End of the Week, End of the Month

I can hardly believe it's the end of the week...and even the end of the MONTH. Mason's nearing his Birthday and I'm not prepared for him to turn ONE. I'm perhaps a bigger mess than he is!

THURSDAY
Well, you wouldn't know it from their serious faces, but we actually had a nice dinner last night with Leah and Baby Carson from church. Carson is exactly 2 months older than Mason and I think the boys will get along just fine. Mason's Pediatrician stressed that at 1 year, M needs more social interaction with his peers {especially because he has such one-on-one adult during all of his waking hours...he needs to interact with babies too!}

FRIDAY

Here's Mason and Nanny C this Friday morning; they're dressed alike!

Mason gets so excited to run around the house...

Because he can now get into things he shouldn't...

And when I get onto him, he just runs away to get into some more trouble...

I better lose at least 10 lbs this year just from chasing this child!

WEEKEND PLANS

We have great plans to lay low. The only thing on schedule is a playdate tomorrow with some new friends, the Smiths {hehe}, but we haven't yet decided what we're going to do tomorrow...either way it'll be fun.

Strange Behavior

My small infant child just seems to soak up everything now. I realize he's only 2 weeks away from his 1st Birthday {yikes!}, but it's amazing to me how quickly he grows and learns.

Couch Potato

He's still entranced by Baby Einstein's "Baby Mozart" DVD which really helps when I need to strap him in his high chair so I can do simple things like taking a shower. Thank goodness he's still 'all about his show' only, and tunes the TV out when it's on for background noise {like on weekends}. I have to be very cautious about what's on TV, including commercials.

Daring Acrobat
And it's amazing that he does some very cool things now like:

• waves "bye bye" {and has been heard saying "bah-bah"}
• walks well
• boogie dances to music {well he bounces his torso when sitting}
• growls like a bear on demand
• high-fives
• claps when you say, "Good Job"
• raises his arms to "Praise God"
• touches your nose when you say "nose"

Of course, sometimes when I ask my monkey to perform in front of someone, he just stares at me and smiles...kind of like he says, "Oh silly Mommy, I'm not going to show off for YOU!" And then he'll only do his tricks as we're leaving. *sigh*

He also does some odd things like attempting to do headstands at random times...and on scary surfaces like a movable roller highchair placed on hard tile. WHAT?!?!?!

Monkey See, Monkey Do
Also, he must have learned this somewhere...but I'm just not sure where...someone must talk on the phone too much! If you sing "ring, ring" he places it up to his head {although he sometimes misses the correct placement on his ear} and says, "Hiii" in a very sweet, whispery soft voice.

Ladies Man

Mace probably thought Saturday was going to be just another hum drum day.

But little did he know that he'd be surrounded by pretty girls...

Who loved holding him and playing with him...

And making him the center of attention!

We can hardly wait for his cousin Baby Sophia Grace...on her way in less than 7 weeks!

{full Baby Shower post HERE...well later today at least}

Another Good Buy

Wal-Mart. $5 each. 'Nuff said.

Although there's really no shortage of clothes for Mason, he's outgrown most all of his nighttime PJs...even some of the 12 month {gasp!}. Now grant it, he's still petitie...but I think we do much better with 2-piece PJs anyhow. These four were cool finds for sure.

Kids Shoe Sale in Birmingham

Sikes Children's Shoes in Homewood has their 50-75% off sale going on right now. Hopefully you've already heard about this (I meant to post this over the weekend) but HURRY if you haven't visited yet.

I picked up these 4 pairs for Mason {regularly priced $40-$45 each!} and walked away with them 75% off at TEN BUCKS A POP!

Yep, we have 3 different sizes and a good mix of play shoes. Mason should be good to go for at least the next year.

Also, I found out he's got little feet {to go with his petite frame} and is currently a size 4. While he's not yet 1 year {we've got 3 weeks to go!}, most babies his age are a size 5.5 - 6.

Hold Still!

Hurry Mommy, Grab the Camera

Small Fry, since when did you start doing that whole walking thing well?

