I'm on a boat...

Our good friends Kyle and Megan recently invited us to their families lake house in Centre, AL to enjoy a weekend get-away. It was a MUCH needed trip away from Nashville and an awesome way to introduce Mason to the water. It was Mason's first time on a boat, and since he has an extreme fear of elevators, we were skeptical how he would react to the movement of a boat. I suppose he loved it... or at least it was relaxing because he slept the entire time. Meanwhile, Megan and I put Will on the tube (we sat with him, of course)... where he quickly fell asleep as well. It was probably the most peaceful time of the whole trip. Mason and Will played great together...in fact they played pretty independently together which was a relief for the adults!

Now that Mason is walking, there are so many new experiences to explore. One of those being playing outside, which he LOVES! Mason loves swinging and sliding, so their backyard was perfect for him!

Kyle and I are quickly starting to learn that Mason is ALL boy... baseball, dirt, messes, etc. If he could choose between eating grass and eating beans, he would no doubt choose the grass. Besides his monk monk that Mrs. Rachel made him, he doesnt really care for stuffed animals, he hates books, but if you put a ball in front of him he will be all set. Just a random side note.

We decided to put the babies on the Relaxation Station with us one afternoon...





Mason fell asleep again once he got in the sun... I think I've determined that if he ever won't nap, I should just stick him in the sun for a while and he'll go straight to sleep.

We had a great time away with great friends. The babies were surprisingly very good (except Mason at dinner the final night which was TERRIBLE) and even had a couple "first's"... first lake trip, first time on a boat, first time eating scrambled eggs from a grill, first time having a popsicle, and first time saying Will (which he continues to say pretty frequently). Here are more pics from the weekend:

The boys saving the morning for us. The power went off in all of Centre, leaving us and the babies with NO breakfast. What better breakfast then grilled eggs, grilled cinnamin rolls, and grilled toast?!

Babies didn't seem to mind the grilled eggs.

Thank you Tomlinson's for a great lake trip!!

A day in the life...

Some pictures to enjoy:

My long time friend Rachel and her hubby Tyson came for a quick visit this past weekend. Rachel and I grew up together and were best friends all through school, so I was SO excited when she called and said that they would be in town for a wedding. Of course, Mason was super excited to see her as well!

Change is a comin!

Oh yes, change is coming for the Creamer family as Mason has finally learned to WALK!!! Of course, this had to be a day when I was working (just like when he learned to crawl and when he first said dada). Whenever Kyle is on duty to take Mason to MDO, they always go early and "walk" around the church, play basketball, etc... whatever boys do to waste time. This time, instead of Kyle holding his hand, he just took off on his own. His teachers said that he was walking around all day for them as well!! Kyle is so awesome about taking videos of all the milestones, but we havent really learned how to download them on the computer. Maybe we will work on that this week. Since then, he has taken about 7 consecutive steps and ALWAYS claps for himself afterwards. He loves standing up on his own and playing with Cali. People ask me if he walking around everywhere now, and the answer is no, not really. He will walk, but would still rather crawl or hold my hand. This will probably change in the upcoming weeks. Apart from this big news, Mason is starting to develop such curiosity. I often find myself sitting back and just watching him play on his own. He loves shapes and trying to figure out how they fit together, he loves building blocks together, he can get on his Mickey Mouse car and drive it around on his own, and he LOVES playing/watching baseball. His favorite fascination is the light switch... he can point to it, say "light" and turn it on... off and on and off and on and off and on repeatedly until I finally go crazy and develop a headache.

On an exciting, yet kinda bittersweet note, I decided to stop working for a while so that I have more time to stay home with my little man. I absolutely loved my job and the people I work with, but decided it best for my stage of life right now to spend more time with my family. Thus begins the adventures of stay at home mom!

What's up lately?

The start of Mason's 2nd year of life has been busy and exciting! He has decided to be independent and continuously on the go (crawling that is as he still has no interest in walking). It is amazing how much they grow in just a single year- a year ago I remember being able to lay on the couch, cuddled up with my little man, and watch different talk shows all the morning long. Sometimes I miss those days. I love Disney and PBS kids and I often find myself singing alot to the theme songs of Cat in the Hat and Super Why, but being able to watch Kathy Lee and Hoda would sure be nice. Actually, sitting down for more than 15 minutes would sure be nice. We have entered the stage of chasing Mason around the house 24/7. I really hope I dont sound like a terrible mother, but the places that I have found him hiding are insane.... of course the cabinets (which is pretty amazing because we have them locked with magnets), under the sofa, locked inside the bathrooms, on the back deck, etc... the list could continue on. The problem is that sometimes I think he is smarter than me. He knows how to open doors, lock them back, and then sits there and waits until I find him. It's hide and go seek at 13 months old, except mommy doesn't find it entertaining as much as scary. His favorite thing to do is unlock the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs, shut it back behind him and crawl up as fast as he can so that I have no idea where he is. He literally laughs out loud at himself. His second favorite thing to do is crawl into the laundry room (where Cali's food and water is kept), lock the door behind him and dump over all the food and water just in time for me to get the door unlocked with a wire hanger. Again, he laughs out loud at himself. Other than him being smarter than me, the second problem is that I think these things are hilarious, so of course I don't punish him. How can I punish someone who is laughing so hard because he thinks he is playing a fun game?? Kyle tells me that I have to become more strict with my discipline style.. so moms please tell me how you do it!

We had a great Easter weekend. I've realized that it's occasions like this that are hard not to have family around. I also realized that Easter Egg hunts would be a lot easier if Mason could walk. We enjoyed worship time and celebration of our Risen Savior with our Otter Creek family, then came home and spent the entire afternoon sleeping and watching Phil almost win his 4th Masters. I feel like people spend more time worrying about making the prettiest eggs and having the most elaborate baskets that the focus is taken off of what Easter is all about. I mean dont get me wrong... I took Mason to see the Easter bunny and spent way too much money on his basket of random stuff, but honestly what in the world does a bunny with lots of eggs have to do with the meaning behind Easter?? I should probably Google it one day so I can have an answer when Mason asks me this question in 10 years. Really, I want him to grow up knowing the meaning behind Easter- not just that it is an occasion for lots of bunny shaped chocolate treats. Knowing how to separate the two occasions is a bit blurred.

Gramps and Go Go taught Mason about God making the tall tall trees, so randomly he likes to show me how tall they are.

Mason continues to eat and sleep well. I think we are back on track with our 2 naps (I thought he was trying to go to one nap there for a couple weeks, but ended up he was just teething and miserable feeling). He loves playing outside and going on walks with Cali. Kyle took him his first baseball game this past week and he was fascinated by it. He kept pointing and saying what maybe was supposed to be "ball" but instead sounded like DAH. We joke that he speaks fluent Dutch, but English is only his second language. He is still fascinated by Cali, and actually I think Cali may be bonding a little more with him. This is probably why: