Trying out baby food!

Mason had his first experience with "real" food on Friday night. We tried giving him rice cereal! It went pretty well considering it was his first time and he seemed to really like it! We made sure to take lots of picture to document this important day!

I left Jared in charge of changing him and told him to put just his diaper on since I knew Mason would make a mess! He brings Mason in wearing his diaper and swim hat because he was worried the light above the kitchen table would get in his eyes! Too cute!

Here's Mason excited and ready to eat!


Taking his first bite!
And liking it!!
Daddy even tried!

Then Mason decided he could do this on his own and grabbed the spoon from Jared!
All in all, Mason's first attempt at baby food was a success! He looks pretty proud of himself!

The ups and downs of motherhood

I am copying this idea from Kelly's Korner because it sounded like fun! Since becoming a mom, there are a lot things that are easier than I would have expected and definitely some things that are harder than I would have expected. I made a list below of each!

Things that have been easier than I thought:

Pregnancy- This one was a big surprise for me! As much as I always wanted kids, I DREADED being pregnant. I thought it would be 9 months of pain and feeling fat. Maybe I just got lucky, but it was actually a great experience! I was hardly ever sick and all of the doctors visits, blood work, and tests weren't nearly as bad as I thought!

Childbirth- Once again, this was something that I dreaded. I worried about it for a good portion of my pregnancy! Surprisingly, and thanks to my wonderful friend the epidural, it was not so bad!

Breastfeeding- This has come easy to me and from talking to others I am fortunate it has. While it is a pain to work into my schedule if I am out and about, it has been pretty simple otherwise.

Adjusting to having a baby- Jared and I both agree that we can't remember what life was like before Mason! We love having him as a part of our family and any adjusting we have had to do is well worth it!

Late Night Feedings- I imagined being up ALL night with a crying baby for the first few months and luckily with Mason that hasn't been the case. While he still wakes up occasionally at night, he falls back asleep as soon as he is fed!

Things that have been harder than I thought:

Recovery from delivery- Oh how I wish someone had given me a warning about how bad this was! I expected childbirth to be so difficult that I didn't even think about the recovery! I must say though that I am so thankful Mason came early and only weighed 8 pounds. I can't imagine if he had waited until his due date...he would have been at least 9 pounds!

Having a newborn in the summer- This has not been an easy experience. We can't go to the pool, can't take walks, can't even spend much time running errands because it is SO HOT! Poor Mason gets so sweaty anytime I put him in his carrier for more than a few minutes. I am definitely ready for fall so I won't be homebound anymore!

Leaving Mason- I'm glad that I am not working, because being away from Mason is much harder than I thought. So far I have only left him with grandparents and the longest I have been away from him is 8 hours. Every week, I promise Jared we will leave him in the nursery at church but then I change my mind! I am sure that I will get better about this as Mason gets older but for now, I am extremely protective of our most prized possession!

I'm so thankful for everything and even the tough things are so worth it! I love being a mom and fall more in love with Mason each day!

Mason's first Halloween!

Even though it is still two months away, I am anxiously awaiting Mason's first Halloween! I had never been a big fan of Halloween until I googled baby Halloween costumes! Now I think about it all the time! There are SO many cute costumes out there that I can't decide what Mason should be! Please leave me a comment on which costume you like best!

So it's been a while!

I can't believe it has been over two months since I last posted! I thought for sure that I would have time to keep this updated now that I am staying home but I guess that is not the case! I am making a new goal to post at least a couple of times a week though! We have had such a fun summer as a new family! Mason is growing and getting more personality each day and we are so in love with our little boy! I think that he is pretty much the perfect age right now and don't want him to grow up! I will definitely be the mom that is sobbing outside his classroom on the first day of kindergarten! So here is what Mason has been up to during July and August!


He is now 16 weeks old! That is crazy to me! It seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant and couldn't wait for him to be here!
- He weighs around 15 pounds and is around 26 inches long. I think he is going to be tall and skinny.....many of his three month clothes are still big on him but are too short!
- He is still eating every three hours but is sleeping longer stretches at night. On good nights he will sleep for 7-8 hours but normally sleeps at least 6.
- He loves being around people and does not like being left alone! He wants someone with him at all times to entertain him.
- He is a not a fan of his crib....he will fall asleep in your arms at night but the second his head hits the mattress he cries.
- He is such a happy baby! We have been so blessed!
- He is smiling and laughing all the time! He will almost roll over from back to stomach...I say almost because he gets stuck on his arm and becomes frustrated but he's so close!
- He does not like tummy time! I am trying to better about it but he grunts and cries after more than 5 or 10 minutes.
- He loves his changing table! That is where we get the most smiles, coos and laughs. I think he loves being able to look up at us.
- He went swimming for the first time! I think he was a little confused about why he was taking his bath outside but he didn't cry!

- He is starting to notice and enjoy his toys. He especially loves anything with lights or music.
- He has had lots of play dates this month and is starting to notice and smile at his "friends!" Too cute!

Here are a few more pictures of our little man from the last couple of months!