18 Months!

Mason's Stats at 18 Months... Height: 33.5 inches (80th percentile) Weight: 23.5 pounds (20th percentile) Favorite toy: his little soccer ball, although any "bah-aww" will do in a pinch Favorite activities: reading books, anything outside, giving zerberts Favorite books: Night Shift Daddy, Brush Mona Lisa's Hair, and Oh, The Thinks You Can Think (Miss Jen says Mason usually gets a book when it's nap time at school and sits on his cot until he falls asleep, clutching the book.) Favorite food of the moment: craisins Favorite animal: dogs Recent accomplishments: M started whistling the other night. It was crazy. I can't tell if he's doing it on purpose or not. He can Velcro his tennis shoes and help clean up his mess. He eats with a fork and spoon like a pro and can drink from an open cup by himself (not that we let him do this very often!). He also likes to brush his teeth on his own and does everything a little boy his age should. He says a lot now, but most of it is still unrecognizable to most people. He says "guhma" for Gramma and "guhpa" for Grampa or Skipper (I think he uses the same word for both! Haha!). He says "tain-too" for thank you and "da" for that--sometimes "deh-da" for see that. He will tell you that a dog says "oof," and if you're super lucky, you may get to hear a "meow" or "moo" or "roar." One night he imitated a horse noise as we were reading a book--his neigh was accompanied by head-to-toe shivers, which was PRECIOUS! He says "chee" for cheese and "joo" for juice (which means anything in his cup), but by far the cutest is the way he says ball. Aaaaaaah! I love it! He draws it out like a true Southerner and leaves his lips all pursed together for a minute after he says it. TOO adorable. When he plays with his cars he makes an engine rumbling noise, and he says "ooo-ooo" when he plays with his trains. He says "Tuhda" for Tyra and has attempted "Gracie" and "Haylee." He tries to say all the names of his classmates at school. He's still not much of a mimic (he does NOT perform on command), but he's making big strides in speaking. He still doesn't say "yes" or "no," but he claps his hands for yes (only when it's an enthusiastic yes) and nods or shakes his head appropriately. A couple of weeks ago, Mom walked in the basement where we were playing, and Mason pointed up to Skipper at the window and said, "Guhma, look!" I was soooo excited. Unfortunately, Mom didn't have her hearing aids in. Uh-oh! Since then he has added "I did" to his repertoire of phrases, but that one took me a long time figure out. He says more, but I can't think of everything right now.

And Now...Up to Date

Okay, so I THINK I've finally caught up the blog. Yes, I've missed a lot. Yes, I'll probably have to backtrack and add things as I come across pictures and remember things. Oh, well. Now I just have to maintain.

At least this gives Miriam something to do tonight while she waits on us to arrive in Clarksville bearing a car full of gifts for the little tiny Shasserres (Natalie and Matthew, not Miriam and Nick...because--let's be honest--Miriam isn't tiny anymore). Mom, Tyra, M, and I will be on the road in just over an hour, headed to Clarksville for Mirm's baby shower. It has been a rough week, so we're looking forward to some fun (although I despise road trips...just wanted to get that in in case someone was unaware of that...I REALLY must love Miriam to be doing this). We'll be praying the whole trip that her cake makes it. I already had to modify my grand cake plans (disappointing...I was sooooo excited about the first one, but it just wasn't realistic...eh, the backup one's fine, I guess) to make it fit in the cake box and the protective plastic bin it's riding in, but I'm still nervous. Yeesh. I hope we have cake tomorrow!

Moving...Again

Chris spent the second week of November in Clarksville packing up and moving out of The House That Won't Sell (okay, he also hunted a little). Although being away from him for 8 days was awful, it was great for me to be able to focus on Mason and not have to disrupt his schedule and worry about how to get everything done. We were planning on coming up that Friday night to pack up my plants and little things like that, but Chris and his mom took care of everything to save me the trip. Debbie and Dave did a TON of work to help us get out of this house, and I was sooooo grateful.

Slack and Jeff came to help us load everything into the storage unit in Knoxville, and Haylee and Gracie proved surprisingly helpful as well. It was a long, exhausting process, and I'm glad we're done. Although...we'll be moving again soon if the stars so align.

Thanksgiving 2010

All I have to say is that Mason took the idea of Thanksgiving to heart this year. He ate like a true American--ALL day. Seriously. Except for his very brief nap, this child ate from 8:30 in the morning until 7:00 that night with only a few intervals of non-eating. We were truly astounded by how much our little guy ate. His belly looked like Santa's by the end of the day!

Mason's favorites: cranberry sauce (who would have guessed?!), mashed potatoes, corn, and bread. Oh, and pumpkin pie. He LOVED pumpkin pie. Christmas will have to be pre-tty exciting to top this holiday for Mason.

Aquarium of the Smokies

I'm sure you can guess just from the title of this post that this was a good day for Mason. Any day that includes a lot of outdoor time and any kind of animal is a good day for M.

Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies offers a Teacher Appreciation Weekend in October, so we took Mason and all got in for free (which is a great price for the family that is really tightening up to pay for a down payment on another house since we still own The House That Won't Sell). What a cool thing for them to do! (I sent them a thank you note...haha! My granny would be so proud of me!)

We had all really looked forward to it all week (well, Mason promptly hadn't...), and it was the perfect family day. The weather was beautiful, we got there before it was crowded, and Mason pointed at something the entire time. He was fascinated. We'll definitely make this an annual trip.

Worn Out in the Wee-Ride

I love these pictures! Mason had been fussy all evening and didn't want anything we offered, and I was running out of ideas. We went out to meet Chris' truck as he pulled in from work, and Mason saw the bike. He got sooo excited and pointed to it with one hand as he smacked me repeatedly with the other.

