Duck Pond

One of the things we did for Labor Day this year was go to the nearby, beautiful, relaxing duck pond.  Mason really likes to observe the ducks and geese, and valiantly struggles to break free from my grasp so he can walk straight into the water to play with them.  I kindly try to explain to him that the water is "yucky," which I'm pretty sure he interprets as "fantastically fun and forbidden."

Mason's 1st Birthday!

 I can't believe my baby is 1 already!  It's one of those things where it feels like just yesterday and like forever ago at the same time.  We were so happy to have so much family present at Mason's party...including both sets of Grandparents!  It was so fun to have a little family party...thank you to all who were able to attend!

"Mason" opening presents.

 

He got lots of really fun gifts that he loves and plays with all the time!

 

 

Then came the cake and the Happy Birthday song....

...and the poor little guy didn't know how to handle all the attention.

 (Don't worry Mason, it's hard for all of us!)

 While Mason recovered from being celebrated, Tracy took the liberty of blowing out the candle (way to go Trace).

 He got a lot happier when we gave him some cheesecake.  He's not one to dive right into new things, so he decided the best tactic would be to poke around a bit to test it out.

 It seemed safe enough, so then he daintily poked some pieces until they stuck to his finger and finally ate some.

 He took his cake eating quite seriously while relishing in the new, rich flavor.

 "Oh man....this is SO GOOD.  Why have I not eaten this before?!"

Happy Birthday little man.  We love you so much!