Fort Morgan Part 1

Well, the weather couldn't be any more perfect and Mason and I are outside in the backyard.  Mason is mowing the grass and digging with his heavy equipment and so I thought I'd take a minute to get caught up on here. 

In September, we were privileged to take a trip to Fort Morgan, AL for Mason's first trip to the beach (where he was actually aware that he was there).  I could not wait for him to see the sand and ocean for the very first time!

He was elated, as I suspected he would be.  

We were accompanied by my mom and dad, Matt, and three large dogs.  My sister wasn't able to come since she was saving up her vacation for a dream trip to Hawaii!

So, I'll just let these pictures speak for themselves.  Maybe you think I should have narrowed them down to a few favorites... well, I did.  These are the FEW favorites from the FIRST HALF of day one. Do you think I have a digital image hoarding issue?  Well, I do.  

In the picture above, mom thought that Mason was coming to see her and give her a hug.  In reality, he was coming to pull her out of her chair so he could sit in it.  He loves chairs that are his size.  Especially if someone else is already occupying it.

After he successfully coated himself in sand, we decided to head to the house for nap time.

The rinsing was definitely necessary.  

Dad stayed at the house so Mason could nap and we brought out the dogs.  It was so neat to be able to bring the dogs out on the beach!  

As you will see in the photos that follow, they LOVED it!

When we returned home from that chaos, we found someone sleeping peacefully...

I hope to be back soon with the rest of the "favorites" from Day One!

Keeping it Real

As I have said before (over on the right hand column of your screen) I keep this blog to document family memories and keep up with family pictures that may otherwise get lost in the sea of digital images.  I keep it open for convenience of family members - so they can find me and access this blog without jumping through hoops and in hopes that maybe someone may benefit from what they read here.  That being said, I have no idea who reads this other than my parents, in-laws, siblings, and a handful of friends who kindly leave me comments and laugh at my jokes.  So, if you do not really know me and I have somehow given the illusion that my life is all book reading and play dough making and play dates with friends, allow me to enlighten you....

Here is my Real Mom Moment of the Day:

As Mason ate breakfast in his high chair, I started to cook the two of us a couple of eggs on the stove top.  Well, after 2 slices of honey dew melon and some cheerios, Mason decided breakfast was over and let me know (in his language) that he wanted down.  So, I walked over to the high chair and picked him up, simultaneously attempting to smell for a dirty diaper.  In that instant, my upper lip and nose collided with something squishy.  That's right. Poop.  Mushy poo had oozed out of the top of the diaper and was just waiting for me to take the bait.  So, I wipe the poo from my lip (that's right, I said lip) as I assess the damage in the diaper area.  Holding Mason (with poo on the finger that I had wiped my lips with) with my arms extended while also trying to keep his clothes from getting covered in said poo, I run to the bathroom to grab some tissue for my hand and face before continuing to Mason's room to change him.  I look in the mirror as I reach for the tissue to confirm that yes, there was poop.on.my.nose.  Awesome.  So, trying to keep from gagging, I wipe it off and run Mason, who is squirming in my arms, all the way back to his changing table and take care of business.  All the while, I forgot that the eggs were cooking on the stove. When I came back in the kitchen I found my eggs puffed up about 3 inches high in some odd bubble.  Thankfully, they weren't black and so I ate them.  (After scrubbing my face.)  Who knew that burnt eggs tasted like crab legs?

Then, Mason pooped again.

The End.

Some Snapshots

So, I am getting a little bit behind here but I think the fall is just a busy time of year.  But, oh how I love it!  I love the smells, the leaves, the cooler weather, the fall foods and festivities, football games... etc. etc. etc.  This is my favorite time of year!   

I wanted to post some of these pictures from back in August that got lost in my folders of millions of pictures.  When we were having child care issues my dad drove down to help out with Mason for a few days.  We loved having him!

On one of my off days we took Mason to the zoo.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to walk around with BopBop's cane.  Can you see the excitement in his face?

BopBop lowered it to where it was just the perfect size and Mason carried it around for the rest of the time.   The ostrich was Mason's favorite animal this trip and would not leave the exhibit.

 Thanks for all of your help, BopBop!

Mason has been doing a lot of reading.  He loves books, especially if they feature heavy equipment, the moon, or balls.  Today he saw a 1/2 inch square picture of the cover of "Goodnight Moon" on the back of another book (an advertisment) where the moon in the picture was about the size of a pinhead.  Somehow he spotted it from like 5 feet away and was like, "MOON!" And picked up the book and waved at the pinhead size moon.

This past weekend he discovered that his tractors can "dig" so he spent a lot of time digging in the dirt.  He started saying, "I dig. I dig."

I caught him trying to put on Ben's ginormous work boots but by they time I could get my camera he had given up.  They are quite heavy and I am impressed that he was able to carry them both.

My parents found that gicantor Elmo at a yard sale and brought it back for Mason who thought it was great!  He would go get the Elmo and bring him to my dad for him to read them a book.

We have recently started letting Mason try to use a fork.  Actually, he really demanded that we let him try using a fork by refusing to let go of one he got his hands on.  He would not let us feed him with the fork because HE wanted to hold it.  Every now and then a bite will make it all the way to his mouth.

He is still loving his lawn mower.

And his little chair from Aunt Sissy.

I have a whole lot to catch up on so hopefully I will get to it all soon!  I hope everyone is having a Happy Fall!!