Mason and His Farm Animals

We're still working on growing his vocabulary daily, but this child definitely loves his farm animals. Here he is "reading" one of his favorite books.

Dancing for Maw

Last Thursday we went to visit Scott's grandmother, Maw. Mason played peek-a-boo with "Dog-gu" before our trip.

We were excited to spend time with Maw! And then of course he had to show off his dance skills... Funny, funny boy! I think Maw enjoyed our company and Mason loves his Maw!

He even invented a new dance for her...I've never seen this one before. I didn't get a very good video of it because Maw and I couldn't stop laughing {which only encouraged Mason to stop and laugh too} but he basically bows over and scrunches up his shoulders and shimmies from side to side. Oh my sweet and ridiculously SILLY Mason!

The Toddler Escapes

Yesterday he learned how to climb into his crib to turn the musical aquarium on...then of course he realized he could just as easily climb out of it. Then last night when I needed a break and put him in the pack n' play with Daddy, of course he figures out how to climb out of it {and it's slightly higher than his crib height too}.

There's no containing this Holy Terror!

A Budding Sense of Humor

Mason has become quite our little house jester.

Scott played this YouTube clip of an Indian Midget Dancing for Mason several times {Click HERE or you can cut & paste this link to your http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq--g4zIuNA}. Daddy jokingly {and endearingly} calls Mason the "little Indian midget" because of how often our shirtless little child dances.

Well apparently, Mason's learned a new dance trick...and he joked with us tonight. He'll play an upbeat tune for a wild-man dance, and then towards the end of the song he freezes right before it turns off. This may not make much sense unless you watch the YouTube video, but while I don't see how the "Indian Midget Dance" is humorous, I find my son's imitation hilarious!

Christmas From Pottery Barn

Mason loves playing with boxes, just as much if not more than the toys themselves. He can't yet say "Merry Christmas" but enjoys a jolly round of "Ho Ho Ho" while holding his belly. We're still working on the hard stuff...16 days to go!

I wonder if he'll ever try to box up Sweet Pea...

Bowling Alley

Good grief this child is the center of his own universe. And Gigi and Grandadder (well and Mommy and Daddy) don't help much to deter these thoughts either...

Mason invented a game with the bowling pins and balls where he takes claps 2 pins together, rallies everyone else to gather around him and emulate his rhythm and then upon Maestro Mason's cue, we all release the pins to the little guys delight and to our ears' detriment.

I wonder if he'd try this with real bowling pins...

Rock That Body

Stalling Bedtime

Mason likes to stall his bedtime. Every. Single. Night. And for some reason he decided to act like a little baby here too. Silly goose!

Shake It...for Gigi

I know M has become a video/photo-attention-monger...but this was late one night after he woke up at midnight, wide-awake and wanting to boogie down rather than sleep. I think I have a little night owl on my hands...

PS and for those of you who catch the reference...is this an early sign of Jersey "fist pumping"? Haha!

Little Drummer Boy

Percussionist in the making...

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

Well I wish I were called "Mellow" {I think I was much more mellow before becoming a Mommy}. Check out this little guy who turns my world upside-down...AND I wouldn't have it any other way!

And well, in reference to Yellow, it's Mason's favorite color. Seriously. He repeatedly shows interest in this particular crayon. He'll throw the others to break them into pieces, but for some reason he's treasured his yellow crayon. And rightly so:

Rock On with your bad SUNshiney self, my sweet YELLOW child =)

"I'm just mad about Saffron...She's just mad about me...They call me Mellow Yellow"

M's Monday Morning Meal

Mason's getting much better about eating with his utensils. Now if only his mommy would give him more practice...it's just that he gets terribly messy!

He's such a fickle toddler- lately he's been wanting BABY FOOD rather than regular food...seriously. And then sometimes he actually wants me to spoon-feed him rather than he feed himself. So weird! And then there are days, like today when he wants to do everything himself. He's such a picky and moody eater now!

But I think we're doing pretty good about getting the correct food groups and portions in each day. If you check out his ridiculously fat thunder thighs, you can clearly see that this little boy isn't starving.

Mason's Monday Morning Memorial Meal...brought to you today by the letter "M"

The Run Around

Mason always seems to give me the run around =) So this is why I'm worn out at the end of the day...

P.S. He kept looking up because he was amused by his reflection in the skylights. This video was taken at nighttime...he's like the Energizer Bunny!

