16 months

Posted on February 11, 2016 by kelliwarren

Mason is as busy as ever but this is such a fun age. He loves to be chased and wants me to chase him around the house all day. He lets me know when he wants to be chased by either turning around and running or he stands there and looks at me with a big toothy grin on his face and slowly backs up. It’s hilarious. Then he squeals with so much excitement as I chase him. He also likes to go hide and wait for me to find him. His usual spots are in his teepee, behind his crib, or in my closet if we are upstairs. Down stairs he hides around the island in the kitchen, behind the desk in the office or sits on the first stair. (We moved into our new house in Highland, UT this month!) He loves to dance and spin around. He loves to wave “hi” & “bye”, usually with his right hand, even if that hand is behind my back when I’m holding him. He goes into his teepee and waves “bye” for me to close it. He just got the hang of clapping (so weird that it took him this long). This whole time he’s been clapping with his hands in fists but now he finally figured out to open his hands to make noise. He watches the movie “Cars” at least once a day. Mark & I have almost every line memorized in order.

His hair is out of control. It’s so long around his ears and the back and he has a crazy long tuft right on the top of his head that stands up. I keep thinking at some point it will lay down flat, but maybe not! Rachel braided it the other day.

He’s a pretty happy, easy going boy. This week he got an ear infection and has been so sad and just wants me to hold him all the time. It’s his first ear infection and really his first time being sick since being about a month old. It’s heart breaking but I’m really enjoying the extra cuddles and him falling asleep on me.

Mason makes our lives so happy and so full of love.

14 months

Posted on December 7, 2015December 9, 2015 by kelliwarren

Mason

Mason is 14 months old today and it is incredible how much he has developed and grown up the past couple of weeks. Just before he turned 13 months he started walking, not just taking a few steps. One day he just stood up in the kitchen on his own without pulling up on anything and started walking. I will say, it’s really nice that he can walk when we go somewhere and I need to put him down for a second, I don’t look like a bad mom with my son crawling around on a dirty floor.

Just over the past couple of days he’s gotten really fast and has ran a couple times, usually to chase after a cat. Thanks to his new found speed, he’s into everything before I even notice! He loves to throw the bowl of cat food all over the kitchen, eat some, hide in the bathroom, hide his toys and the tv remotes all over the house, hide silverware in his toy box…and I’m right next to him! He’s quick! He points at where he wants to go and what he wants. I love how he points with his chubby little fingers. He also loves to pant and pretend he is out of breath, I guess he’s heard me pant after walking up and down the stairs 🙈. He loves to chase the cats and dog at my grandmas house. He’s gotten really good at his stacking rings and carries them around the house wherever he goes.

He’s got a really good arm, he can hit me in the face with any toy. He’s also started hitting me. I don’t know where this aggression came from but it’s hard to get him to understand that it’s not ok. I pretend to fake cry and he laughs, I ignore him and he does it more, I take the toy away and he cries, I replace it with a ball that he can throw and he throws it at me. The other day Mark was sitting by us on the couch and Mason hit me so Mark picked Mason up and put him on the other side of him and said he was on time out for hitting mommy. Mason started bawling! Hopefully that helps him learn not to hit.

He’s cutting FOUR teeth right now and it’s been suuuuper fun. His top front teeth are about to come through any day. He also has the teeth next to his bottom front teeth coming through, one’s already through. He’s drooling like crazy and usually has about three drool lines coming down his chin. Poor boy! And poor us, he’s been waking up at 5:50 for the past few days and since he spoiled me this whole past year, I am not used to this early morning routine!

We just had Thanksgiving and my family was all here for it. We had so much fun with my parents and sisters. While they were here we took Mason to the train at the South Towne Mall, Courtney and I took him to the Aquarium, and Mark and Taylor and I took him to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point, and he played in the snow for the first time. He wasn’t too sure of it at first but he had fun sledding and playing in the snow. He even threw a fit when it was time to go inside. We also got to go wedding dress shopping with Rachel! It was so fun and so surreal to see her in beautiful dresses. She is going to be a gorgeous bride.

Our friends Tara & Peter and their boys Landon & Jackson were in town visiting family for Thanksgiving and we got to meet up with them while they were here. They lived across the parking lot from us in college and we have missed them so much over the past three years! We had a great time meeting their cute boys and going to dinner and playing laser tag with them. I love friendships that never change and can pick up right where they left off.

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1st birthday

Posted on December 3, 2015 by kelliwarren

This post is almost 2 months late but it’s not because I haven’t wanted to write it. Honestly, it’s because I’m just so busy with my little toddler that I haven’t found the time. And also, we are buying a house! So that has been eating into what little free time I have.

