TidyChaos

A Little Vitamin M & D

2012-02-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

Just thought I post a few photos for those who are Mason and Donovan deficient. Here are some from a "photo shoot" where I tried to get one picture with both their heads next to each other, looking at the camera, and smiling. Was that asking too much?
The first few are my favorites. The rest are bloopers. I love these boys. And they are actually enjoying each other, as well. [Angelic hallelujas]

"Heads together"
"Smile at the camera"
Put your heads together!

bonk!

Momma's toes! If you are wondering why neither of them are wearing pants, it's because I was trying to just get a head shot of the two, and with potty training and well-developed thighs, pants are presently optional in this house.

Here are some of just everyday events, like the first bathtime TOGETHER!

Indoor entertainment on cold days.Mason doesn't care how hot he gets, he wants Thomas' face right next to his. Luckily he hasn't done this for the last few days, maybe he's past this phase.
And can you ever get enough of the rolls? I think not.

DC Zoo

2012-02-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

This was a PERFECT trip to the zoo. The weather was a little overcast, so people didn't come for fear of rain. The temperature was in the low 60's-- not too hot, not too cold. The animals were all out and about, not hiding in the shade or sleeping inside like they've been the last two times we've visited. Mason LOVED the animals and both boys were in great moods the whole time. No potty accidents, a quick little lunch in the middle. A nice old man who works in the reptile exhibit even gave us a personal tour and gave us more information than we could have ever dreamed of receiving. I couldn't have asked for a better experience at the zoo.

No worries about D missing his naptime!

A highlight of the day for Mason. We've become experts at these construction machines from a book we have at home. Mason will tell you this is an excavator with a bucket attachment. Ask him where the boom, stick, and cab are and he'll probably point to the correct parts. I'm not sure I would be able to, now that I think about it... He'll also point out to you it rides on tracks, not wheels.

Lunchtime! Give Donovan a water bottle and he's happy for minutes.

He even likes drinking from them.

I'm so glad I bought this stroller. It's perfect for Mason.

Mason's favorite waterfall.

"It's coming over to talk!"

Some of the animals, for memory's sake.

Half a Year for Donovan!

2012-01-25T09:25:00.001-08:00

Happy six months to Donovan! He's been such a fun baby! (It would be nice if he would sleep a little longer at night, but otherwise he's been really fun.) Donovan is very into playing with toys, and Mason knows which toys will keep Donovan from fussing. He's pretty quick to grab them and lay them on the floor for D to reach. He's eating real food now. My mom gave me a food grinder that she had from when I was born and I use it several times a day. D loves bananas and apples and carrots the most so far. The cereal is one of his least favorite foods, so he spits it out and then uses the back of his hand to rub it all over his face. It takes about four seconds for his face to look like the picture above. Spitting is a new favorite pastime for Donovan.

Donovan is officially in the 100%ile for his weight, and just a bit less for his height. At 23 lbs 4 oz., he's weighing as much as my friends' kids a year older than him. I love it. Yes, it's a little difficult to hold him and vacuum at the same time, but my arms should come out looking pretty good after this.

We love this boy!

I recorded and uploaded this with my phone and the sound goes out for most of it. You can still see that this kid is strong and active, despite what those rolls may say otherwise. He jumped that night for at least 40 minutes. Maybe longer.
And happy birthday to cousin Eleanor as well!
Here's some cute pics of Mason. We can't leave him out.

An Afternoon at the Playground

2012-01-02T15:56:00.001-08:00

I forgot to post these. This was just before Christmas at our little playground behind our house. These boys have so much more fun when their Daddy is playing along with them. Yes, Donovan's coat is way too big, but it was handy when we were walking out the door so it's what he wore. It wasn't very cold at all for the entire holiday season and it was WONDERFUL!

Sometimes we get owies.

Christmas Magic

2011-12-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

Santa came a day early for us so we didn't have to rush through the presents to get to church on time. Neither of the boys minded, or even knew to mind.We didn't have many presents under the tree, but it took 3+ hours to open them. There were a few Milton Bradley games for Mason and he wanted to open each one and try them out. So we spent a few minutes playing Hi Ho Cherry-o and Ants in the Pants. We convinced him to leave Memory and Candyland for a later time.
Mason loved his goodies from all his family and Santa, and Donovan loved his wrapping paper. Justin and I received a blu-ray player from Santa as well as a DVD recorder from my parents (thank you!!) so now we can burn all these news broadcasts Justin is in for posterity to enjoy. We also got some nice presents from Justin's family. I will be smelling very yummy this winter season (thanks so much!). It was a very nice, relaxing, and happy morning.
That night we went to a Christmas Eve party with our friends, the Lesofskys and I made some Santa bread that actually turned out the way I hoped it would. I may make it a tradition.Christmas morning we went to church and I was informed on the way that I had a solo in one of the songs in the program, but it was the 4th verse of "I Heard the Bells" which says "Then rang the bells more loud and deep, 'God is not dead nor doth He sleep! The Good shall fail, The right prevail, With peace on Earth, Good will to men." I loved singing it and I'm grateful that they asked. Pretty much everyone in the congregation got up at some point to sing with a group. Mason even got up a few times with Justin and I, but didn't actually sing. It was disorganized and unrehearsed, but I think it was my favorite Christmas service that I've ever attended. It was pure worship and celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Two of our friends, Austin and Melissa, came over to enjoy a Christmas steak dinner with us. They are the closest thing to family we have here, and it was fun to celebrate with them. The boys love them.
Mason's favorite Christmas movie and book this year was The Polar Express.
And a Christmas present to me was that Donovan found a sort of pacifier. We can put a piece of fruit in the net of this pacifier and he can suck the juice through the net. Very nice for a few minutes of peace. (At least until the juice runs out anyway.)So now Christmas has come and gone again. The tree is down. Mason cried when he saw it had disappeared. It's strange to think that the next time we unpack it we will be in a new house in an unknown location. I love this season. I'm always a little sad to see it pass.

'Tis the Season

2011-12-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

This was the most successful Santa visit we've had so far, even with this being the scariest Santa of the bunch. Donovan had no problem with him. Mason got super excited when he saw him and Mason told him he wanted cars for Christmas. Santa asked if Mason had been naughty or nice and Mason just stared at him, confused. He hasn't learned what "naughty" means. I guess he's too much of an angel.

We also went to see the lights at the DC Temple. They aren't Temple Square, but Mason loved them so they were worth the trip. He was just upset that we didn't go inside the temple. Here are some pics from that visit:

Here we are decorating the Christmas tree. Mason was the most excited about the "Christmas Star" at the top, so we let him put it up.

Some miscellaneous pics from the month:
Justin got another battle wound. This one came in "the gauntlet." Someone's bayonet sliced down and just grazed his neck. I'm glad I was videotaping and didn't see it happen. I was sitting next to the wife of the guy who did it and she saw it happen. She immediately started apologizing. Luckily, it only left a scratch.

Mason and his friend, Isaac playing. They are a little over a year apart in age. Cute little Isaac used to make Mason cry, but now they're friends! His new found tolerance for other children makes hanging out with my friends so much more enjoyable.

And here are some pics and video of the boys playing together. Donovan is sitting up pretty well now, so that makes play time much more fun for the both of them. These videos are just for those who wish they could be in the same room with these little guys. They may get a little long for those looking to be entertained.

Late Halloween Photo

2011-12-13T05:42:00.001-08:00

I finally got our family's Halloween pic from the girl who took them at the party. It made me laugh. Poor Donovan.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

2011-12-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

WE LOVE YOU AUNT SARAH!!!

This is just for Sarah, but I thought everyone would like to see the pictures. Happy Birthday to Aunt Sarah! Both these boys love and miss you so much!!!!!!!!
Mason is holding his new car that he got today. It was the only one he wanted in the entire toy store : a purple and green PT Cruiser with flames on the side that plays "Livin La Vida Loca." [sigh] We are calling it Ramone. The batteries might die soon.
I added all the photo attempts below just for fun.

Alabama Thanksgiving

2011-12-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we drove down to Alabama to visit my parents' new home. Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday and I was not disappointed this year. The area where my parents live is gorgeous. The food was divine. I met my one and only nephew. So adorable! We tossed a football around. And we took a little trip out to the Air and Space Museum. We ate at Mellow Mushroom. We were missing half of the siblings, which was sad, but it was fun to hang with the family in town. The drive there and back was not nearly as bad as we predicted (thank you boys!), though we were more than ready to be out of the van at the end of the trip. The next day after we got home, Mason woke up and asked if we could go to Grandma's and Grandpa's house. . .

All the Grandsons

Helping with Thanksgiving Dinner

Running from the Defense

The Dinner! So delicious! Thank you Mom & Granny!

