Dollywood with Donna

We made a last-minute trip to Dollywood with Donna the week before we all had to go back to school. This was M's first visit to Dollywood, and he was quite happy with the spread ole Dolly has up there. I had little doubt that M would have a great day because he has already figured out that Aunt Donna will do ANYTHING he wants (for visual proof, see the picture where she is helping Mason drink out of a 44-ounce Coke). We met up with Tash and her boys, Brody and Brandt, and another teacher from MHS and her son. Brody was 4, and he was so sweet to M, offering to be his ride buddy all day. They were quite a cute pair! I was afraid M would be scared by the rides, but, of course, he was not at all (although Chris was terrified when he got the first picture we texted!). He was only indignant that they didn't last longer. Donna also introduced him to cap guns, and I thought we'd never get out of there.

Needless to say, he had a serious nap on the way home--complete with snoring and a goodly amount of drool.

Geez...the Hospital Again

So this visit was expected...and looooong feared by Chris: the circumcision. We went to Children's Hospital on August 13th for the surgery with Dr. Hill, whom we really liked, and everything went well. Chris went on to work after the surgery, and I came home with M. Although the first few hours were horrific and M. was in a lot of pain every time he peed, he recovered in true Miracle Mason fashion and was pretty much back to his normal running and climbing that night. He got a giant balloon and a stuffed skunk from the gift shop for his trouble.

Summer Highlights: Part 1

I will attempt to fill in everything that happened during Mason's second summer on Earth with a few pictures and captions, and, yes, I will do better next summer.

1.) Chris and I took Mason to the park a lot on warm summer evenings so he could feed the ducks. As soon as we said "park," Mason was heading for the door! And, yes, he is munching on the stale bread we brought for the ducks in the first picture. Just think of it as a crouton.

2.) Mason visited Mamaw Baker and was very impressed with her cool chair and walker and with Mommy's tripod. Mamaw was just as delighted with his discoveries as Mason was. Unfortunately, he marred the visit by throwing up on her carpet...hence the lack of apparel.

First Birthday Party!

Mason's party was pretty close to perfect. The weather was perfect. Our family and many of our closest friends were there. The kids played in the park and the Bounce House, and we stuffed ourselves with hamburgers and hot dogs (courtesy of our resident grillmaster, Tom, and the GIANT Texas Roadhouse grill). And, of course, we all ate some cake. With so many people, it was crazy, but it was fun and carefree, and Mason had a great time. After about an hour and a half, we had to rush through opening presents, though, because we hadn't done cake yet, and Mason was fading fast. Luckily, cake perked him right up, and he managed to soldier through and shove down an admirable amount of cake.

Thankfully, we had a lot of help cleaning up and packing the cars, and then we all had a birthday afternoon nap!

The Cake Boss...Kind Of

Although Chris and I spent a loooong time planning for Mason's first birthday party, the biggest task was definitely making his cake. The cake was the most important part for me because I want him to always have awesome cakes, and I wanted to make it myself. The problem was that my plans often exceed my level of expertise, and this was no exception. When I showed Chris what I planned to do, he put his head in his hands and moaned, imagining the meltdown I would have when the results didn't match the vision in my head.

Luckily, my first foray into fondant was successful, and Mason's cake turned out just like I had envisioned. It had three tiers, each with three alternating layers of vanilla and strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream icing, and the top tier was shaped like a party hat. I rolled out stripes, dots, letters, and trees to match the pattern on the party invitation, and the end result was a fun, contemporary cake--and I have to say that it was delicious and well worth all the effort it took to make everything from scratch.

Luckily, I had a little help along the way from my men, who were more than happy to clean the extra icing off the beaters. Even Jase helped roll out fondant. What a crew!

Mary started calling me Cake Boss and immediately everyone put in orders for their own cakes, so this could backfire on me. Uh-oh.

By Twelve Months...

Mason was walking (he mastered that at 11 months) and climbing (he could climb the six-foot ladder in his closet in 30 seconds...scary!). His favorite foods were blackeye peas, strawberries, and cheese. He wasn't much of a meat-eater, but he definitely loved the occasional sweets that we gave him. His favorite animals were dogs, and he squealed in delight every time he saw one. He would have spent his entire day outside, and he loved riding in the Wee-ride bike seat with Mommy. He weighed 20 pounds 11 ounces and was 30.75 inches tall at his 12-month checkup with his new pediatrician. Mason said a handful of words, but never on command: mama, dada, dog, uh-uh, no, yeah. All in all, he was doing everything he should be for his age and charming everyone he met with his big blue eyes and quick smile.

Daddy's Biggest Fan

Mason's favorite word is "outside," so he loved going to Daddy's ballgames.