Happy 1st Birthday!

Mason Dale's first birthday was a great celebration! We spent most of it in sheer disbelief that an entire year has passed already. As most things seem to be these days, it was a bittersweet moment for us. We love to watch our little boy grow and discover the world while becoming more his own person everyday- but at the same time, we wish we could keep him our precious little baby wrapped up in our arms forever. Nevertheless, we felt truly blessed to share this special time surrounded by so many of our loved ones and friends. The festivities began with a weekend visit from Great Aunt Julie, followed by some quality time with Gram and Grampa who came a day early for Mason's party. On Saturday, March 15th, our home was filled for Mason's birthday party. There was good company, lots of pictures, and yummy food- including homemade shamrock cookies, #1 cupcakes, and an ice cream cake. Mason loved his first taste of cake- at least what he managed to get in his mouth :) He also really enjoyed all the incredibly thoughtful and generous gifts everyone gave him. Thank you! He's been stylin' in his new clothes as he plays with all the great new toys and watches the fun Baby Einstein and Builder Bob DVDs. Meme flew up from Houston just in time for the party and stayed for the following week, and both Mason and Meme were very happy to get some much needed time together. On Mason's actual birthday, we decked him out in all his St. Patty's Day best and took him to get his first birthday pictures taken. Too cute! While Meme was here we took Mason to the park several times to do two of his favorite things- swing and slide! Meme also went with us to Mason's 1 year doctor's appointment. The doctor said Mason is "perfect" :) He weighs 22 lbs. and is 29 inches long. He took several unassisted steps on his birthday, and can stand on his own for a few seconds. He'll be running laps around the house any day now.
So in short, Mason's first birthday was full of wonderful memories that we will treasure forever.
Happy First Birthday, Mason Dale! Thank you for giving us the best year of our life! Here's to MANY MANY MANY more!

Baby's First Christmas

Christmas this year was truly a blessed time. Even though Mason was obviously too young to understand what was going on, we really enjoyed celebrating the holiday for the first time together at home as a family. The Christmas season kicked off as it always does with the annual Fyock family Christmas tree slaying. Mason loved touching all the different kinds of trees and ultimately decided on a great one to take home as his first Christmas tree. We had fun taking our first family portraits and dressing Mason up in his adorable Santa outfit. The weekend before Christmas we traveled out to Lancaster to visit the Schober family and had a great time together sharing Mason's first Christmas with them. We returned home in time for Christmas Eve service at our church. We read Mason "The Night Before Christmas" and sang "Silent Night" to him as we rocked him to sleep. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed Christmas Eve with a yummy dinner, making a gingerbread house together, and then snuggled up to watch a holiday movie with some warm spiced wine. On Christmas morning Mason enjoyed opening and playing with the gifts Santa (and Meme) had left for him. We took a nice long Winter's nap together that afternoon and then ate a great ham dinner. The following weekend we gathered at Nana and Pop's with all the Fyock family to celebrate the holiday with them. It was really great how Christmas seemed to last a whole week for us this year.

This Christmas was such a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on our childhood memories and family traditions while establishing our own. But mostly we just embraced the greatest gift we ever received! Merry FIRST Christmas, Mason Dale. Thank you for reminding us what the season is really all about- and for filling our hearts with all the joy, wonder, and peace of the FIRST Christmas!

A Holiday Season of Firsts

With the Christmas season officially upon us, and his first Halloween and Thanksgiving under his belt- Mason is making this holiday season one of many firsts. Over the past couple months Mason has learned to:

*Crawl- he does laps around the house chasing the Pigger (our dog) :) It is officially time to babyproof the house since he goes directly for anything he shouldn't play with.
*Pull himself up to standing position and sit down again
*Sit up on his own from laying down or crawling
*Eat babyfood in his highchair
*Drink from a sippycup
*Babble- he says Dadadadadada, Nanananana, Gagagagaga, Yayayayayay, and Mommy likes to think he can say Mamamama- but he's still working on it.
*"Play" the piano- we were given the family piano from Nana and Pop and Mason absolutely loves to bang on the keys...Beethoven had to start somewhere, right?