A Visit From Uncle Nick!

Air & Space Museum:

Bathtime in the "Dangerous Tub" (According to Mason. He wasn't a fan of the jacuzzi jets.)
We found out we were pregnant with Donovan last Thanksgiving. Hard to imagine him as being the size of a peanut. We are so thankful to have this little boy in our lives!

This is Halloween. Halloween.

2011-10-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

First off, Happy Halloween Birthday to our new nephew/cousin Troy! ! ! ! So happy for Lisa and Pete!!
We spent today in the ER for an allergic reaction of Mason's on his face that made his eyes super swollen. But we made it back to go trick or treating around the block, so no worries. We dressed like dragons and vikings, but I didn't get any photos of the vikings. The boys didn't like their headpieces, either. Someone took a photo of our family all dressed up together, so I'll need to get a copy of that sometime later. .
Here are some pics of our Halloween adventures this year:

At the church party, Mason attacked the doughnut eating contest that I was in charge of before he even got his costume on. He struggled with the no hand rule. Pumpkin Bowling
It was snowing during our church party, and I wish I'd gotten a picture of Mason running around in circles outside, squealing with delight. He must have picked up Justin's Eskimo gene. When we got home he pulled out his toy shovel and started clearing the driveway of the snow that had already melted.

Our pumpkin carving!! ! !

The dragon needed to fly for a minute during Trick or Treating.

"Smile Mason"
A nice view of the candy-mouthed allergic reaction face:

And tonight while I was putting this together I caught some cute moments, so I'll add them, too.

PS- this outfit Donovan is wearing is 12-18 months. He hit 3 months this past Tuesday. Which was the day our NIECE, Eleanor was born - Congrats to Stacy and Spencer ! ! ! !

Big Brother Little Brother

2011-10-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

I've waited a long time to take this picture.

The Little One Laughs

2011-10-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is a happy baby. He especially loves his daddy.

Some photos from this week that make me smile...

Mason and Donovan Play TOGETHER! ! ! !

2011-10-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

I just want to document this. The video may be a little long at the end for some to watch. I think I could watch it all day.

Can't get enough of this face. Love those cheeks! Weight update on Donovan- he's 15 lbs. 8 oz. at 2.4 months. Some of the clothes he's wearing are 6-9 months. 3-6 are getting too small, as you can see in these pics and video. We have pictures of Mason crawling around at 8 months in the same outfits that Donovan is now filling up at 2 months.

And just for fun... a pic of Mason talking to Grandma.

Saying Goodbye to Grayson... :(

2011-10-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

We took a trip down to GA to help my mom & dad pack up their home of 25 years. It was an enjoyably chaotic trip down memory lane for me. Here are some pics we managed to take while we were down there. We all got sick the first couple days we were there, which limited what we could do that first week, but the second week was busy.

Aunt Lyla, 94 years old. Love her.

Feeding the Ducks at Alexander Park

Mason loved this hula hoop. He called it his "O."

My husband likes to take pictures of me when I'm looking my best...

Here's a video of Mason and Justin reenacting a scene from the movie, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Donovan's Newborn Pics

2011-10-09T17:13:00.001-07:00

I realized I never posted these... he looks a little different now. We hired a woman on base to come over and take them when Donovan was working on his fourth day of life. He was cranky the whole time, so I'm glad some of them turned out. Taking a picture with Mason was not an option, as he was still adjusting to the new little man... maybe for Christmas pictures we'll get our whole family in one shot.

Boogie Woogie Baby

2011-09-15T05:49:00.001-07:00

A few snippets I caught on video. He gets his dancing skills from his parents. Warning: This will leave you wanting more. I hope to collect more of these in the future.

I'll huff... and I'll puff...

2011-09-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

And for fun, here are some extra pics...

Successful tummy time?

Justin in Colorado

An Animal Earthquake to Celebrate One Month of Donovan

2011-08-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

This month has flown by, but I feel like Donovan is a lot older than a month! It seems he's been in our family forever! Mason is adjusting pretty well. He lapses into his old self about every other day, but it's much more manageable than before. It's great having Aunt Sarah here to play with him!
We went to the zoo the other day and there was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake while we were there! We just didn't feel it. World News said the animals at National Zoo were giving warning signs that something was about to happen, but we didn't notice. I felt an aftershock in the middle of last night, though. Glad I could be a part of a big earthquake that left no damage. That's the way to do it. Mason's favorite part of the zoo was not the tiger or the orangutans, it was the waterfall. He didn't want to leave it. He also wasn't so keen on smiling for the camera. A few ladies stopped to tell me that Donovan was the best exhibit at the zoo. I agree.
Justin is in Hawaii right now for work (and play, of course), so these posts will really be for him to see his kiddos. We miss him. . . I know there's a bunch of photos of the same pose, but I like the faces Donovan's making. He has my baby chins. I even added a video at the end for those who really want a big dose of Donovan.

Justin is a TV star. Again.

2011-08-18T15:16:00.001-07:00

Catch the United States Air Force Band Summer Concert Series: MyFoxDC.com

The Story of Donovan

2011-08-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

Here is the story of Donovan-
We were scheduled to be induced on Monday, July 25th, and Donovan kindly waited until then to arrive. He would have arrived that day regardless of the induction - I was already dilated to 4cm when we were admitted to the hospital. I was being filled with fluid via IV starting just before 9am. Started pitocin sometime around 10ish. Felt about 2 dozen contractions (WAY too many) because they started coming pretty quickly and it took a while to get the epidural. Not fun trying to hold still while a large needle is entering your spine while having moderate-strong contractions, but I somehow managed it. I learned I could live through a natural birth if necessary. When my progress was being checked at 5cm, the doctor accidentally broke my water (Burst would be a better description. Poor doctor got flooded.), and that was all Donovan needed. Within the hour, I was ready to push. Three pushes later, Donovan was lying in my arms, slimy and blue and crying his angel cry. Justin was a great support, he has to see the worst of everything. He knows more about what goes on during delivery than I do, since I don't feel much, and I can't see over my belly to where all the action is going on.
A much different experience than Mason's delivery, much much faster. I didn't have as high a dose of the epidural, so I could feel what was going on without the sharp pain, and I think that helped me deliver.
About his name - The reason no one had heard me mention Donovan as a possible name choice is because I'd only thought of it the day before. It's inspired by Alexander Doniphan, one of my favorite men of history. When I mentioned the name to Justin the morning of the delivery, he said he loved the name, and since it was the first name I really felt excited about, it became the name of choice. It's taken a few days to get used to it. We keep trying to call him other names like Dominick, Malcom, Dimitri, Gonagan (Sesame Street), TBD... just kidding. We've got it down pretty well now. Judge us if you like. Justin got it right in the baby blessing on Sunday (which was beautiful), so we're good. We just used the blessing outfit Granny made for Mason. We didn't bless him in the bonnet, I just thought it would be fun to take some pictures of him wearing it.
It was great having my family in town, they are missed. I can't wait to see yall again.
Mason is ever so slowly adjusting. He screams himself hoarse on a daily basis now, and we have a child psychology nurse coming over tomorrow to see what we can do to help him adjust without scarring him for life. He's been struggling with sleeping and eating, so I wanted to take action before he gets sick or something. He is making progress, though --yesterday Justin was taking Mason on a walk, and before they left, Mason came over on his own accord and kissed Donovan on the top of the head, and then said he wanted to kiss the "other side" and leaned over and kissed his cheek. All by himself. Baby steps.
Donovan is as perfect a baby as we could ever ask for. He eats well, sleeps well, and is calm in moments of chaos. God knew what a challenge we would have and gave us the perfect baby to go with the challenge. We are grateful for the miracle of this child in our lives.

Welcome, Donovan John!!!

2011-07-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

I'll post more details later, I just want to get some pictures up for those in the family who are not Facebookers. :) It's fascinating to me how much a baby's looks change in the first 24 hours of life. They literally get cuter by the minute.

A Better Swimming Video and a 38 Week Belly

2011-07-18T19:12:00.001-07:00

Here's another video of swim time with Mason and Justin. You can actually see his face in this one. :)

And here is probably the last pic I will take of this lovely belly. I've grown to 43" and I would guess this baby is about 8.5 lbs right now. He presses against my hip bone with his head while pressing his feet under a couple ribs on the opposite side of my body, so that would put him at about 19 or 20 inches if I'm guessing right. We'll see. Due date next week. Crazy fast.

Honor Guard 4th of July Performance

2011-07-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

I watched Justin perform for the first time on the 4th, and it went very well! Here's the video.

This last week, Justin had another performance in Minnesota at an Air Expo (he also performed at the Twins game on Friday), and he came home with this lovely souvenir-This is after healing for three days. Sometimes those blades spin a little too closely...

