10 months

(which really just means: only 2 more to go!)

i find the 1st birthday to be a mommy milestone. if i can survive the first year of my baby's life, i can survive anything. this especially being the case with mason.

not like i'm trying to rush it, of course. never...

the other day, i actually had the moment where i thought, "ok, i'm now officially ready to freeze time."

this really is my favorite stage. the 6 to 12 month stage. however, with mason, 6 months was still overly fussy. as was 7 months... 8 months... and so on. and he still isn't, (let see, how do i say it?...) comfortable in his own skin... happy with life... easy going...

but i'm still going to keep him. and really, who can resist this smile? that is, when it makes an appearance. which is definitely more frequently than it was once upon mason's miserable early months of life.

his giggles, his expressions, and the way he scrunches up his face to smile... he melts my heart. when he is in a good mood... its like the hallelujah chorus is playing softly in the background.

but talk about dramatic. man, that boy can swing abruptly... laughing one second, crying huge crocodile tears the next... and then laughing again before the tears dry. its a bit of a roller coaster with that one.

but we've made it 10 months and he is the little boy of our family i missed before i even knew he existed. i'll take the fussiness and drama. and the strong will. he has some leadership qualities in him. i've always said i wanted a happy, easy-going baby who can make the first year of life somewhat enjoyable and peaceful. i never got that, but its ok. passive people-pleasers don't change the world.

we're raising world changers around here for sure.