Mason made it to 2!

Mason. Mason, Mason, Mason.

Sorry if that seemed excessive - it's just refreshing to see it quietly printed and not yelled. He gets that a lot. Mostly because his mission in life is to destroy every earthly thing I care about - he was sent to humble me and remind me what's important. If you watch him (which someone always has to be) you will see the wheels turning while you're cleaning up his most recent mess; he's already looking for something else to knock over, rip, or otherwise damage. It's funny to sit and write about it - less so when you're living it. There's a lot of truth to the "mothers of sons work from son up to son down" saying. He even stresses me out when he's asleep! But between random acts of violence and terror, I catch a glimpse of a sweet, smart, kind little boy who's as handsome as he is destructive.

Everywhere we go, people comment on how adorable he is - those cheeks, big baby blues, the platinum hair, that cheeky grin. And it's all true. He can be an absolute terror and an absolute delight within seconds of one another. You never quite know who you're going to get in the morning until he wakes up - singing or screaming and then you know how your day is going to go. He's smart as a whip and knows how to use a smart phone better than most adults. It's quite scary, actually.

His birthday (like Teagan's the week before) was on a Sunday, so we decided to open a present or two before church. Sans trousers, apparently. When one has a knack for trouble as keen as this young man, one does not put one's Sunday best on until absolutely necessary.

For the first time in a long time, he didn't scream bloody murder as we entered the church's car park. A birthday miracle!

We opted for cake and ice cream at Grandma & Grandpa's with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Grandma hit another home run this year with a phenomenal birthday cake, perfectly suited for Mr. Mason who is obsessed with Baymax at the moment. And having craved attention since the day he was born, was in heaven with a whole chorus singing Happy Birthday in his direction. It was perfect for him.  

His cheeks are just so kissable, they're hard to resist. When I can catch him, smooching those gigantic cheeks has been one of my favourite parts of the last two years.

Happy Birthday Mason! May your third year not harangue me to within a millimeter of insanity so we can celebrate with more balloons, streamers and unadulterated attention next year. Love you, Faceman!

Man alive, Teagan's Five!

In typical me fashion, I envisioned something fun and creative I planned for Teagan going a certain way and it went in another direction. While the birthday countdown chain was well-intentioned and entertaining at first, apparently it started a smidge too soon. We ended up forgetting about it for a while and were removing several links at a time a few times in October. And while it felt like it would go on forever when we started, the day came all too soon and Teagan turned 5!

I snuck into her room on the eve of her birthday (my favourite part of the day lately) and just watched my four year old sleep for a few minutes. She has the sweetest face, particularly when she sleeps.

I only decorated a bit - balloons, homemade banners and old photos - but it was enough.

The first thing she wanted to do when she woke up was measure her height to see if she'd grown now that she was 5. It was darling.

The second thing she did was help me make cupcakes to celebrate one of my Beehives' birthdays. Without complaint, I might add. I was very proud of her unselfish attitude and her being able to think of someone else before herself. 

We saved her a cupcake and then made the traditional, diabetic coma-inducing birthday pancakes. So much sugar it's ridiculous. Makes for a fun day.

We opened a present before church and saved the others for afterward. She was incredibly patient about it - a trend I hope continues in her 6th year.

We gathered the family (no small feat) at Grandma & Grandpa's for ice cream and cake. Beautiful cake. (Thanks, Grandma!)

We started singing Happy Birthday and didn't make it a few words in before she began to blow out her candles. Apparently the four birthdays previous weren't practice enough. It was kind of adorable. And so is she.

And not one to pass over sugar of any kind, or have the spotlight on anyone else for too long, Mason got a headstart on Teagan's cake. Truth be told, Grandma knew it would happen and made a practice cake. Not her first rodeo - always thinking. It was actually a bit of deja vu from when Teagan sampling a friend's cake a couple of years ago on the sly when she was just a few months older than Mason. Cake sampling in the genes, I guess.

