Month 3

I cannot believe that our little man is already three months old.  I never knew I could experience such joy from this sweet little life that God has entrusted us with.  He is so happy the majority of the time, God has truly blessed us!

This month was a little hard on me because at 12 1/2 weeks, I had to go back to work.  I've enjoyed having a schedule again, but I never knew it would be SO hard to leave him.

My biggest fear was that the people at daycare would ignore him and leave him crying in his crib all day.  Sure enough, the first day when I picked him up he was alone, sobbing in his crib!  I managed to hold it together as I scooped him in my arms, got his things, and took him out to the car... then I lost it!  This was going to be so much harder than I thought!

I know they cannot comfort him constantly since they have six other kids in his class, but I was just so upset!  Part of it was the irrational, mother side of me, part of it was guilt that I had to leave him there.  I'm glad to say that it has gotten much better.  The rest of the week when I went to pick him up he was content, and would give me the biggest smile when he saw me.  Made me feel much better!

I successfully made it through the first week, hopefully it will get easier as time goes by.  Mason also made it through, but managed to pick up a small cold by Friday.  I knew it was going to happen, I just didn't think it would be this soon.  Hopefully by the end of the year he'll have a great immune system!  Any ideas for helping prevent sickness for a daycare baby is greatly appreciated!

The upside to him being there is that it wears him out so he sleeps great at night!  The first night he slept for over 9 hours straight!  I know that I will eventually find more perks of daycare, it's just kind of hard right now since I want to be at home with him so badly.  Maybe one day I'll be able to find a way to make enough money working from home.

Overall, it was a great month.  He is still growing like a weed.  I can't wait to go to his four month check up to see just how much he has grown!  Here are highlights and pictures from the month.

Highlights:

•  2 months 1 day- 14 lbs 11 oz- 97^th percentile, 24.5 in- 93^rd percentile
• Still loves to be swaddled at night.
• He has really started talking a lot more now.  He likes to try and mimmick sounds we make.
•  Will smile really big when you talk real sweet to him.
• Still love morning time the most!  He’s so happy when he wakes up!
• He has found his tongue and loves to stick it out now. He also found out he can put his hands in his mouth!  We caught him sucking his thumb during a nap at 11 ½ weeks.  I hope he doesn’t make a habit of this!
• At two and a half months we started putting rice cereal in his milk at night, he started sleeping much better.
• At 11 weeks, he slept through the night for the first time, over 8 hours!  I was so excited to finally get some sleep, but woke up really worried!  I had to go check on him to make sure he was okay after 7 hours.
• He has pretty consistently slept through the night since then!  (I hope I don’t jinx it!)
• September 23^rd- 11 ½ weeks he went to Bible class for the first time.  Our neighbor Mrs. Jacinda was his teacher.
• Oct 1^st was his first day at daycare.  When I picked him up he was very upset, crying in his crib.  Mommy made it out of the daycare without crying, but lost it in the parking lot.  I just hated to see him so upset.  I’d love nothing more than to stay at home with him!!
• The night after his first day of daycare he slept 9 hours! It must have really worn him out!
• Still loves his paci.

Pictures:

Meeting cousin Keely for the first time!

Playing with cousin Mallory.  He really does love her even though he looks a little unsure! haha

Watching his first Aggie game vs. Florida, he wasn't impressed!

Deep in thought! ha!

He looks like such a big boy in his jeans!

After his first day of daycare!

He wanted to go dove hunting with daddy... maybe in a few years!

Such a happy boy!  We are so blessed!

Month 2

Highlights

• One month, one day- 11 lbs 13 oz (93rd %) 23 in (92nd %)
• 7 weeks 5 days- 14 obs 5 oz (98th %)
• He has to wear mittens because his little hands are always by his face and he scratches it.
• Loves to take naps on mommy.  I love this right now, but needless to say, I don't get much done! He will nap in his crib for short amounts of time.
• The hair on top of his head started falling out.  It looks like he has early male pattern baldness!
• He loves to be held tight and cuddle.  
• He LOVES his paci! If it falls out, he lets you know.
• If he really wants his paci, when we first put it in his mouth he shakes his head back and forth a bunch.
• His eyes are focusing much better now.  He can track objects and loves looking at mommy and daddy.
• At his monthly check up this month he did much better than mommy did when he got his shots.  He stopped crying as soon as daddy picked him up to love on him.
• He loves when I sing to him.  He gets really still and stares at me.
• He is still sleeping through church... thank goodness!  No crying outbursts! :)
• He is staying awake more during the day now.  Usually for an hour or two in between feedings.
• Eating 4-5 oz every 3 or 4 hours.
• Right at 7 weeks he started sleeping in his crib at night!  He'll sleep for about 4 hours at a time.

Doctor visits- Only one extra visit this month!  At seven and half weeks his tongue was green on the top middle part.  I had never seen or heard of this, but apparently it's pretty common.  It was thrush, a yeast infection in his mouth.  It was pretty easy to treat.  Paint his mouth with and anti-fungal 4 times a day for 7 days.  It was funny at the Dr. office though because a few of the nurses had never seen it before and came in our room to check it out.

This months favorite pictures:

Ready for church!

