St. Simons 2012

We had an amazing week in St. Simons Island, Georgia.  The island is very special for our family because my parents used to have a condo there and Chris and I chose it as our wedding location.  The beaches may not be as beautiful as the gulf, but we love the island lifestyle and history.

We were so happy that both sets of grandparents joined us for a few days.  They were a HUGE help with the boys and allowed Chris and I to spend plenty of time playing with Mason at the beach and pool. We also had a few much appreciated date nights! Obviously, it was Matthew's first trip to the beach.  He spent most of his time indoors snuggling with his Mimi and Nana, but he made a few trips to the sand.  It was Mason's second beach trip and he is finally getting used to the beach and ocean, although his favorite is still the 'pool' which he requested constantly the whole trip.

It was a perfect week and I hope we can make it an annual trip.  I have very fond memories of our annual beach trip to Gulf Shores with my grandmother and cousins and I hope we can do the same as the boys get older.

Warning:  picture overload!  I'm finally learning how to use my fancy new camera!

Mason was brave when the surf was calm

He preferred daddy carrying him in the ocean

Mommy and daddy with their big boy

Playing in the sand (he didn't quite get the sand castle thing yet)

He was happiest 'jumping' in the pool

My tired boy after an afternoon of swimming

The beautiful sunrise I saw every morning (thanks Matthew)

Mason did not like Matthew getting in 'his pool' (he called the ocean the 'big pool')

Another successful family photo!

Playing in the surf

Attempted family photo on the beach.  The sun was very bright.

Mommy and her precious boys

This melts my heart.  Mason was so excited to hold baby Matthew

Baby Matthew putting his feet in the surf

Close-up of Matthew - 3 1/2 months

When it rains at the beach - you blow bubbles!!

Bye Bye Beach - we'll miss you

If you want to see more (and I mean A LOT MORE), here is the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/chenretty/StSimons2012#

3 months old and new boo-boos

My little chunk is 3 months old!  The summer is flying by and I am enjoying every minute at home with him.  He is sleeping much better (even sleeping through the night sometimes) and I have him on a decent napping schedule.  His unofficial 3 month weight is about 15 lbs.  He likes to eat!  If you'll notice from the side pictures, Mason weighed that at 6 mos.  I think Matthew is going to outgrow his 'big' brother very soon.

I love the dimples in this picture!  He is definitely smiling and interacting with us more and he loves watching his big brother play.

And we had our first trip to Children's Healthcare with Mason on Saturday.  He was playing outside and fell off of a small retaining wall into the driveway.  He had a deep cut on his forehead, so we went to get it stitched up.  We were very impressed with Children's.  They had us home in less than an hour and everyone was extremely nice.  He got 3 stitches and some surgical glue and we hope it won't leave too much of a scar.  The funniest part was the 'happy juice' they gave him to calm him down before his stitches.  It made him really loopy and it lasted for a few hours.  He couldn't stand up and just talked jibberish all night.  Here he is sporting his bandage and having dinner while still 'intoxicated'.

Right before his dive into the driveway, he bravely jumped off of the diving board at his friend Annelise's pool birthday party.  He was so proud of himself and wanted to jump over and over again.  Sunday night, we happened to be watching the Olympics while the diving competition was on.  He was SOOOO excited and screamed 'I jump off dat!' every time an athlete dove into the pool.  It was hilarious!  Maybe we have a future Olympian?  Of course, he calls it a 'water board' and 'water jumping', but close enough!

Smiles and phrases

Matthew has been smiling for about a month now, but I'm finally catching a few with the camera. This is the face I usually get when I get the camera out.

And this is the pretty smile we see quite often now. You can't really tell, but he has dimples on both cheeks. Love it! 

And the things out of a two year old's mouth can be very entertaining.  Some of his favorite phrases these days:

• "MOVE Woof-Woof!" (what he calls Shadow now). Apparently she gets in his way often.
• "I DID IT!!!".  Anytime he does anything by himself
• "BLUE!!"  As in, "Mason, what color is the grass?".  We are really working on colors, but for some reason, the answer is always 'blue'.  I'm starting to worry that he is color blind.
• "Put baby down".  I hear this whenever Mason wants something while I'm holding the baby.

Here are a few pictures of my sweet boys.  Mason continues to be a great big brother, although he can get a little rough, so we have to keep a close eye.  I can already see them rough-housing in the very near future. And, yes, Mason desperately needs a haircut.
 

Little fish and the tadpole

Mason is definitely our little fish.  He loves being in the water and especially loves visiting the lake because we spend a lot of time in the pool.  He starts requesting the 'pool' from the minute he wakes up (which is usually much earlier than at home).  I'm amazed at how much his swimming improves each time he's in the water.  We finally found a good floatation device that helps him swim independently (with an adult very close by of course).  He has no fear and loves jumping off the side of the pool.  We'll probably do formal swim lessons in the fall, but for now he's doing pretty good on his own!

Here is Mason jumping to Grandpa Dee.  I have a great video of him and Breanna jumping together, but I'm having trouble getting it loaded to the blog.

And swimming with Uncle Lamar.  He's swimming all by himself with the help of his little swimmies.

Here is Mason and daddy going to the Chamblee Fourth of July carnival.  We ate ice cream and rode the Thomas train.  They had bouncy houses, but Mason decided he didn't want to jump.

And our little tadpole Matthew is 2 months old!  The time is flying by!  Everyone told me that 2 months was a big milestone and he really is sleeping much better and starting to smile and 'talk' to us.  I haven't been quick enough with the camera to catch a smile yet, so this is the best I could do.  His 2 month checkup went well and he is almost 13 lbs.  We love you little chunk - please don't grow up too fast!

Mason's Birthday Party

We recently had a small birthday party for Mason at a local park.  The theme was 'Have a Ball', which Mason loved!  The kids played with balls in the air conditioned recreation room and a few even braved the extreme heat to enjoy the playground.  Mason understood that the party was for him and he was so excited when we sang 'Happy Birthday' to him.  It was a great day and we're so happy that our friends and family were there to celebrate with us!

And his big gift from mommy and daddy - a train table!  It is a big hit!

Daddy's Day

It's a little late, but just a quick post for the best daddy on his first father's day with two adorable little boys.  We had a nice weekend at the lake with my parents and I tried to let Chris sleep in and relax as much as possible.  I think life with two has been more of an adjustment for Chris than it has for me, but he is doing great and has really stepped up to help out even more than he already did.

Bedtime Routine

Since this is kind of an online baby book for my boys, I want to document those quirky little things that make us laugh now and we are likely to forget about later.  I mentioned before that Mason has a few obsessive-compulsive tendencies.  His bedtime routine is a great example of this.  We set a bedtime routine early on (bath, book, bed) and Mason has always been a very good sleeper.  Over time, he has expanded on this and now expects certain things to be the exact same way every night before he will consider laying down to sleep.  See the picture below and allow me to explain.

1. He plays his crib aquarium/soother several times before he falls asleep and anytime he wakes overnight (thank you Julie for this amazing baby gift!).
2. Shadow stuffed animal and panda bear (cut from the picture) must be sitting in the left corner of the crib (if either of these fall over, he will yell 'uh-oh' until someone comes and fixes them).
3. Sippy cup of water must be in the right corner of the crib.
4. He must have AT LEAST 2 books in the crib.  He'd take every single one if we let him.
5. He must have his 'blah-blah' knitted lovey that he chews on (it's in his left hand in the picture).
6. And finally, his blanket.  His feet and arms must be covered completely and if any escape, it will also cause an 'uh-oh' cry for help.

It's that simple!  Follow these steps and he will be asleep in no time!