The bottle is what did it for me. It wasn’t until I received a free sample of the Playtex vent-aire brand bottle that being pregnant finally set in. It wasn’t the morning sickness, swollen body parts, heartburn, Charlie horses, mood swings, baby shower, sonograms, or high blood pressure. Not even my expanding waist line help snap me into the reality of pending motherhood. When I received the sample, all I could do was to stare at it and hold it. It leaded me to visions of bottles, pacifiers, and refrigerator magnets littering our kitchen. I became obsessed with the bottle and knew this was the brand we had to buy. I got sucked into believing this bottled was miraculously engineered to prevent colic, decrease the amount of air Mason would suck in, and make Mason think he was getting milk from a boobie. Yes, the maintenance was annoying; you almost had to form an assembly line to put the bottle back together as it each had 5 pieces. Seven weeks into using the bottles, they started to leak. So much so that more milk would end up on the table then in Mason’s belly. The outside numbering started to fade as well. Playtex’s customer service was very nice and sent us coupons to replace the leaky bottles.
For those of you who never knew why I called Morgan RB (Rainbow Brite), now you do. She loves color whether it's in her shoes, shirts, or make-up. Don't worry! The pink is only temporary so it won't ruin her pretty hair. Hey, her and Mason have the same hair color aside from the pink stripes. She sent me a few more pictures below of her transformation. Enjoy!
Thanks to Mom Mom, Mason caused a lot of commotion today wearing the Raven's jersey. It was all good commotion though. He was able to generate a crowd everywhere we went; church, Friendly's, and Walmart. I don't think Britney Spears could have generated such a fan following. HAHAHA! Now I'm just being that over proud Mother. Soon, I'll be spitting on napkins and cleaning Mason's face in public. What will be next? Ironing Mason's underoo's? By the way, isn't Steve handsome? He's my dreamboat.
Does anyone remember RRF? We had to rush her to the hospital last winter after she attacked herself and ripped off her tail. He tail was amputated so only a small portion remained and her overactive reproductive system was removed. As of this past Saturday, RRF has been diagnosed with diabetes. The level of committment needed to keep her glucose levels regulated seems a little extreme. Insulin would need to be administered twice daily; each being 12 hours apart. She will need to spend the first few days of treatment in the hospital so Dr. Cheek can begin the insulin shots. Normally, this would require RRF to remain at the hospital for a week, but Dr. Cheek can work with us and only keep her for 2 days since money is an issue. Money is a BIG issue! The insulin and needles are not that expensive when averaged over a 4 month period which is how long the materials should last with each refill. RRF would then need to stay at the hospital for a day every 2 weeks until she is regulated. During that day visit, her glucose would be tested every few hours. Dr. Cheek explained that this is unsual in a cat as young as RRF since diabetes usually does not occur until middle age. Steve and I found RRF last summer in the woods and while I'm not an animal expert, I don't believe she was anymore than several weeks old during that time. 
Mason is making sure Mommy stays focused on school work.
Mason taking a little break from all his hard work. 
To all those who lost their lives that tragic day, rest in peace!
He was pooped Sunday night after a busy weekend of being adored by Mom Mom and Aunt Jessica.Did you see her? If you squint really hard and follow the silver circle moving in the background, then by golly, you do see her. I will post Ride Like the Wind: Part III on Monday so you can see a better video.
Steve and I took Mason to the pediatrician today. He now weighs 9 lbs and 4.8 ounces and measures 22 inches in length. We must start forcing Mason's head to turn to his left and while it's turned in this direction, massage his neck muscles. The pediatrician said it's common in infants to favor only one side. If an infant would continue to turn his or her head to one side, the muscles could stiffen. The pediatrician said the name of the condition (is it really even a condition?) so quickly, I did not understand what she had said. I'm thinking the name is "tortacolitis", but I have not had the time to research anything. On a funnier note, Mason peed all over the pediatrician. Boy, she reacted with lightning speed. Me, I just always sit and watch Mason spray everywhere because it's hilarious and I can never stop laughing. Mason received his 2nd dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine. He was a good baby and only cried for a few seconds.
The pediatrician gave us a few tips on how to prepare Mason to sleep through the night:
-Make evenings as boring as possible so he doesn't make himself excited (he's only 1 month old; he's not doing that much!)
-Don't feed Mason to sleep (then he would never get fed in the evening because he can look at the bottle and fall asleep!)
-When he awakes at night, don't turn on any lights (I would break a bone stumbling around in the dark half asleep trying to prepare a bottle!)
-Nightime should only be for feeding; do not change the diaper (Goodness, even when Mason's diaper is changed twice a night, he still pees everywhere. If his diaper wasn't changed during the night, he would flood the house!)
-When Mason is done feeding in the middle of the night, put him back into his crib even if he's awake. This means no rocking, swinging, or talking (I should have asked the pediatrician how long do I allow Mason to scream before picking him up!)
The pictures above are veggies that will soon to be ready for picking, with the exception of the tomato. We have a few tomatoes which we need to pull now. We planted the garden with the intent to eliminate the extra money being spent to buy some veggies at the grocery store. Needless to say, our garden is a late bloomer so we've had to buy our veggies. Except for spaghetti squash; I refuse to pay the high prices which I've seen to be up to 3.99 a lb. Don't get me started on cucumbers; they are 85 cents now which is ridiculous compared to the 50 cents I only paid during spring time.
Steve was the one who got up with Mason throughout the night. It was the first time I did not have to get up for feedings or diaper changes. Mason woke at 4:30 AM this morning and did not go back to sleep. Look what has happened to the early birds by mid afternoon. What a bunch of sissies!
Here is the first Fowler Family photo. I can't seem to size the picture correctly. I made several attempts to upload this picture as a gadget in our profile. However whenever it uploaded, Bubbles was caught off along with half of Steve's body. Does anyone know how to size the photo so it will fit in our profile section? I would like to shave off the left side, but not the right.
No, this is not a picture of the Loch Ness Monster. We could not get any good pictures at the dolphin show, but if you squint you can recognize that they are indeed dolphins. 
Blaize was scared of the ostrich exhibit.
This bear was chewing on a bone which seemed as big as my leg. What did they feed him; a dinosaur from Jurassic Park?
This was my favorite exhibit of all at the zoo. He was such a good boy even though it was sweltering outside.
Everyone was able to pet the elephants after the show. All I wanted to do was get inside an air conditioned building. Thank goodness we saved the aquarium for last. It was very refreshing.
The dog sharks had eyeballs like humans. It was so weird looking.
Now I know that I'm not the only one who wraps like this!
No translation required!
The presents are greatly appreciated by Steve and I.
