Happy Birthday Declan!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this sweet boy!

1 year ago - his birth announcement


taken of their photographer
Bethany Dawn Photography

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY DECLAN! We love you and CANNOT wait to meet you in March!!
Love, Liz, Seth, and Mason

Time for an Upgrade?

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

I've been thinking and thinking that Mason needs an upgrade from his infant car seat to a big boy car seat. And that he definitely needs an upgrade from his current bath tub that we put in the sink. But everyone I talk to says he is fine in his car seat and he is not old enough to need a new one. Now I know I am the mom and I should know what is best for my child but being a new mom, I ask for lots of input an advice.

That being said... what do you all think about the car seat situation and the bath tub situation? Also, what bath tub do you recommend? Or how do you recommend we bathe him?

Thanks!

Comparison - The lighting and formatting are bad, so he looks 
super big in the infant seat and tiny in the big boy seat

Infant Seat

Big boy seat

Puj Tub

Bath time!

Yummy sweet potatoes!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

After our doctor appointment yesterday, I decided that we really need to try to give Mason solids. We tried rice cereal a while ago and he didn't really seem to like it. We moved on to oatmeal and he seemed to like it. I thought we would get into a routine of feeding him oatmeal every night and then... he got sick. Poor kid got ANOTHER cold. He is only 6 months old and has had a cold almost every other month. So we stopped the oatmeal. Coincidentally I also started working more and later and we didn't have too much time at night anymore. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to work and could be home with Mason all the time. There is just so much I want to do for him and with him and there is just not time when you have to go to work. But alas, we need the money and daycare costs less than what I make a month so I must keep working :(

I really want to make Mason's food because it's cheaper and I know exactly what goes into it, but I have NO idea where to start. I'm not the best cook... nor do I ever really cook. I do love to bake though so if I could make brownies for Mason, I would be set :) however, I think the doctor would frown upon that. So I've been researching online but I still feel super overwhelmed. So I cheated and bought some pre-made food. I got the Plum brand sweet potatoes for his first food and we tried that today. The ingredients are sweet potatoes and water so I know it is good.

I like it!

He actually really did seem to like it! I was so happy. He didn't eat too much but it was his first time and I think he is still getting used to the idea of eating off a spoon and trying to figure out how to eat and swallow what's in his mouth without his tongue pushing it back out. When we got the spoon in his mouth though, he was all over it! We're going to keep trying these for at least a week and then maybe try carrots? Or squash? Or peas? And then some fruits.

If anyone has any helpful tips for making your own baby food, please let me know!

[Mason] 6 Months.

First of all, so sorry to be MIA for so long. Thing have been a little crazy at work and by the time I finally get home, get Mason ready for bed, eat dinner, and get maybe two words in to Seth... I fall asleep on the couch. I've been SO tired recently. I even thought about going to bed at 9pm when Mason went to bed but I thought I could stay up a little longer to blog. So hopefully I don't fall asleep as I type lol.

I just came on the computer to write about Mason's 6 month birthday yesterday and realized I forgot to post my last post about him trying rice cereal and oatmeal. Oatmeal went over a lot better than rice cereal, but not nearly as good at sweet potatoes today! But I am getting a head of myself. We had Mason's 6 month well doctor visit yesterday and he did great! The visit started off amazing when the nurse asked what formula we feed Mason. It is a standard question that they always ask and we said Similac Alimentum.

"Alimentum?"
Yeah.
Hold on a sec.

Cue nurse walking back in with TONS of cans of formula. I was SHOCKED and SO HAPPY all at the same time. It was like won the lottery! Alimentum is SUPER expensive and the sales at Babies R Us are never on it. Always exclude it. So annoying. Because my baby requires a little help breaking down his food, you charge me extra and don't let me participate in sales. Super unfair. Anyway, Mason's doctor is AMAZING and this is what we ended up taking home :

14 Alimentum and 6  Sensitive!

I asked Dr. Tran if we could ween Mason off the Alimentum and onto something cheaper (I love him dearly and would continue to buy the bank breaking formula if I have to but if he could switch to something cheaper then I would loooooove that). She suggested the Similac Sensitive and gave us some samples. (And by some, I mean 6! AND she told us when we run out of these samples that we could call and get more free samples! Now I loved his doctor before this but now I REALLY love her!). She suggested in a 6 oz bottle to do 4 oz Alimentum and 2 oz Sensitive and slowly lower the Alimentum until its all Sensitive. So we will be trying that soon to see how he likes it!

Happy boy at the doctor! And his boo boo after his shots :(

I had wanted to take Mason's pictures on his birthday but the timing just didn't work out. I was at work until 2:30, quickly came home and wanted to take his pics before his doctor appointment but it was meltdown central so we put him to sleep for a quick 20 minute power nap. We went to the doctor and came home and by 5:15pm, Mason was out for the night. So... pictures are one day late :)
Happy 6 month birthday!


