Sit and Vacuum

Mason is learning how to sit in his chair and vacuum. Unfortunately, he has not mastered either yet. But the pictures of the trials and errors are too great not to share! Especially when he does both at the same time. :)

2 Straws Please

Our date night dinner Sunday night was to Green Turtle. They are a local chain that has a wide variety of food. I was craving crab dip and they have a really good crab melt sandwich. I ordered Mason mac and cheese (which he absolutely loved) and gave him some of the bacon off my sandwich. He has eaten crab dip before but that night he wanted nothing to do with it.

Anyways, his meal like most kids meals comes with a drink. Most restaurants will do a "to go" style plastic kiddie cup with a top and straw or they will serve it in a carton. Here, he got a cup just like mine but mini. It was that hard, green plastic. They put a "to go" style top on it and gave us a straw.

I normally will either pour his water into a sippy cup or I will give him water like a bird. Sorry, I am not sure how to describe it. He will open his mouth and I will use the straw to slowly poor the water in his mouth. For some reason, that night I decided to hand him his cup and see what happened. It was like I was asking for it... I was going to have a soaking wet kid, water all over the floor, and a big mess to clean up.

But he took the cup, put his mouth on the straw, and sucked. I was floored! He has been eating the sucky pouch things but never had he drank from a straw. He did so good. He knew how hard to suck and when to stop when his mouth was full. He got a little dribble on his shirt but that was it. And he knew he had done something special. I was making a big deal about it and he was eating it up. He was so proud of himself. And so was Mommy! So I went the very next day and bought sippy cups with straws and other kid cups with tops and straws.

Still trying to figure out the sippy cup with a straw. He tips it back like a bottle instead of leaving it down.

Fever round 2

After the fever last weekend, Mason went Monday through Wednesday with no fever. Then Thursday I got the call from daycare to come get him... again... I was not expecting the call but not surprised. Mason had unknowingly, once again, given me signs he wasn't feeling well. He woke up in the middle of the night crying and he was very fussy in the morning getting ready for school. At the time I didn't think anything of it but now it is all too clear.

I called the pediatrician's office and they said to call and make an appointment in the morning if he still had a fever. At 2 am his fever got up to 103 so I called first thing when they opened. The doctor said his ears looked clear, his throat was good, and his lungs sounded great. After his examination he could not find any reason for Mason's fever to be so high. He decided to do a little blood work to make sure there wasn't anything going on he couldn't see and it came back completely normal.

The verdict was, treat with Ibuprofen and acetaminophen and call back if the fever got higher or didn't go away after a couple more days. Luckily, the fever went away on Saturday and, as of this moment, hasn't came back. The doctor did say to call back if it goes away for a few days and comes back again like it did the last time.

Saturday we stayed at the house and Sunday we ran errands all afternoon. He was feeling much better and was enjoying being out and about with Mommy. I took him to one shopping center, parked in the middle, and walked from one end to the other. He was a happy camper! We grabbed a bite to eat for dinner and he chowed down on his mac and cheese. (See "2 Straws Please" blog for more on our exciting dinner.)

Mason is cutting 2 teeth (top, on each side of his two front teeth) that I know of and possibly more. He has been a bit extra fussy but I do not think that was the cause of his high fevers. I am just hoping whatever it is is gone and will not come back when we are at the beach!

Big Boy Seat

2 months later I finally picked out and purchased Mason's birthday gift from my Mom and Dad... a new car seat. It took me awhile to pick out one then I took some time to price shop.  I wanted to get a convertible one that would last all the way up until he no longer needed a car seat/booster. It will go from bach to forward facing and breakdown to a booster seat. They are more expensive but I now never have to worry about getting anything else for him. On the other hand, keeping up with the manual for all those years will be interesting...

I ended up getting the one I wanted from Amazon. It was a New, Open Box item (someone returned the seat, never used) so it was $50 off the retail price. Plus free shipping with our Prime membership.

Last night we put it in and this morning was his first ride in the new seat. He loved it. He was so excited when I put him in there and he laughed and babbled the whole way to daycare. He looks so big in his big boy seat. Breaks my heart. He is growing way too fast!

Fever... out the door

This past weekend was a yucky one in our house. It all started Thursday evening when I noticed Mason was acting a bit odd. He was really tired and almost limp when I put him to bed. He woke up around 11 pm crying but shortly went back to sleep after a little rocking with Mommy. He slept late on Friday morning and was very drowsy. When we got to daycare he stood by me instead of running off to play with his friends. He even cried when I left. It really worried me because he never does that.... like ever! A couple hours later I got a call from daycare saying his temperature was 99 degrees and then shortly after I got another call saying it was over 100 and we had to come get him. Doug picked him up and he slept most of the afternoon.

When I got home from work his fever was down so I got him to eat a little bit and we played until the fever came back. He had no other symptoms and the only time he got fussy was when his fever came back in between his medicine. I started doing a dose every 6 hours of Motrin but quickly changed to every 4 hours, switching back and forth between Tylenol and Motrin.

Saturday was much of the same. Fever, medicine, nap, play, repeat. The highest his fever got was 102.6 on Sunday morning. I called the pediatrician's office and they were not concerned enough to have him come in. He was eating (less than normal), playing, and drinking a lot. You would never know we were fighting a fever until it got over 101. He handled it very well. By Sunday afternoon his fever finally subsided. That evening I took him out for a long walk since he had been cooped up in the house all weekend. He was a very happy boy.

One thing Mason did learn while stuck in the house all weekend...

I guess it's time for the child safety door locks :)

Fridge of art

We have met another milestone in our lives. We are now the proud owners of Mason's Art Gallery. I think the fridge art is another rite of passage in parenting. It means, we haven't screwed up too badly yet and we are actually proud of what he (aka his teacher) has crafted. :)

Daycare playtime

Just a few pictures the daycare has sent me of Mason playing during the day. He has charmed all the teachers and has become one of the favorites. They call him the "Gerber Baby". And he is widely known for his kisses. Ha!

Jumping on the couch

Mason has discovered the fun that you can have playing on the couch. Sometimes he sits quietly, reading or sitting with me. Other times he is running, jumping, and crawling all over it. I love watching him play but my heart gets a work out from this little daredevil. He is definitely keeping my reflexes in check.

Another new room!

Mason has moved up to another room at daycare. My big boy was running all over the kids in his last room so they moved him again to be in a room with kids that were at his mobility level or higher. He is a happy boy so he wasn't bothered by leaving his friends. I think he likes the kids in his new room better but he is still getting use to the new teacher. He is also adjusting to sleeping on a cot. He has been a tired, fussy boy in the evenings because of his lack of nap time.  I hope he gets use to it soon. I need him to have good, long naps in the afternoon so we can have happy Mason at night! :)

Summer Nights

Mason and I have been enjoying these cool summer nights. From going on walks, swinging, or playing on the porch, we have been spending a lot of time outside. When we go out on the porch, he loves watching the birds and banging on the railing. Ha! I wish it had a gate that let out into the grass but it doesn't. I am waiting on a good summer storm to come along so we can sit out there and watch it rain. Oh, sweet memories...