Dear Mason,

There are many moments in my life which I cherish.  One being receiving text messages and images from your mom while I am at work.  The latest photo is this one...

I believe your mother's comments explain everything.  I know when you get older you may be a little embarrassed, but hey, at least I censored your penis.  There is also a video version of this moment, which is quite entertaining, but we won't post it.

Well Son, tonight you didn't want to fall asleep in your crib so Mom decided to lay out a few blankets and pillows on the living room floor so we all could have a "slumber" party.

While we were spending time together I was thinking about how important moments like these mean to me.  You are so young and innocent and I love it when you beg for attention and just roll around with me on the floor.  I was thinking about the future, when you get older you will probably want to watch television shows, get on the computer, play with your ipad, and etc.  I know you will grow older, but hopefully you will not grow apart from me and your mom....at least not too quickly.  I want to hold onto you as long as possible because you will always be my little guy.  I love you son.

Dad

A photo from tonight when you fell asleep on the floor after our talk.

Late night swimming

So today we didn't have much to do. I love days like this. We stayed inside all day because It was so hot!

I'm making your daddy watch the first season of Pretty Little Liars with me on Netflix. You were watching bits and pieces of it but mostly playing with your toys and chasing after shorty.

You took such a long nap today. 3 hours! We decided to take you for a late night swim. You haven't been in the water since your swim lessons ended. You didn't miss a beat though because you were comfortable in the water with Daddy. He dipped you a coupled of times and you didn't cry. I'm so proud of you.

We'll be sure to take you swimming a few times a week for you to cool off. Hopefully we can make a trip out to Great Wolf Lodge soon.

Future Doctor & Grandpa's love

Oh my little baby boy. For the past few nights you've been waking up at 2:00AM. I think your molar teeth are starting to come in. I don't mind you getting up in the middle of the night because I've been staying up late watching Grey's Anatomy. You seem to enjoy watching it with me. Last week we finished watching Nurse Jackie. Probably a little inappropriate for your age! With all these medical shows we've been watching I'm hoping you will be interested in the medical field when you get older, like a Doctor :) Even better, you'll find the cure for cancer. I know you can with that big brain in your head.

You've been to the hospital several times with me in the past 10 months of your life. Grandpa and Grandma have been very sick.

We don't know how much longer Grandpa will be here with us but were grateful for all the time we have left with him. He's such a strong, loving and caring man. I know you love him so much Mason.

When I was pregnant with you, the only thing I wanted was for Grandpa to be able to hold you in his arms. You see Mason,  January 2010 Grandpa was diagnosed with Stage IV Laryngeal Cancer. His prognosis was not good but we tried chemo and radiation to slow the cancer down and to hopefully get rid of it. Unfortunately, the treatment didn't work. June 2010, your Grandpa was given 6 months to a year to live. That was the hardest day of my life. I was not expecting your Grandpa to be with us after July 2011.  I felt like my whole world was crashing down. My Dad, your Grandfather is such an amazing person.

This was when the idea of having you came to my mind. I wanted you to have a chance to meet the person that I first loved besides your father. When I was pregnant I told my Dad that I wanted him to meet you and he made a promise to me and said he would try his best to be here with our family.

My dream came true and Grandpa was one of the first people to hold you in his arms. It was a wonderful moment for us. Fast forward to today and your Grandpa is still with us. It has been 2 years since the doctors gave him 6 months to a year to live. We cherish every moment with have left with him.

It is going to be a hard day when were not able to see your Grandpa's face anymore. I wish you could grow up with him and I wish your future sister or brother would be able to meet him.  It breaks my heart knowing that they won't be able to. We can show them pictures of you and Grandpa and tell them what a great man he was.

You are such a lucky baby to have been able to meet your Grandfather. I know at times you may not understand why I cry, but it's not because I'm sad, it's because I know that you are so special to our family. It was such hard journey to go through when we all found out that Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer. Everyone had no reason to smile anymore because we all knew our world was going to change. I remember the day I found out, it was like yesterday, I cried so hard in your Dad's arms. He's such a great Father to you and he will be a great husband to me. God blessed all of us when he brought you into our world. We love you so much Mason.

1 hour after you were born

He was speaking to you in Spanish :)

You love your Grandpa's hat!

My first Father's Day

Dear Mason,

I wanted to thank both you and your mother for making my first Father's Day so special.  I have learned a lot more about myself and our family ever since you came into my life.  I cherish all the moments we spend together as a family and during our one-on-one sessions as father and son.  I try my best to teach you right from wrong even though you are barely pass your 10-month mark.  I know when I talk to you, you understand what I am saying.  You can tell when I am happy or when I am sad.  I want to teach you so much everyday because tomorrow is never promised.  You are my little guy and I want you to grow up to be the best man to your mom, wife, and children.  

Thanks to you and your beautiful Mother for the best Father's Day gift.  I love it.

