Mason and Tanner--A Month Older

Mason is now 19 months old (he turned 19 months on April 16th) and our little Tanner is already a month old (he turned one month old on April 25th).  i can't believe it, the time has flown by. 

Here is a little about Mason at 19 months old. 
Sleeping:  Mason continues to sleep great through the night.  Occasionally Tanner will wake him up with his crying, but Mason will usually go right back to sleep.  Mason continues to take 2 naps a day.  Each nap is about 1.5-2 hours long.  I keep thinking that I'll take one away, but without his 2 naps Mason wont sleep through the night. 

Talking:  Mason will mostly just point at things and grunt when he needs something, but every once is awhile he'll say something that sounds like a real word.  He's not saying anything new from last month, but he does continue to talk up a storm, it just doesn't make much sense. 

Eating:  Mason will pretty much try anything, but he definitely knows what he likes and what he doesn't.  When he doesn't like something he'll usually hand it to me or to Casey to eat.  He's pretty much gotten out of the habit of throwing his food on the floor, he'll only do it when Casey or I'm not paying attention to when he's trying to hand us something. 
This past month Mason learned how to drink out of a straw.  I've also been trying to teach Mason how to eat from a spoon.  I guess I'm just not patient enough though because he makes the biggest mess when he feeds himself with a spoon and I hate when he gets all messy. 
Also this past month we found a favorite treat of Masons.  Mason loves popcorn puffs.  They taste like popcorn, but are puffy like a Cheetos.  Mason will walk into the kitchen grab a bowl from his drawer and point to the popcorn puffs.  I found them at Target for only $2/bag.  The only downside is he could eat a whole bag in one day.  When Mason is done with bis bowl I'll tell him to go put it in the kitchen.  He'll walk into the kitchen and throw the bowl in the garbage can.  He's such a silly boy and I love his "helping" personality. 

Other:  Mason loves being outside (what child doesn't?!?!).  He loves riding his bike outside, pushing his little lawn mower that he got for Easter from Casey, and going next door to the neighbors to ride down their little toy slide.
Mason loves shoes.  After getting dressed and his hair combed in the mornings, Mason will walk into his room and point to his shoe bin.  It doesnt' even matter if were going outside or not, Mason just wants to have shoes on. 
Mason loves his blankets.  He'll go through the hamper and find as many blankets as he can find.  Then he'll carry them around the house all day long.  I've thought of trying to take away some of his blankets and just have him get attached to one, but he loves his blankets too much. 

This past month Mason has learned to do peek-a-boo.  He'll cover his little eyes with his little chubby hands then want you to say "peek" until he uncovers his eyes then you say "a-boo".  He loves playing this little game with anyone and he always laughs when he plays it. 

Mason is such a good older brother to Tanner.  He's constantly checking on Tanner, helping me burp him, wanting to share his food with him, wanting to sit on my lap whenever I hold Tanner, and the list could go on and on.  Tanner is so lucky to have such a great older brother!

I can't even imagine my life without our little Mason.  He has such a happy personality it's hard to get mad or grumpy at him because he just laughs at you.  We love this little guy more and more everyday.

Here is a little about Tanner at 1 month.
Sleeping:  Tanner still sleeps most of the day.  At night he'll usually go to bed around 11-11:30 and usually wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat.  After eating he'll usually go right back to sleep. 

Talking:  I love the little baby sounds Tanner makes.  Tanner also makes lots of noises at night while he sleeps.  I don't remember Mason making so many noises during the night that it kept me up, but Tanner does.  Although Tanner's baby noises will sometimes keep me up at night I love to hear them. 

Eating:  Tanner eats about every 3 hours during the day.  He is up to eating almost 3oz. per feeding.  He's definitely getting a little chub to his cheeks and thighs.  Tanner is a great eater and never passes up an opportunity to eat. 

Other:  This past month I took Tanner in for his 2 week appt.  He is definitely a growing boy.  He weighed 6lbs. 6oz. which was in the 3rd percentile, he was 20 inches long which was in the 39th percentile and his head size was 13 inches which was in the 13th percentile. 
We started tummy time, which Tanner doesn't really care for.  He'll like it for about 1 minute then he'll start crying.  We'll keep working on it and hopefully he'll learn to like it soon. 

