Do you wanna build a {6 inch} snowman?

11 Months of Mason

• Since he's mastered crawling, he's decided to take the stairs whenever he can (ie. whenever I'm not looking). He's fallen once and remained flat on his back like a bug until I came to pick him up. That didn't faze him, as he was right back at it within minutes. 
• We lost him at family dinner on the 7th and he had climbed all the stairs by himself up to Teagan's room.
• He doesn't crawl. He cruns. That's crawling and running combined. He's found that he's fastest when he uses his feet instead of his knees, so hardly does the latter.
• He loves blowing raspberries on glass - mirrors, windows...it's hilarious.
• He sprouted a tooth near the beginning of the month and is just working on his second. Babies younger than him look older than him. And a lot like a scene from Jaws.
• He can bonk heads, high five and give kisses on command. And by "kisses" I mean he will lean into your lips with his mouth wide open. It's an experience.
• He gets so goofy at bedtime. An 8 oz. bottle takes entirely too long to feed him because he's so busy giggling, sticking his fingers up your nose and grabbing your lips.
• He loves music - he calms right down when I sing to him.
• He always LOVES being outside. If he's crying, 10 times out of 10 you can take a step outside and he stop and be perfectly fine. Until you try to take him back inside.
• His passion for music and the outdoors leads me to believe he'll be a wandering minstrel when he grow up. 
• In addition to being outside, he loves to be anywhere he isn't supposed to be - the toilet, the shower, the garbage. It's unreal.
• One of his favourite indoor haunts is the treadmill upstairs. If all the bathroom doors are closed, he's usually sitting serenely on the stationary treadmill, or squealing because he's stuck and can't get off.
• He babbles, running his fingers across his lips, a la Hook (a movie from the 90s.) Brandon calls him Bangarang from time to time.
• He's VERY communicative. He knows exactly what he wants and grunts at it, flails and growls at you until you get it right. I can't wait for him to speak.
• Speaking of speaking, his first word was BABY on September 28th, just shy of 11 months. He caught me completely off guard and repeated "baby" numerous times, completely melting my heart.

Mason Moment:

I'm always torn when my kids go off on their own - which, for the record, has only happened a handful of times. I want to enjoy my incredibly rare time alone, but at the same time wonder what they are doing. I went downstairs to switch some laundry the other day and snuck back up the stairs quietly to see if I could catch a glimpse of what they get up to when I'm not around. It was darling. Teagan was talking to Mason softly and sweetly and he was just exploring. After a minute or two, he caught me and our eyes connected across the room. His face lit up like a Christmas tree and he immediately began to crun towards me as fast as his tiny body could. I scaled the makeshift baby gate and squeezed that little nugget as hard as I could. It was so precious. My love for this little man grows almost as fast as he does. Which is fast.

10 Months of Mason

• All of a sudden, at 9.5 months he got really good a crawling. Mostly bear crawling, on hands and feet, or one knee and one foot. It's kind of adorable.
• He is the master of crying and whining and waving and flailing (the list goes on) until someone picks him up. It's almost like he forgets how to crawl when he's upset and will just plant himself until someone takes pity on him - which always happens, because he's so stinking cute.
• He started standing up against things around the 8th of the month - first the bathtub (probably the worst thing surface to start with) then the crib. I remember the first morning I went in to get him and he was standing up in the crib, on the side closest to the door, and I jumped, it surprised me so. The look on his face suggested he was pretty surprised to be there as well. 
• He's a terrible napper - 1 hour on a great day.
• Got roseola at the beginning of the month, towards the end of our cabin week with the whole Richards side of the family. We didn't know what it was at the time (I think that's the nature of roseola) but he was throwing up and feverish for days. So sad. He broke out in a rash (a sign that it's cleared up) the day after I took him to the doctor. Of course.
• Almost daily, I have people commenting on his beautiful eyes, his cheeks, his hair. Some of the latest and greatest comments:
•  Women telling me they are swooning and thinking about having more babies when they see him
• "He looks like the Gerber baby!" (All the time)
• "He has cherub cheeks! I could hang him on my Christmas tree."
• "He makes the perfect little Hansel."
• We made the switch to formula at the end of August! Brandon and I spent two nights at the cabin towards the end of August to celebrate our anniversary. I left some breastmilk, but planned him to have a lot of formula. And guess who slept through the night? I can count on no hands the number of times I've gotten a good night's sleep since his birth, so 
• filling him up at night
• me forgetting a power source for my pump (oops)
• him messing around too much to nurse properly these days (seriously, bedtime has us both in laughing fits lately because he'd rather smile and squish my face than nurse)
• me not having the patience to nurse
• expenses minimized by living with the in-laws
• these all combined to convince me that formula might be best for my little man at this stage of the game. And I think it's paying off in his statistics that came back at our closer-to-10-than-9 month appointment.
• Stats:
• Height: 28" (10th percentile) this has his father concerned
• Weight: 20 lbs. (45th percentile)
• Head: 18 1/4" (75th percentile)

