Tuesday, April 21, 2020

BIRTHDAY BUDDIES! | 41 & 10

I know I've been a terrible blogger lately but this quarantine has me feeling so unmotivated when it comes to certain things right now and blogging just took a backseat last week without me even meaning to.  But today's got me all inspired because two people in my house have a birthday today!

Craig turns 41 and Mason turns 10!  Part of me is having trouble with the fact that I'm old enough to be married to someone who is 41...which just seems old!  Until I remember that I am 38.  Sigh.  And then the other part of me wonders how it's been 10 years since my water broke in front of my mother-in-law while my husband was out to dinner with his friends celebrating the night before his birthday!😂😂😂

Yes, that happened.



At 38 weeks and a few days, my water broke at home.  Craig's friends had taken him out to dinner that night because his birthday was the next day and my in-laws were in town helping us out during our final countdown.  Matthew was almost 2 and asleep upstairs and my mother-in-law and I were watching TV in the living room.  Around 9pm, I heaved myself up from my chair, took a few steps and felt a little....something.  I paused for a minute thinking "Hmmm...pee or water?". (All you mamas know that feeling!)  By that point, I'd caught Susie's attention and I said "I think my water just broke...?"  I took two more steps toward the bathroom to assess the situation and GUSH!  And then,  "Yep, my water broke!" as I ran my big booty to the bathroom.  (Pregnancy relieves you of all modesty, am I right, ladies?)

I was actually super excited about this whole thing because I'd been hoping I'd have an exciting water-breaking story to tell someday.  (And now I do!)  With Matthew, I was induced and my water broke in the hospital on its own before they started the Pitocin but still...not super exciting.  But this was!

I ended up calling Craig three times before he answered because it was loud in the restaurant (they were at some Dave & Buster's sort of place) and when I got ahold of him I just said "My water broke!!!  Come home!!!".  He raced home while I took a quick shower and off we went.  Thankfully I got all the excitement of my water breaking at home without all the painful contractions that start up immediately in the movies.

We checked into the hospital, my nurse or whoever it was asked if I wanted an epidural and I said HECK YES!!  And make it a double! ;)  I think I endured painful contractions for about an hour (like on a scale of 1 to 10, they were maybe a 5) before I got that glorious needle in my spine.  (PS:  That epidural hurt WAY worse the second go 'round for some reason.  With Matthew, I remember thinking, "That's it?  That wasn't bad at all.". Not so this time but still...extremely grateful to have it.

My parents drove in from Texarkana which is about 2.5 hours away and my dad tried to get some sleep in the car while my mom came up to the room with us.  At around 4:30am, they checked me and said I was ready to go! My mom happened to be in the room at the time and was about to leave when I told her to stay which she was not expecting at all.  But I'm so glad she was there!  (For the record, both Craig and Mom were instructed to stay near my head.  No exceptions.  haha

Mason Presley Nall was born at 4:41am weighing in at 8lbs 8oz.



Both of my births were completely painless and very easy (although the days and weeks following were NOT...).  But it was nothing like I'd seen on TLC's A Baby Story thank the Lord. (I used to be OBSESSED with A Wedding Story and then A Baby Story after we got married.  Do those still come on?) After two big pushes, Mason was a free man and I had myself two birthday boys.



I remember everything being so much easier than it was when Matthew was born.  After Matthew, I was a walking disaster for several weeks and in so much pain from stitches and breastfeeding/pumping.  It was not cute and I did.not.care.

With Mason, I had the same stitches I had the first time around (not pleasant) but I was able to get up, shower, wash and dry my hair...all within hours of his birth.  I think this picture was taken around noon that same day.  I can't even get myself together this much NOW half the time. 😂


My poor skin got hit hard with the pregnancy mask!


Matthew's first time meeting his little brother... 


Sweet kisses.  There was never really any jealousy when Mason showed up.  Matthew just wanted to be a big helper all the time.


Father/son bonding.


Papa and his little buddy.


We named Matthew after Craig and my dad (Craig's middle name is Matthew and my dad's middle name is Jay...so Matthew Jay) and with Mason we wanted to include Craig's dad so we decided on Presley because his dad was a big Elvis fan.  I initially wanted Mason James which I still really love.



Mason was the best baby.  Matthew was too so we were SURE we'd get the total opposite with this one!  We were so thankful that wasn't the case!  Mason did everything early and easy.  He was sleeping through the night by 6 weeks, he only cried when he needed something, he rolled over super early, he was walking at 9 months, he ate everything we gave him, loved his big brother, was riding a bike without training wheels at 3 (which reminds me I really need to see if we have that on video!)...he's just been on a mission to do all.the.things as early as possible.


We had this taken for his birth announcement to match the one we'd had taken of Matthew too...


This was Matthew's.  My favorite picture.


Now Mason is 10.  And this kid is FULL OF LIFE.  He is our social butterfly and loves being with people.  He's a total extrovert in every sense of the word.  He's pretty much down for anything but he's also got a good head on his shoulders and knows what is ok and what isn't.  His teachers tell me every year that he's smart, polite, respectful, helpful and incredibly kind...especially to the special needs kids in his class.  For the past couple of years, his teachers have told me that they have put Mason at the desk next to so-and-so because they know he's always willing to help when they need it and is kind to everyone. He was one of the "charter members" of the Kindness Crew that was formed a couple of years ago where teachers picked a boy and a girl from each class in all grades and worked on ways to spread kindness throughout the school.  #myworkhereisdone 💕


He has a soft heart but doesn't show his sensitive side very often.  He prefers going and doing and playing and laughing to serious talks. He has a hard time just doing nothing.  He has to be constantly entertained or he is miserable. (This quarantine has been ROUGH on him.)

He loves all sports.  You name it, he'll try it.  But his favorite is baseball.  And he's GOOD.  Like really good.  And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mama. ;)  We always say that Mason is Craig's mini-me and its so true.  They are built the same, share similar personalities, are both natural athletes and the kid just looks like a Nall.

He has a hard time keeping things clean though. ;) He's our Messy Mase for sure. Tell him to clean his room and you'll find a week's worth of dirty (and clean!) clothes shoved under his bed.  Make your bed?  Why?  You're just going to sleep in it again in a few hours! (Ok, I may have passed this trait down to him...haha).  "Turn out the light when you leave the room." "Shut the cabinet door." "Rinse your dish." "Why are there Cheez-It wrappers behind this pillow?" "How long has this milk been up here?"  All things I say to him on the regular.  😂

We LOVE THIS KID HARD though.  He brings a joy and a light to our world every day and was the perfect completion to our little family.




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2 comments

  1. I loved this post so much!! Amanda, those are the sweetest pics of you and your boys!!

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  2. Such a sweet post. I love to hear birth stories and yes...I used to watch both a baby story and wedding story. Happy Birthday to two of your boys. Hope they have a great day!!

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