Just Hangin' Around

We have officially entered the stage of climbing and exploring new places... Can you tell that he thinks he's hilarious?

Bath Time

These were taken last night (the day we celebrated Christmas). Mason loved having some new toys to play with in the tub & I was having fun spiking up his hair :)

Rosco's Christmas

Don't worry Rosco also got a few gifts including a new ball with a handle & a yummy bone He took his bone and escaped to his crate to devour it, which didn't take very long.

Mason's 1st Christmas

We were super excited to celebrate Mason's first Christmas even though he's to young to understand and didn't really know what was going on. We went through his normal routine in the morning and then after he was well fed we opened up about half of his presents before he started to fade and was ready for his nap. After he napped and ate again he was ready for round two and showed much more interest this time in his new toys. It was so much fun to see him get excited and it makes us excited for coming years when it will only get more fun! Anyhow here are lots of pictures of Mason's first Christmas, he was definitely very spoiled! Mason with his first stocking and gifts from Santa Stocking included: a sippy cup, fruit puffs, baby food, books, & finger puppets Gifts from Santa: a tool bench that lights up & plays songs, and a learning walker that isn't pictured because Santa found that it wasn't working properly and had to exchange it. Gifts from Grandma & Grandpa Wilson Lots of books & fun bath toys A Little People's farm yard from Grandma & Grandpa Workman His first soccer ball from his daddy A driver toy from our neighbors Paul & Jan Sullivan (They absolutely adore him & treat him like their own grandchild) ALL his loot (minus his walker & some PJ's) Gifts previously unmentioned above from... Church outfit, coat, sweater, and pants from us. 1st Christmas teddy bear from Cory, Amanda & CJ Monkey pillow pet from Aunt Carrie Green outfit, toy phone, & books from Bubba & Dani Playing with his farm, he mostly likes to eat the animals.. A special THANK YOU to all those who sent gifts & cards our way, we really appreciate it.

Christmas

We celebrated Christmas yesterday since I have to work Friday & Saturday night. I was thinking that in the 5 years Steven & I have been married I think we've only every celebrated Christmas on the 25th once, because I've always had to work. Hopefully that will change in the coming years. Anyways, after Mason opened some of his presents and went down for a nap Steven and I opened our presents. We started with stockings... In my stocking: a new camera, extra camera battery, camera case, peachies, reese peanut butter cups & other chocolates In Steven's stocking: a tie clip, hand & foot warmers, camping matches, travel size bug repellent, Babe Ruth candy bars, swedish fish, & chocolate turtles. Then I opened my gifts which included: some PJ shirts, books, Life cereal (my fav), a super soft balnket, & a Chi flat iron! (Steven went WAY over our budget, which is why I'm giving him a disapproving look in a couple pics!) Steven opening his gifts which included: A new black shirt, camping pans, a tie, sports coat (obviously wrong size) & he's wearing the new PJ shirt he got the night before. All our loot! We were spoiled! From my parents: the edger attachment for our weed-eater, new tupperware, a safe, & a Kohl's gift card From Steven's parents: a blanket with handmade wooden stand, and a massage chair pad Our neighbors, the Sullivans gave us the huge fruit basket

