Happenings

Mason is not a baby anymore...he is turning into a toddler and learning new things every day! He loves to take off his clothes and diaper these days...he is always so happy when he is naked! I just don't like when he pees on the carpet...

He enjoys trying to fit into small spaces. He has tried multiple times to fit into the entertainment center cubby and has had success twice.

Usually he falls out like this...

He is a fan of ice cream! We have taken him to Leatherby's and Cold Stone Creamery.

He loves going to Grandma Jepson's house! She has so many fun places for him to hide!

The newspaper basket and the bookshelves are his favorite!

 

 Mason and his daddy are best friends. Whenever I tell Mason that daddy is on his way home he will sit and wait by the door. He especially likes when I open the garage and let him wait outside.

 Mason loves to color! He has only tried to eat a crayon once and wasn't very happy with the taste. He would sit and color all day if I let him!

We are up to seven teeth in his mouth and the eighth is about to come through. I am ready for a break from teething. Mason wakes up every morning at 4:00 screaming because that is when his Tylenol wears off...poor kid.

When there is nothing to play with in the car he chews on his foot.

 Since learning to walk he has been wearing himself out so quickly! After walking around the house for awhile he will just lay down on the floor and take a break. I crack up when I find him just laying there.

Totally zonked out on his daddy.

He is still obsessed with the swing. The moment we get to my parent's house he finds someone to pick him up and immediately points outside and says, "That!" When they ask him if he wants to go on the swing he gives an ear to ear cheeser grin and giggles with delight!

He loves his new foam letters. We play a game with them in the bath - mommy puts them on the wall and Mason pulls them off. He loves it!

I love my cutie pie! I can't believe how big he is getting!

Doctor Appointment

Today was Mason's doctor appointment and I am happy to announce it was ALL good news!

HEART MURMUR: Still there, but he said it has a "musical tone" to it so there is absolutely NO need to worry!

UMBILICAL HERNIA: Started closing up which is good news for two reasons; NO surgery on his belly button and NO surgery on his chest dimple!

EARS: Completely healed! Due to his double ear infection awhile back he ended up with a ton of residual fluid in his ears. The poor boy was in so much pain that the doctor told us that for four weeks we weren't allowed to take him anywhere that changed elevation or his eardrums could rupture. Thankfully, his ears are back to normal!

HEIGHT: 30.71" (78%)

WEIGHT: 20.17 lbs. (13%)

He is still tall and skinny! Dr. Duffy said at this point it is genetics and he is just going to always be tall and skinny!

Dr. Duffy said that Mason tolerated him very well. I guess that most one year old babies hate the doctor being anywhere near them. Mason just hung out while he listened to his heart and checked his ears like it was no big deal. 

He was also impressed with how much Mason could say. I thought he was behind in the talking department, turns out he is ahead! Right after I told Dr. Duffy that Mason could say a few words Mason pointed to his stethoscope and said, "That!" The look on Dr. Duffy's face was priceless. "He can say, "that?"" I giggled and said, "Yep, he can." Dr. Duffy asked Mason if he wanted his "special necklace" and without any hesitation Mason replied, "Yeah." Dr. Duffy's expression was again, priceless and he said, "That is impressive!" (PROUD MOMMY MOMENT!)

Dr. Duffy finished looking over Mason and then it was time for the dreaded shots...

Mason SCREAMED so loud, but thankfully we got the good nurse this time! She does such a good job and Mason never bruises. After his shots he continued to scream until the nurse came back in the room with a sucker. He literally stopped crying and took a deep breath the moment he saw it! That thing worked wonders and not another tear was shed all day today. He has needed a few more snuggles than usual (which I am totally fine with) but other than that has been his happy self!

HAPPY, HEALTHY AND CUTE AS CAN BE!

WALKING!

Two days after turning one and Mason took off walking! We went to his Great-Grandparent's house tonight and his Aunt Alise was walking around the house with him for quite some time. Then she let go and he took a few steps and a few minutes later he was off! I am such the proud mommy!

First Birthday Party!

This birthday party has been in the works for months now! I have been so excited for it all to come together and today was the day!!

A couple of months back I decided on a monster theme birthday and made his birthday invitations all on my own because I didn't find any that I liked.

The sign on the front door (made by my amazing mommy)!

Daddy is amazing and drew these monsters for us to hang up. I love how they turned out!

Everyone got a cup with monster eyeballs, a straw with a monster mouth attached to it, a monster cupcake and punch from the monster drink dispenser!

I am pretty proud of myself for decorating his cake and cupcakes all by myself! They turned out so cute!

Everyone showed up and we were ready to open presents!!

 He knows just what to do with a phone.

He was rather unimpressed toward the end...(I just kept thinking to myself..."I wish he had taken a nap this morning...") 

After opening up all of his gifts it was time for cake! He wasn't thrilled with his birthday hat...

While everyone sang to him he just stared at them all so confused, but the moment the cake was put in front of him he was so excited! He took out each marshmallow eyeball, one by one, and ate them. Then he was done. We had to show him that there was cake under all that frosting (he isn't a huge fan of frosting on anything).

About five minutes later he was done. He had eaten his fill of cake and was SO TIRED!

The close-ups!

Rather than cleaning him off we decided to just put his swimsuit on him and let him play in the pool with his cousin (who is really Brad's cousin, but she and Mason are only three months apart).

