Happy 8th Birthday, Mason!

Today is my Buddy's birthday! This is a picture of him on this big day. Isn't he just a handsome little guy?


On Friday morning, I went in to volunteer in his second grade classroom. (Thanks to Brenda for watching my little girls so I could do this!) While I was there, I helped the children with a writing activity where they each penned (or penciled, as it were) a cinquain. In the spirit of this project, I whipped up a little cinquain of my own:

Mason
Bouncy, snuggly
Climbing, leaping, sprinting
Love fills my heart
Buddy

It's no Walt Whitman masterpiece, but my boy sure likes it.

We had Mason named when he was just a twinkle in his daddy's eye, as they say. Michael had just announced his plan to make all of our kids' names start with the letter, "M," and I was trying to think about how I could be restricted to just one letter. I thought of one of my best friends from high school, Jason, and put an "M" on it. I thought "Mason" was a good name and Michael agreed. By the time we found out we were expecting and that the baby was a boy, we had the name set. Mason's middle name is my brother, Brent's, middle name. My brother, Brent, was one tough cookie with a lot of courage and I thought it would be nice to name a little boy after him.

As a baby, Mason was very sensitive to...well, everything. He didn't like a lot of people, noise, or lights, but he always loved his mom. As a toddler, he wasn't into Rescue Heroes or any of the other toys that boys his age were into, but he sure loved his mom. Now, Mason doesn't cry in a room full of people and likes Pokemon as much as the next eight-year old and he still loves his mom!

Mason has always loved little toys, from lizards to frogs to trains. The smaller the toy the better. He used to methodically line his toys up on the hallway banister before going to bed. He is a fan of order. As his mother, I am quite thankful for this! His room is always picked up. I don't have to tell him what to do each morning. He wakes up, gets dressed, puts his dirty jim jams in the hamper, makes his bed, eats breakfast, makes his lunch, practices math facts, and reads for 15 minutes every morning before school without a single prompting from me. It's quite nice. He's just a really good boy.

And "boy" he is. He loves to play outside with his best friend, Dallin. Together, they forage through the woods near our home, capture lizards and slugs, and climb trees. At the end of the day, he is often a sweaty little dude with dirty fingernails.

Another crazy encounter with Mason and Dallin.

I love my boy! I used to feel so guilty that he doesn't have a brother, but he is a fabulous brother to his three sisters; he'll take turns playing with their girlie toys or watching their girlie movies with them. I think he'll make a great, sensitive husband someday (he'd never throw his wife under the bus...). He loves spending time with his dad at Judo or the batting cages and he loves to cuddle and kiss his mom. What more could a family want?