breakfast, and then played until it was time for his morning nap. after the nap, he was a little congested – enough so to warrant a saline & nose suction session. not a favorite activity for either of us, but certainly effective.
i grabbed what i thought was the saline solution, recruited aunt kant to assist, and then proceeded to squirt it up mason’s nose. enter the ear-piercing scream. wait. something’s not right. fearing the worst, i looked down at the bottle in my hand. omg. not the saline solution. instead, it was the 95% alcohol-content bottle of swim ear. unforgivable.
i quickly grabbed the correct bottle and flushed out his nose. and then dialed poison control. of all the inept actions as a new parent i’ve performed, this one was the worst. i felt more than terrible. and thought i might puke. thankfully, poison control said that other than flushing out his nose with saline (which i had already done) and watching him for any signs of respiratory distress (he was now laughing and playing with his train), mason should be fine. but there’s nothing quite like poison control taking down your name, address, and child’s name before you hang up the phone. could the day get worse?
why yes, of course. less than 30 minutes later, mason flipped over during a diaper change and banged his head on the bedside table. awesome. by this point, i was in tears and passed mason on to more capable hands while i cried in the parking lot.
after waiting a couple of hours to make sure mason was ok, my family dragged me to our intended plans for the day – busch gardens. grammy (the hater of amusement parks that she is) kept mason (which frankly, given my record for the day was a far safer place for him to be than with me). it was a good distraction and we rode rollercoasters until we could ride no more. grammy called to report that mason was playing happily and i relaxed and enjoyed the rides. there’s something about dropping 205 feet at a 90 degree angle at speeds hovering around 70 mph that calms my nerves. love, love, love the griffon!
all in all, it was a wild day. a whirlwind of emotions. happy. shocked. mortified. numb. exhausted. relieved. relaxed. excited. rejuvenated. reunited. to end this post on a happy note (writing it down as a permanent record has been painful), uncle g wanted mason to get a taste of what the griffon will be like once he reaches the required 52”…
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
vacay – sunday rest
sunday was a lazy day for us, with mason adjusting to his revised (one hour forward) schedule and catching up from the long flight. we checked out the property, discovered that the tot lot was not so friendly for “tots”, and went swimming in the big pool since the kiddie pool was overrun by 10 year olds that apparently couldn’t swim. special k and I were on our own in unknown territory, so i didn’t bring the camera with us, but for your entertainment, picture this: a giant pool full of families splashing around, oblivious to the fact that a 10 month old was nearby. one guy kept launching his daughter in the air mere feet from mason and his trusty turtle. after a few glares from me, i think he finally got the idea and moved over a bit…
we played for about an hour in the pool, then headed to the chairs for some puffs. mason tasted a few sticks from the surrounding landscape and we relaxed for a bit before making the short trek back to the condo. mason crashed out from all the excitement and we took advantage of the down time and napped a bit. the rest of the day must not have been that exciting because i can’t seem to remember what we did! (the downside of not blogging on a daily basis!) monday, however, seemed to have enough excitement for the rest of the week combined…
we played for about an hour in the pool, then headed to the chairs for some puffs. mason tasted a few sticks from the surrounding landscape and we relaxed for a bit before making the short trek back to the condo. mason crashed out from all the excitement and we took advantage of the down time and napped a bit. the rest of the day must not have been that exciting because i can’t seem to remember what we did! (the downside of not blogging on a daily basis!) monday, however, seemed to have enough excitement for the rest of the week combined…
travel day
brad dropped mason and i off at the airport saturday morning, which kicked off our big adventure! in a stroke of luck, as we were unloading the car in passenger drop-off lane, my parents and special k hopped off the parking spot bus at the same time! thank goodness! with a stroller, two suitcases, a diaper bag, and a huge carryon, i had no idea how i’d manage to get all our stuff inside by myself!
we finally arrived, picked up the rental car (aka the bus), and headed to the resort where we met up with aunt kant and uncle g. whew, we made it!
