End of Summer

I can't believe it's the end of the summer! It's been a busy few months. Here is a bit about Mason from this summer. 

"Ite." Mason loves light switches. LOVES them. It was one of his first words, and is definitely the one he uses the most. It used to be the first thing he'd say every morning, and we'd walk over and flip the switch a few times. Here he is on the stairs, he quickly figured out he could operate this switch without waiting for me to hold him up. He gets his hand on the switch, and then turns his head to look around the room so he can see which light the switch works with.  Now he refers to the garage door opener and other switches as "light". He is quite insistent about light switches. Have you ever noticed how many light switches there are in a church building?! I didn't until we walked down the hall together and he threw a fit at each switch wanting to flip it on and off. He also points up at the actual light fixtures and makes sure I look at the "ite".

Here is my little guy walking down to see grandpa's shop. He started walking this summer and is getting really good. I love watching his skinny little baby legs strutting around. Once again, this kid is very focused on what he wants. He loves the dust collector in my dad's shop. He would have me turn it off and on for hours if he had his way. He loves to watch the bags inflate and deflate. He lets me know as soon as we go out back that he wants to go to the shop. If I don't go with him, he either comes and takes my hand, or has me pick him up so he can point to where he wants to go. He also loves to ride the four wheeler. He refuses to get off after going for a ride!

We went to the store this summer to get Mason some shoes once he began walking. When we tried them on in the store he screamed and tried to pull them off. Once he got out on the hot pavement and realized he could walk pain free, he changed his mind about shoes. After that he would get his shoes and stick his foot in the air so we'd put his shoes on.

Even before he could walk, he began bringing me my shoes when he wanted to go outside. He would grab my sandal, scoot over with it, and then drop it on my foot. "Out" was another first word for Mason. In the picture above he is carrying around his shoes saying "out" in a really sad, whiny voice. This boy LOVES to go outside.

Here is Mason eating a plum and looking at the horse. Each time we went outside he would point to Jeff's plum tree or pear tree and we'd get him a piece of fruit. He doesn't love sliced fruit nearly as much as he loves a whole piece of fruit (that he makes a huge mess with). It's been a fun summer at my dad's with all the animals and fruit trees!

This is a picture of our garden. We have done a lot of canning this fall, more than I've ever done before. Mason seems to like the fresh veggies, and I've loved having space for a garden.

Here is Mason sitting on the couch talking and laughing with grandpa. He was scared of my dad when we moved in, and now they are buddies. He follows him around the house and likes to be with him. He has said "baba" a few times when he sees my dad, but like most of his words, he doesn't use it often and it's died off in the last week.

And, here we have Mason's first haircut. His hair on top was getting really long (finally), and he had little wings hanging over his ears. That along with the baby fuzz on the back of his head got me to finally break down and have my mom cut his hair. He also got confused for a girl fairly often. I thought a haircut might help...but he still gets confused. I don't see it.

Here's Mason being a ham. He had a rough week with a high fever and even after he got better he was grumpy and moody all the time. (Instead of just at nap time). I was worried, but a few days later he was back to himself. Here are a few pictures of him entertaining me in the mornings. He loves to make the above face a lot. He knows it will make me laugh every time.  Below he was making another face to entertain me, but I didn't quite catch it. 

Mason is such a good boy! He gives kisses and snuggles with me despite his independent streak. He is a pretty happy guy and loves to make us laugh.

Wind Rivers!

In August, we went on a backpacking trip to the Wind Rivers. It was awesome! I have been promising to take Sue backpacking for years now, and Jamie has always wanted to go to the Wind Rivers. Finally we all had an available weekend, so we made it happen.

Here's Jamie at the trailhead...23 weeks along! She was a trooper. The high belt strap is definitely a good look. 

 Mason did pretty well in the pack, unless he got hungry or saw someone hiking with a dog. Then he tried to stand up and climb out. Here he is taking a nap on the way to Big Sandy Lake.

 Here is our camp. Mason had a great time climbing this rock and sliding down. Notice all the dirt on his face.

He loved this rock too. He got pretty good at climbing up, down, and traversing across the rock.

And here he is enjoying the dirt and playing around the bear box.

 Sue and Matt reading at their reading rock in camp.

 Mom, enjoying the view from her thinking rock. There were a lot of rocks!

 Just in case you thought Mason was pleasant the whole time...here's a photo for you. He was probably mad that I took him away from the bear box, or that I took him away from his rock, or maybe I wouldn't take him down to the water. He got mad about any number of things.

 Here we are walking down to the lake. This was the week he switched from primarily crawling to primarily walking, but he wasn't stable enough to walk on the uneven ground alone.

 He was EXTREMELY happy to splash in the lake. Well, until we stripped him naked to wash him off. He wasn't a big fan of that.

 Mason and Grandma at Big Sandy Lake.

Mom and Jamie enjoying the evening down by the lake.

Family photo! We had a fun time getting out together.

Here are Sue and Matt at dinner the first night. Roasting bread over the Reactor stove since we couldn't have a fire. I never know what Sue is going to have in her pack!

The second night she busted out s'mores. This is why we are friends.

Here we are on day two, hiking to the Cirque of the Towers. Yes, that is me carrying only a pair of binoculars while Matt is hauling around a sleeping Mason. Thanks Matt!

Here we are with a view of the Cirque in the background. It was beautiful! We stopped here for lunch.

View back down towards Big Sandy Lake. I actually carried Mason on the way back. Not sure I would have made it the whole way without Matt, though. It was a steep, rocky hike!

Here we are having dinner. Mason had a cup of refried beans that kept him endlessly entertained! They got everywhere! But hey, we ate 100 feet from camp for a reason right?

Sue setting up our "campfire" and airing out her gnarly raspberry. 

