Welcome Mason!

Mason,

You made your debut on Sunday, April 27th at 2:39pm and when you were ready to come into this world YOU WERE READY. At first we thought you were going to arrive earlier than your due date and do it all on your own because I had been having contractions pretty frequent the week before. But they would never last and would usually stop after an hour or two. It sure kept us on our toes because a few times the contractions got within 8 minutes apart and lasted for almost an hour. But then they just stopped! So we scheduled an induction for the morning of April 27th. We were able to do this on Sunday because our doctor was working that weekend anyway. It worked out really nice for us too because daddy was starting a new job the next week and this allowed him to spend a week with us before he had to start his new job.

We arrived at the hospital Sunday morning at 7am and by 8am I was given pitocin. At this point I was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The contractions got stronger and at 10:30am I was given an epidural. The doctor broke my water at noon and by 2:15pm I was ready to push. Fifteen minutes and five pushes later you made your very quick debut! The nurses couldn't believe how fast you came into this world and to be honest I couldn't believe it either but I was quite ecstatic! Immediately after, you were placed on my chest where I got to hold you and stare at you for the first time. My sweet, beautiful baby boy!

Mason Truitt Conner - born at 2:39pm, 7 lbs 10 oz, 20" long

Meeting your big brother, Liam, for the first time! 

And he adores you already!! He always wants to know where you are at and gets jealous if other people are holding you. He will say, "My Mason, I hold him". He is very helpful with you too. If you cry, he'll grab your pacifier and try to put it in your mouth or hand us the bottle and say "he hungry". If you get fussy when he's holding you, he says "It okay Mason, I got you". So cute!! 

Photo Shoot done by the hospital!

One Day Old!

On our way home!

Easter at the Ranch

This year we celebrated Easter at the ranch with Grandpa Dave & Grandma Terry. Aunt Cari and the kids were able to make it over too. This was a pretty special Easter as it was the first time we brought our kids down to the ranch to celebrate Easter. When I was a kid, we always went down to the ranch for Easter where we'd hang out with family, have a big Easter egg hunt, and do lunch/dinner afterwards. So it was pretty special we could share this tradition with our kids.

The night before Easter we colored eggs at our house. Daddy and I colored most of the eggs and Liam helped of course but he was more our decorator sprinkling the eggs with glitter and covering them in stickers!

 The next day we went to the ranch. While we were all inside visiting, the Easter Bunny had stopped by and left all sorts of goodies. Liam and Ridge jumped up immediately once they heard that and after we handed them each a bucket they ran outside to see what they could find. Sage wasn't too far behind them either! I had to laugh at Liam because any time he found a plastic egg he'd immediately crack it open and see what was inside which was either money or candy. When he found a real egg he'd try to open it and then he'd drop it saying "it won't open" almost like he was disappointed there was nothing fun inside. I followed behind him picking up the real eggs and the plastic eggs minus the goodies that were inside. Ridge and Sage had a lot of fun finding the eggs too. After everyone found their Easter baskets and all the eggs we had a BBQ and sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

A little help from Uncle Jesse!

Look at all that loot!

Ridge was pretty excited about his golf club!

And so was Liam!

Got a hug from little miss Sage!

                               

Cousins!

Baby Shower

Had a lot of fun last weekend at the baby shower Jenn put on for me and Mason! We played games, ate some great food, and just had fun visiting. The most entertaining and funniest part of the shower was when everyone had to measure out how big around they thought I was using a piece of ribbon. Most over shot it by a lot but there were a few that undershot or were really close. But the one who got it right on was Jenn! Nice work lady!! There were also some great keepsakes that I can't wait to get into later...like the "Late Night Diapers" and the "Time Capsule" for Mason. The "Late Night Diapers" have sayings written on them that people wrote to be from Mason. So they should be pretty entertaining as we're changing Mason's diaper whether it be in the middle of the night or not! The "Time Capsule" is filled with messages from everyone saying what they think he'll be in 18 years. That means we can't open it until 2032. WOW...don't want to think about that!