we checked our bags at the curbside check-in and headed toward security. while i am thankful that tsa now allows formula, baby food, and other liquid items, i was slightly disappointed that i had to completely unload the diaper bag that took me no less than 20 minutes to pack the night before – just to make sure all the stuff would fit and the bag would still close! i was moving frantically to get everything in order – diaper bag unpacked? check. laptop separated? check. boarding pass in hand? check. shoes off? check. baby with me? oops! in my haste, i walked through the metal detector, leaving my mom with mason and the stroller. nice. i rescued mason, folded up the stroller, and walked through again hoping that we’d be able to reassemble everything without holding up the line too much. success!
now we just had to kill an hour before our flight. mason laughed, played, and tried to befriend every other traveler waiting at the gate – and for the most part, was pretty successful! something about that big grin wins over even the crustiest of people!
we finally boarded and were lucky enough to have an extra seat to give mason a little more room to wiggle. he sucked down the 10:30 bottle with such vigor that i was afraid he’d polish it off before we needed it to help pop his ears from takeoff! apparently all the excitement of the morning worked up an appetite in our little guy. the rest of the flight was a combination of wiggles, giggles, and eventually a nap in pappy’s arms.
after a quick stop in chicago, we were on our way to virginia. as the other passengers were boarding, i fed mason lunch. about halfway through his mixed vegetables, mason got a nose tickle. without warning, he sneezed, sending the fresh bite flying all over mommy. why is it that i ALWAYS pack mason an extra outfit, but i never include one for myself?! three wipes later, we finished the meal.
did i mention that this flight was FULL? with every seat taken, we were smushed into one row, with grammy taking the seat behind us. sleep was not on the agenda for this one, but the tantalizing toys carried us through.
we finally arrived, picked up the rental car (aka the bus), and headed to the resort where we met up with aunt kant and uncle g. whew, we made it!
packing day
with the family vacation to williamsburg, virginia, scheduled to begin the next day, mason and i set about packing friday night. sadly, brad’s new job didn’t come with much vacation time, so he wasn’t able to join us. knowing I’d need plenty of things to keep mason occupied, we packed a few of his favorite toys – including his train! fortunately, we had a suitcase big enough to accommodate it. i don’t think mason fully understood the packing concept because he would watch me put his stuff in, and then would promptly reach over me to take it back out. i could see “but mommy, that’s mine! i need that!” written all over his face!
we finally finished and went to bed, hoping to catch some sleep before the long travel day.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
10 months!
we are 83 percent of the way through the first year with mason and still loving every minute. our warp-speed crawler is into everything! no really, i mean everything. from drawers and cabinets to camera bags and purses, it seems that nothing escapes the curious grasp of our little monkey. while we've childproofed a LOT, we've also come to the realization that he (and we) are going to have to find some middle ground. one of mason's more endearing traits at this point is crawling toward something he knows he's not supposed to touch (i.e. the laptop, armoire cabinet door, dog gate, just to name a few) while shaking his head no.speaking of the word no, i've become very aware of how often it comes out of our mouths lately! my goal for each day is to say other words to mason more often than i say no. some days this is an easier task than others! most of the books i've read say that children don't understand "no" until sometime after their first year. i disagree. mason seems to fully understand the concept this month. the first few days we noticed this were marked by him bursting into tears any time we told him no. thankfully the crying part was short-lived and now he just stops what he's doing and finds something else (mostly!)
other milestones this month include signing the word "more" (the only one so far -- we're working on milk, eat, bath, sleep, and occasionally diaper), attempting to climb, cruising around the furniture, taking a few tentative steps, following us from room to room, and pulling up on us (instead of just stationary objects). mason also stoops to pick up items and is much more adept at standing and sitting gracefully.
he still has just two teeth, but has been trying various food from our plates which don't require much chewing. rice and beans from lupe tortillas and pappy's home grown watermelon seem to be his favorites so far.
and mason's smile and ticklish giggle continue to light up our days. we just can't imagine life without him.
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