First Halloween

     I had decided that dressing up a less than one-year-old and taking him trick or treating was silly. After all it's not like he would know what was going on and he certainly wasn't allowed to eat the candy, so why go. The only way I was gonna consider dressing him up was if we went to a party or to an event at church. As luck would have it our new church was hosting a Trunk or Treat. BINGO! PERFECT! So we went to meet new people, give out tons of candy, and to dress up Mason. Now the hard part....what would Mason be????
     Days later I was still trying to come up with an idea that was more original than making him a pumpkin or ghost AND wouldn't cost a bundle to make/ buy. Then I remembered a conversation his OT and I had had a few days earlier. She said there are 2 types of babies, ones that are motor driven and ones that are observers. She said Mason was definitely an observer and started calling him "baby Einstein". An idea was born! Mason would be 'baby Einstein'!
    I googled ideas on how to turn him into 'baby Einstein' for Halloween. I came across a picture of a baby with an iron-on on his onesie, E=mc2. EASY! First part of his costume was figured out. Then I wanted a way to temporarily dye his hair without him having to inhale harsh chemicals in a spray. My friend Bonnie helped with that. She said just put a little mousse and white make-up in his hair. Second part of his costume was figured out ;). What about a mustache???? After all how can you be Einstein without the wild hair AND a mustache???? The only problem was that I didn't want to glue or tape anything to his face. Enter Google again. I looked for more pictures of 'baby Einstein's. I found the perfect solution, attach it to his pacifier! Last piece of the puzzle was now in place. We were all set!
   So we went to church for the Trunk or Treat, passed out the candy, and met new people. So many people commented on how cute Mason was that night! He seemed to enjoy watching the children go from car to car. Who knows, maybe next year he can too ;)!

                This photo is copyright of Kimberly Baggett. All rights reserved.

Update, 9-10 months

     Mason continues to be a great eater! He seems willing to try just about any food we put in front of him. He even recently tried Chinese food for the first time and loved it! He had already tried Mexican (I know big surprise considering how much I LOVE it).
      His newest thing is experimenting with his voice. He enjoys making a variety of sounds, including screaming and yelling. He has also added a few new sounds too such as 'da-da', 'ta-ta', etc. Doug was thrilled when he finally said 'da-da' since most babies say that first but not MY baby, MY baby said 'ma-ma' first (LOVE that).
      He is still behind in his motor skill development. He has started working with an OT (sorry habit, for those of you w/o  a SPED background, that's an occupational therapist). She has been trying a lot of new exercises with him and he can now sit up for a few seconds and has done a very little bit of the 'Army crawl'/ scooting. He'll start off scooting and seems stop when he notices we are watching, LOL! How typical!

A New Adventure Begins.......Cloth Diapers

     Even while pregnant I wanted to cloth diaper. There were several reasons I was interested in it. The first reason was the convenience of it. Imagine never running out of diapers (unless of course you forgot to do laundry, which is HIGHLY unlikely). The next reason was to create less trash to take to the dumpster on a weekly basis, which living in a 3rd floor apartment is definitely a plus. Another reason was the smell factor. Rather than letting stinky diapers fester in a diaper pail, poo and all until time to take out the trash, you just flush down the toilet the stinky stuff. Poof! Bye bye smell! I know what you are thinking, what about wet diapers? They don't smell nearly as bad as poopy diapers left for days. The last reason was the cost. Even the cheapest generic disposables are $.13-$.15 a diaper, not on sale and without using coupons. Let's face it, sales and coupons are nice, but not always realistic or convenient. Depending on how you choose to cloth diaper, it can cost as little as $.05- $.-06 WITH laundering per use.
     I chose to go with the Flip covers with inserts and prefolds. As I am typing this I have just begun using cloth diapers sporadically and plan to go full-time as soon as I get my stash built up. So far I have tried the Flip covers with just the inserts. Mason currently fits in the Flip cover on the medium setting. The first night we used them, I left them set on the medium setting with 1 insert. They leaked :(, but let me back up a bit. Mason must be a heavy wetter at night, because we have tried using generic and brand disposables at night. THEY ALL FREAKING LEAKED (even the so called 'nighttime' diapers :-/). I did some research and got tips and tricks for using Flip covers and inserts at night. I learned from my research that I should try 2 inserts and / or change the rise (increase the size) of the cover. The next time I tried cloth diapers at night I decided to try 2 inserts and change the cover to the large setting. SUCCESS! The wetness was contained by the diaper (imagine that ;). The next night came and I tried the 2 inserts/ increased rise again....success AGAIN! I now plan to use the cloth diapers every night! I can't wait until I finish building my stash (I also plan to add some AIOs too)! I think I will keep disposables for the diaper bag and possibly when grandma babysits, but other than that, we will be cloth diapering!

Mason's Milestones

    When Mason turned 6 months and showed no interest/ signs of sitting up I grew concerned. I didn't worry too much because he was still in the 'normal' range of 4.5-7 months for sitting up. Then Mason turned 7 months and still no sign/ interest in sitting up. Ok, now I can officially worry. Truth is I had already been worrying because I KNEW something was wrong, it wasn't my mother's intuition, it was because of my background in Special Education (SPED).
    When Mason turned 8 months, he had been congested for about a week, but wasn't acting sick and had no fever. So I decided to take him in just in case he was like me and wouldn't let anyone know when he was sick. I thought it was just teething and it was ;).
    I secretly planned to ask the doctor about the sitting up because it was REALLY concerning me. Dr. Clark was concerned too and referred him for assessment in the local early intervention program.
    I went through the process of getting him evaluated, during this time my biggest concern was that he would be considered a 'bubble kid' (lagging behind but not enough to get the help he needed....on the borderline of needing/ not needing help). The day of the evaluation came, I was praying the whole time. Please find him eligible! Please find him eligible! Thank God! Prayers answered! The OTs (occupational therapists...for those of you w/o a SPED background ;) found him eligible. We found out that developmentally he was on target or advanced cognitively, socially, etc. His right hand side fine motor skills are at an age appropriate level BUT his left hand side is 4-5 months behind. So now we are waiting for his OT to set up his first therapy appointment ;)!

Update, 6-8 months

   Mason continues to roll over like crazy! He really seems to enjoy rolling over and getting into things we don't want him to (like cat toys and electrical cords). He continues to eat just about anything we offer him (baby food and finger food). Mason has gotten his first 2 teeth during this time and is working on 3&4 (they seem to be coming in REALLY slowly). He has been very tolerant of teething and its side effects.
    He was taken to the doctor at 8 months for congestion (just teething) BUT the doctor was concerned that he wasn't sitting up yet. He was referred to a pediatric early intervention program for a gross motor evaluation. His appointment is Sept 17th (I'll post more on that after the appt). In the meantime, I'm trying NOT to go completely crazy over the wait and what MIGHT be wrong. I have gotten him some new toys and a Bumbo to help him hopefully learn to sit up. In addition to not sitting up he seems to rarely use his left hand so that will also get evaluated.
     During this time Mason has been 'talking' up a blue streak! He began at 6 months saying 'mama' and 'mum mum' while crying. Now he says it without crying (and I just beam ;). He also says a few other sounds like 'whoa', 'ba ba', etc.

First Time in the Ocean (2nd Beach Trip)

     About 2 weeks ago we went to Kill Devil Hills, NC with Mason's Nana and Papa. This was Mason's second time going to the beach BUT his first time going in the ocean (first trip was VA beach in May....BRR!).
      The afternoon we went we started planning the trip by getting Mason ready (fresh diaper, swim trunks & shirt, sunscreen, sunglasses and hat). I took care of the other necessities (prepared a pedialite bottle/ juice bottle, grabbed a diaper and wipes). Doug and me put on our swimsuits. All set!
      When we got to the beach, we put down our stuff and practically ran to the ocean. Doug and me could not wait to put Mason in the ocean. Finally the moment came! It was decided that I would be the one to hold Mason  while Doug recorded the event and Nana/ Papa looked on. I sat down on the sand near the water with Mason in my lap. I gradually moved closer so that the water was hitting us more and more. When Mason felt the water he looked at it as if "what's the big deal"  (much like the first trip to the pool). All the anticipation, and he was so unimpressed. I wonder what will impress him as he gets older???

First 4th of July and Uncle Jack's visit

     We started the day with trying to sleep in....too bad Mason didn't get the memo :(. He was up at 6:10, ate and went back to sleep for an hour. Once everyone was up for the day, we went out for a late, leisurely, breakfast at Bob Evans (yum!). We enjoyed our breakfast while Mason enjoyed taking in all the people and things going on in the restaurant. When we came back home we began busily getting ready for Uncle Jack's visit.      
     Time for Uncle Jack's visit :). Uncle Jack came for a brief visit. At first Mason seemed upset to be meeting a new person, but by the end of the visit we were able to get pictures of Uncle Jack holding Mason (yeah!). I'm so glad Mason got to meet his great Uncle Jack :). Doug was happy about that too. Plus Doug and Uncle Jack got to talk about a future visit.     
     After Uncle Jack's visit we went to my parents' house and visited with them for a while before all of us headed to see the fireworks.      
     The fireworks were great! Mason could have cared less, he looked at them like big deal, like he sees them everyday. Between this and his reaction to the pool, I think he might be hard to impress later on, lol. The best part of the night was these 2 little girls (5-7 years old) trying to sing 'The Star Spangled Banner' and they couldn't get the words right to safe their lives BUT they kept trying with all the hearts ;). All in all a happy first 4th!