Finally

Last day of April and finally..... its spring-like outside and we don't have to be stuck in the house.  I am ignoring the fact that its going to rain pretty much any second as I type this... but hey we had a few hours of warm sun!  Mason is walking more and more, still a crawler but definitely taking 5-6-7 steps before he sits back down.  Enjoy our backyard pics!  P.S  Mason loves that rake... he rakes everything from our carpet, to the grass to our coffee table...

Beginner Craft Junkie

I am not really sure where this craft bug has come from but ... I am hooked!  I need LOTS more practice as I am truly truly just starting.  But at Target the other day I saw this napkin and knew I just had to make something out of it. It's so cute.

So, I tried my hand at a baby bib.  It turned out well, need to work out a few things but overall I got the hang of it. Now if only my model would sit still!

Stay tuned, I have lots of crafts in the works!

Apology

My apologies to all moms.  I have judged so many times on the topic of picky eaters.  You see, I figured... well you must not be trying hard enough if you child won't eat anything, or maybe you are letting them off the hook easy? It's weird because I, too, was a picky eater for years and years.  I thought maybe it was just that everyone stopped trying to give me new foods. Nope, nada, thats not it at all.  I have a child who won't even look at food if it doesn't seem like something he would want.  (and what does he know, he hasn't seen much!). I'm serious, Mason will look the complete other direction to avoid food.  He eats about 5 things and thats it.  NO JOKE.

Case in point... Mason's lunch today:  Raisins and Oyster Crackers 

No wonder he is in the 10th percentile for weight!

My Cuties

Just wanted to share a cute pic!!

Bathtime Bubble FUN!

We got Mason this bubble bath toy for his birthday... and boy is it a hit!  In addition to playing music it shoots bubbles into the air. At first Mason was a bit surprised but now, he loves watching them go (and trying to catch the bubbles before they come out as you can see below).  A fun toy if you have little ones!!

DC Chicken Salad- my fav!

Do you love the D.C. Chicken Salad from Corner Bakery?  I do!  And I think I have finally mastered the recipe, not that its particularly hard but still... I was pleased with the outcome and hope you are too!

Recipe:

2 good size chicken breasts, or what I did, the breast meat off 1 roasted chicken from Target-shred or dice

1/3c of onion-diced

2 celery ribs-diced

1/2 of a granny smith apply-diced

1/4c raisins

slivered almonds to taste

1/4c-1/2c Miracle Whip (I did a heaping 1/4c)

Just mix and let it sit for a few hours so the flavors merry together.  Enjoy!

Mason Walks!

Well, walks a few steps that is!  He usually needs to be distracted by something to get him going.  In this case it's our home phone.  The allure that I am actually letting him play with it is just too much for him so... he walked!  My baby is really growing up!

New Ride

Cruising around the hood in his new 3-n-1 trike. We thought Mason might like sitting in something other than a stroller for walks and... we were right!  He hasn't quite figured out to hold the handles (left hand to right handle?)... but details, details.

We are hoping that this week it will finally start to warm up... it's mid-April and cooold!  Stay tuned for lots of fun outside pics with our new toys!

1 year photos

We took Mason in for his 1 year photos last week.  Thank you Carrianne Photography!  Carrianne was so great with Mason, although apparently no one can make him like cake.  Yup that's right, my child hates cake! This is disappointing since I am a baker and have a sweet tooth, but hey... we'll turn him to the sweet side, don't you worry!  Here are some of our awesome pics. The hat and tie photo is my FAVORITE PHOTO of all time.  Seriously.

My sweet baby boy

LOVE!!

My Family

Ok here it is ... the succession of photos that depict our son hating cake.. poor thing

There are a ton more but choosing just a few to put on the blog was hard enough!

My 1st Baby

Gasp! I haven't mentioned my older baby... the 1st born yet.  This is Hurley, better known as Mason's best friend.  Mason spends his days crawling after Hurley, attempting to pet him and climb all over him.  Poor Hurley just looks at us like "really??".  With the nicer weather he loves to get away from us and go in the yard all day... and when I say all day... I mean it, he never comes in!

Formula to Whole Milk...

Well it has come time to switch Mr. Mason over to whole milk.  We have opted for the organic milk--just seemed like the right thing to do...though I question if whole milk from our local Jewel is really any different... can it really be loaded with growth hormones?  I wouldn't think so, but alas we are going organic.

Most of my friends said... just switch to milk and take the bottle away, no biggie.  I felt good about it too so yesterday I did. Mason took sips here and there but nothing substantial. He didn't hate which is a big plus because this child is PICKY! (i.e hates cake?!  is he my child?). I do think he is struggling with letting go of the comforts of the bottle. This morning at the good ole pediatrician we were told 16-24oz per day of whole milk since Mason is ranking in the 10% for weight (19.4lbs). Hmm, this will be a challenge.... should I still give him a bottle at night and in the morning and then sippys all day?  Or stick to my guns on the no bottle.  Its gonna be a long week....

Drinking whole (organic) milk

Last birthday post...

.... I promise!

Just wanted to share the link from NBC 5 news 'First Birthdays'.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/First_Birthdays__Saturday__April_9_Chicago-119528759.html

Let's Party!

Although we kept our party small, we were surrounded with great friends and family, Mason had lots of fun (except he did not like his cake--at all!  is he my child?).  Thanks to everyone who made it special!

No thanks!!

The DIY Baseball Party!

So I decided to take on the task of a DIY first birthday party for Mason.  I thought... no biggie, I'll whip up a few things.  And while it turned out cute-- if I do say so myself--it was a lot of work! Here are some things I did/made:

Baseball "1" shirts:

Baseball Banner:

Baseball personalized cups (I wrote the names):

The baseball cake (Wilton pan):

Cupcakes & Smash cake (small baseball under the cupcakes):

So much time and effort and 2 hours later its over... but all worth it!

Happy 1st Birthday Mason!

Where does the time go?  Sounds so cliche but its true.  One year ago today we sat in the hospital with our newborn--totally exhausted I might add-- and now here we are with an official toddler in the house.  It's been a great ride so far and we can't wait to see all the new phases and stages this year has to offer.

Happy 1st Birthday Mason Bennett Freed-- we love you!

April 8, 2010

April 8, 2011

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

It seems all my photos this month capture Mason getting into trouble. Among his favorite activities are as follows:  playing/digging in Hurley's toys, getting into our 1 cabinet that still needs to be child-proofed, climbing under the table and chairs and destroying the diaper bag... come on... we have SO many toys... try those please :)

'

Mason's 1st Haircut

 Saturday April 2, 2011

We decided it was time to say goodbye to the mullet.

Before:

After:

Only a few tears but overall a great first haircut experience! Looks much better :)