Mason turns 1

Wow! I am amazed at how fast a year can go by. And I am REALLY amazed at how fast a little boy can grow up. This first year has been an interesting one. From heartache to sleepless nights, overwhelming joy to complete terror, it has been a roller coaster. So it was only fitting that his last days being 1 had to be the exact same way. :)

I want to thank everyone who supported me on this crazy journey to Alabama a week before we had to move with a car load of party supplies. I know I obsessed about every detail of this trip and his party because I wanted this time to be so very special. I was more than happy to pull my hair out celebrating this little man. Sorry if I took a few of yours along the way.

Thankfully just about everything went as planned. Mason was a great traveler and barely fussed the entire time we were in the car. Leaving before the sun came up was definitely worth it! Sunday went almost exactly as planned. We got to go to church for homecoming, Mason took a nap during so he would be rested for his party, we got to pig out at the lunch after church (yall don't know a pig-in/potluck until you go to a southern Baptist one!), my helpers showed up and got the party room decorated beautifully, all the food was great, Mason wasn't shy and was in a great mood, and I got to see all my favorite people.

The only complaints I have are it went by too fast, I did not get to spend enough time with everyone, and I felt like I didn't get to have a "moment" with Mason. The party kind of reminded me of our wedding. It was a blur. I remember it but it felt more like a dream rather than reality. There was no "still" moment when it was just Mason and I, caught up in the moment, lost in each other. It was just organized chaos. Ha! Then there were so many people I love there it was hard to spend enough time with each person. I wanted to spend all day with each person that was there. Then Mason... he was the star of the show and everyone wanted to see him. I felt selfish for wanting to hold him the entire time and keep that moment to ourselves. So I let him be loved on by everyone that came to see him. I wanted to just sit there and hold him and tell him how much I loved him. But I had to keep reminding myself that I got to do that every day where those who were at the party do not get that opportunity.

The rest of the week was relaxing. We had a lot of firsts (play area at Burger King, zoo, slide, etc) and we had a lot of visitors. Mason loved all the fun he was having. He loved each adventure we went on each day and he loved seeing and playing with friends that stopped by to see him in the evening. My favorite part was his time spent with Mom and Dad. Those were some great memories that I will cherish.

Looking back at the week in Alabama, I am so thankful for that time with Pops. I know he is doing amazing compared to what he could be but I am so thankful he was 100% when we were there. The pictures and videos I got of them playing together now mean more to me than they did that week. It is hard to describe the feeling. And it is really hard to figure out how I should feel being all the way up here and not able to be there with him and help the family out.

So there are way too many pictures from our week in Bama to put on here so I am posting them to Facebook. I will eventually do a Shutterfly book so I will try to remember to post it here for everyone to see.

Mother's day

Well, I would like to say Mother's day was quite and uneventful but that just wouldn't be my life now would it...

Mason and I got up around 6 am Sunday. We played in the living room and had pancakes for breakfast. Shortly after, Doug got up. Since Mason was in a good mood and the weather was beautiful outside I decided to go for a run... BY MY SELF! :)  It was a little chilly so I wore pants and a long sleeve shirt. Since I was all covered up I forgot to put sunscreen on my face. My forehead and nose got a touch red but not enough to mention.

(I know the first paragraph was boring but it contains details that will be needed for part 3...)

So when I got back Mason was down for his morning nap. For Mother's day I wanted to go for a picnic. We planned to pick up lunch at Wegman's then head over to Down's Park on the Chesapeake Bay. I jumped in the shower and started getting everything ready while Mason was napping. Doug told me around 10 that his parents were meeting us at 11... So I had to pick up the pace.

Doug's parents showed up and I wasn't ready. They loaded the car and watched Mason while I ran around the house trying to get all the stuff we would need for the picnic. I remembered food for Mason, the table cloth, and the cooler of drinks....

We got to Wegman's and I pigged out. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I saw all that food! I got a "small" salad, turkey sandwich, fruit, and brownies. I then grabbed Mason a chicken finger and some mac and cheese. We piled all our food in the car and headed to the park. When we got there they were busy but not bad at all. We couldn't remember where the picnic tables were so we opted for a bench in front of the water. Luckily, Doug's dad had a folding table in his truck (they had a yard sale the day before) so we were able to set the table up in front of the bench.

Since I had not eaten anything since breakfast (hence the mention of the pancakes BEFORE a run) I was HANGRY! I scarfed my salad down while everyone else set up our little picnic area. I also remembered at this point that I forgot the sunscreen so we had to strategically place Mason's stroller so he would not be in the sun. The wind was really bad so we spent a good deal of time trying to secure everything to the table. Most of what I ate included a big mouthful of my hair... yum!

After I ate my salad I attempted to feed Mason his lunch. He didn't want anything to do with his chicken strip so I switched to the mac and cheese. He ate all of that and then Doug and I swapped. He fed Mason a peach and mango fruit pouch sucky thing (I really do not know what the correct term for those things are but mom's will know what I am talking about) while I ate my sandwich and fruit. Mason sucked down his fruit so Doug and him played while I finished eating. I cut a tiny piece of cantaloupe for Mason to try. When Doug gave it to him he gagged like he normally does when we give him something he does not like.

