Bye Bye!

Mason has found his hand, he was waving bye-bye to everyone in Starbucks :)

Cookies!!!

We gave Mason his first teething biscuit this weekend to keep him occupied while we ate breakfast & opened some presents.  He was a complete mess by the end, but man did he like it!!!  Note to self, next time remove the clothing first :)

Here is Pop cleaning him up after we took the remainder of the soggy biscuit away - I don't think he was happy about it!

Yum Yum!

After we're done feeding Mason we usually give him the spoon to chew on a bit, and learn to hold it.  Tristan got this shot last week that I think is so cute :) 

7 Months Old

Mason is 7 months old day, we can't believe it!  I feel like we say that every month hehe.  He is a total joy, and every day is so fun with him.  He is now sitting up un-attended and loves to play with all of his toys that way - especially bouncy balls, anything that makes noise, and read books w/mommy & daddy.  He rolls all over the place, but makes no attempt at getting up on all 4's or scooting, so I think it's going to be a while before he's mobile, which is just fine with us!  However he loves his jumpy-jump (see past posts) and is now sitting in the jogger stroller "big-boy style".  He is also indredibly smily, and givs up big smiles and shrieks to everyone new that walks in the door these days - it's made all of our holiday parties and get togethers that much more fun!
He eats anything we give him, and on top of his normal baby foods (which range from chicken dishes, fruits, veggis & oatmeal), he's also tried some of our food, including squash, sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, and black beans to name a few.  Whenever he sees us eating he stops what he's doing to stare at us and starts smacking his lips together!
He was 15 lbs at his 6 month appointment, and considering he hasn't grown THAT much in the past month I'm thinking he's maybe 16 lbs now.  He recognizes his name, as well as "milk", "eat", and "jump", and we're working hard at "mama" and "dada"!!

I love this one of us attempting the monthly picture - really shows how mobile he's getting!

Next to his first Christmas tree!

Just the beginning of what I see becoming my daily "Mason, no this is mommy's phone and not a toy" game.  In case you can't tell he just ate :)

Christmas Lights

This past weekend we went to look at Christmas lights with Todd, Laura, Opa, Grace & Addison.  We had a great time, Mason did great, and looked adorable in his new little outfit!

Getting some lovin from Auntie Laura

Trip to LA

This past weekend Jenna & Michael were in LA for a quick trip before heading to Oz.  Me, Tristan & Mason headed up to see them on Sunday at Alana & Matt's house, and had a great afternoon!  He's getting more and more social, so is really fun to take places.  Here's a glimpse of our trip!

Hanging out with Matt & Jenna

Wearing Matt's hat

Curious kitty :)

Loving the attention from the pretty girls!

Hey there, blue eyes!

Getting tired after a long day of traveling.

Hanging out with uncle Matt, watching us all play ridiculous video games :)

With some of his "aunties" who spoiled him rotten!



Can't Get Enough

I think I've posted like 5 laughing videos at this point, but I can't help it - they are just so darn cute.  This is Mason w/his nanny Kelli, who knew bouncing a ball over & over was so hilarious??

Mixed Messages

You'd think if he was unhappy he'd stop jumping...so apparently whatever he wasn't happy about WASN'T the Johnny Jump Up :)

Mommy & Me

A little mommy/son bonding...my favorite :)

A Week with Gigi

Gigi came to visit for a week and watched Mason while Tristan & I worked.  It worked out perfectly b/c we obviously need the childcare and she obviously loves to spend time with Mason.  She definitely got plenty of time with him, and they had a blast!  Here's a little glimpse at the fun they had all week:

Greeting Gigi at the airport!

 Helping with laundry, thanks Gigi!

My new favorite picture of Mason, he looks like a little angel :)

Playing outside in his exersaucer.  Check him out - standing up!

One of their daily trips to the park, he LOVES it there!

On the swing like a big boy, in his big boy Gator hat!

Last day at the park, for some reason there were no other kids there.  This is the cutest and saddest picture ever!

He had a great time with her and can't wait to see her again in just two short weeks!



Happy First Hanukkah!

Last week was Mason's first Hanukkah!  We didn't get him presents - think all of his Hanukkah presents will come from Gigi & Pop, and Christmas presents will come from mommy, daddy, Opa & BG.  So, Gigi & Pop had sent him enough presents for every night (shocker) and we had fun opening them with him!

Having dinner on his first night of Hanukkah & showing off his festive bib.  Can you tell his food was just off to his left???

First presents!

The toy with the balls that went down the shoot was so lame, but it was pretty funny watching his reaction the first time!

This little gator kept his attention for such a long time, he loves it!

Sitting Like a Big Boy

Just over the course of a few days Mason is sitting up all on his own!  He's still shaky but I'm amazed at how fast he's catching on.  He just looks so cute sitting there playing with his toys :)

Gator Game/Date Day

Despite the Gators' last dismal loss of the season against FSU, we still had a lot of fun at our house b/c Susan & Anabelle came over.  Another good thing about having babies - distractions from bad fooball games! 
They had a great time playing, it's so fun to watch them as they get older - they're more and more aware of each other every time we get together, soon enough they'll be sitting side by side playing/fighting for toys! 

Hanging out on the playmat.

I like your hat, you look pretty.

Thanks.  I like your...bald head.

Hi!  Whatcha doin?

With our little thumbsuckers!

Of course, along with the fun playtime there's always some sad faces.  Apparently they fed off each other a bit - at one point one of them started fussing, which made the other one start as well.  As the good parents we are, we decided to capture the chaos on film before actually trying to soothe them.  Can't miss out on a good video moment, right?!

So Thankful

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving break this year.  We started Thanksgiving day off by watching daddy play in the Cella Family Turkey Bowl.  Here's a shot of Mason with his buddy Cal, 10 months:

We had a great Thanksgiving meal at the Fortneys' house with the whole SD family.  Mason did a great job with all the people, but it was really hard to get him to smile!

We also gave him some of his first big boy foods - he got to try mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and mommy gave him a LITTLE taste of vanilla ice cream.  One guess which he liked best!  Here's a cute video of Addison helping feed him:

On Friday we had a half day with Tristan before he had to leave for his playoff game, and it was so gorgeous out we decided to take a nice walk on the beach.

After daddy left Mason & I played for a bit, at which time he officially found his toes.  I of course thought it was the cutest thing ever :)

Then, since it was nice out and Mason was getting a little fussy, I decided to take him on another walk, but this time in his stoller like a big boy!  Here we are ready to go - he was a little confused!

Within 10 minutes he was completely passed out...and I was bored!  I had nothing to look at!  But the stroller was SO much lighter without his car seat in it, and since he did so well I'm thinking it may be close to time to transition him this way full time.  We'll see :)

I'm going to make Saturday's activity, the gator game, a separate post.  So for now I'll skip to the end - on Sunday we met up with the Herricks for lunch, then headed out for yet another walk back out by the beach.  Mason leads a very rough life.

All in all, it was a great weekend.  Oh - and Tristan's team lost on Friday, which means we finally have him back for good!  Yippee!!!