[It's the Little Things Link Up] Day off with Mason

Last Friday I was lucky enough to be able to be home all day with Mason. (Unlucky for me, I had to work on Saturday, which is why I had Friday off, but I like not to focus on the negative!) This is a rare occurrence since I normally work Monday through Friday every week. So, focusing on the positive, lucky for me, I got to spend the whole day with my little man and I could not have had a better day.

I wanted to link up today with Ashley from Words About Waverly and Jess from Sadie Sky Boutique to tell you a little bit about my day and why, even though it may not have been anything special or out of the ordinary, it was the best day. And for those of you that follow me on Instagram [@lizbir], you may have already gotten a sneak peak at this post!

The day started off like any other day off with daddy leaving for work and Mason and I watching Mickey and eating breakfast. I tried to do some dishes while Mason watched some cartoons, but he was more interested in what I was doing and came over to open and close the dishwasher...about a hundred times.  Of course, this made the dishes take ten times longer than usual, but he was having so much fun that I didn't want to stop him.

I had been wanting to get Mason some new toddler bibs for daycare since he had still been using his cloth ones from when he was a baby and the upgrade was long overdue. Once I knew Babies R Us was open, I packed a snack, a water cup, and Mason and we headed to the store. He was such a good boy while I picked up some bibs and looked around a little that I thought we could run a couple more errands before nap time. So, we paid, hopped back in the car, and drove to Trader Joe's. I noticed Mason was being quiet, I just thought he was playing, but when I parked at Trader Joe's I noticed he was sleeping.
My sweet baby was so tired. I figured he would be good to go after a couple minute power nap so I proceeded with my shopping trip. I picked him up out of his car seat and fully expected him to be awake but he put his head down on my shoulder and slept the whole time I shopped at Trader Joe's!

I figured since he was sleeping, I could run one more errand and went next door to French's to buy some challah bread. Since he was such a good boy all morning, I thought I would buy him a cookie too (so spoiled being with mommy all day!). I fully intended on only buying Mason a cookie but when the lady said "just one?" I caved and got myself one too. Boy am I glad I did because it was one of the BEST cookies I had ever had. Clearly, Mason enjoyed his too!

We headed home and I fed Mason some lunch and then put him down for a nap. I started prep for a slow cooker chili recipe that I had found online and ate lunch myself. For those of you that know me, know that I never cook. So this was a big deal that I was making dinner! I bake. But I never cook. It's not that I can't (well I think I can!), but Seth is such a good cook that he is the chef in the family and I am the baker.

Once Mason woke up, I thought we would try our hand at an art project. I had been wanting to make Valentine's cards for certain special people for Valentine's Day and I thought it would be fun to have Mason finger paint. Before I tell you what happened, I should first say, my kid is the CLEANEST boy I know. Seriously. We thought he would smash his cake at his first birthday party, but he wanted none of it. So Seth smashed his hand in the cake and what happened? TEARS! Tears.
Poor kid was traumatized by being dirty.

So, what happened when I tried to have him finger paint? Luckily, no tears, but he wanted none of it. He started whining and complaining and rubbing all the paint on his hands into his hair.

So, it was off to the bath for us! And I say us because... I definitely got a bath too with Mr. Wild Man Splasher.

We got dressed and headed to the grocery store to get a couple more things for dinner. When we came home, I got him out of the car and put him down while I grabbed the bags and he was off. This is our new thing. Ever since Mason started walking a couple months ago, he loves to walk. LOVES. He also loves to explore which is the cutest thing ever. So I put the bags inside and we went on a walk. He was in heaven. I could barely close the door and we were off!

And he stopped to smell the ... bushes.

Daddy came home shortly after we got back from our walk and we all had dinner. The day was just another ordinary Friday but since I rarely, if ever get a Friday at home alone with Mason, it made it extra special.

It's the little things that matter the most.

[BOY MOMS] Andrea from Hand and the Heart

Hey there! I'm Andrea and I write over at Hand and the Heart. I'm so excited to be part of this series because there is nothing I love talking about more than my son! We welcomed Benjamin Ray into our lives in September 2012, and even though we had a really rough beginning, he has been keeping us on our toes ever since. I didn't know how badly this small boy with deep brown eyes and perfect dimples would undo me.

