A High Chair!

We had Mason's 4 Month Checkup on Sept. 1. He weighed in at 15 pounds 9 ounces and measured a little over 25 inches long. He is getting so big! He did really well getting his shots and hasn't been too fussy. He did run a slight fever and was acting a bit cranky but he seems to be doing better now!

The Doc gave us the go-ahead to start on some rice cereal and then stage one baby foods. We are so excited! Tonight we finally opened up the high chair box and assembled the high chair. It seems instinctual that dogs know that high chair = free food. The minute we put Mason in the chair, Jake appeared and seemed to be thinking, "Any minute now he will drop some food...wait for it...wait for it..."

Hopefully we will get a cute video of Mason chowing down and post it. Until then, here is Mason in his new high chair!

Oh, and his bib says "Jock" not "Jack" - I can hear it now..."Why do they have a bib that says 'Jack' on a baby named 'Mason'?" Not to worry.

Deep in thought about this new phase of life. Mmmmm. Food.

Just Some Pics of Sweet Mason

Precious!

Laughing

Bashful

Jabbering

Adorable

Tummy Time!

Don't forget to check out Mason's 4 Month post down below!!

I'm Four Months!

Hey Peeps! It's me, Mason. I just wanted to let everyone know I hit four months on Saturday. We didn't really do anything special - we kind of already celebrated with a trip to Sea World last Monday. We went to catch the "Sea World Nights" celebration they have in the Summer time out here. Mom and Dad bought me this awesome sting ray stuffed animal right outside of the sting ray aquarium. He is so soft! I am busy growing these days. I weigh 15 pounds and 10 oz right now. I haven't had my 4 month check up yet so I don't know how tall I am...but I can tell you I am wearing size 9 months in my pajamas because my legs are so long! I love to smile, and drool. The drooling thing is because I am working on cutting some teeth! I like to chew on things a lot and sometimes cry because it hurts. But other than that life is great. I thought I would update you on a few of my favorite things...I've really matured since my last post. All that stuff I used to like is for babies.

Here are some of my NEW favorite things:

1. Being held. Don't put me down. Seriously. Don't put me down. You're not gonna put me down are you?

2. Playing motorcycle with Dad. His fingers are the handle bars and we drive over bumpy roads really fast! It makes me laugh so hard.

3. My Bumbo. I love being able to sit all by myself! I feel like such a big boy.

4. Books. The Berenstein Bears are my favorite. I love the pictures in the books. I would love to live in a treehouse down a sunny dirt road deep in bear country. Maybe someday my dad and I can build a treehouse together!

5. Grabbing Mom's hair. This is so much fun. She is going bald on the right side of her head because I like to rip it out when I get a hold of it. I like doing this to the ladies at church too. (Incidentally mom has stopped wearing earrings. It's probably a good thing because those look even more fun to grab!)

6. Huggies diapers. We gave them a try because I kept blowing through my Pampers. I've got some serious talent people. To my chagrin, the Huggies hold up much better. But I have yet to meet I diaper I can't blow through. Yeah!

Here are a few pics from Sea World!! I was kind of chilly when we went...that's why we are in long sleeves and jeans! Brrr.

Here I am sleeping. I actually did this most of the time we were at Sea World. Hey, I'm a pretty relaxed kid...except when I am in my own bed at home. Then I like to stay awake and play.

Here is me and mom out in front of the manatee exhibit. I think I was watching a little girl who was playing with a stick. That seemed more interesting than dad taking the picture. I call em how I see em.

Here is me and dad at the Shamu Show. The crowd was HUGE! I wasn't sure what to make of all the glow sticks everyone was holding. It was pretty noisy too.

Here is Shamu! The whales did some pretty awesome tricks!

Here I am with my Sting Ray. He is about the same size as I am, but I will pass him up soon.

This last one is especially for my cousin Avery. Mom said this silly face I was making reminded her of the silly face cousin Avery used to make too. What do think? Is silliness hereditary?

Missing Mike

Last week Mike went on an 7 day trip to Washington DC for a work conference. It was just me and Mason for the week. I was a little nervous about going that long without getting any kind of baby-break, but we did ok. The first part of the week was really rough though, as I think my little one is starting to teethe. He screamed ALL day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. By Tuesday, I was screaming too. He was drooling like crazy and constantly chewing on his hands. Thankfully, Wednesday he seemed to be more back to normal. It sure is tough when you don't have family around to help out! Needless to say we were both thrilled when Daddy came home.

Mike had an awesome time and got to do quite a bit of site-seeing. He even got to see the Commandant's house! Ooh Rah!

I co-hosted a baby shower for a friend from church and so my Saturday and Sunday were taken up by that. I had fun making the diaper cake and other little table-topper decorations for the shower. I was also in charge of punch - and it was a huge hit! People were going crazy over it. I pretty much stood at the punch bowl and gave refills for most of the shower. 55 people came - it was such a blessing!

Here are some pics from the shower:

This is sweet Adrienne standing in front of the food table. She is going to be such a great mommy!

This is the diaper cake I made. There are over 100 diapers in that thing! Those should last her a while! I put 4 pacifiers on there too. Next to the cake I wrapped up packages of baby wipes. Hopefully she won't have to buy those for a while either. Her nursery colors are green and brown...so cute!

