Mason's First Christmas- Part 2

The week of Christmas we headed to Auburn to spend time with family. We are lucky in that both of our parent's are from the same town, so it makes going home easier. We can see both sets of parents, and they can take turns seeing Mason for a couple of days each. We spent the first couple of days at Kyle's parents house- enjoying great food, opening presents, and best of all- visiting Santa! A couple of days earlier I had received a text from my sister with a picture of the girls with Santa- they HATED him. After that, most everyone I talked to gave a similiar story- their child cried as soon as he/she got in Santa's lap. I was fearful of how Mason would react, but when the Creamer's offered to go with us to see Santa, I jumped at the opportunity. I am going to brag for a second and say that Mason did AWESOME! In fact, he was very curious of this Santa character. Instead of crying, he attempted to eat Santa's beard. No surprise at all considering the child thinks everything is edible. They didn't let me take a picture with my own camera, but I will try to upload a copy so that you can see it.

Mr. Al with Mason

Mason had a great time opening presents- he didn't really care what the present was, but he enjoyed playing with the paper and the boxes. He got some awesome gifts from his heyhey and nana- clothes, toys, and luggage for when he travels to visit them. Thank you Creamer's for Mason's presents! I know this blog is mostly about Mason, but I have to talk about Kyle's present that he got from his parents. I have known about it for a while and tried oh so hard to keep it secret (which I am TERRIBLE at doing around Christmas). Anyways, he got a Big Green Egg! Woohoo! Time to start making some pizzas!

Mason loves finding his daddy's old ornaments

Cali opening her present- she loved her squeeky toys

Papa (we couldn't find one that said Heyhey) and Nana coffee cups from Mason

"Where do I start?"

His Mickey Mouse car was one of his favorite presents

still playing with the paper...

loves his daddy

We had a great Christmas with the Creamer family. We wish it could have lasted longer, and of course Mason wishes he could have spent more time with Uncle Vince!

Mason's First Christmas- Part 1

I have been excited about Mason's first Christmas since the day he was born. I have imagined in my head what he would wear (I imagined a cute smocked outfit), his expression when he met Santa, helping him open presents, seeing all the lights around town... the list goes on. Needless to say, it has been something that I have talked about for a while now. My plans got thrown for a loop when I found out I had to work Christmas Day, but we made do and moved everything up a day.

Our holidays began with a trip to Opryland with Megan, Kyle, and Will to see the lights. We went on a Saturday night which had to have been the busiest night to go because there were SO MANY people there. The babies did so well and even let us get a couple pictures to highlight the night.

The two Kyles with the babies- it happened to be the coldest night of the year outside

We spent the next couple of days decorating the house and buying our Christmas tree. Kyle and I have the real vs. fake tree debate every year, and this year was no exception. There are many things that I will waiver on in our marriage, but the decision to get a real tree will never be one of them. One year he will understand that and stop asking. I had very distinct memories growing up of putting on Christmas music (we only had two cd's so it was between Reba and Michael Crawford), making hot chocolate and decorating the tree (mostly mom and I did while the others sat in the recliners and watched us). I had those same expectations when I had Mason- although it puts a new twist on things when he is trying to eat all the ornaments and pull the tree out of the holder. Regardless, they are memories that I will never forget.

9 months

SO much has changed this month....including CRAWLING! I have so much to catch up on!

Mason's stats at 9 months:

Wt~ 25 lb 10 oz (99.2 %)
Ht~30 in (96%)
Head~ 18 in (94%)
~eats half table food, half baby food
~still takes 3 bottles/day- this is going to be a tough transition to get rid of at 12 months
~2 naps/day at about 2 hrs each
~sleeps 10-11 hrs at night

