We have a 1 year old!!

We celebrated Mason's first birthday last week. I can't believe it's been a year since we became parents. Mason has brought such joy to our lives. While this year has been one of the toughest we've had, it has also been the happiest.

For Mason's birthday we invited a few friends over to celebrate with us. We had dinner, opened presents from us and all his grandparents, and then had cupcakes. Mason was a bit grouchy by the time we got to the cupcakes because he was tired so he didn't enjoy his cupcake like we had hoped he would. Mason got a toy truck with cars from Grandma and Grandpa Snedaker, a few outfits from Grandma and Grandpa Yarger, a card with money from Papa Bullock, a basketball toy for the tub from our friends the Tyler's, a ball and a book from our friends the Mabes, and a whole bunch of clothes, an elephant toy with shapes, a mini basketball, another ball toy, and a ring stacker toy from me and Malone. He was a bit spoiled for his birthday but he is the firstborn in our little family after all. Mason loves his toys and they really keep him occupied.

Mason has finally started to four point crawl! It isn't his main mode of transportation yet, but he is doing it more and more often now. He still continues to pull himself up to things and likes to stand. He has become pretty picky about eating lately but has enjoyed drinking whole milk now that he can drink it. Mason loves playing with other kids when he gets the opportunity. The other day at church he was playing with the little boys behind us and started to make so much noise I had to intervene!

This month Mason had a few doctor visits. The first one was an MRI at Children's Hospital in Dallas and a visit with his Neurologist. It wasn't until the day before the MRI that I found out it was going to be a 3 minute MRI instead of a long one that requires him to be sedated. That was a relief! We waited for a long time to get into the MRI just to get bumped by an incoming emergency, which was frustrating. But we were able to get his MRI a the outpatient clinic within a few minutes after all. Mason had to be strapped down so he couldn't move during the MRI and he absolutely had a cow about it. I was able to be in the room with him and hold his hand, but that didn't help him much. He just cried the entire time and it was hard for me to be there and not be able to comfort him. Luckily it was short and I was able to hold him in my arms and calm him down. Unfortunately we had to go straight to his next appointment to see his neurologist, so Mason had to endure a little longer. What we thought would be a short wait, turned into an hour long wait in the waiting room to see the doctor. I was so close to telling them to have the doc call us with the mri results because this wait was ridiculous! But we were finally able to get in. The neurologist said that according to the MRI Mason is doing great. His ventricles in his brain (that produce the fluid) have not grown and have actually shrunk a little, so his shunt is doing its job well which is great. The MRI only covered the brain and not his spine, so next time we will be doing a sedated MRI so we can get a bigger picture of what's going on in his spine, which will be in about 6 months. The neurologist said from what he could see of the spine there is a little fluid stuck in the spinal cord that could pose a potential problem later on, so we will be keeping an eye on it.

The following week Mason had a renal ultrasound and a visit with his urologist at Scottish Rite. We had to pin Mason down so the ultrasound tech could do her job, and he really hated that so he squirmed and cried the entire time. I don't think the MRI experience helped with this at all. We had an hour and a half wait until we could get in to see the urologist so Mason had lunch and a quick nap. When we finally got in there it was a quick visit. He said the ultrasound looked great and we won't need another scan for 6 months. However, since we haven't had a checkup on Mason's bladder pressures since January we will probably be due for another look sooner than the 6 month ultrasound, perhaps in December.

The next week, the day after Mason's birthday, Mason had his 1 year checkup. Since he had not so good experiences earlier this month this appointment was difficult for him. The second we got in the room and the nurse walked in he burst into tears and didn't stop the entire time we were there. I just felt so bad for him! I'm sure he is so sick of doctors and nurses trying to poke, prod, and examine him. I can't really blame him and his hysterics. The doctor said Mason is looking good as well. Looking at his head measurements, it looks like he is growing into his head finally. The graph went up and now it's coming back down. His measurements at 1 year old are: 19.9 lbs, (22%)  27 1/2 inches long (1%) , and his OC is 48.1cm (94%).  I guess he is a little short for his age, but I'm never sure how accurate those measurements are especially when he was hysterical laying there when they were trying to measure. But he did get a lollipop after the appointment and he really enjoyed that!

We are so proud of Mason and how much he has accomplished during his short time here so far. He has been here for a year and he's had 3 surgeries, two of them on his brain. I've lost count how many doctor appointments and therapy visits he's had. And yet through it all, he is such a happy good natured little boy. He works so hard to reach his milestones and has surprised us all with how well he is doing despite his challenges. Mason makes me laugh all the time with his sweet and lovable personality. It was a year ago that Mason made me a mother and the experiences I have had this year have changed me forever. I will never be the girl I was before he came along, and I wouldn't have it any other way. He has helped me become a better person. I have learned to have more empathy and love towards others. He teaches me to exercise patience everyday and to laugh off the things that would normally make me angry or frustrated.