 He cheered right up and had lots of fun splashing in the pool and playing on the swing set.

(Notice the blue stained tongue from all that frosting!)

Have you ever seen a cuter face? His expressions kill me! 

I mean, c'mon...do you know another one year old that can voluntarily raise their eyebrow? Yeah, I didn't think so.  :)

HAPPY TO BE ONE!

 After everyone had left he collapsed in my arms and fell asleep. We laid him on the couch with all of the fun gifts he received!

PEOPLE WHO CAME & WHAT THEY GAVE MASON:

Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa Bowles - Two Story Books

Sugar & Rachyl - Lullaby Elmo

Emily, Kirt, Jenni, Brayden, Jackson & Katelyn - Roll n' Swirl Ball Ramp

Grandma & Grandpa Bowles, Maelynn & Marie - Poppin' Play Piano & Monster Stuffed Animal

Grandma Ginger - Jukebox Piano

Susan, Emma, Tyler & Harper - 5 in 1 Learning Center

Payton - Dinosaur Puppet

Brooklynn - Dinosaur Puppet

Grandma & Grandpa Jepson - Counting Fun Elephant Toy

Uncle Bob & Uncle Brad - Stand n' Play Center

Mommy & Daddy - Corn Popper, Play Phone, Two Wood Puzzles, See n' Say, Foam Bath Letters

HE WAS SPOILED ROTTEN!!!!!

On a side note: I am SO thankful for my two big brothers. I love them so much and I am so grateful that they love Mason so much! They are the BEST uncles and he is so lucky to have them!!

HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY WAS SO MUCH FUN AND SO EXHAUSTING!

(This is the smile he gave when asked if he wanted to go on the swing...can we say obsessed!?)

O-N-E

"There is this boy...who stole my heart...he calls me mom."

One year ago I remember thinking, "Before I know it this tiny boy of mine is going to be one!" Well, that day has arrived...and I still cannot believe it is here.

MASON IS ONE!

Bradly and I have been very blessed with such a sweet boy. He is so laid back and easy going, but won't hesitate to let you know if he doesn't like something! Mason is also quite hilarious and he knows it! When he does something silly he looks up and waits for a reaction out of you, then giggles at himself. He mimics noises around him very well and thinks he is just so funny for doing it. He thinks he is funniest, however, when he makes silly faces at me. He is a boy of a million different expressions and I LOVE it! No two pictures are alike!

He may be skinny, but he can eat more food than me! His favorite food is definitely pasta! He loves lasagna, homemade spaghetti (he HATES Ragu), mac & cheese and alfredo. He also loves avocados, apples, bananas, string cheese, yogurt, french toast, scrambled eggs and oreos.

He LOVED his first cheeseburger Happy Meal from McDonalds!

He is not a fan of wearing bibs and tries to take them off at every meal. Sometimes he succeeds, other times he gets halfway there.

He is up to 6 teeth! 4 teeth on top and 2 teeth on bottom. He has recently started grinding his teeth and it gives me the chills...he can stop that and I wouldn't complain.

 I love this age because he is such a troublemaker! I know that some most moms don't like the messes or cleaning them up, but I am a believer in letting a kid be a kid. I don't mind him getting into the cupboards or taking every tampon out of the box or every DVD off the shelf. If he is happy then I let him be.

MASON WAS HERE.

He loves to make messes, but he doesn't love being messy. If he gets food all over himself I can count on a meltdown!

He officially HATES peanut butter! He won't eat it for anything! Not in a sandwich or even a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!

He thoroughly enjoys being naked. Today we went to my mom's house to get ready for his birthday party tomorrow and he was naked for the latter half of the afternoon!

Something that hasn't changed from the day he was born? He ADORES his Grandma Jepson. The moment we walk in her house he kicks his legs and waves his arms and reaches out for her with the biggest grin on his face! In this picture he was looking at her. :)

Some of Mason's favorite things:

DOGS (he will say "ruff-ruff" when he sees one)

BIRDS (he yells "BIRDS!" even if it is an airplane in the sky)

MILK (I know, horrible mother award for not waiting until he was one)

THE SWING (He will sit in the swing for HOURS and softly say, "Weeeeee" the entire time)

(Pointing to the swing and saying, "That!"

GRANDMA'S STROLLER (He gets comfy and will sit perfectly quiet in that thing)

HIS BLANKET (Such a cuddle bug)

CAFE RIO (He will eat a quesadilla with house dressing, rice and beans)

WATER (He loves to swim in the pool, play in the shower and put his whole face in the tub water)

CLIMBING (He is so close to climbing onto the dishwasher door, but he has managed to climb everything else)

This month ANOTHER uncle left on his mission. Mason is so lucky to have TWO awesome examples serving the Lord right now!

He still cannot walk. He has taken his first steps and will take a few steps here and there, but he just isn't quite ready to let go yet. He'll get there!

WORDS MASON CAN SAY:

MOM

DAD

BOB

BATH

DOG

RUFF-RUFF

BIRD

THAT (If he can't say a certain word he just points to the object and says, "THAT!")

OK

YEAH

NAH-NAH-NAH-NAH-NAH-NAH (If that even counts as a word)

BABY

My baby is one. It is hard to express in words just how much I love and care for my Mason. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father sent me such a sweet child and I couldn't ask for anything more in life right now. Waking up every single day to his hugs and kisses make me melt! He will never know just how lucky I am to be his mommy.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, MASON!