Mason meets Santa

Mason spent a few minutes with Santa today.  I am not sure what they talked about (he won't tell me) but it seemed to be a lively conversation.

HO HO HO...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Smiles

His smile makes me smile which makes him smile again. 

So much fun!!!

2 months and Growing

Mason just turned two months! I can hardly believe how fast he is growing. At his 2 month doctors visit today be weighed in at 12 lbs 2 oz and is now 23.5 inches long.  He has already outgrown some of his 3 month clothes.  I have pulled out the 6 month sizes so that he can start wearing them. 

Highlights of the month:

• Sleeping more consistently at night (but not through the night)
• Smiles :)
• He enjoys being in the swing.
• Babbling (he tells a great story!)
• Rolling from tummy to back during tummy time!
• We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both families
• Our first family photo.

Mason - 1 month old

It is hard to believe that Mason is a month old!

Mason's First Bath

After several weeks of sponge bath's we finally were able to give Mason a real bath.  We got to use the fun whale tub we received.

Mason has always enjoyed the warm water, but his favorite thing was getting his hair washed! It made it so easy for us.

Shortly after I took these pictures Mason decided that he no longer enjoyed being in his tub and he knows how to get his displeasure across...scream really loud.

I am happy to let you know that bath number 2 was a huge success!  We kept the water warm the entire time along with making sure the bathroom was warm.  What a difference it made for him (and for us).



Our Little Pumpkin

This year we decided to grow pumpkins in the garden.  We ended up with a variety called "Bush Pumpkin". Little did we know that is was the type of pumpkin that does not vine put instead grew more like a zucchini plant (it was perfect).  We grew several pumpkins.

One of our 5 pumpkins!

Zachary (nephew) could not wait to take home a pumpkin and picked his at the end of September.

On Saturday, October 22nd, we took new Little Pumpkin to Maybe's Pumpkin Patch to pick some little pumpkins that were just his size. Mason is 3 weeks & 2 days old.

Introducing Baby Moore

Mason Tristan Kekoa Moore
Born - September 29, 2011
Weight - 6 lb 14 oz
Height - 19 in

It is hard to believe that it has already been a week since Mason came into our life. He caught by surprise when he decided to come 2 1/2 weeks early. We are so happy to have Mason with us even though sleep is hard to come by. The number one advice that we were given was to sleep while the baby sleeps but I believe that is easier said that done. Tristan is an amazing father. It is fun to watch him with Mason.

Thanks for all the support and well wishes we have received.

First photo shoot

First Bath

Ready to go home

Riley and Mason meet for the first time!

Mason was on the Billibed for 4 days.

Peaceful Mason

He has a very strong grip :)

We love our little boy!

Wordless Wednesday

Nursery Reconstruction

Over the past 1 1/2 months we have undertaken a remodeling project in our home.  It started out as a small repair in the ceiling of what was to become the nursery and then ballooned into a complete transformation.  The sunroom is very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. The windows either needed to come out or figure out a way to create more insulation.  We were opting for the less expensive insulation. Then one day Tristan's dad said "it would probably be pretty easy to replace the window with a wall".  If we did all the work with help from friends and family we could afford it. Here is our life in pictures:
The sunroom/closet before the project began (minus all our clothes).

The ceiling fix that needed to happen due to water damage that happened before we bought the house...

Then we started taking down all the lathe & plaster in the room (it was a messy project)...

We found a hornets nest in the wall...

In one day we took out the windows, put up a wall and a new window...

From the outside...

After putting in insulation (there was not any) we put up the drywall...

The painting was the easy part...

And then we put in new carpet...
...Well we were suppose to get carpet on Monday put they brought the wrong carpet to install. It was a sad day.  We will continue to live in our living room while we wait for the carpet (it may take a few weeks).

While we were at it we decided to paint the master bedroom and office since they were getting new carpet also.

Thanks to everyone who has come to help!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Parent's Prayer

I aspire to be this parent...with a lot of work and patience I might get there some day.

Parent’s Prayer

Dear God,
Help us to be better parents.
Teach us to understand our children, to listen patiently to what they have to say and to answer all their questions kindly. Keep us from interrupting them or contradicting them. Make us as courteous to them as we want them to be to us.

Help us never to punish them for our own selfish satisfaction or to show our power. Let us not tempt our children to lie or steal. And guide us daily that we may demonstrate by all we say and do that honesty produces happiness.

When we are out of sorts, help us to hold our tongues. May we ever be mindful that our children are children and we should not expect them to act like adults.

