Oh so close!

Every day Mason gets closer and closer to crawling. He's such a big boy I can hardly stand it! This was the closest he's come and I was fortunate enought to capture the moment.

First words? Almost.

Mason and I love to play this game in the morning. For some reason he gets soooo excited when we fluff the sheets over him. Wait until the end. It's the best part!

Did I hear a mom, mom, mom? I think so...maybe more of a blah blah blah.

Tasty!

Ok. Every time we get in the car Mason rips off his socks and chews on them. Them they're soaking wet and his toes get cold. Silly boy!

A day well spent.

Today was a great day well spent. It all started with our routine Saturday morning house cleaning. We got laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and general cleaning all done before 11AM! (That's good for us) While Mason took his afternoon nap Bowen decided he needed an afternoon nap as well. Perfect! That left me just the right amount of time to plan out the rest of the day and get ready. Just as I was finishing what I needed to do Mason woke up. We all had some lunch then headed out to run some errands. First stop, Coronado military base. Bowen had to pick up some papers and get a haircut, so I went along for the ride. Plus I'd never been there so it was nice to see it. Mason and I just hung out and went shopping at the exchange. We finished up there, got some dinner, then washed and gassed up the car. Can I just say how much I love military bases?!? You have everything you need there!

Y'all know how Bowen has to be playing some sport on some team. Well, right now it's softball. So, for our second stop, the batting cages. It was really a lot of fun. We took turns alternating between holding Mason and batting. I discovered I've lost my softball touch :( Oh well, I have a feeling that's not the last time we'll be there.

"Getting "In the Zone"

Now for the last stop, the grocery store. The only thing I wanted to accomplish today was go grocery/food storage shopping with the bonus money I'd received from work (and get a car seat, but I did that yesterday. Check that off my never ending list of things to do). Man oh man did we shop! TWO BIG grocery carts full! I have to admit it was a little overwhelming trying to steer a cart and have Mason grabbing everything within reach. Oh well, we survived :)

We got home, had some dinner (thank you Arbys...so much for working out this week), put the baby to bed, then started organizing...and organizing...and organizing.

This is just a little less than half of it.

After about 2 hours of trying to figure out how to fit all that we'd bought into our allotted "food storage" space, we finally got it to work! Woohoo!

Yes, our food storage is in our closet. Ha ha!

Not only did we do that, but I updated our 72 hour kits with new food, water, and baby supplies. Woohoo! I'm just sooo excited and grateful that we were able to do this. We are so blessed and thank our Heavenly Father every day for all that he gives us. Now Bowen is passed out on the couch with the TV blaring the Miss America Pageant on. Oh how nice. I don't know if I have allergies or what, but my head is plugged up and I'm ready for bed! Oh what a day!

Just for kicks and giggles

Well we haven't had too much going on lately. We've been enjoying the sunshine and warm weather thats been here for the past few days. It's funny how you can work less and play more when the weather is nice... lol! Oh, here's some fun info. Bowen and I have been called as counselors for our new Gospel Doctrine class. It's for the Over 20 Under 40 people of our ward. For our first official decree...BBQ Potluck at Bishop Chipmans on Friday. It'll be great times!

Mason is getting so big! He had his 6 month shots this week and wasn't a happy camper for a couple days :( Poor bubba. I think he was feeling better today because I sat him in his jumper (We call it the Jumpy Jumpy) and he jumped and jumped and jumped for at least an hour. Needless to say he was ready for a nap after that. After his nap he had some oatmeal and tried out his new sippy cup. He pretty much got the hang of it right away. He's such a smart little stinker! Also, he is consistently rolling over now. Every time I put him to bed he ends up on his tummy squished up against the crib. He's not crawling quite yet, but I can tell he's close.Little bubba squished up against the side of the crib

Enjoying a nice sunny Saturday at the beach. Bowen is working as hard as ever trying to get done the finishing touches on his ship. I believe they'll be done with it by the end of this week. Hopefully after that he'll have a little down time too breath. We'll see...

It's also church basketball season again. For some reason, the ref doesn't really like our guys...or so I've heard. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Mason cheered his daddy on. "Go DADDY"

As for me I'm still doing what I do. I recently got an awesome bonus from work that I was thrilled about! It's so wonderful how the Lord blesses us. With that money we're going to put together a better food storage, get Mason a new car seat, and I think I'll just keep a little for a rainy day. Although, Bowens birthday is coming up and I think I know exactly what to get him.

Christmas and New Years 2008

This year it was Christmas in Utah. I was sooo excited to go home and have a white Christmas! We flew in on the 24th. That morning Mason had a little runny nose and was kind of fussy, but he did just fine on the short plane ride. I figured he was teething or something. Dad picked us up, we made a last minute Walmart stop, then onward to Delta. Of course everyone was thrilled to see Mason. Even though he didn't feel very good he put on a happy face and hammed it up. It is tradition every year on Christmas Eve that our family reenacts the nativity. Now, Chellese had been planning this years play ever since she found out we were having a little boy. He was destined at 21 weeks in the womb to play Baby Jesus. Let me tell you he was a star! He was wrapped, and placed in the manger (ok, it was a wicker laundry basket) I was Mary, Bowen was Joseph, Chellese, of course, was the angel, C.J. a Shepherd, and Shaun was a goat. It was probably the most comical nativity I've ever been in or seen!

