give thanks

This was probably one of my favorite Thanksgiving's. Partly due to the fact that it was Mason's first, but also because we were able to spend so much time with our family and friends. We have so much to be thankful for this year and I have been giving thanks to God for all of our blessings. This year we have added a beautiful son to our family, who has enriched our lives. Also, we are so blessed by Adam's new job, which is an answer to our prayers.

It's finally starting to hit home that we won't be in Katy much longer and I'm not sure how to handle that. Of course I'm excited about the new chapter in our lives, but saying goodbye to family and friends that you probably won't see again for some time is hard to grasp. I'm used to driving only a few minutes to see our parents, or my sister. Also, we tried to make it a point to visit with all of our friends this week, because we don't know when we will see them again. It really started to hit home, when our friend Jill, said goodbye to Mason one last time before they left to go home to Grapevine. She was sad because she knew the next time she saw Mason, he could be crawing or walking. Tears....

I can't help but be thankful for all that God has done in our lives and count my blessings. We always seem to go to God in the hard times, but what about when life is good? I am reminded that we need to give thanks for good and bad, because without the suffering, there would be no joy.

We elfed ourselves

We ELFED ourselves! Check it out.

Eating sweet potatoes for the first time!

new beginnings

I love this time of the year. The smell of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie brings a smile to my face. Every year, families and friends come together to fellowship, eat good food, and give thanks. This will be Mason's first Thanksgiving and even though he won't remember any of it, I know I will cherish those memories.

Our little munchkin has started eating solid foods. He has been eating cereal at night in a cereal bottle feeder and loves it. After his checkup this week, they told me that I could start giving him solids. We set the high chair up and at first he wasn't exactly sure what to do in it, so he started to suck on the tray. After we got him strapped in, I pulled out the sweet potatoes and attempted to feed him with a spoon. Apparently I wasn't feeding him fast enough, because as soon as I pulled the spoon away, he would let out a cry for more and pull my hand towards his mouth. He loves it.

On another note, Adam has received the official offer with Nalco. We were so excited when we heard the news and couldn't be more thankful for this new opportunity in our lives. He will be heading to Naperville, Illinois December 10th for training, paperwork, and to get set up with everything he will need for work. After that, we will take a trip to Bakersfield to look for a house, followed by Christmas back home, and then the movers will come and pack us up and we will be heading west to California.

We have alot to be thankful for this year. God has blessed us so much by giving us a beautiful little boy who lights up our lives. I always wanted to be a mom, but I never knew it would be this good. We will be home for the holidays, so if any of you are in Houston and want to get together over the week, let me know.

4 Month Checkup

Mason went for his 4 month checkup today. He was such a brave little boy and only let out one cry when he received his vaccinations. He has grown alot since he was born:

DOB: 8lbs 10oz and 20.5 inches long

2 Weeks: 9lbs 10oz and 21.75 inches long

1 month: 11lbs 15oz and 23 inches long

2 months: 14lbs 11oz and 24.75 inches long

4 months: 18lbs 8oz and 27.25 inches long

The doctor said we could start him on solids as soon as we want and she explained how to introduce them. I can't wait to see his reaction to food. If he is anything like his mom and dad, he will love it. Also, our little boy is rolling over now. He first rolled over on Thursday afternoon, right before I went to pick Adam up from the airport. He started on his back and went to his tummy. Then on Monday, he rolled from his tummy to his back. He was very proud of his accomplishments and just smiled away. Also, he has been holding his own bottle for some time now. Occasionally, I have to help him out otherwise it gets all over his chin and neck. Our little boy is growing up.

counting sheep

It's official, I'm exhausted! Sunday night, I noticed Mason was breathing really heavy in the monitor. When I went in his room to check on him, he was congested and had the sniffles. I felt so bad for the little guy. There isn't much I could do. He wasn't running a fever and didn't seem like he was in pain, so I just did my best to ease his comfort. His sniffles continued thru the night Monday too. Unfortunately, Mason & I had to take Adam to the airport to catch his flight to Bakersfield at 3:30am. I hated getting Mason out of the house that early, but he slept the entire way to the airport and back. Once we got home around 5am, he was wide awake. I was trying everything to get him to go back to sleep, but he still had the sniffles and wanted to play. It was a very long day, but luckily he got back on his sleep schedule and slept from 7pm to 4am this morning and back to sleep until 8am. His sniffles are gone and he is back to his normal self. He was never cranky, even though we knew he didn't feel good.

Adam returns home from Bakersfield tomorrorw afternoon. I can't wait. On top of not getting much sleep the last couple of nights, I have a hard time sleeping when Adam is out of town. I miss him so much and I know it breaks his heart to be away from Mason. He doesn't want to miss a minute and he is so worried he will learn to roll over, while he is on the trip. Mason has come very close to rolling over. I pull the video camera out every time he gets to his side. As much as I want him to roll over, I just hope he can wait until his daddy gets home.

Finally pictures

Mason had a terrific Halloween. We decided to go to the Harvest Festival that First Baptist Katy was holding at the Merrell Center, rather than go to the Fall Festival at Kingsland. They had alot more activities and games for the kids to do and since we went with my sister and the boys, it made more sense. We decided we would put Mason's costume on at the festival, rather than drive with it on. He was such a good sport and didn't mind wearing the costume. I was worried he would get over heated and tug at the costume, but he was the happiest little boy.

My sister and her husband brought the boys and we walked around the festival together. I was amazed at how many games, floats, and rides they had. I have never been to a Harvest Festival with that much stuff to do. Of course Mason raked in a ton of candy, but since he is too little to eat it, we decided we would help out. Adam & I sat down and divided up the candy and we each have our own bags full of candy. I'm sure Adam's will be gone before I finish mine.

Adam leaves for Bakersfield next Tuesday and won't return until Thursday evening. He is very excited about the trip. I'm sure he will have so much to tell me when he retuns. After that, they will schedule for all of us to go out to Bakersfield for a week to look for a house. We already have a bunch of listings we are interested in and have contacted a few already. Hopefully we will find something we love within our price range. I'm not really worried about it too much, because like I said, there are alot of listings. I don't think we will officially be on the west coast until after Christmas. I want to stay in Katy for a bit and finalize things before going out there permanently. Adam will go before us and start working and stay in a hotel until the movers pack up here and we drive out west.

I finally have a bunch of pictures to share of Mason during his 3rd month and Halloween.

Mommy & Mason at the Harvest Festival

Daddy & Mason at the Harvest Festival

Mason with his cousins Jared & Connor

Daddy & Mason without his banana & ears

Daddy with Mason the Monkey

Mommy & Mason without his ears & banana

Mommy & Mason the Monkey

Mason the Monkey

Mommy couldn't stop taking pictures

Mimi bought Mason a hat that says "I love my Grandma" on her trip

Mason in his board shorts and the only time he will be wearing burnt orange

Mason has his own personal stylist

Mason hanging out during the Katy vs. Taylor Football game

Mason meeting his Great Grandma aka Mamma for the first time

Mason napping with his snugglie

Mason trying to get his fingers and snugglie in his mouth at the same time

Connor bowling for the first time with his Granddad