 She is incredibly strong willed, which of course is wonderful when we're getting along or she wants to do what is being asked of her. We have a fair amount of power struggles and she is teaching me patience and how to choose which battles to fight. Heaven knows I have plenty to choose from! She is amazingly creative and artistic and I'm constantly in awe of her abilities. She's always drawing, painting, writing and illustrating books and asking for us to help her write the words. She's very bright - and that's not just me saying so, my friend who has her for preschool once a week has mentioned to me how well she picks things up. She's blossoming into a beautiful little girl, happy to share, always thinking of others and ready to play. Too ready to play at times - I'm afraid I'm not as good at imagining things as I used to be. She's constantly begging for me to play with her, which involves me "pretending" to be a mum 99% of the time. So in more ways than one, she's teaching me how to be a mum. I'll have to read her latest book "When I'm a Mum..." for some insider tips and tricks. Love this amazing little 5 year old of mine!

Where Are They Now? (Little Richardses Edition)

Lately...
TEAGAN

Teagan is Teagan. She is hot and cold, up and down, sweet and sour and I love her for it. If ever she senses that I'm exasperated or frustrated with her, she runs over and says "Mum, I just want to hug you." I stormed out of her bedroom the other night because I couldn't remember a time before I'd started putting her to bed and I just couldn't be nice anymore. A soft "Mom?" from the dark of her room and I snarled "WHAT?!" as I slumped back in one last time. "I just wanted to give you a hug" and she sat up and extended her arms and gave me the best, warmest hug ever. And didn't stop until I let go. It made me melt and taught me that I need to be more patient with this tender little soul.
She's incredibly bright and inquisitive and asks so many insightful questions that I wind up having to say "I don't know" a lot more than I'd like to. She's incredibly helpful when she wants to be and is often asking for jobs and I'm trying to be better about letting her help and being okay with a job that looks like it's been done by a 4 year old. She is learning a lot in Primary and from our scripture reading and surprises me all the time with her gospel knowledge and all the things that "Jesus made me to do" like not be sleepy. She knows almost all the letters and a lot of the sounds too. We are sounding out basic words and her rhyming is getting a little more accurate.
She's an amazing little artist and I will need to dedicate a room to all of her artwork as I can't bear to throw it away. She has real talent when it comes to drawing and writing and can be very critical of herself and her artwork, telling me it doesn't look cute enough and other such ridiculousness. I need to compliment more and criticize less, as I'm sure she has learned it from me. Nothing's sounds scarier than something you regret saying coming out of your child's mouth.
 I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that we have one more year until she starts Kindergarten and I won't see her for the better part of the day. I'm trying to do my best to imagine a scenario where I'll have the chance to miss her, because she always seems to be there. In fact, I step on her a lot because she hovers so close and I need to appreciate the fact that she wants to be near me instead of being frustrated that she's underfoot all the time. She is constantly asking me to play with her and while I try, it never seems to be the way she wants to play. I'm trying to teach her that when she plays with people other than me, she will need to make some concessions when it comes to the outcome of her role playing, but it seems a hard lesson for her to learn. I've committed to being more present and less distracted while the kids are awake and if I can just convince her to give me a half hour of alone time while Mason's asleep, that may be a lot more plausible. I love having conversations with her and often marvel at how grown up she seems already. I love my Little T.

MASON

Mason has developed quite a personality and is just now becoming able to express it in a more productive way than screaming and grunting - though he usually ends up doing a lot of that too. He's a talker. At just shy of 18 months, you will find him running around saying one or more of the following:

-a bite
-pease (often pronounced beedo. Yes, it's weird. I will have to warn the Nursery leaders at church.)
-nana, treat, nack, apple, bottle, moke, i geek {ice cream}...lots of foods, really
-belly
-butt (belly button - which makes it slightly more appropriate when we ask him to show us his butt)
-ella (outside or Ella Elephant on Disney - weird options, I know)
-bubble {Bubble Guppies}
-mimi {either Minnie Mouse or Mason (me)}
-titi {Teagan}

-papa {Grandpa}
-Peppa {Peppa Pig}
-food (he wanders around, signing food and if he isn't noticed right away, starts to say it in a super whiny voice with sad eyes - people are going to wonder if we feed him)
-yide {slide}
-babba {Jabba the Hutt}, Lando, PO {C3PO}, D2
-jeejee {Jesus or GG}
-pop ({G-Pop)}
-ya yu {love you}
-tita (teeth - he asks to brush his teeth whenever you pass the bathroom)
-binky
-MOM (always yelled)
-daddy
-jacob, mike, melia, ty, jaja, emma, ben, parker, jack, (cousins), matt, bippy {Tiffy}, Ta, Shawn (aunts & uncles) we are working on my side of the family while my sister works on a cousin for my side of the family ;)
-car
-beep beep
-mah nah {Mah Nah Mah Nah - a Muppets song}
-patole {Paw Patrol}
-football
-up
-animal sounds: moo, snort, meow, arf
-pay (play on a phone or iPad - the boy is obsessed) or pray 

