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!

My First Mother's Day

Brad and Mason made sure my first Mother's Day was perfect from start to finish! Brad woke up at 6:30am and took Mason from me. He told me to go back to sleep and it felt so good! I slept all the way until 8:00am!!! While I was asleep Brad made me waffles for breakfast and they were so yummy (food always taste better when I don't have to make it)!

After breakfast Brad and Mason gave me the gift I never saw coming! I had been wanting a growth chart since I was pregnant, but never found one that I loved. Leave it to my husband to build one! It is beautiful and I love that I will always be able to tell our kids that their daddy made it for them! :)

I am so unbelievably thankful that I have the privilege of being a mother. Mason is the greatest blessing in my life and I truly enjoy every moment of being his mom! 

You can tell that these two had an exhausting day! They both took a two hour nap on the couch at my mom's house after dinner.

I could not have asked for a better day!

Mother's Day

Mom, I cannot tell you how blessed I am to have you as my mom. Words cannot express just how thankful I am that Heavenly Father sent you to me. I love you.

You have taught me everything I know and because of you I feel like I am a good mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

My Silly Boy

Lisa, this is for you! :)

Everyday.

Everyday, he makes me smile. Everyday, he makes me glad to be a mommy. Everyday, he makes a memory I'll never want to forget. Everyday, I'm more thankful than the day before that he is my little boy. Everyday, I wonder how I ever lived my life without him. Everyday.

9 Month Doctor Appointment

Today was Mason's nine month check up!

He is very tall and very skinny!

The moment Dr. Duffy walked into the room Mason reached out for him. He held him during the entire appointment. Dr. Duffy said it made his day because babies usually hold tight to their mommy at the doctor!

He listened to Mason's heart and found out that he has a heart murmur. I freaked out for a second, but he told me not to worry. He said that it doesn't sound too serious and that 60% of babies have a heart murmur at some point. He will just have to keep an eye on it.

Mason has had a little dimple in his chest (it has some fancy name, but I don't remember it) since the day he was born. Dr. Duffy told us it is where his tongue and thyroid come together. It should have closed all the way while he was in my tummy, but it didn't. Today he told me that most likely Mason will have to have it removed before he hits puberty or it will start to ooze. BLAH.

Mason was also born with an umbilical hernia (quite common). His belly button stuck out a lot, but has slowly gone down. He still has an "outie" so Dr. Duffy checked it today. The hole still hasn't closed up and it is rather large! At his twelve month appointment he will check it again and if it is still big then he will have to have a surgery to close it up. BLAH AGAIN.

On the bright side of things, Dr. Duffy said he is standing very well for his age and has some very strong legs!

I asked his doctor if it was normal that Mason plays with his "man parts" anytime his diaper is off. His response, "It could be one of two things; he is either a boy or is going to be a baseball player." LOL I cracked up...needless to say, it is normal. :)

Overall, it was a good appointment, just a lot to worry about for the next three months.

9 Months

Mason is nine months old today! Holy cow! I feel like this last month someone pressed fast forward and in the blink of an eye it was gone! Mason has accomplished so much and is getting so big!

He is very good at sharing. Even if you don't ask for it, he will offer you whatever he is eating.

"Want some soggy cookie?"

-He nursed for the last time on Saturday 4/20.

-Both of his bottom teeth are all the way through.

-He loves playing with other babies.

He still does not sleep very good at night. Like clockwork he will fall asleep at 8:00, but by 2:00 he is awake and crying in his crib. I can't (not won't, literally CANNOT) let him "cry it out" in his crib so I always go in and rock him back to sleep. I usually find him sitting up or crawling around when I go in to get him. It takes about 30 seconds for him to fall back asleep and then I can lay him down again. Only a few hours later he wakes up hungry - almost always between 5:00 and 5:30. I feed him a bottle and he will fall back asleep until around 7:00. Then we are up for the day. I look forward to the day that he sleeps like a normal human being!

