First Father's Day awwwws.

For Father's Day we visited the one place that I will only go to if I ABSOLUTELY have to. Since it was Father's Day, I kinda had to. I will admit that it wasn't that bad, actually kinda cool to read about all of the history behind the game. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy football season, but that is usually reserved for the fall.One of the people that work at the HOF told us to set Mason on the hologram of a Superbowl ring and watch him try to grab it. It was pretty hysterical.

Your next inductee?

It was a very fun way to celebrate one of the best dads in the world. Grandpa is fishing right now, so he couldn't come but he was missed very much! Hope all you dads out there had a wonderful day as well!

Pain is love.

This post brought to you by sunshine.

I figure I haven't done a favorites post in a while and I am loving my first summer as a non-working person/mom so here it goes:

Flea Markets! What could be better? You get to spend some time outside (most of the time), get some good stuff and support local vendors. FleaPortal is a nifty little website to look up flea markets in your area. Check it!

Wading Pools! (and just pools in general) Mason and I have been trying to spend a lot of time outdoors of course and some friends introduced me to the wading pools in our area. They are a foot deep, free, and usually connected to a park. It is so fun and we both get to cool off.

Bike Rides! Mason loves going on bike rides and I get a good workout too. We are lucky enough to be connected to a wonderful trail so we usually ride on that for safety. As far as trailers for your bike, check Craigslist and Target for cheap options. We have a Schwinn trailer and it works perfectly and was only about $150.

What are your favorite things to do in the summer?

Finally, here are some of my favorite products that we are using right now on our big 9 month old boy (sniff, sniff):

Take-n-Toss Section Bowl - this baby has 2 sections for food and a place for a spoon. What could be better? I am really digging this right now since I am giving Mason more than one flavor at once.

KidCo BabySteps Food Mill - This is great for introducing new foods to Mason. I just throw in some fresh stuff, or something we are eating and it grinds it right up. Lately, I have been milling peaches, plums and bananas as well as chicken and beans.

Leachco Easy Teether Rail Guard - "Oh hell no, you are not gnawing on your crib!" Problem solved.

Nobody said anything about hills.

Yesterday was perfect. Absolutely gorgeous. Low humidity. Nice breezes. We got to the hospital about an hour before the race. I picked up my packet, Paul registered. My mom met us there to watch Mason while we ran. I went pee, we walked around a little, took some pictures with some sucky college mascots (this was as good as I could get, the Golden Flash wasn't there). We started stretching a little, grabbed a couple bites of banana and a drink of Vitamin Water. Before I knew it, we had to line up for the race. I waved goodbye to Mason and Paul and I decided that he would run with me for at least the first one or two miles and then he could take off - of course we don't run at the same pace.

They sounded the air horn and the 450-some racers began running - including myself. The first mile was fine. Paul and I ran together and I was feeling really great. What I wasn't noticing was the fact that we were running downhill. A lot. There was a guy blaring Queen on a boom box and cute little kids at all of the drink stations. If you have ever tried to drink anything while running you know it is near impossible - so I took a little sip then dumped it on myself. Much better. I was told that I had ran my first mile in 9 minutes - my best EVER. Soon after that I realized it may have been a little too fast. I was cramping and had to walk for a bit, telling Paul to keep going.

I started running again once I felt better, maybe after a minute and now I was all alone. I kept thinking about Mason, all of the kids in the hospital that might never get the chance to run and I kept pushing myself. We were now running through a cemetery (creepy) and there were HILLS. WHAT? Tiff doesn't run up steep hills. I walked some of the hills, but the longest I ever let myself walk was 3 minutes - I am no marathon runner.

