Planes, Mason and an Automobile

Years ago Steve Martin and John Candy did a hilarious movies called 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'. It was a about this businessman (Steve Martin) who was trying to get home for the holidays. Watching one thing after another thing happen to this man made for an eventful and funny movie. It's one of our favorites. Yesterday, turned out to be our families live version of this movie. As many of you know, we should be in Mexico right now, basking in the 80 degree weather and enjoying Grandma and Grandpa O. Unfortunately after a 24 hours ordeal.., we're still not. We were suppose to leave Thursday night, flying first to LA then on to Mexico. We actually made it LA.., 2 hours late missing our connecting flight. Our flight attendants on the LA flight assured us that it wasn't a big deal and they'd just put us on the next flight available. Arriving in LA (11:45pm), we tried talking with the gate agents for Delta.., they said they couldn't help us and we needed to talk to Aeromexico. We walked to the end of the terminal to Aeromeixco only to find out they couldn't help us either and referred us to the ticket agents outside the terminal. So on to the ticket agents we marched. We spoke to countless people who did nothing to help except to refer us to someone else. Not one person said they were 'sorry for our inconvenience' or showed any empathy. Since part of our flight was on Delta and the other was on Aeromexico they each said it was the other airlines concern. Dan waited in line after line, being shuffled back and forth as I sat with Mason who was screaming and crying, trying to console him. I finally had enough and took the boy to the pay phone to try and find someone to help while Dan continued the fight in the lines. After crying on the phone to Gary from Delta and explaining our plight, he was able to reserve us on a flight on December 23rd. The only catch was it left from Salt Lake City and he wasn't able to actually re-ticket us til we spoke with Aeromexico and jump through a few more hoops. LA was completely sold out of everything til Christmas Eve. We couldn't find a flight on any Airline to Mexico City let alone back to Salt Lake. It was something out of a story. Things like this happened in movies and not in real life.., so we thought. We tracked down our bags after speaking with 4 people at 3:30am. Fortunately, they were not sent off to Mexico with out us. Once we were able to get Mason in his car seat he quickly feel asleep. Not being able to find any flights, we went to the Avis counter to rent a car. There we met Lethesa, the first helpful person in LA. She upgraded our car for 'the baby'. Also, after hearing our story, she said 'oh you both need something nice' and gave us $50 off our car rental. It was so nice to have some one that cared. At 5:49am (LA time) we started our journey back to Salt Lake. Two exceptionally tried parents and an overtired baby did not make for an ideal road trip. Talking to delta from the cell phone, we were able to get a game plan and knew exactly what we needed to do when we hit Salt Lake. Mason pooping on Linda's lap during a stop for a diaper change, screaming to get out of the car seat and us stopping every hour to close our eyes are among our family's fond memories. 13 hours later we arrived in Salt Lake. We dropped Mason of at his Aunt's and headed back to the airport to drop off the rental car and obtain an actual ticket for the 23rd. Within 20 minutes, Suiree, was able to re-issue our ticket and get us on our way. She was able to do what dozens in LA couldn't or rather wouldn't. She was not only helpful but incredible nice to work with. She apologized for the inconvenience. This short blog entry does not do our experience justice. However I tried to explain just didn't seem enough. Keep your fingers crossed that our flight tomorrow goes off with out a hitch.

**Santa Baby**

Mason was able to spend some time with the big man in red at my work party last week. He did just fine. No crying. I think he's a little too young to realize this strange guy is scary. Next year will be the test to see if he will sit on Santa's lap.

I'm ready for VACATION!

I should be doing a zillion and two other things besides 'blogging' right now. Instead.., I feel need to escape reality for a few minutes and pretend that I and mine family are packed and ready for our flight to Mexico that leaves in a few short hours. It has truly been a crazy one. For those of you that don't know, we are heading down to Oaxaca, Mexico to be with Dan's parents for Christmas. With living in Mexico, there's several items that are not available in their stores or if they are available, are outrageously priced. So we have suitcases filled with Karo syrup, chocolate chips, jelly bellies, molasses and brown sugar just to name a few things. It's been a challenge making sure each suitcases weight is right on 50lbs!. The good thing is.., we'll have lots of room for sourvenirs to bring back

I love this thing!