But we celebrated Mason’s birthday on October 3rd because it was conference weekend and lots of people were in town. A lot of family and friends came to our little birthday party where we had pizza and cake and opened presents. Mason ate 2 huge pieces of Costco pizza, opened so many gifts (mostly cars and trucks which are his favorite things!), wasn’t sure about everyone singing “Happy Birthday” to him and liked his cake until he rubbed frosting in his eye and then hated it.

I still can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by! I blinked and I have a 1 year old! But at the same time, it feels like years ago that Mason was a new born. This has been the best year of our life. We have never been happier, so in love, tired, excited (the list goes on and on) than we have this year with this sweet baby boy.

Mason can take a few steps. He loves to make sure we are all watching and then he will take a few steps to me and fall into me, wrap his arms around my neck and give me a big slobbery kiss. I love it! He’s so proud of himself when he does this. It’s so cute.

We feel so blessed to be Mason’s parents. Since day one, he has been the best baby and is so easy going, which totally makes up for his seriousness. He is starting to smile more freely and warms up to people quicker. I don’t know what we did to deserve this sweet boy, but he has certainly brought us more joy and happiness than we knew was possible. You light up the room Mason and bring a joy to everyone around you. We love you beyond words.

kellikwarren- 16x20 Banner E Chalkboard Boy

11 months

Posted on September 10, 2015September 10, 2015 by kelliwarren

11 months old? How could this be?! Only one more month until he’s a whole year old? I can’t think about it. A lot has happened this past month. We sold our condo in about 5 days and packed up and moved out in 3 weeks. We have now been in Utah for 2 weeks and have been busy, which makes it feel like we are just visiting. But Mark started his new job yesterday and now it’s starting to set in that we are actually staying.

Mason’s favorite things right now include being chased around the coffee table, playing peek-a-boo under a blanket, opening and closing the door (especially if we are on the other side), eating (but he’s totally over baby food), and playing with his cars for hours and hours, and loves to read books. He has decided that he hates his car seat, the car, his stroller, his high chair, basically anything that confines him. He learned to arch his back when we try to pick him up to stop him from doing something, which is really great… We are living in a zoo of sorts, there are 3 cats (including Leo) and a dog at my grandma’s house and a whole family of deer behind her house and Mason is not interested in any of them. I don’t think Mason will be a vet when he grows up.

He’s been more clingy to me since the move and now wants me to hold him more and doesn’t want to go to anyone else. He’s very aware of where I am all the time now.

His second tooth just broke through the gums, most kids are starting to loose their teeth by kindergarten, but at this rate Mason might finally have all his teeth by then ;).

He sure misses his grandparents (he and I both), but he loves watching all the kids run around the neighborhood here. He brings us more joy and happiness than words will ever express. He is my best little buddy. My smile never leaves my face when he’s around. And he makes everyone around him smile (even if he doesn’t smile back).

Flying to Utah with grandma. Reading is serious business.

Set up with puffs and Baby Einstiens (the lady sleeping in the back with her hair over her face might be the best part)

We went to the Oakland Zoo before we left

10 months

Posted on August 7, 2015 by kelliwarren

It’s funny, each month that goes by I am filled with mixed emotions. Each month is better than the last, except for things like diaper changes, yet I find myself so sad that my baby is growing up so quickly. I just want time to slow down, although I do catch myself looking at the clock to see how close we are to nap time or bedtime some days! Mason is so busy, I hear that’s a boy thing. He’s never sitting still, if he is it’s for 30 seconds while the theme song for “Jake and the Neverland Pirates” is on. He loves all the theme songs for all the Disney Junior shows and dances and sometimes sings along, it kills me every time! He’s all boy and his new favorite thing to do is play with his truck and cars. A couple of weeks ago we were over at my parents house, we’ve been bugging them a lot and stayed with them while we had our open house and showings (P.S. we are moving to Utah in 3 weeks for anyone who didn’t know that) and my dad taught Mason how to push the cars instead of throwing them. Now he pushes them from room to room and it keeps him occupied longer than any other toy! He also loves throwing balls, mostly with his left hand, we will see if that sticks. Mark is hoping he will be a left-handed pitcher and play professional baseball 😉 He finally has a tooth that broke through on the bottom and is working on the other front bottom tooth. He cruises around with his walker, Mark thinks he looks like a little old man. He’s taken a step to me and to the furniture and could totally walk but doesn’t know he can. Although I’m in no hurry for him to walk for a couple reasons: 1. I’m sure he will be running as soon as he learns to walk and 2. then he officially won’t be a baby anymore 😦 He loves to try to get into things he knows he shouldn’t, like the pots and pans and the carbon monoxide detector. I don’t understand that one because when he pulls it out of the wall it makes a horrific, loud beeping sound until it is plugged back in. The first time it happened I thought for sure he was going to be def. He never cries, he just sits there and looks at me. We’re working on teaching him not to touch it lol. He thinks it so funny when I laugh. He loves splashing in the bath and I’m usually soaked by the time we get him out of the tub. He makes us laugh every day. It is impossible to look at him and not smile, even when he’s grumpy, he just makes everyone around him happy. He can be quite a little stinker but he sure is cute.

