Update on Mason Bug

It’s time for an update on the Mason Bug! I have been trying so hard to make sure I keep up on Kellen’s updates every month, but I realized It’s been a few months since I wrote just about Mason.

Mason is at such a fun stage! He is so excited about life and is enthralled by the simplest joys. The two’s haven’t been so terrible at all so far. The biggest difference I have seen in the past few months has been in Mason’s efforts to test boundaries. He will hesitate to obey instructions (usually with a big impish smile on his face) while watching us to see at what point we’re going to start implementing consequences. Or he will decline to do things that we know he loves (like eat his dinner or get his shoes on so we can go), just so he can have the power of refusal. Oh, and he does NOT like to let me take his picture these days, which is a bit ironic because he loves looking at pictures of himself. I think it’s mostly that he just doesn’t want to be still long enough for me to snap a photo. In fact, the times he will willingly smile for a picture are when I am trying to take a picture of Kellen. Then he does this:

He has photo bombed so many pictures. Stinker.

But, those are the biggest typical “two” behaviors I can think of. Overall, he is just a happy kid and our days together are a lot of fun.

He still is very interested in doing whatever we are doing. He loves to help out if it’s an activity he can participate in, be it making something in the kitchen or taking care of Brother. And it it’s an activity that he’s still to young for (like mowing the lawn) he will watch with complete fascination. He is just so desperate to be big (all while I’m so desperate for him to stay small).


Mason LOVES water. He has been taking swimming lessons and we have been so proud of him for being excited to try new things. He has learned a lot in just a couple weeks and has had a lot of fun doing it. He will jump in the water and paddle, blow bubbles, go all the way underwater, and float on his back with a little help from Mom or Dad. He needs more practice, obviously, but he is doing great.
Mason also enjoys splash pads, our kiddie pool, the hose, and sprinklers, whether or not he’s in a swimsuit. The other day we were sitting on a park lawn enjoying shaved ice when the sprinklers came on. Spencer grabbed Kellen, I grabbed the camera, and Mason went dashing straight into the spray with a look of joy on his face. If there is water nearby, we absolutely cannot keep him out of it. He will be drenched head to toe in minutes.

Mason still loves reading.

And he’s recently picked up a new hobby: scrapbooking :). He likes to paste papers and place stickers while I work on Kellen’s baby book. I have tons of old scrapbooking supplies and scraps I have saved for this very purpose. It’s actually really fun that he’s old enough to create with me. I always have to have some or other creative project in process, and I’m so happy that he enjoys doing his little projects while I work on mine. Sometimes he’ll color, paint, or play with play dough during our “crafternoons” while Kellen naps.

His favorite toys currently are his cars, tractor, tools, blocks, and puzzles.

It’s cute to see his imagination developing. Sometimes I laugh when I stumble upon the toys Mason has been playing with. There’s just something about seeing the result of his play when I’ve missed some of the process that makes it especially funny. Like here:

Or here:

Kellen and I both think it’s pretty cool to watch Mason play. We like to join him on the floor and vroom some cars around too.

Mason loves hats. People sometimes ask me how I get him to leave his hats on, but the thing is he just likes wearing them. His Mickey hat especially because he also happens to adore Mickey. He wants to wear that thing EVERYWHERE. He wears it around the house and has insisted on wearing it to the grocery store.


He really likes sunglasses too. He is always trying to steal mine! He does have a few pairs of his own (which he seems to always put on upside down).

Cool dude.


This guy has boundless energy and endless enthusiasm. He runs, never walks, everywhere we go. He is my little daredevil and I swear he’s going to give me heart attack someday. But I love him so.

Kellen at Five Months

The Kelephant is nearly half a year old! BAH! He is still cute (look at that mischievous grin!) and he is still huge (95th percentile for height). People are always surprised when they hear how old he is because he is so large! His toes are already nearly poking out of his car seat. He has been wearing six month clothing for a while and is starting to outgrow lots of it (though most of it is still plenty wide, it’s just that all of his pants are too short!). But interestingly, he has teeny tiny feet and can still fit into most of his newborn shoes!

Kellen is a strong boy! I finally got smart and started putting his swaddle on backwards to make it harder for him to bust out of. He still usually has both arms out and waving around when I go get him in the morning, but it keeps them down long enough for him to fall asleep. He absolutely 100% refuses to sleep if his arms are loose. But after we swaddle him up, he usually gets an arm or two free within a few minutes. At which point he howls for us to come wrap him up again. It’s his favorite bedtime ritual: make mom swaddle him up so he can wriggle free again. And again. That kid. I remember Mason being somewhat the same way, but not to this extreme. Kellen is downright addicted to his swaddle I tell ya.

But, swaddle problems aside, he’s still a great sleeper. And my favorite thing is that he wakes up so happy. He wakes up with the biggest grin on his face, even if I rouse him out of a dead sleep. He doesn’t ever cry when he wakes up, so sometimes I don’t realize he’s awake until I go to check on him and see him peeking at me through the slats of his crib. He still prefers to sleep in his bed and fights it when I try to get him to sleep in my arms or in his car seat (though I can usually eventually get him to do both).
Kellen enjoys playing with toys and will triumphantly wave a toy over his head when he is finally able to grasp it. He seems to have a pretty long attention span and can contentedly play while I make dinner or fold laundry.

We let Kellen try the johnny jump for the first time, and he loved it! He just thinks he is so stinkin’ cool to be upright like a big boy. He could mostly only spin in circles on his toes, but he was loving being a standing man. He even managed to do a few tiny hops as he kicked his legs. He loves bouncing. We spend plenty of time bouncing him in our laps.

And recently, he’s taken up horseback riding:

He is a big fan of bouncing up and down on the Rody horse (while we hold on to him, of course).

I love that as he gets older, Kellen’s personality just gets bigger. He is such an expressive baby. He still smiles his biggest wide-open mouth grins and is the happiest little man. He has started “talking” more and more and he will talk and sing and holler at the top of his lungs, especially if someone is talking to him. He loves to chat and flirt with anyone who will give him attention. He is always trying to woo the ladies (JUST like his big brother). We are so in for it when they get older.

Actually, I’m a little concerned that we’re in for it already. These two are just too adorable for their own good.

Kellen really does adore his big brother. Those times that Mason is giving him attention just make Kellen’s whole face light up. I had no idea that Kellen’s admiration of his big brother would start so young, but Kellen has been fascinated with Mason right from the start. Mason adores Kellen too. Sometimes not QUITE gently enough, but he does love that Kellen Buddy.

Sometimes Mason will do the sweetest things for Kellen. Like bring him toys or share his special Monkey. I never get tired of watching my boys play together.

And speaking of my boys, I also love watching Kellen with his daddy. Kellen loves being tossed and tickled and wrestled in the way that daddy’s do best. Spencer can usually get Kellen to laugh his biggest laughs.

Spencer and Mason’s relationship with Kellen is based largely on play, that is definitely how they bond. I play with Kellen too, but we do a lot of our bonding through cuddling. Kellen still loves to be worn in the wrap or sling (though he’s getting big enough that it’s hard to wear him for as long as I used to be able to!) and he loves to cuddle up in my arms. He doesn’t like being held horizontally as much anymore, preferring to rest his head on shoulder, especially when I’m patting his back before bedtime or naptime. I am just trying to soak up as much cuddle time as I can, because I have the feeling that once he gets mobile he’s going to be way too busy trying to keep up with Brother to have time to cuddle with boring ole’ Mom.

Oh that happy smile. If he smiles like this for his senior yearbook photo, I think I’d be ok with it  :).