Maternity rewards

Kevin and Mason have been quite busy, for some reason they are both stir-crazy in the house and needing to get out. So this week they've gone to the zoo, the grocery store, and the park several times. Mason was having a blast going down the slide over and over again. He's still hesitant around other kids, but at least he's braver on the big boy slide!


Mason is still playing flour, and on this night he had it all over himself! And he also had woken up from his nap with a new mark on his forehead, no one knows how it got there. So we told Mason what a brave boy he was if he got a mark like that and didn't cry.


Erika has been studying like crazy for her board exams, one of which was today. She'll be able to relax completely and celebrate after next Tuesday when she takes the last one. But she decided to treat herself and her expanding belly to some clothes that actually fit and will keep her cooler during the hot Tucson summer to come.


Erika enjoying her new outfit and her doctor-prescribed milkshake. Maternity pants/shorts are a challenge: the waist has to go either below the belly or completely above it or the pants will fall down; don't know why some designers don't understand this. Kevin liked the outfit, was about to comment that the butt was quite nice, until Erika demonstrated the style of waist on the shorts (above the belly).


Kevin says, "Well that just ruined it for me."

Clumsy child

Mason fell over half a dozen times today, several bad enough to elicit tears (though they were seemingly minor falls). Once, though, he flew forward and down and scraped his chin on a picnic table. Blood spilled, that was not fun. He's no worse for wear now, boys will be boys. We had a nice day today - we went to the park and fed the ducks and played on the playground, Mason actually took a nap (first in days), he played flour when he woke up, then we ate dinner (and Mason actually ate his), then went for a walk. Erika studied for her upcoming board exams during the down time and was very productive.


Later he wanted his cars with the flour and was making tracks in the "snow" and did this for over an hour. His unusual expression is the result of him screaming "cheese" whenever we try to take a picture now. See the scrape on his chin.


Erika's belly at 6 months. Getting bigger, but small enough that her doctor instructed her to eat three milkshakes a day now :)

Newport Beach

We went to California on vacation! Courtesy of Nana and Paw-paw and their Marriott timeshare, we had a great time. We tried to balance fun and excitement with trying to relax. They have so many great beaches, and all so different. The weather was fair, sometimes cool, but usually nice. Mason loved going to the beach, swimming in the pool, and playing with the Thomas trains at the resort activity center.


This is us biking at Huntington beach, aka "Surf City," which it definitely is, with a big pier, lots of shopping, and good waves. Erika didn't have any trouble riding with her big belly (though had sore legs!), and Mason loved being carted behind.


This was the closest Mason came to playing in the water, he was usually too afraid. He had a lot of fun playing in the sand and looking at the waves.


The happy family at Laguna Beach. We were exploring the rocks, looking for creatures.


Crystal Cove State Park had nice tide pools in which we found lots of neat things. Mason really loved looking at the anemonies, snails, and other stuff. He's quite the budding scientist!


We went to Seaworld, got to see Shamu and feed Manta rays. Mason was happiest with the toy shark Nana bought him!

Releasing the stress

Life can be stressful. Mason at least does a good job of reminding us what's important, and forces us to stop and smile. Both Kevin and Erika are now on Facebook, which we've have had a lot of fun playing around with, allowing us to relax. It has been great reconnecting with old friends, and staying in touch with current, though distant, ones. Erika has also gotten back into crafting as a stress-releaser for her. She made a bead necklace and a beach-towel quilt (pictures to follow). She almost wasn't going to make the quilt due to time constraints (didn't want something to increase her stress), but it's a project she's been sort of planning for four years and she didn't want to give up on it, especially with us going to Newport Beach in CA tomorrow for a week! Everyone is super excited, even Mason. He knows all about CA from the movie "Cars" because the big race at the end is held in CA. So when we told Mason we're going to CA, he said "California?!? They have cars in California!" Like I said, he keeps us grounded with his charm. The other day Erika was cleaning the bathroom outside his room and not trying to be quiet, and Mason woke up. When she went in, he said "Mama, what you doing, you woke me up!"