My Panic Button Has Been Pressed

Last Sunday night Derek and I were folding clothes and chilling out around the house. Mason was sitting on the bed watching us fold clothes and playing with his toys. I had to run to the rest room and Mason has a bad habit of falling over and rolling around on the bed. I usually don't think anything of it. So I come out o the bathroom only to find Mason on the edge of the bed about to roll over. So I take off running and do a flying leap across our bed and I was too late. That poor baby fell off of the bed! So I scream and of course the scream scared him more than the fall did. I froze and Derek went to pick him up.
Mason is crying, I am crying we are all crying. I immediately told Derek to get my book, "What to Expect Your First Year," and I told Derek to take his clothes off so I could inspect the damage. Mason by this time is laughing at me making such a big deal out of this.
So I check for all of the obvious signs. Broken bones, dilated eyes, bumps and bruises. Of course he was fine, but I was still very upset so I call old faithful, my mom. Well she tells me to do everything that the book says to do. Go figure. So I check on him every couple of hours for the next six hours and still he's fine!
So lessons learned, never put Mason on the bed without us being there and always keep a copy of "What to Expect Your First Year" close by!

No rest for the weary!

Every night, I pray "Lord, please let my baby sleep well tonight." Secretly I pray, "Lord, please let my baby sleep well tonight so that I can get some rest!" I am exhausted! Every morning, I lay in bed and wonder what I can do that morning to be able to get some extra sleep! It usually involves finishing my hair and make up at work and already knowing and having it ironed what I am wearing to work.
Mason is a wonderful baby and such a blessing in our lives and we love him dearly, but when I wake up to a crying baby at 2 and he doesn't go back to sleep until around 3:30 or possibly 4, I many nights find my self frustrated and crying. I feel terrible because he's healthy and here I am complaining. My parents try to give us as much relief as possible, but sometimes, I feel like I am a bad mom when I leave him there just so I can get some sleep. Kind of selfish huh?
Mason hasn't slept good the past three nights. We have tried everything! Last night we tried feeding him, putting him in the bed with us, letting him cry it out, turning on Baby Einstein, playing with toys, the ever faithful Tylenol and gas drops, changing his diaper, and nothing helped. He just cried and got mad at both of us. We know he's not hungry because he eats oatmeal and has a bottle before he goes to sleep and half the time, he doesn't want to finish the bottle. So we blame it on bad dreams and try to call it a night.
So if you have any suggestions on how to calm our sweet Mason, please let me know!

Six Random Facts About Me

I got tagged by Alisha.

Rules: Write 6 random things about myself, link the person who tagged you & post the rules. Tag six people and link them. Let them know they have been tagged.

1. I could eat cereal every meal of every day and not get sick of it. I love cereal! I, like Alisha, hate soggy cereal so I always pour a big bowl of milk and then pour a little cereal at a time until my milk is gone. It seems like I am being a major pig because it ends up being like 12 bowls, but it's really only about 3 when you see how much I put in there.

2. Derek and I are addicted to Grey's Anatomy. We watch at least one episode a night. We started with Season 2 and then went back to 1. Now we are done with 3 and are ready to buy 4.

3. My favorite noise in the entire world is when Mason laughs. It's hilarious. He's the sweetest boy in the world and when he laughs you can tell it's a gut laugh and he loves to play and laugh.

4. I love going home and putting on my "fat" clothes. After being at work all day, I love to come home put on a pair of pajama pants and a t- shirt and lounge around. It's a great feeling.

5. I don't go or walk anywhere without shoes. I wear flips flops around the house even on the carpet. I hate feeling carpet on my feet. And I'm not really quite sure why I wear them every where else, but I don't get out of the shower or anything without my shoes. I'm a weirdo!

6. I just took my Christmas decorations down last night. I know, LAZY SLOTH comes to mind, but I enjoyed so much putting our decorations up in OUR house this year and I just hated parting with them.

I tag Brittany W, Courtney W, Lydia, Natalie, Kellie, and Veryll!

