Mason Shoma

Too…much…fun! Oh…so…tired,…but…must…keep…playing!

Just checking the kitchen. Yep, pretty spacious.

I have to admit, I wasn’t very happy to take a bath in Hawaii for the first couple of days. Everything was strange and new, so I wasn’t very happy. But I got over it pretty quickly and the past couple of bath times have been without crying and actually a lot of fun. Grandpa picked up some bath toys for me (you saw me using them in the pool) and I have some cups and containers to play with as well. There is even a cool bucket with a soft silicon edge that helps Daddy rinse the shampoo out of my hair without it getting in my eyes (for the most part). It is very handy. Now that I’m comfortable with the bath and play in the bath, my botcha time is longer than usual.

We were all just chatting and Daddy mentioned that I have a limited vocabulary and use “na na na” for a lot of my words. He said that he tries to speak my language by singing the banana song by the Minions. You know, the one that starts, “Ba na na, ba na na na”. So Maile started singing it and I thought it was so funny! She got a lot of laughs and smile out of me through that song!

Grandpa does a good job of taking care of his lawn and the grass looks really nice, but it is very pokey for my soft baby feet. I didn’t want to step on the grass before, but now that I’ve got my shoes on, it is a good chance to practice walking.

I had fun chasing after Maile and Lauren! I was so excited that I had a hard time staying on my feet!

I met my cousins Maile and Lauren and Aunty Chris for the first time in person today! We were all so excited to see each other! My cousins absolutely adore me even though we only just met. Sure, we talked online a few times and they check up on me through this blog, but when they first saw me in person I could feel the love they had for me! I’m so happy to have such awesome cousins!

Even though it usually takes me a while to get used to people and even longer to warm up to them, I was interacting and playing with Maile and Lauren very quickly. They were just so friendly and loving that I instantly felt safe around them. Maybe I felt a little to comfortable around them because I started to boss them around at times. They were very nice about having a bossy little cousin and tolerated my baby tendencies. They played with me a lot and made it their goal to make me smile and laugh. They succeeded a lot even though this was our first day together! I can’t wait to see what will happen the rest of this week together!

We went to Grandma and Grandpa’s church today! It was also Daddy’s church when he grew up around here. Everyone was worried that I wouldn’t like it or I would be bored, but I actually found it quite interesting. It was in a big building, a church, and there were a lot of cool new things to discover like pews, alters, and high ceilings. I even liked looking at the ceiling fans, since I already got into the ceiling fans at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I sat through the entire thing and did not fuss at all. I got a little wary at times when strangers came over to talk and a bit restless when I wanted to go explore but was held back, but I stayed in or around my seat for the whole time without misbehaving. Here I go surprising everyone with my good behavior and overturning their expectations.

Grandma was helping out at Sunday school during the sermon and she was happy to hear about how well I behaved. She was also happy to hear her friends gush about how cute I was. What grandmother wouldn’t love that?

I started getting a little antsy while Mommy and Daddy were checking out Sunday School so Grandpa took me for a walk. Since he carried me for a while he finally realized how heavy I was. I think he strained his arm a bit, but it was worth it for his grandson!

Church was a whole new experience and I love new things! I was in a pretty good mood the whole time, which was nice for Grandma and Grandpa because we took our first picture of the three of us together!

Check out my new clothes! We bought them yesterday. I needed a nice outfit for church today and dinner later this week. I didn’t think my tanktop would be appropriate so we picked up some Aloha wear. I think I look pretty good in it!

I told you that I would be exploring the hallway soon! I didn’t go all the way down, but I’m working on it. Baby steps.

We came to see a cute little night market held in downtown Lihue. It was a small and cozy night market with a few food and goods stands. We didn’t end up getting anything, but that was kind of my fault. There were some cute baby T-shirts that Mommy and Daddy seemed interested in, but I didn’t like them and started crying every time we got near them. Seriously. I think I was offended by what was printed on them. It had a Hawaiian word “kolohe” which kind of means rascal or trouble-maker. It also said “hardhead” and “no listen”. I may be a baby, but even I know these are not positive attributes. It is one thing to be aware of and own your qualities, but another thing entirely to wear them on your chest for the world to see. I was not happy to do that, so we didn’t by any t-shirts in fear that it might offend me. We did get a couple of nice pictures, though!

I love music, so Grandpa put some music on for me to listen too. It was wide ranging selection of songs going from modern pop back to some oldies. The lollipop song came on and the grownups started putting their finger in their mouth and making (or trying to make) a popping sound. I thought this was hilarious! I wanted them to do it again and again so I started motioning for them to do it by putting my own finger in my mouth. It turns out that Grandpa was really good at making the lollipop sound! I liked the lollipop sound so much that I kept doing the gesture even after the song changed. It was very entertaining random moment of musical fun for all of us!

Having spent a few days here at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I’m feeling much more comfortable being around them and like to interact with them a lot. I new thing that Grandma and I came up with is “tap tap for kiss”. I’m not exactly sure how or when we started this, but it is now a thing. I come up to her and tap her on her arm or leg a couple times and I get a kiss. I even do it with other people like Grandpa, Mommy, and Daddy. But it was a Grandma-Mason original and I’ll never forget that. Tap tap for kiss!

As I feel more comfortable at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I’m exploring more and expanding my play area. The first day I was here I stayed between the coffee table and the couch. Now I’m venturing as far as the living room. Give me some time and I’ll make it down the hallway. Not just yet, though.