6 month stats :

i weigh 16 lbs. 15 oz. - 40th percentile
i am 27 inches tall - 70th percentile
i moved up to size 2 diapers
i have had 3 colds now
i celebrated my first christmas and my first new years
i tried rice cereal for the first time... and didn't really like it
i tried oatmeal for the first time... and did like it!
i like to sleep on my side now
i can giggle and laugh
i met my uncle david for the first time
i eat between 6 to 8 oz at each feeding
i eat every 3-4 hours
i haven't really eaten any solids yet but mommy and daddy are going to start
i don't overly like tummy time but am going to practice more so my arms get stronger and i can practice rolling over more
mommy and daddy are going to help me learn to sit

And the most anticipated picture...

MASON'S FIRST TOOTH!!!

I spent ALL week trying to get this picture and he finally cooperated today :)

Toofer!

Happy 6 month birthday baby! Mommy and Daddy love you SO much!

I can't believe my baby is already 1/2 year old....

Rice Cereal vs Oatmeal

I thought I had posted this a couple weeks ago but I check and... draft! Opps.

So, the pediatrician gave us the go ahead at Mason's 4 month visit to start solids at 5 months. This freaked me out a little because I have NO idea about anything having to do with solids. I'm fine with making a bottle, but solids are a whole new ball game. Our daycare provider, Luz, said that Mason had been seeming to be really hungry, even eating 8 oz at one sitting once, so we decided to try rice cereal for him. The first time, I think he just had no idea how to use a spoon but seemed kinda interested in eating. More ended up coming out of his mouth then going into his mouth though. I'd read something where you give them the rice cereal after they eat, kind of as a snack, because if you try to give them something they don't really know how to eat when they are really hungry, they will just get mad because they aren't getting food fast enough. So that's what we did. He seemed kinda uninterested and he kept spitting it out. I thought maybe he just wasn't hungry anymore after eating 6 oz so the next time we gave it to him after 4 oz. Same thing. In the mouth, out of the mouth. So we decided to give it to him in the middle of two feedings as a snack. He seemed willing to eat it, but still spit it out.

Rice cereal take 1

Since we tried a few times and he didn't seem to like it and after asking a few people, we decided to have him try oatmeal. Today was the first day that he tried it and I actually think he liked it! Well, liked it more than rice cereal at least. I decided that I wanted to try it and honestly it tasted... AWFUL. I think it's because his formula has an awful smell that I didn't like it though. He LOVES his formula so I'm sure he didn't think it tasted awful like I did lol. I'm happy to say that I actually think he swallowed some and didn't just spit it out.

Hmm... what is this??

I like it so much I'm even licking my bib clean!

I like it!

Happy 2013!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2012 was an amazing year and I cannot wait for what 2013 holds for us! I freaked out last night when I realized it was 2013 and my BABY would be ONE and Seth quickly brought me back to reality telling me that he wasn't even 6 months old yet and I should slow down :) But that didn't stop my from etsy-ing and pinterest-ing today for ideas for his first birthday!

Mason only had a little over 5 months to enjoy 2012 but here are some of Seth and my highlights followed by Mason's.

Happy 2012!
January 1, 2012 - Rose Parade in Pasadena

January - San Diego Zoo with the girls

February - Valentine's Day party

March - Seth's 30th birthday

April - Easter

June - my baby shower

June - my baby shower

The biggest highlight of the year!
Mason is born
July 18, 2012

September - Mason's first Angels game
October - first time at the pumpkin patch

November - Mason's first time at Disneyland
December -  first boat parade and first Disney on Ice show

Holidays - first Halloween, first Thanksgiving,
first Hanukkah and first Christmas

December - first New Year's Eve
Our wild night!

January 2013 - first New Year's Day!

There has been SO much more that has gone on but if I posted pictures of all of that, it would take up hundreds of pages! We feel so lucky to have been able to do so much and to introduce Mason to so much. Just looking back on the last 5 months of pictures (or rather just some of the pictures!) makes me feel so lucky.




Mason graduated from sleeping in a bassinet to his pack n' play to his crib to not being swaddled. He started daycare and loves being with his cousin and "girlfriend" everyday. He can sit (with help or in his bumbo) and he can roll over from his tummy to his back. He lets you know when he is hungry and usually goes from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds. He has gotten really good at tummy time. He LOVES to stick his thumb, his hand, his bib, his burp cloth, our clothes, our hands, his toys, and whatever else he can get his hands on in his mouth.

He has such a little personality. He is the light in our life. We love him so, so much. We are so blessed and cannot wait to see what will come in 2013!



HAPPY NEW YEAR!




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