San Diego!

We had a great time in San Diego! It is definitely different traveling with a baby but we had a lot of fun! Mason was a trooper and is a great little traveler! I can't wait to take him on more vacations and show him the world! He did great on the plane- he cried a little when we took off but slept after that! Here are some pics from the trip!



Here's Mason wearing his "Baby Pilot" shirt excited for take off!

Mason waiting to see his Uncle Kevin and super excited to be standing up! (it's his new favorite thing!)Mason and Kevin. Kevin hadn't seen Mason since he was a month old!Mason ready for graduation and looking cool in his sunglasses and camo USMC shirtLa Jolla Beach...so beautiful!I love our little family!

We're leaving on a jetplane.....

Our little man is going to have his first flight tomorrow! We are going to San Diego for my brother in law Kevin's Marine boot camp graduation! We haven't seen Kevin for three months and can't wait to see him and tell him how proud we are! For the graduation, Mason will be wearing camo pants along with this:
As excited as I am, I must admit I am a little nervous about our first big trip with a baby. My three biggest concerns?
1. What on earth do I do if Mason starts crying in his scream cry on the plane? Every option that works at home (his swing, his crib mobile, taking him outside) are not options! I already feel sorry for the poor people on our flight with us.
2. How will I change him if he has a blowout diaper? Mason tends to save these diapers for really special occasions like being in the car or out in public...I am almost certain this will happen on the plane! I avoid airplane restrooms like the plague and there is no way I am taking a baby in there!
3. This one sounds silly but it is a concern- We have to check Mason's carseat at the ticket counter. That means it is going under the plane with all of the other luggage. I see how they throw things in there and how dirty and beat up things look when they come out. I don't want Mason's new carseat that was supposed to last through our second child to look like an antique! Not to mention- Mason puts his mouth ALL over the shoulder straps which will now be covered in suitcase germs!

So, wish us luck as we venture out on our first trip as a family of three! I am sure it will go great and my concerns will not be a big deal at all once we are there and having fun!

P.S. I am throwing some completely random pictures that have nothing to do with our San Diego trip into this post. These are of Mason playing in his exersaucer yesterday. He looks so puzzled by everything!

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!

5 weeks old!

Wow! I can't believe that Mason is already 5 (almost 6) weeks old! It is crazy how fast my little man is growing up! It seems like every day he is getting bigger and learning new things. We are having so much fun with him and loving being parents. Here are some of the things Mason is doing at 5 weeks old:

- eats 4 ounces every three hours
- is starting to smile and respond to us!
- holds up his head when sitting in his bumbo chair! ( the greatest invention by the way but that is a whole other post!
- loves being sang to! He seems to calm down instantly with music!
- has almost outgrown his newborn clothes! This is very sad for me!
- weighs around 10 1/2 pounds (this is a guess going off our bathroom scale since he doesn't go back to the doctor until 2 months
- is staring to sleep through the night! He slept 5 1/2 hours in a row last night and made mommy very happy!
- loves going outside....he is mesmerized by the birds and the wind!
- has had two play dates with new friends Austin and Jackson.
- is not a fan of naps! It takes everything to get him to go to sleep during the day...I think he thinks he is missing out on all the action!
- Still has dark hair and blue eyes! (I am hoping they both stick around!)

Our computer is acting up and will not upload any new photos so until we get that fixed I am limited on adding pictures. Here are a couple that we managed to get on the computer though!

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