Half Week

We've had a busy week so far. I've been blessed to get to spend a lot more one-on-one with Mason during the week, have a good time management system down for balancing getting hours in, AND have some great "irons in the fire" and it's only week #2 {praise God!}. But enough of the boring stuff and onto our week so far:

___________________________________

MONDAY

Coloring a picture for Gigi & Grandadder

He's a Picasso in progress...
Check out that work of art! And then we took a stroll to the neighborhood playground and he conquered the tall spiral slide and the tall jungle gym too:

TUESDAY

I had a busy day "work"-wise and interview-wise, but Mason and I were still able to spend the morning goofing off.

He LOVES rocking it out! {yes, excuse that 2nd nasty look he gives me at the beginning, like he's saying "Mommy, you're interrupting me jamming"} It's so funny at the end when he really gets going, but I had to stop videoing because he grabbed for the laptop- an excited toddler with expensive electronics is not a good combination.

WEDNESDAY

Well, so far today we've eaten breakfast, chased each other around the house, watched some Disney Playhouse {well while Mommy worked & made calls}, read a book, built a block tower, zoomed on our car, and Mason's been showing off and giggling. Pretty good day so far! We'll be running errands until he takes his nap now {I need to wear him out!}.

Bathtime Routine

Mason is so smart. Here he is at bathtime {notice how he gets tickled looking at the camera at the beginning...cracks me up!}.

He knows that bathtime means he's supposed to:

• turn the tub over and move it under the running water...
• then he checks the water temperature to make sure it's comfortable...
• he wets his washrag and squeezes excess water out...
• and then when the tub is filled he takes his rinsing pail and fills that up too.

PS Yes, the camera adds 10...errr 20 lbs.

Dancing with the Stars

Mommy Confession:

Ok, so don't call the Mommy Police, but I often wheel Mason into the living room for suppertime and we have TV dinners {awful I know, but not bad enough or I suppose I would have stopped this by now}. It's typically more for my benefit as Mason can take 30-45 minutes grazing at his dinner plate {and I don't necessarily want to buy a TV for the kitchen...again, awful I know}.

I've noticed that Mason enjoys both music and dancing...particularly fast-paced music. Last night I caught him doing the Egyptian head-bob, waving his right arm in the air while watching Dancing with the Stars. HILARIOUS!

{Did you notice he's got rhythm already!?!}

Mighty Warrior

You can make bugs out of gourds.

You can make a castle out of cardboard.

And you can make a warrior out of a toddler...just by giving him a yard stick:

Winding Down with a {Milk} Nightcap

Around here "Winding Down" typically ends up with Mace being "wound up."

Tonight, after our usual bedtime routine beginnings {bathtime, short playtime, bottle, book, rocking/singing, crib.} Mason was particularly enthused as I asked him if he liked his milk nightcap shaken or stirred. There's something about the word "shaken" that tickled him so much he fell hitting his head on the tile BUT he was too busy laughing to even notice. This video is after the fall {notice the bonk on his noggin'} and he started to get a little fussy as I took his bottle away from him so I could record the silliness. But silly laughs still abound!

How Much Is That Doggie In the Window

We went to go visit Baby Sophia Grace again this past weekend. She's 2 weeks old and her Mommy & Daddy are doing great!

They even gifted Mason a special barking puppy toy...Mason can't get enough of this little toy and I'm afraid we may very well have to become dog owners in the next 5 years or so.

Saturday was sunny and beautiful so Aunt Mary and Uncle Josh took Baby Sophie out for her first walk. Mason was so proud to show her off.
Sophie enjoyed that gorgeous outting and Mason kept watch over her to make sure she was okay.

There she is- my long and skinny niece! She is such a pretty baby too. Her skin is clear and that head of hair shows some serious signs of future ringlets {like her mommy has naturally}.
And then of course Mason was able to sneak in some good Aunt Mary time {since he has that major crush on her an all...}

PS doesn't she look fab for just having a baby 2 weeks prior?

And then it was just so pretty outside that Mason had to run all over the place. We tried out the park, but there were lots of big kids running around {pushing hazard!}

So I just took Mason out to a field and he ran around for an hour straight. I thought it'd wear him out, but he wore me out first!

And as hard as I tried, the one photo where we're both looking at my camera phone, a gust of wind blew my hair up and over my face *sigh*

I took a video of Mason's strange behavior at the park. I thought he was being a bear or a monster, but then after Gigi's review she suggested he was copying his toy dog who barks...it's hilarious because he's copying exactly what the little dog does:

"Aarrrf Aarrf" (emphatic barking while moving his whole body)

*pause* (moving lips with no sound)

"Aarrrf Aarrf"...

REPEAT

Funny little guy!

Stepping Down

Mason demonstrates how he transports himself from the 2nd floor to the 1st. I will warn you the videography is a little lacking; however I needed to stay very close below in case he started to tumble. Safety First!

And yes, this is the same morning as {HERE} that's why he's missing his pants.