Thanks for the fabulous baby shower Jenn. You did an awesome job and made me feel very special - thank you! Thanks to all that could be there to celebrate this very special time too. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! THANK YOU!!

Beautiful!

Diaper cake...so cute!

Yummy cake my mom made!

Instructions for the "Time Capsule"

Can't open this sucker for 18 years...wow!

The perfect glasses...Mason Jars!

"Late Night Diapers" ready for Mason!

Gift Time!

My mother-in-law & mom!

e

You rock Jenn!

The organizer and her helpers - thanks ladies!

33 Weeks & Growing

Today I am 33 weeks! Woohoo, let the countdown begin...only 7 weeks to go!! Last week was our last monthly check-up and now we go in every two weeks the rest of this month and then weekly next month. At our check-up last week the doctor said everything looked great (heartbeat 150 bpm) and said we're right on schedule. Though I'm hoping Mason makes his debut a little earlier than his due date but I guess we'll just have to wait and see! We also get one more ultrasound which I'm really looking forward to so we can get one last look at Mason before his arrival.

This pregnancy has definitely been a lot different than my first. I've had more nausea (mostly in the first trimester) and heartburn this pregnancy than I ever did with Liam. The heartburn has been constant and it's taken some getting used to especially since I've never had heartburn before. Then there is the regular symptoms I had before that I'm experiencing again; back pain, feeling crowded, and tired. It could be I'm more tired this go around though now that I have 2 YEAR OLD to chase around! But it is all worth it just knowing there is a tiny human being growing inside me. It is the most amazing experience and I wouldn't change it for the world! My favorite moments are when I can feel him moving whether it be kicking/punching or just rolling around and when he has the hiccups. It is such a great feeling and makes me smile every time!

Getting bigger and bigger...

The Boys' Room

Liam and Mason's room is just about done. I just have a couple more things to get to hang on the walls and then it will be completely done. I am so pleased with how it turned out and how everything fit together so nicely! I hope the boys like it as much I do and enjoy their very own forest!! (Thank you Kim Latrielle)

This has been our project for the past two weeks. The first week we moved all the furniture out of this room and Liam's old room. We repainted both rooms, then moved Liam into this room and moved the office/hunting room into the other bedroom. During this process, Liam stayed with Grandma Pam and Grandpa Tom so we could really focus on getting this all done and so we didn't have to worry about rushing to get Liam's room back together. The second week we hung the curtains, did a lot of organizing, and then Kim came over and painted this beautiful tree mural on the wall. She even surprised us with a deer picture that matched the room and theme perfectly! Thank you so much Kim!!

The project for this weekend is making this sign. We could buy it but why buy it when you can make it or should I say when my husband can make it!

Big Changes

Liam,

You've gone through quite a few changes the last couple months and there are still more BIG changes to come. The biggest change is your going to have a little brother the end of April. We've been busy getting everything ready and preparing you for this change. 

We turned your crib into a toddler bed so you could get used to having a big boy bed. Your little brother, Mason, will be using your crib and we wanted to make sure you had plenty of time to get used to your bed before he arrived. We don't want you wanting the crib again when you see your little brother in it!

You're doing really well sleeping in it and have only fallen out of it a couple times. You never want any help getting into bed, you always insist "I do it". Getting out is another story, you won't get out until one of us comes to get you. This is nice right now but hopefully you learn to get out by yourself. 

Since Mason is going to be using your crib/toddler bed we got you a new bed, bunk beds actually. They're in the other bedroom right now and you love playing on them already. Especially climbing up the ladder to go to the top bunk. You and Mason are going to be sharing a room so this weekend we're moving you into the bigger bedroom. You get to stay with Grandma Pam and Grandpa Tom while we paint and make the switch. When you get back home Sunday your room should be put back together and you might even be able to sleep in your new bunk bed Sunday night. We'll see how it goes!