6 Months of Mason

• At the beginning of the month, he came to some sort of realization of how much he loves his sister. Every morning when she comes into the room, he lights up and shakes with excitement.
• She loves him right back - every day when she sees him, her first exclamation is "I love Mason. Mason's so cute. I love our baby." Melts my heart.
• Early in April, Mason learned he could open and shut his little hands and "wave". One minute you're intently staring at one another, having a moment, and the next, his gaze has wandered just a little bit off and it's always his hand - as if he forgot it was there.
• He's getting better at sitting, but just when you think he's got it, his huge cranium weighs him down and he topples over. He's a little top heavy.
• He loves to eat. All. The. Time. Even when I'm sitting in front of him with a spoon in my hand destined for his face, he is shaking with anticipation and often yelling because the spoon isn't moving quite fast enough.

Mason Moments

On April 10th, I was trying to nurse the boy and every 30 seconds, he would pull off, smile his dimply smile which grew into a lipless grin and wave his little hand. Well, open and shut it in my general direction, but with him grinning ear to ear at me, it sure felt like he was saying hello. There is nothing that feels better than seeing this little man after a while, be it a nap or staying with a friend, and having him notice me and immediately smile and reach for me. When he's happy. Every morning when I go to get him (and it hasn't been that long since I've seen him - believe me) but he is so happy that it's me. That it's Teagan. That it's Daddy. Not the "oh great, it's you again" that it will most likely become when he's a teenager. For now he is excited that I keep turning up and I never want to forget how that feels.

5 Months of Mason

• He's a social butterfly, if ever I've seen one. You can't leave this guy alone. He's devastated if no one is making eye contact with him. Because he's so cute, he usually has someone interacting with him, but when it's just me juggling two kids (and life) it's hard to keep him happy.
• Started solid food on March 17 after weeks of begging us for food. Even after he eats his food, he lunges after anything and everything we put near our mouths.
• Started with rice cereal mixed with formula (laziness on my part), then peas, prunes (out of necessity), peaches and squash.
• Discovered his hands and feet and can usually be found looking at one of them.
• He has the hang of pulling his binky out of his mouth, and can even make it into his mouth at times, but it gets pulled straight out again.
• No longer tolerates being on his stomach - the weight of his rather large head causes him to roll to the right every time.
• Still not sleeping through the night - Grr.
• Sleeps best when cuddled, so I've had him in bed with me for more than a week. It's sweet but I'm exhausted!
• Slept in his crib the whole night (aside from eating twice) for the first time on April 6th. Should have happened a long time ago.
• Still hanging on to that darling dimple, which explains why he's still alive.

Mason Moments

I have to admit to struggling lately. I have a new calling at church and there are increasing demands on my time. I feel like I blinked and Mason is a baby. Not a newborn, not even an infant, but a baby. And with his newness went my excuse for being flaky, forgetful and, generally speaking, a mess. Perhaps it's because he still isn't sleeping through the night. (No, I'm not bitter at all.) I can't believe he is almost 6 months old. I thought I was prepared for it to fly by, but you can't be. Yes, he's interacting more and is getting more and more entertaining, but I am a rare mother who enjoys the newborn phase. I've had two really good, easily pleased newborns, so I suppose that's why. Their needs were so simple - they're either hungry, tired or need their bum changed for the most part. He's getting more and more complex and more and more of a mama's boy, which makes life hard for Daddy when he's the one putting him to bed most nights during the week. I miss my brand new baby but am excited to see what kind of a little man Mason will become. Unless he doesn't start sleeping more, and then he may not make it.

11-12 Months

• Mimics words
• “Wow” 10.4.2011
• Stands for a few seconds on her own of her own accord

 

I found a DVD at the library called “Singing Babies” and thought since Teagan loves other babies so much she might enjoy it. Turns out, it’s babies in front of green screens with adults’ mouths superimposed on their baby faces singing nursery rhymes. It’s probably the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. But sure enough, Teagan loved it. She isn’t one to sit still, but she sat, unblinking, for a good 5 minutes. I think “BINGO” was her favourite, imitating the babies clapping in place of the missing letters. While I can’t bring myself to purchase something so frightening, I may have to continue borrowing them from the library. Teagan loves her babies!

Can't believe she's 1!

