I'm not calling it 'walking' yet, but a few weeks ago Mason started standing and taking a few steps on his own. He gets better each day and it won't be long before we have an official walker! He still gets around very well with his crab-crawl, so I think walking will slow him down a little (at least temporarily). Here are a few short videos of our little wobbler.
He loves walking between me and daddy. He will literally dive into us when he gets close enough. He looks a little like Frankenstein ;-)
And he's very fast with a push toy for support. This is his favorite, but he gets a little frustrated when he hits a roadblock.
This is just a cute video of him laughing the other night. He was very tickled about something.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
We belong at the zoo
Yes, that is true most of the time. And this past weekend, Nana and Grandpa came to visit us and we decided to take Mason to Zoo Atlanta for the first time. I didn't think he'd get much out of it, but I have always wanted to see the pandas and I knew he'd be happy just riding around in his stroller. I was very surprised that he really did notice and enjoy watching the animals. Maybe he takes after mommy and we have a little animal lover here?
First stop - giant pandas! They were extremely active and playful - especially the 'teenager' Xi Lan. The zookeeper said it was the most active he has ever seen him!
We watched him play for a while. As you can see, Mason was quite mesmerized by the pandas.
Yay pandas!! See the adorable panda stuffed animal that Nana bought him?
With mommy at the gorilla statue.
Watching the giraffes with Nana
He also loved watching the elephants. It was feeding time, so they were moving around.
I don't think he had ever seen anything so big before.
The other big hit was the parakeet house. There were hundreds of them - all different colors.
And they were so friendly they would come and eat birdseed off of a little stick. Mason swatted at them at first, but then he got the hang of it.
I'm not sure what this pout is, but it was right before he crashed.
Naptime!!!!
We had so much fun! Here is an album with a lot more pictures from our day at the zoo.
https://picasaweb.google.com/chenretty/ZooTripAugust2011
First stop - giant pandas! They were extremely active and playful - especially the 'teenager' Xi Lan. The zookeeper said it was the most active he has ever seen him!
We watched him play for a while. As you can see, Mason was quite mesmerized by the pandas.
Yay pandas!! See the adorable panda stuffed animal that Nana bought him?
With mommy at the gorilla statue.
Watching the giraffes with Nana
He also loved watching the elephants. It was feeding time, so they were moving around.
I don't think he had ever seen anything so big before.
The other big hit was the parakeet house. There were hundreds of them - all different colors.
And they were so friendly they would come and eat birdseed off of a little stick. Mason swatted at them at first, but then he got the hang of it.
I'm not sure what this pout is, but it was right before he crashed.
Naptime!!!!
We had so much fun! Here is an album with a lot more pictures from our day at the zoo.
https://picasaweb.google.com/chenretty/ZooTripAugust2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Captain Mason
We met our good friends Sean and Taylor at the lake last weekend with their sweet little girls, McKenna and Emerson. It was Mason's first time on the boat and we had mixed reviews. He didn't really fuss, but we only got a few smiles and he fell asleep anytime we were moving (which I guess makes sense since he always sleeps in the car too). The girls had a blast tubing and the adults even got a few turns tubing, wake-boarding and skiing!
Here's my sleepy little man. That's how he spent most of the time on the boat.
Daddy trying to force a smile out of him. He really did not like wearing the life vest.
He did seem to enjoy 'floating' more than boating.
Sweet McKenna ready to tube! She loved it!
Emme wasn't so sure at first, but she finally came around.
Here's Kenna and Mason relaxing on the boat.
I created an album from the weekend, so there are more pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/chenretty/82011LakeWeekend#
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Let's Go Braves!
Today we took Mason to his very first Atlanta Braves game! We had a blast, despite the fact that it was HOT and the Braves lost to the Cubs. Oh well... it was still an exciting game and the little guy was WORN OUT after. Here are a few pictures!
Mason and Kieran chilling out in the 755 Club before the game. It was nice and air conditioned!
And not the best picture of the 3 of us, but check out the view from our seats! Right behind home plate (thanks SBC!).
Having fun with mommy. He was very good and sat still for much longer than I expected him to.
Sweet Kieran and Misty - we're going to miss them. Kieran was really into the game.
Goooo Braves! Unfortunately, they did not beat the Cubs today.
Mason and Kieran chilling out in the 755 Club before the game. It was nice and air conditioned!
And not the best picture of the 3 of us, but check out the view from our seats! Right behind home plate (thanks SBC!).
Having fun with mommy. He was very good and sat still for much longer than I expected him to.