Help us never to rob them of the opportunity to wait on themselves and to make decisions. Bless us with the bigness to grant them all their reasonable requests and the courage to deny them privileges we know will do them harm

Make us fair, just and kind parents. We pray for calmness, poise and self-control, and fit us to be loved, respected, and imitated by our children.

Author Unknown –
Found in a Mennonite Center
Lancaster, PA

Wordless Wednesday

Maternity Photos

A couple weeks ago we met with Bree Hawkes of Photography by Bree to have some photo's taken.  The plan was to meet at Wheeler Farm but thunder storms threatened postponment of the photo shoot. After a few phone calls we decided to just go for it. The clouds cleared and the sun started to come out just in time!  We had a great time walking around Wheeler Farm find some great spots for photos. Bree was great to work with and we will use her again in the future.

wordless wednesday

Snake...are you serious?!?!

Late Friday night Tristan got a phone call from my sister saying they found a snake at my moms home. Did I hear that correctly?  A snake? Inside the house?  It was all true. We don't know where it came from, how long it has been in the house or how it even got into the house.  It was a small snake, but one snake is one too many.  Kerry was able to catch it in a clear plastic container then tape some cardstock over the top. They also put holes in they top to the snake could get some air.  Kerry and Isaiah were able to take it to a local pet shop.
Seriously...a snake!

Zoorassic Park

It has been a very long time since I have been to Hogle Zoo in the summer (a few years ago Tristan and I took Isaiah and Casey to Zoo Lights on a snowy December night).  This is NOT the same zoo that I came to when I was younger.  The cages of old are mostly gone and the new enclosures look more natural (as natural as a zoo enclosure can be).  Matthew and Asa are visiting for a week from Florida so a bunch of us went to the zoo to spend some time together (Kerry, Isaiah, Matthew, Asa, Caley, Tristan and myself). It was fun to be with everyone in such a great place!

Zoorasic Park is the theme for the summer.  There are dinosaurs found all through the zoo. Many of them move, squirt water and roar.  Caley and Asa took a little time to warm up to the idea of dinosaurs.  They would go right up to any of them that did not move or make sounds but the others took a little coaxing.

This was Caley first time visiting a Zoo.  It was great to see her excitement as new animals came into view.  When we came around the bend and she could see the Giraffe she was so excited that we started running toward it.  She said later that this was her favorite animal.

Asa was excited to go on the Merry-Go-Round before we ever saw it.  Caley on the other hand was very nervous since she had never been on one before. In the end they both had a great time!

Actually, we all had a great time!

Temptation

The break room at work was filled with wonderfully tempting pastries this morning.  I went to fill my water bottle and grab the smoothie that Tristan made for me this morning when I encountered this lovely sight.  The yummies were for a meeting that had not started yet.  Oh, how I wanted to take one of each item and devour them (based on sight & smell of course).  To the defense of the meeting planner the tray of fruit and juice drinks did not make it into this picture. I noticed a sign at the back of this photo, as I was posting the picture, that made me laugh..."Eat Right."!  .

Thankfully during this pregnancy I have not had many cravings and Tristan has never had to do a late night run for something that I just had to have.  In the first trimester I enjoyed eating peaches and cottage cheese (and I still do) but if chicken was suggested then I would want to gag.  There were a couple dashes for a delicious brownie sundae from Hatches Chocolates but thankfully I got over that.  I have since moved on to Dreyers Fruit Bars. They just hit the spot in this warm weather and there are so many varieties.  Our garden is producing lots of zucchini and squash (and soon tomatoes) this year but unfortunately I don't find them as appetizing as I have in years past.  Maybe the zucchini bread will change my mind!  On the other hand, all the amazing fruits that are available now are just divine.

I just have to say that Tristan is so awesome!  He makes dinner on most nights for us, then again he has always made dinner most of the time.  It is even better now because if he didn't then I think that I would just eat cereal in the evening (in addition to the bowl I have every morning).  The current favorites are Honey Nut Cheerios, Grape Nuts (with a banana), Wheat Chex & Special K.  The selection varies depending upon what is on sale and I only indulge in Lucky Charms/Coco Puffs/Captain Crunch on an irregular basis.  Like I said, I am so glad that Tristan is willing to cook!

Riley's Haircut

We brush him often and even give him a bath once a month but over the past month Riley's fur was becoming matted in areas and full of burrs from our walks in Memory Grove.

We decided that he just needed a little bit taken off. :)

Before

After 

He still has a busy tail which adds to the new super short hair look. My nephew said that Riley now looks like a Chihuahua.  I completely disagree!!! He is still our little Riley.

Timber and Riley worn out after playing tag in the yard.