10 Months

Today is a milestone (in my book)! We have reached double digits and Mason is officially ten months old! Yikes! It is so hard to believe that ten months has already flown by and he is almost one!

He loves to get into the diaper bag. He pulls everything out, one by one, and scatters it across the floor!

He decided he could crawl up the stairs so up went the baby gates! He isn't a fan.

The pool in our town home complex is now open so we got Mason a new pool toy and he loves it! Hopefully he won't mind the pool...it isn't bathwater like he is used to.

Anytime I open the refrigerator he crawls over as fast as he can and gets into it. He thinks it is great!

He is so good at helping me empty the dishwasher! Thankfully he hasn't figured out how to climb up onto it yet!

When Brad married me he knew it meant "for all time and eternity + a lifetime of back tickles." Mason turned out just like me and loves his back/arms/stomach/legs tickled. When I put him down for naps during the day I just tickle his back until he is asleep!

Mason's favorite people are still his uncles! He lights up whenever he sees his Uncle Bob come into the room. I love seeing my brothers with Mason, it is so sweet. He also has a thing for hats...if Bob is wearing a hat Mason has to grab at it.

He loves to help his daddy with just about anything! Brad was putting up the growth chart he built and Mason decided to help...he mostly tried eating the drill, but it was still cute to watch.

The last couple of weeks have been rough around here. Mason got his very first ear infection, which ended up being a double ear infection. The night before we took him to the doctor was the longest night we've ever had as parents...Mason was up all night long screaming, crying, coughing and grabbing at his ears. His fever was at a constant 102 degrees, even with Tylenol in his system. He was burning up so every couple of hours, all night, Brad and I took turns getting in the shower with him to help cool his body down. He would stop crying while we showered, but would start back up again as soon as we turned off the water. I kept him nearly naked the whole night and just held him while he cried. I felt so sad for him...

They put him on Amoxicillan which gave him the runs...really bad...like so bad that we've had more blowouts in the last week than in the first couple months of his life! It made him have absolutely NO appetite, which is unusual for Mason (who normally eats like his daddy). I resorted to giving him anything he would munch on. Kit-Kat Bar was a winner!

Bath time in mommy & daddy's tub!

He LOVES to be in the bath or the shower! When I shower he will crawl over the the tub, pull himself up and lean as far as he can into the water. He giggles at himself and we usually end up changing his outfit because by the time I am done showering he is soaked!

My biggest scare this month...Mason eating the sheetrock. I freaked out, called my mom and asked her what to do. She told me to call poison control and I did. They didn't seem worried because our house is too new to have lead based paint and sheetrock isn't bad for you...some prego ladies crave it. Gross. It didn't seem to bother Mason at all, in fact, he was quite proud of himself. Little stinker.

We spend quite a few days each week at my mom's house. He LOVES his Grandma Jepson and I am pretty sure the two of them will always be close. He loves to play in the swimming pool at her house and tries to drink water from the hose.

He also loves all the yummy treats she gives him. She bought baby ice cream cones so he could have one - he at the whole thing!

I am so grateful that Mason has his Great-Grandpa Bowles in his life. These two are little buddies! Mason loves to sit on his lap and will crawl over to him if he sees him from across the room. So precious!!

Yesterday was possibly the longest, most adventurous, day of Mason's life. Brad and I celebrated our third anniversary and made a day of it! Every year on our anniversary we go to the Zoo (because we did one day on our honeymoon) and we also go to Temple Square (because it was our first date). Mason was so good the whole day and didn't fuss once!

We have so many pictures of just Brad and I sitting in this very spot at the zoo, this is the first picture with our sweet Mason!

He loved smacking the glass and watching all of the animals in the water!

He didn't want to get off of the gorilla's head.

I couldn't resist putting Daddy & Mason's picture next to the giraffe...it is only fitting.

Mason is almost as big as a juvenile orangutan!

Watching the gorillas inside was so fun for him! He stood with his hands on the glass and would jump every time a gorilla walked by. 

Probably my favorite pictures from the day - he was laughing so hard when daddy stuck his head in that hole!

Without a doubt, Mason's favorite animal at the zoo were the Grizzly Bears! While watching them he was waving his hands and yelling, "HA HA HA HA HA" at them.

On our way out of the zoo we stopped and got him a grizzly bear stuffed animal - which he also loves! He fell asleep holding it on the way home.

After the zoo we headed downtown to go to Temple Square. On my first date with Brad we took a picture up on the 10th floor, overlooking the Temple. It has become a tradition that whenever we go downtown we take a picture up there. Mason loved standing and looking out the big window!

After we wandered around Temple Square we headed over to City Creek. We had never been before and wanted to go look around. It was a lot of fun and the weather was PERFECT! Mason was mesmerized by the guy singing and playing his guitar so we sat and watched him play for a bit.

It was finally time to head to Grandma's house. Brad and I were going out on a date for the first time without Mason! I am so thankful I have my mom so close to me because I do not trust anyone but her to babysit! Mason loves her so very much and lunges toward her every time he sees her, so naturally she will always be the one to watch my baby!

We went to dinner and a movie (and did a little bit of shopping) and were gone for almost five hours! When we arrived back at my mom's house to pick him up they were waiting outside with a large envelope. We opened the envelope and this was inside. It was a little booklet of everything Mason did while we were gone. So cute!!

(Last night we bought Mason his own Utah Jazz romper) Size: 24 months!

We love our Mason and we are so thankful that Heavenly Father blessed us with such a sweet boy!