He had his first cold just before Thanksgiving- and we have come to the conclusion that there is nothing sadder than a sick baby :( But thankfully it didn't last too long and he was healthy just in time for the holiday.

And in breaking news- Mason is finally getting his top front teeth. It has been 4 months since his bottom ones came in, and now they have arrived...Santa must have made a special early delivery, because all Mason wanted for Christmas was his two front teeth :)

Lots to be Thankful For

Mason's first Thanksgiving was a memorable one. Meme and Uncle Russ both flew into town for the holiday. It was Uncle Russ' first time to Pittsburgh and our house. We had a nice week- watched lots of football, played at the park, went wine tasting (none for Mason), shopped, watched movies and enjoyed a yummy Thanksgiving meal. We decided to spend Thanksgiving at home, so it was also Mommy's first crack at Thanksgiving dinner. Not too bad for her first time - she has definite potential. It was fun to host a holiday and great to share it with family we haven't spent time with in a while.

Baby's First Boo!

As mentioned before, Mason got a jump start on his first Halloween by dressing up as the Tiger mascot for the North Allegheny H.S. water polo team. (He even had his ROAR down pat :) Mason and Daddy came to a bunch of games throughout the season to support Coach Mommy and her team- bringing us lots of luck as we finished 7th in the state.
Mason picked out a great first pumpkin and enjoyed all the Fall festivities at the pumpkin patch.
Although Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood and Mason's bedtime coincided, he did make a brief appearance as the cutest lil' pumpkin in an outfit Meme sent up from Houston. After helping Mommy hand out some candy Mason drifted off to sleep dreaming of a Halloween when he can actually enjoy eating some of the yummy candy :) Maybe next year!

Mason Goes to the Beach

Well, the end of the summer just flew by for us- thus the long gap between this and our last post. However, it was full of great summertime fun. Mason seemed to really enjoy his first trips to the beach. In August we went to Destin, Florida for Mark's family's annual Gulf Coast rendezvous. Although traveling with an infant is quite the adventure (and aggrevation when trying to get through airport security), the trip was very worthwhile. Mason did a lot of swimming in the pool and got his first taste of the beach - sand and the beautiful water of the Emerald Coast of Florida. Then for Labor Day weekend, we traveled out to the Jersey Shore for a Bucknell Water Polo girls get together (significant others and babies included :) We had such a wonderful time. Mason splashed in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time - and with the help of the polo ladies, he flirted with a few little baby girls, too :) Mason worked on his water polo skills a bunch while we all played in the pool - he just loves the water! He also liked hanging out with his buddy, Tripp - another water polo baby. It was so great to see everyone at the beach and Mason loved meeting so many special people!
On the evening we returned from our Jersey Shore trip, Mason reached another major milestone - sitting on his own!!! He does it so well and loves every minute. He still doesn't seem very interested in crawling, but really likes to be on his feet. He's getting really strong on his legs, so we think he will just bypass crawling and go straight to standing and walking. He is becoming such a big boy so quickly - very bittersweet.
Now that Fall is here, Mason accompanies his Mom to lots of water polo practices as she coaches a local high school girls team, North Allegheny. He is officially their mascot - looking too cute for words in his little tiger outfit. Mason is also looking simply precious in his jersey as the Steelers' newest fan. Please check out pictures of him in his outfits, and of all the beach fun at http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm

Fifth Month Milestones

In breaking news....Mason is officially cutting his first tooth- the bottom right front tooth. Super cute and super sharp :) And despite all the horror stories we've heard about teething fussiness, he has been as delightful as usual so far (knock on wood). He has also found his feet, and just loves to hold his toes. We also introduced him to his first taste of big boy food, a little bit of rice cereal. So far he's not a huge fan, but did manage to eat a spoonful.
Mason has also started reaching out to grab things all the time now- including our hair, and boy does he have a strong grip :) He is fascinated by the toys on his exersaucer and is able to occupy himself for a good 15 minutes or so...a great gift to Mommy who now has the opportunity to get some stuff done around the house. He also smiles consistently and is beginning to giggle and sqeal with delight...the sweetest sound there ever was.
Basically, he's growing up way too fast!

