First Christmas

So I am getting gradually better at updating this blog timely! For the holidays Mason and I went to NY to visit family for over  a week. Kurt didn't have that much time off work so he flew up friday before Christmas to meet us. On the drive up we stopped in MD to visit my aunt and uncle and to break up the trip.  We had a car packed to the max of gifts so Mason was in the backseat by himself.  He was a trooper but did not like being in the backseat alone.  My mom and I ended up taking turns laying across all the presents to keep him company.  It was a loooong drive home! 

Between all the grandparents Mason had over a weeks worth of Christmas outfits to wear.  Here are some pictures of the days leading up to Christmas. 

Christmas Eve was at my moms house with my grandparents and in laws. It was a nice night with lots of family. Mason got to open his presents from his great grandparents and Nana and Pops Johnson. Of course he was spoiled!  At that was just the beginning of the spoiling this Christmas.  Here are some pictures of Mason on Christmas Eve. 

 His new ride!!!!

 Here is all the loot from Christmas Eve! 

Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents from Santa at my moms house. Mason got all kinds of goodies from Santa, Mommy and Daddy, and Grandma and Grandpa Rogers. After seeing all the stuff he got I started to get a little concerned about getting it all home. And the worst part was we still had a whole side of the family to visit that afternoon. 

 Dr. Seuss chair for the playroom. 

 Rocking Elmo! 

 All the goods! 

After breakfast we headed to my dads to open presents. Mason again was spoiled and got lots of toys! Then we went to my dads Aunt Peg's house for Christmas dinner. We had a huge Italian spread and everything was delicious. After dinner we went to my grandmas house to open presents. 

 Mason with my godson Dominic.

 All three of us!!

 These next couple of pictures are of all Masons gifts once we got back to NC.  I have no idea how I am going to fit it all in his playroom with all the stuff he already had!!!!  I have my work cut out for me!

The last part of our trip home was to Turning Stone in Syracuse NY for Kurts grandmas 80th birthday surprise party.  I had never been to Turning Stone and was pleasantly surprised. It was a very nice resort.  We got to see all Kurts family - some of which had never met Mason yet.  Kurts grandma was very surprised and it was great to see everyone. After dinner we went to my dads cousin Davids house to spend the night. He has a lake house 30 mins from Turning Stone so it was a perfect stop before we headed back to NC the next morning. 

It is good to be back in NC.  It was a great trip home and seeing everyone was a lot of fun!!! Now that I am home I need some serious relaxation before I go back to work!!!! Hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!!!!

First Haircut!

I have been bugging Kurt to agree that we should take Mason to get a haircut. His bangs were touching his eyebrows and he had hair over his ears!  Finally he agreed and said we could take him right before we left for Christmas in NY.  I found this really cute place in Charlotte that I had to take him to.  It was in South Charlotte which is about 20 to 25 mins from our house but I had to do it. The place is called Pigtails and Crewcuts. The little chairs were fire trucks, taxis, and police cars. They were so cute and I knew Mason would keep busy with the little cars.  His haircut isn't really obvious but I think it looks much better!! Stud Muffin in the making.

College Basketball is here!

College basketball is back! This is Kurts favorite time of the year so it wouldn't be right without some Duke gear for Mason!!!! Here is Mase rocking his Duke hat and tshirt. 

Mason is starting to become so independent. He loves exploring different things in the house - not all of them are good!!! Recently he started trying to get in his mini rocking chair by himself. Every night while I am getting stuff done in his room he goes right over to the chair and tries to climb in.  It is too cute.  Here are some picks of his efforts.

The blog wouldn't be complete without a monthly sticker picture.  Mason turned 8 months old on November 7th.  I literally broke a sweat trying to get these pictures taken. He is so active these days he does not sit still for pictures!

Thanksgiving

The month of November was a crazy one for us this year! My mom and stepdad usually come to NC for Thanksgiving. This year they couldn't be here so they came down to visit the week before the holiday. My mother in law who usually watches Mason had a wedding that week so my mom came down to help watch Mason during the week.  Both my mom and I worked for home for three days and man did Mason keep us on our toes.  He was in to everything and constantly on the move.  I think I got most of my work done during naps and after he went to bed at night!

For Thanksgiving my dad, his cousin David, and my stepmom came down to NC.  I made dinner at my house for them, my inlaws, and some friends. There were 15 people in total which was crazy! Everyone helped make dinner a success and it was very good. Kurt usually has to work Thanksgiving night but this was the first year he didn't.  He was able to help a lot with the turkeys and we didn't really have to rush to eat.  Here are some pictures of Mason on Thanksgiving.

 Watching the Thanksgiving Day parade. 

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is Black Friday shopping. This year I was determined to get to Concord Mills at midnight to get Mason some clothes at the Children's Place. But then I found out that Toys R Us was opening at 9pm Thanksgiving night. Unfortunately I had a terrible headache all day on Thursday so I really wasn't up for shopping. My stepsister and I went to Toys R Us at 930ish and the place was PACKED!  There were like 250 people in line and they were only letting people in the store in groups.  I was not in the mood to deal with that crap so we left. I ended up going to bed early and then woke up at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep.  At this point I was like I could just go shopping now.....and that is what I did. The malls were not crowded at all!  I was able to walk right up and pay for things without standing in line. 

Wow there is a lot of updating to do. I will finish the other entries tomorrow night!  

8 Months Old

Wow, I really need to get better at updating this blog! So Mason is now 8 months going on 9 months but i still haven't posted pictures at 7. Here are a few..... It is getting harder and harder to get good pictures every month because he is such a busy body!

Here is Mason in his GQ outfit.  I love shopping at H&M for him. They have the cutest clothes but we don't have a store in Charlotte :( Whenever I am out of town I try to find one to stock up! Plus Mason has zero waist so I have had a hard time finding clothes to fit him! He needs a 3 months for his tiny waist but then the pants are too short!  Guess we need to move to a warmer climate so he can wear shorts all year round! 

 Wearing his new winter coat that Nana bought him for his Christmas trio to NY. 

 Now that Mason is 100% mobile he gets into EVERYTHING. Here he is eating Smittys food.  He had some in his mouth but we don't think he actually ate any of it!!!! 

 Here are his 7 month sticker pictures!  It was was a struggle.  I never got a good one of him looking at me! Oh well.  

He is growing up so fast it is crazy! He is crawling all over the place. His favorite places to be are climbing up Daddy's entertainment center and getting finger prints all over the TV.  That won't happen for much longer as we are planning to put the TV on the mall this month.

Sweet Little Tiger

This year Mason was a Tiger for Halloween!  We didn't really go Trick or Treating cause he obviously cant have candy!!!  We went to my brothers house to see him and Catherine and Drew.  Cat and Drew gave him some of his baby snacks which he LOVES!  They also gave him a cute halloween book.  After that we went to Nana's house so she could see him all dressed up.  Those two stops were enough to wear him out!!! Next year will be more fun once he can go from house to house!  Here are some pictures of the little Tiger!

Treats, please? 

 I guess I can share with Smitty....

 Thanks Cat and Drew!!!! I love these snacks!

 Nana dress up as a witch for all the trick or treaters!