See You Next Year

I put Mason in his highchair today and gave him some toys to play with while I made a sandwich for me and some apples for him. He proceded to fling the toys off the tray and giggle while I ran around picking them up and putting them back on the tray. I think it was then when he realized that the toys don't just disappear when he throws them. They still exist... they just go somewhere else.

For a good ten minutes after that first time, he'd throw his toys down, peep down at them, laugh, and wait for me to pick them up so he could start the process all over again.

It's so amazing, watching him learn.

In sixteen minutes, it will be 2009. This morning, I watched the fireworks in Sydney, Australia as they brought in the new year over there. I teared up, and I wasn't sure why, but I've been in a strange mood all day. Now, when I tell someone he was born on May 25th, 2008, that will be last year. Time's flying, and it's as sad and as scary as it is amazing and exciting. I really do believe that Mason's helping me learn and grow just as much as I'm helping him. He learned that his toys don't disappear when he throws them and I (almost!) learned that change isn't always a bad thing... 2008 isn't just going to disappear. Mason's first seven months will be forever in my memory (and in approximately eighteen hundred pictures).

Happy New Year, Mase. I have no idea what comes next, but I'm ready for anything. You'll be loved just as much in 2009.

Fancy Pants

Among the many gifts that Mason got for Christmas this year was a Kenneth Cole Reaction outfit that included a button up shirt, cordoroys, and a pleather jacket. I can't imagine how much that outfit cost, nor do I want to think about someone spending that much money on something Mason's going to poop on, but oh my gosh, is that thing cute. I have no idea when Mason's going to wear it but it's still too big, so perhaps by the time he fits into it we'll have somewhere fancy to go.

Anyway, I promised my aunt and uncle I'd send them some pictures of him in it, so I gave it a whirl this morning.

It didn't start to go really badly, though, until I put on the jacket.

I snapped a couple pictures for my uncle and stripped him down as fast as I could. I figured he just needed a nap, but as soon as I got his regular clothes on him, he was back to his old, smiley self.

I guess he's just not a dress up kinda guy.

Socks

This apartment is still in post-Christmas shambles. There are toys everywhere, needles are falling off the tree at an alarming rate, and it's all made ten times worse because I decided to pick today to clean out our storage closet. Oh yeah, and it was laundry day.

Laundry drives me crazy. I'm fine with getting it all together, separated into piles, and starting the first load. I can usually even remember to switch it in and out all day. But that last load usually stays in the dryer for a week, until I start the whole process over again and realize it's still in there. Today, in my decluttering frenzy, all I managed to do was take the load of darks from last week out of the dryer, throw them on the couch to wait for them to magically fold themselves, and wash, dry, and fold Mason's clothes.

There's only one thing I like about doing laundry.

Matching Mason's teeny pairs of socks.

One Last Time

Today, while I worked, Mason spent the day with his grandparents, his aunt Michele, and his cousin Nya. If he didn't get enough toys before, he most definitely has enough toys now.

We've now seen all the family, and what this means is that Christmas is over. There is one more gift that I'm getting Mase after rent's paid, but all the family visiting, present opening, and wrapping paper chewing is over 'til next year. We survived the holidays without a scratch.

All in all, I wouldn't have changed a thing. It was a great first Christmas, and I'm sure Mason would agree.

I Think He Likes It!

I gave the whole solid food thing a lot of thought. We skipped over the rice cereal completely. Yes grandma, WIC lady, and stranger in the baby section at Walmart, I know, "he'll sleep through the night if you give him cereal before bed". If you ate a pound of pasta before bed, you'd sleep well too, but I don't like the idea of filling up his little belly with something that has basically no nutritional value just so I can get some sleep.

I would have made a bet that Mason would love solid food, especially since we skipped over the weird cereal stuff and went straight for the real food. In any case, I'm glad I didn't bet because I would have lost. Maybe it's too early to make that call though. So far all he's had is sweet potatoes, bananas, and apples. All fresh and organic and mashed up just for him. He hasn't been crazy about any of it. He hasn't hated it, but I haven't seen him jumping for joy over anything either.

The other day he tried apples. We'd bought two and baked them, added some cinnamon, cut them into chunks, and froze them. I tried mashing them into applesauce. Eh. He ate a few bites without giving much of a reaction and proceeded to blow applesauce raspberries all over me. Lovely.

Then this afternoon, I tried this:

It's a little mesh net that you put fruit in. I put two frozen apple chunks in that thing and let Mase go to town. The frozen cubes must have felt good on his gums (I really think those teeth are going to come in soon!) and he seemed to really like the taste, too. After the cubes thawed though,it got a little messy, so he got naked.

He ended up with sticky apple juices down his belly, all over his hands, and in his hair. He loved every minute of it.

Grinch Baby

Well, I guess the holidays wouldn't really be complete without that three hour car ride and my big, loud, crazy family. Although I managed to keep Christmas day quiet and relaxing, I couldn't save Mason from the circus that anxiously waited for him in Forty Fort.

