On the move to Joliet...

This past weekend we also took a little trip over to Joliet to visit Dave's family! It was a great visit and we got to see a lot of family we hadn't seen in a while! We went to Granny's first and visited Dave's mom, Granny and Grandpa. Mason got to meet his Great Granny and Grandpa and Aunt Missy for the first time! It was nice!

Ian and Luke alsways enjoys the Jeep power-wheels at Granny's and now their cousin Anthony is big enough to play with! How fun!

Ian and Grandpa Dowler enjoying the beautiful day.

Granny and Mason - Dave and I

Mason sports his new smile! - Grandma Taylor LOVES little Mason!

Next door to Granny is Aunt Penny and they've got a tire swing that the boys really enjoyed playing on! They didn't want to leave! But all in all we had a wonderful time last Saturday!

More Family Visits!

So the past two weeks my sister and her kids were in town! What a GREAT time it was with them! I always miss my sister so much and love every minute I get to spend with her!

We went to Butterfly park one morning while they were here to let the kids play. It was fun!

Ian and Luke with their cousins, Tyler and Julia

Julia and I sporting the shades!

We really had a great time! We were able to go to the beach, the park, play games and laugh ourselves silly! It was so good to catch up! I'm sad though, because now they have returned home to Texas and I have to wait until hopefully spring to see them again!

Family Visits!

July has been a busy month for visits from a lot of family and we are still enjoying family here in town this week!

July started off great with a nice visit over the 4th of July weekend with Dave's half brother and sister, Jeremy and Angel and their mom! It was fun to have them come and spend time with us for a few days and get to know eachother better!

Last week, my Grandma Jensen, Aunt Joann and Uncle Kim, Aunt Sharon, and my cousins, KaeLoni and her baby Kaia (sorry if I spelled that wrong!), Mikayla, and Jeffery were here visiting!! It was a great time! We went to the beach, played games, had lots of great food and great times! What a treasured time it was to see them! Pictured below are my boys with their Great Grandma Jensen!
While my Grandma was here, we thought we'd get a four generation shot with Mason! How blessed I am for my family! My Grandma, Me, my Mom, and Mason!
My Sister, Robin, and her kids came to visit as well and are still here! We are having a great time with them as well! We've been to the beach, played games, watched movies together and have had fun catching up on our lives!

Below, Robin, Michael, Tyler (with Luke) and Julia all holding Mason for the first time! What a great time we are all having!

Mason is One Month Old!

I can't believe that my little Mason is already one month old today! It just seems like yesterday that he came to our family! He has grown so much this past month gaining probably over a pound - for sure judging by his little leg rolls! He is such a good baby and loves his mommy very much! Ian, Luke, and Daddy are still in love with him as well and take really good care of him and Mommy! I am so blessed to have such wonderful boys! I'm sad, though, that this little stage only lasts for so long... I guess they have to all grow up eventually... but I love this little rollie-pollie - even though he spits up on me multiple times each day! I love it!

31 Years ago on July 14, 1977...

Yesterday, July 14th, was Dave's 31st Birthday! We celebrated a little this past Saturday by going out for pizza as a family, then last night we had the Newman's and my Mom over for ice cream cake and cupcakes! Dave has been asking for an ice cream cake for the past 3 years, and I finally remembered to get one! He really enjoyed it! Happy Birthday Dave!

Mason's First Bath - July 13, 2008

Mason's umbilical cord FINALLY fell off on Sunday, so we gave him his first real bath! And since we believe that someone swiped our baby bath off our deck, we had to resort to the bathroom sink! How funny! He looks so small!!!

Mason loved his first bath! Much better than that cold sponge bath!

He was doing really good until his head got wet...
And this is what happened after the head got wet! We had to get him out then!
Mason looks like we just finished torturing him!
Mason styling his little mohawk.

Family Outing - July 12, 2008

Since Mom is feeling a lot better and recovering well from the baby, we decided to take the boys out to the Michigan City Zoo and to the Lighthouse at the lakeshore! It was a great day and the boys had a blast! They loved to see all the animals and they liked the lighthouse a lot! Little Mason was great and slept the whole time we walked around. We were all exhausted by the end of our outing but we had a great time being together as a family! What a great day!

2 Wheels are better than 4...

Last Wednesday, Ian ventured out to the road with Daddy to test out his skills that he had been practicing on the deck on his 2 wheel bike! Needless to say, his determination paid off and he took off as proud as can be on his bike! Dave was so very proud of him and I was scared to death he was going to crack his head open! Ian was very proud of himself and wants to 'ride his bike in the road' every day now! Unfortunatley, he has to wait till Daddy gets home to ride, since Mommy can't chase after him just yet. But we are proud of him and now he's ready for a little bigger bike! Yeah! Great Job Ian!!!

More Pictures from the Hospital

Pictures from the Hospital

Our internet has been down for the past week, but I've been able to get online for a while today to get some of the pictures up from the days we spent at the hospital and of our bring Mason home. I hope you enjoy this slide show!
The boys absolutley love Mason and actually fight over who gets to hold him! Luke especially is very possessive of his little brother and loves to say 'hi Mason, it's me!' Ian likes to laugh when Mason hiccups or does other body functions - of course - what else would humor a 5 year old! But they are really great with him and they are pretty good helpers for me.
My recovery is going great and I am moving around very well for just having a c-section a week ago! I'm grateful to Heavenly Father for letting me raise another one of his sweet spirits and for my health and most especially for my little family!
Enjoy the pictures!