Sunday funday

After church and after naps this afternoon, we joined my sisters' family and a couple of others at their house for an afternoon of pool fun for the kids. The kids enjoyed the water and outside fun. As of now, our two are sacked out getting ready to have some more fun tomorrow; whatever that may be.

Stuffy

So Mason was stuffy and coughing all weekend, so I left work early to take him to the doctor. It is one of those things that if your child has been coughing for four days and even though he isn't running a fever and is eating and sleeping well, you feel like the bad parent if you don't take them. So on Monday, I took him to the doctor. The cold had traveled in his chest and the doctor ordered amoxicillin. I kind of liked the doctors appointment because Mason got weighed. He weighs all of 15 lbs and 1 oz. I'm always interested in my children's weight and such. It is all about the numbers to me. I'll leave you with a picture of his cute smile.

First Fish!

This past Saturday we went to Lake Norman to visit Super Nana for the morning. Jay decided he wanted to go fishing. I came home on Friday to find Garrett had gone to Dick's and bought all the equipment including his fishing license. We headed up there in the morning. Garrett and Jay went to the dock and started. Soon they found if they threw the line in this one area , and fish would bite quickly. They probably caught about 10 fish in all. Jay enjoyed reeling them in. Jay caught his first fish!!! I even caught the two of them casting their reels in the backyard practicing for the next time.

Where a year has taken us

Have you ever taken a step back and thought "where was I a year ago?". It's crazy how fast it can go. Last year at this time, we had convinced Jay (2 1/2 years old at the time) that the Easter Bunny was going to give him a gift if he gave up his baby food and would eat Big Boy food. We thought this was going to be our biggest worry at the time. In the middle of this eating struggle with Jay, we were anxiously anticipating an 18 week ultrasound of our soon to be second child, on Friday, May 13th. Friday, arrived and the ultrasound came, but it wasn't what we had expected. Everyone thinks this is the moment you are to find out what you are having, but really it's for the doctor to measure and check the baby's measurements. We were caught off guard when the technician left the room to go get the doctor. We looked at each other and said this didn't happen with Jay. The doctor told us there was extra fluid on the baby's brain. Quickly, we were sent to a specialist to have him look at it closer. His diagnosis and guess was That our baby boy would have Down Syndrome. He couldn't tell for sure unless we had an amniocentesis. The decision was made to have it and the wait continued into the weekend of the results. The results were to be ready, Monday, May 16th and we decided Garrett would get the call. In anticipation of a long wait and the unknowns Garrett came home at lunch to wait on the call. For some reason, the girl I tutored canceled on me and I was home sooner. As I opened the door, Garrett was sitting on the ottoman waiting and then bursted out in tears. The unknown was known, our baby boy had Down Syndrome. We didn't really say much, but just looked up things on our own about the syndrome. Who knows really what we could expect. Doctor's visits went well and then, you know about his quick delivery on Saturday, October 1st. From then, our life was changed. Not for bad, but for good. It's been one of the happiest times to have Mason here. As you look at his face you can't help but smile because nine times out of ten, he has a smile on his face as well. With Mason, we relish the moments and the here and now. Who knows what is in store for us down the road, only God knows. Right now, we know that Mason is a happy baby with a big brother that loves him. (And may we mention the big brother has been eating awesome for the past year.) Mason is growing so fast and developing only a month behind normal kids. As we remember a year ago, we want to let you know that on Sunday, May 13th we want to celebrate Mason with his dedication at church during the 9:30 service. We want to thank everyone for your support over the last year and your kind words. We love this little child with all our heart and strive to grow him up in the ways of the Lord.

Seven Months

1, 2, 3 . . . 7. I can't believe that it has already been that long since Mason entered this world. He is such a happy , healthy baby and doing so well. Through this seventh month, Mason has been working on playing with his feet and building up muscle to sit up on his own. Now, he is able to sit in place and play with his toys for a long while. That is until he tips over and can't get back up. Today, I was realizing that he would fall forward between his legs, but instead of just rolling over on his back or tummy, he was able to push himself up back in the upright position. He's building up muscle in his arms as well as his abs. It's kind of exciting to see him grow and develop. If you listen to him real close, you may hear him say da da. This is exciting for dad, now let's see if he'll say ma ma.

We will see what the 8th month holds!!