The Year in Pictures

March 2009

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September

October

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February

March 2010

Mason's First Year

One Year Old!

I cannot believe my sweet baby is ONE YEAR OLD today!  We had his "Rock & Roll" birthday party on Sunday at my parents' house, and we had a great time.

We had balloons...

We had cake...

We had friends and family...

And we had a sweet little birthday boy...

Who is a little bit shy...

And doesn't like birthday cake...

So his mama had to put some on his face for him...

He was reeeeaal thrilled about that, as you can see.

I love my little birthday boy, and I'm so proud of all he's done in his first year!

Keep an eye out!  There's more to come on Mason's BIG first year!

Well that's new!

Mason has had quite a bit of exposure to other kids.  Bigger kids.  He has several cousins that he plays with on a regular basis and they are all sweet to him.  I think he feels very comfortable with these kids, and may even "boss" some of them around.

On Saturday, we went to a birthday party, and at this party, I experienced a brand new emotion that I can't even put a name on. (And if you attended or hosted said birthday party, this is between us!)

There were some older kids there too.  The ones I have in mind were maybe 3 and 4.  I was so proud of my sweet little boy.  I expected him to be clingy and shy because there were so many people there.  But he crawled right out of my lap and made his way to the toys.  The toy he wanted to play with the most was a V-tech truck that made lots of noise and had lots of buttons.  I watched with pride and a little sadness as he cruised his way on over to that toy...and had it jerked out of his hands.  This is where that new emotion comes in.  He wasn't trying to take the toy, he was just trying to touch the buttons and he had it repeatedly jerked away from him.  At one point the other boys even grabbed his hands and moved them away from the truck. 

Okay, I know kids.  I know at some point my child will probably do something similar.  I know these little boys just saw him as another kid trying to take their toy, but I felt the most insane sense of over-protectiveness I've ever felt in my life.  I waited for the mother to say something.  She didn't.  I wanted to say something.  I had to bite my tongue to keep my anger from spewing out at these unsuspecting preschoolers.  "Hey!" I wanted to say.  "He's a baby!"  "He's not trying to take your toy!"  "Push his hand out of the way again and see what happens!"  Those were the things (among others) that I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut.

After thinking about this for two days, I'm not angry at the kids...they were just being kids.  I'm not angry at the mother...her kids were just being kids.  I'm just shocked at the feeling of sadness that I felt when I thought my baby was being pushed around.  I have never in my life felt that kind of feeling, at least not that strong.  I wish I could put a better name on it than sadness or over-protectiveness, but that's all I can come up with.

And okay, I know now after rereading this that I may have slightly overreacted, but this is my baby, my pride and joy, and my heart breaks to think of anyone mistreating him, ever.

And now, I will simmer down.  =)

Spring Break!

Ahh, how I adore Spring Break, especially when the weather is as beautiful as it has been this week!  Today, Mason and I enjoyed the Spring-iness of Spring Break. 

After we ran some errands, we watched Electric Company. 

Oh my goodness, that woman lets her kid stand way too close to the TV.

Oh, and the closed captioning?  That's for families who have loud children.

After our show, we decided to go for a walk over to UMHB.  Here we are, ready to go!

Mason really enjoyed the fountain, can't you tell?!?

I had forgotten how beautiful the campus is!  It was so quiet and peaceful!

After our walk, Mason decided it was time for some T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

Ahh, how I love that little trouble-maker!  Now, how about one more week of Spring Break?

Brag!!!

I just have to brag on my little (almost) one year old!  Last night he slept from 8:30 PM to almost 9:00 AM!  He must have woken up briefly at some point because his blanket was on the floor (his new thing is throwing everything out of the crib onto the floor) but I never heard him and he obviously put himself back to sleep!  That is by far the longest he's ever gone at night!  He almost always eats between 3 and 4, so this was HUGE for us!

Then, this morning (after sleeping for 12 hours!) he got up and ate a great breakfast of oatmeal, toast, yogurt, and milk, and he's been in a great mood!

My baby's turning into a big boy!!

Friends

Today I got to see my friends, for the first time in quite a while!  Chrystal, Kathie, and Alisa came over, and I got to see Alisa's sweet daughters too!

We talked and ate, and talked and ate for hours and enjoyed getting caught up with each other.  Mason loved playing with Kate and Olivia!

Alisa is a kindred spirit.  She's the one who got me through my pregnancy during my work hours.  I can't even count how many times she watched my kids while I went to the bathroom.  She listened to me share my joy over Mason's kicks and pokes, she listened to me complain about my hip pain and having an elbow in my bladder, and she cried with me during the days after that dreadful ultrasound.  She is truly one of my best friends and favorite people!

Kathie, Chrystal and I haven't had a picture together since probably high school!  (I'll try to find one and post it!)  Here's our most recent!

Mason also received his first birthday present today from Ms. Alisa!  It's a puzzle!

He's allllmost got it solved!  =)

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”