5 Months Old!

Mason is 5 months old today! He weighs 14 lbs 9 oz and is 25.5 inches long. Mason is now able to hold his head up for a couple minutes while laying on his tummy with his elbows under him. He holds his head up and will look around both directions like a champ. Mason can grasp things in his hands when I put things in there and he will reach out to grab things more than before. And of course the object goes straight into his mouth. He will flat out giggle when you get him going, it's hilarious. He loves momma and cries when I put him down or walk away. He continues to eat every two to three hours during the day and he wakes up 2-3 times during the night, but goes right back to sleep. Yesterday we had an occupational therapist come out to work with Mason for Early Intervention. She was really great with him. She taught me some techniques to use with Mason like using a small brush to stimulate him with by brushing. I will most likely be using it on his legs and feet, but you can use it anywhere. We don't know how much sensation he has in his lower extremities (feet and lower legs mainly) so any stimulation is great. We will be playing with different textures and toys to help Mason develop properly. The OT gave us these little rubber brush like things that you can put in baby's mouth so they can feel those textures in their mouth. I think they are mostly for babies who struggle eating or something, but in Mason's case we'll just use it for stimulation. I have a few toys that I am excited to introduce Mason to that I think he will like. Overall, Mason continues to do great. The OT thinks he is really doing great. She was impressed with his strength and enjoyed working with him. He was so good the entire time, being cooperative and happy.  Mason has an appointment at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for spina bifida clinic next month. So we look forward to getting Mason checked up on with neuro, PT, etc. He hasn't had a checkup at spina bifida clinic since January, so I am eager to get him checked out. Now that the weather is starting to cooperate, I am hoping we will be out and going for walks and enjoying some sunshine. We love Mason so much and it has been fun to be with him everyday and watch him grow.

Updates and our new chuch callings

Just a few things to update on. Since I last wrote we had Early Intervention come out and do an evaluation on Mason so we can get an occupational therapist to come visit him regularly. Things went well and the lady asked a ton of questions about Mason. After working with him a bit and talking they ranked Mason about 3 months, which is about right for his age at the time.

Then we celebrated Valentines Day! We kept it small and just went out to Red Lobster, which was delicious! Malone and I haven't been out to a nice restaurant in a while. Malone got me flowers and I wrote him a love letter. We had a really great time together. First V-day with our little guy!

Malone is still doing great at work. He has been given a lot of things to do that keep him busy. He usually has up to 4 projects going at a time that he is working on. Sometimes he gets a little overwhelmed with learning everything and trying not to miss anything. But with some time he'll get the hang of it.

Malone and I have been taking advantage of the gym here. We've been taking turns in the evenings to spend time at the gym while one of us hangs with Mason. And lately we have been trying to watch what we are eating and include more fruit and veggies in our diet. There isn't much to show for it yet, but hopefully it will eventually.

Recently Malone and I received callings at church. Malone was called to be in Weblows and I was called to be Primary pianist. Last Sunday was my first day as pianist, and it was a lot of fun! I didn't get a chance to practice beforehand, so I was a little rusty with my Primary songs. But kids don't care and no one else seemed to care if I messed up either. But I care! So Malone and I went to the church on Tuesday night so I could practice. It's nice to play piano again, I've missed it.