I'm on the Ball

Well, it's only been an entire year since my last (and only) post. I'm really on the ball here. Slow down mama, people aren't going to be able to keep up with this. And when I say people, I mean, imaginary people because there really is no one following this blog. It's for me. And my Moo.

So a lot has happened over the past year and I feel like I can't remember any of it. I will continue to post in bulleted style to keep this easy which is ultimately what I want it to be. A record of things that Mason has done. If I have to get all wordsy then I may not really follow through with actually keeping track. So, bring on the bullets!

• Mason has amazing math skills. At about 2 years old he was able to simply look at up to three objects and tell me how many there were. Since about 2-1/2 he has been able to do simple addition and subtraction. 2 trucks plus 2 more trucks makes 4 trucks. 3 cars take away 2 cars leaves 1 car.
• He had a great time at his birthday party this year, 3 years. He looked at everyone during the singing of Happy Birthday and said "Happy Birthday, Everyone!" I melted his homemade spider web cake in the oven when I put it there to "hide" it and then accidentally turned the oven on to preheat it for lasagna. Never mind that I had taped a huge note to the front of the stove that said DO NOT TURN ON. Well done, mommy.
• Mason went through a period of time where he told me he NEEDED to do negative things. I would say to him, Don't stand on the chair, you may fall off. And he would respond But I NEED to fall off. Please don't throw your truck, it might break. But I NEED it to break.
• Everyday he amazes me with his sensitivity and empathy. If he accidentally knocks in to me or messes something up he says "I'm sorry, mommy. I didn't mean to knock you." I can tell that he truly means it.
• Unfortunately, he's a hitter. He hits when he gets angry. No one has ever hit him so obviously hitting is not a learned behavior but more of a primal one. I think I'd hit people sometimes too if it were socially acceptable. At times I feel at my wits end at how to deal with it. Other times I just ignore it. Not exactly the consisitancy all of the parenting gurus preach about, but oh well. I hope it's just a phase that he will grow out of.
• This kid still adores trucks. He told me that he is going to drive a great big, humongous flat bed truck when he grows up. The truck will haul bricks for the workers to build things with.
• He has an extensive imagination and tells involved stories a lot.
• He has started to use grown up words like "actually", "usually", and "interesting". It's adorable.
• He is potty training right now and doing really well only wearing Pull-Ups for nap and bedtime. He likes to be alone in the bathroom while using the potty. He tells stories and acts out things while in there alone.

Off the top of my head

I thought it would be a good idea to keep track of the little things that my Moo does and has done. I know that as much as I think "I'll remember that," I really won't. Case in point, I read back over some notes that I started keeping last year about Moo. And yup, I forgot about most of them. I wish I had started this sooner, but better late than never, right? Let's see what I can remember off the top of my head. This will be an evolving list and hopefully I will categorize it one day, but for now, I'm just spouting off what I can.

1. He calls a smiley face "Ha-Ha"

2. His first words were Mama and Dada but his first real word was "bird"....much to my dismay considering my irrational fear of birds.

3. He called drinks "Ahh" for a while as in the sound you make after taking a refreshing gulp from a drink.

4. He whispered "Pop-Pop" for the longest time because when I taught him the "p" sound, it sounded like a whisper.

5. He started walking at 9 months....running came very soon after and he's been on the go ever since.

6. He has known his letters since about 16 months old. He could recognize and say them all by 18 months.

7. His first true love was sticks.




8. He slept in his swing for the first few months, now at almost two he still loves to swing.

9. He needed to be swaddled as an infant because if not, the movement of his arms would wake him up.

10. When he first started to talk, he would says "A-Whazzaatt?" all the time. Translation: What's that?

11. He LOVES trucks and anything with wheels.

12. I can't get him to color to save my life.

13. He's a really picky eater. Really.

14. He loves dogs and animals. He wants kisses from them. Horse, goat, pig, he doesn't discriminate. He'll just stick his little face down next to theirs and say "Kiss, please."

15. Right now, 22 months, he has the word "please" confused with "yes". So, it sounds to other people like he has really good manners. Example: Would you like a cookie? "Please." Do you need help with that? "Please." But there there's also examples like, Did you see turtles today? "Please."