Happy 50th Birthday!

Yesterday, we celebrated my mom's 50th birthday. Her actual birthday was on Wednesday, but we waited until all of our family could be in to join in the festivities. Adam arrived Friday night and Mason & I picked him up at the airport. As I was driving to the airport to pick him up, Mason decided he would open the car door on I-10 as I was driving about 65mph. I nearly had a heart attack and had to pull over to the shoulder to close the door. I was such a nervous wreck the rest of the drive and we made sure the child locks were on my mom's car from there on out.

Saturday evening, about 20 of my mom's close friends and family went to dinner at La Hacinda. It's a terrific Mexican food place, that our family has been going to for years. The waiters sang and Mason loved all the music. After dinner, we all headed back to my parents house for dessert. Several of her friends would be joining us, that couldn't make dinner and there seriously was so much food that night, I was stuffed. Mom had a fabulous birthday and I still think she doesn't look 50 at all.

My favorite part of the evening was a visit from Ms. Stebbins. She was my first grade teacher at Meadow Wood Elementary. She had invited her first grade class to her wedding many years ago and we have remained in touch since. The last time I saw her, was at my wedding and I was brought to tears. So, when she walked in the door Saturday evening, my emotions were high and I was again brought to tears. She has meant so much to me over the years. It was a great end to a perfect evening.

Happy Birthday Mama

Mama,



Happy Birthday! This is a big year and I feel like we need to celebrate. So, in honor of you turning 50, yes I said it, I would like to take a minute and tell you why we should celebrate all of these momentous years in your life.



From the very beginning, you have loved me unconditionally. Your words were the first I heard and your eyes were the first I would see. There is nothing like being held in your mother's arms, even as an adult. Those arms cradled me as a baby, picked me up when I was hurt or sad as a child, and hugged me when I needed it the most.



You are the strongest woman I know. You have endeared many hardships and persevered throughout them all. You fought breast cancer with an attitude of a survivor, not wanting pity or sympathy. That takes a lot of courage and strength and I know you were able to get through all of this with God.



My life is so much richer, because of you. I have a pretty good memory and I make sure to think about my childhood and family life often, to remind myself I am truly blessed. So why I can't account for the first 21 years of life before me, I can account for the rest of the 28 years and those years have impacted my life. You are the best woman I know and I couldn't think of anything better than to strive to have a bit of that courage, strength, and love you have shown me day in and day out. I love you so much and hope you have a fabulous 50th birthday.



luv ya,

~Tabaitha

Home sweet Home

We made it to Houston! Saturday morning, we left around 2:45am, yes it was very early, and drove to LA to make my 6:30am flight. It's only a little over an hour and a half to LAX, but when you are traveling with a toddler it can take a little bit longer to get through security, eat breakfast, change diapers and take a potty break before the flight.



We were seated in the very last row, which I actually didn't mind this time. I knew we would be the first to board and when I looked up the seating originally, I had the window seat and the middle seat was open. However, once we sat down, a lady sat next to us and I realized it must be a full flight. No worries, Mason was too busy looking out the window to notice anyone else. But the lady noticed Mason and switched seats, once the plane took off. Before she switched, she made sure to tell the flight attendant, she wanted to sit somewhere she could sleep without any noises around her. I laughed inside, when the flight attendant told her she had no guarantees.



It has been so nice seeing family. I haven't had a chance to see any friends yet, but soon enough. We have been so busy, that I noticed my ankles had started to swell just a little yesterday. I guess going, going, going will do that to you. The funny thing is, my ankles never swelled until I was 35 weeks with Mason and that was only because I was going non-stop and it was extremely humid outside that weekend. I decided to stay home today and take it easy. The swelling is gone and I was able to get a short nap. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I will be sure to do so starting tomorrow. Adam arrives on Friday!

Days before we left for Houston

Mason reading with his Daddy

About to get into the DVD's (which he knows better, obviously he didn't know I was watching him)

Sitting on one of his old toys watching Elmo's World

Look, no hands!

Trying to take off his socks

Several things to look forward to

There are several things that I'm looking forward to during my trip home:



~ Celebrating my mom's 50th birthday!

~ Seeing all of my family over the next 6 weeks.

~ Admiring how much my two nephews and niece have grown.
~ Shopping: I can't wait to shop on Black Friday. It's a tradition that I have been doing with my mom since I was a littler girl. My cousin Taylor has joined us on and off throughout the years and I'm hoping she will be able to make it this year. Not to mention, that there are so many more options and places to go in Houston.

~ Getting my trimmed and styled by my sister. She is the only one I trust with my hair and my favorite part is the shampoo.

~ Bagel Cafe! It's so yummy and I can't wait to have my everything bagel toasted with butter and my decaf coffee.

~ Thanksgiving & Christmas with our families. These two tie for my second favorite holidays. The first being the 4th of July of course.

