2009 Pictures

Also, check on the new 2009 Pictures Page. The link is in the left column. I will try to add more soon and get a 2010 Picture Page as well.

More Mason Firsts!

Mason seems to learn something new everyday. It is amazing! Here are some recent one.

Talking
Mason loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney!!! He gets so excited every time it comes on or if he know that you are going through the steps to pull up an episode on the DVR. If any of you watch it, you know about Toodles. Whenever they need a tool, they say "Oh, Toodles". Mason now says that with Mickey and his friends. So cute! Mason also can announce when he has passed gas by saying "Toot". So funny and so stinky!

Giving Kisses
Mason now will give kisses when asked. This may not seem like a big accomplishment for a 17 month old but for a 17 month old with oral aversion, it is a very big deal! This is a huge step for Mason and Mommy loves it. What's better than getting a kiss from your kids? Can't think of much.

Brushing Teeth
Mason loves to brush his teeth. If you ask him if he wants to brush his teeth, he gets so excited he can barely contain himself. So, I put a little water on his toothbrush and hand it to him. He holds the brush to his teeth and then moves his head back and forth. He hasn't figured out that he is suppose to move the brush rather than his head but it works. He even feel asleep with it in his hand the other night because every time I tried to take it away, he yelled at me.

Mason brushing his teeth.

Feeding

So, he isn't eating yet but we have made a little progress and I think it has a lot to do with him being more comfortable giving kisses. He has been putting more things in his mouth. Even kissing the cookies he plays with. He is doing really good.

Walking

Mason will stand at the sofa and walk back and forth. I have also tried to get him to stand by himself. I think he can do it but he gets scared and excited (he laughs the whole time we try). We will keep practicing!

Being Funny

Mason is always cracking us up which is not new. Mason recently took a liking to his sister's new sunglasses she brought home from school. He immediately put them on and wouldn't take them off. He didn't even care that they were on upside down. He put them on and wore them crawling all over the house.

Mason in sissy's sunglasses with a big smile (look at all those teeth)!

Mia's Dancing

Mia has started taking dance lessons. She is taking ballet and tap every Tuesday evening. The girls are so cute in their black leotards and pink tights. I think she enjoys tap more - can you guess why? Tap is so much louder than ballet! She seems to like it and comes home telling us all about 1st Position and 5th Position in Ballet and Shuffle Steps in Tap. And I have to admit she does look prett cute in her outfit but I know I am bias! See pictures below.

Check out the Ballet Box that she uses to take her clothes and shoes to class.

Always striking a pose!

Trip to the Zoo

While Daddy held his fantasy football draft at our house, the kids and I decided to take a trip to the zoo. By the way, Randy is very excited about the team that he drafted. Hopefully, another successful year of fantasy football for him. This was also Mason first time riding facing forward in the car. Since he has officially reached the 20 lb mark, we have turned his carseat around. I think he likes it. And now that he can see me, he sits in the backseat and says "Mommy" and when I turned around he is just smiling. Two minutes later he says "Mommy" and again I turned around and get the same smiling face. This game repeats itself about every 2 to 5 minutes. He thinks he is so cute - he's right! Mia will also like that she won't have to turn her head to watch a movie with Mason. We can now hang it between the seats and both kids should be able to see it just fine.

Mason's first ride in the car with his carseat facing forward. Both kids are excited to be heading to the zoo!

So, off to the zoo. We made the rounds starting with the flamingos, penguins, reptiles, bears, prairie dogs (so cute), buffaloes, tigers, gorillas and giraffes, with a stop at the food court for popcorn and fruit punch. And the visit ended in the gift shop. Mason picked out a stuffed monkey and Mia got an owl pillow. Mia and I would hand Mason different stuffed animals. He has a thing for panda bears and zoomed in on those but we thought he already had enough of those. Once he grabbed ahold of the monkey, he wouldn't let it go. The boy knows what he likes. Mia had a little harder time picking something out but in the end got the perfect gift.

Mason, Mia, Star (babydoll) and monkey (blue juice bottle - we had to make sure that we got it in the picture) taking a break and looking at the buffalo.

We made it to the Tiger Exhibit just in time to see their training session. This tiger when standing had to be over 8 feet tall. Impressive! All that is between the trainer (and the rest of us) was a fence made out of rope!

This picture was taken by Mia. Didn't she do a great job? I am so proud of her!

Feeding Therapy

Mason has feeding therapy once a week. Cheryl from Rainbows United comes to our house and plays with Mason. We start out in the living room and play with toys so that she can see how he is developing. She was really excited to see him walk back and forth at the sofa. He has really gotten strong.

Then we move to the kitchen and the real therapy starts. Cheryl and Mason play with all kinds of things. Last weeks session included baby peaches, mandarin oranges, chips and graham crackers. The goal is to get Mason exposed to different textures and smells. We have been told that 75% of eating is smelling so getting Mason comfortable with smells, particularly strong smells, is a big step. He is still not eating anything but he is getting a lot of tastes most of the time they are accidental. He even likes to tease us and do a "drive by" where he grazes his lips but doesn't actually open his mouth. Below are a couple of pictures from last weeks session. As a parent (and control freak) you really have to let go and let them make a mess. Cheryl and Mason do a good job of that!

Mason got a graham cracker stuck (yes, stuck) on top of his head from the baby peaches!

Check out his tray. They have a good time making a mess and that is only half of it. You should see the floor!

Mason's Firsts!

Mason has reached a few milestones over the last couple of weeks!

Weight

We went to see Mason's pediatrician for the first time since the placement of his G/J-Tube and, drum roll please, Mason weighed in at 20 lbs 2 oz which puts him in the 2.35 percentile for his age! He is still a little guy but he has pretty much put on one and a half pounds since his surgery. Go, Mason!

Here is my sweet little man! Look at his beautiful face without the tube taped to it!

Crawling

He is officially crawling and getting faster and faster every day. You really have to stay on top of him so that he doesn't get to the end of his tube.

Talking

Mason has learned so many new words these days. The most recent and impressive is the name of our dog, Rozwell. Rozwell has been staying with Grandma and Grandpa since Mason's birth and has come to visit a couple of times. Rozwell is here with us this weekend and Mason instantly repeated Roz's name when prompted and whenever he sees her.

Playing Games

We have a number of games that we play with Mason ranging from your typical Peek-a-boo to homemade games such as Show me. Mason can now show us where his hair, toes, mouth, "chunky monkeys" (aka chubby thighes), and tongue are. And boy does that kid have a tongue! He gets it from his sister. You will understand as you scroll down to see the pictures. Mason has also created his own game of "Look at me in Momma's sunglasses." He loves my sunglasses and takes them off my head whenever he has the chance. He has recently started putting them on and if you are not paying attention, he will call your name. I was reading the paper and hear "Momma". I look down to find him with my sunglasses on and the biggest grin! Loved it!

Mason's playing the Show Me game.

And this is where Mason gets his long tongue!

Mia's Frist Day of School

Mia is officially a Kindergartner! Her first day was a 1/2 day on Thursday. Mia was not only welcomed into her new classroom by her new teacher, Mrs. Prim, but also 5 of her friends from last year. They started chanting her name as we were putting her things away. I think we have a little social butterfly on our hands! Mia is very excited about school this year. She will be having PE and Computers for the first time and continuing in Music as well. Based on the letter from the teacher, this will be a big year for Mia. It amazes me how much these little brains can absorb so quickly. Here are a few pictures.

Soooo sweet!

Mrs. Prim sent each kid home with a balloon with a secret message inside!

Mason is also very excited that his sister is back to school. He now has Grandma all to himself!