Hangin' with the 'rents

Grandparents that is!

MaMa and Gram loving on Mason. 

Grandpa being a sport when handed a fussy baby. Do you see how calm Mason looks? Way to go, Grandpa!
Three generations of McIntyre men...they apparently got the "wear blue" memo.
Mason was lucky enough to have a sleep over at Gram's on Monday. 
Fresh from the Outer Banks, Pappy and MaMa were able to swing by the house to visit grandbaby number five. 

It's not just gas...

The big news this week in Masonland is Mason's beautiful smile.  Oh it's not that he hasn't shown us his pearly um... gums before, but now it's in response to our (now constant) encouragement.  

Several cold mornings this week remind us that very soon on the horizon we'll have to fire up the wood burning stove.  Mason LOVED swinging on the front porch all wrapped up and cozy.

Of course all the porch time and all the smiling tires you out.  What a life! 

 

Happy 12th anniversary!

Yep! Jenni and Andy went out on their first date this day twelve years ago. Nicole B and Jenni tried to go to a party with Andy but by the time they got there it was already busted by the cops. Doh! Although tonight was the night that we first went "out" we recognize tomorrow as the first official date because it was our first kiss. Sweet seventeen. Very romantic in the driveway of Mom and Dad's :)

Today the three of us hit Warrenton to celebrate. We frolicked in a park for a bit where Mason sucked his thumb for the first time and then headed into Warrenton for some wine and food at our favorite place, Crescendo. Mason was a super trooper on this twelve year anniversary of Mom and Dad's. 

Although it looks a bit like nose digging, Mason is actually sucking his thumb! I am all for this method of "self-soothing." 

Uh oh.

I mean, "Yay!" In four short years...

Our little chunk

Well, I took Mason to his pediatrician because he had been congested for about a week and a half. The congestion part of our visit was much less exciting in comparison to the news that Mason had gained two pounds in two weeks. That's right. He now weighs twelve pounds which pulls him out of the 90th percentile and plops him right in the 97th. No wonder my back always hurts. Just yesterday someone at the park asked how old he was. "Six weeks," I replied. I wish you could all see the taken aback look on the man's face. 

So I can't help but wonder as I haul around Mason, are six week olds still considered newborns? 

Field Trip with Pap

What a big day for Mason. A trip to the playground with Mom and Pap as well as hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and ice cream at a little burger joint in Sperryville. We sure are busy here in Amissville!

One Month Pics

Natalee's Wedding

Mason got to celebrate his one month birthday with a whole slew of new friends at Natalee and Wade's wedding in Richmond. Mason had tons of fun at the hotel with Dad while Mom was doing wedding party stuff (apparently Dad had to call housekeeping because someone had a three-foot blowout incident while getting a diaper change on the bed). For our first trip together as a family of three, everything went super! 

Mason in his nursery, smiling!

I'm so glad we painted Mason's nursery with stripes because he loves looking at them along with the blanket hanging on his wall. If he is fussy I can sit with him in his nursery, put on some soft music and he is immediately soothed by looking at his "T is for Tiger" blanket. He just stares and stares at it with a "Wow, what is that?" face. For the first time today, I put him in the crib while awake to see how he would do. Check out the video below for the amazing results!

Mason and Dad dancing

Andy and Mason enjoyed some quality time together dancing to JJ Kale and Eric Clapton on Labor Day morning. It was a beautiful day with a fresh breeze blowing in through the windows, clearly a time to celebrate with a clean diaper and dancing. 

"Does Jenni know that this video is crooked?"

Yes...yes I do. I rotated it in Quicktime to correct the problem but Blogspot won't let me upload the corrected video. If anyone has any suggestions I'll take em!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

Mason had lots of playmates this weekend including cousins Dax, Madison and Morgan, a visit from the Platts and Baby Gill as well as the Applegates and their little girl Maddy. We enjoyed Andy's last weekend before school starting by feasting on crab legs, barbecuing ribs, corn and keilbasa as well as enjoying homemade peach pie for dessert. I guess we can still do the things we love with a little one hanging around...it just takes multiple extra hours. For example, I've reheated my cup of morning coffee four times now and I still haven't finished it!

Getting some couch time with cousin Dax who's looking so big as a brand new four-year old.

We thought our baby was big then we held Maddy who is nine months. Nope, our guy goes back to being small. Boy, do they grow up fast, right Kim?

We're hoping for a smile one of these days. I'll keep you "posted."