Virginia Vacation!

Hey everyone! So, I haven't posted in a while, but I had to write about me and Mason's vacation to Virginia to see family! There was no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that I was going to attempt that drive by myself, so I decided to be brave and fly by myself with Mason.. who was almost 11 months old, and never flown before. Now, I know I shouldn't have been so nervous because I was blessed with an amazingly mellow happy boy, but still.

On the way there, he was happy and laughed the whole way there! Fantastic! He ever met a little girlfriend sitting in the row behind us, very cute. 




When we arrived at the airport, no one was there to greet me with his stroller or car seat...so what would have taken 10 minutes turned into at least and hour, waiting for his stuff to get to me, which, when it finally did.. it was missing pieces... AWESOME...NOT! But hey, many more terrible things could have happened, I'll take the missing piece of the carseat that holds up his shade, and cut my losses, Ha!

Waiting for me was Marion, Al, and Anita, which was a nice surprise. I've never felt like I had my own posse at the airport until then, even though I know they really only all came to see Mason! So off we went from Baltimore, heading to Virginia. We stopped at Al and Anita's for some food since no one had eaten in a while. Mason slept as I ate a yummy sandwich, and everyone spoke to Grandma and Grandpa, whom might I add, were very jealous that they weren't with Mason. Mason is just a little celebrity!

The week went very fast, as it usually does when you are having a great time! It was so nice and relaxing. I love it in Virginia, I've never felt so at home anywhere else other than my actual home that I grew up in. Add to that crazy Aunt Marion and Uncle Vinny, plus Greg, Chris, and Angela, and you are most certainly guaranteed to laugh until you pee a little bit AT LEAST once.

We didn't do anything crazy, but that is whats nice about it all. We went to see a battlefield/cemetary which sounds so boring, but someone like me LOVES that.. especially with a camera on hand which unfortunately i didn't have that day, another day we went thrifting which is also awesome. I know,  I know.. i'm starting to sound like an old lady or something.. but seriously, try it before you knock it. We got Mason a bouncer which was a life saver which if we bought in store it would have been 110 bucks... we paid 8 whole dollars!!! Mind-Blown! We also took a drive to Richmond to go to a mall, and drove around looking at the stunning houses and saw a sweet little baby dear with his spots and all! And of course I had to steal Angela and her friend Taylor for another photoshoot. Love those girls!

On Sunday, we went to church, which I really enjoy. I'm not really one to go to church, but I love this one for some reason. Aunt Marion told me that the Sunday before they requested everyones shoes that they were wearing to donate. So everyone took off their shoes to donate and left the church barefoot that day! That is just beautiful to me, and hilarious in Uncle Vinny's case because he had JUST got his new sneakers and donated them and had to get another new pair.This Sunday, the service was literally 5 minutes, and they told us to go shopping, for the good stuff, to donate to the food bank. Everyone left and flooded the grocery stores. When we came back to drop off our donation, there was a man that pulled up with a HUGE pallet of cereal... Easily over 200 boxes. I love this!

I seriously wish I could go down to VA monthly, though, I don't know if everyone would want us there monthly haha but still!

The flight home went smoothly, there was room on the plane and I was able to bring his seat on with me, which was very hard once I had to give up the stroller. A kind hearted woman asked me if I needed help, and told me she remembers traveling alone with her little ones wishing someone would lend a hand. I accepted to offer and she carried the diaper bag on for me, and once I reached the door to the plane, the Pilot of the plane was sweet enough to carry Mason to a seat for me! I love Southwest! They are absolutely amazing.

Sunday Dinner!

So every Sunday, we have the tradition of family dinner over at T's house. Thank god my daddy raised me right, and had me eat red meat, or I would be a hungry girl every Sunday because we almost always eat red meat! This Sunday was no exception, we had some delicious steaks, followed up with ice cream cake... I would say that is a great dinner and dessert!

Mason's First 4th!

This fourth of July was wonderful, and we got to spend it with our fave Brit too! My parents were having myself, Michael, and Mason over for a BBQ, and I couldn't have Tuncay stay home by himself, so of course my parents invited him to come too! It was wonderful! I haven't had a nice family get together like that in a long long time! We were going to put Mason in the pool, but we all got caught up talking and laughing, and then Mase went down for a nap while we all ate. I haven't laughed like that in I couldn't tell you how long. It really was such a nice day. I think everyone really enjoyed it. And for once I was too caught up to take pictures! That NEVER happens!

Later that night, Me, Michael, and Tuncay took a ride up to Bald Hill to see the fireworks! We got there 2 minutes before the show. Perfect timing seems to be our thing lately. We also managed to find Michael's cousins and aunt and uncle out of the hundreds of people on the hill. So we sat with them to watch the fireworks. 

10 Month Dr. Visit

Today, Mason had his 10 month checkup at the doctor. No shots today, thank God! He's still a little traumatized from last time... Whenever I try to lay him on the table he freaks out now! So sad! Little man is getting so big! He's 30 inches long, and 19lbs 13oz! He's so tall for his age!

