Phillips family comes to town

We were so lucky this spring break my Dad, Mom, and little sister Lindsay could come up to visit us.  We lucked out the weekend they came in with weather that permitted us to go on the ferry to Friday Harbor.  Mason liked being on the boat looking out to window at the water and seeing he birds fly by.

On the island we walked around a farmer's market and checked out some of the interesting local shops.  We stopped and ate lunch at the Hungry Clam before getting back on the ferry to head home. Mason was surprisingly happy in his stroller almost the whole time and even took a short nap while we ate. We had a fun time running around on the ferry and playing with Grammie, Paka, and Lindsay.

The next day we had dinner with Christopher's parents and sister's family, they even did a little Easter egg hunt while the kids were there. Mason didn't care about the eggs at all, they were empty, not that he bothered to look. He was distracted by his bucket and shovel, and was constantly putting rocks in his bucket and digging holes.

The rest of the week was spent going to parks, playing fun games in the house, going on walks, and enjoying our time. We even did a round of frisbee golf at Cornwall.

Mason was really good being in the stroller the whole time, and was the unofficial frisbee holder.

We did make it out to the Tulip Festival, it was cold and windy but the rain held off long enough for us to walk through and enjoy the gardens. My mom absolutely loved them, she even said she'd have to try and visit again in April. 

Mason loved Lindsay. She slept on a fold out bed in our living room and in the morning Mason would come out, walk over and start excitedly yelling at her face.  He would also take advantage of anytime she was on the floor by running over and jumping on her and laughing.

Mason performed well by showing everyone his swing which now consists of a step, swing, follow through, and him saying "boom".

We enjoyed Rocket Donuts which we discovered makes a donut without milk. As you can tell from Mason's picture he approved. We will be going there again shortly since he can actually eat the same thing as us.

  We also had lunch with Christopher for the first time since he started his externship.  We met up with him at the Bagelry and had time to stop by the pet supply store to see animals.

We stopped by the Institute building by Western to check out their view, which was very pretty, and checked out Western's bookshop.

We spent an afternoon at the beach near our house.  Mason loved running around the beach, throwing rocks, walking along the logs, and playing swords with Grammie.  Grammie had to be careful not to get hit by the extra long stick Mason had and swung with enthusiasm. My dad and I would throw rocks while Lindsay drew pictures in the sand. We had a such fun time at the beach, Mason of course cried when we had to leave.

One rainy day we walked around the mall checking out shops and Lindsay decided to get her ears pierced!!!

Their last day in Bellingham we went to the Fairhaven Bus to have fish and chips for dinner.  We then walked along the boardwalk to Boulevard where we played on the playground.  Mason rode on Paka's shoulders the whole way down to the park.  Mason loved being on the playground with Grammie and yelling through the speaker tubes to Paka.  Nana and Pop Pop got to come along as well.

We happened upon some people slack lining over the top of the bay, it was windy and they didn't get too far as you can see.

We finished off the night with Mallard's ice cream.

We spent nights watching movies and playing games, which Grammie won almost all of (good thing too, she's a sore loser) :) We talked and told stories until someone, mainly me or my mom, would say they were tired and it was time for bed.

We absolutely loved having my family here. We had so much fun talking, shopping, walking, eating, and laughing with all of them.

Mason Update

My little boy is 19 months!

He is growing up so fast.  He understands the things we tell him and he will listen to us most of the time.  He loves playing with his basketball hoop still, he even tries to dribble where he hits the ball on the ground a couple times while holding the ball.

 One of his favorite things to do is run from down the hall and dunk the ball, this is something Christopher did and now Mason does constantly.

He loves to swing things.  He loves to swing his bats, the cardboard insert from a rug we bought, and sticks.  He is always swinging and hitting the balls on the ground while saying "boom".  He is getting pretty good at hitting things off of his tee, he will actually hit the ball and not just the tee when he swings.

 When we go to the park he finds a stick and starts swinging away.  He just started having Christopher throw the ball to him and tries to hit it, now we just have to get his timing down.

At his doctor's appointment he weighted 23.6 lbs which was 39%, his height was 32 inches and 36%, and his head was 19.7 inches and 98%.  At least his weight percentile has gone up since his last visit, he's proportional height and weight he just has a bigger head.

Some of Mason's favorite things are:

-going to the park
-getting to wear his shoes
-watching Phineas and Ferb
-swinging things
-eating peaches
-playing video games with Dad
-running
-playing in nursery
-being up on Mom and Dad's bed
-helping me unload the silverware from the dishwasher
-dancing to music

He still doesn't say much but he knows how to communicate with us enough that he gets what he wants, so we'll see if he ever starts talking.  He signs more, please, and done; and he says "duh" for done, and "ruh" for dog. And if anyone ever drops anything or he needs help he will say  "uh oh".

At church a few weeks ago it was silent in sacrament meeting and there was feedback on the microphone, Mason then said "uh oh" pretty loud and we heard a few chuckles and saw some people smile. It was pretty funny hearing him talk so loud when it was so quiet.

He is a very happy boy who loves to be outside and play.  He is so much fun and is growing up way too fast! We love him.