Helping Daddy at the office

Month 1

Being a mom is the best feeling in the world!  Mason is so sweet, and we feel so blessed to be his parents.  

As much fun as it is, it can also be scary.  There is just so much uncharted territory and I feel like pretty much everything is trial and error.  Thank goodness I watched kids during college, or else I think I would feel completely lost sometimes!  

I'm going to try and post monthly updates about our sweet little man, mostly for me to remember these sweet times, but also to try and save other new mommies some trips to the doctor!  Who knew you could worry so much about a person over such little things! ha!  

Here are some highlights, doctor visits, and pictures from Mason's first month:

• 9 lbs 1 oz and 22 inches when he was born
• 5 days old- 8 lbs 10 oz (66th percentile) 
• 19 days old- 9 lbs 15 oz (75th %) 22.5 in (94th %)
• He sleeps in his rocker beside our bed.  This made it easier on me since I was getting up to feed so often.
• He loves to be swaddled and won't sleep at night unless he is.  If he's not, he wakes himself up with his arms.
• He sleeps A LOT! Probably about 20-22 hours a day!  He even sleeps when he eats!
• He's a very serious little boy.  He gets what I call 'worry wrinkles' on his forehead.
• He is very good tempered and really doesn't ever cry.  He'll grunt when he's hungry.  The only time her really does cry is bath time, then it's total mind loss!  He hates it!
• He still can't focus very well so he goes cross eyed a lot, it's really cute.
• He made his first trip to church at 2 and half weeks and did great!  He slept the whole time.
• We also made our first road trip with our little man.  We went to Carley and Patrick's wedding in Boerne, then spent the weekend with Matt's parents in Jourdanton.  He was a great traveler.

Dr. visits-  We had one extra visit this month.  When he was 12 days old I noticed some irregular breathing.  He would breathe really fast, then slow down a lot, and sometimes hold his breath for a few seconds and gasp for breath.  It was late at night so we took him to the ER.  Turns out it is called 'periodic breathing of a newborn'.  Scientific name, I know!  Click the link to read more about it.  The ER visit was unnecessary but at least it gave me peace of mind!

Now for a few of my favorite pictures from his first month!

Playing with Granna and my cousin Braden is so much fun!

He has already grown so much!  I couldn't turn the first picture for some reason :/

Such a happy sweet boy!

The Greatest Gift

Introducing....

Mason Rollie Norwood 

Born July 5, 2012
6:08 pm
9 lbs 1 oz
22 inches

We could not be more proud!

Time got away from me!

Amazing how fast the summer goes by! I had really good intentions to post this earlier... but I guess better late than never! On Wednesday, July 21st, we got to help welcome to the world our precious nephew, Case Michael Tolbert! He weighed 7 lbs 7 ounces, and was 19 precious inches long! It really was such a joy to get to be there the day he was born. Matt's sister Jennifer and her husband Quinn are the proud parents!

This is Quinn, Case, and big brother Cy.



Holding sweet Case for the first time!



Matt was such a natural! :)



I was disappointed that I didn't get a full family picture! However, I saw today that they had some newborn pictures made, and there is a great family shot! A fellow aggie and AFCer, Allison (Cloud) Brockman did such a great job! Take a look at her blog to see the wonderful pictures. She did such a great job!! Just click here!

I can't wait to make more wonderful memories with this sweet family, and watch our nephews grow up! They are such a blessing in our lives.

The week that Case was born, we had lots of company stay at our house and it was great to catch up, and even meet new friends! On Wednesday night, Matt's good friend Kevin stayed with us. He made frequent trips this past year to come visit his sweet girlfriend Danielle, and would stay the night at our house. Unfortunately, this visit didn't end up so great! That night he complained that he had a stomach ache and needed some tums. I didn't think too much of it, got him his medicine and went to bed later that night. I woke up the next morning to Matt telling me that he was taking him to the ER!! Several hours later, I called Matt to check up on Kevin and turns out that Kevin had appendicitis! That Thursday afternoon he had surgery to remove his appendix. Needless to say, the tums were definitely NOT what he needed! I hope his next stay at our house is a little more enjoyable because we love spending time with him!

He was in good spirits after the surgery since the pain was gone!



On Friday, Matt's dad and youngest sister Emilie got to come stay with us for the night so they could finally meet baby Case on Saturday. It was great to have them, and is always nice to see family again.

Saturday we all got to go see Case, then that evening Matt and I met Patrick and some other friends in Houston at Papasitas to celebrate Patrick's birthday. We also got to meet Patrick's sweet girlfriend, Carley. She also stayed at our house for the weekend while she was visiting. She seems like a really great girl and we are so happy for Patrick. He deserves the best! I was terrible about taking pictures, so I'm borrowing one of Carley's (hope she doesn't mind)! :)

Here's a picture of the cute couple!



I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of her this coming year! It will be so fun to go on double dates!

Other than that busy week, things have been relatively calm around here, which has been so nice! It's just the calm before the storm though. I start work in two weeks and it is going to be such a busy time! The beginning of school is always pretty crazy, but I'm looking forward to having a schedule again. I can't wait to meet my new kiddos! Matt finishes summer school this week and he's real excited! It has been a very busy summer for him and he is ready for a break, even if it is just a week or two before he starts the Fall semester.

