Heard

Jimmy to Jimmy:

"How many times a day do I smell your butt? I'd guess 3 or 4."

Milestones

There are certain milestones in an infant/toddler's life that "they" don't tell you about. Here are a few of them in no particular order:

1. No more spitting up after a meal


2. "Wow! I have a nose! And I can pick it!!"


3. Parents no longer get to eat a meal by themselves. Instead, Buster must try everything.


4. Life stops for television. A.k.a. "the babysitter"


5. Able to point out where his head is.


6. Able to walk up stairs, but not down.


7. Able to take own socks off...repeatedly...


8. Somehow the word "no" become the funniest word ever.


9. Pretends using a phone. However, somehow his ear is in the back of his head...


10. First word = "baaa", which can mean book, ball, Beaker, "I'm hungry", "I have a wet diaper", cat, "look over there", bottle


11. Ability to turn the TV, DVD Player, XBox, anything with a button - on and off...repeatedly


12. "If I stand up in the bathtub and then plop down, I can make an even bigger splash!"

a word from buster

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa V SYVSaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaA,m nbb b9mfg gv jndg rf . vmwxl..hbv zx.ulk,,aaaa.[''/

and now a word from grandma neumann

Molly - I don't know how to blog on Buster's site. When you have a chance, could you please put this on there.Hello everybody. We've heard and seen all sorts of wonderful stuff about Buster. But, I would like to tell you what its like to be his Grandma. Long long ago my mother told me having children was wonderful and a true fulfillment in your life. But, having grandchildren was the ultimate prize. As a grandma you no longer have to worry about if they have enough food, teaching them right from wrong, instilling good morals and principles in them. You only enjoy them, spoil them (which I really don't do much of, I try to keep Leslie and Jim's wishes in the forefront). Being Buster's grandma is great. He brings me so much joy. Like when he sees me he always smiles. When I talk to him on the phone, he won't talk (to young yet) but he does laugh and giggle. Leslie tells me whenever he talks to me on the phone he smiles. Funny story - Leslie, Jim, Buster, Grandma and Grandpa Mason were all driving back from Florida. I had called Leslie for some reason. Apparently Buster was playing with the phone when I called. So he and I had this little conversation until Leslie realized she was hearing a voice on the phone. Buster apparently was smiling, laughing, giggling the whole time (which I what brought all of this to Leslie's attention). She then took the phone away from him. He just seemed soooo happy to be talking to Grandma Neumann (oh, by the way, my new name from his is MaYa). He also plays this little game with me. He pretends he wants to come by me, then pulls away laughing. Then it starts all over again, He even gives me this little smirk just before the game begins.Just watching him grow has been such a delight. I remember when he came home and I can't believe the progress he has made. He is really trying to communicate, he's walking, he has a much longer memory. When I became Leslie and Cari's Mom, I thought there was no greater pleasure in the world, but I was wrong. This Grandma thing rivals anything I experienced with my own children.Everyone please remember my mother's words - they are true. Buster has the ability to make me smile and laugh even when I am in a bad mood or don't feel well.

Grapefruit

Great Grandma Mason has not one, but two grapefruit trees in her backyard. This has always been a treat for Jimmy and I since we usually come down in January/February when the fruit is ripe for the picking. There is nothing better than fruit straight from the tree for breakfast. Great Grandma Mason would always make me fresh grapefruit juice mixed with cranberry juice - it is a delicious treat. Unfortunately being August the fruit is not quite ripe for the picking, however there was one loan fruit ready to be picked and Buster was the lucky one to get it down. His first fruit picking experience!



Here Buster is picking the grapefruit.


He held on to the grapefruit for quite a while before losing interest. Here he is with his Uncle Chris

Oceans of fun

Here are some more pictures from our trip down to Florida. On the way down, we made a stop in Daytona to visit the ocean. Thanks to it being off season Big Jim was able to find a hotel on the beach for only $66/night.

This is his first time on ocean sand. From farthest to closest is Jimmy, Big Jim, Rose, and Jimmy. I'm not in the picture as I am taking the picture :)



First steps into the ocean!! Shortly after this picture was taken he decided he was unsure of the water and demanded to be held. However, he warmed up quickly enough to the water. Out about 100 yards or so there were some dolphins swimming - scary but cool! That is our hotel directly behind us. After swimming we cleaned up and went to dinner - we ate at the Bonefish Grill, which was amazingly tasty. Then we all went for a walk on the beach after dark with drinks (and cigars for the guys (except for Buster of course, we're bad parents but not *that* bad)) Buster was having so much fun he did not go to bed until close to 11 that night! Yikes!

Welcome to Florida

On this past Monday, Jimmy's grandmother passed away peacefully. She was 86 years old and had lived a good long fulfilling life. What can I say about Grandma Mason? She was a rare breed, old south, and a loving and doting mother and grandmother. Jimmy and I tried to visit her once a year and except for this past year, we succeeded. We had planned on visiting her over Labor Day weekend so that we could have a vacation and she could meet her great-grandson, Sweet Baby James. Unfortunately for Buster, he never got the opportunity to meet his Great Grandma Mason. So...thanks to very understanding companies and bosses/team members we are in Florida at the moment to honor Grandma (her memorial service is Monday at 2pm), help Grandpa Mason, and generally be with family to relive our collective good memories. We are also trying to vacation a little and enjoy our time here in Florida. So, without further ado (adieu?) here are some pictures of our trip so far.

We drove down with Jimmy's parents, which helped us all to save money. Here we are at the Florida welcome center:

As you can tell, buster is very excited to be here!