6 Month Well Visit

Mason went for his 6 month well visit today with Dr. Wiley! He did great! He had to have 4 shots today but took it like a champ! He cried less this time than last time. Dr. Wiley did say that since these were the same shots as last time, that he was more likely to have a stronger side effect to them this time! I thought great! Even more reason for him not to sleep!
Mason is a growing boy! He is 29 3/4 inches long, yes that puts him off of the charts once again! He weighs 20.4 which puts him in the 60% for his height! And his head circumference is 75%. So Mason is growing and looking great! He said that we can start on some of the meat mixed with veggies or fruit baby food! NASTY! I think Chicken with apples sounds horrible! We can also start giving him so mashed up bananas at the table, so pretty much what ever makes a mess.
Dr. Wiley also suggested that we baby proof our house in the coming weeks. Locks on the cabinets, CD's and DVD's need to be put up, socket covers, and baby gates to keep Mason safe! So I'm sure you will see pictures of our baby proof safe house! I kind of feel like he's Tommy Pickles on the show "Rugrats." I am really looking forward to the Mobile Mason! He's getting to be such a big boy and an even more joy in our lives!

To Sleep Or Not To Sleep...

I know at night when I lay down to sleep, I should be thankful that I have a beautiful home, a wonderful husband, and a very sweet and healthy baby, but the sweet baby has been hard to believe these past few weeks. I bragged so much on Mason for about a month on how he had been sleeping through the night in his bassinet for about 10 weeks, but the past month has been horrible in our house!
Mason had not been sleeping good at all. He would wake up around 1 and not go back to sleep until around 3 or 3:30! Now, it wouldn't be so bad if I were able to stay home with him and hopefully take a nap during the day when he did, but Derek and I wake up at 6:30 every morning and get ready for work, so we need as much sleep as possible! So when Mason wakes up, it's terrible and when he screams for an hour, it's even worse.
Last night was no exception. We tried everything. Feeding him, rocking him, letting him cry it out, and trying to get him to play! Nothing helped, he would cry, then fall asleep, and as soon as we tried to lay him down or even us sit down, he would start screaming again! So finally around 3, Derek gave him to me and he fell asleep on my chest where he stayed until 6:30 this morning.
Come to find out, this morning when I checked his mouth, there were 2 teeth poking through. So bless his heart, he was in pain. So keep up in mind these next few days as the teeth begin to grow that we will have a smooth transition!

Another Tender Tennessee Christmas

It's always fun when we get to spend Christmas at home. This is our 3rd Christmas in Tennessee and I love it. We have such a wonderful time. This year was extra special because it was Mason's first Christmas! Here are the pictures!

Mommy! Daddy! Wake up I'm ready!

This is fun! I love the paper and bows!
Hey Mom!
Ok, no more hat! Take it off!
HELP!
Oh a hammer just like Daddy's!
Can I go ahead and open these?
K K, What's that?
Aunt K K, are those Pop's or yours?
I love my Jump- A- Roo from Santa!
Christmas with Nanny and PaPaw Perry
I'm going to play basketball just like Daddy!
What a long day!

Our First Christmas

2008 served as many firsts in our family! It was mine and Derek's first Christmas married and Mason's first Christmas. We had a blast. I was so excited to decorate my own house for Christmas. It was something that I planned out to the very smallest detail! I loved how our house looked.. ok ok, how our house looks. Yes, it's January 9th, and I still have our decorations up! They are coming down this weekend though, but I would like to share them with you!

Mason Loves Our Tree

Mommy, is this ok?

I bet you can't guess what this stands for!

Mason's First Ornament

Sing With Me... How Great Is Our God!