He really is very vocal and quite bright for his age, which can be both frustrating and adorable. We've sent him into nursery at church a few times at the request of the leaders (bless their hearts) and I'm told that he can't contain his excitement when there are bubbles around and that when the music leader asked the children what they'd like to sing (most likely expecting a Primary song) he yelled Mah Nah. Like he does every time we get into the car and every time the song is over. He knows exactly when to chime in with "mah nah mah nah" when you sing the other part. It's a little big darling. By the way, the sweetheart music leader said "I know that song!" and they proceeded to sing it. Good women there. 

Every time we sit down for a meal, without fail, Mason reminds us to pray by yelling "Pay!" and holding both hands directly under his chin in what can only be described as a pose from the Glamour Shots playbook and squeezing his beautiful blue eyes closed as hard as he can. I'll admit there are times I forget to bless the food, so I'm very lucky (and humbled) to have this righteous little man around to keep me in line.

He's still slightly cuter than he is needy, so we're doing okay. Now that we can venture outside with only a thin jacket, he's a different kid. He LOVES to be outside. I'm talking, he's in the middle of a meltdown and you open a door somewhere in the house and his problem is 75% solved. It reaches 100% in the 10 seconds it takes him to find the open door and run out of it. It's scary up in here, people. We are on lockdown during his waking hours, but with what seems like hundreds of people in and out of the door every day (Grandma has an open door policy and you never know who you're going to get) I have some heart stopping moments when I realize the door is open and Mason is smirking at me from the driveway before kicking it into 3rd gear and hurtling as fast as his wee legs will carry him toward the street. Investing in some solid locks at the new house.

He still has a little angel face that he know will help him get away with murder and even when I'm exasperated and at my wit's end, his impossibly round cheeks, deep blue eyes, perfect lips, platinum hair and gapped teeth make me smile against my will. He is huggable (if you can catch him) and lovable and the perfect little addition to our little family.

TERRIFIC TWOSOME

There are three years and one week between these two.That's a big difference when you're 4 and 1. Teagan still thinks of him as a baby and can be found dragging him around against his will more often than not. She wants to feed him, carry him and mother him nonstop and he just wants to live life on his own terms. One day he will turn around and smack her and she will remember all of those times I told her that one day he will turn around and smack her. I love that she loves him. It's just a little too hands on for his taste at the moment. Perhaps I should just have another baby. That would solve more problems than it would create, right? I do love these two and nothing makes me happier than seeing them interact peacefully and play harmoniously. Both times, it was just beautiful. One day, three years won't seem like so much and they will be able to play side by side instead of hang by neck, but they're still so much fun to watch now.

 

 

All About that Mace.

As of 14 months, Mason is on his way to becoming a man. A very opinionated, clingy, little man. When just last month he was grunting in the general direction of what he wanted, now he yells "No!" and throws it if it isn't what he wanted. Not exactly a step forward. But on a kinder note, he can say "peas" and sign please as well. It's a little bit adorable, so he tends to get what he's after. So he seems to have equated "Please" with cake pops and cookies over its actually meaning. But we will take it. He can also sign "more", "again" and say "Mama, Daddy, Emma, Papa, Peppa (as in Peppa Pig - and he snorts like a pig after he says it which has nearly killed me it's so cute), Ball (over and over - think the seagulls in Finding Nemo saying "Mine, mine mine!"), Baby, Uh oh, Oh no (always accompanied by his hands over his ears...he misses his cheeks, heaven knows how), No No (we hear a lot of those three), Jake & Jaxon (his cousins - it just sounds like a bunch of consonants strung together - JKN) and keeps surprising us almost every day with new words.