The doctor asked what new things he is doing, and I didn't have much to report because I've been assuming Mason is lazy. Which I think makes him even smarter than some of the kids that start doing things earlier. Why the hell would you want to do everything when someone could do it for you?! The doctor confirmed my belief that Mason is just being lazy, She's seen him since he was born and said he had the ability to crawl a long way back, but he'd rather me move him around. I'm gonna have my hands full with him, he's just like his momma, haha! So I let the doctor know that he just started crawling the day before he hit the 10 month mark. She wanted to test out how good he crawls, and boy oh boy, I've never seen him crawl so fast EVER! She was very happy with how good he gets around considering he has only just started crawling.

I really wanted to get a picture of Mason on the scale, BUT without someone to watch him just in case he decided to make a quick move off the scale, I decided against it. Maybe next time.

So when we got home from the Doctor, Mason went in his pack n' play for a while, and decided now would be a great time to stand up! What the hell?! Just because the doc says your lazy too doesn't mean you need to go and grow up in 10 minutes!!!

Canine Counsel FTW!

Today we spent the day with our Canine Counsel crew! I've mentioned Canine Counsel once or twice before, but never really gotten into it. Now is the perfect time to do so! So here goes, and please do keep reading, I promise its not all boring stuff!

Tuncay is the founder, owner and head of Canine Counsel Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. What can I say about this man? He truly is fantastic. He is passionate about what he does, and as he says, there is no case he will not take on. He has rehabilitated dogs that society had given up on...these dogs were on deaths door whether it be by the hand of an abusive owner, or being on death row at the animal shelter. I have seen first hand the results that he is able to produce. He is the east coast's "dog whisperer."

Tuncay and Tia (Pitbulls and Parolees) 

Tuncay has taken Michael on as a shadow trainer, so Michael works hands on with the dogs, and is learning from the master himself. Mike has built all of the rooms that will be used for boarding dogs, has attended and aided in appointments, and helped run events and fundraisers. 

Their fundraisers, by the way, are AMAZING. They always have the most awesome things that you have a chance to win. Most recently, they had southwest airline tickets to anywhere in the US, Yankees tickets (the REALLY expensive kind in the club house! VIP status right there!), and Prada sunglasses, among many other great things ranging from small to amazing! They also  have their own merchandise which the profits from go towards the facility... sooooo if you want to help out, feel free to leave a comment and I'll hook you up with how to get some stuff!

This was only a small fundraiser, I could kick myself for not taking picture of their last display!

T-shirts and Sweatshirts!

Support Bracelets!

Ok, so now it's time to get to the meat and potatoes of this post. Canine Counsel has two ADORABLE pups up for adoption. They can be adopted together or separately, both girls are spayed, and completely up to date on vaccinations. These girls are only 7 months old from Georgia kill shelter.  Their names are Thelma and Louise! Thelma is the brindle, and Louise is the black pup! I have the pleasure of playing with these pups quite often, and they LOVE to play with our dog Bella. They are fantastic, fun, friendly... everything you could ask for in a puppy! If you are interested or know someone that might be PLEASE send them to this post, and have them comment or contact Canine Counsel!

Telephone +1  347-962-0375

Fax +1 866-535-8069

Info@caninecounsel.com

caninecounsel@gmail.com

Pool Time with Friends!

Yesterday was a nice fun day. We went to a friends house to beat the heat in their pool in their gorgeous backyard. I'm really impressed with how well Mason is doing in the water! Swim classes really helped him out even if he only went 5 out of 6 times. During his swim classes he used to get a chill, even in the 90 degree pool, but taking him in an outdoor pool that is much much cooler, his lips didn't quiver and he was totally fine! He loved it! He splashed around and was basically doing the breast stroke! He even went off the diving board with daddy!

Click here to see: Daddy and Mason Jumping off the Diving Board

 Everyone was having a blast soaking each other as much as humanly possible with these awesome water gun type toys. I just know that Mike can't wait for Mason to be a little bit older so he can play with him more. He's so good with kids, and he loves to play with Tuncay's son Max. Mason loves Max too. He is totally fascinated by him, its the cutest thing ever. And Max is nothing short of an angel when he is with Mason.

Mason needed a break from the pool for a while, my poor albino baby! He is slowly but surely getting a little bit of a tan, though. I wanted to make absolutely sure my lil man was nice and hydrated, so I took him into some shade for a drink. He really loves his apple juice! He downed it like no other. Good thing I put a few ice cubes in there to keep the drink cool for him. I put some in my water bottle too, but I could swear that as soon as I stepped outside they melted.

After Mason had his drink and some puffs, he took a little nap. When he woke up we had pizza, which was delicious. I mean, who doesn't love pizza? Mike always eats way faster than me, so I entertained Mason while Mike ate, then when he finished we traded off so I could eat. Mike took Mason to play in the grass. Mason just recently started crawling, and Mike can't stop watching him make his way around all by himself!

Then Max came to join in the fun and went to play with Mike and Mason.

When we got home, Mason, who has barely slept in the past 2 days, finally crashed out! He was soooo tired after a long fun day in the sun! He went to sleep for the night around 9pm and didn't wake up till 6am! I'm so glad, he really needed his rest!