Come Swimming With Mason!

2011-06-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

We have a little ducky. He wants to be in the water, swimming by himself with no momma support. The word "swimming" is coming out of his mouth over and over almost the entire time he is in the water. He kind of reminds me of a little ducky, with total calm above the water, and his legs and feet going crazy underneath. I want to get him into swim lessons as soon as possible so he doesn't develop bad habits with the vest, but our base ones are delayed due to lack of teachers. Until then, he will be my little ducky.
I love swimming with Mason.
I'm kind of sad that these were filmed in the compact format on accident because you can't see the huge grin on his face, but we've got what we've got and that's what I'm giving you. We'll probably make another attempt for better video later on. Hope yall enjoy.

Almost 36 week belly

2011-06-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

What woman with a 37"x42"x38" figure wouldn't want to show it off on the internet? If you've got it, flaunt it!

Celebrating Daddy

2011-06-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of Father's Day. Justin's big celebration present was a new iPad2 to have for all his traveling. Mason picked out the card, and it was a Cars movie card, of course. He had a difficult time choosing between that one and a card with bulldozers on the front.
Mason could not have a better man for a daddy. I think he wants to be just like his Daddy, what do you think?

Latest Tricks

2011-06-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Isn't he delicious? This is at our base splash park. Mason really wasn't much of a fan, he didn't like the combination of screaming kids and water spraying in his face. Our visit only lasted about 15 minutes and I ended up soaked (I didn't mind, it was 104 degrees out that day). We'll try again in a week or two. Meanwhile, we're spending our summer days either floating in a pool (Big-bellied Momma's preference) or playing in the sand at the playground.
So here's a video update on cuteness. We tried to get him to sing at the end, but it didn't happen in front of the camera. He's singing to himself all the time when he plays and I LOVE IT! I'll catch him on film one of these days.

We're trying to figure out what he's doing with the thumbs up/wink the eye bit that he does. I can only think of the movie Tangled where the main character is looking at a place to paint. He does it at the perfect time- right when Momma is about to get upset for doing something he's not supposed to; he evades punishment because I can't stop laughing.

A Memorial-able Georgia Weekend

2011-06-07T00:47:00.000-07:00

Justin was super busy over Memorial Day Weekend with hanging out with President Obama and such, so Mason and I took a little drive down to Georgia! Stacy and Spencer were in town, so we had to go down and see them! Of course, I only took about ten pictures the whole trip, most of which are blurry, so I'll post the measly few that actually turned out, as well as several videos of the trip. It may be boring to some, but it's a good journal entry of the fun times of the weekend for me.

Mason had so much fun with his Aunts and Uncles! Stacy had several games he never seemed to tire of!
Video of Stacy Games (note the pregnant belly on Stacy- so excited that Mason will have TWO cousins and a baby brother by the end of the year!):

Pool Time! Mason actually requests this hat when we are swimming. He likes to pull it really low so that the sun never gets in his eyes. I can't say that I mind- could he be more adorable? I think not. I can't wait to float the summer away with this little man.

Mason was a bit nervous about the waterslide, but loved it! Thanks, Jessie, for taking him down since his preggo mommy couldn't do it!
video of the slide:

Can't get enough of Grandma. On the way home he asked to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We were somewhere in the middle of North Carolina heading north. It didn't take long to start missing his GA family. It was so great to see everyone! We love yall!

Our Nightly Routine of Laughter & 30 Week Belly

2011-05-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Justin is Mason's favorite person in the world, no doubts about that. Every night just before Mason hits the sack, Justin gets Mason almost crying from laughing so hard. I am the lucky one who gets to stand by and watch (while avoiding flailing arms, heads, etc.). We finally caught the moment on video to keep for the future. [Note Mason's big boy bed. This video was taken his second night of sleeping with free access to the world. He is doing great, there are no real adjustments. He sleeps maybe an hour less, but considering he's going from 11 hours to 10 hours, it's no big deal.]
And here is the 30 week belly. Picture taken today. I look about the same size as when pregnant with Mason. And that size is big.

Potty Training Success #1!

2011-05-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

I am going to celebrate the small steps with this process, maybe not always publicly, but since this is the first step, I thought I'd announce it.
Drum roll please....

Today Mason sat on the potty.

I know. So exciting. Until today, even the mention of a potty would send him running the opposite direction yelling "no! no! no!"
He set his terms clearly -- He would wear no clothing at all and I had to get out the bubbles to fill the air with soapy delight while he sat there.
Check and check.
I'm afraid there are no other "events" to report with this occurrence, but I let him flush the toilet afterward anyway.
One step closer to diaper freedom. . . at least until the next little one makes his poopy debut.

Late Easter Video

2011-05-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

Mason helped us dye Easter Eggs this year! I didn't plan on that happening, but it happened. Mason's hands ended up yellow for about a day, and my fingers were the colors of the rainbow for two. I would do it again.

Did we mention we're having a boy?

2011-04-29T05:27:00.000-07:00

This little foot is 5cm long as of last Wednesday. This is my favorite image, by far.

I just realized we never posted that Mason is having a little brother! I guess we've had a few adventures to distract us from this post. I've had two ulrasounds this last month, and here they are! My ultrasound tech likes to type comments on the prints. She's funny. My babies don't like to pose for the cameras the way the techs wish they would, and they just couldn't get images of things they wanted to see, like the connection of the umbilical cord to his body. But, I don't mind going in multiple times to see him. I love being able to watch him move around while I feel him at the same time.
These were taken 28 March 2011- (profile pics looking up for those who can't tell)

These were taken 27 April 2011- He got so big in just one month!

They said everything seems fine so far. There is a fifth toe on that first picture, you just can't see it in the image, lol. Don't worry. As far as size, I don't understand what they are telling me. They say that his is smack on the average line but that his due date is calculating as a week earlier that scheduled. So, whatever that means. Tall and skinny? Imagine that. I can't wait to meet him! What is his name going to be!?! I don't know!

Lessons by Mason

2011-04-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Mason went on his first Easter Egg Hunt yesterday! And he showed his momma how to celebrate Easter.

I was so proud of him. I couldn't stop smiling the whole day, just thinking about him sharing. This was a neighborhood activity and I think the parents were having as much fun as the kids putting eggs in their baskets. It was pretty funny. There were a gazillion little kids all over the place, I was barely looking at what I was recording and focusing more on not stepping on other little toes, so sorry for the poor camera work.

And here are some more Springtime moments of Masonry -
Mason loved his Easter Toys from Opa & Babi & Aunt Sarah.
Daddy took Mason out back to teach him how to ride his tricycle. We're still working on the whole pedaling thing.

Mason loves the slide. Note the bonk mark on the eye - he has at least one of those on any given day anymore. Today he has two or three bruises across his forehead and two scuffed knees.

Cashew Catastrophe

2011-04-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

I know it's cliché, but how fragile life is! We are so grateful to have our Mason with us today.

Here's the story:
(If you want a summary instead of this therapeutically detailed explanation, skip to the very end.)
Mason inhaled a cashew and it lodged in his lung on Wednesday. I did not realize this had happened, I just thought he swallowed wrong and was having a difficult time clearing his airway. A few minutes after it happened, he was fine. He took a nap, we played on the playground, he played and laughed as usual with his daddy, and he got a really great night's sleep. The next morning, I noticed that every once in a while he would wheeze. Just one wheeze every hour or so. I'd noticed it once or twice the night before, also. Since it was still happening, I called the doctor and set up an appointment that day (Thursday). I did a little research, and realized that it was very possible to inhale a foreign object into your lungs. I'd grown up thinking that you had a little flap on your pipes to prevent this from happening, but apparently it happens quite a bit to adults and children.
Luckily, I packed a diaper bag big enough to last the day if needed.
We went to the doctor at Andrews AFB at 12:30pm, and they noticed a significant decrease in airflow in Mason's left lung. He got an xray. I couldn't go in with him for the xray because I was pregnant. They realized Mason's left lung was taking air in, but the air was not getting out fast enough, so his lung was inflating.This was causing his heart and his trachea to shift to the right side of his chest.

The nurses put an IV in Mason's hand (they had to do it twice because the first nurse had no idea what she was doing. DO NOT USE MY SON AS A GUINEA PIG, YOU CRAZY PEOPLE! I kept my emotions in control in my own, pregnant way.)
We waited in the clinic for a few hours, and then they sent us to ER to wait for a child ambulance to take us to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Mason's oxygen levels were down, so we had to keep oxygen blowing by his nose and mouth to keep it at a good level. I must note: One miracle worker in this whole scenario was our portable DVD player which I'd packed as an experiment to see if Mason would tolerate the doctor's office if he was distracted. That DVD player was sitting on the xray table when he was having his picture taken. It worked like a charm. It seems Buzz and Woody can soothe any distress.
Justin joined us in the ER and made Mason oh so much happier. Did I mention that Mason hates being in the doctor's office? He would sob just from walking into the room.
We waited until almost 8pm for that ambulance.