First Baseball Game

On Sunday, July 22nd Mason went to his first baseball game - Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Although he was decked out in an absolutely adorable Pirates outfit, he also secretly cheered for the Astros :) A big Thank You goes out to "Great" Uncle Rod who generously gave us the tickets. The tickets were part of the Lexus Club package and included fabulous perks like a luxurious brunch buffet, all we could eat and drink during the game, and outstanding seats several rows behind homeplate. Not too shabby for the little guy's first taste of America's pastime...(but don't worry, we warned him not to get too comfy with all the VIP treatment, since Mommy and Daddy don't usually roll in Lexus Club style :) But it was definitely a wonderful experience and a very fun day for all of us. Mason really seemed to enjoy all the excitement and was as alert as usual despite the fact that it was smack dab in the middle of his naptime....and he even got to work in a little snooze after the 7th inning stretch.
The Astros won 1-0, which suited these Houston/Pittsburgh fans just fine.
Check out the pics! http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm

Mason's Baptism

On Sunday, July 15th Mason was baptized at First Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh. He was presented by his Godparents: Sean Fyock and Karen Cockrill. Sean is Mark's brother and Karen is Adrienne's best friend from high school (Sean and Karen were also the best man and maid of honor at our wedding, and we were honored to have them standing up there next to us again on this special day). The baptism ceremony was lovely and we were so touched by all the family and friends who were there to celebrate with us. Mason was a very good boy throughout the church service and he was definitely the star of the BBQ festivities that followed at our house. Mason wore an heirloom christening gown handed down through Adrienne's Mom's family. Her mom was the first to wear it in 1951, Adrienne started the second generation, and now Mason becomes the 11th person and begins the third generation to wear this precious gown. Mason also had the opportunity to wear the christening outfit that Mark and his brother wore when they were baptized - an adorable little white linen romper and jacket that was perfect for him to put on once we returned home from the church to enjoy the party.
Thank you so much to everyone for all your time, effort, and generosity. We greatly appreciate all you did to help make this such a joyous and blessed occasion.
Enjoy the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm

First Father's Day

The new Daddy's first Father's Day went very well. We went to church and then met Mark's parents and brother for lunch. Then we came home and Mark opened his Father's Day gifts. Mason had his first professional pictures taken for Daddy's Day- some cute bare baby ones, and then a few absolutely adorable ones with a "Terrible Towel". Daddy loved his little Steelers fan (the picture proofs are posted in the online album). In addition to the framed pictures, we also gave him the "Dangerous Book for Boys". It is filled with all the things boys should know and do as they grow up (but are often forgotten about in the video game generation)- things like how to build a fort or a treehouse, how to write a secret code, famous battles, the rules of rugby, etc...Mark really liked it and can't wait to read it with Mason and share all those special times together. After opening his cards and gifts we all enjoyed family naptime and then went on a sushi picnic and hike at the dog park (since Mark enjoyed that so much when we did it for Mother's Day). We finished off the day with Mark's favorite, Rita's Italian Ice. A good day!

Mason is doing just fine. He recently discovered his feet and toes, which has presented a whole new fascination for him. He is still on the hunt for his thumb- getting really close, but just can't seem to figure out how to keep it out of his fist long enough to suck on it. The little guy gets pretty frustrated but seems determined to figure it out! He still won't take a pacifier either, but loves to suck on our pinky fingers. He has started doing crunches- trying to bring himself up to a seated position. It shouldn't be long now until he can sit on his own. He is so vocal now, too. Constantly cooing and "talking" to us, squealing in delight. Lots of smiles as well- still pretty spontaneous, but getting better at responding to our smiles with his own. It is so incredible how much personality the little guy has already at just three months. It is such fun and a wonder to watch him grow and discover more every day- although it is a little sad to think about how quickly the time is passing and how fast he is growing up. But I suppose that is the bittersweet part of parenthood- so we are making sure to treasure every moment.

