Our little guy is 2 years old

Hi friends. I'm breaking away from the scrappy shares to post some of my favorite pictures from my photo session with our little Mason. He turned two last Thursday and being that his mama is a photographer, it was just natural that he got his special photo shoot. I am actually beyond grateful that I have this skill and also that I did this on the morning of his birthday. His birthday gift was a trike and on Friday morning, he decided to ride it down a small flight of stairs and made some big damage with his face. (insert sad face here). Oh the joys of being a parent to a busy toddler!

Anyways, here are some of my faves....

 This boy loves to read so it was just natural to have some shots with his fave books.

 I love that he was excited in this shot. I'm not sure if it's pure excitement for his birthday or due to the fact that I was sugaring him up (giving him little jelly beans) throughout our session. If you have ever had a kid session with me, then you know that that's my secret weapon to connect with a child. ;)

I think I'll blow up this one. It's so him right now. That little happy smile with eyes sparkling as he discovers more about the world around him. I also love how in this photo, he was actually looking at me. That's a rarity these days.

So that's it from me today. Our little guy looks so grown up and my heart is aching a bit. How do you mamas take it all in and not let time pass you by? I feel like time is moving at a lightning speed with this guy.

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

Lately....in the Tolman home

Hi guys. I know that this blog has been pretty much for crafting shares lately and I have had all the good intentions of updating our family and friends about what's going on around here, but with summer rolling around plus vacations and birthdays to tackle, time to update was not on the top of the list. I have been so behind that I'm not even going to attempt to catch up. Do you feel that way sometimes?
But I still want to blog about my family as I use it for future journaling prompts in my layouts as well. So we'll call this post, CURRENTLY and just talk about what each member of the family is currently into...

Mitch- He is still working hard as a medical assistant. He has been beefing up his preparations for his annual hunting trip in the fall and he's taken the family on a few hikes. I have to admit some are harder than the others but time with the family is always good.

Grace- I am on a break from school (thank goodness for summer break) and although it's a short six weeks, I am committed to do everything that I wanted to do that is outside of the school/studying realm. I have been scrapbooking more and also doing some much needed cleaning in the house. I have also been addicted to making pocket letters lately. This is a type of "pen pal" system where you find someone to swap products and little cute stuff with through slipping items in a trading card type sheet protector. I have even got Maddie to join me. So far she's made three pocket letters to girls her age. Oh and I had a birthday in July. Always fun to celebrate that.

Marcus- He turned 12 in July. It's a milestone for him as he officially moved up to the Youth program of our church and received the priesthood. One of the things he gets to do now is to pass the sacrament through our congregation on Sundays. His big gift for his birthday as a 3DS and he has been obsessed with that since he got it. I have to pry it out of his hands once in a while so he can read or do other productive things. He'll be a 7th grader this coming school year. Oh and he chose pie for his birthday treat. I love watching this boy get to know what he wants in life and is able to slowly articulate that.

Maddie- She had a blast during our California trip and didn't want to leave. None of us did really. Right now she is having fun playing with her friends and also on the computer. Her favorite game right now is Roblux and she has been willing to do extra chores (ie watch Mason for mommy) so she can have more computer time. She has also been reading a lot since she has received a lot of book rewards from doing good at school plus the ones that she had borrowed from the library. She is still very much obsessed with make up and would always stand by my bathroom door when I'm getting ready for church. Her M.O would be to stand there and watch if I'm focused on putting my make up on and quietly grab stuff from my bag when I'm not looking and before I know it, she's right beside me putting mascara on or lipstick. That girl!

Mason- He is a growing 11 month old boy. He has figured out how to climb down the stars by turning himself backwards and scooting his bum and feet down. That means there's no stopping this boy. He is very mobile and strong. He also loved to eat with his hands. I always have to give him something to hold and feed himself with during meal time. Most of the food he eats on his own are cheerios, raisins, little pieces of bread and meat and veggies. He loves sweets too which we give him on occasions *wink* He refuses his car seats now which makes putting him in it a task. Changing diapers have also been a challenge and sometimes it takes three of us to get the job done. Like I said, he is pretty mobile and is always on the go, but everyone in the family is still very much inlove with him so we put up with whatever shenanigans he has.

That's it for me. If you've come to this point and is not sick and tired of reading about our family, I say thank you. Your love and support is what makes me take the time to put these kinds of posts together. We love our family and friends, near and far.

Till next time,
Grace

Beginning layout

Our bundle of joy is growing

I'm still trying to make a decision if I have the brain power and energy to do a weekly update on Mason or just do a monthly one along with a few photos. Since he's my last child, I have this urge to record/document every little move and growth he makes but at the same time I am also realistic in the fact that I would probably not be able to keep up with it. 

