Good Friends, Good Times

Yesterday was quite a day. First Travis and I had our last appointment with Dr. Alverson. My 6 week checkup. I'm completely recovered from the c-section! It's amazing how far we have come, from our first appointment more than a year ago when we wanted a baby so bad, to the day we started Clomid, to the day he confirmed we were pregnant, to the day we had our baby Mason. Full circle. I'm going to miss seeing all the friends we have made in the office, they took such good care of us. Maybe we will be back again one day!?!?!?! Lord only knows. :)

MJ watched Mason for us at the house, he was still congested so we took him to Dr. Greer's just to make sure he was okay and he is. We love Dr. Greer, he spends so much time answering our questions and alleviating our concerns. He's great.

As soon as we got home, Brad and Holly came over with dinner. It was SOOO good! Chicken, salad, rice, black eyed peas, Holly can cook! They got to love on Mason and Holly and I spent a good hour on the sofa just talking. It was SOOO nice having girl talk. Brad is so lucky. Travis and I prayed that he would find a wonderful girl to marry. We could not have asked for a better person for him. Brad seems complete and it is so great to see them so happy in their new marriage.

And finally, Mason is now officially smiling at us all the time. He even giggles. He just melts my heart every time I see those dimples! What an amazing milestone.

A Very Special Prayer

There is a wonderful person on my mind tonight. She is loving, beautiful, intelligent and a wonderful friend. She has been praying for something to happen in her life for a very long time and I'm hoping with everything that I have that her dream comes true. To this very special person, we love you. To all my friends who read this blog, please say a prayer for this wonderful person tonight. Thank you.

Karlee, Rolley Len, Mason and Car Seat Drama

I just noticed something so very cute.....take a look at this sequence of pictures we took at Karlee's birthday party and Mason's face. Mason is looking up at Karlee, smiling as if to say "Well, hey there little lady, what's your name?"

Then he thinks, "Wait a minute, this girl is trying to get into my car seat and I don't know if I like that too much"

Then he thinks, "Daddy, I mean she's cute and I want to be her friend, but I really don't want to share my car seat."
Then he notices yet another adorable blond. He thinks, "Okay, there's another one coming at me, trying to get into MY car seat. What are we going to do? Think. Think. Dad, help?"
And finally, when all else fails, he starts crying, "GET THESE GIRLS AWAY FROM MY CAR SEAT, Thanks."

My dear Mason, get used to it. Travis and I pray these two adorable little girls will become life long friends. Get used to giving them what they want and try not to whine about it. Your daddy will show you how it's done.

Love, Mom.

Like the biggest OOPS ever!

Okay, so I haven't worn my wedding rings in about 5 months. I guess that's what happens when you gain as much weight as I did while pregnant. Seriously, Oprah was starting to look like Kate Moss (That's my polite way of saying anorexic) compared to me. VERY DEPRESSING.

But I digress.

For Christmas my wonderful husband surprised me with not one, but TWO, beautiful bands of diamonds I can wear with my engagement and wedding rings. The set is stunning and meant so much, one band was from him, the other was from Mason. Problem is even though I have lost about 45 pounds, I still can't wear any of them! So, I would try them on every morning, and it was like trying to shove a marshmallow into a piggy bank slot. It was so frustrating.

Finally one night, I used lotion and soap to grease those puppies all the way on. IT WORKED! I felt like my old, not quite as large, married self again! The angles sang! The diamonds dazzled and danced in the bathroom light....... for all of five minutes. Then, my finger started to swell and I'm talking my finger blew up. So I tried to get the rings off, while desperately hoping Travis wouldn't walk into the bathroom and see me struggling. You see, this is the second time that I had used lotion to force them on. The first time I got them off and Travis told me not to do it again. But this time, after 10 minutes and loosing all the circulation in my finger they were still on. I was about to faint from the pain. I had to get Travis. We tried ice water and even more lotion, but finally he had to go to his truck and get his wire cutters. Yep, he cut my wedding and engagement ring off my swollen/red/scary blue/bleeding finger. Thankfully I hadn't attempted to get all four on, so the two new ones were spared this depressing fate.

So, I'm a freaking idiot. Travis has locked ALL of my rings in the safe and I'm not allowed to get them back until he says so. I can't even have them to take them to get fixed. He made me feel even more guilty by saying he was upset because those bands were supposed to represent our life together as an unbroken circle, as stated in our wedding vows. And even though I told him he was acting kinda like a girl, it did make me feel awful.

So, I'm an idiot. But one day we will look back on this and laugh. Maybe I'll have my rings back by then. Travis, honey, you can hold this silly stunt over my head for at least 5 years and bring it up at the table every Christmas to embarrass me in front of our family. And really....isn't THAT what marriage is all about? Love you babe. Sorry.

(Still, and this is a little inside joke for my family, my ring drama is not AS stupid as the time my brother tried to grab the attic string with his teeth and he grew up to be geneticist and a lawyer. See how loving families never miss an opportunity to bring up what you try so hard to forget? We have the memory of elephants...blue elephants.)

