Monkey see, Monkey do

Of all the times for me to slack off on my updates, this was a bad one. Mason is at a very fun time in his development and it seems he changes so much each day. Tonight, while Scott and I were watching him in amazement of how adorable he is, I felt a sense of urgency to document everything about him so I don't forget how fun this time in our lives is. So hold tight because here I go.
As many of you know, I love monkeys!! They have the funniest little facial expressions and their curious ways make them so adorable. It has brought me great joy to watch Mason become my own little Curious George. I have told Scott I could write a story about Mason's daily adventures, (I would call it "The adventures of Mason and Ducky" - Ducky is Mason's stuffed duck) but Scott is skeptical of its potential. Anyway, now that Mason has completely given up crawling and is a walking maniac, it's as if a whole new world has opened up to him. Mason walks all around the house, yard, or store pointing and saying, "Wassat, wassat?". He not only wants to know the names of things he wants to experience first hand what they are used for. It has been amazing to me how quickly he picks up on how to do things! Kid's learning curves are unbelievable! I could go on for a year talking about all the things Mason has learned how to do this past month, but I will spare you all and just list some of my favorites.

• Mason has been learning his animal noises. It all started while Scott was in Arizona and Mason started doing a sheep noise, only this wasn't just any sheep noise, it was an angry sheep. I taught him that was what a sheep says and now when you ask him, "what does a sheep say?" he will tell you. He has learned another animal noise about every week since. He now does in addition to the sheep, a pig: wrinkles his nose and snifs really hard (see walking video for example), a cow: mmmmmm, and we're working on a lion: ra ra ra ra in his growly voice. Unfortunately he is often times bashful about doing it for a lot of people, but at home and with my parents he loves showing off his skills. Here is a video of him when he first started the sheep noise.

• Whenever Scott and I call each other on the phone, whoever has Mason will hold the phone up to his ear and ask him to "Say Hello". Up until now he always just stared at the phone and would be silent, but now the phone has become one of his favorite toys. He picks it up (even when no one is on the phone) and holds it over his shoulder and says "wowo" in a soft, nice, high voice. He will then walk around 'talking' in his high phone voice with the phone held to his ear. When a phone isn't available a remote or the baby monitor works just as well. I can't help but smile every time he does it.

• Scott really wanted to get Mason a little basketball hoop for his birthday. I told him he would probably like it more for Christmas or next year's birthday, but Scott insisted. So we got him the basketball hoop. The day after his birthday Scott kept trying to help Mason hold the ball and put it in the basket, but Mason didn't seem interested. Scott was a little disappointed that I was right. Later we were at my mom's house where she has the same hoop in her toy room. Mason was busy playing with some other toys when he saw a ball. He grabbed the cloth ball in one hand and started walking toward the hoop with the ball in an outstretched hand. He walked right up to the hoop and dunked the ball. It turns out he just wasn't interested in having help. Since then he has started saying, "Baw" for ball and loves to play b-ball with his Dad.
• My dad wears reading glasses and it really interests Mason when he is wearing them. So the other day he put them on Mason, which he thought was really neat. Later that day while playing with Mr. Potato Head he found the little glasses and knew exactly what to do with them. He nearly poked out his eyes trying to put the little, hard, plastic glasses on, but he tried nonetheless. Now that it's sunglasses season he thinks he's entitled to wear everyone's sunglasses. When he puts them on he always flashes a big grin like he knows he looks cool.

Okay, I could go on and on, but it's getting late. I have loved every day of Mason's life, but I must say 1 has definitely been my favorite age so far. I often feel like there is no way tomorrow could be better than today, but I am always surprised at how it really does get better and better. I love this little boy!!

Mason's Barnyard BBQ

Last night we had Mason's birthday party. Since Mason loves anything to do with Old MacDonald had a Farm including the song, his Baby MacDonald video, and his book Noisy Animals, I decided to have a barnyard BBQ for him. We sent out these cute invitations. The barn doors open up and there is this picture of Mason inside.

This was Mason's birthday cake. A big thanks to Scott who missed part of the Jazz game to help me do the cake and cupcakes (we made 24 cupcakes, not just the ones in the pictures). He was so wonderful to do whatever I asked without hesitation. I've said it before and I'll say it again....I have the best husband in the world.

We only invited our immediate families and our friends the Dastrups and Carliles, but that alone brought the number of party guests to 15 kids and 12 adults. Needless to say there was a little bit of chaos, but I think overall everyone had a good time. Due to the craziness I wasn't able to snap as many pictures of the actual party as I had hoped, but here are some that we managed to get.

This was a pre-party picture of Mason with his cake. If you look closely you'll notice some frosting on his lips. While we were busy trying to get the perfect picture he decided the cow's ear looked good and picked it off and ate it.