When we found out we were expecting a boy, I was (not so secretly) very excited about it. I dreamt all the time about who he would be...what his laughter would sound like...what his hands would feel like wrapped around mine...what color his hair would be. I just knew I would love being a 'boy mom'. I spent all of my time growing up out in the barn with my horses getting dirty, or hiking and camping with my family. The great outdoors, wilderness, dirt, rocks, exploration...I can do that!

But being a boy mom is so much more than that. 

Being a boy mom is holding his hand and being his first love. 
It's helping him admire his daddy. 
Having a son is striking a balance between letting him be a wild, young boy and preparing him to be a good man.  
It's teaching him that a man is strong, but that he doesn't have to be tough all the time. 
Being a boy mom is making sure he always knows how much you love him.

Now my son is only 16 months old, but oh do I have adventures in store for us! Almost every day of his life on earth we have gone outside to throw rocks, watch the birds, dig in the dirt, look at worms, and splash in the sea. Everyday I hug him, kiss him, and tell him how much I love and adore him. Every day we wait excitedly for his daddy to come home. Every day I am grateful for him. I can't think of a greater or more important calling in life than to be Ben's mama.

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If you would like to share a post about you and your son, email me at elizabethrose84@gmail.com .

I would love to feature you! You don't have to have a blog to participate!

[BOY MOMS] Emily from Dear Owen

Welcome to a Special Friday Feature of Boy Moms!

I had asked Emily from Dear Owen if she would like to contribute to the Boy Mom series about a week ago knowing that she was due was #2 in about 3 weeks, a little girl! I wanted to feature her today since I knew baby girl could come anytime, but surprise! She came before Emily's post got to be posted! A huge congratulations to Emily and her family on their new addition!

Here's why Emily has loved being a boy mom for the past 22 months before Claire's arrival....

Hi, there! I'm Emily, I'm a wife and Momma to one sweet toddler with a baby girl on the way! I am a Speech Language Pathologist turned (mostly) Stay at Home Mommy.  I share about our little life, our house projects, and my love for speech and language development on my blog Dear Owen. I'm excited to be here on Chasin' Mason today to share all about why I love being a #boymom!

Although my days of being an exclusive Boy Mom are nearing the end I have to say the last 22 months have been nothing short of life changing.

On March 26, 2012 our sweet little Owen was born.  From the moment I laid eyes on him and held him in my arms my life was forever changed. He has taught me what is truly important in the world. He has taught me about Grace, how to receive it and how to give it. And he's taught me that love truly is all you need. 

A few things I love specifically about being a boy mom-

All the cuddles. I'm sure all Momma's would say this but I have to say my little guy sure knows how to cuddle and show love. I've always heard boys are crazy about their Momma's and although we certainly have our days the good days most definitely out way the bad.

  

Watching him explore and discover new things. From cars, to trucks, trains to buses. My guy loves all things that go. I remember last Valentine's  Day when Owen started to really make "vroom vroom" noises and "play" with his cars. This was so much fun to see. He also loves bugs, worms, and his latest new discovery spider webs. So although those are all things I'm not crazy about (um.. hello, spiders?! Eek) I love watching him run with pure joy and excitement to show me his newest discovery!

Watching him imitate his Papa. Owen does anything and everything just like his Dad. Lucky for me, my hubby is very handy. He always has a project going on and nowadays, he also always has a little helper. He loves all his Papa's tools and had to have his very own tool set for Christmas. He tries to wear his shoes, puts on his hats and LOVES his Papa's Jeep! Seeing the two of them together, melts my heart.

And lastly teaching him new things. I love teaching him new words and concepts. Seeing him catch on and say new little phrases like, "good grief" always make me smile. He always surprises me with how fast he learns new things.  I love teaching him about Jesus and sharing with him about how loved he is. Watching him fold his little hands to pray and say "Amen" makes me the happiest. 

Being a Mom is the biggest blessing I've ever had and being a #Boymom is something I will never forget. 

