"The Sincerest Love Is The Love of Food."

Don't get in the way of Mason and his food or you'll have one angry baby!

Cucumbers = LOVE

Frozen Blueberries = LOVE

Raw Carrots = LOVE

His love for food is unconditional!

7 Months

7 months has come and gone!

Mason is getting so big and learning new things every day!

He still won't sleep through the night anymore and it was pretty awful for a few days this last month. Mason would wake up every hour and just cry. I felt so bad because I didn't know what he wanted or needed. He would nurse and then fall asleep in my arms, but as soon as I put him down he would wake right up and cry. I finally just gave up (only for a few nights) and put him in bed with me for the entire night. I talked with my mom about him not sleeping and she suggested that I try and feed him some cereal right before bed so he stays fuller, longer. That did the trick for a little while, then he went back to waking up every hour or two. I decided I was going to try something that we hadn't done since Mason was about 6 weeks old - I swaddled him. He never loved being swaddled because his arms weren't free and he now loves to kick his legs, but I figured I had nothing to lose. IT WORKED! He eventually kicks himself free, but it helps him sleep so much better! So our new routine: cereal, nurse, swaddle and SLEEP!

We have continued giving Mason lots and lots of new foods this month! He will literally eat anything we give him so it is fun to see how he reacts to everything.

This particular night we gave Mason apricot Jello for the first time. It was a hit!

Mason LOVES LOVES LOVES his daddy! When Brad comes home from work Mason's energy level goes through the roof! When he hears the garage door open he immediately starts looking for daddy, then when he walks through the door Mason grins from ear to ear and usually lets out a big giggle. It is so precious!! These two could just lay on the couch with each other all day, perfectly content just laying with each other. I LOVE them!

Mason receives quite a bit of attention from Payton and Brooklynn. Every day Payton asks if I am coming over so he can see Mason and Brooklynn runs up to him the moment we walk through the door. She is so cute with him and it is almost comical to hear her talk to him.

The other day she wanted to read Mason a story so she grabbed his animal book out of the diaper bag and told me to put him on her lap. He was a trooper and just laid there as she read, "Once upon a time there was a doggy and a cat..."

It is funny to see her hold him because even though she is 4 years older, she is only about double his weight. LOL

Here she is again, reading Mason the same story while Payton had a turn holding him.

Brad and I went out to dinner the other night and we gave Mason his first cheese quesadilla and he chewed it to bits! The entire thing was mutilated by the end of dinner and he was so happy just gnawing away at it. After dinner we found bits of cheese in his little neck rolls...so nasty!

Some of Mason's new foods that he tried were sugar cookies, mashed potatoes, red potatoes, french bread, kool-aid (only a drop through a straw), noodles from chicken noodle soup, an actual apple, cucumbers (he LOVES them), peanut butter (usually on a spatula), homemade biter biscuits, a McDonald's french fry and a few bites of frozen lemonade. There may be a few others that I missed because he is quite the eater and it is hard to keep track of everything he has eaten!!

As you can see from this photo, Mason's nose and chin are rather orange right now...what can I say, the boys loves his squash, sweet potatoes and carrots!

Mason figured out how to pull the canopy on his car seat all the way down. No matter how many times I put it back up he just reaches up and pulls it back down in front of him. Whatever keeps him occupied in the car, I guess.

The other night I needed Mason to wake up so I could nurse him before he went to sleep for the night. I had taken him out of his carseat and put him on my lap. He is generally a very light sleeper so this usually wakes him right up...

Apparently he was pretty tired because he wouldn't wake up for anything!

Although Mason has been able to sit up for a little over a month now, he will still fall over every now and again.

I will put him in the corner of the couch and he will sit and play with the remote while I get my breakfast in the morning. He doesn't ever make a peep when he falls over, he just lays there like it's no big deal!

As promised, the picture of Mason clapping. He does it all the time and is so proud of himself!

The video of Mason clapping.

You can also see that he almost rolls from back to front, but gives up. I am convinced that he isn't ever going to roll over. He'd rather lay on his back or sit up!

And now, for my very favorite!

My parents have vaulted ceilings in their home and they have a ceiling fan in their living room. From the day we brought Mason home he would lay there and stare at the fan (didn't matter if it was on or off). I just figured that all babies were intrigued with things like that. Well, Mason has taken his love for ceiling fans to a whole new level! He literally screams at it (on or off) for a good 20 minutes at a time. 

My brother Bob is convinced that his future little brother or sister is sitting up on the fan blade watching over him and just waiting for their turn to come down. :)

Now for the miscellaneous tid-bits from this month:

-He pooped in the shower for the first time...so gross

-He figured out how to turn himself in a circle while on his belly.

-He fights falling asleep

-He is down to taking only a couple of rather short naps during the day

-Bed time is still around 7:00 PM

-He met two of his cousins and one of his aunts for the very first time.

-He had the pukes for the first time...my poor baby. (You'd never know based on how happy he looks after we gave him a bath)

-He is officially in size 3 diapers!

-He fits in a lot of size 12 month outfits (including the jammies below)

-His bald spot on the back of his head is finally growing hair!

-He tries to climb up me when I am holding him.

-His favorite toys are spatulas, measuring spoons, the computer keyboard, cell phones & remote controls.

-Payton is still his very favorite person

-He figured out where his "parts" are and tries to grab them whenever he has the chance. (He learned his lesson though, and made himself cry)

-He still doesn't like big crowds of loud people. He has a break down.

-He still hates being passed around from person to person. (Just the other day three of his aunts and one of his grandma's all held him in a matter of about 5 minutes. He was screaming and crying by the time I took him back...a true momma's boy and I don't mind one bit!)

