Friday, August 19, 2011

JUMP!

To further Mason's baller skills, we've been teaching him how to jump. 


Almost NBA worthy, Mason...almost :)

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ballin

Our little shorty may not be NBA-bound, but maybe he'll be a pretty good baller just like his daddy is!


Don't worry, some day you'll be able to play with the big boys, Bubba!


Don't mind the terrible cell phone shots...hoping to get a new phone soon :)

Monday, August 15, 2011

Backyard fun

This is Mason's new favorite game in our backyard.  Pretty funny watching him play his own game of fetch - keeps him occupied for 30 minutes at a time!  SO MUCH better than walking around with him holding onto our finger.


He's been just learning like crazy lately.  He can now point out almost all of his major body parts - head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, arms, fingers, belly, legs, feet, toes.  He knows the majority of the movements to "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Wheels on the Bus", "Thumbkin", and also recognizes and dances along to "Old McDonald", "BINGO" and a few others.  He's also learning tons of animals and objects, and can point out cat, dog, cow, horse, duck, frog, rabbit, bird, spider, alligator (and does the gator chomp!) ball, car, balloon...um...I know I'm missing a ton, but you get the drift.  He can also do the animal noises for a few (pretty cute to hear him say "baaa" for a sheep!!)

We're also noticing that he's starting to recognize words from his Baby Can Read program!  As in, my 14 month old can read some words - how cool is that??

As Mason gets more independent, he also gets more frustrated because he can't yet communicate with us what he wants, so we've been working on a lot of sign language with him.  So far his signing vocabulary includes more, milk, eat, all done, bath, nap and we're working on help.  I've noticed it's really helped with his frustration at times.

All in all, he's really growing fast and we're just having such a great time together :)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Ben Hill Griffin

Oh Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, how I love you so! 



My mom really wanted to make sure we made it over to UF's football stadium to get pictures, so we all headed over there one evening.  It was a fun time, we got some great pictures and Mason loved walking up and down the rows.

I realized the only Gator attire I brought for Mason was a basketball outfit...oh well, at least it looks adorable on him :)


With Uncle Blas

We spent a lot of time walking back and forth between the rows.


Perfect touchdown shot!


I love this one of us!

Heisman baby!

After we were done inside we went out to the Gator statue in front of the stadium for some more shots. 

It was REALLY hot out so first we gave Mason a quick hydration break.

And he drank, and drank, and drank.  He sat like this till the entire cup was empty - love this shot!  Kind of reminds me of my time at UF...but my cup didn't have milk in it...




Bye bye, Ben Hill Griffin! 

After our photo shoot we headed over to The Swamp for dinner.  It was a pretty funny meal - not exactly the place to bring children and definitely the first time I'd ever been there with a kid!  They had I think 2 high chairs in the whole restaurant, and didn't serve milk of any kind.  Tristan had to walk a few blocks away to buy some milk at a little corner store for Mason. 

And now I can say I've had a baby at The Swamp :)

Tristan and I returned to the stadium on our anniversary to do stadiums - his first time doing them there, and my first time since college.  Man do I miss those, such a great workout!  I've already gone over to Tristan's school to do them again but it wasn't quite the same :)

Ok friends, that's the last of the Florida posts! 

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Florida Visitors

Mason is a popular guy whenever he goes to Florida - whether we're there for 4 days or 2 weeks, we've always had a flurry of visitors in and out to see him (and maybe a little bit of us, but mostly Mason).  This trip was definitely no exception! 

Two of the most important people that we wanted to make sure got plenty of time with Mason was my two grandmas - Bev & Sandy.  They both live in Gainesville, and have only spent a small amount of time with Mason.  I wanted to make sure they saw him as much as they could!

Grandma Sandy


Grandma Bev

 We also have a ton of friends in Florida that we were really hoping to see.  And we were able to see most of them!