Thanks so much Liz for having me. It was really fun reflecting on all these special moments, especially right before we welcome baby girl into the world.

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Thank you for sharing, Emily! And congratulations on your sweet baby girl's arrival!

If you would like to share a post about you and your son, email me at elizabethrose84@gmail.com .

I would love to feature you! You don't have to have a blog to participate!

Citrus Lane box.

I had been hearing about these Citrus Lane boxes from a bunch of mommy blogs that I read and I was intrigued. It seemed like such an amazing idea to get a box delivered each month of new, fun, age appropriate toys/food/items for Mason. I'd been wanting to order one for months and figured that Christmas was the perfect time. So I did it! And Mason's first box arrived the middle of last week...just in time for his 18 month birthday. So, I saved it until Saturday and he got to open the box for his "birthday".

Each box is slightly different in it's contents, but our box had this shape sorter from Plan Toys, this monkey lunch box from Skip Hop, these Mr. Men and Little Miss Ouchies bandaids for boys, and some Dapple toy and surface wipes (except in a travel package, not a container).

Mason already had a lunch box, but this one is pretty dang cute so I may switch to this one soon.

I think he was a little confused as to what the shape sorter was at first but now that he kind of understands it, I think it will make a great toy for the car. No pieces to lose!

I've used the wipes and they're great! I cleaned Mason's hands after snack time as well as cleaned a toy he threw on the ground in the grocery store parking lot and they worked great!

We can't wait to see what arrives next month!

If you're interested in getting a Citrus Lane box for yourself, click here for a discount. You get a discount on your first box, and I get a credit to my account. Win, win :)

Disclaimer : This post is not sponsored. I am just sharing my love for Citrus Lane. All opinions are my own.

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Exciting news! Check back tomorrow for a special edition of Boy Moms with sweet momma Emily from Dear Owen! She has been a boy mom for the past 22 months and actually JUST became a boy/girl mom yesterday! She had planned on sharing her love for her boy before sweet baby Claire decided to make an early appearance so check back tomorrow to see what she loves about being a boy mom!

[Mason] 18 Months Old.

I can hardly believe that... Mason turned 18 months old on Saturday!

Stats :

- Height and weight - we won't know until his 18 months check up on January 31st.

Wears :

- size 4 diapers

- size 12-18 month pants - the length is getting a little short on some, but the waist is perfect

- size 12-18 month and 18-24 month shirts depending on the brand

- size 6 in Stride Rite shoes

Eats :

We have been blessed with a kid that will eat almost anything. Seriously, the kid loves to eat. That being said, he will also let you know if he doesn't want what you give him. Be either straight up spitting it out after you put it in his mouth or by faking you out making you think he is picking it up to put it in his mouth and then he will throw it on the floor.

His favorite things are : pasta, turkey/ham, string cheese, pirates booty, goldfish, yogurt, apple sauce, sweet potatoes, edamame, chicken nuggets, avocado, and mac and cheese.

He can be totally done eating his own food and then sees someone else eating and then is hungry all over again. Seth and I will feed him breakfast on the weekends and then sit down ourselves and he comes over, grabs our plates to see what we are eating and basically begs to have some of our food...even if it is the exact same thing he just finished eating. He does the same thing at daycare too!

Drinks :

Everything! Seriously. I think he would if we left him. He loves milk and water. He loves to sneak some of mommy's Starbucks black iced tea and passion tea. And he LOVES to drink out of my mason jar tumbler. I swear he drinks more water out of my cups than his own. He's also snuck a sip of lemonade from his cousin, Addison's, cup at daycare and LOVED it.

Sleeps :

His sleep is actually pretty good! We are so lucky! He goes down easily at night for bedtime and usually sleeps straight from 8pm-ish to 6am or 7am. However, I think we have hit that sleep regression that people talk about at 18 months. Mason has recently been waking up at night around 1am or 3am crying. For no real reason. In fact, last night he woke up at 1am with a little whine. I checked the monitor and he was fine so I went back to sleep. Then cry. Nothing. Cry. Nothing. Cry. Nothing. And on an on for what seemed like an eternity but was probably 10 minutes. I knew he was fine, so I left him alone since he wasn't really crying. I'm hoping this ends soon because the amount of times I wake up in the middle of the night seems like I have a newborn all over again.