A few new albums of pictures are up: Father's Day, Mason's photo shoot, and Mason's new buddy Tripp. Just click on the link below. ENJOY!
http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm

Better than a Baby Shower...

Well- we went down to Alexandria, VA for Adrienne's close friend Katie (Stahler) Hilderbrand's baby shower...however, when we arrived Friday night she was in labor and had her baby on Saturday afternoon (two weeks earlier than her due date :) Katie and her husband, Doug, are the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy named Tripp- another Bucknell Baby. We were so happy to be a part of their amazing experience and honored to be the first to meet their little angel. Mason was excited to meet his new little buddy earlier than we had thought and you could tell the little guys were very excited about growing up together :) Much love and congratulations to the Hilderbrand/Stahler family!

Memorial Day

After returning from Houston, we went out to Lancaster, PA for Memorial Day weekend. Adrienne's Dad and Deb moved into a new house last Fall and had yet to try out their swimming pool, so we were all excited to break it in! And what a beautiful weekend to kick off summer- perfect pool weather. Much to Adrienne's delight, Mason thoroughly enjoyed his first swim- she was so proud of her little water baby. He had an adorable pair of swimming trunks and a matching hat- too cute! Mason also got to meet some more family- Adrienne's Uncle Rodney and cousin Colton came out for a visit- as well as some close family friends, the Zimmermans. And of course Mason loved getting to spend some more time with his Pappy and Gram. So all in all, Memorial Day was a big hit! (Please check out the adorable pictures- http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm )

This weekend we are heading to D.C. for a friend's baby shower. Mason is certainly one well-traveled baby, but we are looking forward to several weekends at home after this trip.

Trip to Texas

Well, at the end of our 1st Mother's Day, we received a call that Adrienne's Mom was in the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery. So we decided to hop on the first flight we could get down to Houston. Even though the circumstances that brought us down there weren't good, it was nice that all of our Texas friends and family got the chance to meet Mason sooner than expected. Although traveling with an infant was quite an adventure, Mason did exceptionally well on his first plane rides and adjusted very well to all the unfamiliar surroundings and people while we were down there. On the way down, a flight attendant spilled soda on Mark's lap and in Mason's face, so we were compensated with first class flights on the way home- very nice!

While in Houston, Mason got the chance to meet his godmother, Karen. He also met Adrienne's Aunt Daniele, Uncle Richard, and cousins Laura and Sarah. We also visited with Adrienne's former coach and mentor, Coach Landgraf and his wife Sandi. We really appreciated our friends Annie and Tracey opening their home to us while we stayed there during our time in Houston. Of course it was also wonderful for Mason to spend some more time with Adrienne's Mom- his Meme. Once she was moved out of ICU and started feeling better we were able to bring Mason in to visit with her at the hospital. He was also able to meet Meme's companion Mr. Elkin. Mason met several other family friends during the week, too.

Our trip included wonderful meals at some of our old favorite restaurants, like crab legs and Mexican food. We watched sailboat races and spent quality time with family and friends. By the end of our trip, Adrienne's Mom was out of the hospital and recovering. We hope to possibly return to Houston for another visit at the end of the summer.

Of course, more pictures posted - http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm

First Mother's Day

Just a quick post to let you know about Adrienne's first Mother's Day. We decided to have just low-key day with the three of us, Adrienne and her favorite boys.