I was going to wait until the fast was over to tell all of this, but this was so wonderful that it couldn't wait! Ever since our fast has started Sunday, we have had a blessing every day! Day after day we see the fullness of God's grace and yesterday, just like he always seems to do, the Lord blew me off of my feet.
One of the major things Derek and I have been fasting for is our finances. Being a newly married couple with a new baby doesn't always mean the easiest circumstances and we never really expected them to be, but since about November, it's been very difficult to make it.
We were talking Wednesday night and all day Thursday about our bills. They just seemed to overwhelm us. I always try to look at the positive, but here lately, it been difficult for even me to do that. I called Derek crying on my lunch break on Thursday telling him that I know we won't make it and we were trying to figure out our best option. Me get a second job, file bankruptcy (not really but I felt that was what we needed to do) I was completely in a panic. So Derek said that we could sit down Thursday night and get on a strict budget. I agreed and I always hate these conversations with anyone because it's depressing and hard on everyone to talk about the short comings of their finances.
I called Derek on my way home from work and he had picked Mason up from my mom and we would be home around the same time.
The first thing I do every day when I get home is check the mail. So Thursday was no different. Mason got a book, Derek got a letter from the church, and I got an envelope from SunTrust, my previous employer. Well, of course I think it's a bill, or my W- 2 or something and I almost don't want to open it, but something inside me was telling me to open it.
I pulled in the garage and opened the envelope and there was a check for $599.22! I just began to cry, almost uncontrollably. Derek pulls in the garage seconds later thinking that something is wrong with me. I can't even open the door to get out so he is trying to open the door to get in and he says, "What wrong, what is it?" All I could do was show him the check and all we could do was cry together.
Thursday night we started writing out the bills that equaled $599.22, the amount of the check.
God is forever faithful! We will make it because of his faithfulness!

In Jackson Mississippi

Every year, we celebrate Christmas in Jackson, Mississippi. My mom is from Mississippi and all of he family still lives there. So, it wasn't much surprise that we headed up there to celebrate some Christmas with them. We left Friday the 19th after I got off of work. Derek, Mason, and I stayed at MiMi and Pop. Saturday morning, we went to my uncle Sammy and Aunt Dinah's house for the Lang Family Christmas. This is always one of my favorite Christmas festivites and it always has been. We have a ton of family traditions that day; first we talk about how there ha been a new baby born every year since my cousin Anna Beth 10 years ago and I was so thrilled that it was my child who got recognized this year. After that, my uncle Sammy tells the Christmas Story or as my cousin Emmeline says, "How God Was Born." Then we eat and watch the kids open their Christmas gifts. This year was bitter sweet. Sunday morning on our way home, my MiMi called us and told us that my Uncle Freddie went to be with the Lord that morning. Freddie had been battleing with cancer and diabetes for quite some time and his disease ran it's course. The Lang Family Christmas will never be the same without his shouting telling the kids to be quiet, his dry sense of humor and best of all, his talk of politics. Although it wasn't the best way to spend Christmas, I was honored to have our 2 new editions erek and Mason with me this year!
Nathan probably wondering what he could get into next
Natalie's serious face!
Anna Beth stayed by the presents looking to see which had her name on them
Pop slightly excited about his present!
The next Vanna White... yeah right!
Nathan and his camera, or in his words, "Crap, oh crap!"
Mason and his drum set

Playing by MiMi's tree

He pulled her tail, what can I say? Just kidding, she didn't bite him!I saved the best for last!

Derek's Birthday

Derek celebrates his birthday on December 24th. Don't feel sorry for him, he doesn't get "skimped" on the gifts. He just gets double! So on Christmas Eve/ Derek's birthday, I got off of work at 12 so we met Perry and Sheila out to eat at J. Alexander's. It was wonderful! Then Derek and I went and finished up some very last minute shopping. Then we headed to my parents house where MiMi cooked Derek a birthday dinner. And then he opened his gifts from everyone. We had a wonderful time, we also enjoyed getting in our Christmas pajamas and watching Christmas Vacation and The Rocketts Christmas Show. Here are some pictures from the evening!

Oh mom, enough with the pictures!

And I wonder why Mason is such a ham!
Derek's clock for the "Man Den"
Typical male, money straight to the pocket!
Pop probably talking about politics! He gets so wound up!
Derek and his North Face
Mason and PaPaw Perry

My Two Favorite Boys

As I look back at all of our blessings this year, I sit and look at this picture and think of my two greatest blessings. Derek and Mason bring such an overwhelming amount of joy into my life. I thank God every day for them and can't wait for the years to come.