Flowers and a little gift basket I put together. The basket had some size one diapers (leftover from Mr. Mason) and some bath items. Everyone loved the flowers. I must also say that Leah and I did an awesome job slicing that cake to feed 55 people. It took some mad math skills to say the least! We even had enough left over to send home for the dad-to-be! Mike was disappointed when I didn't bring cake home from my baby shower (but we ran out!).

And last but not least - the two cutest boys in the world. This was Sunday once Mike was finally home. We were hanging out early at church on Sunday evening. My blonde haired, blue eyed son and his Mexican father. Ha ha! I think Mason has a little more of the "Czech" than the "Hispanic" in his "Hispani-czech" heritage!

Extra! Extra! Mike made the Paper!

Yes, that's my husband...and my pink camera in the hand on the far left of the picture...but no, it's not my hand...I was not privileged enough to be present for this shenanigan.

The caption reads: Sebastian "Bas" Rutten (top right), retired Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight, posed for photo with Mike Cabrero yesterday at the Marine Corps Air Station exchange. Brian Dardar took the picture of the kickboxer and Marine; Tom McKenney (left) watched the move. Rutten was promoting a clothing line.

3 Months Old

Our sweet Mason turned three months old last Wednesday. I can't believe how fast it has gone - but at the same time I can't really remember what life was like without this little guy. Now when I think back on memories before he was born, it always seems as though something was missing.

In honor of your three months Mason, I thought I would list some things I love about you!! I could go on forever, so I will just pick 10.

1. I love that you wake up happy in the mornings. I come to pick you up and you always give me the biggest toothless grin when you look up and see me there. It melts my heart!

2. I love your "chimp call" - you are really starting to make noise and try out this whole language thing. You make the most hilarious "ooh-ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh!" call and it sounds just like a chimp. It always makes your dad and me laugh!

3. I love that playing patty-cake totally cracks you up. You still won't open your hands so I can clap them together, but you laugh like crazy when I use your little fists to do the hand motions.

4. I love that when your dad sings Marine Corps Cadence it makes you laugh...you may not realize this now, but he is sending subliminal messages to you to make you want to be a Marine. I on the otherhand, would never attempt to influence you in such a way. I would never whisper "ACU" or "Wildcat Pride" while you are sleeping. What? You mean you heard that? Oh I thought you were asleep.

5. I love that you wrap your little arm around my neck and nuzzle your face into mine when you are sleepy. It is so precious.

6. I love that you actually look at the pictures in the books when I read you stories.

7. I love that you will go all day without taking a nap and then crash 30 seconds before your dad gets home from work. You do that just to spite me don't you?

8. I love how when you cry it sometimes sounds like you are saying "Mama" - I know you aren't really speaking, but it is still sweet music to my ears!!

9. I love your hair. I love that I actually have to spray a leave-in conditioner on it after your bath and comb it out. We learned that the hard way...no more knots!!

10. And lastly, I love your personality. You are really starting to show more of it these days. You are so sweet and loving - I know you will always be a caring and creative person.

Mason, you totally rock!! We can't wait to celebrate more fun times with you.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while! We have been super busy over the last week or so. Last Monday our church kicked off VBS. It was a huge success! We had over 100 kids every night - with the highest being 125 on Tuesday. VBS was Monday through Friday from 6-9 pm. Mike, Mason and I worked in the snack shack. We were busy preparing snacks and setting up eating areas for all those kids and the HUGE number of adults that worked VBS too. We had a blast. Needless to say, we had about 20 minutes to scarf down dinner and run up to the church every evening once Mike got off work. Then it was straight home and bath time then time to hit the sack!

Saturday we got up early to go see the newest Harry Potter movie. We didn't want to fight the crowds with Mason - and we didn't have to! There were about 40 people in the theater. It was perfect. Although, we both felt the movie was a bit of a disappointment. Not too much of a plot, unlike the book I'm told. I have the book on the agenda to read!! We did some shopping for Mason then came home to get a few things done around the house. Saturday night we went to a Birthday BBQ for one of Mike's oldest friends out here. His name is Hunter and his parents were the gracious ones who let Mike live on their couch when he moved out here and was homeless...(no available housing when he first moved out here!!) We had fun there too.

Sunday was church! We were hoping for an afternoon nap but then decided it was better to try and clean the house and cars instead. We didn't get much cleaning done with VBS and all. We went to church Sunday night followed by the young people's devo. What a whirlwind! We are hoping to take it easy this week! Here are some pics from our busy times:

Here is Mason and Mom all suited up and ready to work at the Snack Shack! And yes, I know, I have a GIGANTIC 3 month old. The doctor said he is off the height chart! When people find out how old he is they always say, "He is HUGE!"

We had a name tag that said "Amy and Mason, Swamp Workers" So cute!!

Here are a few of the kiddos having snacks!!

Here is Mason all dressed up in his crocodile dock pj's in honor of crocodile dock vbs!!

Out like a light!

Here he is in his super cute new baseball cap!!

Chillin' outside in the sunny weather