Mason LOVED the ambulance! He loved riding in the "trucks" and they had a TV with cartoons set up in the back for him to watch on the 45-minute drive. He didn't make a peep; he was completely content. He loved riding on the stretchers, too. He thought he was driving. He still talks about riding in the truck, days later.
We got to Walter Reed sometime around 9pm, and they informed us around 10:30pm that the best medical team would not be in until the morning, so we should wait overnight until they arrived. Mason had not eaten anything since 1:00pm because they told us that his stomach would have to be empty for the procedure. Mason was starving. We gave him food, and he didn't stop eating from that point until 11:30pm when he went to sleep. I slept in Mason's room, and Justin found a couch in a lounge somewhere in the hospital to snuggle up on for a couple hours.
At this point, Mason was covered in little stickers with monitors attached, and he had cords hanging off his body under his shirt, one on his toe, and had his IV drip coming off his hand. Mason typically rolls over several times before he falls asleep, and this night was no different. I had to get up and unwrap him and reattach the monitors several times before he actually fell asleep. Luckily his IV was taped and wrapped so that it couldn't budge.
I woke up at about 4:30 am to Mason saying "off." He'd wiggled around and the monitors popped off again. I took him out of his crib, laid him in the bed with me, and the two of us had our heads on the pillow, playing hide and seek, pretending to sleep, but never getting around to it. I loved those minutes.
At 5:30am, Justin joined us in the room and read a book to Mason.
At 5:45am they sent us to the operating room waiting area. At this point, we had explained the situation to about two dozen doctors and nurses, each of them asking us about it as if they had no idea what was going on. Some really didn't know because they had just changed shifts and there is next to no communication happening in that hospital. I'd dealt with it just fine until the anesthesiologists came in around 7am to let us know Mason was the first procedure of the day, and they asked all the same questions I'd answered over and over and over as if they'd not even looked at the charts. That's when Momma started falling apart. Luckily, Justin was there to take over so I could just stay silent and Mason would not have to see me cry.
We waited some more with all the warnings that doctors are obligated to say about the risks of the procedure running through our minds, despite our best efforts to drive them out. As a distraction, I took pictures. It helped a little. I just couldn't keep the thought out that these could be our last pictures of Mason.They gave Mason some painkillers while we were holding him, and he turned into a newborn again, not able to hold his head up and looking at me through glazed eyes. The Anesthesiologist took him, Mason laid his head on his shoulder, and he carried him down the hall to the operating room. It was easier to see Mason go being held like that instead of being pushed down the hall in a bed.
We went to the waiting lounge and Momma broke down into Justin's shoulder (I am the luckiest woman on the planet to have him as my partner in this adventure called life). Justin went to go get us some food since we'd not eaten all day. About 30 minutes later, the doctor came back to tell me everything was done! It was so fast! Then he handed me a vile with six or seven little chunks of cashew inside. It was about a quarter of a whole cashew nut. Unbelievable.

They did a direct laryngobronchoscopy, which means they took a tube with a camera attached and placed it down Mason's throat into his lungs and pulled out all the pieces of nut. It was one big piece of a nut when they started, but it crumbled as it was removed.
Mason was still out when I got there, and when Justin showed up several minutes later with our breakfast. When Mason woke up, he was surprisingly calm. The nurse on duty gave him as many popsicles as he wanted, and he ended up eating six purple popsicles. If he had run out of oxygen, we wouldn't have been able to tell from the color of his lips. They were almost black. We were grateful that he was breathing normally, his teeth were not damaged and there didn't seem to be any sores in his mouth, which we were warned could happen.
They took another xray and sent us to our room around 9:30am.
And we waited.
We played, we napped, the DVD player went dead the night before so it was no good, so Justin found a TV/DVD player in the hall and snuck it into our room. I kept asking the new shift workers what was up, and they always acted like they'd forgotten we were even there.

Around 1:30 we had one more xray done.
At 3:00 I asked if anyone had looked at the xray, and that nurse tried to reattach monitors to Mason since he was post-op. I told her to not put anything on Mason until she spoke to someone who knew anything about what we'd already had done. She obviously didn't know, and all the monitor stickers had been removed, leaving raw skin underneath. I wasn't about to let someone put more on his baby skin.

At 3:30 they released us (without sticking anymore monitors on him...honestly...), into DC's rush hour traffic.
At 4:30 we arrived home.

Today, Mason is acting as if nothing ever happened. We have a follow up appt tomorrow morning.
I love this little boy.
Summary:
Mason inhaled a nut, was admitted to Walter Reed Hospital where we stayed overnight. The next morning the doctors put him under general anesthesia, put a tube with a camera down his throat, and pulled these out:I won't be buying cashews again for a long, long, time.

Two Years of Mason

2011-03-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

How blessed we are to have had this angel in our home for the last two years! We took these pictures this morning after his wellness check, so it's as close to two years as we could get without it being 5:12 a.m.
I wanted to make a note of who he is today for memory. I know it might be a bit dry for most to read; we just want it documented.

Age: 2 years
Weight: 31 lbs. (86th %ile)
Height: 38 in. (100th %ile) it's actually off the charts. lol.
Hair color: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Shoe size: 7.5
Diaper size: Pampers 5
Pants size: 2T
Shirt size: 3-4T

Development Skills:

Eats with a fork and spoon, but still makes a crazy funny mess.
Drinks from a "big boy cup" well, but prefers a sippy cup.
Walks up and down stairs by himself, insists on doing it alone lately.
Word vocab =?? He says everything we say in single word phrases. He uses occasional 2-3 word phrases like "I want that."
Pronounces "r" well. "S" has a lisp. "L" is "W" (Pweeeeese!). "Ch,""Sh," and "J" are still trapped somewhere in his nasal cavity. Pronounces all other sounds clearly.
Recognizes most of the alphabet, in no certain order. Letters he knows: A, B, C, D, F, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, X, Y
Recognizes body parts: Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, lips, chin, cheeks, eyebrows, eye lashes, neck, hair, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, knuckle, finger, nail, chest, belly, bottom, legs, ankle, feet, toes, toenails, and freckles.
Names he knows (written how he pronounces them): Maymon (himself), Daddy, Momma, Granma, Pampaw, Granny, Kris, Ohn, Weesa, Pete, Opa, Babi, Nick, Osh, Arah, Nikki, Meggers, Ack, Eus (The dogs Jack and Zeus), Mewissa, Dean, Atalie, Pencer, (Stace, we need to work on your name more, sorry)
Holds a pen correctly. Not sure how he learned that, we sure didn't teach him on purpose. He knows the difference between a pen, marker, pencil, and crayon, and prefers different writing utensils on different days.
Builds towers with blocks, but prefers to line things up in a row on the ground in a perfect line.
Knows the names of colors, but we aren't convinced that he knows the differences between them. He may just be guessing right sometimes. Colors he knows the names of: black, red, pink, purple, brown, yellow, blue, green, and sometimes orange.
Throws overhand and kicks a ball.
Likes to suck on his toothbrush to brush his teeth, but hates when I actually brush his teeth for him.
LOVES to clean. We got him a duster, and he uses it on everything. He also helps with sweeping and mopping. He is sometimes traumatized by a messy room. "Oh no! A messss!" (yippee! That definitely did not come from my blood.)
He loves to pretend to cook. Sometimes he uses my pots and spoons, but he creates a kitchen anywhere from his car seat to the bathtub.
Playground time: Likes slides and swings, but usually prefers the little game boards on the ground with twisty knobs and steering wheels.
Obsessed with trucks, cars, and buses, and can distinguish between all of them. I think I called all automobiles "cars" until well into adulthood.
Favorite foods: Spaghetti, fruit of all kinds, peas, corn, carrots, pancakes (when he cooks by imagination, he always makes "cake"), pork chops, plain cheerios, applesauce, ice cream, and yogurt.
Loves the bath, hates getting his hair washed.
He does not dress himself yet. He'll start to do it himself, but then just asks us to do it for him. I'm sure that stage is nearing an end soon.
Still in diapers, though he asks to sit on the potty sometimes, and will stand and pretend to go potty like daddy.
Sleeps 10-14 hours each night, with a 2-4 hour nap in the day.
Still in a crib, though we extended crib use due to lots of travel, but the crib is soon to convert to a toddler bed.
Favorite sleep toys: Scout, oversized football pillow.
Loves books. He does not recognize words, but he remembers the story and will help us tell it as we read. Favorite books: P.D. Eastman's Are You My Mother?, Al Perkins' Hand Hand Fingers Thumb.
Songs he likes to sing: "I'm a Child of God," "There Was a Little House in the Middle of the Woods," "Rocco and Roll" (from Sesame Street. Sings it all the time.), "The Wheels on the Bus." He likes other songs, but he just listens to those. These are the only ones he sings along with.
Favorite Movies: Cars, Toy Story, Robin Hood, Robots, The Incredibles
Favorite TV Shows: Sesame Street, Backyardigans, Word World, Clifford the Big Red Dog (Thank you PBS)
Favorite Toys: Cars, trains, sports balls, duster
Likes to play with older kids and adults, but gets nervous and fussy around babies and toddlers younger than he. Hopefully this will be overcome before the end of July.
Hates the doctors office. He starts to cry as soon as we walk in the room and does not stop until the doctor leaves.
Otherwise a very happy boy who smiles and laughs often. Very comfortable around strangers who do not remind him of doctors.
100% Daddy's Boy

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll get back on to add or change a thing or two.
Note how the cars are lined up in the picture below. I love my Mason.

