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!"

Ostrich farm

Believe it or not we went to an ostrich farm today where you could feed them and buy eggs, etc. Signs all over warned us "Ostrich Bite" but we still tried to feed them from our hands. We were more careful with Mason and left him on the ground protected from attacking heads.





They also had deer, donkeys, and lorikeets to feed. We spent an hour there and thought that was plenty, except for Mason, he could have stayed there all day going in and out of the pens.

It's a girl

Erika's 22-week ultrasound today showed a perfectly healthy, very active little girl! The picture is a profile of her face. She already looks like Erika :)

Family is the most important part of our lives

We had the rare opportunity to go to Punxsutawney, PA and visit family we haven't seen for years (or at all in some cases). You'll never meet a more wonderful, loving, caring family. While the circumstances of the trip were sad, mourning the loss of Erika's great aunt Betty, the trip was a real treat. Mason was the best, too- quiet during the funeral, social, sweet, and so well behaved.

Mason fought sleep the entire drive there, and finally succumbed on the winding roads. We decided to strap his head down to prevent it from rolling all over the place or else we'd have had to hold it ourselves. It worked and he stayed asleep.

Aunt Martha and Grandma Ruthie (sisters)


Marsha and Nana on our walk through the woods behind the "old farm."

Mason at the rock beneath Uncle Bill's hunting stand.

Mason playing at Painter's Run.

Loren with the bear scat we found.

Photos for the sake of photos

We just think he's the cutest. That's all there is to say.


We went to our friends' house and they have a slot machine! Mason of course thought that was the most fun activity, though he mostly just liked putting money in the slot and didn't understand pushing the buttons. But he was quite entertained so the adults could just relax :)

Mason has developed some new, funny bath preferences. One, he likes having the shower run while the bath fills up with water. Two, is blowing bubbles in the water. Problem with the shower is the bath water doesn't get as warm, so when he gets out he just keeps saying "Mason so cold, Mason so cold!" We are glad he is talking better and can finally communicate with us.