Mason's gift was sleeping a full 9 hours straight through the night, so Mommy could get some good rest for her big day, which began with breakfast in bed. That was followed by a nice service at church. Adrienne loves to get lunch from Bruegger's and sit in the lobby of the grand William Penn hotel after church, so that's what we did. She went for a Mother's Day pedicure before we headed out to the Sewickley dog park for a picnic and a hike. We picked up some sushi and edamame (one of her favorite meals) for an untraditional yet tasty picnic meal. Mom, Dad, baby boy and dog all loved the park adventure and glorious weather. We stopped for some Rita's italian ice on the way home and settled in for a relaxing movie before bed.

All in all, I think she had a great day. I know I enjoyed making her happy and expressing my appreciation for her being a wonderful mother to our son.

A couple of pictures from our picnic can be found in the web album.

In the Second Month...

Just a little update to let you know that Mason is doing very well. So far in his second month he has started smiling- not exactly on cue yet, but definitely enough that we can be sure it's not all gas :) The first time he smiled back at us Mommy almost cried. He is a bubble blowing machine these days, and leaving adorable little "Mason marks" of drool on our shirts:). Mason has also been enjoying recommended "tummy time"-his neck is getting really strong and he is able to hold his head up for quite a while. Crawling doesn't seem far away because his arms and legs are moving a lot and you can tell that he definitely has places to go. He also rolled over on his own for the first time- from his stomach to his back. He loves to "stand up" and look around when we prop him up on our lap- he seems so eager to take in everything around him. Mason is also getting very vocal. He coos like crazy and has begun responding to the sounds and words we say to him. He stays awake for longer periods of time now and all of these developments make our play time together so much fun! So, he is making excellent progress- Mark and I are convinced he's gifted, but then again we are tad biased :)
We are turning Mason into quite the social butterfly- taking him along with us on most of our outings. It's been nice to regain some of our social life back. In the past couple weeks Mason has had baby's first trip to the Strip District to eat at Primanti's (a Pittsburgh classic), Mt. Washington, a winery, a sushi bar, the airport, and the mall. Thank goodness babies are portable :) We are getting pretty good at en route feedings and ladies room diaper changes. Our friends, Annie and Tracy, came to visit from Houston to meet the little guy and we had a great time together. Spring seems to have officially sprung here, and the nice weather has been wonderful for daily walks around the neighborhood and trips to the park- Mommy is slowly but surely trying to get back in shape. This is the last week of maternity leave and you can be sure that we will be counting down the days until school gets out for the summer and Mommy doesn't have to leave her little man every afternoon. In the meantime, the brag book is ready to go, full of pictures to bore everyone at work with :)
We are looking forward to our first Mother's Day!
That's about it for now- hope all is well with everyone. And as usual, please enjoy the latest pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm

One "Perfect" Month

Well, Mason celebrated his one month birthday this week. Mom and Dad sang "Happy Birthday" to him at 4:19 am on the 17th - we were up anyhow ;-)
According to the doctor's appointment today, he is "perfect"! Of course we already knew that, but it's nice to have a medical professional reinforce our slightly biased assumptions :) Mason is now almost 10 lbs, weighing in at 9lbs 15oz. He also grew a couple inches, now 22in long, so he has made excellent progress in the last few weeks. The doctor said everything checked out just fine and we should simply continue doing whatever we've been doing thus far. Mason was so good and didn't fuss at all until it came time for his shot...definitely takes after his Mom on that one :)
Mason also had his first experience dining out this evening and was pretty good while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some Mexican food and margaritas. So all is well at the one month mark.
Don't forget to check out the latest pictures!
http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm

Mason's First Easter

Easter brought many firsts for Mason. His first road trip was out to Lancaster to meet the rest of the Schober fam. He loved the car and slept for the entire 4 hours - happy Easter Mom and Dad :) At Grampa and Gram Schober's, Mason enjoyed the parade of people who came by to meet the newest member of the family and was a very well behaved little guy. On the way back home to Pittsburgh we had a little more adventure with our first back seat diaper change and feeding in the middle of a white out at a rest stop on the PA turnpike. But we all survived it well.

