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