A picture of Dad, Mom, and the birthday boy!! Mason loved licking all the pink piggy frosting off his cupcake but had no desire to eat the actual cake. This is one of the fun toys Mason got for his birthday. He really likes pushing it around with little regard to anyone who stands in his way...just ask Karissa who got plowed over.

Other people took pictures on their cameras of Mason blowing out the candles (with a little help from mom) and opening presents (with a little help from Cannon and Halle), but I haven't gotten copies yet, so this will have to do. Thanks to everyone who came to the party.

Happy Birthday Mason!!

One year ago today Mason was born!! From the minute he was born he has been the most incredible little boy. I know that every mom thinks their child is beautiful, but Mason seriously was the cutest little guy as soon as he was born. Everywhere I went with Mason strangers commented on what a beautiful baby he was. I remember going to the doctor when Mason was 5 weeks old and while I was waiting in the exam room 4 different nurses came in just to see Mason because the nurse who checked us in had gone and told them he was the cutest baby she had ever seen (and working in a pediatrician's office they see a LOT of babies). Not only was he beautiful but he was the best baby. We have been so spoiled with Mason. I will stop bragging about my favorite little boy and show just a few pictures from the past year. Mason's first picture.2-month-old Mason. Check out that tummy. Did I mention he was a chubby baby? 4-month-old Mason. Love his big, beautiful eyes....still chubby. 6-month-old Mason. He's completely mobile and his mischevious ways are made known.9-month-old Mason. The cheeks are thinning making more room for his great big grin. 11-month-old Mason. He doesn't play like a baby anymore he plays like a little boy. He eats like a little boy, too. 1-year-old Mason. Oh how he's grown.

Spring Break 2008

Although no one in our family officially has a spring break, we decided to celebrate it with everyone else. Scott went on a golf trip down in Arizona with his dad and brother, Steve. Since I am not able to give a very accurate second hand account of what went on I'll just tell you the facts: 54 holes of golf were played, skin was sunburned, money was spent (shopping and golf), and the best part Baby Kayla was blessed (in Las Vegas on their way home).

This is a picture of one of Troon North, one of the really nice golf coarses Scott played on.

Scott was gone for 6 days which is the longest he and I have been apart since we have been married and it was the first time he's been gone since Mason was born. Needless to say, he was greatly missed. Mason and I were supposed to go on a trip of our own. We were going to spend a couple days down in St. George with some of my girlfriends and their kids on a mom and tot retreat, but since Mason had croup I decided it wouldn't be fair to the other moms and kids for us to bring all our germs along on the trip, so we ended up staying home which was really disappointing. But we did spend a fun afternoon at the zoo with Grandma Nancy, Kacie, Cannon, and Kennedy. Mason is at a very difficult age for the zoo. He is not content sitting in a stroller and not interested enough in the animals. He just wanted to walk around and chew on the railings, which he wasn't able to do, so he got a little frustrated. Overall it was a really fun day and nice to get out of the house. Here are some pictures of the day. Grandma Nancy with her grandkids Mason, Cannon, and Kennedy. Mason happy because he got to climb around on something. Mama and Mason with the Zebras. Mason loved riding the train. It was definitely the highlight of his zoo trip.

Since it was my weekend to work (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night) and Scott wasn't home to watch Mason, he got to sleep over at Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Val's house. They spoiled him rotten as any grandparent would. He had a blast going to the park with Grandpa Val and playing fun games with Grandma Nancy in the morning while I slept. I would get up with him after his morning nap and spend the afternoon playing with him until it was time for me to go back to work at which time he would get in the bathtub and play a little more with G & G before going to bed. I was so relieved he slept well and it didn't seem to bother him being away from home (which really wasn't surprizing since my parents house is like a second home to him), but by Monday morning he was definitely a little more emotional than usual and when I got up at noon he would not leave my side. Not that I wanted him to be upset, but it did feel kind of nice to know he noticed Scott and I had been missing from his life. When Scott got home from work Monday night and Mason saw him he was SO excited. Words really can't explain how Mason lit up as soon as Scott showed up. The rest of the night we all had to be in the same room because Mason would start crying if either Scott or I left. It was a fun week, but it sure is nice to be back with my boys again!

Mason is Walking!