That being said, we are definitely not headed towards a big boy bed anytime soon! This kid is the craziest sleeper ever and would probably fall out of bed and we would find him across the room in the morning.

Please see the picture above. This was all one night!

Says :

Not much... I haven't really talked about this on the blog at all, but he is behind on his speech. He recently has gotten more of a voice but still does not say any noticeable words yet. I know he does understand what we say because he will look at me when I asked him to, he will come to us if we ask him too, he laughs when Mickey says something funny on tv, he will get things if you ask him to, and he will shake his head no when he doesn't want to do something, He is the MASTER of the head shake. No. No. No. I'm not really sure where he got this from since we do say no, but we don't shake our head at him. I am trying to teach him that shaking his head no is bad and to shake his head yes, it is actually pretty funny and pretty appropriate when he does it.

Mason, give nanny a kiss. Shakes his head no. Mason, please? Shakes his head no.

Mason, should mommy go to work tomorrow? Shakes his head no.

Our neighbor asked "Mason, did you cry when you fell and hit your head?" Shakes his head no.

Mason, it's time for bed. Shakes his head no.

Does :

- This kid seriously gives the BEST hugs now! And it melts my heart. Before bed, right after story time, I will turn Mason around and say "hug" (sometimes I don't even need to say it) and he will give the BIGGEST hug. Like putting his head down on my shoulder and putting his arms around you hug. It is the absolute BEST!

- Mason was a late walker and only really started walking by himself 1-2 months ago. He would walk holding our hand but wouldn't want to walk by himself. At daycare Luz would practice with him and he would just cry and cry and cry. Then, one day, he just got it! And he looked SO PROUD of himself. It was the best feeling. Now the kid can't walk everywhere fast enough!

- He loves to climb on everything!
- He is very good at helping to get himself dressed.
- The poor kid got his first big owie the other day... a huge goose egg on his head! He cried for a minute and then was back to playing.

Loves :

- Carousels!
- Brushing his teeth (though I think he likes sucking on the toothbrush more than the actual tooth brushing) and holding mommy or daddy's toothpaste while we brush his teeth.
- Bath time! As well as splash time.

- Throwing his water/milk cup on the floor....
....by "accident" or on purpose sometimes. I swear he will look right at me, pick it up, hold it over the edge and just drop it.
....and then get a HUGE smile on his face. Stinker!
- The swings and the slides at the park.
- Dumping all the food from his tray on the floor (he did this for like a month straight but it has gotten better).
- Tearing his train table apart
- BUBBLES!
- Throwing all the books from the bookshelf on to the floor.
- Story time before bed and helping to turn the pages.
- Crawling up the stairs by himself or walking up with help
- Getting into trouble! And getting in the dishwasher.

Hates :

- Getting his nails cut - but! This is getting better! If I can distract him with an episode of Mickey Mouse, he will sit still long enough for me to cut his finger nails without pulling his fingers away every 2 seconds. Also, on a good day, he will let me cut his toe nails without shaking his foot and pulling it away as well.
- Getting his nose blown/sucked. We got a NoseFrieda a year-ish ago and it's made an amazing difference. Mason still hates it but it makes it easier for Seth and I.
- Hates wearing sunglasses or hats. But loves to rip the sunglasses off his face (or anyone else's for that matter) and put them in his mouth!

This is such a fun age! We just love our little man so much and can't wait to see him learn and grow more!

We love you Mason! Happy 18 months!

All our love, Mommy and Daddy

Weekend(s) recap through pictures.

First of all, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Tara from A Tale of Four Maples, Kate from Sokolewicz Family, Meghan from The Adventure Starts Here, Amy from Happily Hello, Suzie, and Kary from Always Painted, Usually Chipped. Thank you all for contributing to my Boy Mom series! I can't thank you enough for sharing your stories with me and the blogosphere. I really enjoyed reading all the stories!

Stay tuned on Mondays for more boy mom stories!

