Mason Shoma

I see you! You’re the one who put me down on this mat! I’ll remember this. Now please pick me up and carry me so that I can continue my nap.

Sometimes I get so tired and fussy that I make it hard for Mommy and Daddy to carry me. I struggle and squirm and that is no way to get lulled to sleep. So to help bear the weight and also to secure me, Mommy and Daddy use the baby carrier or sling. It works wonders.

I go from this…

…to this …

in a matter of minutes.

I usually love it when Daddy tickles me. Usually. Sometimes I’m just not in a tickly mood. And I let him know it.

Oof. This is a big dog. This is what it must feel like for Mommy and Daddy to hold me.

This teething thing sure is a pain…literally. Recently my teething has been getting worse and my drooling is like a constant leak. You should see how many bibs, burp cloths, and towels I soak a day. I’m always chewing on something. More often than not I’m chewing on my hand, but when Mommy and Daddy remind me that I have a teething ring, I really focus on that. It hits the right spot and I don’t hurt anyone with my chewing.

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This rolling over thing is really hard. I’ve been trying for so long to roll over but have not quite managed it. Recently, I only half-heartedly try to roll over. If I try too hard I get frustrated and upset and it’s not really worth it. So I only kind of try.

Mommy and Daddy are very supportive and always cheer me on. They also manually roll me over to show me how to do it. They give me a bit of a nudge from behind and then just like that I roll over.

I’m not sure if it helps. It just kind of surprises me because everything in flipped upside down and it takes me a while to get my bearings again.

With more control over my hands, I spend more time playing by myself. I grab my toys, chew on them, flail them around, and things like that. Mommy and Daddy love watching me play on my own. Every so often I catch them watching me and flash them a smile.

But there are also other times when I see them and I have a sudden urge to be picked up and I start fussing. They are happy to oblige, but I think they rather get the smiles instead of the fussiness.

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My play mat has become more of a busy mat. I’m not sure if it can be considered play when there is so much that I just HAVE TO do. I have to play with my book, my pillow, my sea otter, my sloth, my ball, my teething leaf, my cloud and I also have to entertain Mommy and Daddy. So busy!

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Most of the time I don’t like to take my naps on my mat. I much rather be held when I sleep, at any time of day. But every so often I can nap peacefully on my mat.

Being and baby can be exhausting, but it must be exhausting taking care of a baby too. I guess that’s why everyone says parents should sleep when the baby sleep. I assume is to get rest whenever possible. But I think it is also because it is hard to resist the soothing weight, warmth, and sound of a sleeping baby.

The other reason that parents have to sleep when babies do is because babies have to wake up a lot in the middle of the night so sleep, so that means that parents do too.

It’s a tough job being a parent, but it looks like Mommy and Daddy absolutely love it!

Before I was even born, Mommy made me a lot of things to play with. One of those things is my little puppy. I like him a lot more than my other doggies because he is small and huggable. My larger doggies are quite large and can be intimidating. But my puppy is small, soft, furry, and oh so huggable!

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I love playing with my crinkly book, but sometimes I can get carried away. I must admit that I can get a bit violent.

Don’t I look like the head honcho sitting like that? I just emit power. The big cheese. I look like when I give an order people just hop to it. The top dog.

(Please ignores the rolls of chubbiness.)

Did you know that I’m Superman? Well, I’m not really the REAL Superman, but I can be Superman if I want. All I need is Mommy’s leg lifts and then I’m Superman flying through the air. It is tons of fun, but you can imagine that carrying a 9kg+ baby on your legs can get pretty tough pretty quickly. So Mommy has to stop frequently.

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My face changes a lot depending on my angle. With this huge cheeks, gravity affects the shape of my face a lot. But no matter what angle you look at me, I’m pretty cute!

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We went to visit Jiichan and Baachan today! Obachan (aunty) also came to visit. They were so happy to see me and really surprised at how big I grew. I was happy to see them, but it took a while to get use to their house.

This is how I started off.

And this is after I got comfortable around everyone again.

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I got so comfortable that I was a bundle of smiles and laughter when playing with them.

It was nice seeing everyone again. I think everyone was impressed with how big I’ve gotten and how cute I still am. It was fun and I look forward to seeing them again!

I had so much fun that I was sound asleep for the ride home.

I’ve come so close to rolling over and not finished it that Mommy and Daddy don’t really get as excited when I am on my side. It is quite common now. It is a comfortable position for me to just lounge with a good book.

My play mat came with a body pillow, which is perfect for hugging. But I’m not actually trying to hug it. I’m trying to chew on it. But try as I might, I can’t seem to find a good way to fit any part of it in my mouth. So I end up just hugging and slobbering all over it. Not as gratifying.

Sometimes wake up because of a wet diaper and then fall right back asleep after its changed. I mean RIGHT AFTER. I look so peaceful sometimes that Daddy just let’s me sleep on my changing mat until I wake up or need to be fed.