Twelve months...

How are we already at 12 MONTHS?!  This year has flown by - I cannot believe my baby boy is ONE YEAR OLD!!!  Mason, you have surprised us since the moment we found out about you :) Words do not express the amount of joy that you bring to our family and how thankful to God we are for your life! 

Height: 30.5" (50%)
Weight: 23 lbs 15 oz (80%)
Size Clothes: 18 months
Eating: Clearly, you are eating well :)  You still love to nurse, especially at night time, but we are slowly weaning you during the day.  So far you have handled it just fine!  You are mainly eating table foods now, with the occasional baby food pouch. 
Sleeping: You are a dream sleeper these days!  You are very easy to put to bed as you get in your sleep sack and immediately put your head on our shoulder :)  You fall asleep quickly when we rock you and you transfer smoothly to your crib.  You sleep anywhere from 10-12 hours at night, and you are taking 1 good nap a day, sometimes 2 shorter naps.  I am SO THANKFUL that you have seemed to officially turn the corner in your sleeping! 

You love your brother and sister.  You watch everything they do and laugh constantly at them.  You want to be right up in the mix with them, and you typically are!

Your smile can brighten any day.

You "talk" all.day.long :)

You are still trying to figure Gus out. We kept him for a few days this month and you ended up LOVING him, but it took a while to get there :)

You clearly have a big sister!  You always have something pink in your hand or are holding a makeup brush, pretend makeup, etc.  You know no different right now and are perfectly content with it!  I have a feeling that will change here soon!

 You love being outside.  Anytime you are upset I can hold you and walk outside and it is almost an immediate change in your attitude.  You would spend all day, every day, outside if you could.

Anything involving water is a win for you!  You splash, laugh and play until your little heart is content!

You have taken after your brother and sister (and pretty much every baby ever) in your love for swings! 

Being dirty does not bother you one bit.  You are quite opposite from your brother and sister in this way!

You are very expressive and I love that about you!  We are always laughing at your reactions to things - your face says it all every time!

Easter

I say it every year, but Easter is truly my favorite holiday.  Not because of how cute my kids look in their Easter outfits (but man, do they look cute!), not because of Easter baskets, or flowers or egg hunts...Easter is my favorite because it is a time of year to take time and reflect on the death of Christ and His resurrection.

"In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  -1 Peter 1:5

April...

We spent the majority of this month doing one of three things: Easter activities, watching Watson play t-ball, and fishing! 

Graham's boss lives on a lot of land that includes a this large pond stocked with fish!  After trying it one time, Watson is officially hooked!  He LOVES it :)  Our whole family has enjoyed finding new fishing spots around town to try out!

Mason enjoys the cuddles while the big kids fish :)

Watson got  his official "Welcome to West" beach ball this month!

Dying Easter eggs with the cousins

This sweet girl has been so patient as we have spent so much time at the ball field this month, so she was THRILLED to have a birthday party to go to! 

Poppa and Mason at the ball field.

We got to keep Gus for a few days - he is truly the sweetest pup ever!

My kids LOVE it when it rains.  Not because of the rain, but because of the PUDDLES.  Emma can spot a good puddle a mile away, but no puddle is as good as "Manna's muddy puddle" :)  (All puddles are "muddy puddles"...even when there is no mud in sight...)

Mason doesn't mind getting in on the action either :)

This is a typical picture of these two...Mason probably squealing or laughing and Emma probably telling him what to do :)

March...

March in pictures...

We spent several days in Oklahoma this month.  Mary took a bad fall so we wanted to get up and see her.  As always, it was so good to spend time with her.  Unfortunately we only got to spend a small amount of time with her because the plague hit our family.  Our second night there Graham woke up super sick and stayed sick for several days.  A trip to the ER for some fluids and a couple days of rest and he was back on his feet!  In the meantime, the kids and I spent time exploring Oklahoma City.  We visited some parks and the Science Museum, as well as spent lots of time with Mike and Jan.  I hated that Graham was sick, but was so thankful that Jan helped me with the kids so much!

 Getting all suited up to go see Nannie!

Shortly after coming home, Briana and her kiddos came to stay with us for a week!  As always, I loved our time together.  So thankful for friendships that are not affected by long distance!

We also spent lots of time at the ball park this month for T-Ball games.  Hampton and Watson were on the same team so Abby and Emma always had fun playing during the games :)

Cutest little T-ball player I ever did see!

Go Cardinals!!