Grandma walking around camp with Mason. They walked, and walked, and walked until bedtime.

View of camp before leaving the morning of day three.

Here's our group! A pregnant girl, a baby, mom with her recent neck surgery, and a very fit Sue and Matt.

Sunrise across the lake as we headed out.

Morning faces!

Damen, Mason, and me on the trail headed out.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning!

Only a half mile left! We had a great time. The weather was perfect, the mosquitos were gone, the biting flies were only a mild annoyance, and the company was spectacular!

Wheels, Water and Buttons

Whew. Behind yet again. With moving and getting settled in July, we were busy. And now the better part of August is gone. Mason has grown SO MUCH! 

Monday was Mason's first day where he walked more than he crawled. His coordination in the last few days has drastically improved. It is crazy to watch! Today marks almost a month since he took his first wobbly steps into space. Before that he would only move from furniture to furniture. Now he can push himself to standing and strut around. With his skinny little legs, it's adorable. 

Now onto the subject of this post, Mason's obsessions these days...

Wheels: Ok, the kid has been fascinated by wheels for some time now. It is just starting to get very troublesome. He will NOT sit in a shopping cart any more. He gets mad because he just wants to push the cart, not to mention every other cart that passes by. If he would stand and push the cart with me walking behind him it wouldn't be so bad. But, no. He wants to be on the floor, scooting along side the cart where he can push, pull, and manipulate it. So, we just end up with him on the floor, blocking most of the aisle, getting mad that if I try to direct the cart elsewhere. Snacks are the only thing that seem to keep him occupied and in the cart. Aside from just shopping, he gets pretty huffy whenever we get near anything with wheels that I try to keep him away from. He would rather push the stroller than ride. He wants to steal kids toys with wheels. Not rolling over him with the dolly while moving was tricky. He wants to touch car tires in parking lots. I even caught him pushing a man in his wheelchair at church a few weeks ago.  I bought him some toys with wheels, but they are not forbidden so they aren't as exciting.

Water: Once again, something he has been fascinated with for awhile. When Damen is gone and I have to shower, he is right there with his arm through the shower curtain trying to touch the water. He sticks his hands in cups. He was afraid of the swimming pool at our apartment the first few times, but once he got used to it he started pointing to it every time we walked past. He loves the bath...but more than that he loves splashing in the sink. I set him by the sink while I do dishes now and he lets the water run over his hands. He gets pretty mad when I move him. Putting him in the sink cheers him up when he is sad. He loves streams and points and grunts whenever he sees any type of running water. He doesn't like the sprinklers when the water falls on his head, but he'll sit next to the sprinkler and stick his hand in the water indefinitely. We usually change him once a day because he manages to get so wet. 

Buttons: The boy loves to push buttons. This also extends to switches. He knows which button opens the garage door. He pounds random numbers on the garage keypad and then hits the "Enter" button, because he knows that's what you do. He always wants to touch the keyboard while we are on the computer. He loves the iPhone. He will push the button at the bottom to turn the phone on and swipe to unlock it. He's pretty good at swiping to get between screens and loves to type on the keypad. He knows the light switch turns on and off the lights, and lately that has been his favorite. He can't reach most light switches, but he knows if he climbs up a few stairs in the stairway he can reach the switch on the wall there. Remote controls are awesome. Toys with buttons are awesome. 

In other Mason related news...he now has 16 teeth. He got four molars last month and his four canine teeth this month. He slept through the night for the last 3 weeks in a row! (Camping this weekend has set us back a few days.) I can't believe it is really happening, it has been such a relief. He is getting much more vocal, but still doesn't say a lot of intelligible words. He says "out" because he wants to go outside most of the time. If you don't listen to him, he will bring a shoe and drop it on your foot to make it clear that he wants to go outside. It's pretty funny. He got his first pair of walking shoes last week and he cried when we first put them on his feet. After he figured out they let him walk on hot pavement, he was happy to let us put on his shoes. He is getting so big so fast, and figuring out new things every day! 

June in Photos

It's been a busy month for us! Here is a quick photo re-cap of what's been going on.

First of all, we have been working with Mason to improve his sleep schedule. (aka...no sleep for the first week of June.) Things have been improving despite all the excitement this month. More on this subject later.

Here's our "Farewell to Katherine" camping trip. She headed off to Duke to become a nurse practitioner. I'm excited for her, and sad she's gone.

Next came Mason's birthday. He turned 1 year old!!! Hallelujah! It's been a rough, WONDERFUL year. I'm kinda glad it's behind us. He is getting so much more personality at this age. I love it all, even the stubborn streaks.

Mason's birthday was also Father's Day. It has been so fun to watch Damen as a father. I love these boys.

We spent the afternoon with my dad. Here's a stalker photo of Mason watching chickens on the back porch with Grandpa. So cute.

Then it was off to California to visit with Damen's parents. We spent their 31st wedding anniversary with them. I'm so happy to be a part of their family!

We also celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary while in California. We were able to go out that evening while Grandma and Grandpa watched the boy. Dinner without protecting my plate from tiny hands + a movie without interrupting screams on the baby monitor = bliss.

Here are some photos from our visit to the Santa Barbara zoo.

Mason LOVED the ocean. He never cracked a smile, but he threw a fit whenever we tried to take him away from the water.

Mason's first word (besides mamama and dadada) came in California. Dog. He loved chasing the dog. Although Joe was probably happy to see us go, we are always sad to leave.


And now we are home again. We made it back just in time to celebrate my dad's birthday. Here we are on his birthday hike, coming down Broad's Fork. We were both exhausted.

It's been a whirlwind of a month. Oh and did I mention Mason's been teething almost all month long with molars during all this ? It's been a good month though, with a lot to celebrate!