2011 ! ! !

2011 was a year to remember!

January

We were gearing up for a new baby!

I entered my third trimester and we worked on the nursery.

February

We took maternity pictures.

I made curtains!

We went on our babymoon!

March

My niece Chloe was born!

I reached full term and we showered Mason!

We finished the nursery.

April

Mason Ryan Carr was born!

We celebrated our first Easter as a family.

May

We survived our first month of parenthood. Everything else was pretty much a blur.

June

Mason turned two months.

... started smiling...

and learned to roll over!

July

I went back to work and learned A LOT!

Mason turned three months and started holding his head up.

Our niece Kaylee was born.

Mason had his first swim in the lake!

August

Mason turned four months.

We went to Bermuda!

Mason was baptized...

and went to his first Astros game!



Our niece Tatum was born!

September

Mason turned five months.

Mason started crawling.

Mason started solids.

Mason attended his first A&M tailgate!

October

Mason turned six months.

His friend Cullen Michael Deady was born.

Mason learned to pull up and stand.

Mason had his first Halloween...

and trick or treating!

November

Mason turned seven months.

Mason met Santa.

We made ornaments...

lots of ornaments!

December

Mason turned eight months.

Stacy got married!

Mason road his first horse at Granny and Grandad's.

Mason took his first steps just days before Christmas

and celebrated the birth of Christ!

I have had so much fun doing these yearly reviews the last several years. It really helps remind us of everything we have accomplished (even if it is living vicariously through our child) and what all we are grateful for!

What an amazing year God blessed us with. I can only hope that 2012 will live up to 2011!

Nine Months Old!

Month Nine

Weight:

19 pounds (birth: 8lbs .3oz)

Length:

27.5 inches (birth: 21 inches)

Diapers:

Size 3.

Clothes:

6-9 month range.

Feedings:

Every 4-5 hours. Breast milk. 7-8 oz.

Mason loves finger foods. You can tell he has gotten a little bored with baby food, but since he still doesn't have teeth, we are stuck with just a few "soft" finger foods for the time being.

Nights:

Mason is still consistently sleeping at least 11 hours each night, to bed between 7:30-8:00 and awake between 6:30-7:00 these days.

Personality:

Mason is a ham. He smiles at everyone, literally. The store clerk, the waitress, the mailman. But he really loves his parents, his grandparents, and his couisins. You can tell he really recognizes them right away.

If I had to sum up Mason's personality right now, I would say he loves to dance! I have never seen a kid that likes music and noises as much as he does, maybe all of the music I played for him everyday all day during my maternity leave really had an effect on him, who knows. Other than that he loves to throw balls and watch them bounce, loves to chase us around the house, and  he has started to give kisses.

Diaper changes and pajama time, however, are the only times we really see an unhappy baby. If someone could just explain to him that until he is potty trained and can dress himself, this will be an ongoing battle. I have tried, he obviously didn't listen.

Development:

This month Mason has started to wave, tries to immitate a cow's "moo", makes a distinct "cluck" noise with his mouth which he seems to enjoy, tries to blink when we do, loves to feed himself rather than eat from a spoon, can drink from a sippy cup, but loves to throw his cup on the ground too, dances!!! to pretty much any music, loves choo choo trains, loves any kind of animal, plays peek-a-boo, sits up really well and loves to read books.

 I am not sure what constitutes "first steps" in a baby book, but Mason takes at least 100 steps each day. He is not "walking", but takes about 5 steps at a time until he sits down or kneels down. The funny thing about Mason is that he crawled before he ever sat up and now he is walking before standing. When he does stand by himself he immediately takes steps, so I am sure he can, just doesn't.

This month we tried really hard to get Mason to sit still in the bath. Since he rarely sits still unless he is eating or reading a book, this has been a struggle. After some persistance, he will finally sit and take a 10-15 minute bath instead of a short 5 minute bath. It is still hard for him to understand he cannot stand up, and he is not a big fan of getting his head wet. He is starting to enjoy playing in the water and really likes bubbles now too.

Mason still does not have any teeth! Poor guy. He has had some rough "teething" moments this month where he actually tried chewing on our wood floors to ease his pain.

Nap time bliss continues. I put Mason into his crib at 9:00 and 2:00 and he will play for a bit and then fall asleep for an hour or hour and a half.

We are in love with our little boy.

We are seeing him become more and more like a boy these days and less and less like a baby. He is all boy. Into everything imaginable.

Say Mom, how does this chair work?

Mason Ryan Carr, this has been the best 9 months of my life!