On Easter Sunday we took Mason to our church for the first time- Nana and Pop Fyock accompanied us. Mason wore his Easter suit (Daddy's special buy) and was simply too adorable for words. Everyone at church was so excited to meet our guy and of course they all loved his suit :) Again, Mason was such a good boy and slept through the whole service.

The Easter Bunny brought Mason his first pacifiers, which we thought he would simply love since he enjoys sucking on our fingers so much- but oddly he has not been too thrilled with them yet. We are hoping he warms up to them soon so we can save our fingers. Easter weekend also brought the introduction of bottles. Nursing had not been going too well and both Mason and Mommy were getting extremely frustrated. So to put an end to the negative energy and still keep all the important nutritious value, we have switched to soley a pumping and bottle feeding system. So far it is working much better, and everyone is quite content. It is definitely more time consuming and tiring, but it seems to be worth the extra effort to make feeding time a positive experience-it is also great to know exactly how much he is getting to eat each day to ensure he continues to be a growing boy, and Daddy likes that he can participate in feeding time now, too.

So all in all, Mason's first Easter was a big success! Please check out the latest pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

Thanks Aunt Jul

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with 'Aunt' Julie. She was the perfect house guest - cooked, cleaned, soothed Mason. We really couldn't have asked for anything more. Plus, our freezer is now full of excellent meals to heat up. Thanks for everything, Aunt Jul! Can't wait to see you again!

Some pictures she took during her visit have been posted in the web gallery, along with a few others from the past couple of days. Mason is still doing well - he's become a little squirm worm, moving his arms and legs all over the place. He's a awake a lot more these days, which of course means a bit more crying, too...but we're hanging in there. Good thing he's so darn cute...even when he cries :)

We are looking forward to Easter, Mason's first road trip, out to Lancaster to visit Gram and Gramps. More pictures and updates to be posted afterward.

Stump removal

Big milestone - Mason's umbilical stump fell off today. That's his first big step toward becoming a big boy. Mommy and daddy are both so proud of him. We can't tell yet if it will be an "innie" or an "outie", but we hope it's the former.

Also, some new pictures were added to the web gallery. There are some new ones under First Week and a whole new Second Week album. Adrienne has added some clever captions.

Expectnet results

I finally updated the Expectnet game - game name is 'MasonDale'.

Looks like "Great" Aunt Julie is the best guesser. Congrats to her! She wins a trip up to Pittsburgh to meet the little guy. Actually she was coming up anyhow, but it sounds better to have a prize ;-) Can't wait to see you on Thursday Aunt Jul!

Adrienne's Birthday

Today is Adrienne's first birthday as a mother. Though it pales slightly in comparison to the other recent birth day, it is no less important. A relaxing day will be spent with her two favorite guys.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Down with Baby Depot

So, let me start by saying we sincerely appreciate all the phenomenal gifts we've received off our registry and are blown away by everyone's incredible thoughtfulness and generosity. Thank you all so much!

However, a word of warning to current and future parents -- stay away from Baby Depot - a subsidy of Burlington Coat Factory. There were many aggrevating incidents, but two stories in particular support my animosity (but I won't go into too much detail here):

1) They made a pregnant Adrienne so frustrated one day, she walked out of the store in tears because she couldn't deal with "those incompetent idiots" anymore after they gave her such a difficult time about an item they were supposed to have available for purchase.

2) Baby Depot sent us a coupon in the mail to spend $200 at one time and get a $25 gift certificate. However, the attempt to redeem the coupon almost wasn't worth it because they were so inflexible about their point of sale rule.

After the gift card incident, I vowed never to step foot in the store again and pass the word on to anyone who will listen. Unassuming parents to be, don't choose this company for your baby gifts! Furthermore, I hope no one had the same negative experience with this store when purchasing gifts from our registry, and if so, we sincerely apologize.

Although we realize that this may be isolated to our local Baby Depot, we have gotten the impression that many of our issues are on a more company wide scale. Therefore, my suggestion: go to Babies 'R' Us; We would have, except the closest store is 20 minutes away, whereas Baby Depot is only 5 mins right down the road and supposedly had better prices (not true). The staff at Babies 'R' Us was so pleasant and helpful, they immediately gained us as customers.