We're leaving Friday afternoon to go to New Braunsfels to float the river with some of my high school friends. I'm really excited about catching up with them... I really miss them a lot! Then from there, we're going to Matt's family reunion on Sunday. I'll make sure to post pictures and blog earlier this time! I can't wait!

Busy, busy, busy!

The past two and a half weeks have been really busy, but also a lot of fun! So much has happened!

June 19-23 the whole family got to celebrate in Cancun, Mexico. Jay and Kristal had a destination wedding and it was so beautiful! It was so much fun to get to be with the whole family for a while and it was a much needed vacation for all of us. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures, so I'll have to add some more later when I get others. Here are just a few pictures from our trip. Kristal looked so beautiful... and I don't know if I've ever seen Jay happier!





When we got back from Mexico, the following day I got to go to the Dallas area to celebrate another wedding with Micah, one of my college roommates, and best friends! There was a little rain before the wedding, but it cleared up just in time for the ceremony and was a beautiful night with a great sunset! The wedding was perfect and Micah was just stunning. It was also a great time to catch up with some girls that I miss terribly!

The rehearsal dinner was great!



The morning of the wedding, all the bridesmaids went to get pedicures and manicures and Micah's mom fixed us a great brunch. We had a little toast with Micah's favorite, sparkling grape juice.



It was such a great weekend and I was so glad to get to be a part of it! Congrats to Micah and Chad!





June 27th, Matt and I celebrated our one year anniversary! It's hard to believe that it has already been one year! We celebrated by just having dinner at the house with each other, then having some of our wedding cake. Whenever we froze the cake, I didn't realize the fresh flowers were still on it. I didn't realize until after it had already thawed! It may have been in our heads, but when we took a bite, it seemed like all we could taste were rotten flowers! Needless to say, we didn't eat any more of it. It was still a great anniversary, and I look forward to many more with my wonderful husband! I'm so lucky to have married my best friend!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of us, but I did get one of our nasty cake.



June 28th through July 1st, I got to spend with Jennifer, Matt's oldest sister. Her husband and son were at Camp Blue Haven for the week, so I went to keep her company and help her decorate the nursery. It was so fun to get to spend the week with her! I can't wait until baby Case gets here! I meant to take before and after pictures, but of course I forgot. That Wednesday, Matt came in and we got to go pick Bekah and Jace (Matt's sister and her husband) up from the airport. They've spent the past two years in China so it's really great to have them home!

Since the 1st, Bekah and Jace have been staying with us until they find an apartment. Last night we got to celebrate the 4th of July by watching some fireworks at the George Bush Library. It was a lot of fun! Welcome home Bekah and Jace, we've really missed you!



It's been a really fun two and half weeks, but it's so good to be home and know we don't have to travel for a few more weeks. I'm looking forward to the rest of my summer! Matt is taking classes and is just finishing up summer one and will start summer two on Friday. Hopefully the weather is nice and we can spend a day or two out at lake Bryan for his days off! I can't wait!

Lately

So I (Laura) decided that we needed to start a blog. I thought it would be a great way to try and preserve some memories, not only for us, but for our extended family as well. Both sides of our family are growing very quickly... so hopefully this will help keep everyone up to date on what is going on in our life! So here we go...


Update #1
On May 15th Cy (our nephew) turned two! It's hard to believe he's already two. Here are just a few pictures from his birthday... thanks Aunt Emilie for taking some pictures!

His party was John Deere themed, so cute!



Cy and his sweet little friends playing at his new water table.



Busting his tractor pinata



Opening presents with mom and dad



We love our nephew! He is such a blessing and so much fun! Happy 2nd birthday Cy Jackson Tolbert!




Update #2
On May 29th, Emilie (Matt's little sister) graduated from Jourdanton High School... way to go Emilie. We're so proud of you! It was so fun to celebrate with her and the rest of the Norwood family with some carne casada and cake! She will be going to the Art Institute in San Antonio in the fall and we know she'll do a great job there!



The graduate and sweet cousin Katie!




Update #3

June 4th was my last day of school.  It was kind of bittersweet.  I really enjoyed this group of kids and will miss them tremendously next year... but I was really ready for summer to get here.  On our last day, Mrs. B (Ashley Breaux) and I let our kids egg us.  Any of my kids who made an A on their level two test got to crack an egg on my head.  They really loved it!  Here are a few pics.  I tried not to post any with their faces in them so I don't get in trouble.  :)

Here's me after a few eggs

And here's Mrs. B- she had one girl make a 100 so she got a pie too!

Although some days teaching is hard, it really is such a rewarding career.  I love my kids and will miss them!  

Update #4
On June 5th, Jay (my brother) and Kristal got married! They went to a small church and had a preacher marry them there so they could avoid the hassel of Mexico's marriage laws. We can't wait to celebrate with them in Cancun at their destination 'wedding'! Welcome to the family Kristal!




That's what has been going on in our life lately. Hopefully we'll keep it pretty up to date! We have a busy summer ahead of us and can't wait!