Finally, once I made it back up the huge hill and across the bridge, I knew I was close. Once I saw the finish line and all the people I got a HUGE smile on my face (the announcer even commented on it as I ran by). I did it. I finished somewhere around 35 minutes (the results aren't up yet). That means I was running (on average) an 11.3 minute mile. Pretty damn good for "training" for 3 weeks. Imagine what I could do if I really focused! The best part for me was seeing how proud Paul and my mom were. Mason also clapped for me, but he might have been clapping at the fact that he was eating cheese puffs. I couldn't have done it without any of them. I am going to keep running. Keep racing. I know I didn't run a marathon or anything and who knows when or if I ever will, but I feel like I did. I am proud.

A monster in my house.

There is a monster living amongst us. The evidence:

-Toilet paper rolls are being unraveled.

-Cheerios are strewn about the house.

-There are snot stains on EVERYTHING.

-Coasters from the coffee table are all over the living room.

-Trash cans are being toppled over.

-There are fingerprints, errr paw prints all over anything that is glass in nature.

-Sometimes, I hear faint gasping noises, whines and growls.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it."

If you, or anyone you know is dealing with the same kind of monster, please let me know so we can begin documenting its behaviors for future reference. With your help, this monster can be stopped.
In other news, a different, less tangible monster is emerging tomorrow. Its name is FIVE-K and I will be slaying that bitch with all my might. I don't know how prepared I am, but I will make good on my promise and do the best I can. Pray for me.
Weight loss so far: 4 pounds! Slow and steady wins the race.

Dear Mason - 9 Months

9 Months

Dear Mason,

Lately, I have been finding myself craving to hold you. I think it is because since you started crawling this month I am realizing that you are becoming your own little independent person. Soon, you will probably want nothing to do with me. It makes me so sad to think that my body was such an asshole in the beginning and blocked me from realizing what I was missing. I was too busy worrying about SIDS, BPA, nipple confusion, sleeping patterns and what everyone else thought about my parenting skills to see that my little boy was growing up FAST. One day, I woke up and you were no longer a newborn. Soon thereafter, I woke up and you were looking more and more like a toddler. I feel like I missed so much because of my disease (or whatever you want to call it). Now that I am better, and able to think more clearly, I know that it does nothing for me to dwell on any of this. Instead, I choose to congratulate myself in overcoming all (okay, most) of my anxiety. So what if I caught flack for not putting my son to sleep on his stomach right away, he's still alive. I started buying everything BPA free and now you cannot find anything that has BPA in it - guess I was on to something! My son HATES pacifiers - at least I never have to worry about taking them away from him. And finally, you sleep like a DREAM - guess I did something right there too!

Your dad and I still go to bed every night and gush about how much we love you, how cute you are and how we cannot believe how big you are getting. You clap, you lift your arms when we yell "touchdown", you crawl, you wave, you say "dada" among other things, you pull up to stand on everything, you cruise and more that I am sure I am forgetting. I really think that I even heard you practicing the word "cat" quietly to yourself a few times. Going out places is so fun now because all you do is flirt. You get so excited when you see new people and love to look around. You are so vocal and are constantly making some kind of noise.

You have a very analytical mind, which is not surprising given who your father is. You study EVERYTHING and love to open and close, open and close, open and close whatever you can find (which includes my laptop, good times). You have more personality than some adults I know, which you of course got from your mother. Another lovable trait (or not) that you inherited from you dad is the ability to fall asleep at pretty much any given time- as long as you are tired. You have now fallen asleep THREE, yes THREE times in your highchair during lunch. I remember when I used to cry, yell, beg and plead for you to JUST GO TO SLEEP. Sometimes I wish I could remember those early days (or months) better so I could document what EXACTLY I did to cause this.

Every day gets better and better with you. You laugh over nothing, you still cry over nothing (it's okay, momma does too), you make the best expressions and cutest noises. You are becoming a cuddler (I am doing my damnedest) and an ornery little boy all at the same time. I hope and pray that you will be a momma's boy, because so far I have been jipped in this whole thing. Your dad's looks, brain, athletic ability and narcolepsy versus my personality. I just need to know that I am doing an okay job and that you are happy - and your favoritism. Is that too much?
I love you.