News Updates

A lot has happened since my last post...the most significant piece of news is that I'm pregnant! As of this post I am 9 weeks along. We found out around 5 weeks and decided it was too difficult to wait to tell friends and family so we spilled the beans early. Needless to say Troy and I are thrilled! This was a planned pregnancy even though a lot of people think we're crazy to have two babies 18 months apart. Just this last week I've been wrought with morning sickness which is really all-day sickness. Constant nausea that comes and goes accompanied with food aversions or really just an aversion to food in general. Nothing sounds good to eat.

Yesterday I participated in the Race for the Roses 5k event with two friends from work. I finished the race with a pace of 13 minutes/mile which isn't my best performance but considering I felt sick all morning I'd say that was pretty good. Troy was there to cheer me on and met me at the finish line. It was a lot of fun. However...when we got home, I was pretty much stuck to the couch for the rest of the day severely sick and exhausted. I only threw up once but it was the first time since I've been pregnant. I was definitely not this sick with Mason.

Another first happened yesterday as well, Mason had his first sleep over at my mom's house. We dropped him off at 5pm the previous night and picked him back up at 11am the next morning. The idea was for me to be able to get a good night's rest but with me feeling ill and the anticipation of the race the next morning, needless to say I didn't sleep well at all. Oh well, Mason had a blast at my mom's and slept great, only waking up at 4:30a for her and sleeping again until 8:30a. It's nice to know he does well over-night and that if needed again this is an option.

Well we're gearing up for Mason's birthday in a couple of weeks. I can't believe how fast the year has gone. He's almost walking independently. He takes about 6-8 steps on his own and then sits down. He's growing so fast and I just love watching his little personality develop. His actual birthday falls on a Tuesday so Troy and I are taking the day off of work to spend with it him. We're getting his pictures taken and probably having a mini celebration at home. Then on the following Saturday we will have the party with family. It's an exciting month and I should have more to post about in the weeks to come about pregnancy and Mason.

Until next time...

Is that one of the 12 steps?

I have decided to embrace the fact that Mason has not attached himself to any particular object for bedtime other than....my hair. There have been several failed attempts to replace the twirling and pulling of my hair with a "lovey" at bedtime. I even put to good use my new sewing machine and made him a lovey specifically for this purpose. But it never fails, as soon as he's in my arms for naptime or bedtime his perfect little hand slaps the side of my neck like a magnet and begins the hair fondling, intertwining his tiny fingers in my locks. The little patch of hair at the nape of my neck seems to be his favorite spot and at times I've been afraid that this patch will become bald from all the pulling and twirling. However, so far the only result has been scraggly messy hair trailing from my carefully pulled back ponytail. Doesn't the coined phrase go "we must embrance that which we cannot change"? or is that one of the 12 steps? Maybe I've been watching too much Celebrity Rehab...Nonetheless I thought this would be appropriate to blog about since the baby book asks me to list "things he's attached himself to" in which case I would have to descibe this hair attachment. Maybe I've got it all wrong and he's just jealous of the fact that I have hair and he doesn't. Whatever the case may be I'm now looking on this habit as endearing and adorable. So if next time you see me and I have a bald spot just behind my right ear at the nape of my neck...you'll know why.

Moving Forward

Friday is the big day - moving day. Packing and preparing the condo for vacancy is a huge hassle with a 9 1/2 month old. Finding time to pack between all other daily duties that go along with a baby is extremely time consuming. I've been able to get through packing 1-2 boxes with him content in his crib or pack-n-play but as soon as it's time to tape up the box, all hell breaks loose. He is terrified of the noise the packing tape makes when you apply it to the box. He starts screaming and huge tears roll down his plump little cheeks. The poor guy, I'm assuming this noise is equivalent to nails on a chalk board or something along those lines. Nonetheless the boxes must be sealed. I'm excited to move into our new condo. It will be MUCH closer to family and especially work. We've lived in these condos previously and loved them. They feature a nice park and greenspace with a path for walks and my new jogging regimen. I'm way excited. Also this condo is equipped with A/C, another huge plus. If this summer brings a heat wave like last, we will be prepared. Bring it!