9 months

Posted on July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 by kelliwarren

Look at that fake smile! This little guy is looking more like a toddler than a baby. His a quick crawler now. It seemed like as soon as he figured out how to crawl he wanted to stand and hold on to the furniture too.

He’s busy getting into everything, especially the fireplace. We had to put zip ties around the handles to keep the glass doors closed so he wouldn’t pinch his fingers. It’s so funny watching him go from standing to sitting because he does it soo slowly and puts one hand down below him to reach for the ground. He looks like a little old man when he does this.

The Warriors won the NBA championship this past month, something that Mark has been waiting for his whole life! So we got him a couple of Warriors shirts for his first Father’s Day!

We went hiking in Yosemite with the Murray’s! I couldn’t believe the beauty of Yosemite! And I also couldn’t believe that Mark & I have lived her almost our entire lives and have never been. We went for the day and planned on doing a nice little 1-2 mile hike to see a waterfall. Well once we made it to the waterfall we decided to go just a little further, which ended up being 5 1/2 more miles, most of which was straight up slick granite steps. I was so impressed with Mark. You would think Mason doesn’t weigh that much and the backpack carrier was very lightweight but it was really tough hiking with him on our backs. It was a really beautiful hike though so in the end it was totally worth it. Thanks Chris & Cambry for coming with us!

We took Mason to the Alameda County Fair thinking that he would enjoy the petting zoo and could go on some of the little rides with us. But he wasn’t into the animals in the least bit, he was much more interested in the saw dust on the ground. And he was too little to go on any rides, even the carousel, the carni’s were very strict! But he did like all the lights on the rides so I guess that was worth it…He got this little firefighter hat from the firemen at the fair.

Mason and I took a little road trip to Southern California with my mom and sister Taylor to visit family. We got to spend some quality time with Grandpa Bob & Grandma Daisy, my uncle Dave and cousins Nicole, Matt & Danny. And Mason got to meet my aunt Cassandra, cousins Sam & Jake, and also got to meet my Grandpa Carl & Grandma Kathy and cousin Katie! It was a great visit. We also took Mason to the beach where he face planted in the sand within minutes of getting there. He was digging away in the sand and enjoying it until he must have forgotten to move his arms and went face first.

We celebrated 4th of July! I’m a cool mom and make my family wear matching shirts 😉 We went to the ward pancake breakfast in the morning that Mark was in charge of and then went to Half Moon Bay with Kyle & Lara Carbine and some of their friends. We sat in a lot of traffic but had a fun time once we got there. We didn’t do any fireworks this year but we did hear them…until about 11:30! Our city is the only one that allows fireworks, which is crazy with the drought we are having. So it sounded like we were in a war zone. But Mason was so exhausted that he slept through all the noise!He’s a busy little boy, getting into everything, like the fireplace. We had to zip tie the fireplace doors so he wouldn’t keep opening them and pinching his fingers. He pulls himself up on all the furniture and is starting to walk along it. He’s learned how to give kisses, it started as just slobbering all over my face but now he will pucker sometimes. He still has no teeth! I did take him to urgent care while we were in L.A. though because he had a fever and I thought he might have an ear infection but they said it was probably just teething…I feel like he’s going to be teething foreverrrrr. He likes to crawl about 10 feet away, then stops and turns around to see if I am watching and then smiles at me and comes crawling back as fast as he can, usually squeaks while he does it and comes and sits on my lap or pulls himself up and lays a wet one on me, literally. It’s so funny. He loves when dad plays peek-a-boo with him at bedtime. He also likes crawling through the tunnels at my parents house, which they have saved since my youngest two sisters were toddlers just for the day they have grandkids! So cute!

9 month stats:

19lbs 1oz (38%) and 29 inches (76%)

8 months

Posted on June 9, 2015June 9, 2015 by kelliwarren

Are you sick of me saying this month has been my favorite? Well I don’t know how it’s possible, but each day just gets better than the last! I mean, there are some rough days where Mason has been constantly whining, which I would have sworn was due to teething but no teeth have come through yet. But I just can’t get enough of this little guy. His personality comes out a little more every day and he has us cracking up all day long. He learned how to crawl a week and a half ago and has already moved on to trying to climb all over me all the time. Today he stood by himself long enough for me to turn and grab my phone, snap some pictures and take a short video until my phone said I was out of storage, which happens every day, I take too many pictures and videos of him I guess. Just the past couple of days he has seemed to understand what a kiss is and now gives me those big, slobbery, open mouth, long kisses (like 3-5 seconds). They are kind of gross, if you ask my sister Courtney she will say they are nasty, but I think they are so sweet and they make my heart burst. We love that he is starting to show more affection. He snuggles into us and even will reach for Mark over me sometimes. I’m already dreading the day Mason thinks Mark is cooler than me, haha. He’s obsessed with sucking on my hair, it’s disgusting. He loves the water! I think his favorite time is bath time. Today I took him swimming and he splashed the whole time. He wanted nothing to do with me, he just wanted to face the water and splash. He loves when I turn around at red lights in the car and play peak a boo, he giggles so loud! When you tickle his feet he plays along and pretends like its really ticklish and kicks his feet and laughs. He likes to watch Leo eat and finally went for his food bowl and grabbed a handful of cat food. Luckily I was right there and he didn’t get any in his mouth.

