He looks like....

Both of us! There are times when I think that Mason looks like me and other times that I think he looks like Zac. Today we got out some baby pictures and decided that he looks like both of us. I think he has my shape head and nose, and Zac's lips and chin. Then his eyes and brows look like both of ours depending on his expression.

He's got moves!

Not sure if they will be good moves or not, but he sure is cute! Hopefully he takes after his daddy in that department. :)

Toddling

Mason has been taking a few steps here and there the past couple weeks, but this weekend he was really gaining confidence. Today he walked almost all the way across the living room. Zac got the last half of it on video. Our little guy is becoming such a big boy!





It's funny how the first day I dropped Mason off at daycare, I cried for 40 minutes straight. I felt so guilty leaving him to be raised by someone else. On his last day of daycare 10 months later, I cried when taking him out of it. This time I felt guilty taking him away from the teachers that love him dearly. Poor kid didn't know what was going on...3 teachers and myself were all crying when they were giving their last goodbyes. They gave him gifts and such sweet cards. It's a good thing I didn't read the cards till I got home because I cried all over again when I read them.

His teacher on the left - they would say his favorite - wrote the following...

"Mason, I am going to miss you so much! You are the cutest, sweetest, most precious little boy I have ever known. I have enjoyed teaching you and playing with you every day. I can't imagine the kind of wonderful man you will grow into. I am not saying goodbye but "farewell" because you will be in my heart forever! I love you!"

Twelve other teachers wrote kind little notes...some from the Ducks class (he was there till he was 6 months) and others that either came in during breaks or were in the surrounding classrooms and couldn't help but fall for his sweet smile and friendly waves. It warmed my heart to know he was so loved by those who helped raise him during his first year of life.

On top of a gift and cards, they also sent him home with a cookie monster cupcake...which he loved!

Cheap Entertainment

Mason would take the clean clothes out of the hamper one by one, put them back in the hamper, and then take them out again. He did this several times...it was great!

He got some blocks for his birthday, and he loves stacking them. He has been able to stack them 5 high on two occasions. It's funny what makes us proud these days!

Life is good....

because the breast pump is officially in the closet!! I have spent MANY hours with this pump the last year, and I am SOOO glad to be done! It feels so good to sleep an extra 30 minutes every morning and to be able to go to bed whenever I feel like it without having to pump. There were many times I almost quit, but thanks to my stubbornness and encouragement from Jill I made it a year.

Life is also good because I have a wonderful healthy son! He loves to feed Sammy, push his walk-n-ride toy, and make funny noises and faces. He has also started saying more words. He also says ball, dada, doggie, bye, and hey. He will stay balanced standing for quite awhile, but he still isn't taking any steps.

Mason has had 6 or 7 ear infections since November so we were so excited to get his tubes put in. I feel bad that he had to get it done on his birthday, but I can already tell he's feeling much better. I thought the infant gowns were adorable!
I cant believe our little Mason is one! It was nice to celebrate his big day with much of our family in OK. He got lots of great toys and money for his college fund. It's a good thing we bought a wooden toy chest on craigslist to house all the new toys!

Life is great!

Bluhble

Mason started making this sound about 2 weeks ago...I think it's pretty cute! I wanted to get him to do some of his other tricks, but he wasn't up for it.

Its almost here!

I can't believe Mason will be a year in a couple weeks! Time has gone by so fast, and I've been terrible about taking pictures the last two months. Only 7 more weeks of work, and then I will have more time to do the things I want to do. It's hard to know where to begin on what he is doing and enjoying these days since I haven't given a true update in a couple months. I've been writing it in my baby journal, but I just can't seem to type it on the computer afterwards. I won't bore you with everything, but I'll share some of his favorite things. Such as....Feeding Sammy, I for see our dog gaining a few pounds in the next year. He thinks its great when Sammy comes and licks it out of his hands. He loves to look up at what's above...especially ceiling fans and lights. When we took him to Lowes a few weeks ago he leaned way back and just stared at the ceiling for several minutes...it was hilarious. He has started doing the bashful/playful game where he will bury his head. He LOVES to wave. He was a late waver, but now that he knows he never stops. He will wave at anyone. He also likes to growl, steal other children's paci's, and give open mouth kisses. His babbling is becoming more recognizable to us anyway. The main ones we notice him using are bite and bottle...of course it actually sounds like bi and baw. This picture was actually when he turned 10 months. I still need to take the 11 month picture. When I bounce him on my legs he always has his mouth wide open with his tongue sticking out. He hasn't quite figured out how to "blow" the kiss...it just stays on his mouth.

Mason is fascinated with putting his finger in holes. Reaching for the outside ceiling fan.

Last weekend we went with some friends from church to watch the Zac Brown Band concert and go camping. We had such a blast! We were excited to get home and see our cutie, but it was so nice to just be a couple for an evening. We needed the time away....even if we only ended up getting 4 hours of sleep. I can't remember the last time I stayed up past 3am on purpose!

Thank you Jimmy and Ashley for saving us spots so we could get awesome seats! We were right behind the pit area.

Here is a mini-video of him jamming. You can see how close he got to us. The sounds not real great because the camera didn't know what to do with all the bass. Awesome concert and company!