I love this thing! My cute friend Kim lent us this contraption and I'm kicking myself that I didn't ask for it weeks ago! Mason loves standing and so this 'Johnny Jump Up' is a fabulous invention for him!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas! We are so excited to have the holiday season upon us! The lights in the neighborhoods, the navity being set up, Christmas music playing every where we go, the smells of holiday baking.., we love it all! We are so happy to have our little Mason with us this season. We hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Mason's First Rap Video

Ok, so Mason and daddy were talking one day and Mason told daddy how much he loved Biggy and 2Pac. So daddy and Mason decided to make a video with Mason's alter-ego, Daddy Mase a.k.a. Thug Mase. Daddy thought it was so cool that he had to put it on the blog, So we hope you like it. The key is to listen to the lyrics as you watch Mason's facial gestures. Please feel free to critique. Peazzzzzz Out!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for me is all about family, food and lots of laughs. Thanksgiving in Connecticut was exactly that! Mason had his first plane ride and night away from home. We were lucky enough to be able to spend the holiday with my sisters and their families. This was the first time that the cousins on my side were able to spend time with Mason and they loved every second they spent with him. Mason was not out of their arms for more then a second before they were asking to hold him again. Hannah and Meredith were talking to him cconstantly. Rachel was the most attentive babysitter and care for his every need. Even the older boys Aaron and Ethan loved playing and laughing with their new cousin. Mason's Uncles and Aunts were among the competitors for snuggling with the little guy as well.

Mason tried pumpkin pie..., not a lot.., just what fit on mom's finger. I think it could be an acquired taste for him.

Mason and Auntie Sandy (my mom's sister) We had so much fun and can't wait til we're all together again.

Bath Time - the sequel

It's getting cold!

We love our walks! When Mason was still sitting in his car seat for walks, he would cry and cry through out the majority of the walk. At times they were miserable, but i felt like I needed to get him out into the fresh air. Now, with Mason some what sitting, he loves his walks. From day one, he's been the type of kid that doesn't want to miss anything that happens. He constantly needs to be able to scan the room he's in or see the door to see who's coming and going. Heaven forbid something happens with out him seeing it!

Photo Shoot

I decided that Mason needed to get professional pictures taken a few weeks back. In and of it self, pictures sound just fine. Not a big deal. I however made the mistake of assuming that Sears Portrait Studio actually hires professionals. Please forgive me if you work or have worked at the Sears Portrait Studio. I'm sure you were the exception to this. The young lady that I was lucky enough to be assigned to take Mason's pictures however was not professional at all. As we walked into a studio, ever thing seemed fine. I explained to her that this was my first time getting photos taken and I wasn't sue what poses, etc I wanted. She assured me that that was no problem and quickly moved to the computer in the room. She pulled up pose after pose on the computer. Each pose had a detailed description as to how to get that particular shot. It was as specific as 'face child's head this way' and 'shake toy over here'. If that wasn't enough to make me not come back..., she also kept referring to Mason as Mass-Son. I corrected her several times.., but it didn't seem to click with her and continued to call him Mass-Son. After hours of being there we left completely frustrated and with quasi good photos. Having this experience.., I thought for sure 'we' could take better pictures than that and plan my own little photo shoot for Mass-Son. Here are a few of the shots.

Mason was all smiles and happy. Things were going well.
I decided to push my luck and tried branching out a bit. with pictures of his feet and Dan's hands.Things still went good and so I pushed again, thinking..., how cute would if be to get some naked shots.

He was so happy. We captured better smiles than Sears could ever even dream of getting. The photo shoot drew to a close. I picked up Mason only to find the fun little treat he left for his mommy and daddy.
Of course.., our son who pees anywhere and everywhere, peed. The best part was that our 'photo shoot' if you will, wasn't in a studio.., but rather on our was on our bed. Perhaps there are some benefits of getting pictures at Sears instead of our bed!

Goodbye Max!

Last week was a sad week for our family. We had to put our dog Max to sleep. It all happened so fast and are still a bit in shock. Max got sick on Tuesday night. He wasn't eating or acting like himself. We took him to the vet the next morning. After x-ray's and blood work, we left with three medications and not much more definete information about what was going on. The vet thought it was one of several things. It was hard to tell with the symptoms Max was having. By Friday morning Max stopped drinking as well. He was having a hard time walking. We brought him back into the vet to make a hard decision.He was so sick that we really didn't have an option. After we put him to sleep the vet found that he had cancer through out his entire body and most likely had been sick for a long time. He had a tumor that ruptured to cause the sudden decline. Max will be missed..., especially by his friend Kava.