Craigslist is also an excellent source for used items: furniture, clothes, strollers, etc. and has a local site for most major cities (link to Pittsburgh's).

New Pictures!

Check out the web album for updated pictures of Mason's first week! There's a link to the gallery in the right margin -->

Or go straight to the new pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm/FirstWeek

Also, pictures of the nursery have been posted if you haven't already seen them.

Enjoy!!

Mason goes to the Doctor

Today was Mason's first pediatrician appointment and it went very well. As we suspected, Mason is proving to be an exceptionally gifted baby - must get it from his parents :-)
Apparently most babies don't regain all the weight they loose after birth until about 14 days- but Mason not only reached his birthweight (6 lbs 9 oz) again, he far exceeded it! He weighed in today at 7 lbs 2 oz. The doctor was super impressed and praised Mason and I for the awesome job we are doing feeding! Yea us! I'm glad to know that all the hard work is paying off. So Mason is ahead of the game in the weight department, and was right on track for everything else they checked- good color, breathing, heartbeat, etc. And as an added bonus, he barely cried at all, even when they stripped him down...such a good baby! How did we get this lucky? All in all- an A+ on his first 'exam', the first of many I'm sure :)
His next appointment is in a few weeks and that is the one where he will get the next dose of his immunizations...hopefully he'll do better with needles than his mom.
In other news, Mason has seemed to have found his arms/hands, and is all about the "touchdown" pose, touching his face, and once he even reached out and touched my face- so cute I almost cried! He is also starting to break out of his swaddle and is stretching his legs a bit- and even kicking some...clearly getting ready to swim!
Well, that's about it for now. Hard to believe that only a week ago today I was just starting to have some contractions and we were only hours away from meeting our little guy...already I can't imagine my life without him.

Online Picture Gallery created!

Check it out at http://picasaweb.google.com/fyockm/

New albums will be added periodically. I'll post blog entries to announce additions. Link to gallery is also in the right menu.

Day 2 at Home

First of all, I want to thank you so much for all of your sweet responses and kind words of congratulations. They mean so much to me. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures, and I will apologize ahead of time for the mass quanities of Mason pictures I'm sure you will be receiving in the upcoming days and months. Hopefully you'll forgive me for being such a proud Mommy! I know I'm just a tad biased, but he is the most precious thing I've ever seen and I can't seem to get enough of him!

Well, we made it home yesterday after a great stay at the hospital. I know Mark filled you in on the labor and delivery story- and although Mason's distress during labor and emergency c-section were easily the scariest moments of my life, they were quickly overshadowed by the unbelievable joy of hearing his first cry and kissing his sweet face. I was, however, a little unprepared for the recovery necessary after major abdominal surgery. But once I accepted that there was no room for modesty or shame and allowed the nurses and Mark to help me with everything, recovery moved along nicely- and of course the pain killers helped tremendously, too :) I can't say I'm a big fan of not being able to even get out of bed myself or use the restroom, bathe, etc wihtout help, but each time I look at Mason it is so worth it! I'm feeling much better now and regaining some of my independence, and now that we are home Mark has stepped in like a trooper as my personal nurse. I still can't drive, do stairs or pick anything heavier than Mason up for a few weeks, but we are finding ways to make things work around the house. We quickly realized that many of the stories of how difficult the transition to being home with baby can be are true. But we survived our first day and night home- and managed to still get a few hours of quality sleep in the process. Today is already easier than yesterday was, so I'm sure that in a few days we will have a nice little routine established and things will run much smoother. I didn't realize that nursing would be such a full time job, but after some initial difficulties, Mason and I have made tremendous progress and it has become a rewarding experience for both of us. In fact, he is quickly reapproaching his birth weight, and the pediatrician seemed really impressed with how well he is doing. Although, since he is still a bit smaller than we had originally thought, Mark is off to buy some little premie clothes for him today until he can start fitting into so many of the adorable newborn clothes I received at my showers. Mason is adjusting to his new home and I think he really likes his nursery. Piper (aka Piggy- our dog) seems to be taking to the new little one rather well, although she does not like the sound of Mason crying- but then again, neither do I :(