~ Visiting some of my favorite eating spots (not that I will be able to make it to all of them): Chuy's, Hasta La Pasta, El Jarrito, Atami's, Whataburger, Freebirds and Kolache Factory (they don't have kolaches in California).

~ Hopefully getting to see as many friends as possible. There are some friends that I haven't seen since High School and it's been way too long.

~ Marissa's trip to Houston. My friend Marissa, is flying in to visit us over her birthday weekend. It will be her first trip to Houston and I can't wait to show her all of my favorite spots, especially with everything decorated for Christmas.

~ Cuddling with my puppies Holly & Cassie that live with my parents. Holly is old and not doing so well, so this could be my last visit with her.

~ Watching Mason's face every time he is around Christmas decor. We have been to some of the stores in Bakersfield that have the decorations already up and the boy goes crazy with excitement. I love it!

packing

As I mentioned last week, Adam had a nasty cold. I was afraid of catching it and sure enough, by Friday I was sick with a sinus infection. I called my doctor and he was so thoughtful to call me in a prescription, so I wouldn't spend the rest of the weekend sick in bed. Besides, I had a busy weekend in store.

Our friend Katie, celebrated her birthday on Friday night and we went over to her house for games and snacks. Funny thing, we never played games, instead just chatted the evening away. Saturday, we went to the Country Rose Tea Room for our friend Rachel's baby shower. She is expecting Hunter Dec. 31st and this will be her third, she has 18 month old twins. That evening, the girls decided to go to dinner and do a little shopping at the mall. We ate at Red Robin in the mall and as soon as we finished, we started to walk around, only to find that the mall was closing at 8pm. Can you believe that a mall would close at 8pm on a Saturday? I was so shocked. I guess I'm used to the malls in Houston.

Sunday was spent home doing a lot of nothing. Mason still had a bit of a runny nose and I didn't want to get any of the other kids in the church nursery sick, and since Adam & I both were still recovering, we decided to stay home. It was cold and rainy outside, so it made for a perfect day to watch football and take a nap.

This week, I have been busy organizing and getting all of our stuff together for our trip. Our flight leaves LA at 6:30am and I was planning on just shipping home a couple of boxes of our things, but I learned that it would just be cheaper to pay to check the luggage instead. Since I purchased our tickets before the policy changed in September, our first checked bag will be free. I'm hoping that Adam will be able to get an escort pass to help me get through security with Mason and help us onto the plane. I can't wait to see everyone. We will be home in 3 days!

16 months

Mason had his 15 month checkup on his 16 month birthday. October was way too busy to go to the doctor, but I wanted to make sure we were able to see Dr. Shah before we left for our trip. The appointment started off great, because the nurse gave him a lollypop right away. Of course that meant that his entire body was sticky, since they strip them down to their diaper for the checkup. He finished his sucker before Dr. Shah came in and that meant I had to take away the stick, so that he wouldn't poke himself or me with it. Unfortunately, that started the first crying session. Luckily, it only lasted for a few seconds and he lit up when Dr. Shah came in the room.


The second crying session began when Dr. Shah had to hold his head still to check his ears. Mason has never liked getting his ears looked at and he makes sure to let you know. Even Dr. Shah commented on Mason's strength. After he was done, I held Mason and calmed him down, while we chatted for a bit. I had a few questions, especially since we will be traveling for a long period of time. I was concerned mostly with Mason's ears. He has had a cold this past week and it is finally clearing up, but I was worried that getting on the plane would cause him to get another ear infection. Luckily, Mason hasn't had an ear infection since May, but it seemed like he was getting a double ear infection everytime we flew home, except for our trip in July. Dr. Shah suggested seeing my pediatrician back in Katy, if he were to get sick again. I'm so fortunate that Dr. Lentsch takes good care of Mason every time we see her on our trips home. I'm hoping that we won't have to visit her office at all this trip.

The third crying session began during his shots. He had his chicken pox vaccine and his DP. Did I mention that his appointment was during his afternoon nap? So I loaded him up to come home and the minute I took him out of his carseat, he was asleep on my shoulder. He slept great and his shots didn't seem to bother him the rest of the day.

Head: 47.5 centimeters putting him in the 75 percentile.
Height: 33.75 inches putting him in the 95 percentile.
Weight: 27 lbs. 4 oz. putting him in the 95 percentile.
(Mason has never been in below the 95 percentile for his height or weight)

A few things Mason is doing at this stage:
~ He loves to dance when I sing songs to him.
~ He walks around the house acting like he is talking on the phone.
~ Like his mom, he loves when anyone rubs their fingers through his hair.
~ When he dances, he puts his whole body into it.
~ When I tell him lets go bye-bye, he walks/runs to the garage door.
~ He loves Oreos!
~ He knows how to open the car door, therefore I have the child locks on his side of the car.
~ He wants you to read books to him over and over and over and over again.