10-11 Months

• Stands in crib, grins from ear to ear when she sees that you’re there to rescue her
• Signs “all done” when you ask her if she’s finished eating
• “All done, Teagan?” waves both her hands to indicate she’s done
• Takes to strangers really well, provided she isn’t tired, hungry or sick
• Loves my family even after not seeing them for 6 months
• Mimics putting hand over mouth and making noise on and off – Grandad started doing it and she imitated him – after a week, she does it upon seeing him…every time!
• Stands for a few seconds on her own, when we make her stand
• Scrunches her nose when she smiles and breathes in & out of her nose really fast
• Understands to sit down when I say “on your bum” when she stands up in the bathtub

Teagan became sick suddenly after waking up from a nap while we were in Canada, two days before my sister Kristina’s wedding. She couldn’t catch her breath after coughing her breathing became very labored. Luckily her Grandma Gay went into nurse mode and remained very calm – not her Mum! We were on the verge of taking her to the Emergency Room – with no insurance in Canada – and I was in tears. Kristina came home and also went into nurse mode and we called a hotline to find out more about her symptoms. We decided it was croup and got her some fresh air interspersed with sitting in the bathroom with the shower on, steaming. It was absolutely heartbreaking for me to see her so helpless and sick. She was sick for several days afterward, including the day of Kristina’s wedding. It was a long day to be sure, but she handled it like a champ. On the dot, every morning at 2:00 she would cry to the point of being inconsolable, so I would bring her into bed with us for the rest of the night. This continued for the remainder of our trip and I have to admit to getting tired of it. But part of me really did love her snuggling with me in bed for a while. She hasn’t been cuddly at all lately, so selfishly I (and Grandma Gay) enjoyed the opportunity to console her.

9-10 Months

• Stands in crib
• Pulls herself up on couches
• Falls flat on her bum and bounces
• Finally says “Mama!”
• Picky with food minute to minute – she’ll eat some, then refuse, then eat it again later. Usually if I eat something, she’ll eat it too
• Mimics clapping
• Makes hilarious face when your clench your fists at her – grits “teeth” (gums) and clenches one fist, spreads other hand’s fingers
• Loves patty cake

Spent first night without Teagan on August 13^th to celebrate our anniversary by seeing Blue Man Group at the Palazzo. The show started late, so our friend Hilary offered to keep her overnight so we didn’t have to transfer her in the middle of the night. Teagan slept in a Pack-n-Play in her closet and went to sleep almost immediately! She woke up happy and had fun with Avery, Hilary & Parker. Apparently she had an easier time with it than I did!

Flew at almost 10 months and was an angel. I received compliments about how great she was. She fell asleep the first hour and besides needing to be entertained, was very well behaved. It didn’t seem like her ear bothered her and she was very sweet with the people sitting next to us.

8-9 Months

• Cuddles when she can’t sleep, and only then
• LOVES Cheerios – can’t get enough. If they’re in sight, she won’t eat anything else
• Claps hands and squeals when she sees yellow box of Cheerios
• Still doing “The Worm” but gets where she needs to go pretty quickly
• LOVES to suck on shoes – can’t leave them by the door anymore, she makes a beeline for them
• Plays with door stoppers
• Must have lullaby giraffe when going to sleep, I think she’s scared to be alone in the dark?
• Towards 9 months, getting picky with food and used to love everything. She’s starting to spit things out if she doesn’t want them.
• Two bottom teeth coming through!
• Plays with her car seat when she isn’t sitting in it – practically climbs in to suck on buckle
• Claps hands together when she’s excited or if she sees Daddy doing it

We celebrated the 4^th of July by going to Red Ridge Park to watch fireworks. We had an amazing view of the entire Las Vegas Valley, so we could see fireworks from The Strip all the way over to Red Rock Casino. It was pretty awesome. There were also a ton of people at the park setting off their own fireworks. Teagan took it in stride for a while, which was amazing considering it was already more than an hour past her bedtime. Some got really close and made loud noises, and for the first time ever, Brandon and I got to be the ones who comforted a frightened child. As much as nieces & nephews love you, if anything went wrong they wanted Mummy or Daddy. For the very first time, that person was me and I LOVED it.

We left Teagan with a babysitter outside family for the first time on July 16^th, to see Harry Potter 7 Part 2. She’d been rather clingy lately, so I was worried that she might be trouble for our good friend, Hilary. She fell asleep 15 minutes before Hilary arrived, so I was concerned that she would be upset and startled to wake up to a stranger. Hilary told us she looked at her funny, like she knew that something was off, but never cried and was an angel the whole time. What a relief!

9 Month Check-Up

• Bright Future Pediatrics, Las Vegas, NV – Dr. Goebel
• Height: 26” (75%)
• Weight: 19 lbs. 12 oz (75%)
• Head Circumference: 43 cm (75%)
• Developmentally, she’s right on track except for pulling herself up on her feet. We’ll work on that.
• Doctor suggested we get a spot on her head biopsied. It had been around for months and Dr. Boyer thought it was just a form of cradle cap. After looking at it with a magnifying lens, Dr. Goebel thought it best to check it out. It fell off before the appointment, so I showed up with it in a Ziploc bag. Classy! Fortunately, Dr. Bellew told us it wasn’t anything to worry about at the moment. We just need to watch it and let them know if it grows (larger than 3mm) or changes in any other way. Phew!