Goodbye Whale, Hello Tugboat

For the first 7 months of his life Mason too his nightly bath in an adorable little whale tub.






But as you can see he was quicly outgrowing it. Mason was also extremely interested in climbing out of his whale and into the big tub.

So it was time to retire the little whale, and move up the the big boy bath seat.



And with that bath seat and big tub came all new tub toys, including a tugboat!






It has quickly become our favorite toy, well we still like the rubber ducky but Mom says it isn't a chew toy.

We lost

We lost...the 28 days of blogging challenge that is. But we think we have a good reason. Mason seems to be teething, and it seems to be giving him a lot of trouble, plus on top of that he had to get a 2 shots today, poor little guy. He took them like a trooper though.

But don't worry, just because we lost does not mean we are giving up! We plan to finish the month out with a post each day.

Has it really been 8 months?

Mason is 8 months old today!

Fantastic Fruits

Ooooo strawberry. Mason loves strawberries.


This mango is like Christmas in February, especially since he is wearing his Christmas jammies.

Why am I so naughty

Bumper is taking the night off and is letting me, Hercules, handle this blog.

For those of you who know me well know that I really am a good boy. I am sweet and loving and I love to cuddle. I just have one problem, I am too smart for my own good. Even as a puppy I would let myself out of my crate when Mom and Dad left, even when latched with a caribeener. I have eaten shoes, booked and a grand total of 6 cell phone chargers.

I don't know what comes over me, but it is as if I am incapable of making good decisions. I just get excited and act without thinking. I make a bad choice, get in trouble and turn around and do it again.

Today was no exception. I barked and woke Mason up from his nap, I ate all his food off this tray while Mom had her back turned and then I jumped on the counter and knocked the leftovers on the floor and ate them.

Every time this happens I feel just aweful afterwards. I have just looked pitiful all night. If only I knew how to make better choices.

Mason and the Deep Blue Sea

A few weeks ago Mason and Mom took a trip into Chicago with some friends from their Mom's group, Crunchy Moms of Dekalb. Shedd Aquarium was having free community days and some the Mommas bundled up their babies and headed to the aquarium for some underwater fun.



They even have a play zone including a touch and learn tide pool. Mason lived rolling up his sleeves and exploring the coral.


It was a great day with friends, learning all about our underwater friends.

My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to all! We had a great day at home with our little valentine.



We are pretty sure he loves us as much as we love him. He spent most of the day smiling and giggling everytime he saw us. So of course we pranced around and played fetch showing off for Mason.


His newest trick is snorting, which he is doing in the picture above. He does it when he is happy, when something is funny, even just because. Mason learned how to snort the other day and now there is no stopping him.

Newest Cloth Diaper Love

Before Mason was born we decided that cloth diapers were the way to go. Right now we have a respectable collection, and a little bit of everything. We really like to try different brands and types and not be stuck using the same type over and over.

We have recently gotten into using woolies, which for those of you who do not cloth diaper are basically wool covers. They come in long and short.



Right now we are a bit partial to the longies.


We have known about them for awhile now but since we did not know much about how to use them, we stayed away. But not anymore, now we just can't get enough of them. They are the perfect thing to put on Mason on cold winter days. Once they are prepped, they do not need to be washed more than once every week or two. Plus, look at how cute they are.

Asparagus: Friend or Foe?

Not sure what to think about this new veggie.

Friday's Food for Thought

Over the past few months we have really been making an effort to eat healthier, and include more vegetarian and vegan meals.  Having a 7 month old who is jumping head first into solid foods is a great motivation and with childhood obesity rates being what they are in this country, Mason will not fall into that category come hell or high water.

There is one thing that I noticed in our path to vegetarianism is that American food is sorely underrepresented.  All other ethnicities have numerous wonderful vegetarian and vegan recipes.  It really got me thinking.  Other cultures embrace vegetarian food as a part of their cuisine, many still eat meat, and eat it regularly, but they embrace the healthy fruits, vegetables, grains, and so on that make up a meatless diet.  A bit hunk of meat, potato and dinner roll are necessary to make a meal complete.

That being said, if it is one thing that Americans have down, it is junk food.  Just check out a state fair and you will find just about anything fried on a stick.  My newest discovery is actually the Texas Cheese Fries from Chilli's.  They were artery clogging, cholesterol raising, finger licking good.  They arrived at our table and they almost seemed to put us into some store of drug (or fat) induces stupor.  This is not a treat I recommend having often but I do recommend trying it.  If you do, then share with a friend, arteries will thank you.