-He sucks on his toes

-He is learning to make new sounds and getting ready to talk. He says, "yayayayaya" and "goo gah" more than anything else.

 I absolutely love my little bubba and can't believe how quickly 7 months has come and gone!

Getting Bigger...

Every day Mason does something for the first time and it makes me think my baby isn't such a baby anymore...

Lately he has been trying (and almost succeeding) to stand up in the bathtub...

 ...he gets his entire butt off the ground and stands there in a squatting position...

 ....

 ...so proud of himself!

 He loves to splash in the tub now too...and we usually end up refilling the tub because he splashes all the water out.

 The last week we have gone through about 3 outfits every day. Why? Because Mason figured out how to take off his bib!

 And finally, today Mason learned how to clap his hands. He is so proud while he is doing it and gets so giggly when I get excited for him! Wish I had a picture, but I don't. (Not yet.)

"There's no place like home, except Grandma's."

We go to my mom's house probably 4 days out of every week. I love hanging out with my mom and Mason LOVES his Grandma Jepson! He also gets to see his cousins, Payton & Brooklynn, when we are there and he loves them too!

This last week Brooklynn decided that she was going to feed her doll while I fed Mason. She is such a little mother and it is adorable! She filled a bowl with water, got a baby spoon and fed her baby doll. She is a pro...she knows just what to do!

 When her baby was dong eating she came over and helped me feed Mason. She acts like a second mother to him!

 Another cousin bath! Mason loves being in the bath, but add his two favorite cousins to the mix and you have aquatic heaven!

Payton has a wrestler doll that grunts and groans when you hit him in the face/chest/etc. Mason figured out that he could hit the doll and it would make noise and was quite entertained!

I recorded him playing with the doll and just happened to catch him discovering his ears for the first time. The rest of the night he kept grabbing his ears. Too cute!

Mason's first kiss (caught on video) to Payton.

We also go to Brad's Grandparent's house at least once a week! We love them so much and they are the sweetest Grandparents I could ever ask for. We try to make sure that Mason gets to spend PLENTY of time with his Great-Grandpa & Grandma Bowles!

I recorded Grandma giving Mason a hard time for crinkling her magazine. She is so sweet with Mason and I love it!

"Grandma always makes you feel like she has been waiting all day to see just you, and now her day is complete."

This & That

Mason loves Braddy Boy just as much as I do!

We made muddy buddies the other night and Mason was mommy's little helper. 

 Measuring spoons need to be added to my list of great baby toys that aren't actually toys.

Mason has started giving open mouthed kisses and who do you think he gave his very first kiss to?? Oh, just Payton! 

Yesterday morning I woke up around 2:00am with nasty food poisoning so I went to my mom's house for the day and she watched Mason so I could puke my guts out and then get some sleep...Needless to say, Mason had a great day! He even thought it was funny that Payton dressed him up as a princess!

Grandma Jepson also gave Mason his first pancake and he LOVED it!

Another favorite of Mason's - empty boxes. He held the Milk Duds box the entire drive home and didn't drop it even after he fell asleep.

Daddy got Mason a hulk stuffed animal that matches his blanket and Mason thinks it is great!

 The Hulk will be bigger than him until he is 2!

Videos of the week!

Mason will copy daddy and it is hilarious!

He talks like this all day long! Maybe he got his chatterbox ways from his mommy!

Yesterday Mason figured out that banging his toys together is so much fun!

Mommy & Mason comparison

I just have to point out that my child got one thing from me, and one thing only, my crazy hair as a baby!

Mason at 6 months old.

 Mommy at 6 months old.

Though my hair was much darker than his, we share the same hairstyle - spikey and out of control!

Good Week!

What a good week! I have to say that being a mom is the very best job in the whole wide world! I love being with Mason all day long and wouldn't have it any other way! We had a fun week and took lots of pictures!

Mason discovered daddy's basketball and loves it! Before Mason was born Brad bought him his own mini basketball so we got that out for him and it hasn't been put away yet. He has always loved to watch basketball - whether it is daddy & Uncle Jordan playing or watching it on TV! He is definitely our child if he loves basketball at 6 months old!

Lots of peek-a-boo around our house!

I am in love with him.

 And those big blue eyes.

Yep...totally in love.

 Mason puts EVERYTHING in his mouth these days...exhibit A, B & C.

We tried a few new foods this week too! He loves scrambled eggs, yogurt and was so happy to hold the entire banana while eating it.

He tried apples mixed with blueberries as well...not a fan. He would gag and spit them out and make the yuckiest face at me. 

 He still loves his biter biscuits! I know that the box says they are for toddlers, but this boy chews them completely gone in about 5 minutes. That's my boy!

Mason got to spend time with his #1 bud!

I call it baby jail and he loves every minute of it! I would have never bought him toys if I knew that the laundry basket, toilet paper tubes, hot chocolate canisters and hangers would be so entertaining!

 Late last night Mason was content just laying by daddy!

 Then it was time for bed so he got snuggly on daddy's chest. Love my guys!

 Mason has this thing...when he is falling asleep he puts his arm straight up and out until he is too tired to hold it there anymore. Silly boy.

Early this morning I heard Mason wake up so I went in and he had fallen back asleep. I put his covers on him and went back to bed. About 30 seconds later I heard him again so I went back to his room to find him like this...

...apparently he didn't want his blankets on him, he wanted to prop his legs up on them instead.

He slept like this the rest of the morning!

Last but not least - we are ready for the big game today! We even have a football binky to match his onesie!

I never knew I could love someone so very much and I just can't get enough of my Mason!