Mase stayed awake the entire ride there, save the last ten minutes of course. He fell asleep as we got into town, and was woken up as soon as the car stopped. It was only eleven o'clock and still quiet when we got there; the only people there were my grandparents, my brother, Krissy, Haylie, and my cousin Ben. Mason played on the floor and let my grandma hold him for awhile without protesting before I took him up for a nap. He slept for about twenty minutes and woke up still grumpy. I reluctantly brought him down into the craziness. Twenty people now convened in my grandma's living room. Twenty people who talk LOUD including four hyperactive kids and a grandpa who needs to have the tv cranked up to a deafening level even when no one's watching it.

Mason went crazy.

Sometimes it's really hard being Mom. The majority of the time, I really feel like I have it all under control. Mason's always happy, he's healthy, and he's well taken care of. Other times, however few and far between those times may be, I feel like I'm twelve years old, still a baby myself, taking care of a baby. At my grandma's house, surrounded by moms who've been moms for fourteen years, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. Mason was over-stimulated, over-tired, and just plain over Christmas. Everyone wanted to hold him and he didn't want anyone but me. He burst into tears if someone so much as looked in his direction. I could practically hear the mental critiques of my mommying running through their minds.

I know I'm not doing it all wrong - they might not have even been thinking that - but I wanted everyone to see what a happy-go-lucky, fun, smiley baby Mason is. He's not usually this grumpy Grinch baby, bah-humbugging on everyone's Christmas fun, and I needed them all to know that.

Just when I was about to give up on the day, things turned completely around. We were supposed to leave at six and were just about ready to head out when, at about five fifty-five, Mason miraculously morphed back into Happy Baby and decided he'd let my aunt Shirley hold him.

And then my brother.

And then pretty much anyone else who wanted him.

He even opened some of his presents, played with them, and posed for pictures by the tree with Haylie.




We ended up staying until seven so everyone could have a little time to enjoy Mason's company... and then I had to practically pry him out of their hands. Even though I know everyone loves him regardless of his mood (and I'll admit, even I feel like curling up in a ball and screaming sometimes as a direct result of too much time with the family), I was so thankful that Mase decided to have that one hour of happiness before we left. That last hour completely made the trip worthwhile.

Christmas Cheer

Christmas went just how I hoped it would. Calm and quiet. No three hour drives, no missed naps, no grumpy baby. Mason was happy, excited, and smiley the entire day. He opened every gift (except maybe the last two or three), chewed on every ribbon, bow, and piece of wrapping paper (no exceptions), and loved everything that he got.

It'd be impossible to have a less than perfect Christmas with Mase around.

Do You Believe in Magic?

I do.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

I really wanted to come up with a Christmas Eve tradition for Mason... something that we can do every year with him. Something for him to look forward to. We started it last night - one present to open before bed on Christmas Eve and it will always be the same thing. Actually, it'll be two presents, but they go together.

Note: There are about fifty pictures of Mason opening just these two presents. I quickly learned that even though a baby opening a present takes about eighty times as long as it does for an adult, it's a million times cuter. I'll skip the other forty-seven pictures and cut to the chase though, since I don't have much time. I'm sure Mase will only nap for twenty minutes and it's already been fifteen.

He got - jammies

and a book (one of Mommy's favorites).

When he started getting sleepy, he took his Christmas Eve bath (which is really similar to a regular bath except I sang The Twelve Days of Christmas [all messed up and backwards, I'm sure] instead of the skunk song and the ABCs).

He got into his new jammies and we snuggled up and read a little bit of The Polar Express.

What a perfect tradition to start. Merry Christmas.

Round One

This afternoon, Mason spent some time with his grandpa,

and Kim,

and got a really small rocking chair.

But he mostly just chewed on the wrapping paper:

Fruity

Mason was up until midnight last night practicing yet another new skill. What could it possibly be now, you ask? Raspberries. Boy, are they fun. I brought him into bed with me when he woke up for the millionth time at ten o'clock and tried to cuddle him until he fell asleep. He'd get really quiet and when I thought he was sleeping, I'd shut my eyes only to be awoken by a drool shower and "thhhhpppp!" followed by an onslaught of baby giggles and babbles. It was actually pretty cute for awhile.

Here's Mason's raspberry makin' faces. I was unable to capture the spit bubbles that are an inevitable result of the raspberries, but I'll work on that.

And speaking of fruit:
Mmm.. banana bread.

Up and At 'Em

This afternoon, I put Mason on his butt in his crib while I straightened up his room and found some clothes for him to wear. He was in there for about thirty seconds before he ended up like this:

Now, aside from the fact that he's looking at me like "Mom, how dare you take a picture of me in my diaper!", notice that he's not on his butt anymore. He got onto his knees. By himself. I swear he's thisclose to being able to pull himself up to stand on his own which is equally scary and exciting.

I guess it's probably time to put the matress down a couple notches. We all know Mason doesn't like to sleep, and the last thing I need is him catapulting himself out of his crib in the middle of the night when he decides he'd rather play instead.

Although he could always just gnaw his way out.