Happy First Birthday Mason!!!!

I am so excited about today words can't even describe it. I woke up this morning crying, because I was overwhelmed with joy. Being a mother is one of the greatest gifts God has given me. Mason is such a joy. This time last year I was crying because of those rotten hormones and the 13 hours of labor plus up for 24 hours did not help. At 7:05 am Mason was born. The entire time I was in labor and pushing everyone was convinced it was a girl. Mason was born with the prettiest hair and they said there is now way a boy is going to have this hair. Surprise, surprise, it was a boy. Matt's face lit up with excitment because I think I had him convinced it was girl. Yes Matt, I was WRONG!!!! Either way labor is one of the neatest things. I mean, it is nothing I want to do on an ordinary basis, but it is a miracle of God watching your baby born. The child you have carried for 9 months was actually a person. It still amazes me and with each child we have I will feel the same way.

Mason has been behind since before he was born. He started by deciding to be born when he wanted to be born. Then, Mason was born with an eye condition called Iris Coloboma. We received this news not 8 hours after he was born. As most new moms know, you are on such a high it is really hard to come down from that. When the eye doctor came in to talk to us all I did was cry. I thought my baby could be blind. Along with this disease, is heart problems, cleft pallate, and kidney problems. We had to take our week old baby to a heart specialist. It was 2 weeks before Christmas. After all of the test, Mason was just fine. He could see, his heart was fine, and his kidneys were functioning properly. I had two great x-mas presents in one day. Yes, his eyes look funny and when we are in public people ask me about it all of the time. Some more rude than others but I am dealing with it and Mason will be just fine as well. I think about the worry and just how lucky we really were. The eye doctor doesn't want to see him again until he is 3!!!!!

Mason has come up with some random things but through all of the ear infections, MRSA, and now strep I have come to realize that it could always be worse. Mason is healthy and happy. Two important things to have to live a great life. He does everything when he wants to do it. He started rolling over both ways, sitting up by himself, crawling, and now walking when he wants to. I bought a book to help guide me but haven't picked it up since I read that a baby can support themselves at 6 months. Not Mason!! The doctor told me he would do things a little slower because he was a bigger baby. He was right!!!! From what I have learned is there is no book to that can prepare you for motherhood. Everything I have learned has been from experience. My mom and sister have played a huge part in that. They have both raised/raising 3 kids of their own. They have been through it all and have had great advice to share.

I love Mason so much that it actually hurts. He is such a great son. Every time I look at him he reminds me of how much I love my husband. Matt is such a great dad and husband. Mason loves it when he gets home from work. He will play in the office with him every night when he gets home. He just wants to hang out with his daddy. The sleepless nights until Mason was 10 months old I could not have done without Matt. He always knew when I couldn't take it anymore. I hated asking him but he always seem to be able to handle one night and it gave me a break. We have only had each other, the grandma's live to far away to just come and help out an afternoon. I miss that option but we are doing just fine on our own :).

Here are a few pics of Mason as a newborn. It has been a great year filled with ups and downs and I can't wait to do it all over again!!! I love you Mason.
Mom

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Last year at this time, Matt and I were headed to the doctor to hopefully have a baby over Thanksgiving. Much to our surprise, the doctor said that I was going to have to be induced :(. I was so disappointed as this was not my plan and thought the world was crashing down around me. Yes, I really was that dramatic about the whole situation. Matt and I didn't have anything ready for Thanksgiving Dinner because we really thought that Mason was going to be here. Somehow, I put all fears aside and we ended up having an awesome Thanksgiving with no baby :).

As I sit here writing this, watching Mason pull the box of cheerios off the shelf and eat them by handfuls, I think wow, really???? I wouldn't trade this for anything!!!! Mason cracks me up and words can't describe how much I love him. Even though he manages to destroy things every minute he is awake, he still brings a smile to both Matt and I. I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We all have our health and each other which makes for a great Thanksgiving.

This year is going to be much different than last year. We are hosting Thanksgiving and Matt's dad, brother, aunt, and uncle are all coming here. We are so excited to have some family with us on this holiday. We are frying a turkey as usual. Then I make my grandma's dressing, green bean casserole, apple pie, and pumpkin pie. I have a lot of baking to start doing and plan on doing some of it tonight. This will be Mason's first Thanksgiving and since he is starting to eat actual people food, I think he is going to love his lunch tomorrow :).

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and safe travels!
Here are a few picture of what I catch Mason doing while I am not looking ;).

Strep hit the Ancell House!!!

What a week!!!! I had been sick over the weekend and noticed that Mason had a stuffy nose as well. I thought we were getting better on Monday but by Tuesday we were really sick. I called the doctor's office that afternoon and they told me strep was going around but don't bring Mason in unless he has a fever. Okay, well by that time I noticed he had a fever. It was 4 and they no longer see any patients so I took him the to the Urgent Care. Sure enough, they swabbed Mason and he had strep. The doctor prescribed me something as well since I was not getting any better and to be on the safe side. Mason has been miserable and I hate that he got so sick. We have not had to be on any antibiotics for 3 MONTHS!!!!! Most of you know, I do not like having Mason on so many antibiotics and we hope that we are not on that road again.