11 Months

Mason is 11 months! He has had a big month. Recently Mason has learned how to army crawl and is a professional now. He loves his new found freedom and getting his hands on whatever he can, especially Altivo's dog dishes. Mason likes to chase after his little plastic balls and play with his trucks. We keep his toys on the bottom shelf of our TV stand in the living room, and he likes to crawl up in there and play with his toys. He says words that sound like "Hi" or "Hey", and "Daddy". Whether he knows what he's saying or not I'm not sure. But I swear when Malone came home today he said "Hey Daddy!" He is such a talkative one, always gabbing. He has such a sense of humor, he laughs all the time and thinks he's so funny.

Mason only wakes up once at night if at all now and it doesn't take long for me to nurse him back to sleep. He loves to self feed and gets frustrated when Malone and I try to spoon feed him sometimes. He seems to like to be independent, but at the same time likes having me nearby also. Mason loves when we get out of the house and go places. People are always complimenting on how cute he is and what a good happy baby he is. And I have to say, he really is such an adorable happy baby. He is an angel!

Trip to Idaho, birthday, and anniversary!

A couple weeks ago we were able to take a trip back home to Idaho. We haven't been back since we moved. We left on July 30th in the afternoon. Malone and I decided to drive all night to get to Idaho the next morning. It seemed like a good idea so that Mason could sleep most of the way there. Considering the long 20+ hour drive I was surprised how well Mason did. And Malone managed to drive the entire time too. We arrived in Rigby at about 11 the next morning and surprised everyone. We got to spend some time with my family that day and were able to go visit Malone's dad and brother too. The next day the boys went and played golf. Saturday we drove 3 hours to Bear Lake for the Bennett reunion. We had a really great time jetskiing and spending time with cousins. Mason got to meet all sorts of new people and did great! It was a long day. Malone had never jetskii'd before so it was neat for us to do that together. We also got to ride on a tube behind the boat as well, which we haven't done together since we first got married! Malone and I made the mistake of not putting on sunscreen soon enough and were both fried. I haven't had a burn that bad in a long time! The next day we went to my parent's ward and hung out and played games all day with my family. It's been a long time that we have all been able to be together!

Monday and Tuesday we drove up to visit Malone's parents in West Yellowstone. We hung out and watched a lot of movies while his parents worked the range downstairs. Whenever they got a chance they'd come spend time with us. We wandered around West Yellowstone and bought some things for Mason. It was nice to spend time with them and Mason loves his grandma!

Thursday I spent some much needed quality time shopping with my mom. That night we celebrated my dad's birthday at Perkins. He decided he wanted blueberry pancakes for dinner! Friday we said our goodbyes to my family and headed to Idaho Falls to see Malone's dad one more time before we left. We sure love our families and it was so great to see everyone! We won't be back for Christmas, so we aren't sure the next time we'll see them again.

Last week I celebrated my 28th birthday! I got so many phone calls and birthday wishes. It was really nice! Malone brought me some flowers and a beautiful birthday card. He also gave me some money to go get my nails done which was wonderful! I loved it! That evening we went out to eat at Logan's, which is basically like Texas Roadhouse. So yummy!

On the 23rd Malone and I also celebrated our 6 year anniversary. As a family we went to the Dallas World Aquarium that morning. It was super crowded but we had a good time seeing all sorts of fish as well as other wildlife like monkeys,  birds, bugs, reptiles, snakes, and even a panther. Our favorite part was seeing the big freshwater fish. They were huge!! The shark tank was really cool too. That evening Malone and I dropped Mason off with some friends so Malone and I could go on a date. It was the first time we have had a date alone since we moved here! We went to this little local Italian place in Flower Mound where they had live music. It was romantic and so nice to spend time together.

10 Months

Mason turned 10 months! He is a growing boy. Malone and I agreed that he felt heavier today, so I weighed him and he is 19 lbs! Two pounds heavier since the last time we weighed a month ago. He eats all sorts of new foods and has started to dislike foods he use to enjoy. For example, he use to hate peas and sort of liked green beans. Now he really enjoys them. He use to love pears and peaches and fruit of any kind really, and now he won't eat pears and peaches and struggles with his prunes. But he is really enjoying feeding himself when he can. We give him little bits of bread, cereal or whatever we're eating and he shoves it in his mouth.