Recently I asked him where Mason was and he pointed to himself. He loves to say "ball" and "Emma" repeatedly and Emma now means "screentime" instead of my sweet little niece lately. He's obsessed with screens and phones and iPads must be strategically hidden (next to the remotes) when he's awake. Which he is a lot. Not a great napper, this one. In the last little while, he has grown attached to Peppa Pig. He began to sing the theme song in church last week. Darling, but ill timed. Last Sunday, he caught a glimpse of my phone that happens to feature a Peppa Pig app and he nearly had an aneurysm. "Peppa! Peppa! Peppa!" I dangled some chocolate chips that distracted him for a few minutes. Until his Uncle Shawn unsheathed his iPad for the closing hymn and Mason lunged across the pew at him. We may have a problem. It does give me so much needed leverage when it comes to holding him still for a diaper change. Peppa has come in handy more than a few times. So does the Butt Paste - he loves to have lotion or any sort of cream dotted on his hand for him to rub in. For the record, I pretend with the Butt Paste. But he went crazy for my Pumpkin Pecan Waffle lotion from Bath & Body Works at church on Sunday. His skin is as soft as a baby's!

As chubby as he is, he's become a terrible eater lately. If he doesn't want it, he will throw it. If he does want it, he will throw it. And wait for you to pick it up so he can give it a shot. He's fooled me more than a few times by chewing something and holding it in his mouth for long enough for me to prepare his next bite, only to spit it out in exchange for fresh stuff to chew, hold and spit out. I can't tell you the last time he actually consumed a vegetable instead of just letting it linger in his mouth for a while. Hence wailing like a banshee every time he needs to, well, you know. Let's just say his poop face is less endearing than it used to be.

He has chosen walking as his main mode of transportation and is getting rather good at it. He looks like a tiny little toothless drunkard, teetering around unsteadily. He still bear crawls at times, something I will miss greatly when he grows up. He took his first real steps on November 9th, just over a week after his 1st birthday. (The footage is unusable, as the relative on the other end of his steps had a giant hole in the crotch of their pants. It could prove valuable blackmail material, though.) That was great, he had fun, but he continued to bear crawl as it got him from A to B at an alarmingly fast rate. He would walk a bit here and there, but it seems as though just after the New Year, he decided that he was going to be a walker.

 

And he's gotten a little cocky - he dances, he squats to pick up garbage and binkies and he tries to run, without looking down. He may have learned a lesson today after his first fat lip. He got excited and ran towards Teagan, tripping over something and falling face first into her forehead. I was sitting near them both, but it happened so fast I couldn't do anything. Post impact, they both turned and looked at me and I thought as a few seconds passed that they were okay. Then they shrieked in unison and continued to sob in stereo for a few minutes on my shoulders. Good thing I have two! Teagan has a nice little goose egg on her forehead and Mason left some blood on my shirt which prompted me to look in his mouth...which proved unnecessary when I took a good look at his sweet face and saw a fat lip to match his cheeks. Poor baby. Good thing he still only has two teeth!

As a direct result of being a confident walker (and having spent a month living with a cousin 4 months older than him) Mason is EVERYWHERE. I literally cannot turn around without him getting into something he shouldn't - and knows he shouldn't. He squeals on himself more often than anyone else does, saying "No no!" as he sticks his hand in the garbage or empties the cupboard under the sink or throws food or pulls every last DVD out of its case. Really, it's all he hears from us lately, so naturally, it's what he says. I'm trying to redirect him and encourage him in other worthy pursuits so I can say "Yes! Good job!" from time to time, but he insists on living the life of a rebel.

He has associated a camera (an actual point and shoot SLR, not just a camera phone) with the need to squint and bear his two chiclet teeth in the most darling cheesy face you've ever seen. And it's every time. It's gotten to be rather hilarious. It doesn't have to be pointed at him, necessarily. If it's in the room, Face will bust out his Face and pretty soon, he's become the subject of the photoshoot. This kid. That face.

 I say almost daily that he will put me in an early grave with his constant squealing and screaming, but I still don't know what I'd do without him (besides relax for more than a minute at a time). I miss him when he naps (for an hour) and look at pictures of him (and Teagan) before I go to bed to remind myself how lucky I am. He is bright, getting brighter, handsome, getting handsomer and fun, getting funner. See? Even my grammar is struggling as a result of my nerves being shot due to a constant barrage of "Mom! Mom! Mom!" or screaming. Mostly screaming. But when a shrill, ear piercing scream comes out of a face that adorable, it's hard to stay frustrated for long. Love you, Face!