Lately...

Wow! It's been a while. Lots of life change in between my last post and this one! But I am excited to see what the Lord has ahead! I guess I'll just jump right into this...

Soooo in case you haven't heard, I'm pregnant. Yay! Tomorrow, I'll be 14 weeks. Helloooo second trimester! Praise God! I've been [impatiently] waiting for you. That first trimester was a doozie. Second pregnancy has been harder on me than the first, only because I have a one-year-old to chase around all day! And that's hard work, yall. I can't just take a nap when I want. #firstworldprobs But Brandon and I are definitely nervous excited about Baby #2. Our next ultrasound is scheduled for Sept 1st. We will find out the gender that day, as long as the baby cooperates. Can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl! I keep trying to teach Mason to point to my belly and say "baby" but I think he's still in a little denial that he won't be the baby anymore ;)

This was the best pic I could get. He was too busy watching Mickey!

Mason started MDO (Mother's Day Out) last week. For now, he's going one day a week and is on the waiting list for an additional day. His first day was pretty rough. He did not enjoy it. I know he will eventually grow to like it, but this transition is going to be a hard one. Separation anxiety is a real thing. I've never experienced a death grip like I did when I was dropping him off. It kills me to know he is sad/upset all day, but I know that this is what is best for him right now and as hard as it is to experience it, I have to let it happen. I also need to finally give it up to the Lord. On his first day, I wondered about him all day. I wondered if he ever quit crying. If he was sad or happy. If he was napping or playing. And when I would start to worry, I was reminded that God is in control. But it was easy for me to hear that reminder, not knowing how his first day would go. I thought there was a possibility he would calm down and actually have a good day. Tomorrow, I'll drop him off for his second week and I will struggle with worrying about him all day. I need to give God complete control of this situation. I'm currently praying through this. Pray with me, if you would!

For several months now, I'd been feeling very convicted of my social media usage. How much I was on it. How much time I WASTED on it. How I was starting to let it get to me. I knew I needed a break from it, but I kept ignoring the conviction. But if you've ever ignored God trying to speak to you, you know how I was feeling. Finally, one night I was giving Mason a bath and it just hit me. I just started weeping. The conviction was bearing down so heavy on me, I couldn't handle it anymore. I knew God was telling me to take Facebook, Twitter & Instagram off my phone. To completely disconnect myself from it for a little while. I needed to get out of the habit of constantly checking feeds filled with non-sense that in the long run doesn't really matter. Don't get me wrong - I think social media can be a great thing when being used with good intent. But if the whole point of posting pictures, scripture, quotes, etc is to see how many likes you can get...that's not good intent. I've decided to keep social media off my phone, but to allow myself to enjoy it in my spare time. When I've done what I needed to do. After I've had my quiet time with the Lord. When Mason is taking a nap, or when I just have a moment to myself. I refuse to allow it to rule over my life again.

Welp, like I said before, I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for my little family's future! My prayer is that I am consistently seeking His guidance in everything that I do. I pray that God works miracles with sweet Mason and that he keeps him and Baby #2 healthy and thriving. I pray I give over complete control to Him over every area of my life.

Until next time...

Mason Turns ONE!

You read that right. My baby is ONE! I can't believe it myself. I'm actually struggling to even find the words to write in this post. But I will try my best! 

Mason Richard Burnside

Age: ONE YEAR OLD
Weight: 23 lbs

Height: Not sure? I need to measure.

Mason is one happy little fella, as long as he isn't sick. [Just like his momma, he doesn't handle sickness well.] He loves to play in the living room with all of his toys, crawl around the entire apartment and get into everything he shouldn't, and watch Mickey Mouse. [Duh] He loves reading books, opening and closing doors, and throwing the ball. He also loves being outside, playing with his cousins, and singing songs with momma, specifically Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, and Old MacDonald. 

Mason is crawling around [very fast, I might add] all over the place. He has taken a few steps, assisted with toys. But he doesn't have much interest in walking right now! I try and take his hands and walk him around the living room, but he'll take a few steps and decide he can get places faster if he crawls. He can say "mama", "dada", and "dog". He can wave, clap, dance, and pull up. And he has 7 teeth!

Some of Mason's favorite foods are chicken, eggs, sausage, mac-n-cheese, noodles, grits, mashed potatoes and ice cream sandwiches. He also likes the squeezable pouches of the pureed fruits and veggies. He also loves drinking water! He's a good eater! He'll eat pretty much anything Brandon and I eat. 

This last year has been one of the best years of my life! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was headed to the hospital not knowing what was about to hit me! Becoming a momma has been one of the biggest blessings I've ever experienced. And seeing Brandon jump into his rockstar dad role has made me fall in love with him all over again. We are both so blessed to be this little boy's parents! I couldn't imagine my life without him. He makes me smile and laugh daily. I love seeing his little personality shine through. I pray he keeps his sweet spirit. I pray he grows to know the Lord. 

I know I have so much more I could write, but I'm not sure I can take this emotional torture anymore. [I realize how dramatic that sounds. Judge me.] I am so grateful for my sweet Mase Mase! Excited to see what this next year brings!

Mason - 10 Months

10 MONTHS YALL. In two months I will have a ONE YEAR OLD in my home. WHAT?!

Alright, freak out over. Until tomorrow. [it's a daily struggle]

Mason Richard Burnside

Age: 10months
Weight: About 22 lbs?

Height: 30 in?
(height & weight are guesses since we don't have a check up this month!)

Food: Mason is still eating some baby food. He doesn't really like being spoon fed anymore. He doesn't mind the squeezables! So he's still getting his fruits & veggies. As far as big people food goes, Mason loves turkey, chicken, brown rice, breads, you know...healthy stuff...oh and he also loves mac-n-cheese & french fries. Duh! He's a kid.

Sleep: Right after he turned 9 months old, he had a little growth spurt and he was getting over a stomach bug so he got out of his normal pattern of sleeping. However, we are finally back on track! Until something else happens and messes it all up again ;) He's taking two naps a day! Morning naps are usually shorter around 45 minutes to an hour and afternoon naps are a little longer, about an hour to two hours.

Milestones: This kid is into EVERYTHING! He is crawling so fast. I can hardly catch him! He's pulling up and standing really well when he's holding onto something. He loves being read to and he loves looking at books! He also [still] loves Mickey Mouse! And playing with his cousins :)

{ pics featured on today's post are courtesy of my FAB sis-in-love, Jamie Beverage! }