It was worth a shot, so I strapped him into the Wee-Ride, and off we went. After just one loop around the subdivision, Mason leaned forward and conked out on the console of the Wee-Ride. I didn't have my phone, so I couldn't call Chris, but I was determined to get a picture of him. I finally figured out that I could ride across the yard and tap on the kitchen window until Chris saw us. Somehow my plan worked, and Chris made it out with the camera, and Mason never woke up. It was so precious! He stayed asleep as we pulled him out of the seat and went straight down in his crib like an angel. It was one of those perfect, easy-down, sleep-all-night nights. Sigh. I wish we had more of those.

Little Stinker

Mason was a skunk for Halloween this year, and y'all know how I love Halloween, so I had fretted for weeks that my opinionated little man who HATES things on his head would flat out refuse to wear his costume. I needn't have worried. He strutted around Maryville College, where we took him for pictures, and the church Trunk-or-Treat like he was king of the forest. Needless to say, he was adored and admired wherever he went.

Mason tried nachos for the first time, and he liked them, but he LOVED the inflatable slide. He ran to the slide as soon as he saw it, so we stood in line, but he kept scrambling down and running to the front of the line. Apparently, he inherited my lack of patience. Sorry, Chris. Finally, Mom just picked him up and marched to the front of the line and said, "For heaven's sake, he's just little." And so up he went with Tyra, ahead of all the other LITTLE children in line. I was mortified, but people didn't complain, and he squealed in delight all the way down the slide...and expected to go right back up to the front again. Thanks, Mom. After a noteworthy but short-lived fit, he allowed himself to be distracted long enough to go through the line. This time Maddie took him down. Wonder how we'll manage to fit a giant blow-up slide in Mason's next bedroom?

Just Chillin'

Havin' a snack...watchin' some cartoons.

Climbing King

Here Mason displays his aptitude for innovation and his love of scaling things. Fast forward 10 seconds and his "bridge" has collapsed under him. The force propelled him forward into the newel post, and then gravity kicked in, and he slid slowly down the post to the floor, where he sat silently for a moment before turning around to see if he was in trouble. He wasn't, but Chris and I definitely are.

Picture Day

Here are Mason's first "school" pictures from Broadway Baptist Childcare. I think I'm going to cry.

Beautiful Dreamer

A couple of rare peaceful moments of slumber.

Summer Highlights: Part 3

More summer activities. We took M out on Brad's boat, and he was not overly fond of that experience: too hot, too bumpy, and too wet. Chris' dream of owning a boat may be farther away than we think. Oh, well. At least he looked cute in his life jacket.

The third picture documents Mason's first serious facial injury. Okay, so it wasn't really serious--at least, not to anybody but me. Meg and I were on the front porch with Jake and Mason, and Jake opened the gate to the stairs. Quick as lightning, Mason ran over there as I'm yelling for Jake to close the gate and grab Mason. Jake got confused and didn't do anything as Mason tumbled headfirst down the brick steps, just millimeters out of my reach. He screamed, and I screamed, and blood was smeared all over his mouth when I snatched him up. Thank God Megan was there to provide medical assistance because I was freaking out and ready to Life Flight him to the Mayo Clinic. It turned out that he just scraped his nose and busted his upper lip, so it wasn't too bad, and he was over it within 5 minutes. My recovery took a lot longer. I took this picture to send to Chris because he was hunting in Clarksville.

One morning I whipped up an impromptu trip to Biltmore with M, Mom, Kristin, and Gracie. CHris was spending the day with Brad at the UT game, so we had a lot of time to kill. It was a pretty day, and the flower tapestry was only on display for another week, so off we went. We had a great time, capped off by Mason dropping half-masticated french fries on Aunt Kristin's arm as we drove away from the estate--he was beyond delighted by her histrionic reaction. Considering we had a 14-month-old and a 4-year-old, the trip was remarkably easy until we got stuck in a traffic jam I-40 going across the mountains before the state line. A tractor trailer and a motorcycle had collided, and so traffic had been stopped both directions to bring in a Life Flight helicopter. Mason and Gracie appreciated the chance to get out of the car and roam, and I got what I'm sure is the only picture I'll ever catch of Mason climbing on the highway divider.

Calhoun's on the River

After we finished the pictures at the UT Gardens (rain prompted an early retreat), we met the whole Wortham clan at Calhoun's on the River, where Mason ate his weight in french fries. Then we took a long walk along the riverbanks, and M would have nothing to do with the little water sprinkler play area they had down there. He was not swayed by all the toddlers giggling and playing in the water. He clung to me like white on rice. He is usually so fearless that I am surprised when something strikes him as scary. Weird. Anyhow, I snapped a picture of him with Chris that is one of my favorites; he looks like he's telling his daddy a secret.

Twelve Months Pictures...Proof That More is More

Photo Shoot 2: the University of Tennessee Gardens. Good grief! How cute is this kid?!

Twelve Months Pictures...On Location

Well, we actually did his Twelve Months pictures twice, but this was our first shoot. Chris and I took Mason to Cades Cove for the first time, and he was not impressed with the drive, but he LOVED wandering around the fields and cabins and creeks. These are some of my favorite pictures yet.

Summer Highlights: Part 2

Mason got his fair share of smoke inhalation from barbecues during the summer months. And any cookout with his cousins is sure to be good fun and a break for Mason's mommy and daddy because all the cousins want to play with Baby Mason (bless his heart...he'll never outgrow that name!). Kristin bought the mother of all water slides this year--big enough for all the cousins, which is saying something. Mason, of course, loved it. Nevertheless, every family gathering ends with someone in tears; this time it was Gracie. I love this picture--classic Gracie meltdown.

He also had a lot of fun at Brad's house playing with Braden and Zoe and Elsie--especially Elsie, who has the biggest, sweetest smile.