It's been feeling so Christmas-y lately and it reminded me of a few years ago. We were so excited to find out what the gender of our baby was, and right before Christmas too! We'd had so many stressful ultrasounds, so this was a nice happy moment that I'll never forget. I won't post the pictures but our modest little baby kept crossing his legs.
So without further ado: A Poem From Christmas Past
It's festive and snowing and getting quite cold. It's feeling like Christmas and stories of old.
Children are playing and acting so nice. Kitchens smell lovely, like sugar and spice.
Carolers smile and greet as they sing. Shoppers scramble and scurry. The church bells all ring.
Nutcrackers crack and sugar plums twirl. Jason and Ashley found out they're having a .....
Today was declared pajama day. Today Mason was scared of the vacuum. Today Mason sat on my shoulders while I vacuumed the house. Today Mason jingled when he walked. Today he kept putting loose coins down his footed pajamas. Today we cleaned out the pantry. Today we found a chocolate penguin, almost as tall as Mason, living in the back of our pantry.
We finally got around to pulling out the Christmas box. Our neighbors brought over some lights for us- a kind and not so subtle hint to get in the spirit of the holidays. We've never had much space to decorate so our options are pretty meager. As we were putting things up and realizing how many more lights we needed, I thought of Mason's nativity and decided since we don't have a "grown up" nativity yet, we'll use his. We brought it out and he helped set up the figurines.
This is how he did it. All of the people and animals in a nice little line. I smiled at his organization. Then I stepped around and saw the rest of the scene. I got a little teary when I saw that he had everyone looking towards Baby Jesus in the manger. I'm glad I got a picture of this reverent set up before he got bored and started throwing pieces down the stairs.
I'm such a lucky mom. Mason adds buckets of legos...I mean joy...to my life. He is charming, curious, goofy, and caring. Here are some highlights of our week.
He went to nursery by himself. We only checked on him twice through the window :) He was just fine.
Lindsey and I went to lunch at the Pastry Pub. Mason spent the entire time clomping up and down the long bench and flirting with anyone that would look his way.
We bought him a Fisher Price Christmas Nativity (the unbreakable kind). Every morning when he gets out of bed he MUST go push on the angel and make the music start. THEN we can start the day.
I was on my way home this afternoon when he fell asleep in the car. This is my ultimate no-no because it destroys his nap. I rushed home, carefully got him unbuckled, and tip toed towards the house. The neighbor's dog started barking and I groaned when Mason woke up and starting barking back. He continued "woof woof"ing through the kitchen and down the hall. Because he felt so limp I walked into the bathroom to look at his reflection in the mirror. He was completely out of it and barking in his sleep!
Mason keeps me too busy to blog most of the time. This past week has been so much fun, I feel like we've really turned a corner. Mason has a funny personality. Whenever he sees a hat with ear flaps he insists I put it on his head. He talks so much lately, although it is a special Mason dialect that not even we can interpret. He is learning what his little body can do and his coordination is greatly improved. He has figured out that he can get on the couch downstairs by opening the drawer to the table next to it, climb in the drawer, hoist himself on top of the table and then leap onto the couch and onto unsuspecting Daddy. He'll wear himself out doing this over and over again.He can be very particular. During a tantrum a few weeks back I tried distracting him with his favorite fridge items: orange juice or applesauce. Neither would pacify and his howling intensified. He continued to act like he wanted them so I walked back to the counter. He carefully got the lid to each container and put them on. The crying stopped. Similarly, a shirt collar too stiff or a sock on crooked really agitates him. This is supposed to be the part where I say how baffled I am at his behavior, but I was The Devil Child and I clearly remember being set off by a pony tail too tight and still get cranky if I can feel any tags on my clothes.
Jason has been working a lot lately so their "manly bonding" time is limited. I like to see Mason go up to our wedding picture in the living room and point to Jason and ask "Dad?". He still enjoys mini motorcycle rides on the driveway and Mason also is very good at helping his dad work in the back yard. We go watch Jason play city-league basketball once a week. It's Mason's important job to hold the basketball until we get there. Last night he chirped "Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball" the entire way. After the game he and his buddy Kyson ran out onto the floor. They met under the basketball hoop and gave each other a big hug. The hug went on and on. Then they started tipping, lost their balance and fell to the floor.
