Mystery Shiner

"You should see the other guy."

Last week Mason got his first real black eye.  Well, wait-let me explain, because that's not entirely accurate.  He woke up Thursday morning with a big bruise and bump on his cheekbone (you can see it on his cheek).  The next day, the bruise migrated to his eye, as bruises tend to migrate.  This picture was on day 2.

How did he get it, you ask?  We're still not really sure.  It's a mystery.  As a toddler he falls a lot...maybe it happened one of the times he got hurt the day before and we didn't know then how bad it was?  He's been sleeping in a toddler bed....maybe he was playing in his room in the dark during the night and got hurt (even though we heard no crying)?  I guess we'll never know for sure.

But one thing is for sure...he was still a happy boy!  It didn't seem to hurt or bother him, which I'm glad about.  Because it looks really sad.  But he wasn't.  He was his same active, goofy, fun-lovin' self.

The lighting in the tub made it look especially dramatic.  You can tell by the yellowing that it's starting to heal, but it still looks pretty bad.  I've had to explain myself to every single stranger who sees him and endure their accusing eyes.  Seriously people?  He's TWO!  Kids get hurt!  The worst part was when they'd ask what happened, I was honest and said I wasn't sure.  Then they'd raise their eyebrows and look at me like, "Your kid got hurt this badly and you don't KNOW how it happened?!"  And I, in turn, was inwardly yelling, "Don't you have kids?  Don't you remember how they got hurt all the time?!"  Some people understood.  Others judged.  It bothered me at first, but now I'm over it...and wishing I'd come up with a better story...

It's been over a week, and it's still very noticeable even though it's getting a lot better.  At least he's still a happy kid.  Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be healed by next weekend for Tracy's wedding, so the mystery shiner doesn't become immortalized in her wedding pictures.  Eh, here's to hoping. :)

How a Toddler Eats Cheerios

A few months ago, Mason did NOT feel like eating Cheerios for breakfast.  And it was just too funny.

Wild Animal Park June 2011

Earlier this summer while visiting my family, we went to the Wild Animal Park.
They've since renamed it and made lots of upgrades to the place, but to me, it will always be the Wild Animal Park!

The tram ride is SO awesome!
They made it a lot nicer and you can see the animals so much better while you're out on safari!

Family picture in front of the elephants.  We have to tickle Mason to make him smile for pictures. :)

Mason looooved the petting zoo!
He walked right up to all the big animals to pet them and wasn't even scared.
We were pleasantly surprised.

Classic picture on the rhino!

Mason's most favorite thing by far, though, was the lorikeet exhibit.  It's a large, caged enclosure you walk into that's filled with colorful lorikeets that land on you.  You can buy little cups of nectar (for a pretty penny of course) and the birds land on you as they drink the nectar.  Mason really likes birds and was excited that they landed on him even though he seems stunned in the video.  We just laughed. :) I think he was afraid that if he moved the bird would fly away off of him.  And he wasn't thrilled about the flapping by his face at the end.  But he didn't want to leave, it was so much fun.  P.S. When these birds poop on you, it's clear poop.  So it's not AS gross as normal....and they have very nice washing stations upon exiting complete with soap and paper towels. :)

More petting zoo.  He wasn't even afraid to walk up to these full size deer all by himself.

Marcos and I in front of the beautiful landscape and big hot air balloon.
  We had such a great time!

Cousins at the Playground

Mason Turns 2!

Last week Mason turned 2!  I cannot believe I have a 2 year old!  Mason is such a good kid.  Pretty goofy too I must say (but I'm not surprised considering his parents). ;)

3 Funny Things About Mason:

• He does a great fake laugh.  If you say, "Mason, laugh!"  He'll laugh "HA-HA-HA" in forced but real way that we happen to find hilarious.
• He walks like an old man.  If you say, "Mason, walk like an old man!"  He'll hunch his entire body forward at the waist and take careful tiny steps forward.  (He started doing this walk all on his own, because he thought it was funny.  We simply labeled it.)
• He will smell your feet.  If you say, "Mason, smell your feet!"  He will put nose to toes and make dramatic sniffing sounds.  He will smell anyone's feet you tell him to and he thinks it's hilarious.  Marcos gets credit (or blame?) for teaching him this.

These are just some of the very important things one must teach their child.  Mason makes me laugh everyday.

We don't have much room for entertaining in our apartment, but we have a great little park in our complex where I held Mason's birthday party.  It was perfect!  Mason and his friends loved playing on the playground and blowing the bubbles I brought.  Here are some pictures I snapped of our wonderful party guests.  

Marcos and his cousin Annette

Chiara, Courtney, and baby Eva

Kathy, Ira, Colin, and baby Asher

The Michie Family

Miles and Andy

Thanks for coming everyone!  We had so much fun with you!

June in San Diego

While we were visiting my family in San Diego, we of course had to go to the beach.  There was a chilly breeze that day...but that didn't stop us!

 Mason loved using a shovel to fill this big bucket with sand.  It took him a while to get used to the sand.  He doesn't like to get dirty.  But after a while he warmed up to the sand and had a great time!

 By the end of our fun at the beach, his face was black with dirt and sand.  Atta boy!

Mason also got to meet and play with his cousin, Madison.  They were so cute together!  This is basically the best picture we could get with both faces showing, because as toddlers sitting still just isn't in their nature. :)  It was so fun to see them together, though!

5 Years!!!

Back where it all began...