Mason's latest accomplishments include making the tooth total 7! He's also getting more comfortable on his feet and cruises around the furniture like a pro. He's trying new foods all the time and it's fun watching him discover likes and dislikes. Sleeping has gotten somewhat better. He is battling a cold at the moment so that tends to set the sleep pattern back a bit. The other night I would like to boast that he slept in his crib, yes HIS crib, until 3:15am which is when he started crying and was brought to our bed to finish out the morning. Every night now he starts out in his own bed and then comes to our bed sometime in the late hours. I see this as a step in the right direction. Troy and I are rewarded everyday by Mason's presence and can't wait to see what the future has in store.

Lately

To Mason:
Soon you will be nine months old and that means big things for you. Only three months until your first birthday! I'm so excited to plan your party and celebrate the exciting year we've had. Lately we've been working on sleep...you have made yourself very comfortable sleeping between mommy and daddy on a nightly basis and it's time to begin the transition back to your bed. You take naps there, so let's start sleeping at night there as well. You are still crawling everywhere and cruising around the couch and using anything in your path to use as a handrail, including people. I'm starting to have some thoughts about weaning but I'm still debating on waiting until your first birthday. You recently cut four teeth within only a couple weeks of each other. All on the upper level. The last one just finished poking it's way through about a week ago. I'd say this is an impressive feat, cutting four simultaneously like that. Needless to say I cut you some slack with all of the whining and crying and let's not forget the nights where we would only get about 3-4 hours of sleep. I'm glad you are back to sleeping through the night but it would be nice if you could accomplish this task in your crib. Soon we will be moving to our new condo and I'm hoping that will be a jumping off point to your sleeping independently. Don't worry we will not let you cry it out and work yourself into hysterics. I will write again on your nine month day.
With all the love in the world,
Mama

Eight Months

Dear Mason,

Today you are eight months old. You are effectively crawling everywhere and pulling yourself up to stand on everything. Yesterday you aquired a third tooth and I expect the fourth to be on its way anytime now. You exude cuteness everyday and I sometimes wonder if you will ever comprehend how much Daddy and I love you. I enjoy and cherish every nano second with you and my life would not be complete without you in our family. I love you SO much.

Hugs and Kisses,

Mama

Snaggle Tooth

Today a third tooth has popped through. Last night was hell, and that's an understatement. The little bugger wouldn't sleep, and when he was sleeping it was a fitful tossing and turning. There was a lot of crying and fussing. This morning on a hunch I felt around his gums and sure enough, one of his lateral incisors on the top has come in. The one on the opposite side is pretty swollen so I expect that one to erupt in the near future. After realizing his anguish last night, I felt sorry for him. It's interesting to note that the lateral incisors are supposed to come in after the central incisors on top and bottom. Being that he has his bottom two central incisors you would expect the top to come in next. But for now he will just have a snaggle tooth on the top until the rest fill in up top in the front. Every time he cuts another tooth I get a little misty eyed when I realize how much he's growing and that it's going by so quickly.

Christmas Vacation

This Christmas I was lucky enough to have an entire week off to be with my family. Where to begin?? Mason has made huge advancements in his mobility. He is now vertical. He went from scooting everywhere to halfway crawling to pulling himself up onto anything and everything. I can't believe how quickly it has all happened. On the 22nd I was sitting on the floor with him when I glanced over at him and he had pulled himself up to standing for the first time. I couldn't believe it. Ever since then he just wants to be standing. Christmas Eve was our first wedding anniversary. Troy gave me a necklace, flowers and a cute card. I gave him a personalized Starbucks tumbler with pictures of us and Mason. Christmas morning we let Mason open his present from Santa; an Ernie stuffed toy. At this point he was more interested in eating the paper than what was actually under the paper. It was fun to watch him tear at the paper though. My favorite gift I got this year was my new sewing machine! It's great, I'm excited to put it to good use. 
Saturday we drove to Pacific City to celebrate our anniversary. We had lunch and took some pictures on the beach. The weather was perfect, blue sky and not that cold.
This vacation flew by but it was really great.