Speaking of mouth, Mason now has 4 teeth! His second front tooth popped through while we were in Idaho on vacation. He was pretty miserable that day or so before it come through, poor guy. Now he's got the two teeth on either side of his front teeth coming in. One will be in any day now. So once again, we're going through teething. He's miserable, again.

Mason has been doing so great with his therapy! Last time I wrote he wasn't showing much interest in crawling and wasn't bearing much weight. Since then we've been working with his new occupational therapist (who's really great)  and he has made a lot of improvement! Mason bears a little bit more weight and will stand for a few seconds before sitting or just bounces a lot. His core muscles are starting to get stronger as well. He will be sitting there and is able to turn and play with toys to his side and can shift around behind himself to get to things. When I hold him I can feel him getting stronger because there is more resistance when he moves... I can't explain it. He made a HUGE breakthrough with army crawling today. We have been trying to help him learn to use his arms and legs to move forward. Today it's like he woke up and figured it out. The therapist came and he really showed off for her, because he was able to move himself forward over and over again! I was so excited, and felt a little emotional about it. This little boy just amazes me all the time and I feel like I am a witness to miracles all the time. Mason is such a blessing!

Mason continues to be a chatty boy. He makes Malone and I laugh all the time. I don't think he's figured out to call me mama and Malone dada yet, but he does say those words. He jabbers all the time and smiles a lot too. He is such a happy boy. He'll do or say something and then look at us and give a huge smile and give a chuckle. I think he's got a sense of humor already. He is such a doll!

4th of July weekend

 On the morning of the 4th we went to our ward's social activity at the nearby elementary school. They provided breakfast, had a parade and games for the kids, and a little 4th of July program. We were able to socialize with a few members of the ward which was nice. Mason had fun too! Malone and I brought a blanket to sit on and it looked like many members forgot theirs, so we shared our blanket with some people. It was a great way to meet people apparently!

After the program we went back home and hung out, had lunch. Mason took a nap. That evening we decided to venture out and see about seeing the local fireworks. There were plenty of shows to choose from in the area. We ended up going back to the elementary to watch the fireworks from the parking lot there. When we arrived I saw that many members of our ward were there too. They were all sitting together and invited us to come join them all. We were able to meet and chat with many more members of our ward. It was nice to feel like we had a sort of ward "family" to enjoy the fireworks with. The fireworks couldn't hold a candle to the ones in Idaho Falls, but it was still fun. It made me miss home!! After the fireworks we were able to get home within like 10 minutes, no problem. That is probably the first time that has ever happened to us after fireworks ever!

The next day we went swimming in the pool here at the complex for the first time. It was really fun! Mason had a good time in his new swimming suit. Actually we all had new swimming suits because Malone and I had to get new ones too! It was a great time spending quality time with our little family.

And no... I didn't take ANY pictures. I am kicking myself!!

9 months old

 

Mason is 9 months old this month! I am a little late in posting, so he's about 9 1/2 months now. Mason had his 9 month checkup and he is 17.2 lbs, 27 1/2 inches long, and his HC is 48.9 cm. He is 11th percentile in weight and 17th percentile in length and 99th percentile for head circumference. Last time I posted I mentioned that his doctors at Scottish Rite Hospital were concerned about his weight. I mentioned this to his pediatrician at his appointment and she said she wasn't concerned about it. He might be a little light, but he looks good and healthy. And according to their records he's gained like 2 pounds since he had been there last. So he is growing!

 

A couple weeks ago we took Mason to see an ophthalmologist. At first I didn't fully understand why we needed to see an eye doctor at such a young age, but I come to find out that kids with hydrocephalus are more likely to have eye problems from the pressure in their brains. It can cause problems on the optic nerves. Luckily Mason's eyes are looking fantastic! And he was such a good boy at letting the doctor look at him.  

 

Mason is an expert at sitting up now and will sit for a long time by himself. I can put him in the cart at the store and he'll sit up there the whole time like a big boy! He jabbers all the time in his own language, often saying "da da" along with many other sounds. He doesn't bear much weight on his legs so he can't pull himself up to stand yet. And he isn't up to crawling yet. He just rolls. I think he rolls because it's easier for him. In therapy we have been working with him to get him ready to crawl. We'll put him in the crawling position and let him strengthen his arms We also give him exercises to help strengthen his legs so he can bear more weight eventually. We are expecting to start Mason on physical therapy in addition to occupational (not sure why we'd need both right now, we are still working it out!). I think physical therapy will be more helpful in getting Mason to bear weight. Mason eats everything we put in front of him. He eats really well and will insist he eat off our plates sometimes. Mason now has 3 teeth! His first top tooth popped through the other day. And I can almost see his other top tooth coming through. It's just a matter of a few days! Mason has learned to gimme five and has learned to clap this month. He is learning quickly! I love seeing him learn new things! He also has learned how to pick up little snacks and put them in his mouth.