Early that morning we had Mason's Barium swab test. Mason did horrible as he does not like to take a bottle and that's how they make him drink the chalky substance. It was a nightmare and I am glad it's over!!! The doctor said that everything looks good. No reflux and everything is flowing the way it is suppose to down him esophagus. of course, that day he vomited his lunch and then his supper last night. Next we will see the ENT again because of Mason's tonsils or a speech pathologist. Mason has to go for a follow up when he is finished with his antibiotic and the doctor and I will discuss it further. So until then we will just see. I am thankful that this is nothing very serious and we will eventually find an answer.

Mason was so unhappy that I went out in the garage to find a toy that my sister had let us borrow. Mason loved it and when Matt got home they played with it for a long time!!!!



He was really checking things out

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Halloween!!!!!

Halloween was a blast this year!!!! Growing up, I never enjoyed Halloween but this year having Mason made it so much fun!!! We started the day off by taking Mason to Walgreen's to get his Halloween picture taken. He was a little ham for the camera and they turned out good! Then we went over to a friend's house and then took their little boy and Mason trick or treating. Mason just hung out in the stroller and was very GOOD! I couldn't believe how well he tolerated his elephant costume.

We have had some busy weeks and this past week was no better. He was up ALL night on Thursday only to find out he got another tooth!! We are finally up to 5 and he no longer looks funny with just one front tooth :). He has not enjoyed teething at all and in fact it has been miserable for the both of us. Mason is 11 months old now and it makes me so sad to think that he is going to be ONE YEAR OLD!! I am planning his party and trying to get invitations out as soon as possible. As I posted earlier, Mason has been throwing up some of his meals. We are getting the test done on Tuesday at 10. I do not know when we will find out what is wrong but hope that this test gives us some answers. I will let everyone know as soon as we do!!!

Mason and a Gag Reflex

I have figured out that Mason is always going to come up with strange things. He has been this way since he was born. It wasn't 7 hours after he was born the doctors were telling us that Mason has a rare eye condition....iris coloboma. We went through weeks of tests and follow up doctor appointments and by the grace of God everything is okay!!!! Then we went through sleepless nights, ears, and then he got MRSA....REALLY?!?!? We have survived them all and hope to continue on a great path. Last month Mason started throwing up his meals. We thought that he was gagging on crackers and the vanilla wafers that we were giving him. I went to Mason's 9 month check up, told his doctor and he thought he just had a sensitive gag reflex. Since then, he has started throwing up at least 2 meals a week (which I know is still not a lot) but with just his ordinary baby food. I took him back to the doc and he said that he wanted to run a stick and sip test on him. Nothing that is going to hurt him but he wants to see if the food is getting caught somewhere. The doctor doesn't seem to have much concern because in the 2 weeks we have seen him, Mason gained another 2 pounds!!!! He is such a joy and seeing him projectile vomit after his meals breaks my heart :(. We have started to only feed him when we are home because we don't want people to freak out when we are in public at a restaurant!!!!


Mason has been through a lot already in his first year and I know that if this is something, we will get through it. He is such a tough baby and I am so thankful for his strength. He must get it from his daddy, because this mommy worries about him like crazy. I thank God everyday for the family that I have and feel so very blessed.

So Much to Say!!!!!!

It has been such a long time since we last wrote on our blog. As most of you know, we have had a long road with Mason. It all started around 6 months. Mason never was a good sleeper but things got progressively worse at this time. We were in the doctors office every 2 weeks with ear infections. Finally, the pediatrician suggested we see an ENT. Before that appointment, we were on vacation and Mason's ear drum ruptured. We were seeing the ENT the next week and he said that he definitely needed tubes. FINALLY!!!! We had tubes on August 9th. In the mean time, my great uncle passed away. We were also leaving on the Ancell vacation that week. Mason and I were in Perryville and Arkansas all in the same week. After we got home, Mason was a whiney baby again. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I noticed he had a hard red spot on his but. It progressively got worse and we ended up going to the hospital the following Thursday night. Meanwhile, that day I got news that my cousin who had been battling breast cancer passed away. So much going on, but Mason was my number one priority. We had to get it lanced and they sent us home that night. He was on antibiotics and we just had to watch him closely.

Since then, we have been doing really well. We have been doing so many fun things since then. We are going to try and stay on top of this as a lot of family have been asking about our blog. Since Mason, is sleeping so much better I am not as tired and worn out anymore. I hope that everyone will start reading again and I will keep all of our family updated on the past.

In the meant time enjoy this picture of our sweet baby!!!

Mason's 3 Month Pictures

My sister just got a new camera and we wanted to try it out. Here are a few pictures of what took place. Mason did good for most of it but as you can tell he fell asleep in my arms at the end. We didn't get to finish but it was fun doing it. Enjoy!!!

Pics of Mason

Masons First Snow Day!

His first bath

We just cant get enough!

Mason has a new best friend!

Our Happy Little Boy!