So with that being said, I will do the best I can and hopefully be able to jot down important facts about him. And I will start with the following...

1. His first week was full of struggles. I was not producing enough milk that he lost almost 10% of his birth weight. Thankfully we had some formula on hand to feed him. I've had this issue before with my other kids' and somehow, even after knowing we will get through this hump, it still stressed me out to know that I was not giving my child what he needed.

2. The poor baby also had to deal with lots of blood test since his Bilirubin count kept on rising and he was showing signs of Jaundice. Fortunately after getting some food (from the formula) his numbers stabled enough that he didn't need to be poked anymore. 

3. Because of all of this, he didn't sleep on a regular basis. We were up at least three times every night and his naps were inconsistent. Sometimes it would go for three hours and others for only a few minutes. 

But despite all of that, everyone at home is enthralled by him. Maddie always wants to hold him and Marcus likes to talk "baby talk" with him. Here are some pictures I snapped on Labor day...

I love the picture above and although we all know that babies don't smile yet at this point, and it's just gas, it's still pretty darn cute that I was able to capture this moment with him smiling (sort of)

He's going to be a month old next week and so I need to catch up with all of his baby updates soon if I wanted to document his growth weekly. Do you have any suggestions? I'm open to it all.

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

Little Mason's birth story

Hi there friends. So if you are a friend of mine of Facebook, you already know that I gave birth to our third baby late last month. I've also shared these photos already on there but have never really talked about how he came to the world. I figured that since we are slowly getting into a schedule and I'm not a total zombie anymore due to lack of sleep, I might as well jot down Mason's birth story while it's still fresh in my mind. It will also help me when I finally start his scrapbook. 

So here it goes...

Mason's due date was Sept. 2nd. However my doctor and I agreed that because everything was going good with the pregnancy (no medical issues) that I can be induced after 39 weeks. I was super excited about this as I've never had that option with my other two kiddos.

So anyways, we got the induction scheduled for August 29th at 5am. That was a Friday and with the Labor day coming that following Monday, it would work out really well for us, especially with my husband not having to take too many days off from work. 

Everything was set for the 29th. We talked to a good friend and have scheduled the kids to spend the night at their house on Thursday night and help them get to school the following day. Mitch gave his boss the heads up and I was finalizing our hospital bag and other little things. 

The Monday (Aug. 25th) before our scheduled induction, I went about my regular routine. I walked Maddie to school. Took care of my "to-do" list that day and even squeezed in a nap after the kids got home from school. I didn't feel any pain, just the usual contractions (which were not at all painful). 

I finally decided to get up from bed at about 4:45 to start dinner. As I got a pan ready to bake some rolls, I started leaking (down there) and first I thought oh no! I have to make it to the bathroom soon. Well...I didn't quite make it to the bathroom. I stood there and water started gushing out of me. My shorts were soaked and I didn't want to move because I didn't want the water to go on the carpet. So I stood on my kitchen tile floor for a good 3-4 minutes until I thought it was all over. 

Finally I walked to the couch (where I was taking a nap at) and grabbed my phone and called my husband. I wasn't 100% sure it was my water breaking but with all of the amount that came out of me, that was my biggest suspicion. He told me he would be on his way. 

With my other two kiddos, my water always broke when I was already at the hospital so I wasn't sure what to expect or how soon he would be coming out after this. So with that, I called my good friend Christy and she drove me to the hospital and stayed with me till Mitch got there. 

After testing the "liquid" that was still coming out of me, the nurses confirmed that it was indeed amniotic fluid and quickly admitted me. They waited for a couple of hours before giving me anything to speed up the process because they wanted to see if I would go into heavy labor on my own. Finally after two hours the doctor came in and said that they will order some Pitocin for me. I quickly replied and asked for an order of Epidural as well since I knew that once that Pitocin kicked in, I would be in major pains. And sure enough that was what happened. 

I was in major pain when the anesthesiologist finally gave me my Epidural. The nurse checked me right after that and my cervix was at a 10 and I was ready to push. I didn't even have the time to "enjoy" my Epidural because it was time to get the baby out. 

And at 9:45, about four hours since I was admitted, Mason Allen Tolman welcomed us with his beautiful face and loud cry. 

Here are some pictures....

I found it rather interesting that both my boys were born with loads of hair and my sweet daughter didn't get any till she was close to a year old.

And here's some picture from the day after....

And some when the kids came to visit and met their baby brother for the first time....

Both were a bit shocked and didn't know how to react. I could only imagine how hard it might be to process the fact that one day Mommy was still pregnant and the next, the baby is out and they are holding him.

Mason and his proud daddy. 

So there you have it. The story of how Mason came to the world and how, even with the best planning, babies come whenever they want to.

Thank you for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace