Happy 1st Birthday!

See this guy? He turned 1 on Saturday! Man, oh Man, has time flown by. It seems like yesterday that I was waddling around trying to find my toes wondering if this was going to be Aubrey Paige or a boy with a name we hadn't figured out yet.
Mason LOVED getting into the cake! He had no reservations about picking up the entire piece and shoving it in his mouth. It was awesome...and messy!
Then he got thirsty, and decided he was done, but ohhh he was a MESS!
This was taken on Saturday before his party, just on our day at home.
Since Mason is 1 year old, 12 months, I wanted to take time to write down 12 things (pretty random things) that I think/love/pray for about this sweet boy. Remember, I'm his mom, so I'm quite biased...but it's MY blog, so I can be!

1. His first smile...I can see it so clearly, I was rocking him and nursing him in the morning and Chris came over to say good bye before work. As soon as Mason heard Chris he pulled off, looked up right into Chris' eyes and smiled. It was the coolest moment. There's something about the first on-purpose smile...and I didn't mind at all that it was for Chris!!
2. He loves to eat!! He is mommma's boy all the way on that one. This kid gets crabby if he's not in his highchair around breakfast time, lunchtime and dinner time. Yesterday I was at Panera bread with a friend and Mason reached right over to my try grabbed the 1/2 french baguette and started gnawing on it. This is after he ate 1/2 a grilled cheese; 1/2 a fruit cup; grahm crackers and bites of my soup!!!
3. He has a great personality at this age. This weekend we sang Happy Birthday to him 100 times, and every time we would start singing it he would stop whatever he was doing, smile a big smile and start clapping. He really has a great temperment and a fun outlook to his little world.
4. His eyes. They are truly the windows to his soul. They shine when he's happy, darken when he's angry and open really wide when something frightens him. Plus they are about the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on a kid!
5. The fact that he's 1 and still has no teeth! I don't think much of it until I see our little friend Maya, who is 4 months younger and has quite a few teeth.
6. He loves cars. He will crawl around the house with a car in his hand for an hour at a time if nothing else distracts him. He pushes them on the carpet, carries them in his mouth, whatever it takes to have a car near him, he'll do it...any guesses where that comes from?
7. His pacifiers. If it's not a car, he's got a paci in his mouth and one in his hand, I've seen him have 2 in his mouth at one time, and now his favorite thing is to hide them around the house, which is no fun at all when he needs one for nap or to go in public, but it is funny to see all the strange places he hides them!
8. The way he mimicks things Levi does. Yesterday Levi was on the floor playing his little drum, Mason was watching him from a distance, then crawled over as soon as Levi walked away, sat down just like Levi was sitting and played the drum. Of course Levi flipped out, but Mason was cute just the same!
9. When he was 3-7 months he had the best hair. I called it a "baby-hawk" because it looked like a puffy mohawk right in the middle of his head. Now he just has a big boy haircut..
10. He was such a bad sleeper in the beginning. I remember thinking I'd be sleeping with this one until he was 10...
11. He's a GREAT sleeper now. 12 hours, in his crib, 2 naps, in his crib...PHEW!
12. We got off to such a bad start with him. The not-sleeping, the post-partum depression that led to me saying so many bad things about having him and ending up being away from him (and Levi) for a week..it was rough, but we survived, and I think I always look at him and think..."we conqured it!!! We're fine and it's all behind us!!"
I can't wait to see the life this little boy leads...he's such a treasure!

Reuniting

I have to admit, I have become completely addicted to Facebook. I log onto my facebook page at least 5 times a day...which is because my laptop is always on and I'm always wandering past it sneaking a few minutes at a time online.
I love Facebook because it has given me an amazing opportunity to reunite with some people I honestly thought I'd never have in my life again this side of eternity. A year after high school I spent a semester at a Bible School thats main purpose is to train missionaries for tribal missions. During that time I made some intense freindships and then when I left, as time tends to do I lost touch with those friends. Thanks to facebook, I've reunited with a few of them and been able to catch up on their lives.
A year after my semester at Bible School, I packed up my white Ford Aspire and moved to Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO. I lived in Dennis Hall on the first floor and I was a complete spaz surrounded by the most unforgettable girls I've ever met. Thanks to Facebook these girls: Lori; Eskai; Aline; Amy; Bridget; Kim; Laura; Becky; are now in my life again. I feel like over the past year I have seen their children grow (Lori and I have 2 boys, pretty close in age to each other), prayed for them, and laughed with them over old memories.
I only spent a year at Ozark, but my life was altered because of my parents divorce during that school year, and these women...who were just Godly girls then...pulled me through an overwhelmingly difficult time. I will never forget conversations and hugs and tears as I tried to understand what on earth was happening with my family.
I have to also give a shout-out to My Space because that's how I hooked back up with Melanie, my most faithful blog reader and commenter! We went to High School together, were sandwhich artists at Subway together, and I held a secret grudge against her because I was convinced she wanted my boyfriend and our fellow sandwhich artist Brian! (Sorry, Mel, the grudge is long-gone, but I figured it would add interest to our story :D ) Melanie is getting ready to have her 2nd son any week, so pray for her as you read this!
Anyway, I am now hoping to be able to actually see and laugh with these girls again really soon, and watch our kids enjoy each other and remember some of the craziness we shared. When that happens, It'll all be because of Facebook and Myspace...

A NEW kind of Friday Night Fun!

It wasn't all that long ago that I was determined to have weekends filled with going out with friends, having friends over, or going to friends houses. Then...came my family! While I still REALLY enjoy nurturing our amazing friendships, I am learning to enjoy our family time so much more.
This last Friday we let Levi stay up past 8:00, Chris lit a fire and the 3 of us shared popcorn and played Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. It was so cozy, so peaceful, and so much FUN!
Times like this are when I really feel God's ACTIVE presence in my life. While we were all sprawled out on the floor I could just hear God saying.."I love you so much, I heard your prayers, knew your dreams, read your diaries...and while in YOUR time it took a while to get here, my timing was perfect..and all of this...because I LOVE YOU!"
Here are some pictures of our game night! And since Mason was in bed, but not to leave him out, I included a picture of him too!