7 Months Old

Mason is 7 months old!  What?!  At 7 months old, he is more stable when he sits up now, but I still put a pillow behind him when he's on the floor just for extra reassurance. He is also sleeping SO much better now - more consistent each night at not waking up.  He goes to bed between 7:30 and 8pm and will sleep until at least 6, sometimes 6:30am.  He takes two naps a day, usually one in the morning and one in the afternoon that last 1.5-2 hours each.  He is getting better at eating solid foods, but I need to do better about feeding him solids every day because I honestly forget some days.  So far he has tried cereal and pears.  Mason is so much easier to take places now too.  He is very content and if it he gets fussy, it is usually easy to distract him and keep him happy.  At this age, he has discovered what makes him a boy.  I knew this day would come and at diaper changes, we have to be quick to keep his hands from reaching, especially poopy diapers.  Yuck. Anytime his diaper comes off, he immediately starts grabbing and then grins at us as if to say, "found it".

Bath time is still one of Mason's favorite things to do as well as playing in the exersaucer, hanging out in the jumper and being outside.  He has also become very "talkative" - jabbering and making noises, especially fake coughing.  He will get his feelings hurt if you walk by him and not acknowledge him, bursting into tears until you pick him up.  Mason has also learned how to pretend to get upset and then when he gets your attention, he'll laugh and grin at you.  So rotten! 

Since my precious boy woke up at 6:00am Saturday morning, I decided to run up to Pedrick park and take some pictures.  I'm so glad I did it because I got some great pictures of him.  We arrived around 7:30am and the sun was already high in the sky and the steam was coming off of the pond.  I tried my best to avoid the sun, but it crept in on us anyways.  I love this non-mobile age, but I did learn that I'm a lot less frustrated if I keep Mason off the grass.  If there is grass within his reach, Mason will never look up at the camera because he is determined to grab a few blades of grass and chew on it. 

Here's my handsome boy:

And last but not least, did notice something missing?  A crying photo - there's not a single one to share!

Happy 7th Month Birthday Mason!

Saturday Fun!

Poor Kate woke up with a fever this morning, but that hasn't stopped us from having a fun Saturday.  Gigi offered for us to come over and swim, so that's just what we did. The water was still freezing cold, but that never stops Kate from having fun.  She filled up the pool with her beach balls, added a couple rocks, and went down the slide over and over again. 

 Sprinkler fun!

  She loves the water hitting her in the booty.

 Big sister loves to help any way she can - including pushing the swing.

 Sleepy boy.

This evening, Maddox and Maclain Mundie came over for a couple hours to play with Kate and Mason while Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Katie had a date night!  We all had a great time - the kids colored, played, ate pizza and then we all went outside and the kids played on the slide, kicked beach balls and colored with chalk. 

 Maclain

Maddox

So sweet!

Thanks for coming over Maddox and Maclain and come back soon!

First Softball Game

Last night, I met Justin and the kids at the ballpark for Justin's softball game.  Most of the games so far this season have been at another ballpark, but this game was the first one at Tom Brown so we took advantage of the close location.  I stayed at work a little late and got to the park around 6.  Since the game didn't start until 6:30, I let Kate play on the playground while Mason observed from the stroller.  I came prepared with a Happy Meal for Kate, so she was happy to leave the playground and sit on the bleachers to eat.  I promised her if she was good for the game I would take her back to the playground before we left and we did just that.

 Keeping entertained by drawing in the dirt.

 Love them - and notice daddy standing in the background, #7.

 

Both kids were fantastic so I'm sure we will try to attend a couple more games before the season is over.  Go CSC!

Mason's 1st Bible Class

Tonight Mason had a couple firsts which make me realize how quickly he is growing up, whether I want him to or not.  We met the Mundies for a quick dinner at Red Elephant before church and I decided to try Mason in the highchair for the first time.  We usually sit right beside the game room so Kate, Maddox and Maclain can run in and play without the adults getting up. Mason thought he had the best seat in the house - he loved watching all the kids.  

 His dinner was a plastic table covering - don't judge!  He only sucked on it for a couple minutes and I watched closely (besides, he doesn't have any teeth to rip it).

 Not wanting to miss any of the action.

 "I love this Mommy!"

Then, another milestone tonight was Mason's first time in bible class.  There are still several "big" kids in this class (over 1 year) and at this age, that's a big age difference.  But I knew he was ready and it was really me who wasn't.  Justin and I went to a visitation tonight during church, so my mom took him to bible class and took a picture of my big boy.  As I expected, he got a good report and his teacher, Mrs. Monty, said he loved it. 