SOS and Georgia

2011-03-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Justin was sent to Montgomery, AL for training last month, so Mason and I joined him! Well, we joined him on the drive down to the south and then we stopped at my parents' house in GA. I love being home. The weather was perfect, the people are wonderfully familiar, and the shopping is right around the corner. Mason is now bff with his Aunt Kristi (aka Kris) and Uncle John (aka Ohn) after playing with them everyday. Of course he loved living with Grandma and Grandpa and Granny. And it will take me weeks to unspoil this little boy with all the love and sweets and attention he received down there. I'm okay with that.
Here are some pics of what we did while we were down there:

Justin and I visited the Birmingham, AL temple with my mom and dad. We attempted to take a pic of ourselves. . .
We visited my dear friend, Merle Bean, who just turned 102 in February. I love this woman! She is still cracking jokes and playing the piano. There is one century and one month's age difference between Mason and Merle. I hit 20 weeks on my pregnancy, so we took a halfway pic. I think I'm wearing the same outfit as my halfway pic of Mason's pregnancy. . .
We took a trip to Yellow River Game Ranch. I used to go here all the time as a kid and LOVED it. I'm not sure it's as fun as an adult, but Mason seemed to like it! Justin braved feeding the animals and getting all slobbery and gross. I held the camera.
Mason found a little girlfriend (Becca Paige Bartlett).
We went swimming with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Pete, and cousin Zeus. The water was freezing, but Mason didn't seem to mind. I'm grateful that Lisa and Pete were willing to splash around that freezing water with Mason, because his mama was in shock with the cold temps.
We celebrated both Mason's and Justin's birthdays with friends. My granny helped make this Mater cake and it was so fun! Well, I must say it was long and maybe a bit stressful, too, but I had a blast working with my granny. I took pics of the process just to remind myself what a miracle fondant is and also what a cake master my granny is!
Here's the bday party. My Dad and Jessie took some better pics, but this is what we captured on our camera. We had a pinata and we pinned some tails on a donkey (not our neighbor's obnoxious donkey, just a plastic picture). It's so fun to see my friends' adorable kids growing up! !!
Uncle Nick came to visit! So glad he made the drive for such a short stay, but Mason loved playing with him! (The picture doesn't really reflect that, but he really did have fun with him.)
So now we are back in DC. The trip home was great, thanks to the help of our new portable DVD player (why did we take so long to buy one? Must be craziness). I got to listen to Mason's new 40 Years of Sunny Days Sesame Street DVD, and it was fun to remember all those old songs.
Now we are trying to unpack, restock our house, and clean away all the dust. Justin is taking the week off since we only got to see him on the weekends for most of the stay. Mason missed his daddy so much during the week, it was hard to watch. But the reunions were priceless! It was a long trip, but I'm so grateful we got to stay with family for so long.
LOVE YALL!

Hochstein Update

2011-02-17T11:46:00.001-08:00

I just realized I haven't talked much about what Justin and I have been up to lately. Justin is working 70+ hour weeks as the OFFICER OF THE YEAR in the USAF Honor Guard. His days vary in activity. One day he could be in the pentagon, the next in Arlington Cemetery doing either funerals or wreath-laying ceremonies, and the next day could be in his office. He's been doing all sorts of retirement and promotion ceremonies for the big-shot military folks in this area. He's briefed Generals like General Schwartz (the Chief of Staff/#1 guy in the AF) a couple times. He comes home with coins from most of these guys and gals. Coins are cool in the military, I guess. Personal souvenirs or something. He also gets to babysit adult men who don't know how to control themselves and get into trouble. It will all soon be changing as his assignment is changing to the Drill Team. More on that later. He begins when we get back from the south.
Justin is also the 2nd Councilor in the Bishopric at church, which doesn't take up as much time as we'd thought; it's a cool opportunity for him. When he's home, he's the DADDY OF THE YEAR, and the center of attention for our little Mason. Mason can't get enough of his daddy. I'm pretty sure Daddy feels the same way about Mason.

I have been working as the key spouse for the Honor Guard here, and it's been fun. Busy, but fun. I help the spouses of the Honor Guard members get to know each other, get involved in service and activities, and I'm a point of contact when they run into problems. There's about 120 spouses. In my first week, three girls had babies=15 dinners to arrange. Most of the spouses are in their 20s-30s, so there are many babies on their way.
Speaking of babies on the way, I am 17 weeks pregnant, and I honestly forget at least once a day that I'm pregnant at all. I feel great! I have a bump making my shirts a little snug around the belly, but I'm not into maternity clothes yet. I just heard the heartbeat again yesterday, and everything seems to be going fine!

We had a cold go around our family last week, and little Mason suffered the most. Poor boy was so tired, he would fall asleep anywhere. Justin got one picture of him sleeping in my lap- this never happens. I can count on my hand the number of times he's slept outside of his crib or carseat in the last year of his life. Three of them were last week. I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed snuggling my sleeping baby again. Mommy doesn't look so hot in this pic... we had a few long nights prior to this photo. We're all as healthy and happy as ever now!Here's a few pics at the playground. Note the big boy swing. Oh my.
Yay for warm weather!

We're so excited to see the folks in GA next week!! Woohoo!

A few moments of Mason

2011-01-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

This entry is for those who just want a little taste of Masonry.

We had some snow. A friend of mine called and said she was sledding with her 6-month old and invited us to join! Mason wasn't too happy when I was holding still, but he loved the sled! We didn't have any hills where we were, so I just ran and ran and ran. It was a fun morning!
And here is a snippet from dinner. He was being really adorable and I wanted to share. Once the camera came out we had to pry the cuteness out of him a bit, but Justin and I could watch this video a dozen times.

Announcing. . . .

2011-01-25T14:37:00.001-08:00

The next Baby Hochstein! !!
Due July 30.

I think he looks like his dad.
JK. I'm not sure why they printed out the measuring line, but that's what I have, so that's what I'll show.
I have to admit, it's been a pretty easy pregnancy thus far. Only a bit of exhaustion in the evenings. Mason has no idea. I'm debating buying him a baby doll to practice being gentle. Maybe I'll get one that cries so he can practice not crying with the baby...

POST SCRIPT: I just checked Mason's first ultra sounds from the same time (11 weeks), and the quality of Mason's civilian doctor's equipment and my current military/universal healthcare equipment is not quite equal.

White Christmas in Georgia

2011-01-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

I should have posted this in December, but I sure didn't think about it till yesterday. We spent Christmas in Georgia and they had a white Christmas! That never happens! Had I not just been in a blizzard in South Dakota and had snow all over in DC, I may have been really excited, but instead I just began to wonder if I had a little snow cloud following me around. We just realized we took very few pics while we were down there, but my dad took a bunch, so maybe I'll get some from him and do another post.
Santa was super nice to us this year! My dad gave me the coolest present! He made copies of all the home videos from just about my whole life! He always has his camera out, so there was a lot of footage. It was fun (and sometimes painful) to remember the good ol' times. Justin got to see me in all my glory back in those awkward years, meet some old boyfriends, etc.

My Uncle Jim works as Santa Clause sometimes and grows out his beard and has a killer suit! He makes a great Santa, in my opinion. We were lucky that he brought his Santa suit out to Georgia so Mason could sit on his lap! Mason didn't even cry this year!
Mason got his first haircut while he was down there. It was much-needed. I waited so long because I couldn't imagine cutting off his perfect curls!! It is still cute after Grandma cut it, even with his thrashing through the whole process. How does Grandma do it?! No tears from Momma. His curls are still there. Whew!
Mason is talking like crazy! He calls Grandpa "Pampa" and started calling Grandma "Ninny," but she wasn't a fan of that one. I thought it was hilarious! So Grandma worked really hard at getting him to say something else, and he now says something like "Mamaw." I liked Ninny.