I went to high school with Amanda & Billy Latsko, they are friends of my brothers.  About 2 years ago Billy was with the Chargers and they lived in San Diego, so the 4 of us became close.  Amanda & I got pregnant at the same time, and her little Cameron is 3 weeks younger than Mason.  They moved back to Gainesville right before Cam was born.  These pictures make me laugh...Mason is apparently scared of other kids these days.  I know it's a phase but it's a frustrating one.  Anyways, he was beside himself when this little walking spitfire came through the doors, and the funniest part was that he went straight to Amanda for comfort.

My absolute favorite picture.  Mason is clinging onto Amanda for dear life - why is she touching me????

Finally becoming friends, bonding over a shared love of grapes.


Ha - check out Cam's face!


Katie and I went to high school together as well.  She still lives in Gainesville and I try to see her every time I go back.  Her little lady, Aubrey, is 21 months old and so beautiful. 


A little side-by-side play for the kiddos.  This distance was perfect for both of them :)

This is Mike, my sister Brittany's boyfriend.  Mason was helping him get some work done.

Some of my very best college friends were also able to make the trip to Gainesville for a weekend.  Kelly, Tara & Lisa are sorority sisters that I've remained close to over the years, despite the distance.  Kelly & Tara live in South FL with their (awesome) husbands, and Lisa lives in Atlanta with her husband.  We had an awesome weekend together - spent all day Saturday lounging by my parents pool, and went out for dinner and drinks that night.  Kelly has an amazing camera, and she was snapping away the whole weekend, so I ended up taking a total of THREE pictures the entire time they were visiting!  They are below - but for a perfect recap of our weekend, check out Kelly's blog.

Apparently my camera didn't like the humidity here.  Kelly's got some better ones on her blog.

These are the only 2 other shots I got, but they're really good ones!  Saturday morning we had bagels and Kelly's husband Dustin was nice enough to share with Mason.

My absolute favorite!  Mason is saying, thanks buddy, you're so nice for sharing.  I like you, you're welcome here anytime.

And last but certainly not least, we had plenty of family swing by to say hi!

This is Lauren, my cousin Kim's daughter.  They came from Jacksonville to visit for the day!

Lauren and Kim.  Kim also has 3 other kids that I didn't get pictures of - Jayne, Tanner and Zane.  They were all great with Mason!

My dad's brother, Uncle Barry, who came from Ocala

My cousin Kim's parents, Charlie & Cheryl, came from Jax as well.  Cheryl teaches early education to kids Mason's age, so they were best buds immediately.

This may be my favorite picture of the trip :)

So many visitors, so much fun!  We miss them all already!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Splash Park

Once we landed in Florida it became apparent to me that other than the pool and playing inside, we weren't going to be doing much...it was SO hot and humid.  I've been bummed to find out that we don't have any splash parks in our area in San Diego - or really any in San Diego at all - and was wondering if we could find one in Gainesville for a change of scenery.  Turns out, there is one about 10 minutes from my parents house! 

So off we went!  And as an added bonus, my friend Danielle and her 8 month old Jett, as well as my high school friend Elisa joined us.  Entertainment AND an opportunity to catch up with friends I haven't seen in years?  Score!

Looking at these pictures, it's amazing to me this was only 8 days ago.  Mason is now walking around completely un-assisted, yet that day wouldn't go anywhere without a hand to hold onto.



Having a blast!


Danielle and Jett arrived, and she immediately scooped Mason up for a hug!

Mason checking out his new buddy, Jett from afar...just the way he likes it.  Because apparently these days he's afraid of other children.

Sorry Mason, but Jett wants to meet you.  I love these next 2 pictures - Jett just wants to say hi, and Mason is reallllyyyy not so sure he wants him to :)

Um...why are you touching me??

Ok, I like you a little better now that daddy is holding me. 
By the way...Jett is 8 months old.  Yes, he is 6 MONTHS YOUNGER than Mason.  And is almost the same size.  Don't worry Mason, you'll catch up (hopefully)!!

I love that Mason is STILL checking out Jett like he's not so sure about him. 

More fun with Solo cups!

Tristan got Mason under this fountain, and I don't think he noticed he was inside a waterfall

It was so great to see these women, and meet the sweet, adorable Jett!!  Elisa, maybe next time you'll have a little one you can bring along to play!?  Let's not go so many years till next time, hope to see you again soon :)