First night of bible class at 6 months old!

Strollin' and Fishin'

This week we tried something new.  Justin and I both had the same thought to get outside and enjoy this nice May weather when I got home from work. We decided to go up to the Public Library at the corner of Pedrick and Mahan, just 5 minutes from our house, where there is a huge pond there and a great walking path that goes around the pond.  I put Mason in the stroller and he and I walked around the pond a couple times while Daddy and Kate fished. It was a great outing and both kids loved being outside.  Although they didn't catch any fish, Kate had a good time just throwing things in the water, which is probably why they didn't catch anything!  We had such a great time Monday that we did it again on Tuesday.  We were there only about 30-40 minutes, but it was enough to get some exercise and still get home in plenty of time for dinner, baths and bed! 

 

 Fishin' with daddy.

 Strollin' with Mommy.  He didn't make a peep the entire time, just enjoyed the ride and gnawed on his giraffe.

 Sweet baby feet.

A clean baby is a happy baby!

 

I hope the weather stays like it has been so we can take advantage of more evenings outside!

Job Update

I have had several friends ask me how my new job is going and I realized I never really posted an update about it! My new job is wonderful!! I am SO thankful for this new opportunity and I actually look forward to going to work each week. I am the budget analyst for two of the five programs at the Department of Revenue: the General Tax Administration Program and the Executive Program. It was an easy to transition over to this new agency since most of the job functions are so similar – writing budget amendments, doing bill analysis, monitoring expenditures, completing rate and salary reports, and the two biggies: creating the Long Range Program Plan and the Legislative Budget Request for the Department. I honestly can’t believe I have already been there two months already – time flies.

Looking back at my old job, I realize now just how much is was draining me. There was a lot of long hours, skipped lunches, weekend work, limited days off, a few frustrating co-workers, a lot of griping among the staff and an overall discouraging work environment. Some days were better than others, but most days were rough. I would be bombarded with phone calls, emails, office visits and work would pile up faster than I could complete it. A lot of this was out of the control of my immediate boss, but she was so stressed out that I never knew what to expect when she called me into her office – was I going to get snapped at or complimented?

However, everything at the Department of Education wasn’t negative – I spend so much time with several of my coworkers that they became like family to me. My boss was very accommodating during both of my pregnancies and with Justin’s health concerns, which was what I desperately needed during those hard times. Also, my mom was just a couple floors away if I needed or wanted to temporarily escape. I really enjoyed being the budget analyst for the Division of Public Schools and developed some great working relationships over the past five years. It felt strange when I went back to work on March 1^st not to be walking back into the DOE building. 

I have proven to myself that I can perform in a high stress working environment but I have also realized that it doesn’t appeal to me (at least not at this point in my life).  Maybe one day I’ll be interested in working in a fast paced environment again, but for now I’m enjoying leaving at 5:00 sharp each day, taking a daily lunch break and wearing jeans on Fridays. It’s the little things in life that mean the most to me right now!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is my first Mother's Day as a mom of two.  Simply put, I love being a mom.  It is an exhausting job, but more rewarding than anything I have ever experienced.  I thank God for the wonderful mother, grandmother and great-grandmother (who is no longer with me) he has blessed me with and I pray that I will be as wonderful a mother to Kate and Mason as they were to me.

It has been a great weekend over all.  Yesterday, I spent the entire day at the house, which was a nice change.  Although I cleaned out both of the kids closets, it was nice just to be at home and not have to go anywhere. When I woke up this morning, Kate gave me the sweetest homemade Mother's Day card she had made (with Daddy's help).  I also had a special treat from my mom that included a gift card to DSW, a gift card for a manicure, a framed picture of me with the kids and a cute necklace.

I wanted to do something special for the moms in my life, but I lack creativity sometimes.  I decided this year to invite everyone over to our house for a combined family Mother's Day lunch.  My parents, Mimi and Papa, Uncle Jordan and Aunt Katie, and Katie's mom, dad, sister and grandmother all came over and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  Kate was the after dinner entertainment, pulling out her microphone and singing anything she could think of - "Jesus Loves Me", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and even "Deck the Halls" (I'm glad she's not shy).

And here's a couple other recent pictures of my two little monkeys:

You may think Kate is wearing an eye mask, but it is actually her princess crown.  She often tells me she is a princess and that I am a princess too and Daddy is a prince.  When I ask her what Mason is, she tells me he is a pirate.

The bib says it all!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers I know!