We also had a nice game of tennis. Fun times! ! ! Mason even enjoyed the evening on the courts. I'll bet Federer didn't look this good at 21 months.

Thanks for the good times, Georgia folk! Can't wait to see yall again!
We drove back to DC on New Years Eve, so we weren't exactly in the mood to party all night. We woke up to fireworks, wished each other Happy New Year, and then passed out again. The year 2010 was fast-- full of challenges, transition, and happy adventure. We're excited to see what 2011 holds.

South Dakota Surprise!

2010-12-20T18:40:00.000-08:00

Two days after we returned from Georgia, we turned around and flew to South Dakota to surprise Justin's mom. It was very relaxing for Justin and I, but Mason spent every waking hour playing and vacuuming (His new favorite thing to do. He seriously vacuumed for hours!)We spent a little more time there than planned, due to a lovely blizzard. Justin's dad literally dug through a 3ft. wall of snow to allow us to drive to the airport. But that's what happens when you visit South Dakota in December! It was worth it!
Mason liked the rolly bag as much, if not more than the train!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!
Of course, Mason got cake.

Back in DC, enjoying a good book and a good drink (white grape juice).
Some "just because" flowers Justin bought me back in November. I just want them to be remembered. I loved them. What a perfect husband I have!

Thanksgiving +

2010-12-20T17:51:00.000-08:00

I just realized it's been a really long time since I've updated. I plugged in my camera to the computer and we've taken 232 pics since I've posted last. Are you ready to see them?
Just kidding. Here's a few from the trip to GA for Thanksgiving, plus other miscellaneous pics from November.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! ! ! ! Family, Food, and Football! ! ! ! There is no commercialization. Just basic and perfect happiness with thousands of calories added on top.

For those who did not play in this turkey bowl, just skip to the bottom because it may be boring. But I could look at these pics a hundred times and smile every time. It was a perfect turkey bowl, ending with Justin catching the winning touchdown.

Dad will always be the best turkey bowl quarterback of all time.

Justin scored the winning touchdown! This wasn't the catch, I only got it on video. But he won the game! Woot woot!
Mason giving the play.

Yummy Thanksgiving Feast! ! ! ! !!

Does life get any happier than this?
And we had a few accidents in the days back in DC after the trip... but he smiled through it!

Dinner with my old roomie, Jamie McCarey Fairbanks

Hide and Seek

2010-11-18T10:40:00.000-08:00

I've been collecting pictures on my phone for the past few weeks of Mason's favorite hiding places. He seems to always hide when my phone is nowhere around, so even though some are dark and blurry, they were the best I could get, so I kept them. As soon as I start saying anything like, "Okay, let's go..." or "come here and let's ..." it's an immediate trigger for him to run and hide. I'm just glad he's not out of the "if-I-can't-see-you-you-can't-see-me" stage so I can still find him.

And just because he's cute, here's a few at the playground.

Fall Pictures

2010-11-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures taken by Tim Riddick. He needed a small family for his portfolio, so I volunteered us! I think they turned out great! You can hardly tell that Mason was crying the whole time because he just wanted to push his stroller and nothing else. You can see in some of the pictures the piece of dried mango I was picking at and sneaking to Mason in between shots. It worked at keeping the cry face off! Not sure why the photographer included a picture of a random dog in our final pictures. The dog made mason smile for a second, maybe he wanted us to remember that or something.
Here's the link to the blog. We have copies of all the hi-res if yall want a copy. We will probably use at least one of these for Christmas cards, so we're spoiling the surprise a little.

Tim Riddick Photography

Halloween 2010!

2010-10-31T19:43:00.001-07:00

We had Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat in our house for Halloween. I just threw on an old pirate costume, so I wasn't part of the group this year. Mason had fun at our Halloween activity- he couldn't care less about the candy. He just wanted to play in the leaves! Justin led the parade -- he was the easiest one to see in the whole group. Mason loved being a monkey, he kept laughing at himself in the mirror. I carved a pumpkin, but it failed. I don't even have a picture of it because we couldn't find our tea lights. I'm not sad. I tried to do Gizmo, but I lacked the patience and tools to make him recognizable in my already rotting pumpkin I bought at the commissary. Justin has been working too late to do a pumpkin this year, but next year we will be ready because Mason may actually realize what's going on! Happy Halloween!

Justin's Job

2010-10-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from recent assignments at Arlington Cemetery for Justin. He commanded in a joint wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where the Minister of Defense for Columbia laid the wreath. Mason came with me and texted blank messages to my friends while keeping fairly quiet. When the gun salute began, he yelled "boom!," and everybody laughed. So much for being solemn and respectful. Justin is the commander on the far right. (The best looking one)

The rest of the pictures are of a full-honors funeral ceremony. Mason and I were pretty far away, trying to take pictures with our little zoom. The tree was breathtaking. Justin was even more impressive.

Boy Noise

2010-10-31T12:09:00.001-07:00

Wicked New York!

2010-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Justin gave me the most amazing birthday present ~ Tickets to Wicked on Broadway! ! ! ! He also bought me a divine Cheescake Factory cheesecake, which our entire family enjoyed.
I've been trying to see Wicked for years and years, and my past attempts always fell through. Then my knight in shining armor came into my life and made it happen. It was a perfect trip with a perfect man.
Some friends from church came over and stayed with Mason all day, THANK YOU!!! He was great without us, as long as he has his food, toys, and someone to laugh with, he's good!
We took a shuttle flight to LGA and had a few hours to see some sights. We grabbed some pizza at a place called Bravo Pizza near the public library (which was under construction, so we didn't get a good look at that way cool building), and the pizza was amazing! How do they make the crust so delectable?! Justin was still hungry, so he picked up a hot dog (ick) from a street vendor, and we hung out at the Rockefeller Center until we needed to go to Gershwin Theatre. I love the city! The people were actually really really nice! I'd always heard otherwise, but we had a great experience with everyone we talked with. The weather was ideal. All our transportation ran on time without a glitch. We even hopped on an earlier flight to give us a little more sightseeing time.
We watched the matinee of Wicked, which was everything and more than I'd hoped. Justin even loved it. We both had tears in our eyes at intermission.
After the show we headed over to JFK airport and came home! A long but thoroughly satisfying adventure! Happy Birthday to me! We are so excited to go back for a longer stay. Anyone want to join us?

Hunting and Love

2010-10-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

Here's some other photos of recent activity~

Mason started prowling around the house after Justin this week, and he makes the funniest face when he does it. He also says "I love you" in sign language. It just looks more like the "west side" sign, but we know what he means.

Off to the Ball with Captain Charming

2010-09-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Air Force! We went to our first ball together. This ball, however, had no dancing (sadly, I was kind of excited for that part.). We did eat some decent food with some delightful people, but the best part was the guest speaker.
Colonel Charles E. McGee is an original Tuskegee Airman, he's got the record for most combat missions ever, and I bet he's seen the best and the worst that this world has to offer. He was so funny, too. Age 91 years, a ton of medals, and so so friendly. He has a bio out that I want to read.
I loved being on the arm of Captain Hochstein. Can't get enough of a man in uniform. :) What a great night.

**updated**We were emailed a few more pics from a couple at the table with us.

Stacy's Mason Pictures from Utah! ! ! ! Thank you Stacy!

2010-09-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to her blog. I hope yall enjoy these as much as we did. Again, Stacy, thank you so much. It was so great to see everyone that week!

The Cuteness that is Mason

I hate to brag, but we've got a cute baby. He's playing with a little penny in the pics where he has something little in his hand.

Feeding Time

2010-09-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here's just a couple moments that made me smile lately. Mason is teaching himself how to eat, and he's great with a fork! He can even feed others. The spoon, however, has presented a greater challenge. The river of yogurt coursing down Mason's chin is due to his love of flipping the spoon over just as it approaches his mostly-open mouth. He was in a great mood and was more than willing to show off his pearly whites (which are his momma's gapped-tooth set, sad for him). The funny face was his response to me bringing out the camera. I think he is trying to look through the lens in the front. Aunt Stacy taught him how to use a camera a few weeks ago during the wedding reception.

He Climbs

2010-09-08T14:39:00.001-07:00

Potty Training Attempt #1

2010-09-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

It all happened so fast!
Mason points to let me know he's going potty and makes his usual face, so I brought him to the bathroom and set him on the toilet. He didn't know what was happening and looked at me like I was crazy. The next few moments were a blur, resulting in mess smeared down my toilet, on our bathroom rug, on Mason's foot, and tracked across the bathroom floor.
Next attempt commences as soon as we forget the first.