In June, Marcos and I celebrated our 5 YEAR anniversary!!!  That is so crazy to me!  I guess time flies when you're having fun, and being married to Marcos is definitely fun.

We took a trip down to visit my family in San Diego.  Special thanks to my Mom for watching Mason so we could go out and celebrate!  First we went to the San Diego temple, where we got married 5 short years ago.  We did sealings, and it was so incredibly special and a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary!

But the fun wasn't over yet.  Then we went to an amazing Churrascaria for dinner.  It's a very nice Brazilian steakhouse in downtown San Diego called Rei Do Gado.  You pay a pretty penny and then, on top of a salad buffet, you get ALL YOU CAN EAT MEAT that they bring to your table on skewers like this:

Mmmm....

They carve off a juicy piece onto your plate.  They have so many different kinds of meat they bring around to your table until you tell them you're full!  It's such an experience.  We enjoyed trying all the different meats.  We LOVED the bacon-wrapped filet mignon!  I'm not even a big meat person, but I ate so much and had so much fun!  Best meat I've ever had.

Our other favorite of the night were the sweet crab legs!  Marcos also had fun talking with the waiters and waitresses in Portuguese (he went to Brazil on his mission).  It was really fun for him to converse with them and ask them questions about the food and such.  I smiled and pretended to know what they were saying, like the white girl I am. :)

Something he remembered liking from his mission were chicken hearts.  These are chicken hearts.  Marcos asked the waiter (in Portuguese of course) if they had any chicken hearts he could try.  The waiter said it'd be a few minutes to cook them, but he'd bring some out.  I don't shy away from trying new food, so I chewed one.  Notice I said CHEWED and not ATE.  I just couldn't swallow it.  It didn't taste BAD.....it just tasted...WEIRD.  Marcos liked them, though.

This is us before we started stuffing our faces with amazingly juicy and flavorful meat.

And this is us after we're so full we're practically sweating meat juice.  Gross, I know, but if you've ever eaten meat until you're bursting at the seams, you know exactly what I mean.  Marcos ate a TON of meat "to get his money's worth."  He was so full he didn't eat for 2 days after.  Now THAT'S a good meal!

And an exceptional anniversary. :)

This Deserves Its Own Post

Cousin Bella and Mason

Easter 2011

A few days before Easter, we were in Fresno and Mason enjoyed a super fun Easter egg hunt with the rest of his cousins!

Mason loved finding the eggs

And picking them up.  And when he filled up his basket with eggs, he dumped them all out so he could place them back into his basket again.

Then we had Easter morning at our place, which happened the previous Saturday morning instead of Sunday. We have church early, so it was just easier...plus, he doesn't care, right?  He loved his new toys and all the fun Easter eggs.  We put 2 goldfish in each one--they're his favorite and I want to hold off on candy for as long as possible.  He loved shaking the eggs to hear something rattling inside, then opening them up and finding his precious goldfish!

What's Easter without an Easter bunny??  Mason loves stuffed animals...

as you can see.  This is his happy, goofy smilingtoohard smile that is EXACTLY the crooked smile I did when I was little!  My Mom called it my "Popeye" smile. :)  Awesome, isn't it??

Haircut

It is tradition in the Duran family for Grandpa Louie to give the grandsons haircuts.  He's great at it and very practiced, because he cut the hair of Marcos and all his brothers growing up.  And last Fall it was Mason's turn! (These pictures are from November when Mason still had a round baby face.  ::sigh::  He already looks so much older!)

The "before" curls that melt Grandma Elizabeth's heart.  

Pre-haircut conversation with a lady I didn't know:

LADY:  "OH!  Your baby is SO cute!  Is it a boy or a girl?"

ME:  (already annoyed)  "He's a boy."

LADY:  "Oh wow, look at those curls!  You'd think he's a girl with those darling curls."

ME:  "Mmm, thanks, but he's a boy."  (feeling spunky now)  "Ya know, he IS wearing ALL blue."

LADY:  (not phased)  "Girls wear blue, too.  And his blue eyes are SO pretty you'd think he's a girl!"

ME:  (???.....confusion giving way to defeat)  "Uh....thanks."  

He was such a good boy and didn't even cry!

Brushing the hair off

So nice and trim!  Thanks Grandpa Louie!  (Can't you see the family resemblance? .....No?  ......Neither can we. :)   

P.S.  He's had a few haircuts since this one, and within a few weeks, his cute curls come back. :)

Christmas Break 2010

Well, now that it's Spring I think it's time to throw some Christmas Break pictures up here.  We really didn't take to many...too busy visiting and having fun I suppose.  Here are some of the best!


This first set is outside in the rain at our visit to the Oakland Temple.

Touching the temple

Inside the Visitor's Center there were Christmas decorations, breathtaking views, and familiar faces!  My Uncle Dave, Aunt Patty, and cousin McKay happened to be there that day with their ward from Fresno.

Tracy, Me

Here are a couple of our ward Christmas Party with Mason sitting on Santa's lap.  The lighting in the cultural hall wasn't very good, so not many of our pictures turned out so well.  But here are a couple which show the most important thing.....Mason crying with Santa.

"Why are you doing this to me?!?!"

Mason being cute with Daddy and loving his new spinning lights toy from Santa!  We went to Grandpa Louie and Grandma Elizabeth's for the holiday in Fresno, and apparently didn't take many pictures because we were having too much fun!