I didn't think anything of the gag and kept eating. But then, out of the corner of my eye I saw it start. One gag turned into another and the next thing you know he was throwing up. We got him out of the stroller just as he was finishing up. Since I am now a pro at this I whipped into action. Mason was stripped down, cleaned off, and... oh yeah... rushing out the door to get to the picnic, spare clothes in diaper bag were used the day before after he threw up on the way to the airport... there are no spare clothes in the diaper bag at the park!

So now we have a naked baby, with no clothes, at the park, sun shining bright, with no sunscreen....

I used the only thing I had, a jacket and a blanket.

We cleaned his stroller off and put it in the sun to dry. Doug's dad held Mason while I finished eating and we figured out what to do. We decided to clean up our picnic area, walk down to the pier, and then head home early. I was bummed. I wanted Mason to run around the park and play. They have a great playground and the visions of us playing on it were hanging over my pouting lip.

But once again, his throwing up and having no clothes had a bright side. If everything went as planned and we got to stay at the park longer, Mason probably would have gotten sunburned since we didn't have sunscreen AND my shoulders and face would have gotten a few shades redder than they already were. :)

Nothing like puke and sunburn for your 2nd Mother's Day... Yay!

The Story Behind the Story

I posted this picture on Facebook about a week ago with a thanks to a good samaritan who stopped to help clean up Mason's puke. Well, here is the story behind the story.

We got up Saturday with no rush. Mom didn't have to be at the airport until 1 (flight was at 3) so we had plenty of time to get ready and hang out. I got in the shower when Mason went down for a nap and planned a nice lunch to Chick-fil-a. Well, it was almost noon and Mason had not gotten up from his nap. I rushed to finish getting ready and to get Mason, his diaper bag, and lunch together. We were about ready when I remembered to grab Mason's birth certificate so we could escort Mom to the gate. I had made a copy of it the last time we flew down and kept it in my purse. Well, I looked there and everywhere else and could not find it. I was devastated because I knew they would probably not let me through security with him not having any form of ID. So I left the house in a rush from taking the time to try and find something that wasn't there.

When we got to Chick-fil-a they were slammed. There was no way we could find a parking spot, eat, and drive to the airport in time. So I opted for the drive thru and an empty parking spot in the grocery store parking lot. All three of us plus luggage and a diaper bag were a tight squeeze in the back seat. Mason was not interested in eating much. I got him to eat almost a whole chicken nugget, a fee bites of a french fry, and a cup of pureed veggies.

Mom sat in the back with Mason as we headed towards the airport. They talked and played but then things changed quickly. I heard mom say, "Oh no... OH NO!" And I immediately knew what was happening. Just like the last time we fed Mason Chick-fil-a in the car on the way to get his xray, he was throwing up everywhere in my back seat. Luckily we were right next to a place I could pull over.

I barely got off the road, put the car in park, and yanked Mason out if the car seat. I stripped him down, wrapped him in a blanket, and had mom take him away from the road. I then got the car seat out of the car, moved the car farther off the road, and opened the doors to let it air out. At some point during all this I talked to Doug and told him what happened. He was on his way to work and immediately changed course to come help me. As I sat on the ground, wiping everything off, an older gentleman stopped to see if we needed help. He gave me rags, paper towels, water, Windex, and whatever else he had to help me. He stayed with us until Doug got there and was the last person to pull out.

Mason was fine after he got some fresh clothes on. Doug talked to his boss and got the ok to come in late so he could take Mason home and watch him while mom and I headed to the airport. The only good thing that came out of this was not having to worry about if I would get Mason through security. Mom and I had a nice, uneventful trip through the airport and to the gate. Yay!

Mason videos

Mason is growing up so fast and learning so much! Here are two videos of him showing off his new "skills".

Birthday & Bama trip videos

I think it is safe to say Mason does not have a sweet tooth...




Playing at the Burger King playground




Playing with Grandma




Playing with Pops




Slide!

Family pictures

Before Mason's birthday party we went to Homecoming at my parent's church. It was great to have both sets of parents and Doug's Grandfather at church with us that morning. I was so thankful that Mason slept through the service. He needed to nap before the big party and this was his only time. Big thanks to Grandma for rocking him in the nursery for an hour so he could get a good nap in. Being a Baptist church and Homecoming, a huge feast was prepared for lunch after church was over. We all went over and pigged out! It was soooo good. After we ate we did a little photo session outside. These impromptu photos came out so good. I am so glad we took the time to take them before the craziness began setting up for the party.

Break time

One afternoon Mason, Mom, and I took a break from packing to enjoy the beautiful spring day. We went down to the park in our old neighborhood to let Mason swing. He was so tired he fell asleep! It was precious! I guess we were working the guy a little too hard and he was in much need of that break. Ha!

All moved in!

So we are all moved in to our new place. Still working on the settled part but we will get there. It is a transition because Mason is getting into everything now. I am having to rethink all of my normal decorations.

Mom came up for two weeks and was a great help with Mason during the whole process. She played with him and helped me out in the evenings so I could focus on packing, moving, and unpacking. He absolutely loved having my Mom here. He would light up every time he saw her.

Mason videos