Mason is Three!

If you ask Mason "how old are you?"
he would tell you "Five".  It's a joke that he started with Gammy and has become his standard answer; however, if you state "You aren't five! How old are you?" He will give you the real answer... "Three".

It truly is hard to believe that Mason is three years old. It seems like just yesterday when Matt and I were driving to the hospital, wandering what our son would be like. Would he look like mom or dad?  Would our lives really change that much? Would he sleep through the night? Three quick years later and we are still fighting over who he looks like, our lives are unrecognizable and no! We have produced a very stubborn, handsome, precocious, funny, sweet, ornery, loving, naughty, most wonderful boy. We are blessed.

I believe it is safe to say that the "terrible twos" is not a myth. We have had our very trying moments this year.. though, I would not change a thing. I love every moment with my son. When I am not with him, I cannot wait to be with him. I look forward to watching him learn and experience new things. Learning new words is, by far, my favorite skill and is always interesting (and comical) to hear. He is a human parrot. My favorite quote is "Oh my my goodness!!" or "Ooooh Mason!. Just today he grabbed my arm, squeezed it and said "You will stop that now!" It made me laugh and then question... how often do I do that!?

On another note, Mason loves anything to do with the movie Cars. He has every matchbox car and racer. He also loves trains, diggers, bulldozers and books. He would be happy with us reading him books for hours. His favorite books are "Dig, Dig, Digging", "Alligator Under My Bed", "In the Search for the Zimpperumpa Zoo", "Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea", "Fire Cat", "Animal Strike at the Zoo", "Llama Llama Red Pajama", "I Stink" and "Goodnight Moon". He has all of these books memorized. You can turn to any page and he will recite the narrative. Truly amazing to me.

He has also learned his ABC's, his numbers, his colors and how to spell his name. He is also singing several different songs that we listen to ("Bah Bah Blacksheep", "Hickory Dickory Dock", "Roll Over", "Happy Birthday") as well as songs that we have made up ("Macey Gracey" and "Night Night, Mason").

One of Mason's favorite things to do is go swimming or go to the park with Dad. If Dad gets to pick Mason up from daycare, they always go to the pool or park. Makes it hard to compete with. When I  pick Mason up, I always hear "Daddy home?".  My answer is "Your mom is fun too, you know." I don't think he buys it. He only wants me when it is time to go to bed. It is only then do I hear "Mommy! Night, Night Mason." I wait all day to hear that phrase.

Mason has also become quite the helper. He loves to wash cars or as he says "plunge car". We aren't sure where he got that term or even if he is really saying "plunge", but that's what it sounds like. He also loves to help Gammy with yardwork; however, when it comes to indoor chores, he wants nothing to do with them. Good luck getting him to pick up his cars and me swearing I will throw them away if I find them on the floor is not working.

We are still struggling to potty train but I pray to have this task beat soon. Mason also continues to struggle with sleeping through the night and comes to sleep with Mom and Dad every evening. We will continue to work with him and again hope to have this beat in the coming year. I have friends who tell me that this is just "a boy thing". I think it is just a "Mason thing", which we will resolve... I hope.

Mason is a great eater. He likes to eat things that you wouldn't expect a young boy to like. For example, he loves seaweed salad and calamari. Though, his favorite is still pasta or macaroni and cheese.

The biggest adjustment for Mason this year was when he became a big brother. He initially did not want the responsibility; however, he has slowly accepted his role. Recently, he has been seen sharing his toys with his little sister and has even shared some laughs. He is a great big brother and both he and Isabel are lucky to have one another. I know they will look after one another and hopefully will tell on each other so that I am always in the know.

Happy 3rd birthday, Mason! We are so proud of you and love you very much.