Year In Review

It's been a pretty big year for us!  I can't believe 2010 is already over, and we're getting ready to start another year.  Here's a glance back at this year!  (Allow Mama to be sappy for a few minutes please.)

January - He started pulling up on everything he could grab onto.

February - He experienced his first snow day.  This was the biggest snow that I've ever seen, so it was fun to experience it with him.  He wasn't really a fan!

March - My baby turned one!  Was that really nine months ago??  I remember that I couldn't even sing Happy Birthday to him because I was crying so hard.  Time is just going too fast.

 

In March, he also ended up with the most horrible sunburn I can imagine on a baby, but I'd rather not post pics of that awful time!

April - Mason started walking!  Two days after his birthday, he decided it was time!  He also got his first haircut, which he was WAY overdue for!

May - Mason and I (haha) started Couch to 5K.  This was an amazing program, and it made me a runner...at least temporarily.  Mason had the hardest job though...

June - Mason took his first swimming lessons - a Mommy & Me class.  He was okay as long as I didn't try to make him do anything new! 

He also went to Kindermusik for a week and learned lots of new songs and dances, and got to play with lots of new instruments!

July - Mason and I (and Jessica and Lewis) dressed up as cows to get free food at Chick-fil-A!  We had a lot of fun being silly and eating free chicken!

AND, I completed my first 5K! 

August - My baby started daycare.  This was SO hard in the beginning, and I still feel a little sad when I see the picture of him the morning he started.  He has grown so much since he started, but I feel like he's a different little boy than he was then...

Daycare orientation... 

 The morning of his first day...

September - My baby started putting himself to sleep at night.  One night, after rocking and rocking and rocking, I finally just put him in his crib wide awake.  He never made a sound and went right to sleep!  He's done this almost every night since!  Here's the link to my original post.

October - Mason transformed into Woody from Toy Story for Halloween.  He was a very handsome cowboy!

And, the kid finally started eating when we got him out of that high chair and into a booster seat!

November - Mason and I went to several local parks since the weather was so nice.  He LOVES being outside, and LOVES climbing, so we spent as much time as we could doing both of those things!

 

December - We had an awesome Christmas with our little man!  He totally *gets* opening gifts this year and was a pro by the end!

Wow, what a year!  I have to confess that I can't look through all these pictures and milestones without tearing up a little.  I knew it was going fast...everyone told me it would go fast...but I didn't know that in the time it took me to blink, my baby would not be a baby anymore.  2010 was a great year for the Timberlake family, and we look forward to what 2011 has in store for us!

Hangin' Out!

Today, Jessica came over with the kiddos so they could play.  We planned on playing outside on Mason's new slide, but it was a little too wet thanks to the rain this week, so we just played inside.  It was funny to watch our almost-two-year-olds "play" together.  I really thought they'd have fun together, but they mostly just ignored each other.  At least, until they both wanted the same toy! 

Mason surprised me though by being very interested in Penny!  He wanted to play with her, but he knew to be gentle.  One time he even patted her belly and said "gentle"! 

He also may have headbutted her when he was trying to give her a kiss, but at least he said sorry!  =)  After some grilled cheese sandwiches and bananas, these boys were all tuckered out and ready for naptime!

Thanks for coming to play!

Merry Christmas!

Today was a pretty perfect Christmas in my book!  We slept until around 8:00 (I know this won't happen in the future!).  When we got up, we just lounged around a bit and played with Mason's new toys from last night. 

 But it didn't take the little man long to see the presents and decide it was time to get started!

First, he unwrapped his Elmo slippers.  He LOVED them and wore them all day!

This kid has really figured out the art of opening presents!

Immediately after opening presents, I put that kid to work sweeping and mopping!

After opening presents and cleaning up, I made breakfast - homemade waffles, sausage, fruit, and Orange/Pineapple juice.  It was delicious, if I do say so myself!

Mason wasn't so sure... =)

I admit it was a little strange not doing the same Christmas things our family has done for years (Big dinner at Mamma's with a gift exchange) but I love that we're starting new traditions as our own little family.  Today was a wonderful day for the Timberlake family!  Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

Today we celebrated Christmas with my parents and brothers.  We (okay I) were a little (lot) worried when their power went out around lunch time and we were supposed to eat at 3:00.  We (I) paced the floors wondering if Christmas dinner was going to happen, when finally Dad texted me at about 2:40 to let me know the power was back on!  We were all very relieved! 