I don't think I've ever learned so much in such a short period of time...these past few days with Mason has been one enormous and amazingly wonderful learning experience, but I'm sure that will continue to be the case as we venture further and further into parenthood. Maybe it's just the hormones, but I actually get a little sad each day when I think that it is one less day that Mason will be my little baby! I am so overwhelmed by the joy and wonder he has already brought to us, and just can hardly believe he is really here after all the months of anticipation. I find myself truly speechless and without the words to adequately describe how I feel- a rarity in my life, as most of you know :)

I will be home on maternity leave until May and Mark is officially taking off this week, and will be working from home for a while after that to help me out.

So as requested, I just wanted to fill everyone in on how we were doing. I anticipate that the next few days will still be a little hectic, but I will certainly be in touch again soon, and with more pictures. I hope all is well with you, and thanks again for all of your friendship, love, and support- throughout my pregnancy and now! We feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives to share these incredible moments with. We are grateful to those who were already able to visit and meet our little guy, and we look forward to introducing the rest of you to him as soon as possible.

Lots of Love,
Adrienne, Mark, and Mason Dale

Born Lucky

Mason Dale Fyock was born at 4:19am Saturday, March 17th (St Patty's Day) via Cesarean-section. He was 6 lbs 9 oz, 19.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great.

Though Adrienne was scheduled for the section at 10am Saturday morning, she started having contractions and went into labor Friday night. So we went into the hospital at around 2:30am thinking perhaps it would be a natural birth after all. However, when the nurses hooked up the fetal monitor, they found the baby's heartbeat to be a little low. At that point it was decided that the c-section was not only necessary but had to be done right away. Quite a roller coaster ride, but all is well now. Adrienne is still in the hospital - to be released on Tuesday. Enjoy!

By this time tomorrow...

Hi Everyone,
Although my due date has come and gone, we just found out that by tomorrow at this time I will be a mom! Sorry I haven't been in touch much the past few days, but we've been waiting for a bunch of test results that my doctors were running. Turns out from an ultrasound I had yesterday they were able to determine that my amniotic fluids are running a little low...the baby is just fine- strong heartbeat, still moving lots, and just about 8lbs...but they don't want to keep him in there much longer without enough fluids. So, they gave me the choice of either waiting a few days to see if things start on their own but then having to induce me by the end of the weekend, or going ahead with a scheduled C-Section. With low fluids and my family history, the doctor said that there was a higher chance that the baby may not be able to make it through a natural delivery, ultimately having to have a c-section ....so after weighing all the pros and cons, it seemed more logical to just go ahead with the c-section rather than risk going through hours and hours of labor, only to have to have a cesarean in the end anyway. Go with what you know is gonna work, right? Besides, I have no desire to be a hero, and unnecessary pain just doesn't sound like a good time to me. So I am scheduled to go in at 8am tomorrow morning, and the surgery will take place at 10am. I can hardly believe that I will be holding my son by lunchtime tomorrow...crazy!!! Despite my anxiety about surgery (this will be my first surgery and the first time I've ever been in the hospital) I am beside myself with the anticipation of meeting our little one. I will be in the hospital until Tuesday, but Mark will hopefully be calling and emailing everyone tomorrow evening to let them know how it all goes, and of course to send pictures!
Thanks again for all of your calls and well wishes lately. Please keep Mason and I in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow as you celebrate St. Patty's Day... hopefully we'll have the luck of the Irish with us. What a great birthday, huh?
I'm off to enjoy my last afternoon and evening as a non-parent. It has been suggested that I simply revel in the opportunity to sleep! :)
Lots of Love,
Adrienne