Potty training is another thing we're working on with you. Our goal is have you potty trained and out of diapers by the time your little brother arrives. If you're still in diapers though that's okay but it'd be nice to just buy diapers for one kid! Right now you are showing some interest in going potty in the potty but you don't do it as much as we'd like. Usually you only go once or twice if we're lucky. We've transitioned you to pull-ups but I don't think you really notice a difference. So I think we may skip the pull-ups and try using big boy underwear and see if that helps.

Now just waiting for baby Mason to arrive....

Christmas Traditions - Old & New

A couple years ago we started a new tradition, going out to the woods and looking for the perfect Christmas tree. Well this year Christmas kind of snuck up on us! We just didn't have an open weekend to go into the woods and find a tree. So we went to the next best place, a tree lot in town that I went to every year growing up. We met Grandpa Dave and Grandma Terry there and picked out the perfect tree!

Ready to decorate!

Our little helper!

Another tradition we like to do (or I should say "I" like to do) is decorating the inside of the house with Christmas decorations and hanging the stockings. We also cover the outside of the house with lights. This year daddy got off easy and I only put up the lights around the deck. I was going to have daddy hang icicle lights around the whole house but again we ran out of time. So next year we'll be hanging lights everywhere! Nothing like the Griswold's but it will be close. Just kidding, daddy WOULD NOT be happy with me if I made him put up that many lights plus I wouldn't want to pay that electric bill!

Hanging lights has always been a favorite tradition of mine. Growing up I remember Grandpa Dave going out to hang our Christmas lights. He had a staple gun in hand and would always wear shorts or his sweats pulled up to his knees. He'd cover the house with lights. We would also drive to nearby neighborhoods looking at all their lights.

Celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve has always been my side of the family's tradition and daddy's side celebrates on Christmas Day. So it normally works out we can get together with everyone. But it's getting harder and harder to do this as our family grows and we and our siblings are having kids of our own. One of my fondest memories growing up is Christmas Eve at the ranch (aka - Great Grandma Garnett's house). We always had a crew with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We didn't have enough floor space for everyone so we'd have to do presents in two waves, the kids and the adults. Then all the cousins would bunk up in the upstairs bedrooms and get ready for Santa Claus to arrive. We were always giddy and excited that we never went to sleep right away. We'd talk and goof off until one of our parents came up the stairs and told us to go to sleep!

This year we went to my Aunt Staci and Uncle Mike's house for Christmas Eve. We've done this the last couple years and we always have a lot of fun. Grandpa Dave and Grandpa Terry were there and even Uncle Ryan got to join us this year. Aunt Sandi, Uncle Jay, cousins Kody and Alex, and Jenneca and Jesse were there too. It was a fun evening with great food, presents, and a game of Jeopardy that cousin Dani put together. It was guys vs. girls and the guys won but they definitely cheated! Rematch next year!!

Hanging out after dinner

Present Time!

Loving Dani's fur hat!

At the end of the night, we saved one special present for you, a present containing new Christmas Jammie's, a Christmas movie, and snacks to have with your movie. This is a new tradition we just started this year! You wore your Christmas Jammie's to bed and we watched the movie the next morning. Such a fun tradition we'll be doing every year!

Then we hosted Christmas morning at our house. Grandpa Dave & Grandma Terry came over along with Uncle Ryan and Grandpa Mike, Nana B, and Uncle Josh. But before everyone arrived we exchanged stockings and you saw what Santa brought you. A Hummer!

Seeing it for the first time!

Taking it for a cruise!

When everyone arrived we had a yummy brunch making Great Grandma Erickson's homemade donuts and Conner egg casserole. I'm hoping to make this tradition too, every few Christmas's at least. We spent the rest of the morning relaxing and opening presents.

Look at all those donuts!

Let the presents begin!

Testing out the boxing gloves on Uncle Josh!

Oh boy, a train set!

The boys setting it up!

This is what they're meant for, right!?!