Mason and Grandpa Mowrey

My dad came for a visit on Sunday. It was a gorgeous spring day and we spent some time outside showing my dad around our place. This was his first visit here. It was great that Mason was able to spend some time with Grandpa and we all wish he could have stayed longer.

We have been blessed with some warm spring days lately. It has been so nice to get outside and soak up a little sun. The flowers and trees are starting to bloom. There are so many daffodils in bloom! I don't think I have ever seen so many before. The dogwood trees are starting to bloom and the next few weeks will be just beautiful. I will have to take some pictures.

We are leaving Friday for vacation. We are headed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a week with Rick, Cathy and the boys. The rest of this week I will be busy packing and trying to get organized.

Mason has become an active little boy this week. I have had to raise the railing on his crib since he can pull up now. He has also been rolling over on his belly in his crib and "crawling" around in there instead of sleeping! Tonight, he finally fell asleep on his belly. He loves to stand holding onto things and is practicing picking up his feet as if he were walking.

Just a Little Old Man in a Rocking Chair!

Mason had his six month check-up today. He weighed in at 17 pounds 7 ounces! When the Dr. walked in, Mason gave him a serious look. The Dr. started laughing and said "He looks like a little old man!" He is a pretty cute "little old man' though! Mason had three shots today and he hasn't been cranky at all this evening. Last time he was cranky for about twenty four hours. It hasn't seemed to bother him that much this time, yeah! I bought this rocking chair at a children's consignment sale. It is so cute and Mason did well sitting in it for the first time. According to Uncle Rick, Mason can pull himself up from a sitting position to standing. I haven't been able to witness it yet though. Mason is also more vocal this week. He babbles all of the time...da, ba, ma, ga, goo. He sure is fun!

Kiss me, I'm Irish... well at least a little!

Look at those poses! I think he could be a little model! He isn't sure about that hat! He is use to wearing hats but not with such a big brim. He was shaking his head and trying to grab it. What a cute guy!

Whose that Baby?

Mason turned six months old on Monday. The time has gone by sooo fast! He is learning new things on a daily basis. He is fascinated with mirrors. I wonder what he is thinking when he sees himself in the mirror. Mason is now eating baby food three times a day. He can feed himself crackers and likes most of the foods we have tried. He is still working on crawling. He can spin himself around when laying on his belly and he has good crawler form. He just needs to figure out how to move those arms!

Mason has done well transitioning to his crib. He has slept three nights downstairs now. He is still waking up once a night but, he doesn't fuss about being in his crib. It was an easier transition than I anticipated, yeah!

We had some great spring like days earlier this week. Mason wore shorts two days in a row! It was funny to see those

chubby little legs!

We have interviewed three childcare providers and I think we have found someone. It was really important to me to have Mason in a smaller setting until he is at least a year old. I found a mom who has a 14 month daughter who will only take on Mason. It will good for Mason to be around a little girl since he only plays with boys now! So, hopefully this will work out.

For those of you asking about my work, it is going well. Some days are super busy leaving me exhausted at night. However, the staff is nice and try to help me out as much as possible. It is a different type of dental practice than my last job. So, it has taken time to adjust a bit. I now see a lot of children and teens where I hardly worked on any kiddos in California. It is a nice change though!

Rob is busy with his job. He has been working on huge houses, over 5,000 square feet. I don't know what people do with houses that big! I know I wouldn't want to clean one! The biggest house he has been working at is over 11,000 square feet! Crazy!

We are still waiting to see if Sydney's foot heals. I hope it does since the medication for it is very expensive. Too bad she doesn't have insurance!

Transition

Well, we are in the process of transitioning Mason from his bassinet to his crib. I have kept him in a bassinet in our room since his room is downstairs and ours is upstairs. Since he is still waking at night I did not want to keep making the trek up and down stairs in the middle of the night. But, now it is time for Mason to be in his room. I think he may be waking since he knows I am right there. He is also waking up to the alarm clock now. I have started putting him in his crib for all naps now. In the next couple of days I will move him completely to his room. I am sure he will protest at first! Mason has started babbling... ma and ba. This makes listening to him cry harder since he has been crying and saying ma ma ma at the same time. It sounds like momma although I know it isn't!

On another note, an update on our furry child Sydney. She has had a problem with her toe for several weeks now. I took her to the vet and they put her on antibiotics but the vet cautioned that this could be a serious matter. He said to watch the toe closely since it could be a tumor which is most often cancerous. Well, the toe has not healed and she was back at the vet yesterday. They did her teeth cleaning :) and took xrays of her paw. There were no fractures which was another possibility. Since the vet did not see a clearly defined mass, we are trying two weeks of antifungal medication. If Sydney's toe does not improve after that, she will have a biopsy or possibly a toe amputation. Let's hope for the best! This picture of her was taken a few weeks ago when she experienced it snowing for the first time!

Smart Boy!

Mason is so smart! He loves to push buttons and he remembers where they are. For instance, on his pack and play there is a music center with buttons. The buttons face the outside of the crib. Now when I walk towards it he starts reaching for the buttons. If I turn him away from them he wiggles and turns until he can see them again. It is just amazing to me that he has such a good memory.

Mason will eat green beans now. I guess it just took him some time to get use to the new taste. He has tried applesauce and bananas this week. It is funny to watch his face when he discovers new tastes!

We have had a busy week. Mason and I are interviewing childcare providers. Uncle Rick has been so gracious to watch Mason for the last couple of months. Mason has had a great time with Uncle Rick and his cousins. However, in May Mason's cousins will be out of school for the summer and they have very busy schedules. Uncle Rick will be busy carting his three boys around. So, Mason and I met with one person today and we have two more ladies to meet with in the next few days. It is hard work trying to find the right person! Wish us luck!

Bumpy Ride!

Well, Mason went for a wild ride the other night! Mason was not sleeping well and I had been up several times. I finally asked Rob to get up with him about 4 am. Rob picked up Mason and started down the stairs. All of a sudden I heard a thump, thump, thump. I have never moved out of bed so quick! Rob had slipped off the last few steps! Rob did a great job of keeping Mason safe in his arms. He didn't even cry, Mason or Rob! Poor Rob hit his knee hard since he had no hands to brace his fall. He also bumped his finger that he has stitches in (a work injury from earlier this week) and that started bleeding again. Rob and Mason are doing just fine; it gave us a good scare though!

Mason tried green beans last night and he did not like them! He made funny faces and shuttered! This is the first food he did not like! We will try them again though.

Swim Time!

Mason went swimming for the first time today! We met his friends, Jacob and Evan, at the indoor pool. Mason seemed to enjoy the water. He stayed in for forty minutes and didn't fuss once! He was mostly just observing and taking in the whole experience. We have a two week pass, so I am hoping to to take Mason again. The swimming really tired him out! As soon as I loaded him in the car, he was fast asleep!

After Mason had a good rest, he was back at trying to crawl. He can get up on all fours and he rocks and scoots. He is better at going backwards than forwards. We really have to get the baby proofing accomplished this week since he has discovered things like the VCR and speakers! Here we go!