Sweet Sister Mary

On Sunday we were given a gift. A very dear, sweet sister in our ward remembered about Mason's birthday. She asked us months ago!

She gave him a £2 coin, a chocolate bar for all of us to share and included a sweet card. What an amazing woman! Thank you very much, Sister Mary!!

Our Little Guy is 1!

Mason is a year old today! I feel so very blessed to have him. He has been our little miracle baby. For those of you who don't know about the things we've had to go through with him, here's a list:

1. I was put on bed rest at 27 weeks because of Polyhydramnios, which they drained 4 liters of amniotic fluid at 29 weeks. Before that I was measuring 42 weeks pregnant! I was huge! I really wish we took before and after photos. I then had to have an ultrasound each week, along with 2 non stress tests (checking baby's heartbeat and movements) each week until I reached 37 weeks, and multiple tests to see if the doctors could determine the cause, which all came back negative. I was induced a week early and out came Mason Wyman Perkes at 9lbs. 14oz. and 23 1/4 inches long. And can I say my epidural wasn't working on my right side (which the anesthesiologist came back to fix but still didn't work correctly)? Ouch!
2. Mason failed his hearing test at the hospital twice so we were referred to a specialist and a month later he failed again. We were told that he had a mild hearing impairment that could be corrected by hearing aids. We then had to wait another month until he was fitted for hearing aids and before they did that, they decided to retest him because I started noticing that he was responding to doors being slammed and what not a few days before that. He finally passed after 2 months of not being able to hear. The doctor was baffled and didn't have an explanation of why he could finally hear. What a miracle!!
3. Mason was born with an umbilical hernia and we weren't able to have a specialist look at it before we moved to England. We finally were referred to a specialist here when he was 9 months. The doctor started asking us questions about my pregnancy and things about Mason since he was born. Because of all that (Mason's hernia, hairiness, full lips, and the size of his body), the doctor wanted to test him for Mucopolysaccharidosis. We stressed for four weeks before we received the NEGATIVE result. What a relief!

Here are some newborn pictures of Mason. I love his hair!!

Here are some pictures of Mason's first haircut. He was 2 1/2 months old.

He really is a miracle and we love him so much. He is such a happy boy and is constantly smiling. He loves to give kisses and has recently started hitting his head to his Mom's head to show affection. He also loves to grab noses! He still will only say forms of Dada, Dad, or Daddy even though I'm persistent about trying to get him to say Mama!

The downside we face now is carrying this 30+ pound boy around. We take the stroller EVERYWHERE! He climbs and crawls everywhere and is constantly on the go and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. I love that he's exploring and learning, but why can't he just sit still sometimes? He wears me out!

Here's a picture of Mason from a couple weeks ago. He sits as tall as his car seat.

 

I didn't have any early pictures of Mason because the laptop we brought with us died and we haven't had a chance to fix it. Thanks to Shaila for providing me with the newborn pictures and thanks to Melanie for the pictures from Mason's first haircut!! I appreciate you both for sending me some pictures so quickly.

Our Little Photographer

Jayni LOVES to take pictures. I let her carry the camera around for a bit when we visited the Gadfield Elm Chapel. I love to see the pictures she takes because it lets me see things in her eyes. She's quite the little photographer.

I love that you can see her feet!

This is Brother & Sister Head. They are in our ward and serve as the missionaries at the chapel.

She didn't get Tom & Mason's heads in the shot, but can you blame her? Tom's REALLY tall! Is it just me or do you think Mason looks enormous too? He is quite the big boy!!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture. I love seeing her little shadow.

Sunday Afternoon at Gadfield Elm Chapel

After church on Sunday, we came home and had a quick bite to eat and then headed to a quaint little chapel. This chapel is the OLDEST LDS CHAPEL IN  THE WORLD. England is rich in church history and we're very lucky to live so close to a lot of the places.

The church was sold when the Saints were asked to move to America so that the poorer Saints had an opportunity to go. It then became a ruin and local members of the church were able to purchase the property in 1994. They had to build it back up and in 2004 they donated it to the church.

I would give you all the history of the chapel but I think it would be more beneficial for you to read about it yourself and urge you to do so. It's a great story. Gadfield Elm Chapel Information

 

Here is a plaque that gives a brief description about the chapel. Sorry if it's hard to read.

When we were there, the missionaries gave Jayni a rock to color on.

They let the kids color on them and then they have the choice to keep them or leave them behind at the chapel. They do this because the pioneers would write messages on rocks and drop them along the trail to inform the next group of travelers about things. Jayni's rock is the second down on the right. She ended up taking her's at the last minute though.

Jayni enjoyed playing Hide and Seek...

...while Mason enjoyed crawling all over and eating the grass.

We had a great time being able to do this as a family. What a great opportunity it has been to live here. My testimony has grown so much and I have such an appreciation for the Saints here in England. They are wonderful people and I have learned so much from them.