Sweet Kieran and Misty - we're going to miss them. Kieran was really into the game.
Goooo Braves! Unfortunately, they did not beat the Cubs today.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Happy Homecoming Day!
One year ago today, we were FINALLY able to bring our (2 month old) baby boy home! It was truly the happiest day for our family and probably even more special than his actual birthday. Looking back now, I don't know how I was ever able to leave my baby behind in the hospital, but I am so thankful for the wonderful NICU nurses that took such good care of him. Remember this post from our special day? http://henrettyfamily.blogspot.com/2010/08/theres-no-place-like-home.html
We recently had an appointment with a perinatologists to try to figure out 'what went wrong'. I often wondered if it was something I did and I knew it would make me feel better to get some answers. But I also knew that they almost never find a cause for a premature rupture. So, we were very surprised and relieved to get a true diagnosis. The doctor could see from my ultrasound history that a band of scar tissue caused my water to break 3 months early. The placenta happened to implant on this band of scar tissue, which caused a very unstable environment. He could see the problem on very early ultrasounds and he was surprised that I even made it to 28 weeks. I guess Mason is even more of a miracle than we thought! The good news is that a recent test showed no remaining scar tissue, so the risk of it happening again is less than 1%.
We're not sure if or when we will try for another, but it is such a relief to know that we aren't at any increased risk for another premature baby. And I certainly went home that day and gave Mason a HUGE hug :-)
We recently had an appointment with a perinatologists to try to figure out 'what went wrong'. I often wondered if it was something I did and I knew it would make me feel better to get some answers. But I also knew that they almost never find a cause for a premature rupture. So, we were very surprised and relieved to get a true diagnosis. The doctor could see from my ultrasound history that a band of scar tissue caused my water to break 3 months early. The placenta happened to implant on this band of scar tissue, which caused a very unstable environment. He could see the problem on very early ultrasounds and he was surprised that I even made it to 28 weeks. I guess Mason is even more of a miracle than we thought! The good news is that a recent test showed no remaining scar tissue, so the risk of it happening again is less than 1%.
We're not sure if or when we will try for another, but it is such a relief to know that we aren't at any increased risk for another premature baby. And I certainly went home that day and gave Mason a HUGE hug :-)
Monday, August 1, 2011
Is it really August?
They say time flies when you're having fun and we are certainly having a fun summer with our little man. I just love this stage! I'm amazed at how quickly he is learning and growing, but I also want him to slow down just a little! He seems to change weekly and I know it's just a matter of time before I have a little boy instead of a baby. Here's what Mason is up to these days...
He's not quite walking, but 'cruising' everywhere and walking with some push toys. He can also stand on his own for a few seconds and is very proud of himself when he does. In the meantime, he is fast as lightening with his 'crab walk'. Yes, he still refuses to use both knees while crawling, but it has made him quite popular at his school. I had a teacher I've never met before stop to tell me how funny it was and that she stopped by his classroom because 'she heard she had to see it'. Great - my child is a circus side show :-)
He's very good with his sippy cup as you can see from the pictures. We still give him a bottle (milk or juice - no more formula) in the morning and bedtime, but we'll probably transition to all sippy cups soon. He's also doing better with 'real' food, although he is pretty picky.
He is still a talker! Mostly in his own language, but we are starting to recognize a few words. He's definitely got 'mama' and 'dada'. He loves saying 'bye-bye' (bah-bah) while waving, although not usually when we tell him to. And we recently picked up on what we believe is 'doggie' (dah-HEE) and 'kitty' (ke-HEE).
He's not quite walking, but 'cruising' everywhere and walking with some push toys. He can also stand on his own for a few seconds and is very proud of himself when he does. In the meantime, he is fast as lightening with his 'crab walk'. Yes, he still refuses to use both knees while crawling, but it has made him quite popular at his school. I had a teacher I've never met before stop to tell me how funny it was and that she stopped by his classroom because 'she heard she had to see it'. Great - my child is a circus side show :-)
He's very good with his sippy cup as you can see from the pictures. We still give him a bottle (milk or juice - no more formula) in the morning and bedtime, but we'll probably transition to all sippy cups soon. He's also doing better with 'real' food, although he is pretty picky.
He is still a talker! Mostly in his own language, but we are starting to recognize a few words. He's definitely got 'mama' and 'dada'. He loves saying 'bye-bye' (bah-bah) while waving, although not usually when we tell him to. And we recently picked up on what we believe is 'doggie' (dah-HEE) and 'kitty' (ke-HEE).
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