Mason's B-Day cake. Sara bought the cake, and I added Mason's name to it. Notwithstanding my natural numeric aptitude, I somehow managed to place the "1" on backwards.
Fortunately, we still have time to teach Mason his numbers
Mason with some of his birthday presents
Mason LOVES M&M's!
Even with 3 or more M&M's in his mouth, he intensely searches for more
Mason tried to stow away in my backpack before I left for school.
Not only is he the cutest stowaway, he's also making sure his outfit matches his dad's (in order to avoid detection apparently)
He enjoyed being a bat for Halloween. However, he did not enjoy actually putting his outfit on.
Before long, we were friends again.
Isn't he the most angelic bat you've ever seen?
For some people, we had to clarify that Mason was a bat, not a donkey. Once they saw his bat wings though, they were convinced.
He's growing up fast!
Mason enjoying his Halloween candy. Fortunately, he has his parents to help him eat it.
Not too happy that he's getting a diaper change
Falling asleep while eating
Sneaking behind the couch
Our little Christmas present
It's only November 20th, and we've already had a snowstorm.
Visiting Notre Dame campus with Sara's niece and nephew (Satie and Andrew)
A picture from right below the famous dome at Notre Dame
It's bedtime
The day it was -40 degrees outside w/ the windchill. It was so cold, we had frost on the inside of our house!
This is what is looked like outside on that record-cold day (-40 degrees w/ windchill). If only you feel how cold it was that day!
(Mason is pointing to the light switch. He loves to turn it on and off--even though it doesn't work)
The Great Chairman Mason! (16 mo. old)
For the life of me, I couldn't get him to sit still for this picture in his nice blue char (with his named embroidered on it)
(16 mo. old) It's amazing how fast he's growing up
Sara, Mason, and I went to the "Happy Chef" dim sum restaurant in Chicago's Chinatown (Jan. 09)
We purchased some Trader Joe's groceries while in Chicago (South Bend doesn't have a Trader Joe's), and Mason just had to examine everything
He's starting to look more like a handsome little boy and less like a little baby
Mason loves his new phone
If we're lucky, he'll sometimes even share his phone with us (for a few seconds)
Eating breakfast
Reading Sesame Street
Mason fast asleep after a Sunday afternoon drive (wearing his new winter jacket--only $10 at "Once Upon a Child")
Drinking his bottle all by himself for the first time
I have no idea what he was doing. I guess he figures he can do whatever he wants when he's wearing his life jacket.
Mason likes to play a game where I pick him up by his feet and flip him over (he'll play it for 1 hr + if you let him)
And then he likes to stand on his hands while I'm turning him over
I always look forward to our little games when I come home from school (he also likes the game where I let him turn the light switch on and off--we like to call the game "light switch")
Here's another game he likes--crawling under my legs
Sitting in his PJ's, watching a "Baby Einstein" DVD, and eating cereal--all in his favorite blue chair (on which his name is embroidered)
Learning to relax like a true American
After a while, Sara started to get worried since Mason appeared to like his "Baby Einstein" DVD a little too much. (By far, his favorite "Einstein DVD" is the one where he learns about shapes.)
Mason watching a video of . . . Mason.
My two best friends.
We just had to take a picture of him drinking a bottle in our bed since it' s such a rare occurrence. I wish I knew how to eat and sleep at the same time!
Mason had a bad cough and was wheezing, so we had to give him this breathing treatment for Bronchiolitis. We suspect he may have gotten it from one of Sara's lacrosse girls
He sure trusts us
We went to Evanston, IL to watch a women's lacrosse game (Northwestern v. Duke), and this is Mason and me in our hotel room trying to make a phone call with a disconnected phone.
Lola and Mason (watch how quickly his mood changes in the next two pictures).
Now he's feeling a little better, and then a few seconds later . . . [see next picture]
. . . like nothing ever happened! Lola sure loves her "Bam Bam" (pronounced "bum bum."-- I think that's Tagalog for something to the effect of "the cutest cutie cute")
He's growing up fast (almost 19 months old now)!
Mason being held by dad after an afternoon at Church.
Mason with his nebulizer
Sleeping on mommy's shoulder
The day we moved out of our house in South Bend. We were moving to Cleveland for the summer for my internship with a federal judge. Mason enjoyed playing in the van while we packed it.
Mason asleep at "The Kalahari" resort. My sister took us here not long after we arrived in Cleveland (sometime in late May).
Mason and Grandpa
This is right before his haircut
This was our bedroom for the summer (my brother Mark moved into the basement so that Sara and I could stay in this room).
Mason after his haircut (I think he's eating chicken nuggets).
Sara and I outside of the Chicago temple. We were there for my brother Spencer's wedding.
Spencer and Katie!
Still at the temple
Mason and I taking a nap. (Mason almost never naps with us--he usually likes his own space.)
Mason daddy (left) and uncle (right)
Spending time with relatives at the family reunion in St. George, UT (July, 2009)
All my siblings + my nephew Seth (front row). My sibling and I are standing behind Seth, from right to left (which is also oldest to youngest): Janet, Grant (me), Brian, Kevin, Mark, and Spencer.
In Santa Clara, UT at the (now historic) house that my grandmother (center) was born in. Her relatives and ancestors helped settle the area.
Mason loved playing with this pump!
You can tell how focused Mason gets sometimes. It looks like his cousin, Elizabeth, didn't like feeling boxed out. But it looks like Mason was to focused to notice.
Mason also loved playing with this mop bucket.
Mason's grandpa (my dad).
This was a different pump that also captivated Mason's attention.
Even after all of the other kids had tired of the pump and left, Mason was still there.
The family (or at least most of it). My grandma is on the right with the red shirt.
You can notice Mason's water-logged diaper (from playing with the pump).
Mason playing in the tub in our new apartment in Notre Dame, IN (August, 2009). Now that Mason is used to being bathed in the tub, he decided it was okay to run into the shower (with his clothes on!) when he saw that mom was using the shower.