Son, always remember when times get rough to always stick with the people who love and cherish you.  I am telling you now, no matter what mistakes you may make in the future or how mad you think your Mom and I will be, just let us know.  We will all come together and try to figure out a solution.  There is no need for you to hold it inside and try to hide it from us.  I will always be here for you to guide and protect you as any father would.  I would like for you to have everything I couldn't have as I was growing up.  That is why your mom and I work so hard to provide for you.

Wrestling with you, one of my favorite moments I spent with you thus far.

As I am typing you this letter, you have been in bed since 11:30 pm and your mom is also in bed.  I just arrived home at 3:00 am from one of my part-time jobs.  While working, I couldn't stop but to think about our little family.  I know our family isn't perfect, but whose family really is?  At times I think to myself, what qualities and traits make-up a good father?  Am I a good father?  I would like to think I am, but then again I do doubt myself.  Then there are moments when I compare myself to other fathers and I see myself somewhere in between.  Hopefully, when you grow up and read this you will think to yourself, "Hey, my Dad was a pretty good guy, I turned out alright after all."  Then I can finally relax and smile down at you from above.  I love you Mason.

Love, 

Dad 

p.s.  Just know everyday is a Father's Day to me because when you are a part of it it makes everyday special to me.

This post has been postponed for quite sometime.  The events took place during Memorial Day weekend.  Our family took a trip to Fort Smith, Arkansas to celebrate my Grandmother's 80th Birthday.  The trip was good for the most part.  Laura and I enjoyed our time with everyone.  This is the first time in quite sometime when my Mom's entire side of the family was able to be at one location.  The trip was filled with lots of preparation for my Grandmother's surprise Birthday party.  We also went to the Thai Temple two days in a row to wish my grandmother good blessings.  All the females wore Thai traditional dresses.  I thought Laura looked beautiful in her pink traditional dress.

My extended family (mom's side)

Our little family with Grandma

The both of us together 

Mason's little tuxedo for his Great Grandmother's 80th surprise Birthday!

Mason flirting

Last week Mason was quite the ladies man.  He met new friends who quite frankly couldn't keep their hands off of our little guy.  He didn't seem to mind though.  He loves the attention and the ladies.

Mason meets Jade for the first time, she really wanted his attention.  Hola!

Mason and Madison, those are some cute "M-son" names.  She couldn't keep her hands off of him either :)

Mason's first little white lie...

Perhaps we should call this post "Mason's first little brown lie"...

Just kidding...Laura and I just wanted to share this cute video of our little guy.

We saw him sitting near the door way and while Laura was randomly video taping him we noticed he was busy concentrating on...

When asked about his little situation, well you can see how he responds. 

Swimming Lessons

This week Mason began his swimming lessons.  For the next two weeks he will have lessons Monday-Thursday.  His first lesson was supposed to be on Monday, however I didn't hear my alarm clock ring, so Mason missed his first day of swim school.  Hopefully this isn't a sign of what Mason's future attendance will be once he begins his education.  He isn't even one year old yet and he is already beginning truant!

Mason showing how he learned to hold his breath while underneath the water.

Here are some photos of Mason during this past Tuesday with me.  Even though he missed his first day of his swimming lessons, he was not far behind the other students.  He is the youngest one in the class.  

He is a quick learner.  Mason loves the water, and he already knows to close his mouth when I dunk him under the water.  

Another activity our entire family can share together.  Laura took Mason to his swimming lessons on Wednesday and Thursday his swimming lessons were cancelled due to inclement weather.  

Daddy's little guy

Yesterday our family was invited to lunch to catch up with Uncle Tony, Aunt Ha, and my cousin Kristy.  They are all from my Dad's side of the family and Uncle Tony and Aunt Ha live in Carrollton, TX, which is only about 30 minutes away from us and Kristy lives near Los Angeles, CA.  So of course, I get excited when they call us up and want to meet up since I don't get to see my dad's side of the family often.  

We all had lunch at A1 Super Buffet which was delicious.  It was a nice little luncheon where we all updated each other on our lives. Uncle Tony and Aunt Ha are two of the few people from my dad's side of the family who have really seen Mason since he was born.  They attended his baby shower, and one month party.  This was Kristy's first time seeing the lil guy.  He seemed to really enjoy their company and vice versa.  After lunch we took a couple photos prior to leaving.

My latest favorite pic of Mason and I

Kristy and Mason

Mason's first visit to the library

Today we took Mason to the library for the first time.  He seemed to really enjoy it.  We read to him and he was able to really get his hands on some books.  Even though he already has many books at home, he was still curious to see what else he could get into.  

The lil guy needs to learn how to use his inside voice at the library

Mom and Mason reading together

We read about five books to Mason while at the library.  Since he already met his book quota for the week, we decided to rent some DVDs.  They had quite a selection for small children.  We decided upon Baby Einstein, Cars (Blue-Ray), and Xuan Mai.  We couldn't believe they had a couple of Xuan Mai DVDs because Mason really enjoys watching her singing in Vietnamese.

Mason's first library rentals...dvds!