Mason Shoma

In my last post, I mentioned how much I grew in a month. I wasn’t only talking about my weight and length. Look at my eyebrows and eyelashes. They are becoming very distinguished.

The days go by so fast that they are like a blur. Everything gets mixed together that I am not really aware of what happened when. Especially when my day is a blend of deja vu experiences where I’m sure I just did this or that.

These pictures were taken 12 hours apart. The one on the left was at 11 p.m. and the one on the right was at 11 a.m. the next day. Look familiar? Of course, I woke up and did other things in between. But it seems that I end up in this position during many parts of my day.

Is that a good way to spend my day? Let me think about that.

Big mushy cheeks look really cute on babies, but sometimes they don’t hold up well against gravity and then we end up looking really old. When I sit up I feel like it looks as if I aged a few decades.

I’m getting used to tummy time and am getting a pretty good workout. Sure, sometimes I just lie there and do nothing. Other times I try to lift my head up and end up smashing my face into the floor. But most of the time I do pretty good at holding my head up for a few seconds.

The problem is that my head is pretty heavy so if I don’t position my hands correctly, it is hard to lift my head up. It is simple physics. I just don’t have the leverage. But there are times where I power past physics and lift my head up, even with poor hand positioning. I do so by counter-balancing with a leg lift. I end up doing a kind of turtle freeze with my legs and head up at the same time, balancing on my hands and arms.

As you already know, I love being held. But I realize that I cannot be held all the time. So I try to give Mommy and Daddy a reprieve every so often. I usually eat one of my dinners before them so I tend to be in a good mood for a while. I often spend that time in my chair, which has become a waiting chair of sorts. I give Mommy and Daddy time to eat dinner in peace…most of the time. Sometimes I fuss and need to be held again. Daddy has gotten pretty good holding me in his right arm and using chopsticks with his left hand to eat. Sometimes he has to do this while standing up. But most of the time I’m pretty good.

I just wait and make weird grunts and growls.

My first shrine visit was a great success and I was on my best behavior. These past two days I have been doing really well at behaving myself at new places and in front of new people. I was even good during the car ride. I kind of hit my limit the last ten minutes of our 30 minute car ride back home and I started crying. But that was to be expected. It was my feeding time and I had been using all my energy to be on my best behavior. Once we got home we rushed inside to feed me. To my surprise, Ojiisan and my aunt followed. We were all going to have lunch together, (even though I was actually eating before everyone).

With a full stomach and after changing into something more comfortable, I was in a really good mood. That’s when Ojiisan held me for the first time. We bonded instantly. We just stared at each other for a really long time. I had a strange look of seriousness on my face. I studied his face, committing it to memory and he just looked back at me, talking to me. I did not cry at all. We enjoyed our moment with everyone else looking on.

I could tell that he adores me, after all, I am his first grandchild. We were all very happy that our first meeting went so well. I look forward to the many future meetings as well!

With all the excitement and bustle of my photo shoot, my normal daily routine was thrown off. It was my first time going out and meeting new people. And it was a completely different environment and situation for me. I was a very good boy and behaved really well! Mommy and Daddy were very proud of me. But of course, all that good behavior came at a cost. My feeding schedule was off and I was very tired from the day’s activities. The busy day for me meant a busy night for Mommy and Daddy. I was pooped and a little more fussy than usual. That meant that I could not be put down to bed and pretty much had to be held the whole night.

Below are photos of me at 8, 10, 12, and then the next morning. It was a lot of sleep for me, but a lot of work for Mommy and Daddy.

Sometimes when I rest on Daddy’s chest I squirm my way into a comfortable position. That can be the cradle of his arm or his arm nook. Yes, that’s right, “arm nook”. Well, I don’t like the sound of “armpit”, so I choose to call it his “arm nook”. Anyway, it is really comfortable and my face fits right in it.

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff!

It’s tough being a baby. There is so much going on in life, but I have so little control over anything. I can’t even control myself. My bodies has a mind of its own. I can’t control my hands or feet very well. I can’t even control my bodily functions.

And then there is my mood swings. There is nothing I can do to control how I feel or how I react to things. My mood swings are quite severe. I can be calm and peaceful and then all of a sudden I’m crying and fussing and I don’t know why. Then all of a sudden I’m back to peaceful and calm again. I don’t get it and I don’t like it. I feel bad for Mommy and Daddy because they have to try and deal with my mood swings. They are very understanding and know that I’m not doing it on purpose. I’m just a baby and doing my best.

Sometimes I am so hungry that I am literally biting the hand that feeds me. Well, not really biting, more like gnawing. But the hand is Mommy’s hand and she’s the one literally feeding me. Hmmm. I should rethink my actions or I might be cut off.

A lot happens while I sleep. Apparently I do a lot weird things. I make weird noises, I make weird faces, and I make weird movements. There is a lot of weirdness going on. I would like to say that while doing all of this I am getting a restful sleep, but I’m not.

I never wake up the way I went to sleep.

Either I move or my blanket moves.

Or both sometimes.

Yep, a lot happens while I am sleeping.

Yep, that’s me foaming at the mouth. I’m not mad or anything. It is just something that I do. Oddly, I’m not like a typical baby who drools a lot or spits up from time to time. But I do foam at the mouth every once in a while, usually while I sleep. Don’t ask me why.

It goes without saying that my favorite thing in the world is to be close to Mommy and Daddy. It is so peaceful. This is my happy place.

Even after 4 weeks I still can’t get rid of this hiccuping. Of course, I have not been hiccuping for 4 weeks straight, but I have been hiccuping at least once every day for 4 weeks. It is getting tiring.

As I grow, I am more awake and alert. Slowly and surely my facial expressions are increasing. I haven’t quite mastered smiling, but as you can see, I’m getting very close.

I am 4 weeks old today! I feel like I’ve grown and developed a lot these 4 weeks. I heard people talk about how tough the world can be for a little baby, but I don’t think it is that hard. Sure, I sometimes cry like it is the end of the world over the littlest things. Sure, I have everything provided for me and am waited on hand and foot. Sure, it’s only been 4 short weeks. Despite all of that, I think I got this being a baby thing worked out. Piece of cake!

I am both a beauty and a beast. I’m not just talking about outward appearances. There are times when I am such an easy baby, conducting myself with beauty and grace. Then there are times where I am on a rampage set on upsetting the peace that has settled upon the land.

Nah, I’m just kidding. I’m never really that bad. I just wanted to make use of the “Beauty and the Beast” title of this post. But, in reality, my outward appearances do reflect the title of “Beauty and the Beast”. Okay, first, here is the “beauty”.

Absolutely precious, if I do say so myself. A perfect angel. So sweet and innocent.

Okay, now for the “beast”. Brace yourself. This is not going to be pretty!

Yikes! It’s hard to believe that it is the same face. Well, for all you doubters out there, we have rare footage of my transformation from beauty to beast.