Bedtime Prayers!

Now that Mason is old enough to actually have a "bedtime routine" and is no longer taking a bottle, I have been trying to think of a way to get him more involved (if that's the right word?) in our nightly prayer. I thought if we started to say the same prayer every night he might start to recognize it and eventually look forward to hearing it, and then later want to say it himself. The only problem with that is the prayer I remember saying as a kid was quite long, with difficult words (straight from the bible), so I took to the internet and found some amazing bedtime prayers! I did include the one I said as a kid very last in case anyone was curious or wants to use it, I still love it and it doesn't get more biblical than that, but for a one year old it may not be a show stopper. Some of the ones listed are still long, and some still worded a lot like the bible, but they have great truths in them. Some people have suggested teaching your child one verse at a time (one each year?) or have each kid learn a verse and have the whole family recite the prayer in pieces. There are lots of great ways to break up the long prayers. Anyways, enjoy and please let me know which one is your favorite!!!!

1. Now the light has gone away;

Christ, listen while I pray.

Asking Thee to watch and keep

And to send me quietly to sleep.

Jesus, Savior, wash away

All that has been wrong today;

Help me every day to be

Good and gentle, more like Thee.

Let my near and dear ones be

Always near and dear to Thee.

O bring me and all you love

To Thy happy home above.

Amen.

2.  Lord, send me sleep that I may live;

The wrongs I've done this day please forgive.

Bless every deed and thought and word

I've rightly done, or said, or heard.

Bless relatives and friends alway;

Teach all the world to watch and pray.

My thanks for all my blessings take

And hear my prayer for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

3.  Father, we thank thee for the night,

And for the pleasant morning light;

For rest and food and loving care,

And all that makes the day so fair.

Help us to do the things we should,

To be to others kind and good;

In all we do, in work or play,

To grow more loving every day.

4.   Dear Father in heaven look down from above,

Bless Mommy and Daddy and those who I love.

May angels watch over my slumber and when,

The morning is breaking, awake me. Amen.

5.   Gentle Jesus hear my prayer.

Keep me in your tender care.

Be my guide in all I do,

and Help me live my life to you

Bless ….(family members and pets!)

And now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep,

Thy angels watch me through the night,

And keep me safe 'til morning Light

Teach me to always say what's true.

Be willing in each task I do.

Help me to be good each day,

and lead me in thy holy way.

I pray whatever wrongs I've done,

You will forgive me every one.

Be near me when I wake again, and

Bless all of those I love. Amen.

6.   God our father I come to say

thank you for your love today

thank you for my family

and all the love you give to me

guard me in the dark of night

and in the morning send your light

7.    Father, now the night has come,

all my work and play are done.

This has been a happy day,

now I come to you and pray.

Bless the children everywhere,

keep us in your loving care,

while we sleep and while we wake,

bless us all for Jesus' sake.

8.    With all that I do,

and all that I say,

help me to walk

in Jesus' way.

9.    Time has come for me to sleep,
And I thank Thee for Thy keep.

Watch this night well over me

Teach me Lord to trust in Thee.

Many sins I've done today

Please, Lord take them all away.

Look upon me in Thy grace

Make me pure before Thy face.

Care for children sick and poor,

Grant them Lord Thy blessing more

Care for Mom and Dad the same

This I pray in Jesus' Name.

Amen

10.    Now I lay me down to rest

Angels guard my little nest

Like the wee birds in the tree

Loving Father care for me

Glad and well may I awake

This I ask for Jesus sake.

Amen

11.    Dear God, I thank You for Your care

You've been right with me everywhere

At school, at play, You're by my side

My special Friend, my loving Guide

And when the sun has said goodbye

And little stars shine in the sky

You're still with me, not far above

Right in my heart, for You are Love.

Amen

12.    Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

And if He should give me one more day,

I pray I will walk in His Way.

And when my days are at an end,

I pray at Heaven's Gate, He will invite me in.

13.     Five little angels round my bed.

One to the foot and one to the head.

One to sing and one to pray, and one to take my sins away. Amen.

14. The day is done;

O God the Son,

Look down upon

Thy little one!

O Light of Light,

Keep me this night,

And shed round me

Thy presence bright.

I need not fear

If Thou art near;

Thou art my Savior

Kind and dear.

 

15.  Our Father, Who art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

Twelve Months Old!

Month Twelve

Weight:

20.25 pounds 34% (birth: 8lbs .3oz)

Length:

29 inches 17% (birth: 21 inches)

Diapers:

Size 3 daytime and Size 4 nighttime.

Clothes:

9-12 month range.