Tanner loves to be snuggled.  He loves to be wrapped up in his blankets and held really really tight.  Holding him like this almost always puts him to sleep.  Tanner also loves to be held.  I don't get much done in the day besides take care of Mason and hold Tanner. 

We love this new little addition to our family.  This past month has gone by way too fast, I can't believe Tanner is already a month old.  Mason is so lucky to have such a sweet little brother around the home.  We love our little boys.  We thank our Heavenly Father every night for giving us these 2 little, sweet boys.  They are our most prized possessions and our greatest blessing! 

  

March Happenings

I'm quickly realizing, I have no time for blogging anymore.  The only time I get is when both babies are asleep, which usually means I'm going to take a nap too since I'm up usually most of the night with our new little Tanner.  But, since this is where I document all of my life's events, I'm trying my hardest to stay caught up.  Here is a little of what we were up to during the month of March. 

We spent a lot of March working on the yard.  Casey is trying to get it cleaned up as much as possible so Mason can enjoy playing in our yard this summer.  We had 3 large tree stumps that needed to be removed, so thanks to the help of Casey, Ryan and my dad, they were able to remove the tree stumps.  My dad drove the tractor up from the shop on a Saturday morning.  Removing the tree stumps ended up being a lot more work then I had anticipated, it ended up taking all day long.  We also wanted to remove this large tractor tire, but found out it was going to cost almost $100 to take it to the dump.  The tire still sits in our backyard until we decide what to do with it.  All three tree stumps are now gone from our yard, now it's onto the next yard project.

Casey's sister Caitlin had her baby boy on March 14, 2014.  After being a week overdue, she was finally induced.  We got to meet baby Isaac a few days after he was born.  We are excited for Isaac and Tanner to grow up together and be great friends that are also cousins.

My cousin Emily had her baby boy, Branson, on March 19th.  Emily and I are only 5 months apart.  We've grown up together and been best friends.  Now we have babies that are only 6 days apart.  We are excited for them to be great friends.

I decided it was probably time to get out all the baby gear and get it ready for our new baby.  Mason loved playing in the car seat and bouncer.  All on his own Mason went into the playroom and grabbed my Johnny doll.  He brought it out and put him in the bouncer.  He rocked the bouncer pretty hard that the doll flew out.  Mason is a great older brother, but we definitely keep a pretty close eye on Mason when Tanner is in his bouncer. 

CHEESE!

We took Mason to the zoo the Friday before Tanner was born.  Casey had the day off work so we decided to spend it with our little family of 3.  Mason loved the zoo.  He pointed at everything.  Although his favorite was probably the bobcat tractor and the carousel. 

On March 25th our little Tanner was born.  He has been such a joy to have in our family.  We love him so much!

That was our month of March!!

Introducing...

We'd like to introduce the newest member of our family, Tanner Kimball Mecham.  Although our lives have completely changed since he has been here, we couldn't feel more blessed and grateful that he is part of our family. 

I want to remember Tanner's birth so here it is.
At about 35 weeks, baby started measuring a little small.  Along with the fact that he had a small amount of fluid in his kidney's and he was measuring small, my doctor decided to send me to a perinatologist.  After visiting with the perinatologist, he said everything looked good and he had no concerns about the health of this baby.  So I continued with my weekly appointments with my doctor.  At my 38 week appointment, my doctor surprised me with the news that he, along with the perinatologist, had decided to induce me at 39 weeks, which would be Tuesday, March 25th.  I was full of emotions:  shocked, scared, excited, and worried.  I didn't want to be induced.  I knew if there was anything wrong with this baby, it would rest on my shoulders for the rest of my life that maybe I should of waited to go into labor and the baby would of been fine.  I trusted my doctor though and we set up an induction date for that following Tuesday.   
That next week, we spent the time getting ready.  It's kind of nice knowing when you'll be induced because it gives you a chance to get everything done.  Monday night I was a complete wreck.  I wasn't ready for this baby to come, I wasn't ready to have to spend the next 2-3 days in the hospital away from my little Mason.  Casey gave me and Mason a blessing, which calmed my worries and I was able to get a little bit of rest that night. 

