Mason is 1 Year Old!!

It is hard to believe that Mason turned 1 year old on May 4th.  A common question around our house these days is "Where has the time gone?" Such is life with 2 VERY active toddlers! Mason transitioned from fast efficient crawling to fully walking between his 11 month and 12-month milestones.  In fact, within a week or so of having established his walking skills, Mason was found dribbling a soccer ball around the family room all on his own!!! He can also be found wrapping his arms around Hunter and tackling him to the ground on any given day.  He obviously has been paying close attention to games Hunter and Daddy play and wants to be in the mix.  Mason is growing at a rapid rate.  At his 1-year check-up he weighed in at 22 lbs 5 oz and was 30 inches tall.  He's also starting to navigate stairs.  Going up doesn't seem to be much of a problem, but getting down has its challenges as with most things he likes to dive right in head first.  We've been practicing though and he is starting to turn around and go down feet first on his belly.
Mason is eating very well - and is completely off the bottle now and taking all table food - often eating more that his big brother.  He likes just about everything so far, with the exception of fresh blueberries.
He continues to sleep about 11 hrs every night.  He soothes himself when he is sleepy by sucking his thumb which he has done pretty much since birth.  And, of course, he likes to have his favorite soft blankie too.
Mason is a very confident and vocal little man.  He is never ashamed of challenging Hunter for a toy and there is no question about what he wants.  He plays very independently, loves books, cars, and his soccer ball.  He and Hunter are getting along better by the day and often share food, drinks, hugs and kisses (toys are another matter though).  It is probably safe to say though that Mason's favorite person in the house is Jack the Cat (aka The Dude).  Every time he sees Jack he squeals and laughs and runs up to touch and pet him.  Honestly, we're pretty sure the neighbors 5 houses away know every time Mason sees Jack!!  He is a real joy to be around, is establishing his own personality, and still has an amazing smile with that one big dimple.  We're all looking forward to the next year in his development, which will probably go by in the blink of an eye.  Below are some pictures of his last month and the birthday party we had for him on May 6th.

Another Soccer Player

Baby Geese

The pond by our house always has a ton of geese and now there are little goslings.  The kids love taking walks down to the water to watch them.

Big Boy Undies!

Keep forgetting to post the very exciting news that Hunter is wearing big boy underwear.  Well he has been since about February.  He is still in training pull-ups at night and nap time, but rarely has any accidents!  In fact, he has been pulling up and down his pants and going potty all by himself lately.

We are very proud of our big boy!!

Joan Delores Kritsings

July 30, 1940 - March 12, 2012
You are missed and loved every single day!

Look at him go...

Mason is becoming quite the big boy.  Check him out as he pushes Hunter around.

Raspberries!

Ballyhoo's Biggest Fan

Easter Fun

The kids really got a big taste of Easter this year.  It was quite a full weekend with an Easter Egg Hunt and activities at Day Care, meeting the Easter Bunny at Centennial Park during an event hosted by our realtor, then Easter day with baskets at our house, an egg hunt and a delicious dinner with MiMi, Opa and Uncle Scott.  The kids were in 7th Heaven!

11 month's old already!?

Whew...what a whirlwind! Can't quite grasp that Mason will be turning 1 year old in a month...where is the time going? Things are wonderful and, at the same time, completely insane. Ryan has been extremely busy at work lately with all his research projects . I was recently promoted so have been, in essence, juggling 2 jobs as my old one is not quite transitioned off my plate yet. We still seem to have an endless list of house projects to complete both inside and out and they seem to have increases with the spring weather. We are still working towards having a vegetable garden this year - who's genius idea was that? - readying the soil, building a fence around the perimeter, starting the appropriate seeds indoors. And we seem to have house guests every weekend, too. NUTTY, but somehow at the end of the day, we are all fed, cleaned, happy, loved and tucked warm and exhausted into our beds!

So let's see, here are some of the new amazing things that Mason can do now:

-he makes animal sounds when asked to or when he sees a picture of one - specifically cows, ducks, lions, elephants and giraffes. Well, to be more specific a giraffe butt...yes, he makes a toot sound for a giraffe. It's a long story and has to do with some wall art in his room and the common use of potty humor in our household, but it keeps us quite entertained.

-he is fearless! He is now taking steps on his own, generally 4-6 before falling on his bottom. When he takes his time he does really well, but Mason is ALWAYS in a hurry, so generally he starts off in a run, then he gets off-balance and tumbles down.

- he enjoys his riding toys, so much that we have to keep a close eye on him because he tries to lift his leg to climb on top of them for a ride, but he is still too small and ends up pulling the toy down on top of him...OUCH!

-in fact, he loves to climb on everything. He can now climb up the stairs by himself, though we always go behind him to make sure he doesn't turn midway. He also loves climbing up on Hunter's toddler bed and then lunging off to the floor. It's not a big drop, but, well one would think he wouldn't keep repeating it, but he just loves it.

-he eats everything! I never thought this could even be possible, but there is another child out there who eats more than Hunter...and it is Mason!

- he drinks most of his milk via cup now, mostly one with a straw. He can also drink straight from a cup with help. He does drink from sippy cups on occasion, but has some difficulty maintaining suction around those mouthpieces. When he does get a bottle, he prefers lately to hold it himself.

-knows his basic sign language, e.g. milk, more, eat, all done. He uses them occasionally but I think he finds that grunting and squealing while reaching, pointing or lunging towards that which he wants is more effective. This is mostly our fault because, more times than not, we give it to him rather than having him make the sign first, but that is the life of a second child, I guess. We are juggling so many things at once these days, we barely have the brainpower to realize what we are doing until we've already given him what he wants. Poor Hunter, he had to work for everything! I'm making a promise right now that we will work harder on this, we can't have Mason getting everything the easy way - we will ensure we torture our children equally.

-he still sleeps through the night and goes down very easily. In fact, he is not really a nighttime cuddler like Hunter was, when Mason is ready for sleep he actually reaches for his crib, as if to say, "Okay, I'm done with you, it's time for bed, now get me in there!"

-waves bye-bye and also blows kisses - I actually got an unsolicited one from him recently!

-seems to really like books. Whenever he is in Hunter's room, he goes directly to the bookshelf and starts to pull all the books out, then flips through them. He has his favorites and he will also sit well in your lap while you read and help you turn the pages.

-still loves bath time! He is all over the place in the tub, even when competing for space in there with his big brother. He splashes, lays on his back, plays with his bath toys, "argues" with Hunter about who gets which toy. They are a riot!

Now on to planning a 1 year old's birthday party...see you then!!