Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Tug-Of-War Battle With Time

I apologize for the delay in my blog posts. I had this whole plan; I would create this super amazing post about Mason turning 6 months old, share with you our experience in court to finalize our adoption, make you cry with beautiful pictures of Mason's baby blessing, etc. However, none of these things have happened yet (except Mason turning 6 months old of course). We are STILL waiting for these incredible moments to happen; moments we've dreamt about. So...rather than waiting another month and a half to write a post, I figured I would update you on what's been happening in the Marengo household since January (the super amazing post with all the extra good stuff will eventually happen...later...who knows when).

Side note/Adoption Finalization update: Before Mason even turned 6 months I was ahead of the game with our paperwork to finalize. The delay has been with everyone else. It's a long story, but nothing to worry about. At the moment we are waiting for the letter to arrive in the mail informing us of our court date. We believe our court date will be some time in April. We are extremely frustrated that this process has taken so long, especially since I was so diligent getting all the paperwork completed and prepared before it was asked of us.

Mason is now 6 months and 4 weeks old! He is such a happy baby. I totally get it now when mom's say they love their babies at 6 months; Mason is so much fun right now.
  • Mason is keeping us on our toes with this rolling over thing. Wow, he's fast. It's so cute when he does it too; I can tell he's thinking "Yeeeah that's right. I got to that toy."
  • He's trying so hard to crawl. He's got the back arching down, stretching to reach something, pumping his legs...it's gonna happen in the next month, I'm sure of it.
  • He is a pro at putting his binky into his mouth! If it falls out, and he wants it, he picks it right up and puts it back in. He's a self-soother :)
  • Mason loves his sippy cup! Most moms I've talked to don't give their kids a sippy cup till closer to 9-12 months. Well Mason, was ready, no doubt about it! He grabs at everything, including our cups. Every time Ricky and I have a cup, he wants it. He even puts the straw in his mouth (of course he can't sip yet, but I think he thinks he can). It is also a battle of the spoon when it's dinner time for Mason. He wants to feed himself so bad. The few times I let him do it, he gets the spoon to his mouth ok, but then puts his hands in with his spoon, therefore getting the food everywhere! I try to avoid as many messes as possible because I know as he gets older it will be impossible to control. We/I have a very nice routine at home, including napkins, wipes, and bibs...so far it's been fairly successful. We also Skype with my parents for almost every feeding; kinda cute :) My parents LOVE it, and so does Mason.
  • Mason is on Stage 2 foods. He loves everything we give him. The worst facial expressions have been green beans.
  • Mason snacks on the Mum Mum rice crackers, and has so much fun with them. Again, this gives him the opportunity to hold on to the cracker and eat like a big boy! Plus it keeps him occupied so Ricky and I can eat - Hallelujah! Speaking of snacks, we've also started giving Mason the little cereal puffs! This is another favorite of his!! He grabs at the high chair tray scooping up whatever he can, and occasionally is successful get one or two in his mouth. Hey, it's improving his hand-eye coordination!
  • Mason still only has 2 teeth, on the bottom. We're hoping more will appear, cause gosh darn it, sometimes his attitude sure screams "Hey, there's something going on with my gums and it HURTS"!
  • I swear Mason and I have conversations. His goo goo goos (not exactly a "goo" sound, but you know what I mean) are so expressive! So I mimic his goo goos and then he gives me a new, different set of goos. It's so much fun. Then he'll scream in excitement! I then scream back! (This goes on for a while) :)
  • His neck is his favorite ticklish spot. Ricky gives him lots of fast kisses there, and he cracks up! A full bodied belly laugh! I must not be as good at it, cause Ricky gets the REALLY good laugh.
  • Thankfully Mason's eyes are still so blue and beautiful - he looks so much like Ricky! It's so fun how many comments we've gotten where people say they look alike; people that have no idea he was adopted. His hair also keeps getting lighter and lighter - we have a total surfer on our hands :)
  • Ricky and I have found ourselves in tears laughing so hard at Mason pushing out his poop! He is HILARIOUS. He focuses on something, usually us, and then pushes. Pushes like no other. His face gets red, and he's entirely serious. Then all of a sudden he smiles, and is back to normal! It's so funny!
  • Mason loves to go on walks! He looks at everything, and loves to see dogs or cats.
  • Sure enough, right at 6 months Mason stopped sleeping through the night. We were so bummed! I immediately looked it up online @ baby center and I was assured to read that this happens with many babies once they're 6 months. So frustrating. He was doing so well! Now we are up twice a night for feedings. Ricky and I alternate. One night I do the first feeding, Ricky does the second. The following night it's reversed. Either way, every night we are both doing the feedings; that's what we call team work!
  • This may be obvious, and doesn't even need to be stated, but Mason puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Have any of you moms out there bought teething necklaces? The ones YOU wear!? I need to get some of these, Mason chews on anything I wear. Side note: He also pulls my hair so hard, all the time. It's incredibly painful!
  • Anytime we need to calm Mason down we sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and he quiets down immediately; it's so funny. He loves to be sang to, but that song especially.
  • Ok, my last brag about Mason, he is such a pro at sitting up now. He plays with his toys effortlessly, and is so cute about it. It brings so much joy to my heart to watch him sit on the floor or on the couch and play. I can tell he's having so much fun.
Being a mom is the best gift ever. Ricky and I are so blessed. Every day with Mason is exciting, new, tiring (lol), challenging, and rewarding. We still can't believe we are lucky enough to be his parents, that WE are responsible to teach him about life. It's wild. But we've got this! We wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING in the world.

Aside from all my Mason updates, here's a few plain ol' Marengo Family updates:
  • We've been working so hard updating Paulette's house! Our excitement to move there gets bigger and bigger every day. We are hoping to move-in during the month of May! It really couldn't come sooner. We can't wait to be in that neighborhood, close to the Andersen's, and in a new ward! :) Being able to eat dinner as a family with Paulette each day will be so special too!
  • My brother Kyle, will be relocating to Chicago for Grad School. We are so happy and excited for him, but there's going to be a major void with him gone. I'm so used to seeing him each week, and watching him be an Uncle to Mason has been so touching. Kyle's my one and only sibling, and we are so close. Life will not be the same without him a short drive away. I'm in denial that he will actual leave me. It's such a bittersweet feeling; I'm happy for him, but don't want it to happen. Anyway...
  • At my schools Science Fair, one of MY students won first place!!! I may have been more excited than they were!
  • All my shows came back: Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Parenthood, and Glee. I almost couldn't sleep I was so excited :)

Ricky and Mason came to visit at school when we had our Science Fair! The students were SO excited to meet both of them!