Parents and Parties but no Pygmies

Hi everyone! I know it's been a while since my last post, but my Lord, Mason keeps us very busy. He is staying awake a lot longer during the day, so the hours fly by. I love to play with him and watch his learning video. Mom and Dad swear he said blue elephant the other day. Ha! He's a genius. He is grabbing at rattles and loves his play gym from his Uncle Russell and Adam. His hand eye coordination is really starting to develop. I mean I just can't help but smile when I look at him. He is super super cute!
He can focus on objects and stares at his mama and daddy. He coos more than he grunts now and I swear he giggles. It is so cute to hear him experimenting with his own voice and new sounds. Plus, he is smiling and I don't think it has anything to do with having gas! He's adorable!

So, yesterday Karlee Baker had her first birthday party. She LOVED her cake, and literally dove right in. No hands, all face.
It was so cute. Have you ever seen The Christmas Story when Ralphy eats like a little piggy?? Well, Ralphy had nothing on our little Karlee. It was Mason's first party. He enjoyed being passed from person to person.
Travis claimed that he did not like Mason's cashmere outfit (he thought it was a bit girly) HOWEVER, he had a small fit when I grabbed the green pacifier to take with us. He insisted we bring the blue pacifier, so it would match! Yep. I looked at him like...who's the girl again?? Rolley Len Kirk was also there with her parents. She is such a cutie pie. She kept hugging Karlee, but it turned out to be more of a tackle. Can you say free safety for the Atlanta Falcons? Those two girls are adorable!!!! Both are so spirited and loving. I can't wait till Mason grows up a bit so he can start playing with them. Poor little Mason, he doesn't stand a chance against these two and he's going to LOVE every minute of it. As we were leaving, we tried to take a picture of all three. Hilarious.I loved every bit of our time spent with the Bakers, the Norells and Kirks yesterday. Saturday used to be about sleeping in, anchoring in Columbus, driving home, getting ready, and bar hopping till it was late enough to go to Supper Club to drink/dance the night away. My, how things have changed. I love this new chapter more than the Velcro Pygmies. That's a whole lotta love!
Mom and Dad came for a visit last weekend. We had a great time. They get up super early after our morning feedings and would watch Mason so Travis and I can sleep in a bit. It's so nice having them here. Plus, my dad actually changed a diaper by himself. He loves little Mason so much. Mom and I got out of the house, it was soooo nice! We went to our favorite place...Victoryland and played the slots (Some say trashy I say it's the best 100-bucks I'll ever spend) We just giggled and talked and had a great day out.



Mama Joyce (MJ) just came over for a visit. She brought Subway and we had lunch. She got to love on Mason for a while. I was able to sit down and pay bills and it didn't take me all day. Thanks MJ. The Sekulas also brought dinner over. Yum. Little John, who I adore, got to hold Mason. He did not want to let him go! LJ just loves babies. He is such a caring and sweet child. Thanks Sekulas!
So, right now Travis is hunting and I'm blogging while watching some awful reality TV shows. My guilty pleasure. Mason is napping in his swing (THANK YOU SO MUCH BETH AND JACK) and I might close my eyes for a bit as well. What a Sunday to be thankful for. This is life.

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Family

My dear baby Mason,

We have certainly had a week. We are starting to figure one another out. I sort of understand your cries and most of the time you stop crying when you hear my voice. I love that. And if you are still crying, it always stops when I pick you up. I loved you from the moment we made you, but now I'm getting to really like you. It's a neat feeling, the bond that we are growing every day. I love the noises that you make, it seems like you make a new one every day. I love it when you yawn and stretch after a big nap. I love that you can now focus on me and you seem to concentrate very hard to understand what I'm saying to you. You are so cute. Thank you little Mason.

Our First Day....

Mason and I spent our first day at home together. My mom left this weekend and Travis headed to work. Needless to say I was a tad bit apprehensive....but the day went well, we even made our first car trip together. Mason sounded a little stuffy, so we headed to the doctor. I was there at 8:45, office opened at 9. My mom used to do this with us when we were sick. She was always the first one waiting in line at the doctor. Her idea was the sooner she could get us in to see the doctor, the faster we could get our medicine and feel better. Mom was always the best nurse and I hope I can be the same for Mason. Anyway, Dr. Greer says the stuffed up sound was perfectly normal for the third week and he showed us how to suction out Mason's nose, which I will allow Travis to do, because Mason hates it. I don't want to be the bad guy.

Travis got home around 5:30 and Allyson stopped by to drop off a cool baby carrier to help me care for Mason when I'm at home, or to take him on walks. LOVE her. Then I got out for about 30 minutes and walked super hard in the rain. It was great to get some fresh air and be alone with my thoughts. Then we had dinner and gave Mason his bath. I'm going to bed and Travis is going to do this next feeding so I can get some sleep. Travis has been so nice that I decided to post pictures of little Mason in his first ever SEC outfit, even though it's not Auburn.

So, good night little Mason! Here's to us! We did it and I only cried three times for my mom!! Not too shabby!

Thanks Mom

My mom's visit ended today. I'm devastated. I miss her so much I physically hurt. I don't want to blog about it, I just want to get through it. Mom, thank you for all that you did and continue to do for me, Travis and especially little Mason. You are the most giving and selfless person I know. Dry your eyes. I'm drying mine and I'll see you in five days.