Daddy's "big" little helper

With all the nice weather this weekend Austin spent a lot of time working in the backyard. We have finally found time to fill the massive hole we had from the sewer line and are working on tilling the yard and planting grass.

Mason was able to "help" dad with the work.

First they watered the hole to make sure the dirt had settled and wasn't going to sink. Next they cleaned the boat.

Cheech spent most of the time between my legs after they sprayed him

Mason stayed quite content in his pack.

Tummy Time

Mason absolutely HATES tummy time. Most of the time it last 2 minutes before he throws a fit. Lately he has been more tolerable of it and starting to get the hang of using his arms.

It works best on Sundays when there is football on the tv (already loves watching football!)

And when he is done he is done

Meeting Cheech

As many of you may or may not know we are down to just one dog. Rockie got out about a month or so ago and we were unable to find him. A few weeks ago we had to get rid of Bo because he was super destructive and tearing things up, as in our cable box off the house numerous times, boards off the fence, and even chewing through the under ground shock wire. The other day we took Mason out to meet little Cheech since he will soon be an indoor dog when the weather becomes too cold for him to remain outside. Both were very interested in each other. Cheech kept wanting kiss Mas. Mason kept smiling at Cheech.

Cheech is a very grumpy but friendly dog who doesn't like to be disturbed or messed with so we are interested in seeing how he does this winter once Mason becomes mobile. We know he will not hurt Mason but he is quite vocal in grunting and sighing, just like an irritated little old man.

Cheech decided he wanted on dad's lap too =)

Hanging out

Mas and I spend most of our days playing. He is really getting the hang of his toys and tries so hard to grab them purposely. He will stare at his turtle rattle and slowly move his hand all the way to it. He continues to stare but can't quite seem to make his hand open. I love watching him try to figure out new things by himself

And just some photos of my cutie

Bath Hair

Mason's hair has grown out of control! It is so long and when it is wet it is crazy. I love playing with it during and after his bath

The before....

and the during...

Good thing he is such a trooper and just plays while I mess with him =)

3 months

Mason turned 3 months last week.

He is growing fast and learns new things everyday.

Is still hates tummy time but is starting to at least try to lift his head with his arms

He loves to play and laugh

He talks and smiles A LOT

He HATES the carseat, as in screams every time he is put in it

He wears 6 month clothes and weighs 14.5 lbs!

Mason's first Fishing Adventure

austin and i have always talked about how we can't wait to go fishing with our little boy so decided to pack him up and go.

we left early in the morning before it got hot and right after feeding Mason breakfast, we hoped he would last a few hours. Austin threw in his lines and we enjoyed the cool morning air

needless to say Mas didn't last long and this is how he spent most of the morning

We still had fun fishing as a family and i know there is a lot more fishing memories to be made

The Move

I finally did it, I moved Mas out of our room and into his own crib in his own room.

I had been debating moving him for some time.
Reasons to move-
Bassinet was becoming too small, he likes to sleep in a T position and was mad his arms couldn't stretch out
He is a loud sleeper so even on nights when he slept well I was up due to the fact I am a light sleeper
Austin gets off work at 11:00 and isn't home and ready for bed till 12-1 am. Then he has to hope he doesn't wake Mason when he gets into bed
A lot of the time Mason wakes and talks, when he is in out room I hurry to get him up and back to sleep so he doesn't wake Austin, if he were in his room he could talk himself back to sleep

I was worried about moving him because I put him on his tummy to sleep. He DOES NOT sleep on his back and instantly wakes if placed on his back. I wasn't comfortable for a long time having him in another room and sleeping on his tummy.

Finally i decided I just needed to do it.

This is the best decision I have ever made, other than having the little guy. He has been in his own room and crib for a week and sleeping amazing. I hope I am not writing this post prematurely but so far his sleep has been 8pm-at least 3am sometimes even 5 or 6 am. Then we feed and lay back down till 8 am ! Talk about a happy mama!! I am even having to set an alarm for the mornings I work when I use to be up hours before I needed to be.

We made it!

-This is a breastfeeding post, so if you don't want to read about my boobies stop here-

We have hit the 3 month mark and according to BabyCenter that gives me a Bronze Booby Award! I still plan on continuing to breastfeed but making this far is an accomplishment in itself for me.

When we started out Mason was lazy, he didn't want to latch for more than 10 seconds. It seemed like once the milk came he thought he could just open his mouth and let it flow in. Once the milk stopped he would scream and shake his head making it near impossible to get him back on. Imagine how frustrating this was every. single. feeding. We spent way to much time trying to get one feeding it and I was an emotional wreck as he just screamed. I was also tired from lack of sleep.

After he figured out how to eat we hit our next hurdle; pumping. If i was to return to work and we were strictly wanting to breastfeed I was going to have to pump. I asked a few people I knew pumped what was the best way to go about this. I only needed to pump once or twice a day considering my work schedule is just 3-4 hours a day. Of course everybody had different answers as when to pump. I was confused and just went at it. At first it hurt and nothing was coming out. I spent days using the wrong size shields pumping in pain to get zero results. After I did some researching and ordered the right parts things started getting better.

It seemed as though breastfeeding was going to work out until we hit our growth weeks at 3 weeks and 6 weeks. Mason was nursing almost hourly day and night. I was exhausted to say the least, why wasn't he getting enough? Was this eating pattern going to continue and for how long? Not only was I still tired but I no time for anything but feeding Mason. I was at a breaking point. I wanted to give him a bottle. Luckily this past and he slowly got into a routine of eating.

Our last challenge was sleeping at night. Mason was up every 2 hours and sometimes more frequently until just lately, as in days ago. He was constantly getting up to be nursed, obviously he wasn't getting enough. I contemplated supplementing a formula bottle before bed just so I could get some sleep. Everyday when I picked Mason up from my moms we would talk about it and every day i would leave saying tonight I am trying a formula bottle and I never did. I was constantly talking myself out of it. I didn't want him on formula, there is nothing wrong with it and for all you moms who do formula feed that's great, it is what works for you!

I am so happy and proud for sticking with it through all our troubles. I am happy I was not selfish and gave into my needs, although sleep is pretty essential. I can honestly say it was all worth it and I am a proud breastfeeding mama! Here's to more months of mommy-mason-boob time!

Visitors

A month or so ago my grandparents made the long drive up from New Mexico to meet their great grandson.

My grandma had been more than excited and eager to meet him since she found out he was on the way.

It was great to have them in town for a few days, I hadn't seen them since my wedding 3 years ago! Mason was definitely showered with love and kisses.

I hope they will be able to visit many more times as Mason grows

Man Project

This is what I came home to the other day

In case you couldn't read the note here is a close up

Yes, Austin and Mason were preparing for their first project together. Austin was making a deer feeder to take to the farm where he hunts and Mason was going to help.

Austin put him in his swing right in front of where he was working. Mason LOVED it. I was making dinner and all I could hear was Mason cooing, laughing and talking as Austin was working.

I knew right then and there Mason is going to love helping his dad build (and destroy) things as he grows =)

Outside

Thank goodness for this nice weather!!

Mas and I decided it would be fun to sit out and enjoy it for a bit, plus we needed to work on our tans =)
At first he wasn't too sure about the wind.

We definitely could get use to these temperatures!

Photo Dump *playmat*

Mason absolutely LOVES his play mat. He spends a ton of time on it. He started out just laying and looking at himself in the mirror, he would smile and smile.

Nowadays he has begun hitting his toys which then make noise

He also likes to grab and swing them