As each month goes by and I write these little updates for me to remember these little details in the future, I get a little sad that it’s going by so fast and my little baby isn’t a baby and he’s crawling and will be walking soon. But at the same time, each month is more fun than the last and it’s so fun to watch Mason grow and learn new things. I am so grateful that God sent this sweet, loving little boy to our family. He brings so much happiness to us. I don’t know if life gets anymore perfect than this.

These monthly pictures are getting hard to take! I can’t get Mason to sit still, look at me and smile! I need an assistant.

Standing!!!! Granted, he is standing against the chair but he’s not leaning back on it…

Mason on strike!

Posted on May 28, 2015 by kelliwarren

Whenever Mason switches up our routine or is going through a phase I try to remind myself that it will pass and it won’t be like this forever. But today it’s hard to believe that. He’s been on a napping strike for almost 5 days now but yesterday bs today have by far been the worst. He just lays there and kicks the rails on the crib and whines and blows raspberries…for an hour! Then maybe he might fall asleep for 30 minutes. I don’t know if it’s from teething (I feel like I’ve been claiming teething for months now!) or if this is a common thing at 7 1/2 months but I feel like it’s never going to end! It’s hard to get anything done when I’m trying for an hour to get him to nap. Ugh! Good thing he’s super cute and give me the biggest grins when I walk into him room after he’s been a little stinker!

Little Boy

Posted on May 15, 2015 by kelliwarren

We are in a phase, or habit (it’s hard to tell the difference with babies) where we go in Mason’s room between 10-10:30 pm to feed him one more time before we go to bed, just to help keep his tummy full so we can all sleep until 8:00 am 🙂 I say we because Mark & I both love to peak in on him sleeping so peacefully. Mark picks him up so gently from his crib and gets some snuggles before Mason realizes that it’s not mom and he just wants to eat and go back to bed. Then Mark hands him over to me and we sit in the dark and I get my snuggle time. I love watching him (once my eyes adjust), refusing to open his eyes. His little wandering hands rub my face, sometimes not so gently, and search for my hair to twist around his chubby fingers. And then when he’s full he lays his head on my shoulder, sucks his thumb and we just rock and snuggle, usually until I can tell he just wants to be back in his crib, because honestly I would probably sit like that all night and cuddle that sweet, soft, squishy little boy. But tonight ended differently. He was all snuggles and thumb sucking until he arched his back quickly and let out a big toot! I was dying! I honestly thought I was going to wake him up from trying to suppress my laughter! So I had to put him back in his crib and get out of his room so I could let my laughter out. He’s such a boy. And I love it. I’m sure in a couple years the toots will not be quite as funny, but for now, this little boy can do no wrong.

My 1st Mother’s Day

Posted on May 12, 2015May 12, 2015 by kelliwarren

This past Sunday was my first Mother’s Day and it was so great. Mark took me out to dinner at Black Angus and then to the movies on Friday night! We saw the Age of Adeline. It was the first time since Mason that we have gone to dinner and a movie! It was big! My sister Courtney watched Mason for us and she did such a great job. I wasn’t nervous at all to leave him with her for the 4 hours we were gone. She is the first person, besides me & Mark, to put Mason to bed. Thank you Court! Mark also got me junior mints for the movie, accompanied by a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a sappy card that hit straight to the heart and brought one or two tears, my favorite! He sure knows how to write them.

On Sunday we all woke up late but some how made it to church early and got a bench! Score! During the second hour I took Mason to the mother’s lounge to feed him and he fell asleep right after. He was out cold. It was the best because I could smooch his chubby cheeks & squishy lips and snuggle him all I wanted. All I could think about all day was how infinitely better life is with Mason in it. He makes us laugh every day. He loves us unconditionally. I always knew I wanted to be a mom but this, with him as my baby, is better than I ever imagined it could be.

After church we went to visit Mark’s grandma, skyped his parents in Hawaii and then went to my parents house for some bbq’d burgers by my dad. It was a great day spent with the people I love.

So thank you to Mark for allowing me to be a mom and giving me the sweetest, funniest, most handsome baby. And thank you to Mason for making me a mom and loving me the way you do.