Joseph and baby Jesus Soon after it was time for bed. Chellese laid out the milk, cookies, and carrots for the reindeer. We were set for Santa to come. Except for one thing, Mason was acting CRAZY! He would absolutely not go to bed. Eleven O' Clock, Midnight, and One in the morning came and went. At about 1:30AM a shiny pearly white tooth poked it's way out of Mason's little lower gums. HALLELUJAH!!! He finally fell asleep and I could finally go to bed. Here he is trying out his new tooth on daddys nose!

Christmas morning was a hit! The music played, gifts were unwrapped, and yummy food was eaten. Bowen spoiled me, as usual, with a Tiffany's bracelet and new camera. Awwww....I love that guy!!! My parents gave us a wonderful present as well. A snowboarding pass, one night hotel stay, and FREE babysitting! Woohoo! The next day was the annual Bayles family Christmas party. This year it was at mom and dads so that was nice. Grandma Jill, bless her heart, makes the grandkids pajamas every Christmas. Mason got cute a little fleece Moose print zip up Jammie. It was so great to see all the cousins and exchange gifts. Fun fun! Mason playing with his cousin Calee and Grandpa Dwayne. The day after that (Saturday) was a neighborhood Christmas party. It was great to see friends I hadn't seen in such long time! Already flirting with the girls...not only that, but she's a twin!!!

Sunday we went over to Elsinore to visit Grandma Becky and Grandpa Buzzy. They always give the best gifts! This is what Mason got...Camo of course!!! "Thanks grandma and grandpa! I'm ready to go hunting now"! Monday morning Bowen and I headed out for our little vacation within a vacation. Don't worry, I did cry when i left my baby with grandma and I called 5 times that day and the next. We spent the day snowboarding at Brighton. The snow was perfect! Bowen did a lot better than the first time we went there 2 years ago. By the end of the day we were exhausted and starving. We went out to dinner then hit the hay. The plan was to go again, but when 7AM came we couldn't even get out of bed we were so sore! I'm such a pansy! Instead we went to the mall and took our time getting home. What a great getaway! I couldn't wait to get home to see my little man! He did sooo good for Grandma and Grandpa. The next couple days were spent just hanging out. C.J. and Shaun took Bowen out duck hunting a few times. He said he's really good and scaring the ducks, but that's it. We also went and saw Bedtime stories at the local movie theater. It was pretty good. We laughed quite a bit! New Years Eve we drove up to Chasey and Lyndsays to welcome in 2009 with them. Bonus, Haley flew in from Florida to visit them too! After a great pizza dinner we watched The Singles 2nd ward movie and rang in the New Year. To top that off, Mason had another shiny white tooth pop up right next to the other one! YAY! I guess he really did get his two front teeth for Christmas. ha ha!

This pic wasn't taken while we were there, but you can see his new pearly whites

The next day we went sledding and snowmobiling with Lynds's family up on their ranch.

So fun! We were very happy to see them...and...her little baby bump! I can't wait for little baby Osburn! After a long vacation it was time to head home. Back to Sunny San Diego. Ahhh...there's no place like home!

I know I'm late, but here is Thanksgiving

Well, well, well, it's been QUITE a while since I've put anything on our little blog. The holidays were a whirlwind of events. We traveled across America to the greatness of Montgomery Alabama. Bowens sisters and their families, along with us, all stayed at Popsy's house the week of Thanksgiving. We had a great time enjoying one anothers company and shopping to our hearts content. I think Mason was really excited to meet his grandpa for the first time as well. We actually celebrated Thanksgiving Day in the mountains with ALL (I mean EVERYONE..cousins, 2nd cousins, and cousins of cousins) the family. It's going to be a while before I get everyones name :) What a treat! The food was delicious! Nothing like good ol' Southern cooking! While we were driving back from the glorious dinner, Bowen and I decided that we would extend our trip one more day so that we could make it to Grandpa Jones Birthday party in Bradenton. We changed out plane tickets and set up plans to drive back with Margie. The next day we headed out for the 8 hour drive. We had so much fun in Alabama! I hope we can make it back there very soon! Friday night we rolled into Bradenton. "Surprise"!!! Mom and Coach were very surprised to see us there! We visited for a minute then headed to bed. The next day was Grandpa's party. He and Grandma didn't know we were comining either, so they were surprised to see us as well. Everything went just great! The food was good, decorations were beautiful, pictures were professional, and everyone was in good spirits. It was so good to see everyone! I wish we were all closer though. I guess they all just need to move to San Diego so we don't have to travel so much...lol...wishful thinking. Sadly, early the next day we said our goodbye's and headed home. It was kind of a long flight, but luckily Mason was a gem. He did sooo good on the flight. It was a great vacation! Much needed indeed! We already miss everyone so much! Now, I do have pictures from this big trip but i've seemed to misplace them. As soon as I find them I'll post.