Week 29: somedays are just challenging

Right now I should be downtown having lunch with a group of my girlfriends. This was a lunch I suggested we have and that I would bring Mason too....well I guess my life no longer revolves around me.

Here is how our morning went:


6:30 Mason is up



7:00 Ingest large amount of coffee because I am exhausted from 7 months of not sleeping through the night:)



7:15 bottle for Mason



7:30 he is fussy. Need to get him in the stroller so I can workout and he can nap.



7:45 Hit the trail for a long run/walk



8:30 Witness a rattle snake eat a rat on the trail...had to mention this because it freaked me out! I start to sing Lion King, the circle of life. Mason falls asleep to block me out.



9:00 home, sit outside and stretch while throwing ball to dogs and letting Mason play in the grass



9:30 hit the shower, place Mason in his crib with some toys



9:35 Hurry and dry off because Mason is screaming at me LOUD.



9:40 He is rubbing his eyes and screaming, must be tired, Great he will nap and I can get ready



10:15 still awake and not happy, I have sung "you are my sunshine" 100 times and "itsy bitsy spider" 200 times



10:35 he falls asleep, Thank you god!



10:40 he wakes up screaming



10:45 he spits up a large amount on the only clean shirt I have for the lunch today, that's okay I am sure there is something in my dirty clothes pile that will work!



10:50 get him dressed while he protests loudly...the thought crosses my mind that I should cancel...nah he will be fine once I get him in the car.



10:55 I try to pull my hair up but it is one frizzy mess...oh well its clean.



11:00 He is grunting and trying to poop....Ah Ha this is why he is unhappy...poor guy.



11:14 He is still trying to poop and his face is bright red



11:15 I call Kathryn while Mason is crying in the background and say "sorry we won't be there, please tell everyone hello for me"



11:30 A massive blowout occurs...he smiles immediately.



12:15 he is sound asleep


And the best part...I wouldn't change it for the world.

Week 27 and 28: Birthdays, special visit from a special aunt, fabulous fathers, and a new chapter

Here is what we have been up to the past few weeks...

We purchased an antique Hoosier Cabinet built in 1920. Previously a slanted bookshelf occupied this space but I started to envision Mason climbing it and/or cracking his head on the lowest shelf. I have also wanted more storage in our kitchen area but most buffets/cabinets are really expensive. I wanted to buy a piece we would have for a long time and not a target put together (nothing wrong with those we have plenty) so when we found this beauty I was tickled...however the store owner wanted more than our budget so we walked away. A few days later Matt and I went back and I sent my haggler in to strike a deal and obviously it worked. The piece is so well built and provides a lot of functionality. We will probably change the hardware but we have become found of its original color. We plan to check out more used furniture stores in the future.

We had a busy weekend the 13th and 14th. We were excited to go see our 13 year old nephew Luke play baseball. They had a tournament in our neck of the woods so we jumped on the chance to see him in action. He is quite the athlete. I am not surprised because athleticism seems to run deep in those Gilbreath genes.

Here he is pitching, he is a lefty. Uncle Matt is so proud. He also played first base and had some killer plays. Afterwards we were able to grab dinner with the whole gang and catch up. I must have been gabbing to much to get photos. We are so proud of our nieces and nephews.

The following day (Flag day and GG's birthday) we headed north for BBQ and family time. It was a wonderful Sunday. We laughed a lot. We love GG so much and she is very close to us. She turned 78 but she has the energy of a 30 year old. So blessed to have her in our lives.


The next weekend we hung low....hit up the farmers market, did house projects, and took long walks.

On Father's Day we loaded up the whole crew and drove 20 minutes south to a "leash free" dog park with ponds. The dogs swam their little hearts out and Mason loved watching them. We spent the rest of the day around the house and made a lovely dinner of steak and seafood and chocolate covered strawberries.

Matt with his boys and a visiting golden retriever puppy. This park has lots of dogs running free. Its fun to see all the breeds and watch them all interact.

A few words about Matt...he is a wonderful father and Mason is quite enamored with him. When Matt gets home Mason's face lights up and the giggles begin. Mason is definitely saying "DA DA" and it melts our hearts. First thing in the morning when he sees Matt he whispers "da da."
Its hard to imagine loving your spouse more or differently when its just the two of you but watching him become a father has changed our relationship in so many wonderful ways. From the second Mason was born Matt was by his side and because Mason had to be in the NICU and me in recovery he stuck by him through all the painful and heart wrenching procedures which gave me needed comfort. We love you so much.

We were able to spend some time with my Aunt Kelly on her way back from Telluride. Mason loved her, it is easy to do that with Aunt Kelly. She has a heart of gold. We can't wait to see everyone in September.

We also celebrated my mom's birthday the same evening. Happy Birthday Mom!

We have entered a new chapter with Mason....its called "you never stop moving because he is into EVERYTHING." He is officially crawling and pulling himself up on furniture. We have tried to get some crawling footage but he loves to pose for the camera and it stops him dead in his tracks.

We recently replaced our coffee table with a softer ottoman. He enjoys pulling himself up and shimming around to get whatever is hiding in there. He loves the remote control and calculator and of course magazines.