Dean & Natalie's Wedding Trip

2010-09-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

I didn't take nearly enough photos on this trip. We stayed with my cousin Heather and her kids and I didn't take even one picture of them with Mason. So sad about that. But Mason had a blast at their house. Tons of toys, a great backyard, a great dog, and Mason even learned how to play with other kids.
I also didn't take any pictures of how adorable Mason was for the wedding. Hopefully I will get some photos to add from other people with cameras at the wedding. Here are the few pics I did take on the trip...

It was so great to see everybody! There are so many things I am going to miss out there! We're so grateful for the friends and family who have blessed our lives! ! !

Just to get yall excited

2010-08-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

For those we'll be seeing this week, here is a preview.
For those we don't get to see this week, here is a photo update on the little man.

Chef Mason

2010-08-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Just an everyday, priceless moment caught on tape. It seems we always record him in his PJs. We need to get more with him in his cuter clothes...

He learned this from his mom.
Except the whole licking the spoon part.
He learned that from his dad.

First weeks in DC

2010-07-14T09:59:00.001-07:00

Now we are moved in and trying to make this place feel like home. Mason seems to have made the adjustment well, thankfully. He could have been distracted by the nine teeth he cut in the last four weeks. Orajel has been our friend.
Here are a few memories in pictures. Mason went to the pool for the first time in his short memory. He was so excited when he first saw it, but the thrill was gone once he got wet. He eventually warmed up to the idea of pool time by the end of that half-hour adventure. We need to go more often so mom and dad can fix their tanlines! eek!
He also has found a new toy- the swiffer. Mom is happy.
We checked out the zoo, but most of the animals were sleeping by the time we got there.
Mason also tried watermelon for the first time that he can remember and loves it!
I still haven't cut his hair. I just can't bring myself to do it! ! !

Homeless in DC

2010-07-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

We made it to DC just in time to celebrate Memorial Day! But, we didn't have a home for 10 days. A Marriott next to the baseball stadium served as our home for that time, and we had fun! It was only about a mile away from the National Mall, so we took a few trips down there to check out our new city. We found some yummy restaurants on 8th Street that we plan on visiting often.
We were sad to see Sarah go. She taught Mason how to dance. I still haven't been able to capture his moonwalk on video.

Here's a little laughing video of us breaking in the new house.

Pit Stop in Chicago

2010-07-14T09:21:00.001-07:00

Sarah was so awesome and helped us drive across this very big country. We tried to have some fun times along the way. One of the stops was in Chicago, where we did some sight seeing. We stayed in a nice hotel right in the thick of downtown, so we could walk everywhere. Mason didn't even seem a little nervous about being 103 stories in the air and standing in a glass box. I don't remember what the big chrome jelly bean was for. It was fun for pictures, though.

Pit Stop in SoDak

2010-07-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

We took a very long break from driving in Yankton with the Hochsteins. It was perfect. We even had a surprise visit from Uncle Nick! The whole family was together! Mason loves the "toys" that he found at Opa and Bubi's house.
We also discovered he has quite the passion for basketball. We passed some boys playing in their driveway and he threw a fit until we walked over there for him to watch and try to dribble the ball.
We even got to celebrate our two year anniversary, thanks to Sarah! It's the first time we've celebrated since we've gotten married due to moving. Both times our moving date was our anniversary. It's been my favorite two years.

Catch Up... Utah before the move

2010-07-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

I know it's been forever. We've had some adventures with this move, including having no internet for over a month. I must say there were pros as well as cons in the absence of connectivity.
Anyway.
Here are some cute pics we took in our last days of Utah.

Cliff Diving, Skiing, Soccer, & more...

2010-05-14T16:56:00.001-07:00

We haven't updated our blog in a while so here's what we've been up to.

My mom and sister came to visit us a few weeks ago. We went to The Mayan Restaurant. It came highly recommended by Brooke, and was a lot of fun. We got to watch cliff divers while we ate. One of them almost fell off the cliff when they turned on the waterfall while she was climbing the cliff. It was pretty intense.

We all took a trip up to Park City to visit the Winter Olympic Park. My mom and sister got to hit the slopes... they have matching ski outfits. Sarah and I got to practice the bobsled...

and Mason got to try out the luge...

A couple weeks after my mom and sister left, Brooke, Mason and I all went to a Real Salt Lake soccer game on Mother's Day weekend. Salt Lake beat Philadelphia 3-0. Mason would get scared every time the crowd cheered, but Brooke and I were there to tell him everything was okay. The weather was fantastic, and we all had a great time.

Now we're busy packing up our house for our move to Washington DC. We'll be living out of suitcases for a little while, but we've got some fun things planned for the trip. The next time we blog we should have a lot of pictures to show and stories to tell. Stay tuned...

The Birthdays Begin!

2010-03-31T19:33:00.001-07:00

You are officially invited to Mason's Birthday party. Stay as long as you like, there is plenty of video for all. This made me really homesick, but I am very grateful that our little family was together! Mason may have snorted a little too much frosting, he's still sniffing and squealing with delight. Justin and I lost our appetite for cupcakes after watching the little one devour his. Mason LOVES his toys. Even the cards! Thanks everyone for the gifts! Birthday #1 was a happy, messy success. . .

Laughing, Screaming, Spitting, and Teeth

2010-03-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

Another night of peek-a-boo with dad. If yall are tired of hearing this little boy crack up, then I guess skip this one. He really gets going around a minute or so. His new favorite laugh is screaming at the top of his lungs. I tried to get some close-ups of the new teeth. There's one on the bottom and two making their way through today on the top.

A Nose is a Nose

2010-03-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the broken, healing, and healed nose. When you look at the broken pics, realize my face is straight-on with the camera, so any angle of the nose is from the break. I took all these pics with my phone, so the resolution isn't fantastic, but that was on purpose. I didn't wear makeup for the entire week, and these are closeups. For those of you who will die of embarrassment for me for publishing these pics, I'm sorry. I want to remember what I looked like while I was healing. Now, this injury is nothing compared to Pete's. . . man. . . I'm cringing just thinking about what pain he is going through. I hope the pain meds work great!

So here they are: the break, the surgery outfit, the icepack glove, all the different wrappings, and the final product~!

Still not straight, but a whole lot straighter than the first pic, right?~! Some of the swelling will still go down, but this is HOPEFULLY what my nose will look like for the rest of my life.
Thank you thank you thank you Justin for being Mr. Mom and wifeband for the week. Mason is attached to his daddy now more than ever!

Toddling and Roaring

2010-03-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'll be adding more videos to this post. This one is the most recent. He's gotten so much better at keeping his balance! We're so proud.

Here's an earlier attempt to walking. Note the attractive nosewear adorning mamma's face...I'll be posting more on that another day.

Here is Mason reading his animal book ~ if you listen close you can hear him roar like the lion.

We are also sad to say that Justin's grandpa John passed away this week. We're sad Mason did not get to know him in this life. We will miss him.

Snowy Day

2010-03-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

On Friday (March 5th) I had the day off. The organization where I work had planned a ski day for everyone at Snowbasin Ski Resort. You could either take the day off without being charged leave and go skiing, or go to work. Seemed like an easy choice to me! Brooke was supposed to go with me, but since she broke her nose playing basketball she wasn't able to go.

It had snowed the night before, and was still snowing when I woke up so I decided to take a few pictures before I left the house to hit the slopes. I'm glad I did, because by the time I got home that afternoon everything had melted.

I couldn't possibly post a blog without a couple pictures of Mason... so here you go everyone. He surprises us every day with something new. This past week he's taken a few steps on his own, and he had his first tooth pop through.

Giggles and Tricks

2010-03-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

Just some videos of the latest Mason. The first two are the same late-night giggle session. The third video is a demonstration of Mason's latest tricks.

Homemade Sports Pillows

2010-02-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

My mom & I made these pillows last summer sometime, and I never took any pictures of them. So I had Mason pose with them. He actually rearranged the pillows and struck this pose on his own. I love our son. And he likes these pillows, he's always wrestling with the football and trying to eat the basketball.

Roaming Gnome and Other Stuff

2010-02-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Our friend Jason is visiting this weekend, and while we were in SLC, Travelocity's Gnome took a few seconds for a quick pic. He was a really nice guy. Everything I ever imagined.
Of course, we are including some everyday photos of Mason.
Jason and Justin went skiing a few times, too. Once at Deer Valley and once at Powder Mountain. I guess in a race Justin even beat Jason! Woot woot!

Here is Mason's latest trick. This was recorded on Feb 1st. He is really 10 months old! So hard to believe~!