 Mason has been sleeping pretty good at night. For a little while he was sleeping through the night, but then his teething started waking him up one or two times during the night.

 

 

Mason's first time swimming

Recently Mason has gotten to go swimming for the first time! We have a pool here at our apartment complex that we can swim in anytime. Mason really enjoyed it! There is a shallow part in the pool about 6 inches deep that he could just sit and splash.  

our attempt at a group shot!

 

I could go on and on about this kid and how amazing he is. He is always so happy and smiles all the time. His sweet spirit is such a blessing in our home!   

Celebrating Father's Day and update

The weather is warming up around here! Its going to be in the 90's all week. Last week we had rain for a few days making it feel extremely muggy outside. One day it poured so much rain I got a flood warning on my phone! Looking outside you could barely see the house across the way. So cool. And lots of thunder too. I loved it. Luckily no flooding, just a lot of water in the streets probably.

Malone and I are enjoying our ward here. I don't get to meet a lot of people because I sit in the corner playing the piano in Primary. So the lack of social interaction at church makes me more motivated to do my visiting teaching. I have never been a very good visiting teacher, so I am working on being better! I really like the girls I visit teach and I love my partner. They're all really great. Recently I had the opportunity to serve a member of the ward. It was no big deal and I enjoyed being able to be of help to someone. Malone is off the hook for webelos for the summer. I guess the boys don't do scouts in the summertime. Nice!

Malone continues to work hard at work! Recently he found some kind of a construction gnome statue on his desk that someone had put there. I guess the office passes around this gnome to people who have been doing a great job. So it was such a nice compliment for all the hard work Malone puts in! It seems like he never got the recognition for his effort at his old job, so that was really nice. Even if it was just a gnome on his desk... it's the thought that counts. Malone often goes to lunch with coworkers and clients who come to the office about projects. The office does this lotto lunch where a few random people are chosen to go to lunch together, it's a great way to get to know other people in the office. Malone enjoys meeting new people. From what Malone describes, this is a really nice company to work for. Very friendly environment and everyone has been so nice.

This past month has been a lot of fun! To celebrate father's day, Malone, Mason and I went to Medieval Times in Dallas. It was a blast! Medieval Times is a dinner and live show watching knights jousting, horsemanship, and falconry. You are assigned a knight to cheer for and sit in that knight's cheering section in ringside seats while your wench or servant brings you a 4 course meal. Our knight was the black and white knight. For dinner we had chicken, potato halves, tomato soup, garlic bread, and ribs. And you have to eat it all without utensils. I guess maybe they didn't have utensils back in Medieval times? Its a 2 hour show, so I was a little nervous of what to do with Mason during that time as far as feeding goes, but it worked out okay. Mason had mixed feelings about the show. He cried a bit, but I think he was so very tired. He actually managed to fall asleep for part of the show. I don't know how he did that with all that noise! Malone and I had a great time together. It was nice to go out and do something fun together.

We continue to go on walks now and then. There isn't anywhere within walking distance to go from our apartment and we live along a busy highway here. So we will go after Malone gets home or on Saturdays. But it tends to get really hot in the afternoon so we don't go often. We went for Family Home Evening yesterday and took Altivo with us. He doesn't get to go for walks much so he is fat and lazy and he got super tired on our walk. It was good for all of us to get off the couch and get a little exercise in!

Speaking of exercise, I am still doing my T25. I am just happy to be consistent even though I'm not perfect at it. I continue to slowly lose pounds and inches and continue to have increased energy. I think it's best for everyone when I exercise because I am so much happier the days that I do! So it's a good motivation to continue to be consistent. The challenge with my group on line is over, so I'm on my own now! I don't think I did too great with the challenges from the group, but I try to do better everyday.

Mason continues to do great! Recently his second tooth popped through, so now he has two teeth on bottom. He loves to eat his baby food and to help momma in the kitchen. He loves to do whatever mom is doing! Mason still doesn't really show any interest in crawling, but he gets around fine with rolling. He manages to get into trouble fine. The other day he managed to get into Tivo's water dish! H is such a happy boy and always makes me smile. He's my little buddy and I love taking him with me everywhere.