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