12 (Gah!) Months of Mason

 

To coin a familiar phrase: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." But we made it. Mason is one and I can't believe it! The year flew and the year dragged. Our emotions ebbed and flowed. And here we are, with an adorable little man we love to call Face, Mace Face, Faceman - for obvious and not so obvious reasons. Face rhymes with Mace, so that one was easy. Clearly, he's a looker, so he's the Faceman of our A-Team and it sounds like a weird take on Mason. Perhaps for these reasons, he is partial to faces. He can often be found pulling at beards, inserting his fingers into noses, poking eyes with gusto and slapping faces left and right. Lay down near him and he will facepalm you with every ounce of strength he possess in his tiny, adorable being. And it's hard to stay made at a Face like that.

He, quite literally, is the most handsome boy I have ever laid eyes on. People left and right tell me he should be the new Gerber baby and that he is the most beautiful baby they've ever seen. I quite agree, but never know what to say apart from "thanks!" Anything more than that sounds a little conceited, especially considering it's the genes I was born with. Here's a random update on the world's cutest one year old.

• He has started blowing kisses, complete with "Muah" sound, so an adorable boy has become irresistible.
• He says HI (at appropriate times), Buh-bye, Baby Ball...yes, he's all caught up on B sounds. His little voice is so darling when he's not yelling.
• Which brings me to his yelling. Constant. All the time. While he can say a couple of words, more often than not, you will find him at your feet, climbing up your leg and yelling at you to pick him up. If he wants something you're eating, something you're watching, or simply wants to be where you are, he will loudly and forcefully let you know. It would be cute if it weren't so constant.
• He bear crawls 95% of the time and it's still hilarious. He's gotten absurdly fast ("crunning") so beware when you open a door - he will be through it before you know he's there and into the toilet. Yes, the toilet. 
• Despite his demanding nature at home and abroad, he is surprisingly content in the car. We have a basket of toys next to him and a mirror in front of him and he hardly every complains. Unless I get Teagan out first, in which case he panics that he'll be forgotten and freaks out. Some people just don't learn.
• He is super ticklish and I love to grab as much as I can of his thighs (there's more than I can grasp) and squeeze which always makes him giggle.
• Whenever he's upset, a little round of "This is the way the lady rides" on your knee will more often than not solve his problem. And if one round doesn't do it, he will hold your hand, look you in the eye and bounce just to make sure you understand that he's after some more. The Grand Old Duke of York is a close second. 
• He LOVES meat. Such a carnivore. When I spread his food in front of him like a trough for barn animals, he immediately takes inventory and gobbles the meat first. He went from slightly anemic at a 9.3 a few weeks ago to a 12.7 (normal is 10-13) at his most recent doctor's visit and handled the finger pricks like a champ. I credit the former to the fact that he appears to be a carnivore and the latter to his tough guy lineage.
• He still only has two bottom teeth (really half of two bottom teeth) but he makes them work. His smile is still so delightfully gummy I forget that he's almost one. I love it.
• He is obsessed with footballs. He sees his bigger cousins tossing them around and longs to be part of the action. We've tried offering him basketballs, baseballs, whiffle balls, but it has to be a football. We went somewhere with his cousin Mike and he put his football in Mason's stroller. Mason cuddled it like a stuff animal and Mike had a hard time getting it back.
• He has just discovered the TV. It's difficult to get his attention if it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Doc McStuffins. He will lean around you if you're in his way and completely zones out - we try to limit it - it's a little disconcerting!
• Along those lines, he is in love with all things 'i'. iPads, iPhones, iPods - you can't use them within 10 feet of him or he will scream the place down. Bless Grandma's heart, she lets him "play" on hers and he just beats on it, knowing it will make things happen, but it makes things disappear, getting him worked up and frustrated. So screen time around here has to be on the sly.
• He doesn't love getting his diaper changed and will kick with both legs in a sort of breakdance style to get loose. But if I sing Taylor Swift's "We Are Never, Ever, Ever Getting Back Together" he laughs and lays still. It's bizarre.
• He uses surfaces to help him stand and then lets go - mostly to clap - and looks around the room for approval and praise. If you're not clapping, you'd better start.
• He got up to standing on his own on his birthday for the first time (that I'd seen.)

He's exhausting in the best way possible. He craves attention and thanks to our recent move to be near 13 cousins, 6 aunts and uncles, and 2 grandparents, he hardly ever comes up short. It's when it's just Teagan, he and I that he gets a lesson in sharing the spotlight. And that's my one year old in a nutshell. A really cute nutshell with platinum hair and dimples.