Wicked

Last night we went up to Indy with a group of our friends to see Wicked at the Murat Theater. Steven and I have wanted to see this show for a really long time so when we had found out that it would be in Indy we jumped at the chance to go. There were 7 of us that went to the matinee showing at 2:00. The play was awesome and I loved it! I'd heard lots of great things about this show in the past, but for some reason I never knew it was a musical. I love musicals, so it made it that much better. However, Steven isn't the biggest fan of them, but he did still like the show. Of course he was more enthralled with the set, and trying to figure out how they were moving everything on & off stage. He kept saying that he needed a backstage pass to check out the stage! They did have a really awesome set, and the costumes were really neat too! Overall it was totally worth the money, and I would definitely see it again. After the show we ate some yummy food at the Weber Grill in downtown Indy and then headed home. It was a fun day out for Steven and I, but we were definitely ready to get home to our baby. I thought I'd been getting better at leaving him, but I was definitely having some separation anxiety yesterday. The drive home seemed to take forever and we finally got home about 8:30, just late enough that he was already in bed :( However, it sounded like he was a good boy and had a good time with Tim. On a side note I have to say that we have been blessed with some great friends here who love our son and have been willing to watch him so that we can still go out and do things just the two of us. I don't know what we'd do without them. Below: Steven & I waiting to go into the show Lydia, Katie, Jared, Nick & Steven checking out the program Steven & I waiting for the show to start (he wasn't thrilled with me taking our picture, can you tell?) So excited to be seeing WICKED!!

Road Block

This little guy loves to be right in the action, which usually includes being right at our feet while we are cooking. Tonight we were frying scones and I didn't want Mason anywhere near the hot oil so Steven tried to make a road block with one of our dining room chairs, but you can see how well that worked! Since he'd figured out how to go through the legs I moved him to the other end and then he discovered that he could stand up and he was so proud of himself! Have I mentioned that this boy is growing up to fast?

Monkey Hat

My parents bought this cute monkey hat for Mason at the airport on their way here. Originally it was to big for him, but I washed it not realizing it was hand wash only and it shrunk. So now it fits him perfectly & I think it's so cute on him! Thanks Mom & Dad!

Sleepy Baby

Just a cute picture of our sleepy boy

I Looked Out the Window....

Mason's new favorite thing is to sit on the back of the couch and look out the front window. He loves to play with the blinds, pound his hounds and kick his feet on the window. These pictures were taken after we watched Steven drive away with my parents to take them to catch the shuttle to the airport. We were so sad to see them leave, but so grateful for the time we were able to spend with them. Thank you so much Mom & Dad for braving the winter weather and flying out to see us! We love you & miss you already!

The bottom two were taken later tonight

Dad's Early-Birthday

Since my dad's birthday is on the 29th of this month and we rarely are ever around to celebrate his or anyone else's birthday we decided we'd celebrate his early while they were here.

First he got a card from Mason....

Then after Mason went to bed it was time for cake & ice cream!

Funny story about his cake though...a couple days ago on Thursday Steven and I tried to make our first homemade cheesecakes. We received the recipe from one of our friends mom who makes it all the time and we've tried it before and really liked it. So anyhow we thought we would give it a try and surprise my dad with a homemade cheesecake for his birthday. However, as it turns out cheesecake is a lot harder to make that we realized. We didn't end up cooking it long enough, but didn't know that and pulled it out to cool. When we checked it the next day it was like cheesecake soup in the middle! The edges were okay, but the center was nothing but mush. So we ended up throwing 2 whole cheesecakes away and Steven ran to the store last minute to pick up a chocolate cake!

We didn't want to risk setting off the smoke alarms so we didn't pull all his candles on, just a few :)

Loves to/from his favorite daughter!!

He only got his card from us, and he has to wait till he gets home until he opens his present.

We love you dad and are glad that we got to celebrate your birthday a little early with you!!

Christmas with Grandparents

Since we aren't going home for Christmas we decided we'd let my parents open their Christmas presents from us early while they were visiting. I love the look my dad is giving me!

They may have been able to guess what they were opening....

I think Mason liked Grandma's new PJ's

Early Christmas Present

After showing my parents the book that I'd made for Mason with pictures of all our family in it they decided they needed to let Mason open a special present early. For some reason we only took pictures of me trying to help Mason open the gift and not a picture of the gift itself, but it's one of those books that you can record yourself reading it. My parents had recorded themselves reading it for Mason, and it is so cute, I love that he'll be able to hear their voices! The book is perfect too, because it's called "Together at Heart" and talks about even though we may be far apart we are always together at heart! So perfect, thanks Mom & Dad!