Mason's First Christmas

Ho Ho Ho! Well Mason's first Christmas has come and gone and it was a blast!! We enjoyed the company of family and friends and reveled in the music, card playing, and food consumption associated with the season. Mason made out like a bandit and is going to be the most stylin' little stud ever with the cute little clothes he scored! We went up to Chico the weekend before Christmas and spent some time with Mason's great grandparents, aunts and uncles. He was quite the little center of attention as he is the youngest little one on that side of the family. He was such a good little baby and did quite well although in a foreign house with game trophy heads mounted on all the walls! (The party was at Mason's great Uncle Jim's house - Great Uncle Jim is an avid hunter and recently mounted the head of a Cape Buffalo in his living room.)

The newest issue in our little family is my return to work. I attempted to obtain a temporary part-time schedule with my bank (with the intention of returning to full time work in March) but they were unable to make the accommodation I was looking for. They offered me a somewhat reduced schedule (per my request). However, the management position I hold with them is really a full time position and will never be able to accommodate part time hours. Tim and I sat down and had a heart-to-heart to talk about what type of work situation I wanted ... and we decided that it was dooable for me to work part time and I , therefore, gave my notice to the bank. We figured this would be a perfect time for me to transition into the paralegal field. I will, however, be working for them three days a week until they find my replacement or until I find other employment. I didn't want to leave them in a lurch so I offered to help them out ... I believe it is a good arrangement for both parties ... they have help until they find someone else, and I have income until I find something else! Its a win win situation!

Anyhow, I have included a link to some pictures (you may need to copy and paste into your browser) : http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=60cie9o.cdnjqt88&x=0&y=-w4zcd4 and
http://mystudio.kiddiekandids.com/viewshare.asp?c=602005074NUA7YW4R

Mason is starting to giggle more frequently and is smiling all the time. Our favorite is when he smiles while he has his pacifier in his mouth ... you can see the smile in his eyes. He is over 15 lbs and has a doctor's appointment in the coming weeks to receive his next round of shots. He currently has a little cold that is making him a little fussy and is preventing him from sleeping as well at night. Other than that, he is peachy keen!!

Anyhow, I hope this finds you all doing well!

Jenn

muffin top ....

Today was a major milestone ... I fit into my pre-pregnancy fat pants! Yes, I have a muffin top that would make any baker proud, but I fit into the pants darn-it!! Although I would never normally condone wearing pants where my belly pours over the waistband, I am going to wear these jeans for the rest of the day .... even if they make my eyeballs pop out a little!

Yesterday I chopped my hair off! It is short short short and it is taking a little getting used to! For those of you who have known me for a long time, I used to have this cut in my early college years. I am happy to be rid of the constant ponytail! It is very quick and easy to style!

Mason is doing great! He is already in size 3 diapers! He loves to splash in the bath and he is beginning to giggle and laugh more ....he is just getting so BIG! Har har, I just heard him fart from the other room ... Tim would be so proud!

Anyhow, I hope this finds each of you having a wonderful Holiday season!

Hugs,

Jenn

8 hours!

Life is back to normal and we are back home. Mason was an absolute prince for the rest of our Virginia trip and was a COMPLETE trooper on the flight home! We had a wonderful time on our trip but are very happy to return to home base (Nahla is happy we are back, too!).

Mason is growing like a weed .... he outgrew clothes that I packed for his trip while we were in Virginia! Mason is almost 11 weeks and is already in 3-6 month clothing! We recently have tried a new schedule with him that is working quite well! Instead of him "snacking" all day long - and then falling asleep after his snack, we have been feeding him every 3 hours or so and then keeping him awake after feeding. The wonderful result of this schedule is that Mason is sleeping longer periods through the night! The new schedule allowed him to go 5 hours or so at first, and then last night he slept 8 hours! HALLELUJAH! - HOLY S%#$ (to quote Clark Griswold in the wonderful Christmas movie classic, Christmas Vacation)!!

I am very much enjoying my time at home with my little man and am saddened the (dreaded) return to work is fast approaching. Mason and I have so much fun together during the day! He is so interactive now - - he coos and smiles, kicks, farts and has even laughed a couple of times! He's a HOOT to be around and it is only going to get better! If only I had a secret money tree in the back yard from which I could harvest cash ..... then I could stay home with Mason! Hummmm ........

The other weekend we packed up our little family and went to cut a Christmas tree. Grandma Marge bought Mason a cute little hat that kept his cranium warm during our tree hunt adventure. This year was probably the only year that we would get away with dressing him like that because he physically couldn't yank the hat off his head! His ensemble was too cute!

Anyhow, you can check out pictures from Virginia and the following days at the following link:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=60cie9o.ak2creps&x=0&y=swlvgi

I have also uploaded some video taken recently. Enjoy!

With Love,

Jenn, Tim and Mason