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With all the excitement of the boy mom series, I haven't shared any of my own news! 

Last weekend we had a fun and productive weekend! Friday night was a lazy night and was spent having fun in the bath.

Mom! I'm ready!

Then on Saturday, we went to our friends Matt and Lorraine's house to celebrate their daughter Lily's 4th birthday. The theme of the party was "sprinkles" and Lorraine did a great job with the theme! I had just gotten off of working for 8 hours on a Saturday so it was really nice to go over to someone else's house and just have fun.

Lorraine made a cute happy birthday banner // sprinkle garland hanging on the bathroom mirror

sprinkle oreos // sprinkle nutella fudge balls // caramel covered apple popsicles 

Mason had fun playing with the toys and balloons and had fun climbing the stairs.

I had fun chasing him!

Colored spaghetti for dinner for the kids!

Mason especially loved the bread.

That's my boy! 

Birthday girl and dessert time 

He wasn't so sure about the rainbow colored oreo...

...but once he tasted it, he quickly remembered he liked them. 

Saturday night was a rough night as Mason woke up at 3am crying. And it lasted until 4am. Every time Seth or I would take him out of his crib to console him and rock him, he would calm down, but immediately started crying hysterically when we would put him back in the crib. So... blankets and pillows on the floor and we both slept in his room. It may not be comfortable to us, but it is comforting to him. I've done it once before and believe it or not, it calms him down. I rub his back or his head and tell him that we are here and that we are all going to go to sleep together and he lays down, on the side closest to me, and calms down and eventually falls asleep. It is seriously the sweetest thing.

Miraculously we all got to sleep in until 9am... only that sleeping in came with the shock that it was 9am! Mason NEVER sleeps that late and we had booked a hair cut for him at 10am (it had been 2 months since his last one!) so it required some quick moving on our part. We decided that Seth would get ready and I would feed Mason breakfast and then he would take him to the hair cut appointment and I would stay home and clean. Now, obviously Seth got the better end of the deal, but cleaning needed to happen. Bad. I've been having to work Saturdays (in addition to Monday-Friday) for a month-ish now and cleaning had been put on the back burner since we have other weekend chores that have to be done every weekend (like laundry, grocery shopping, etc.).

This weekend was a different story all together. This past weekend was Mommy/Mason weekend and it was just what I needed!

Friday night Seth was still home but we spent the night eating take out sushi and just hanging out and enjoying the weekend. Mason enjoyed drinking out of my mason jar tumbler...

...and mastering the art of the selfie.

(and the droolie!) 

Then Saturday started our weekend together. Seth works at the swap meet selling tickets in the ticket booth about seven times a year. His dad has worked there for years and years and Seth has been working there for a while now too. Basically he works from 5am-2pm selling tickets to the Pomona Swap Meet and gets paid a good amount of money for doing so. I did it for a while too, but when I got pregnant with Mason, I stopped. Seth continues to do it though and it provides us with some extra money throughout the year. recently he started working both Saturday and Sunday which gives me some extra time with my boy.

We started Saturday off by eating breakfast, watching cartoons, and then lots of playing. We also celebrated his 18 months birthday! I bought him a Citrus Lane box subscription back in December for Christmas and his first box arrived on Wednesday but I saved it until the weekend for his half birthday (more on the box later).

We had lunch and then it was time for Mason's nap.

And mommy's afternoon coffee. 

Mason slept for 3 HOURS (!!!), ate a snack, and then we headed off to the grocery store to get some stuff for dinner. I decided that I would cook (which, for those of you who know me, know this happens rarely if ever). I've made my mom's meatloaf for Seth once before and he loved it so I decided to surprise him by making it for dinner since he was at work all day. Even Mason loved it!

Then I attempted to take an 18 month picture of him. Which he was having none of. I think the last time I actually got a good, cooperative monthly photo of him was 6 months lol.

Moooooooom! No more pictures please... 

Sunday was spent sleeping in until 7am, running errands, monkeying around, and taking pictures.

Someone dropped his toy in the sink and decided he would try to get it himself...

Love, love, love this boy! 

We've been having some great weekends over here and hope you have too!

Happy Tuesday!