I am a little slow in getting this post up. Mason started taking his first steps three weeks ago. At first it was just 3-4 steps at a time but now he can walk all the way across the room... if he wants. You see he is still not 100% convinced that walking is going to be better than crawling. If there is something he really wants he just drops to his knees and books it. He doesn't like it when we interupt his play by picking him up and trying to get him to walk for us. He uses the jelly leg defense until we give up and let him go back to playing. Sometimes when he's standing up he will just turn and start walking with a little wobbling but under pretty good control. With the weather hopefully getting warmer I hope he decides to adopt walking as his full-time mode of movement so he can get around better outside. Here is our best attempt at recording Mason walking which wasn't easy since he doesn't like showing off for the camera. Although I don't think it particularly highlights his walking I do think it shows a bit of his personality that pictures don't quite capture. Enjoy.

ER Visit

Last night we got to make our first trip to the Emergency Room with Mason. It all started when Scott and I were getting into bed around midnight and Mason began making some noise. We listened to see if he would go back to sleep but I kept hear him make a wheezy, gasping kind of noise so I hurried in him room to see what was happening. Sure enough when I got in there he was wheezing pretty bad. It sounded to me like he was having an asthma attack. We have suspected Mason has asthma since he was about 6 months because when he gets really active he wheezes a little, but it never has been this bad. Scott and I woke him up all the way and Scott sat and read books with him to try and calm down his breathing a little. When it didn't get any better after 30-45 minutes I called the pediatrican office and they told me I needed to take him to the ER to been seen and possibly get a respiratory treatment. So Mason and I packed up and left for the hospital. Of course Scott was planning on going with us but I forced him to stay home and try to get some sleep. I knew Mason was fine, he just needed a respiratory treatment, but I also knew there was a good chance we'd spend most of the night waiting in the ER and I didn't think it was necessary for both of us to miss out on a night's sleep. So Mason and I went to the ER. Mason was such a good boy the whole time, he never cried or fought the doctors and nurses who looked at him. The doctor decided it was not asthma, but that he has croup, which I thought was odd because he hasn't acted sick at all... no runny nose, no fever, no fussiness, and most of all no cough. But the doctor was 100% positive it was croup. So they gave him an anti-inflammatory medication to help his constricted airway and said that was all that could be done because it is a virus. I was satisfied with that because by this point Mason was sounding much better and was just wanting to go to sleep. So we came home to find Scott still awake waiting for us. Mason went right to sleep and slept the rest of the night. He has been his normal, happy self all day today, just still a little wheezy with his breathing. I knew that our first ER visit would have to happen sometime, and I must say it wasn't too bad. I just hope we don't have to do it again anytime soon.

Books, Books, Books!!!!!

When I was a little girl my dad called me his reading machine. This nickname came from my obsession with reading that started before I could actually read. Starting as young as I can remember my mom would sit out in the hall between my brothers' and my room at bedtime and read us a book. We would read a chapter every night. I LOVED IT!! I would much rather be read to then watch a movie. I learned how to read very young and then never stopped reading. I have always been a "one sitting" reader, meaning I usually end up starting and finishing a book in one sitting. It's not that I am a particularly fast reader, I just get sucked in and can't put it down. Since I rarely in my life have had a day that would allow hours of reading at once I've always preferred to do most of my reading at night. Nothing compares to being curled up in my favorite reading spot with a lamp on and the rest of the world turned off. It becomes just me and the characters. Well I have enjoyed very little guilt-free reading the past 4 1/2 years while I have been in school. I just couldn't afford to spend time reading leisurely material because I had so much else to do. Even after I graduated I couldn't enjoy a book because I knew I should be studying for my boards. But for the last month I have enjoyed some of the most splendid reading. It feels like I have been reunited with an old friend. I started out pacing myself well reading a book about every week, but just the last 2 weeks my passion is getting a little out of control. I have been reading approximately a book every day and a half. One might ask, where do you find the time to read so much with an 11 month old, are you a horrible mother, do you ignore him for your own pleasure....most definitely not!! This is where the problem is. I only read when Mason is asleep (excluding the time I spend every day reading Mason his books), which is also the time I get ready, do housework, and anything else for myself. So I have let my house fall apart: sink full of dishes, cupboards empty, laudry baskets full of clothes, drawers and closets empty. Okay it's really not that bad because Scott is still a functioning human, but it's not great. The real sacrifice has been sleep. I have not gone to bed before 3am once this week because I can't put my book down. I am just waiting for Scott to start enforcing a book curfew. So why have I been rambling on in this long boring post that no one really cares about....because I need some new ideas for books to read. I am open to pretty much any genre although I'm kind of in a Fiction rather than Non-fiction mood right now. I particularly like books in series so after I become attached to a character I can follow them for a least a couple of books. PLEASE!!! Let me know of any great book you have ever read.....even if you think I have probably read it...because maybe I haven't. I am thinking about copying my friend Natalie by posting my current read on this blog and maybe rating the books. I hope to hear from lots of people so I can go hit the library!