Dutch Painting

2010-01-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

For all those who may have a love for The Netherlands, we are selling prints of this painting. My mom painted it as my Christmas present, and I can't even tell you how much I love having it in my home. If any of yall are interested in a print, let me know and we'll talk pricing. It's an 18"x24" oil painting.

Green Beans

2010-01-25T11:38:00.001-08:00

I couldn't resist. I know I just posted yesterday, but I had to share this moment with everyone. I rarely give Mason the store-bought baby food, I usually just grind up what we eat, and he is not fond of green beans in the jar. I decided to see if he liked them yet, so I mixed them with some noodles. He put up little defense and ate as much as I gave him, the little trooper, but he didn't hide his feelings about how it tasted. I love my son!

January Joys

2010-01-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

Here's some pics of our life the last couple weeks. Mason got some new toys because his mom was getting tired of his old ones. I can only take those electronic voices for so long, you know? He loves them! He still hasn't figured out how to push himself on his car, but I'm sure it won't take too much longer. He's eating a lot by himself, we have a pic where Justin had fun with the banana stickers. Justin and I will end our day sometimes playing cards, and Mason will join right in! As long as he has all the jokers and extra cards to play with, he lets us play for quite a while. I usually win. :) We've also met up with some of Justin's friends ~ Shannon House and Cory Guenther. Fun times! We're grateful for the safety and health we are enjoying now, and we really really miss our families!

Park City

2010-01-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

We just had Megan and Lee Bartlett in our home for almost a week, and it was so much fun! We took a trip up to Park City with them, did a little fake skiing, a little fake torch lighting, and learned all about the Winter Olympics. We actually did get to see some of the people competing for spots on the Olympic team. It was pretty cool. Afterward, we made our annual trip to Ruth's Chris and filled our bellies with happiness.
The rest of these are just the day-to-day of Mason, for those who wish they could see him more often.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-01T10:24:00.001-08:00

Mason's first Christmas was awesome. We had to pretend Christmas was a day early, but he didn't know any different! Mason met Uncle John for the first time, and I think they got along quite well. John's nickname for Mason is "Choco." I guess that's what they call little white boys with "clear" eyes down in the really really South. It was so great to finally have the whole family together on Christmas. It's been a long time. Mason loved his gifts ~ he mostly loved the packaging. He wasn't a big fan of Santa at first, I guess the guy looks scary when it's the first thing you see waking up from a nap, but Mason warmed up to him. Justin finally made it to his first NBA game. He saw the Hawks play the Jazz. He's been living in Utah for almost 4 years, and he had to go all the way to Georgia to see the Jazz play. The Hawks creamed them.
We wish we could have been with Justin's family too! We missed them so much!

Now we're back in Utah. Mason had his 9 month check-up and his stats are:
Length ~ 29.3 inches 85%ile
Weight ~ 20 lbs 45%ile
BMI ~ 16.38 kg/m2 25%ile (woot woot)
Head Circ ~ 18.3 inches 75%ile

He's perfectly healthy besides a little runny nose. Yay!

Here are some pics from the week:

Happy New Year everybody! We are grateful for all the adventures and blessings we were given in 2009, and we look forward to even more to come. Love yall!

laughs and giggles

2009-12-14T08:33:00.000-08:00

I know. . . lots of videos. . .but we are first-time parents, people. We get excited about everything. I took two videos of this adorable scene, the second one you view here. But these videos are all about the listening and not the seeing. These moments are my happiest moments when I know my life is blessed.

Who knew a guy with a walker could be so dang cute?

2009-12-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

Mason has become quite good at roamin our house nowadays. . .

We took another video if you are just hungry to see anything of Mason doing the same thing. It could be a little overkill for those who got their fill on this first one.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving has to be one of the best holidays... you've got family and friends (wish we could have had more family this year), lots of food, and football... what more could a person ask for?

More importantly though, it's a time to reflect on what you're thankful for. I'm thankful for the best wife a guy could ask for who prepared an amazing thanksgiving feast for three families. I would never have guessed that this was Brooke's first time preparing a turkey. She did a fantastic job, and got lots of compliments when meal time came.

Mason was happy because he got an early Christmas present in the mail from Bubi (Grandma) and Opa Hochstein. He gets really excited when he hears the jingle bell on the dogs tail.

Another reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving is for having a healthy, happy, beautiful child who learned to crawl on Thanksgiving Day.

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was as blessed as ours!

Future Pavarotti

2009-11-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

The best part of the show starts at 1:00.

Who says white boys can't jump

2009-11-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

I accidentally taped this on the compact setting. Yall can still get the picture.

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-04T09:36:00.001-08:00

No one can ever say I don't know how to make a hot dog again.

Mason wanted to play in the pumpkin guts. So we let him.
I think we had more fun than he did.

Sunday morning at temple square with Grandpa Cheesman.

Monday morning at the AF Museum with Grandpa Cheesman.
I loved how excited Dad was with all these planes.

Saturdays at the Hochstein Home

2009-10-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

I just wanted yall to witness the father-son football bonding time. It is adorable. Too bad both Nebraska and BYU lost this week. . .

More Mason Pics

2009-10-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

I accidentally posted this to my cooking blog first. . . too many blogs for a scatterbrain. . .

Needing a high chair. . .

New toys! Our boy loves his trucks! He cried when I tried to pick him up.

New High Chair! He looks so small in it!

We take reading time seriously in our house.

Power to the People

Pearl Jam in Salt Lake

2009-09-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, when I heard Pearl Jam had added several shows to their tour I got excited, but when I heard they'd be coming to Salt Lake I was jumping for joy. I've been a huge fan since the early 90's when they first made it big, and I've been a member of their fan club almost as long. Now some of you may be laughing, but when they go on tour the fan club definitely hooks its members up with good tickets. Brooke and I had seats in the fourth row, and since this was Brooke’s first time seeing them I was pretty excited about that.

Ben Harper opened the show, and did a great job. Pearl Jam ended up playing some stuff with him once they took the stage.

One of the coolest parts of the show was when Eddie Vedder called a couple up on stage. He explained that the guy had written a very special letter to the band, which was why Eddie called them up. Eddie ended up giving the guy the microphone, and he proposed to his fiancé. After that, Eddie gave them a couple of chairs on stage and played the song “Just Breathe” for them.

We had a great time… can’t wait to see them again next time they go on tour.

Georgia Rain

2009-09-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

We went down to Georgia last week and it rained and rained and rained and rained. Then the sun came out the day we left. Due to the rain, we spent a lot of time indoors with Mason and the family. Mason can sit up now by himself, although we still don't leave his side without him being surrounded by pillows. Now he can really play with his toys, it's awesome! One of my favorite things that Mason started doing while we were in South Dakota last month is suck on his toes. I don't know why, but I find it absolutely adorable. I finally got a pic of it. We made a shirt for John's birthday since he's all the way out in Bolivia and hasn't met his nephew yet.
Justin and I went on a date with Lisa and Pete to Medieval Times, and it was cool. I want to take Mason when he's older; the kids in the audience were the best part of the show.
I had my 10 year HS reunion, and I LOVED catching up with my friends from way back when, especially my basketball girls.
We had a little get together at my parents' house so I could catch up with a few friends, and one of my very favorite people came - her name is Mearle Bean and she turned 100 years old at the beginning of this year. She played piano for us during the evening. Mason partied himself out.
We miss Georgia. Can't wait to come back for Christmas!

Riverboat Days!!

2009-08-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

We all went to Yankton, SD to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hochstein from the 18th - 26th of August. It was a great time of year to go back... the weather was perfect, and Aunt Sarah and Uncles' Josh and Nick were all home. We were able to spend some time at Riverboat Days, which is a local festival Yankton has every year as summer draws to a close. We got to watch the River Boat Day's parade. We took a road trip to Wagner, SD so Mason could meet his Great Grandpa Podzimek. We also went out for pizza at Charlie's Pizza House, which has the best pizza ever! If your travels ever take you through Yankton, make sure you stop by... you won't be disappointed.

Since Mason had plenty of attention from Grandma and Grandpa and his aunt and uncles, Brooke and I had plenty of time to go on a few dates, play tennis, and go on bike rides. On our way back to Utah we stopped by Winters Quarters in Omaha, NE which is near the Omaha temple. We wish we could have spent more time there, but I'm sure we'll get to visit again someday. It was a great trip with a lot of great memories.

Feeding and Bathing Time

2009-08-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

***Mason rolled over today for the first time!***

Uncle Dean and Natalie fed Mason his first serving of rice cereal. He didn't like that the spoon had to come out of his mouth to reload. . .

Bathtime will never be the same again. I can no longer bathe him while wearing and outfit I would like to keep on the rest of the day.