A Whole New Perspective

Well for all of you who are as obsessed with Pinterest as I am and love all of the kid activities that have been shared, here is a review of one that I decided to tackle.... The edible finger paint, originally posted here.

Once I mixed the corn starch, cold water, and then hot water, as instructed, my mixture seemed watery still. I was wondering since it involved corn starch if it would thicken over time, so I proceeded to the next step.

I divided it up into 3 small Tupperware containers...

... added food coloring: green, red, and blue...

... and put some on a plastic plate for Mason to play with...

He loved it and really got into painting his high chair too. :)

See Mom, all done.

So the important parts of my review are this:

It did thicken up after a few hours, so maybe make it ahead of time and let it thicken before painting.
This recipe should be made for 5-10 kids, not one, so consider scaling it down if you are doing it for just 1-2 kids because we had A LOT left over and it does start to grow mold after a few days... yes, I was curious if it would keep well like normal paint does, and the answer was a definite no.
You will need to add 10+ drops of food coloring if you want the color to actually show up on a piece of paper if you are planning on keeping it as potential artwork. I think I used at least 5 of each color and once the paint was on the paper it was a very dull pastel painting.
Yes it is edible, meaning non-toxic, but no it does not taste good. Corn starch and water, enough said. :)
The paint will dry on paper after a few hours and will have a sort of chalk-like feel to it on top of a rippled sheet of paper. Probably not important, but in case you were curious.

Happy painting!

Month Ten

Weight:

19 pounds (birth: 8lbs .3oz)

Length:

28.5 inches (birth: 21 inches)

Diapers:

Size 3 daytime and Size 4 nighttime.

Clothes:

6-9 month range.

Feedings:

Mason still nurses 4 times a day, but the two midday feedings have become a lot shorter. I can tell Mason has started the weaning process because morning and nighttime are the most important to him, but during the day he is just too busy to sit still for long.
Every 4-5 hours. Breast milk. 7-8 oz.

Mason still loves food. And he finally has his 1st tooth, well 3 teeth now actually! I tried to get a picture for proof... kinda hard to see, look below. Poor guy had them all come in within a week of each other. We have been venturing a little farther these days with more "finger foods" which he really seems to enjoy: beans, peas, pastas, bread, cheese, fruits, rice, even some chicken and turkey in bite size portions. It also makes meal time a whole lot easier for mom and dad! :)

Nights:

Mason is still consistently sleeping at least 11 hours each night, to bed between 7:30-8:00 and awake between 6:30-8:00 these days.

Personality:

Mason is such a curious little boy. His curiosity drives him to move faster, be stronger, scream louder, throw farther, haha. He definitely has his mama's patience (or lack of) and his daddy's love for all things loud and fast.

He is into everything and on the move nonstop. People were not kidding when they told me to get my running shoes on, this kid is a go getter. He loves any kind of car. And he loves making the sounds and "driving" them around on everything (i.e. the floor, the cabinets, the tub). It just amazes me that it has started at a such a young age and that it came so naturally to him. There is so much I am learning about what makes up a man just based on what is innately part of them as boys.

Development:

Mason's biggest development this month is WALKING. 99.9999% of the time he is up walking. The other 0.0001% he is eating or standing himself back up after a stumble. He is on the move constantly and will even pace back and forth across the room just showing us how proud he is of himself and his new found independence.

Mason still doesn't say any distinct words, but he has said "mama" and "uh oh" occasionally. It really is kind of hard to know what a "First" word is, but he just babbles a lot... and grunts.... and "vooms" A LOT like a car. I definitely feel like he should be saying words, but when he tries it is too cute. He looks me in the eyes and says "uhhh uhhh" for pretty much everything. He does know how to sign "more" and can now drink from his cup on his own too.

Mason loves to read, throw balls and chase them around the house, open and close cabinets, doors, and drawers, helping with the laundry, and loves going to the park. He watches for birds and screams when he sees them in the sky. In fact one of our favorite things to do while eating breakfast in the mornings is to listen for birds together. When he hears one he will turn to me, smile and "say" something. I wish I knew what he was saying. He also loves touching different trees and likes pulling off the bark and watching it fall to the ground. We often take bike rides as a family and recently we were brave enough to put Dusty and Mason into the trailer together. That went better than we expected.

Mason finally understands "no" and will actually listen to us most of the time.

Bath time has become a fun and enjoyable play time now. We have to get Mason to get out now, instead of him wanting out.

The last several months Mason has been sick off and on, ear infections, coughing, congestion, and teething... so he seems to have become a lot more attached to me lately, I am not sure if it is because he hasn't been feeling like himself or has the separation anxiety, maybe a little of both.

Here is where he thought I was leaving him when visiting some friends...

He still has blonde hair and has a few curls in the back and these last few months we have really started to hear that he looks like me. I still just see Mason. He is so unique, not like his dad, not like his mom, just Mason and we are so thankful for his precious little personality and new found independence, haha, well sort of. He is still sooo happy, even with all that has been going on with him this month.