We got to their house around 3:00, and Mason immediately found his first Christmas present!

He started saying "Cycle, cycle!"  Steven, Terry and Dad took turns trying to show him how to use the pedals.  I think it will take awhile! 

Then, while Mom was making dinner, Mason decided it was time to start opening presents.  We went along with him and did presents before dinner instead of after, like usual.

 Veggie Tales from Grammy and Grandpa

 A stuffed Elmo with a book from G & G

 "I'm the present!"

 Now that's how you unwrap a present! 

 Wheelies from Uncle Adam

 Posing with Mommy (and the new tricycle, of course!)

"CHEESE!!"

We had a lovely Christmas Eve, despite the weather and power outages!  We're so lucky to be able to be together!



Mason's New Toy

While we were gone on our trip, Terry put together Mason's Christmas present.  After getting unpacked and eating dinner, we took him outside to see it!

Mason loves being outside, and I'm glad we finally has something to do in the safety of our backyard!  I'm sure we'll be spending many hours climbing and sliding! 

(Thanks to Grammy and Grandpa for helping us get this for him!)

Road Trip!!! (Picture overload!)

This weekend, Mason got to take his very first road trip.  We went to Arkansas so he could finally meet my Grandpa and the rest of my dad's side of the family.  We left around 8:30 on Saturday morning, and let me just say, it was a bit of a rough ride!  We tried to stop a lot to give Mason breaks, and ended up stretching our 8 hour road trip to about 13 hours.  Our saving grace was a portable DVD player that we borrowed - Veggie Tales and Elmo to the rescue!

On the way up there, he only slept about an hour.  He looked too cute. =)

We got to the hotel around 9:30 and were ready for bed around 10:30 - Mason got to stay up LATE!  He fell asleep on me, but as soon as I laid him in the Pack & Play, he woke up screaming "NO NO NO!"  Sooo, guess who got to sleep with him?  That would be me.  I actually enjoyed watching him sleep, but I didn't sleep much myself.  That kid tosses and turns more than anyone I've ever seen!

Saturday morning, Pappa came to meet us at the hotel.  As soon as he walked through the hotel doors, Mason ran up to him and let him pick him up.  If you know my kid, you know this is totally NOT normal for him!  He's usually very shy and reserved with people he doesn't know.  I thought it was pretty neat that he was so comfortable with Pappa so fast. 

We hung around at the hotel for a while, visiting and waiting for lunch.  Mason and Grammy goofed around a bit and made us laugh.

For lunch, we met the whole family at Cracker Barrel.  I think there were 17 of us!  It was great to see everyone, and Mason did pretty well despite his lack of sleep (until the end of the meal, but that's another story.)

After letting Mason take a good nap, we went out to Danny and Carol's house to visit.  It was a lot of fun to see all of the kids together - they are all so adorable!

Mason and Annabelle

Mason, Daniel, and Ava

Mason, Annabelle, Ava, Daniel, and Abigail

Mason and Carol

After a fun day of visiting the family and getting to know the kiddos, we headed back to the hotel, and stopped for pizza on the way, since that's what Mason asked for. 

We both slept better Sunday night, until Mason fell off the bed around 4:00.  =(  It scared both of us and we weren't able to go back to sleep!  After a breakfast with Pappa, we were back on the road headed home.  Mason slept a lot more this time, and we made it home in about 8 hours instead of 13! 

The trip was kind of rough, but I'm really glad we got to introduce Mason to the family! 

'Tis the Season

I love Christmas!  I have always loved Christmas, but seeing it through the eyes of a child makes it seem so much more magical.  Last night, we went to the Christmas stroll in Salado to hear Terry's quintet play.  The whole town is lit up and beautiful, and we all enjoyed the feel of Christmas in the air (even though it was about 65 degrees.)  The quintet did a great job, of course, and Mason was so proud to see his daddy up there playing!

Today we went to "Christmas on the Chisolm Trail" in downtown Belton.  We enjoyed walking around and browsing through the goodies that were for sale.  We watched the BHS Harmony Choir perform:

And we saw an alpaca that silly mommy kept calling a llama.  Let's just say Mason was only impressed from afar.

After that, it was time for corny dogs and funnel cakes!

And then...Santa!

I love Christmastime with my little man!  It's all an adventure through his eyes!