Food-
I am so very blessed to have a child who will eat anything I put in his mouth. There is nothing that he wont eat! His favorites include: sweet potatoes, yogurt (although sometimes it makes him throw up), cheese, green beans, oatmeal, and bananas. Preparing meals definately requires more thought as we can now feed Mason most things that we cook. This means that we have cooked much healthier in the past month...good for M and for Kyle and I! I have to admit there are times that we are lazy and still revert to feeding him just baby food, but I try to add table food to most meals. We are a big fan of the Tyler Florence meals... they are a good portion size and have alot of great options. The only odd thing that we have run into as far as feeding goes is his reaction to yogurt. He absolutely LOVES it... but about an hour after he eats it he usually throws it up. I thought maybe we were giving him too large of a portion so we cut back- that didnt work. We stopped feeding it to him for a couple weeks thinking maybe he wasn't ready for it- that didn't work either. I finally called the Pediatrician and he said that it was no big deal (some babies just react different to dairy) and to keep feeding it to him. I know Mason was very happy to know that he didn't have to stop with the yogurt! M is improving with the sippie- he can hold it on his own but doesn't really know how to tip it up to make water come out of it. Same thing with the bottle- he actually prefers to hold it but unfortunately that makes feeding take forever!

Activities-

The life of Mason consists of two things: putting everything in his mouth and climbing into small areas. I know everyone says babies put everything in their mouths, but I guess I am just now starting to really get that. EVERYTHING goes into the child's mouth....I think he thinks in his mind "what can I find to put in my mouth and how quickly can I get to it". As if Kyle and I weren't clean freaks enough, this just makes it worse. He also has a love for tight spaces...specifically under tables. I don't know how he manages to get his chunky body under the table, but he does and he loves it!

He also loves playing in the cabinets (I have designated one cabinet in each room for him to play in), the laundry basket, his johnny jumper, the dishwasher, the walker, with the dog, and his new favorite is playing in boxes. I did alot of online Christmas shopping this year and I love getting the packages in the mail not really because it's a present but because it means Mason has a new box to play with.

This past month he has developed a very special bond with Kyle. While I am the one that comforts him/provides his daily needs, Kyle is the one thay plays with him. He lights up when Kyle walks in the room! Kyle has taught him dada (I told him to start teaching him mama but I think he is holding off on purpose) as well as how to give a high five! Guess he has a magic touch that I apparently don't have! He "talks" a good bit now- I have no idea what he is saying but I guess in his baby mind it makes sense to him.

On to the most exciting development of the month: Crawling!! It literally happened overnight. One day he was learning how to get in the crawling position the next day he was moving around the house at lightning fast speed. He loves to follow Cali around the house (he really loves the dog...she is like his personal toy that keeps him entertained all day). While it is super exciting, there are so many challenges that go along with it. Constantly keeping him away from the dog food, keeping him from eating the Christmas tree, making sure all choking hazards are out of reach. It's exhausting by the end of the day!! Nevertheless, it is so fun to watch! Sometimes I just sit on the couch and watch him wander around, thinking to myself "why does he find THAT so entertaining?" He is beginning to pull himself up, but quickly falls right back down. Oh the obstacles that will come with walking... I think I will take it one phase at a time!

For all the mothers out there that have babies.... just wait for this age! It is so exciting and fun and makes being a mom the best feeling ever!

Great Grandparents

There is nothing sweeter than seeing Mason with his great grandparents! Over the past few weeks we have been able to spend lots of time with family. Mason and I met my sister and the girls in Huntsville to spend some time with my aunt/cousins and my grandparents. Mason had a great time playing with Maggie and Emily, and of course I always love getting the chance to spoil my nieces!

Since I had to work Thanksgiving this year, Kyle's parents came to Nashville and spent some time with Mason. I know Kyle greatly appreciated the help and the company as well! They spent the day on Thursday cooking and had dinner on the table for me when I walked in from work...it was very nice! Thanks Creamers! We debated making a quick trip to Auburn on Saturday for Thanksgiving... well more importantly for the Iron Bowl. We decided last minute to pack up and head down. Other than Auburn getting their butts kicked by Bama and us getting stuck in traffic for 4 hrs on the way home, it was a great trip!

War Eagle!!

While to grown ups were talking, the babies decided to find their way through the cabinets to a box of sandwich bags. They were occupied for the next hour!

Poppie came to have dinner with us. He is so great with the babies and I love that they get to have a relationship with their great grandad!