Rawr!

This is what I teach my child...instead of words. I think it's a much more effective form of communication anyhow.

I already miss the days when my sweet monkey could be left sitting on the floor and he'd smile, laugh, and play contently...staying seated.

But oh no...now we're always wanting to be on the GO!!! This week he's really working on walking; he traveled halfway across the living room on Wednesday before falling. He looked like a drunk baby, but I give him Kudos for trying.

On Film for Gigi

Gigi, this is for you. It's just the best I could get on camera with Nanny C here {otherwise he'd be too interested in grabbing the camera from me}.

11-Months Old

At 11-Months, Mason...

...is fully weaned; loving eating finger foods and I'm beginning to give him table foods {even non-organic *gasp!*}

...is sporting 7 teeth.

...has hair in the back with changed texture; it's actually a little kinky/curly. He does NOT get that from me.

...loves to interact with social games. While he can keep himself occupied for an hour playing ball {he throws it and then chases after it}, he gets most excited when he's in interactive play. This applies to us being out in public...especially in restaurants where he often gets adjacent tables involved in a game of peekaboo.

...still wakes up in the middle of the night. But I've finally concluded that it's due to a very wet diaper. Now that he's almost strictly on formula {we have scant amounts of frozen breastmilk}, he consumes a very large bottle at nighttime and subsequently has a ridiculously large damp diaper around midnight every night.

...is very mischievous adventurous.

...has been known to get a goose egg or two on his forehead.

...will disappear for 2.4 seconds and then I'll hear a grunt/hollar/scream and find him like this.

...stands alone very well.

...loves his walker toy.

...and now takes about 7 or 8 steps at a time. I'd call that walking.

Happy Last Month of Infancy Mason Tinsley!

Shooting the Baby...Again

Our 9-month photo session with Two Sisters Photography

Well, I finally ordered Mason's 9 month photos...oh and his 3 month ones too {yes, I'm a Procrastinator}. In fact, I didn't mean to, but I skipped getting his 6-month photo session done altogether. I didn't even realize it until he was ~8 months and then just decided to wait until 9-months for his 3rd quarter shots.

For his 9-month session, I ran late to our photo shoot {surprise, surprise} so we only had 20 minutes for decent lighting since we opted for an outdoor session. To top it off, we had horrible weather with an overcast sky and the temperature was dropping quickly. I'm very pleased to report that despite all of these hurdles, Mason was phenomenal AND photogenic {as usual}. Of course, it didn't hurt that we had two very talented photographers to capture M's personality on camera.

www.twosisters-photography.com

www.twosisters-photography.com

www.twosisters-photography.com

Click HERE for our full photo session.

And while I was ordering the 3-month photos along with the 9-months, I became very nostalgic...and teary-eyed. Look at my Booger back in May... And then I took this one just for kicks in late December...

They grow up too fast!

*sniff sniff*

Boys Are So Tough To Buy For

Mason plays with his toys, but probably only just as much as he plays with items that are non-toys {ie chairs, cardboard boxes, paper, plastic bags...the last one only sort-of kidding}. So for Christmas, it was a challenge to figure out what to get him that would 1) have meaning as my first Christmas gift to him and 2) actually be put to use by Mason.So, I decided to start by beginning to fill his nursery bookshelves with...well BOOKS!

So I joined the Children's Book of the Month Club, and Mason now has a great beginning stash of books.

Dearest Mason Tinsley,

For your very first Christmas, I'm giving you the precious gift of children's literature, in hopes that one day you will appreciate a book {and its wonders and adventures} for more than just a chew toy.

With much love,

your boring Mommy who couldn't find a cool age-appropriate toy

Now, let's just hope that they uphold their advertising promise and DON'T send me a random book each month since I already went overboard and purchased these 12 books pictured plus I think 4 more on the way.

Bama Baby

Mason says elephants stomp squish longhorns.

It was a very tight game and Mason was on the edge of his high chair for most of the game.

But in the end, he was able to celebrate because our Bama boys brought back our National Championship title. Roll Tide!