Playing Dress Up

I am a little embarrased at how much I like playing dress up.

Come home Mom!

We had a day of fun and had our fill. Now we are ready for Mommy and Mason to come home.






Could we look any more pitiful?

Mom is gone, time to party!

This week Mom and Mason took off and headed down to Grandma and Grandpa's house. That means we get some quality time with Dad! But they did send us a picture.







And since Mom is gone, you know what that means, we get to run wild around the house all day. There will be endless barking at nothing, wrestling, jumping on the couch. The fun we will have is endless. Poor Dad, he may have his hands full.

We are a football house

Today is Superbowl Sunday and of course we are all watching, even Mason, who is already a fan.

During the regular season we are Lions fan, unfortunately we never get the pleasure of rooting for them in the post season.



Today we were rooting for the Packers and they did not dissapoint. Mason was prepared to watch the whole game (but bedtime got in his way) and even dressed up for the game.

Pictures Pictures Pictures, Mason's 6 Month Pictures

We decided that for Mason's half birthday, we would have some professional pictures taken, and we knew exactly who to call...our friend Myranda with Forester Fotography.  She did a wonderful job, and Mason just adored her, and the result is these beautiful pictures.

We had the pictures taken at Grandma and Grandpa's in Germantown Hills, Myranda came to the house so it was a very relaxed and personal session.  We will definitely be using Forester Fotography again in the future.

For more information on Forester Fotography, check out her blog:
http://foresterfotography.wordpress.com/

Our First Christmas with Mason

Time for another flashback, this time it is our first Christmas with Mason.  We all loaded up the car and headed up to Michigan to spend the holidays with our Nana, Papa, Aunt and cousins.  It was a blast, and as you can see, pictures speak louder than words.  Oh and if you are wondering why we are not in any of the pictures, it is because we spent the holidays lounging and sleeping on our brand new beds with our treat stuffed bones.

 Santa Baby

 1st present on Christmas morning

 Santa left him a gift under the tree

 Cousin Nicole, I think she may be his favorite

All the loot, Thank you everyone!

Couch to 5K

Let's switch things up a bit today and jump to the present (I promise we will have a few more flashbacks coming later this month).  Last week we started running again, more specifically, we started the Couch to 5K program and have just completed Week 2 Day 2.  Actually to be honest, Mom is the only one doing it, but we are there to cheer her on, and maybe when the weather warms up we will join her.  So far it is not really so bad, especially after taking a hiatus from running to have baby Mason.  We hope to take Mason out for a run in our jogging stroller once the weather warms up.  So wish us luck on our training and we will keep you posted on our progress.

Mason's First Plane Trip

This first was only for Mason, but we thought it worth sharing.  We had to stay home and hold down the fort.

Just before Thanksgiving, Mason packed his suitcase and boarded a plane leaving the cold Illinois weather and headed for Texas...I know what you are thinking, and no he was not alone.  He went down there with Mommy and his G.  We have a Great Grandma, Great Aunt, Uncle and cousins that live down there and of course they wanted to meet the little guy.  He was such a great traveler on the plane, he even slept the whole way.  On the way back they even hit some weather and were delayed over 2 hours, and he still held it together!  His Great Grandma had a blast showing him off to all of her friends, pictures are cute but they don't really do him justice.  Mason had a great time meeting his family and spending time with them, and he can't wait to get down there again! 

 

G, Mommy and Mason on the plane

 Great Grandma!

Uncle Bryan, a child at heart

Enjoying the weather with Great Grandma and Aunt Lisa

28 Days Day 1: The First Snow

Ok ok, we are a little slow on the challenge. But give us a break, this blog was almost ready we just needed to publish!

This winter has included a lot of firsts for our little brother. Back in early December we got our first bit snowfall, and everyone bundled up to go outside and play, Mason included. He put on his hat, mittens and snow boots and played in the snow for the first time. He LOVED it! We did not really know what he would think, Mom figured he would be cold and want to go inside, but he loved just sitting in the snow and watching it fall around him. He even tried grabbing a snowball and bringing it inside!




Of course none of us lasted long in the snow. We ate our fill of snow and ice then we all came in to warm up by the fire.