Odd Trick of the Week

Be amazed:

Strange kid. He walks around with them on there all day, too.

God I love that baby.

Zoom Zoom

Diaper Genius

Newest trick: throwing his own diapers away.

What a smart kid - and he couldn't be prouder. I just want to know when he'll start changing them himself.

A Strange Hat

Finding this picture on my camera makes me wonder what goes on around here when I go to work

'cause those are definitely my underwear.

Protein

Mason was standing at his window today, peering out at a dog (I think. It could have been a cat or a bird or a tree or the maintenance man that he was calling a dog) when I looked over and saw him chewing. When Mason's chewing something that I didn't give him to eat, it's usually a fuzz ball or a penny and I do the finger swoop, extracting the object from his mouth. This time, though, I didn't feel anything. I crossed my fingers that he didn't swallow a nickle... and then, he stuck out his tongue. That's when I saw the wing.

And legs.

And oh my gosh, is that an eyeball??

Half a chewed up fly.

Quite possibly the worst act of baby grossness yet. And Mase didn't even flinch. Joe Rogan would be proud.

What's Worse Than Skinned Knees?

Well, Mason's running now, full time. He hardly ever crawls anymore.

Personally, I liked it when he crawled. Crawling keeps babies close to the ground, where there's little chance they can be hurt. It's tough to trip while you're getting around on all fours. But now, every little wobbly baby step that kid takes makes me hold my breath. I swear some days I don't breathe at all because I'm too busy crossing my fingers that he won't fall.

Yesterday morning, when we went downstairs to get the mail, I turned my back on him for one second. Seriously, one second. I put the key in the mailbox and heard his maraca land on the ground. I spun around just in time to see him fall to his knees. He landed on the cement, but he was fine. No blood. No crying. Great. Crisis averted.

Before I could get over to him to pick him up off the ground, though, he lost his balance. Still on his knees, he did a slow motion face plant onto the concrete. Cue screams.



A skinned chin. Definitely worse than skinned knees. Ouch. Poor Mase.

Adventures in Self-Feeding

Who says you can't eat yogurt with a fork? Or, heck, your fingers? Mase won't stand for me trying to feed him with a spoon anymore, unless I trick him into thinking he's doing it and he's even getting too smart for that. So... I let him do it. Self-feeding 101 with Mason:

And hey, if you're having trouble trying to get the yogurt into your mouth, there's always the direct route to your stomach - bowl and all:

Amusement

When I was little, Bland's Park seemed so big. Huge. I remember running - shoelaces untied and hair in shambles - from Space Odyssey over to the wooden roller coaster; that run took days and left me laughing and winded. I was there today. It's fifty yards, maybe.

The ponies and the ferris wheel are gone, but everything else looks exactly the same... only smaller. Good thing Mase is small, or I would have sworn the world shrunk or I grew or something equally as crazy happened when I stepped out of the car this afternoon.

After a quick lunch, we hit up the kiddie rides. Mason, who has ridden on nothing but my shoulders while I pretend to be a kangaroo, was unsure about his first ever amusement park ride - the boats.

It took about 2.5 laps (about 16 seconds) for Mase to smile.

After the boats, he was an old pro. He rode Dumbo (by himself!):


the Ninja Turtle roller coaster:


the Dizzy Dragons:

the firetruck:


and the old cars, which were his favorite, by far:

Oh, and the carousel, of course:

After the rides, we headed over to the water park. We'd been there before - a few weeks ago with Aimee and Madelynn - but Mase wasn't walking yet so I had to carry him around the water. Today though, the kid wanted to go. He wanted to run and swim and slide whether I was ready or not. So that's what we did.

I must be crazy, because I can't wait until he's old enough to beg me for cotton candy. Do they make sugar-free cotton candy?

Both Literally and Figuratively

Gerber Graduates Freeze-Dried Strawberries and Bananas make a huge mess when dumped all over the carpet.


And Mase didn't just dump them on the floor. Nope, that wouldn't have been fun at all. He grabbed the open bag from the bottom and shook, creating a snowstorm of little square banana pieces and bright pink strawberry powder.

Do parents ever stop cleaning up their kid's messes? I'm about 99% sure my parents would answer 'no'.

In Between

When I came home from work on my break today, Mason wasn't walking. He was running. I went in the bedroom to change and he practically ran down the entire length of the hall towards me. It's still wobbly, hands-in-front-for-balance, zombie-style movement... but it's different now. Before today, he could walk if he wanted to, but he'd much rather crawl. He wasn't crawling today. I wanted to cry. I fall asleep and one night and bam! he's a big kid.

Anyway, we all had tacos for lunch and George decided it'd be a good idea to give Mason a bite of his taco - complete with jalapeno hot sauce. Seconds after taking a bite Mase burst into tears, rubbed his tongue with his hands, and frantically signed "water" and "milk" and I'm sure he would have signed "my mouth's on fire" had he known how. He dropped to the floor, crawled over to where I was sitting on the couch, and curled up into my lap. Instantly, he was my baby again. Just like that.

I guess he doesn't have to be a big kid all the time. Thank god.

A New Park

We found a new park today, but more importantly, Mason can walk around parks now. Which is great for many reasons - one being that the farther away from the ground he is, the less wood chips he eats.

Anyway, this new park, it doesn't just have a duck to ride like the other park. This one has a seahorse.

We may have to walk the extra half-mile more often... just for the seahorse.

So Happy Together

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you

for all my life ♥

When you're with me

baby the skies will be blue, for all my life.

Two 4ths

Last year:

This year:

Wow.

The 4th

I begged and I pleaded for someone to take my shift at work last night. I had to get home to my dad's Fourth of July party. Had to. How could I be at work knowing that the entire country was celebrating while I was serving glorified spaghetti to the three people who actually eat at Olive Garden on the Fourth of July. It seemed hopeless though. Who in the world was going to take the shift that no one wants?

I don't know, but somehow, I found someone. Mason and I were Morrisdale bound. I couldn't have been happier.

I'm not sure if I mentioned Mase's third (fourth? third.) word. It's dog. He loves dogs and he loves pointing them out and saying "dawwww" which is, quite obviously, Mason Talk for dog. When we got to my dad's yesterday afternoon, he was beyond thrilled to meet my beagle, Boomer.

(I'm now convinced we need to get this baby a puppy.)

He rocked. Alone and with grandpa:



He hung out with his cousin, Haylie:



When the party started, and my dad's yard was full of thirty people Mason didn't know, he allowed himself to be passed around without any complaints. He also did everything I did, including four-wheeler riding:

And trampoline jumping:

Much to my disappointment, he crashed just before the fireworks... but not before eating three meatballs, four perogies, a few bites of hotdog, and half a watermelon. Oh well. There's always next year.