Feedings:

Mason is officially done with breastfeeding and bottles! I am relieved to say this transition went a lot more smoothly than I imagined it would. The first few days he was definitely "needy" and attached, but we just gave him a sippy cup with milk and let him sit in our laps while we read a book and that worked out great. Within a few more days I started mixing in a little bit of whole milk, which Mason didn't seem to mind, and now he is drinking about 1/3 breastmilk and 2/3 whole milk. I feel so lucky that Mason didn't seem to care. After an entire year of exclusively breastfeeding we have heard horror stories from other friends about getting their children to transition, so yippee. Thank you Mason!
Mason now drinks milk in a cup at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and sometimes before bath if he wants it.

Meanwhile, he is still a great eater. He has pretty much tried everything that he can chew with his 4 1/2 teeth (4 big and 1 still working its way out) and really loves his fruit, veggies, cheese, chicken and fish.

Nights:

Mason is still consistently sleeping at least 11 hours each night, to bed around 8:00 and awake between 7:00-7:30 these days.

He is still taking 2 naps. We tried several times this last month to just do one nap and it was not fun for anyone involved. Mason was a grump, Mom was a grump, and Dad was asking "What's the point of just one nap again?" Ha. So we have stuck with the 2 naps and it is working out just fine for now.

Personality:
Mason loves to play hide and seek. Right before bed we lay him in his crib and I say "where is Mason?" and he will hide in his blanket and then peek out and I will say "boo, there he is." I love that it never gets old for him. He just keeps doing it over and over until I say goodnight and give him a kiss. It is my favorite part of the whole day!

He also loves playing "chase" with Chris and our dog Dusty. Chris will chase Mason and Mason will chase the dog. He is in hysterical laughter while running.

Mason loves loves loves playing outside. He likes riding around in his coupe and wagon. He loves searching for lizards and playing in water. He loves going to the park and playing on the big toys. Hopefully it won't be 100 degrees anytime soon, because I really am not looking forward to telling him no when he wants to go outside all day long. : (

 Development:

Mason is now clearly saying "mama" and "bye bye" and tries to say "baba" (dada), "ow" (out), "uh uh" (uh oh). Mason also waves, claps and signs a few things: more, please, done. This part has been a struggle. He seems to get frustrated (screaming, grunting, etc.) without attempting to tell us what he wants. If we prompt him before he has a melt down he will respond with what he wants, but doesn't necessarily tell us on his own all the time. I think that's normal. Hopefully we can make some progress on that next month.

 Mason is really great at walking now and catching himself when he falls. In fact he is basically "running" now which is fun to watch. He gets so excited outside and starts running down the driveway to go to the neighbors.

The doctor said at this age he should be saying a couple of words: check, trying to walk: check, pointing and clapping: check, drinking out of a cup: check, and should be interested in feeding himself finger foods: check check check! Music to my ears. Positive reinforcement for a mom that puts way too much pressure on herself. Anyone else feel this way? I don't have unrealistic expectations, but I have a poor idea of what my child should be able to do at this age and it was nice to hear from a paid professional that he is doing great.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for him maybe, Mason had a virus at our doctor's visit so we held off on giving him his shots. We will need to go back in a couple of weeks so that his immune system can recover and accept the vaccines.

One year. Wow. My baby is no longer a baby.

Mason, if you only knew how much you are loved by so many people. We can see you really becoming a little boy with your own personality, likes/dislikes, with your own little voice wanting to be heard. Life is pretty sweet for our little family of three right now and we are excited about the upcoming summer together!

1 year ! ! !

This weekend we got to celebrate Mason's 1st birthday on his actual birthday, which was really exciting and we couldn't have asked for a better turnout and better weather.

Even though the large crowd of people seemed to overwhelm Mason at first, he did let loose with his cousins and friends and really enjoyed playing with them!

Sorry for the excessive number of pictures I am about to share, but I really enjoyed making decorations and food for this party and loved how the little personal and imperfect touches turned out.

And once the party was over we got to celebrate Easter! Last year's Easter was a little less eventful if you remember:

And this year's was a little more involved. Mason enjoyed finding and picking up the eggs, but was not nearly fast enough to compete with cousins Cayley and Chloe!

And finally we ended the weekend with a visit at T-pa and Mimi's house for Easter lunch and Mason got to meet this little fella. If you can't tell he was not really impressed. Haha, watch out chic, next year this kid will probably be chasing you around.

We survided our first year as parents, and more importantly, Mason survived our first year as parents!

We have loved every minute of this last year and are looking forward to seeing this little boy grow.