8.16.2012

Little Brother is ONE YEAR OLD

I wrote about Mason's birthday, and wrote a "Happy First Birthday" letter to him, but I wanted to write a little bit about what Mason is like these days.

And that needed a post of it's own.

Let me tell ya. He is one crazy crazy little boy.

He is the sweetest little boy. He will give you cuddles and smiles, and wiggle his way in to your heart in a matter of minutes. He is a charmer, for sure.


But once he's there, in your heart, and has you (and me) wrapped around his chubby little fingers (which he will, because he's irresistible), you are in for a treat.

He is very opinionated. If he doesn't like something, he will let you know. And he will turn his head, arch his back, squirm and wriggle until he can get away from whatever thing it is that you think he needs to do that he insists he doesn't.


Which lately has included holding still for pictures.

This is not laughter, he is literally screaming at me.

But the thing about little Maser is that even in his most obstinate moments, he is still so lovable. One flash of that toothy grin will do you in.


He is saying a couple of words: dada, (for Daddy) and jaja (Jasper). He also makes a inhale-type of sound when he wants a drink or sees a puppy. Which is so weird, because Maddox used to do the exact same noise, but hasn't in a couple of months.


He loves bath time, and when we say "bath time!" He runs straight to the bathroom all on his own.

He understands "No no". But understand does not usually equal obey.

He understands the words: Hungry, Mama, Maddox, Daddy, Bye Bye and will look at/react accordingly.


He is really into mimicking right now, with sounds and movements and expressions.

He is starting to become more interested in communicating, playing quietly, and reading books more recently, but for the most part he is a very physical little boy. And this is where most of his rascally tendencies come in to play.


There is no piece of furniture that he cannot climb in our home. At 12 months. He can climb everything.


Stairs, chairs, the couch, beds, ottomans, tables, into laundry baskets, into toy boxes. At the park he can climb practically everything. People are constantly amazed that he is only 12 months old.

 
I have been teaching him how to get back down, which he learned pretty quickly, and now is usually able to get himself out of whatever predicament he got himself into.


The other day I was standing at the stove cooking dinner, and Mason was playing in a nearby cupboard, pulling out all of the Tupperware. I heard his help-I've-climbed-and-I-can't-get-down whine, assuming he was sitting in the cupboard, I tried to coax him to climb out, but didn't go to him. He persisted with his help-me whine, so I look in the open cupboard to see what's wrong. Not only is he in the cupboard, but he is in the cupboard and on top of a teeny little shelf at the back of the cupboard, in a nook literally not more than 12 inches high.

That kid.


Another time, he jumped. Like both feet off of the ground at the same time. That isn't even physically possible for his age.

One of his favorite pastimes, currently, is going to Maddox's room and standing on the train table. Probably 5 times a day I have to get him from the train table. And if there is a track on it, hurricane Mason can be counted on to destroy it.


He loves to do headstands. He puts his head on the floor, sometimes his hands and sometimes not, and looks between his legs. I think he just likes the way the world looks upside down.

He can run. Well not quite, but he can walk with lightening speed. If there was a race-walking competition for 1 year olds, he would blow them all out of the water.

He is super tough. He rarely cries when he gets a boo boo. I am sure it comes from all the roughing up Maddox has done to him over the past year.


He is always excited to see Matt when he comes home from work.

He just got two molars in! That brings his total tooth count to ten. With the molars came a week of nighttime waking, but he is back to sleeping like a champ again.


He weighed 23lbs 4 oz at his checkup and was 30" tall. Right in the middle (50th percentile) for both.

He is wearing size 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.


He loves the vacuum cleaner and the dishwasher (moth to a flame).

He loves to dance, clap his hands, and give high-fives.

He also loves to hit. Mostly Maddox or other babies, and mostly on the head. As Maddox would say he's a "steenter" (stinker).


He also loves to whack me on the chest as hard as he can when he's nursing. It's just lovely.


He is nursing about 4 times a day still, in the morning, at nap time, bed time and usually once in the afternoon. He eats lots of table food, and still some purees. He is really loving prunes at the moment.

He will only eat a banana if its a whole banana (that I let him bite off of). If I cut it up he won't touch it.

He adores sweet potatoes.


He hates wearing shoes.

He loves puppies, is starting to notice (and point at) airplanes.

He loves the water, whether at bath time, at a splash pad or at the beach. He has no fear.

Generally he is more interested in learning new physical feats than social ones, but he has started to wave bye-bye.


He hates having a dirty diaper. Maddox has never minded a dirty diaper and would never complain until I noticed that he had one. Mason immediately comes to me and will cry or bite me to alert me that he needs to be changed right now.

He still picks up everything piece of who-knows-what. Sometimes he will give it to me, but more often than not it goes into his mouth.


Sometimes, when he is really sleepy, he babbles quietly to himself until he falls asleep. It's pretty sweet.

He loves to look at books with me. It's funny because Maddox only just started to like reading books.

He and Maddox are best buddies right now. They fight and bicker, but you will never find one without the other.

He is still the cutest little guy. Even with the amount of mischief he creates, I just adore him. I am so thankful for his little spirit. I can not imagine life without him. He just fits us perfectly.


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