The Robison Round-Up: Joyous Mason Turns Three

This has been saved in draft form for months now and there are a million things I want to add, but at almost four months late I think it's about time I posted this! Mason's 3rd birthday was on 12/3/2013.

We blinked and Mason turned three! His first three years have flown by and been a whirlwind of fun. We are so happy to be his parents and can barely remember life before him. He has grown up so much this year and gained the awesome new role of big brother. He is such an incredible brother to Harrison and seems so big to Sean and I in comparison.

Mason loves, or should I say, is obsessed with, the color blue. If he knows something exists in blue, he will have nothing else. For example, I bought him a three-pack of blue forks. Do you think he'll eat with any other fork? Nope. Or at a birthday party one time, he was totally fine with his party favor that had green sunglasses inside. But when he saw that someone else got one with blue sunglasses, World War III broke out. He wears blue tops with blue jeans, blue underwear, blue socks and blue shoes. We just bought him a pair of blue shorts and some new blue shirts, and he picked out some turquoise jeans for himself. It's also mine and Sean's favorite color, but even I'm getting a little tired of it! I know this phase will soon pass though and I remind myself how charming it is.

Other things Mason loves: trucks of all kinds, legos, books, drawing/painting, stickers/stamps, cartoons, running around outside, playing in sand, climbing trees, riding his scooter, playing with friends, trolling the neighborhood in the afternoon looking for friends outside to play with, school, puzzles, working with tools (especially with Sean in the garage), music, the Perot museum, going to parks, riding trolleys, driving Sean's truck, building forts to play/read in, playing make believe witches and dragons, and of course, baby brother "Parrison".

Mason does NOT love: being told what to do, being told "no", getting dressed/brushing hair, vegetables, getting out of the bath, and this one has subsided, but he did have a pretty torrid love/hate relationship with owls for a while.

He is potty trained except, and this is a big caveat, except for #2. He wears undies all day, and brings me a diaper when he needs to go #2. We are so close, but not quite there. I'm researching new approaches we can take with him on this! He loves to stay busy and still naps everyday, except on school days when he has quiet time at home instead. If he went down after school, he'd take forever to fall asleep, and then sleep until 5:00 and fight bedtime so I just took it out unless he seems like he really needs it. He sleeps anywhere from 10-12 hours at night, depending on when he falls asleep. He's up at 7:00 no matter what.

Mason has become very curious and inquisitive in his fourth year. He asks questions all day long and will talk your ear off. We're very patient with him as we know his mind is going a million miles a minute and growing with each day. He is quite funny and loves to make people laugh. He's still very outgoing, inclusive, and has never met a stranger. He's polite to adults, and generally very kind to kids as well. He can also be very, very, rowdy. His volume seems to be permanently set on high and his batteries never run out. Lately not a day goes by when he doesn't get in some sort of trouble, but we're staying consistent with our discipline knowing that what we teach him now will shape who he becomes as a man.

We were very pleased with everything we talked to his teacher about in his parent/teacher conference this year. He's right where or ahead of where he should be and is doing great in his preschool environment. His teacher picked one word to describe each of her students and gave Mason the word "Joyous". We couldn't agree with this more and just love our joyous boy to pieces!

Fun fact: Mason turned 3 on December 3, 2013, weighing 33 lbs., and standing at 3' 3" tall!

Below is a set of questions I asked Mason about his favorites, followed by some pictures from his birthday parties. I want to ask the same questions over the years and see how they change. Some of his answers are pretty adorable and comical! We had a family party at home the weekend before his birthday, and had a weekday construction party with his friends at Preston Hollow Park. We lucked out with the weather as a crazy ice storm hit Dallas the next day!

Favorite color: Blue (duh)
Favorite toy: choo choo trains
Favorite TV show: Jake and the Neverland Pirates
Favorite thing to eat: parfaits
Favorite thing to wear: Jake PJ's
Favorite game: trucks and playing mad witches
Favorite creative activity: stickers & stamps
Favorite animal: cow (surprised me that he didn't say Hazel, our dog)
Favorite song: dinosaur song (something they sing at school), and All Aboard the Choo Choo Train
Best friend: Hud and Harrison from school, and Jeff
Favorite thing to do outside: play in the sand
Favorite drink: milk
Favorite holiday: birthdays
Favorite thing to sleep with: Bert
What do you want to be when you grow up: Garbage Man
What's your favorite thing to do with Harrison: play with him
What do you love about yourself: choo choo trains
What do you dream about: scary witches (this concerns me a little!)
What's your favorite thing to do with Daddy: work
What's your favorite thing to do with Mommy: play
What's your favorite thing to do at school: eat snack and play

Happy 3rd Birthday, Buddy!

The cake tasted better than it looked! It was my first attempt at making frosting from scratch.

BeBe, Papa, and Great-Grandma

The Gadeks! Brian, Jen, Matthew and Madison

The intense stares from Sean and I in the bottom picture make me laugh

Clockwise from top left: Birthday breakfast, at his three year check-up, out for burgers on his birthday (his choice), and him saying sayonara to two!