in with the new

Be Mine Or Else!

Mason wants you to be his Valentine, or he's going to go postal on your ass! Happy Valentine's Day from the teething wonder boy!

Here he is macking on Big Bird, giving him his Valentine's Day kiss.

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve with Mason's girlfriend Olivia and her parents (Leah and Matt). We had a ton of yummy food from our local Italian market. It was Leah and Matt's anniversary, so I got them a special cake. They put Olivia in our Pack N Play when it was her bed time, and we hung out, watched a movie, drank and laughed.

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Here is the picture from our holiday card this year!

Happy holidays! Hopefully, we will live somewhere cooler for the 2008 holiday season!

I'm entering this pic in Stacie's Photo Contest.

Thanksgiving Weekend

What a food filled weekend we had! It was just Will, Mason and me, but we cooked up a storm! We've been eating leftovers all weekend! Here's our menu, we made a handful of things Wedneasday night after Mason went to bed.

Breakfast (cooked Wed. night):
Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Appetizers:
Prosciutto/Arugula Wrapped Shrimp (prepared Wed. night)
Apple Bacon Quiche (it is a recipe for mini quiches, but I couldn't find mini, so now it's regular quiche)
Spinach Artichoke Dip (prepared Wed. night)
Pita Chips
Scoops

Dinner:
Turkey (ELEVEN pounds! - it was the smallest bird my organic market had, and I wanted to try organic bird)
Gravy (well, drippings)
Stuffing (with Pancetta and Chestnuts)
Cornmeal Biscuits
Mediteranean Crescent Rolls (with feta and prosciutto)
Roasted String Beans

Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie (cooked Wed. night)
Chocolate Pecan Pie (cooked Wed. night)

Mason loved the pumpkin pie (he's still eating it at lunchtime) and the muffins. I will make the quiche, stuffing, and crescent rolls again sometime...

I am thankful for Will and our friendship and supportive relationship. I am thankful for Mason, and every little delight he brings us every moment of every day. Thanks, my guys!

Happy Halloween!

Mason wore 2 costumes today,  first he was the new manager of the Yankees:

Then he was the devil:

We had to get that picture quick, because he didn't like his head covered.

Now go look at his cute internet friends in their costumes!!!

Happy First Birthday Mr. Mason!!!

Happy First Birthday, little man! You went from this:

To this!

Happy birthday! (More about the birthday and the 12th month later. I'm. So. Tired!) We love you so much!!!

Happy 30th Birthday, Jackie!

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Jackie!
Happy birthday to you!

I hope you have a fun birthday weekend, sister!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday! I'm Thirty-Fricking-Five!!!! Look at my gift (below) from Mason! He wrapped it in a diaper! I hope it was a clean one! There was a fun Sesame Street t-shirt in it. Will got me a beautiful bracelet. I love my birthday!

First Mother's Day

I had such a great Mother's Day Weekend. It started on Friday night, when Will surprised me with dinner from Lobstergram! We had shrimp and corn chowder, crab cakes, crab claws, and lobster tails. It was such a great dinner! Thanks, Will!

Saturday morning, Mason and I drove across FL to visit my parents. He was so good in the car. He slept for an hour, played by himself for an hour, and then I had to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" over and over to keep him from crying. More on that later...

We had another first on Saturday, first time in a pool! At first, he didn't like it. I think he expected the water to be the temperature of his bath, and when it wasn't, he protested. But I held him, and we played and he got used to it and was fine! I wouldn't say he LIKED it, but he was comfortable in the pool. We'll have to get him in a pool again soon!

Sunday was visiting day. New mommies, old mommies... First we visited my friends in the hospital who just had a baby boy the day before. Congratulations, Shoshana and Dan! He's their second baby, but she's still a new mommy to him! Then we went to see my grandmas. They are both in the same home. I'd like to address Mason personally now, because he was AWESOME all day...

Dear Mason,

Thank you so much for making my first Mother's Day so special. You were so good and were the shining star everywhere we were yesterday. Even with a newborn in the room, you still shined bright. When we were in the hospital, you were so good, so unfussy. You let Dan hold you while I went to the loo without incident. You were happy and good natured, and oh so sweet.

Then we went to visit your great grandmas. Your grandpa David's mother, Ettie was so frail, and you smiled at her, and touched her face. You gave her some joy before she was wheeled off to bed. Your grandma Susie's mother, Gladys was the star of the room. You let her hold you without crying. You smiled at her, at your aunt, uncle, and cousins who you had never met. You even let all of them hold you! You smiled, and didn't get upset until you realized you were hungry. I fed you, and you bounced back! You were smiling at all the residents and other people in the room. Thank you thank you thank you for such a great day! When you are old enough to understand, I will tell you about this day, and give you a gift to show my appreciation.

I love you, Mommy

The drive home was LONG. We made great driving time, but the poor little guy was in his car seat for too too long. He slept for the first hour and a half. Then I stopped to get gas and coffee (Starbucks' white chocolate caffe mocha = awesome for keeping me alert!). I took Mason into the rest stop in the Bjorn, so he'd have a change of venue and a chance to kick his legs. Then we were off again! He was a little fussy, so I sang "Wheels..." and "If You're Happy..." a LOT. I had to make up lyrics to keep myself sane. There were a lot of people on that bus. It was a multicultural event. There were Chinese people on the bus saying "Ni hao", Spanish speaking people saying "Hola", Italians saying "Ciao bella!", a Frenchman (yes, just one!) saying "Bonjour", a yogi saying "Namaste", a surfer saying "Hey Dude!".

We stopped after an hour in a parking lot so I could feed him, and then we were off for the remaining hour of our trip! I did a lot more singing, and then at some point, when I wasn't singing, Sir Mixalot's "I Like Big Butts" came on. Mason was quiet through the whole song, and when the end came on, "little in the middle but she's got much back!", he got a case of the giggles! So I sang "little in the middle but she's got much back!" over and over, getting giggle after giggle!

The last 20 minutes of the trip were hard for him. He was tired, the songs weren't working, he'd been in the car seat too long. It must be hard to be a little guy and to face backward and not be able to see your people! He cried and cried until we pulled up to the house and he saw daddy. Then everything was right in his world. And mine, I was home.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Happy 60th birthday, Mommy! You don't look a day over 49! Woo hoo for young looking genes!

If you'd quit smoking, you'd probably look even younger! And you'd live longer!