Pears

PEARS?!?!? That was the scream that came from the boy's mind today. They seem so mild.., so sweet. They seem like just about anyone would like them. Well.., we're not quite sure what Mason thinks of this supposedly tasty fruit. This morning Mason christened his high chair and with that ate his first solid foods. He sat buckled into his 5-point harness space saver chair just perfectly. He was all smiles and 'coos'. He loved the new experience. We put on his duckie bib that his cousin Meredith gave him and things couldn't be better. Then 'the pears' entered the picture and confusion set in.

He wasn't sure what his trusted mother was doing to him. There was a look of disgust and shock on his face each time the spoon touched his mouth.
I tried to assure him that one day he would love eating and that this would be fun for him. He didn't seem to be buying it though.
In fact.., he chose eating the duckie bib over the pears.

Happy Halloween!

Our little cow!
We had to get teh picture of the tail as well.

Marcus the Carcass

Halloween is Dan's BIG holiday. He loves the entire month and even all things that lead up to the holiday. The leaves changing and air turning cold. In fact, that's one of the reason why we got married in October ..., it was Dan's favorite month and what better way to celebrate then with a wedding anniversary. He especially loves decorating for the blessed holiday. He was excited about this year because he added a few new things to his collection. Below let me introduce you to 'Marcus the Carcass'. He has adorned our flower beds this month. The great thing about Marcus is.., he lights up! what more could you ask for in your flower beds?My idea of Halloween decorating is a touch different from Dan's. I'm fine with a few pumpkins, a corn stalk or two and a hay bale on my door step and I call it good. Speaking of pumpkins...., how can I have a blog entry with out including a picture of our little pumpkin. Mason loves Halloween already. As you can tell.., he's excited about the holiday like his dad. He's been wearing his festive beanie and socks all month!

SOOO BIG!

Our neighbor let us borrow this great little invention. It helps babies sit up straight and build their muscles while providing support so they don't topple over. Mason gets bored with it after 15 - 20 minutes..., but trust me.., some days, even 15 minutes is a huge help for a working mom. Mason is also sporting his Sundance onesie from the film festival. Dan loved it because he's never seen a black onesie for a baby before.

PS - Mason was 3 months yesterday..., or 13 weeks.

Bath Time

Mason loves his baths!

Even at his fussiest times he will calm down instantly as soon as he hears the bath water turns on.

He needs no toys. He loves the warm water and especially the sprays from the shower.

Sunday

Mason and Mommy

'I know.., there's a bottle coming out of my head.., but look how cute my smile is!'

Real Men Wear Pink!

This was the site I found yesterday morning when I got Mason up for the day. The previous night Mason had spent at his Aunt Ruth's house while I was teaching a class for work. Dan picked him up from her house and had put our little guy to bed before I got home. Apparently Mason had spit up on the PJ's I left for him leaving Ruth to find something of her girls for him to wear. Well.., Dan didn't mention any of this to me. You can imagine my surprise as I unwrapped him from his blanket and I saw him in a pink and flowered nightie! Ruth assures me that it shouldn't hurt his masculinity too much and that it's OK for him to wear a nightie because his grandma O actually made it. Perhaps we should have grandma O make him some 'man' nighties.., if there's such a thing???

Mason Blue Eyes

Most babies are born with steel blue eyes. They will change to their permanent color by their 4 month. Some times they stay blue, some time they turn brown or green or a variety in between. Mason, as well, was born with steel blue eyes. We thought that they would change for sure since Dan has light brown eyes and as we all know from junior high science, brown eyes are dominant. Mason is almost 3 months now and his blue eyes are still going strong. There's no hint of them changing and we're thinking we have a blued eyed boy on our hands.

Growing like a weed!

I never quite understood that expression till last summer when I started my flower beds. I took a Saturday in early May last year.., turned over all the dirt (OK, fine.., i had Dan turn over all the dirt).., then I strategically planted all my flowers and plants. I did the same this May. My flower beds looked perfect and there was not a weed in sight! In my naivety, I thought perhaps I would have to weed once a month or so. I was SO wrong. With in a week my perfect flower beds went from perfect to filled with ugly weeds!
After that it was non stop weeding all summer! I could barely keep up with the weeds they were growing so fast. Mason has taken on a weed like form in his growth. Growing every second of every day! Thankfully he's incredible handsome and is only weed-like in his growth. Mason started off as such a little guy. In the last few weeks he has busted into his 3- 6 months clothes and they are fitting him just fine.
As a side note.., I thankfully discovered Pre-Emergent Weed Killer and has cut my weeding in half...., don't worry, we won't be using that on Mason. We like that he's growing..., we just hope we'll be able to keep up.