We bought a little table for Mason's room so he would have a place to sit and play, color, get out the playdough, or stack toys. Yesterday, I was getting ready and it got really quiet. Alarmed, I poked my head into his room. I caught him sitting at the table reading and nodding as he looked at each page. That's my boy!Mason loves kids smaller than him, especially little girls. In nursery a few weeks back a little girl kicked him in the face when he was trying to climb up the stairs to the slide. He cried and found something else to do. As we were leaving nursery he spotted her and instead of being scared or mean, he ran after her with arms wide open. He followed her down the hall and finally scored a hug when she stopped at the drinking fountain. He's very "soft" and careful around babies. Mason is pleased to discover they too have eyes and needs reminding not to poke them. It is good for my heart that he has become so affectionate. He'll stop mid-play to give me a hug. He'll hug your legs when you least expect it. He'll always offer up a kiss after a prayer, diaper change, or usually on request. Sometimes he'll randomly walk up to me and stroke my hair, peer into my face and then say "AAAHHHHH" as he cuddles up to me. He still has moments of screaming and frustration, but they are so easy to deal with because of his predominate good nature.
Mason was sick on Saturday and by that night I was throwing up too. Jason took over all parenting responsibilities Sunday so I could rest and recover. Mason was feeling better and the boys rested and napped downstairs so I could have some peace and quiet. Around 11am I woke up and headed to the kitchen to get a drink. I turned the corner and there on the pantry floor, wearing only a big t-shirt and a big grin sat....Jeffy? My little brother Jeff is four years younger than me but I don't remember much of his infant years. Yet when I saw a blond haired boy digging through a cereal box and looking up at me with big blue eyes, my sluggish brain computed: It's Jeffy.
We have a great tree in our wild back yard. It has the perfect spot for sitting. I've been taking lots of pictures of Mason in the Picture Tree. As long as we live here I plan on taking even more shots to show how quickly he grows and changes. I can already imagine him on his first date, girl perched awkwardly on his knee, her hair getting snagged in branches. I'll be whining, "just one more!" while he mumbles, "I am so sorry about my mom."
He loves to play dress up on any given day. Just not on the day I wanted him to. Poor little guy. Why why why do we put all this pressure on little kids when they are too young to understand or remember the holiday? Oh yeah, because it's fun. And they are adorable.
I hope someday he'll look back at all the silly pictures and say "Thanks Mom. Looks like we had fun". And I'll say, "No problem hon, now drive me to the hair parlor to get my weekly perm."
I wrote before how boyish Mason is. It's still true that his favorite objects are rocks and sticks. However, he's recently expanded his fetishes to include necklaces and chap stick. He especially enjoys putting on makeup. I don't have much for him to choose but he does what he can with powder, nail polish, and lotion. And SHOES. I don't have to worry about him trying on heels since I only have one pair at the very back of the closet. Still, he does his best with our boots and flips.
I wonder if any of this behavior has anything to do with the pig tails I keep putting his lovely locks in... I actually really enjoy watching him become aware of all the fun things around him. I know this is normal development. But is it normal to freak out when he sees Dad give Mom a hug? Any why does he keep chasing all the little girls around until he scores a little lovin?
Getting firewood is hard work for such a little guy. First Dad is gone all day up the mountain and brings back a big load and dumps it in the backyard. Then Dad saws it into smaller rounds. Then Dad splits it. Then Dad stacks it in big containers he made. THEN, the hard work begins! Mason helps Mom load some of it into the wheel barrow, even trying to get the pieces that are bigger than him. Then we walk CLEAR ACROSS the yard and Mom stacks it next to the house. Then she opens the wood chute and Mason throws each piece down, ALL BY HIMSELF. Yes, indeed, getting firewood is hard work.
This is another reunion picture, and one of my all time favorites, of Mason. Jessica's fiance Dan set up his hammock outside the cabin. Swinging in it was the only was I could get Mason to nap with all the noise and fun going on.
Poor Mason does not do well when he is teething. He had six teeth, no more no less, the entire summer. Then, as we hit the road to come home he started teething. I do not exaggerate when I say each one comes in separately and takes over two weeks to make their grand entrance. Also, his mouth has a mind of it's own. He got his top four before any on the bottom. Now he has three bottom teeth and big gaps until his new molars. Mason has always been a intense child, so happy or so sad. Teething turns him into a darling yet ferocious Tasmanian devil. I thought he was loud before but lately he makes a sound similar to a tornado siren. I desperately look forward to the day he'll have all his teeth and we can try to forget this frustrating little stage.
Since we've had mouths on our mind I thought I would share some teeth trivia for you. Surfing the web is an excellent coping mechanism to avoid giving in to your desires to tie up and muzzle your screaming child.
·An average person has 32 teeth. That number includes 4 wisdom teeth. We have 8 incisors, 4 canines, 12molars and 8 pre-molars.
Americans buy 14 million gallons of toothpaste every year.
·Baby first teeth usually come in on the top front. They start coming in when they are about 6 or 7 months old.
·A child will usually have 20 teeth by age 2.
·A child will usually lose his first tooth when it is about 7.
