Bad Mommy Moment #6,188

I let my kid play with plastic bags:

They make the coolest sound, and they taste pretty good too...

And Bad Mommy Moment #6,189:

I let my kid chew on sneakers.

He has alllll these toys (and many more)

But all he wants is a nice, rubbery tennis shoe. 

There are worse things, right?

2010 Handbook

I got this in an email today and thought it was great!  These are definitely some words to remember!

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and less food that is manufactured in plants..

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

5. Make time to pray.

6. Play more games

7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything.

28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

32. Do the right thing!

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. GOD heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come..

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

40. Tell the ones you love how you feel.

Have I mentioned?

Have I mentioned how awesome our babysitters are?  Have I mentioned how very lucky we are to be able to leave our little boy and know he is with people who love him?  Allow me to mention it now.  We have the best babysitters!  (Although babysitter sounds like a 16 year old girl...maybe I should say child care provider?)  My grandma keeps Mason on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Mason loves her so much, and I know the feeling is mutual.  Mamma's not a big fan of taking pictures, but here's one I have of them together:

How precious!  He was just a sweet little bundle then!

Our other "child care provider" is Alisha, my cousin Josh's wife.  She is so great with Mason!  He loves being with her and her 5 year old, Jared.  They do lots of fun stuff, like going for walks, spending time with other kids, and going shopping.  Here are a few pictures of Mason having fun at Alisha's house!

Playing with the dishes!  How fun!

Mason with his little friend Drew.

Looks like he's eating a cheeseburger!

Stickin' out that tongue!

All tuckered out after a long day!

We are so blessed to have such an awesome family that is so willing to keep and love our sweet little man!

What a Beautiful Saturday!

The weather around here has been crummy lately!  It's been cold and rainy and miserable, and we've all be wishing for a little bit o' sunshine.  Well today we finally got it!  It was so pretty outside, we decided we needed to go to the park! 

Mason enjoyed the swing a little bit more this time.

After some fun on the swing, we went through the tunnel!

Then we basked in the warm sunshine.

Thank goodness Uncle Steven was there with his camera to capture every moment of the fun!  (Seriously, he's good.  You should hire him.)

Next Mason got to go down the slide for the first time.  At first, he wasn't quite sure what to think about it...

But with a little help, he warmed up pretty fast...

After the slide, we just goofed around a little bit...

And had some more fun...

We are so thankful for beautiful days and fun times! 

10 Months!

Dear Mason,
Yesterday you turned 10 months old.  You were sick with a cold on your "birthday", so we didn't do anything except stay at home and relax.  I say it all the time, and I know people tire of my lamentations, but I just cannot believe that you are already 10 months old.  In just two short months, we will be celebrating your first birthday!  Part of me is sad that you are growing up so fast - those days of napping together on the couch for hours are over, and I always wonder if I cherished those moments enough.

But while I have sad moments, they are far outweighed by the happy moments.  You are becoming your own little person with your own little personality, and I love watching you grow up.  Sometimes you are shy - for a long time people wondered if you ever smiled or "talked", but just give them a few minutes to know you, and they fall in love too.  Once you know someone, you are able to wrap them around your little finger so fast.  You talk like crazy - "mama" "dada" "baba" "uh-oh" and lots of other things that you still have to teach us, and you even wave at people you love when we leave them.  Alisha is teaching you how to blow kisses, and (Mr.) Steven is teaching you how to high-five.  You learn so fast that we can barely keep up with you! 

You pull up on furniture now, and cruise all over the place.  Nothing in our little house is safe anymore, especially little Molly!  Sometimes she's not quite sure what to think of your mobility and your ear-pulling, but she loves you anyway.  I think she wishes you would cuddle with her sometimes, but you're too busy for cuddling!  Your daddy and I have joked about having everything taken out of the living room except maybe a padded wall to keep you from bumping your head so many times, but I'm pretty sure your head is hard enough to handle it!  We definitely see a stubborn streak in you from time to time, but you come by it honestly - with the family you have, we would expect nothing less!  When you grow up, I hope you use that stubborness to stand up for what is good and right, I pray that I am up for the task of teaching you to do that.

Your favorite foods are cheerios and Mum-mums, and we're giving you lots of other tastes too - pancakes, malto-meal, eggs, pretty much anything we're eating.  Your favorite toys are the things you can't or shouldn't have - power cords, laptops, remote controls, grandpa's cell phone (which he lets you have because he just can't resist!)

We think you're getting ready for another tooth or two...sometimes in the evening you're just not happy, and we don't always know how to make it better, but I hope you know that we're trying.  Being a mommy or a daddy is hard, but you are worth every hard moment.  We love you so very much, and I hope that you remember that forever.

Here are some pictures of you on your 10 month birthday (and the day before.)  Even though you didn't feel good, you were a trooper and tolerated mama's flash yet again!

Alisha got you this adorable lion hat!  You are so scary!  RAWR!!

I know you're a scary lion, but don't eat your finger!

My sweet drooly boy! You're all smiles, even though you don't feel good!

Kid, Mommy definitely thinks you're cool!  You are the coolest kid I know!

Love,
Mama

He's So Handsome!

I just had to post some pictures of my handsome little boy in his big boy outfit! 

Mason and Grammy

Looks like he was caught doing something wrong!!

Look at that silly smile!  This picture cracks me up!

He was staring at Grandpa's phone...he REALLY didn't want to sit in my lap!

Playing with his new piano.

Hangin out with Grandpa.

Learning how to high-five from Mr. Steven!  =)

Old Friends

Today I got to see several of my old high school friends in celebration of Chrystal and Shawn's engagement!  We had such a good time, and I am SO glad everyone found the time to get together and chat!  Mary and her husband Adrian brought their sweet little boy William, who is a couple of months younger than Mason.  They were so cute, watching each other and trying to figure each other out.  I cannot believe I forgot to take pictures!  But, I suppose that is a good excuse to get together again soon!  I'm so glad that my little man has so many friends his age that he can grow up with!

Mary - I know you're reading!  We really do have to get together soon so our boys can play!!