Baby Dedication

This past Sunday, we had Mason's Baby Dedication. In case you don't know what that entails, I will tell you. Adam & I went before our church and presented this beautiful gift God has given us, Mason, and promise to be his primary spiritual teachers. Our pastor then reads the meaning of his name and the bible verse they picked out for him. It was very beautiful and intimate, even though we shared it with our church family. I took a bunch of pictures, but have yet to upload them. For now, I will share with you one of the pictures of Mason & I with his cousins, Jared & Connor. Mason is lucky to have loving older cousins in his life, especially boys, that he will one day look up to. Everytime we get together with my sister and her boys, they just want to love on Mason and give him kisses and lots of them. I think this picture is just precious!

21 ways to bless your child

This past weekend, Adam & I attended the Parent Summit at our church. We took a class on the first milestone in our child's life, dedicating our child to the Lord. In that class we learned about "21 Ways to Bless Your Child." I thought I would share with all of you, especially since I have alot of friends that are new mom's to little ones.

1. Renew the commitment to each other as husband & wife. When you grow together as husband & wife, you provide a loving, stable, and secure environment which is needed for your child to mature.

2. Recognize that your children belong to God and have been born to experience His love and to serve Him.

3. Affirm your own faith and spiritual growth. Research shows that Behavioral Modelings is the most powerful component in a parent's efforts to influence a child's spiritual development.

4. Commit to have a Family Devotional time each week. The Bible mandates that parents be the primary spiritual teachers for their children.

5. Teach your child about Worship on Sunday as a family. Develop a positive attitude toward church, and never underestimate the power of example.

6. Love your child with affection & discipline. Guide your child with respect and authority, the child learns that God is loving and respectful. He is my authority. They learn that God is in control.

7. Be a Parenting Team! You may divide other tasks as you manage your household, but you must stand together to guide your child and work together to guide your child and develop spiritual growth in your child.

8. Seek God's wisdom and guidance. Parenting is a full time job and can be challenging! We find our identity as parents in the nature of Jesus Christ. He is available at all hours! He provides whatever you need! He understands your way of communicating! He holds you when you need comforting! He is there!

9. Avoid becoming overwhelmed by your daily responsibilities of parenting. Take one step at a time and ask for help when needed.

10. Commit to pray for you child every day.

11. Pray with your child. Pray that your child will grow in understanding of the Lord and his love for God's word.

12. Be familiar with the stages of growth and development and normal behaviors of each stage of your child's life.

13. Whisper Bible Truths as he/she works and plays.

14. Teach your child to trust. Development of trust is basic to trusting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior later in life. He will learn to trust and feel secure as you meet his needs in a prompt and loving way.

15. Be in the Front Lines of Fatherhood! Caring fory ou baby is challenging and an adventure. Don't miss out on your baby's first months! Do the dirty work, it helps you appreciate parenting! Care for your wife, she needs support and care too! Bond with your baby, don't wait until he can play catch! Take care of your own spiritual health! Ask for help, ask other fathers for advice and support and don't forget to rely on the "helper who is always found in times of trouble."

16. Let your child see Jesus in your attitudes and actions...teaching by word and example.

17. Resist over-scheduling your child. Although children enjoy and learn from organized extra curriculars, allowing time for your child to play helps her learn to process and understand things.

18. Play WITH your child. Become a child yourself, forget being a mature adult and think of ways to pretend with your child.

19. Love your child unconditionally.

20. Establish a routine for your child. It is a simple way to help children learn and feel secure.

21. The first place to go for wisdom is our parenting is in the Bible. God's Word is the filter through which you should evaluate all other parenting information.

his stats...

Today we payed a visit to Dr. Lentsch for Mason's 2 month checkup. Part of me was looking forward to this day, so that I could learn how much our little guy has grown. However, most of me has been dreading this day since our last visit due in part to his vaccinations. No one wants to see their child in pain or upset and I knew once Mason would get his shots, that would be exactly what I would see.

This morning he woke up in such a good mood. He was smiling and flirting...that was before the visit. We loaded him in the car and headed off to the doctor. I really do love his pediatrician. The staff is so nice and we are always in and out so quickly.