We had to lower the crib to its lowest setting because the lil' monkey almost crawled out. I got some great video footage of him doing this but it didn't end to well because he fell and smacked his face on his crib bars....I may be the worlds worst mom.

Hanging with Hunter.

Mason has decided the changing table is no fun in a stationary position....he likes to begin rolling and any possible movement to keep you from getting a diaper off/on him. Lately I just wrestle him down on the floor to change him or I do it while he is standing up but with a poopy diaper this provides a challenge. He loves to scurry away as soon as I get the diaper off and then protest loudly when I try to retrieve him. When is a changing table no longer needed?

Still but only for a moment.

We have had some good falls and head bangs lately. I am trying to balance protecting him but letting him discover...it is hard.

This age is so much fun. He is so interactive and though he has started to gain a little bit of independence he loves to be scooped up and rub noses. He is such a cuddler and I love that. I wish I could just bottle up these moments and place them on a shelf with a label that says "Open me when Mason is 14 and wants nothing to do with his mom."

Lastly, this is a cute video of Angela and Mason....he sure loves that girl as do we.

A special birthday girl

I am so blessed to have very special friends in my life. One of these special friends is my girlfriend Kathryn. She just celebrated her 30th birthday and I wanted to tell her "Happy Birthday! "

I have known Kathryn for over 10 years. We met at Mines and became close friends our junior year when we traveled to Vegas. She is such a vibrant and beautiful person. She is smart and witty. She is one of the few people I would travel cross country or to another country with. She loves to have fun. She is a foodie like me. She has great style. She is one of my favorite people.

I found a few old photos from our 20's (see below) and it made me think about how we have evolved from crazy and somewhat insecure college girls to professionals, moms, wives, and mature women (well most of the time).

I think 30 is going to be great because for me it seems like your 30's is your 20's glorified. Its your 20's without all the drama of friends and boyfriends. Yes. You have to workout a lot more if you eat pizza and drink beer and drinking does give you hangovers now but all in all you are confident in who you are, you do less stupid things, you have a steady paycheck, you have real friends and you can now look back at all those experiences in your 20's and say "those things made me who I am today."

Engineering Days 2001

Seattle Trip 2003 (odd pose)

Seattle 2003

Seattle 2003

Bachelorette Party 2007

Vail 2007: Winnings for guys to dance for me!

Wedding 2007

Here's to you Kathryn, looking forward to many years of friendship.

Week 26: 6 month checkup and crawling is just a matter of time

Has it really been 6 months? People aren't kidding when they tell you how quickly they grow up. Mason is growing like a weed, he grew 2.5 inches since the 4 month check up. So he is in the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight

This is right before he decided the paper on the table should be ripped to shreds and tasted (every last piece of it). When our doctor came in she laughed at war zone and all the drool. The exam and shots went well and we feel very blessed to have a happy and healthy baby boy.

My two favorite guys.

We went to dinner at our friend Kathryn and Chris's house. They live near downtown denver and their backyard is ontop of their garage, such a cool design. Mason loved hanging in the grass with out any "dog bombs" to be wary of.

Kathryn showing Mason their lovely columbines. Dinner was delicious and the evening was relaxing. Thanks again for having us.

We took our crazy labs into Golden to Clear Creek and let them swim in the canal above the creek because the creek is more like a raging river at the moment.

Why do dogs ALWAYS have to shake near you?

I like your style Matt, some real show dogs you have:)

The new bridge over clear creek.

This past weekend we finally made it up to Cade and Emily's rental house in the mountains. They made us a delicious dinner. The house is really cool and the views are lovely. These are the stairs down from the driveway to the house....bringing in groceries will double as part of your daily workout.

The night before our dinner together Cade cut himself with the chainsaw. My mom called me about 7 to tell us she was heading to the hospital to meet Cade, Em, and Keegan because Cade had cut himself above the knee. My brother is slightly accident prone and before borowing my dad's saw my dad said " I'm a little nervous lending this to you, don't cut your leg off." Well he didn't cut it off thank goodness but he came darn close. Really God was watching out for him because when he showed us where it happened I am amazed he is alive.

Keegan had to show Mason his new room and let him play with his toys. He is such a nice cousin and Mason is totally intrigued with him. Keegan is a typical 3 year old, wants to play with everything and loves playing pretend. He also loves seeing himself on the digital camera after every picture you take and he wants to take pictures. I hesitantly gave in and let him take a few before wrestling him to get our not so cheap camera back which of course led to some tears. The next few pictures were taken by Keegan.

Mason gladly posed. (not a bad picture if you ask me)

Taking a picture of himself in his mirror.

Curious lil' monkey

Keegan was showing Mason where the monsters live, under the deck. Mason was only concerned with that ball.

The house also has a trampoline....what a great energy burner. Keegan showed me all his tricks and I taught him a few as well. The next day I couldn't move my neck very well and I remember that I am not 16 anymore and flips on trampolines might be a thing of the past.

We have the same camera as Kai and I finally asked her how to take color enhanced photos, where you single out one color and the rest is black and white. I had forgotten to take it out of this mode so that is why these look odd.