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%)

  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!

It’s only noon and I have already thought to myself more than once that today is a “bad day.”

Our cat woke up Mason this morning before he was ready to get up, so he woke up a little grumpy and I did as well. Oh well.

A couple of hours later I go to put mason down for a nap in his crib which is always a struggle. He fussed for 10-15 minutes but then fell asleep! Awesome! I jumped in the shower (but didn’t wash my hair), got out, and decided to put on workout clothes because today I was going to do some workouts in my living room while the baby napped! As soon as I got dressed Madon woke up. He only slept for 30 minutes, ugh come on! So I pick him up out of his crib and rock him a little and he falls back to sleep no problem. I lay him back down and head for the door and he is wide awake crying! I repeat this cycle 3 more times (each time letting him cry for 5-10 minutes) until I decide it’s no use.

So out to the living room we go. I turn on the tv and put Mason in his swing and do a few workouts until Mason decides he’s done in the swing. At this point he’s super tired and rubbing his eyes. So I feed him and try to lay him down on my bed. Repeat the process from earlier of trying to get him to nap: Unsuccessful. The whole time I’m getting more frustrated because I can’t get my baby to take a nap and I have things I want to do! I already feel like a failure of a wife constantly because I rarely have a full, thoughtout dinner prepared when Mark gets home from work. The house is always a mess. (Mark spent his entire Saturday deep cleaning the house, which I was extremely grateful for but felt bad because I should be doing that, not him.)

But then Mason fell asleep on my shoulder. At first I was annoyed because that’s the only place he will nap unless we go on a long car ride. I thought about trying to lay him down again until a feeling came over me that I needed to just sit down and enjoy the moment. My workout could wait (although my squishy body would disagree), the house work could be done later and Mark will still love me when he gets home despite all the things I didn’t get done. Because he knows I love our baby more than all those other things.

I hope someday I will be able to get Mason to be a better napper but today I will hold him while he sleeps on my shoulder.

I never thought much about what you teach boys vs. girls until my son came along and now I stress over it too often. I don’t have any brothers but I do have a fantastic husband who has opened my eyes as to what makes a man.

Our society is so confused. It seems to put so much emphasis on women being treated as equals that it has belittled boys and men. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe women should get their education and be paid as much as male coworkers, I have witnessed the opposite in my own life. But somehow in our fight to be treated equally we have downplayed the role of men in our homes and society.  Now having a son of my own, there are so many things I want him to learn that society no longer teaches or views as normal.

For instance, I want him to be a gentleman. I want him to always open doors for ladies. But the world often sees this as men treating women as incapable. I want him to see and know that women are and can be strong but should be treated delicately and respectfully. I want him to stand up for what’s right when it’s not popular. I want him to protect those that are smaller than him or who can’t stand up for themselves. I want him to be confident but not cocky. I want him to stand up for himself and not let others tear him down or walk all over him, but at the same time I want him to be sweet and gentle, yet brave and tough. He better never lay a finger on a woman but also never allow a woman to lay a hand on him.

As I write this I feel so overwhelmed with my responsibility as a mother of a boy. His heart is so sweet and pure, why do we as a society mess these perfect souls up so much?!

Luckily for me, he has some wonderful examples to watch and learn from; his father, his uncles, his grandfathers and his fathers’ friends.

I’m so grateful to be the mother of a boy and learn from him. I know it will be challenging teaching him things that are often viewed as “old fashioned” when the world is teaching him other things but I’m happy to add one more gentleman to the world!

I’ve noticed recently that having a baby has changed me in unexpected ways.

The first thing I noticed was that I’m more prepared: leaving the house and running to the store is way more difficult to do so now when I do have a chance to go to the store, I stock up! For instance, I use to buy make up remover wipes just whenever I needed them, now I buy 4 packs at a time. It may not sound like a big deal but trust me, it is.

I’ve also been much better at being on time since having Mason. Now this is a big deal, just ask my dad who’s been trying to get me to be on time since day one! Whenever we have to go somewhere now I get a little anxious because it can be overwhelming to get ready, I never know if Mason will cooperate and let me shower (if you can call 45 seconds in water a shower) and throw some makeup on. And then I have to feed him and get him dressed. And then as soon as he’s dressed he’s sure to poop! And once he’s in his car seat there’s no messing around, we have to get him in the car stat before he starts screaming because he’s not moving. So now I give myself more time than I could possibly need to get us ready and out the door. And so far it’s paid off (except for his blessing day, of course…)

I’d have to say the biggest change for me is that I now don’t mind waking up early in the morning! I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I am a ‘morning person’, let’s be real. But before I had Mason I dreaded getting up in the morning, no matter what time it was. I was the prime case of waiting until the very last possible second to get out of bed. Mark would literally have to push me out of bed. So obviously I was worried about how I would be able to wake up with a baby. But surprisingly I’ve had no problem getting up early with him. I’m so excited to see his sweet little face and snuggle him each morning. And now he gives me big smiles when I walk into his room. So no I’m not a morning person, but mornings aren’t so bad anymore 🙂

I had my 6 week post-pardom checkup today, which means that my baby is 6 weeks old?! I can’t even believe it! He already looks so big to me now with full cheeks and rolls in his arms and legs. He’s officially out of newborn clothes and wearing 0-3mo. It’s so true what they say, the days are long but the weeks go fast! We finally got his crib and set it up! I’m so excited because now I can have him nap in it! He’s been starting a bad habit where he doesn’t want to nap in his bassinet, just on me, and as cute as it is, it’s not going to work for me, I need to do things like shower and go to the bathroom and eat lunch! So hopefully our new endeavor goes well!

On another note, Mason started smiling last week and it’s the best! He knows they are like gold to us so he withholds them until the perfect time, little stinker!