As of 2 months, he weighs 14lbs 11oz and is 24.75 inches long. He is in the 93 percentile for his weight and 92 percentile for his height. Helen, the P.A., loves Mason and was getting to make all kinds of sweet noises. Then the needles came and caught him off guard. He cried like I've never seen him cry and his face was so red. Luckily, it was very fast and I was able to calm him down quickly. Yes, I cried. It broke my heart to see him upset and know that there was nothing I could do. Once we got home, he was all settled and back to his flirty self.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to my brother-in-law, David, and his now fiance, Emily on their engagement! Last night, David proposed to Emily and they are getting married next summer! We are so happy for the two of them and can't wait to have Emily in our family. Here is a picture of the happy couple holding Mason.

2 Months

Our little boy is 2 months today! He has changed so much in the past two months and we are starting to see his personality. Bath time is starting to be one of his favorite activities. Actually, if it's getting late and he hasn't had his bath yet, he starts to get cranky. Once he has his bath, he starts to smile and coo in the tub. I love when he smiles:)

This past weekend, Mason stayed with someone other than Adam & I for the first time. His Mimi came over to watch him Saturday for a few hours, while Adam went to our friend, Chris', Diaper shower. When I got home, Granddad decided to join Mimi & Mason for some quality time. Mason was sleeping on his Granddad's chest, one of his favorite things to do.

I met up with Adam at the Diaper party, where most of the guys were outside playing on a huge blowup slide that was slicked down with water. The guys had a blast, but Adam is still sore from the activities. Our friends Chris & Katy are expecting their first child any day now and we can't wait for Mason to have another playmate.

After the party, we headed to Rhodes Stadium for the Katy Football game. It was Mason's first football game and he was a trooper. I was worried he would be fussy, given that it was very humid and warm outside. Luckily it was an evening game, but I still would have prefered a breeze. Here is Mason sleeping during the game.

Our friends Brad & Jill were in town for the diaper shower, so we were able to visit with them more after the game. Sunday we relaxed around the house and took it easy. It was nice not having any plans. Last night, Mason slept thru the night for the first time. He ate around 8pm and didn't wake up to eat again until 4:15 and was back down until 9am. I was so proud of him and thrilled to get a good nights sleep. He has always been a great sleeper and hopefully this is the start of something great. Until this happens a couple more times, we will just consider ourselves lucky.

Pictures from Labor Day weekend

Mason & Granny...her youngest great great grandchild

Mason sitting on the floor with Adam

Mason and his girlfriend, Lilly...they couldn't take their eyes off of each other

Brad & Lilly & Adam & Mason

* more pictures have been uploaded to our picture site

Labor Day Weekend

We stayed very busy over the Labor Day weekend. Friday afternoon, we went over to our friends Brad & Emily's for lunch. They have a little girl, Lilly, who is 2 weeks younger then Mason and she is absolutely adorable! We joke that Lilly and Mason will get married. They couldn't stop watching each other. It was so great to talk with friends who are at the same stage of life as us and understand what we are going through.

That evening, we went over to my sister's house to play with my nephews. I love being an aunt and Jared & Connor are a huge part of our lives. Both boys are in love with Mason. We worried that Connor would be jealous of Mason, but it's the complete opposite. Anytime Mason would get a little restless, Connor would drop what he was doing and run over and kiss Mason on the head. It was so sweet.

Saturday, Adam helped our friend David move, while Mason & I caught up on laundry at home. In the evening, we went out to The Woodlands for dinner. My best friend Jeanna celebrated a birthday earlier in the week and we all gathered to celebrate once more at The Cheesecake Factory(my fav). Her husband Trevor has always been nervous about babies, but Mason won him over very quickly with his smiles and good nature. I enjoy anytime I get to spend with Jeanna and her family and I know they were thrilled to meet Mason.

Sunday, we went out to Needville for our niece, Faith's, baptism. Adam's great uncle & aunt were in town from Pennsylvania and the last time we saw both of them, was our wedding. It was nice to have more time to visit with them and the rest of our family. One of Adam's little cousin's, Tommy, fell in love with Mason. He said that boy babies are cuter then girl babies...I think that has alot to do with the fact that he is a boy.

Monday we drove to Georgetown to visit my Great Grandma. My mom & dad drove up with Jared & Connor and Adam & I followed in our car. Granny was so excited to finally meet her great-great-grandson. Granny introduced all of us to all of her friends and just glowed everytime she got to hold Mason. I know it made her day and I'm glad that I got to spend time with her.

By the end of the weekend, I was ready for a long nap. It was nice to finally sit and relax Monday evening and not have any obligations. It's always good spending time with friends and family and after weekends like this past one, I can't help but consider myself blessed to have so many great people in my life.