At about 3 in the morning, I started feeling some back pain.  It was enough to keep me up throughout the rest of the night, but not enough to really think much more of it (my back was constantly hurting me throughout the whole pregnancy).  I tried to relax and get as comfortable as possible. 
6 in the morning came soon enough.  I went and kissed my little Mason good-bye then Casey and I were off to the hospital.  Mom came and stayed with Mason that morning, I knew he would be in good hands while I was away.
Mom sent me these pictures while I was in labor.  I was so happy that she kept me updated, I was missing my little guy so much!

We got to the hospital and waited to be checked in.  A group of UVU nursing students walked by.  All of them were girls, except one boy.  I thought to myself I hope he's not one of my nurses today. 
We got checked in and they took me to a room.  I got dressed in a gown, then they hooked me up to a monitor.  Come to find out the back pain I had been feeling earlier, were actually contractions.  They were coming about every 2 min. apart.  I couldn't believe it, they wouldn't have to induce me after all, it was such a relief and one of the many answered prayers that we offered that morning. 
My nurse came in, it was the same nurse that helped deliver Mason.  Along with her came the UVU student boy nurse,  You lose all privacy when having a baby, so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal, just a little embarrassing. 
After inserting the IV, hooking me up to all the monitors, they decided to see how far along I was.  I was at a 5.  The nurse said that her other patient was ready for delivery, so she'd be back in a little while. 
Meanwhile, my contractions were becoming a little unbearable.  I kept asking Casey to go find the nurse so we could get an epidural and he said just wait for 10 more minutes.  Finally, at about 9, I got the epidural.  I felt so much better and was even able to relax a bit while Casey ran to McDonald's for some breakfast. 
The nurse came in to see where I was at, I was at a 7.  My doctor came in around 11:20 and broke my water.  I went from a 7 to a 10 in about 2 minutes.  We waited for the doctor to come back so he could deliver our baby.  At 11:51 I was ready and at 11:52 our little Tanner was born.  Everything happened so fast.  Casey was very nervous about cutting the umbilical cord.  When Tanner was here, the cord was too short for Casey to cut.  Just another answer to prayers.   
Our little Tanner was 6lbs. 9oz. and 18" long.  After cleaning him off and wrapping him in blankets, I got to hold our little guy for the first time.  For about an hour, it was just me, Casey, and the newest member of our family.

 

Casey and Tanner went to the nursery, for Tanner's first bath, while I got settled in my room.  Mom and dad came to see how I was doing and to meet Tanner. 
Throughout our hospital stay we had many family members come visit us.  We are so grateful for the love and support that family and friends have shown to us in this special time in our lives. 

Tuesday night, my sister Merilee brought our little Mason down to the hospital.  For the first time our little family was together.  Although Mason showed very little interest in me or our new little Tanner, I know that he loves his new brother.  Adjusting to this new change in our family has definitely been a little challenging for our little Mason, but everyday Mason will do some small act of love and kindness towards our little Tanner.  Mason loves sitting on the bed while I change Tanner's diaper or while he is being bathed.  Mason loves to give Tanner his binkey when he is sad and crying.  The other day Mason even covered Tanner with Mason's blanket and for those of you who know Mason well enough, know Mason loves his blankets.  I know Mason will be able to teach Tanner his loving, kind, and happy personality and I know Mason will be a great brother and always watch out for Tanner.  I'm excited to watch them grow together and become BEST friends!
We got to bring Tanner home from the hospital on Thursday, March 27th.  I was so ready to go home and be together with our new little family. 

We couldn't be more grateful at this time for this new little addition to our family.  We are so grateful that he is here healthy and safe.  I was constantly worrying over how I was going to love Tanner as much as I love my little Mason.  Everyone told me it just comes naturally.  They were right!  The moment I saw him I was totally smitten.  I love my little family.