·George Washington did not have teeth made out of wood, but he did have teeth made out if hippopotamus teeth. He also had teeth made out of ivory, lead, human teeth, and cow and sheep's teeth.
·Your teeth started forming before you were born.
·The bristles of toothbrushes were originally made from the hair of hogs and cows.
·A Chinese dentist once built a tower out of 28,000 human teeth.
·Sharks have at least 40 sets of teeth in their life time.
·What is the average amount of Tooth Fairy money given for a fallen baby tooth? $1.10
·The armadillo has as many as 104 teeth.... more than any other land animal.
·Rats must continually chew to keep their front teeth worn down. If they lose a top one, the bottom tooth will eventually grow up into that space and continue into their brain.
·Clark Gable & James Dean wore dentures.
·You will get fewer cavities if you eat a bag of candy in one sitting and then brush your teeth than if you slowly eat the candy a piece at a time all day.
·The average cost of braces for teeth is $5000.
·The JDRA has established a denture recycling network of over 200 locations throughout Japan, including dental offices, where people can drop off their unwanted dentures. The dentures are recycled and proceeds from the recovered precious metals are then donated to UNICEF and other organizations.
We spent a weekend up at Duck Creek for the 2nd Annual Family Reunion. EVERYONE was there. We played on the mountain and then went to Richfield for Jackson's baptism.Guess what Mason's new favorite object in the whole wide world is??? So special he cannot let go of it ever-ever???
We went dress shopping with Jessica. After 15 minutes of opening every dressing room door, Mason started whining. Loudly. Insert plug . (I promised myself I wouldn't use his pacifier for that purpose, but have you heard the noise that comes out of the little guy???)
Several beautiful white dresses later and Mason needed another distraction. Introducing Mason, the Ultimate BrideZilla.
Every time Mason hears Jason's bike start up he runs for the door. And he wants up! He'll sit there forever if we let him. Jason lets him stay on for the length of the driveway and then makes him get off. Then Mason has a come apart. He has started recognizing what a helmet means. As soon as he sees the helmet come out of the hall closet he starts booking it for the side door.
Speaking of strange manly tendencies, Mason is apparently training for some sport. Pick a sport, any sport. He loves to kick the ball. He loves to throw the ball. He loves to just carry the ball everywhere he goes. Have you ever tried to buckle in a kid who has a death grip on a mini basketball? It's really difficult.
First thing we did when we got back to Utah was pack up our camping gear and head for Fish Lake. Mason was still in "beach mode" and tried to walk into the lake a few times. He had to settle for throwing rocks in the water instead. Papa Starr, Jason, and I took him out in a little boat. He liked it when we went fast. He did NOT LIKE IT WHEN WE WENT SLOW.
I got out our costume stuff to see if the clearance costumes I bought last year would fit Mason or not. Instead of a turtle or a bear it looks like he's decided to go with the leopard look.
This is from our trip home. We stopped in Carthage, IL to stretch our legs and see some church history. Mason took full advantage of the few minutes out of his car seat. He copies EVERYTHING we do. His imitation of his dad stretching was adorable. He ran all over the place. He liked to hug the trees, look to see if I was looking, and then laugh. I am trying to persuade him to keep out of the dirt, to no avail. At least it the dirt looked clean...As clean as dirt can be.
Many people have asked me how Mason did on the car ride home from Virginia. It went like this:Reading. Playing with plastic bags (I know, I know!). Discovering eyelashes. Sleeping (Have you met Jeffy Giraffee?)
He did a lot of reading and sleeping. There were some great toys that really saved us. We sang along to a kid CD so much I dreamed of wheels on the bus going round and round. Also I think I have tennis elbow from handing him countless goldfish crackers. He did MUCH better than I imagined.
We went to Jamestown with Grandma Heaton, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Jeff at the beginning of the summer but I just got my hands on the pictures. We told Uncle Jeff we'd give him money if he could touch the duck... :
Do you remember this post about babies and dancing? When we were at the Children's Museum I finally got some of Mason's dancing on film. Here he performs his classic move, "Happy Feet", which consists of stomping each foot in rapid succession. He threw in some new moves for variety, one of which we now call "Shake your tail feather".
The Bean is growing like a weed. He's two years old and too much fun to put into words.
He likes all forms of transportation, especially airplanes and choo choo trains. His favorite color is yellow and when he sees the color orange he calls it "yellow" with a French accent. His favorite activities include going to the swimming pool, beating up his dad, building forts, and doing puzzles. His favorite food is a smoothie "with a straw".
He does not like getting stuff on his clothes, having his door closed at night, wearing shoes inside, when his stuffed animals don't sit up straight, or when his parents talk on their phones instead of playing with him.