He has graduated into the stage 2 car seat and the box it came in has become quite a fun toy!

He has discovered that he can pull on (or off) his clothes. It makes for a lovely mess when he is eating.

Mason loves to eat paper. If he sees a magazine or a piece of mail laying around he zooms right over to it and rips it apart with his teeth.

-He eats more than I do! An entire can of chicken noodle soup, a whole apple, half a peach, a sippy of milk and two ritz crackers...for lunch.

-All of his clothing is at least size 12 months, all of his jammies are size 18 months.

-He learned to crawl on 4/9

Mason can pull himself into a standing position using just about anything. He discovered the stairs a few days ago, but thankfully hasn't figured out how to venture up them.

We put him down on the grass for the first time in shorts. He hated it! He wouldn't crawl anywhere in it, let alone put his feet down! I couldn't help but laugh.

-He loves to play ball - he will push it back and forth with you.

-He flirts with just about anyone!

-He is still particular about who holds him. He has more say in who holds him now, too. He will crawl to who he wants and basically climb up their leg.

-He had another haircut and just smiled at himself in the mirror the entire time.

Typical Mason when lunchtime runs into nap time...

 ....I simply asked him if he wanted to get out and he stopped crying.

Food makes him so happy! He loves apples (he chews on them FOREVER), cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, yogurt, cheese, anything pasta related, grilled cheese, every flavor of instant oatmeal and cinnamon and sugar toast.

Frozen blueberries are one of his favorite snacks!

The other night I was changing Mason's diaper in the living room. I took his dirty diaper off and turned to grab the new one. In those five seconds he had rolled over and crawled away. Thankfully, he didn't pee on the carpet!

-He likes to play with spatulas and bowls

-He tries to put his fingers in the electrical outlets - bless the person who invented outlet covers!

-He ate chunks out of the vacuum cord. (I about died when I saw it!)

Now that he has a new car seat we brought the old one inside. It is still downstairs because Mason plays with it almost every single day. He tries SO hard to pull the buckle out of the seat and never loses patience when it doesn't come out. 

Since he figured out how to pull his bibs off my mom made him a couple new ones that tie in the back. He doesn't go through three outfits a day anymore. Thanks Mom!

My awesome Aunt Lisa gave me a great idea for how to keep Mason from crawling around in the tub. I tried it, but before I could even fill the tub with water Mason stood up and climbed right out (not before peeing on the towel, of course). This kid has no fear!

-We are working on teaching him to say, "Bye-Bye."

-He is OBSESSED with his Grandma Jepson

-No one can put a smile on his face faster than his "favorite pal" Payton.

He is constantly doing this. Why? I'm not sure, but he looks through his legs like this all the time!

One of his favorite activities is pulling everything out of the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen. I remember doing the same thing when I was little so it is fun to watch him.

The last couple of days he has had a cold...this picture pretty much sums it up.

He makes the goofiest faces!

-He would be naked all day if I let him.

-He dances when I turn on music.

-He sings too! (So cute!!!)

I gave him a Creamy for the first time yesterday and he hated it! He was so excited when he first saw it, but as soon as he put it in his mouth he was disgusted!

He learned how to pull himself up on the sliding glass door...I was terrified that he would fall and crack his head open on the tile.

Now that he can crawl and gets into everything I had to put up the playpen and trap him while I shower everyday. He is alright in it only until he realizes that he can't go anywhere.

-He doesn't jump in his jumperoo, he does more of a "jig."

-At night he gets a serious case of the giggles because he is so tired.

Exhibit A:

Being upside down is always a sure fire way to get Mason to giggle!

-When he is falling asleep he will pick at my moles or freckles with his little index finger.

-He pulls on his daddy's beard hair.

-When I have sunglasses on he laughs at me.

-He loves to play with the doorstop...and figured out how to get the white rubber end off of it...he was chewing it like gum!
-He officially throws tantrums.

-He gives kisses to me all the time. I don't have to ask for them, he just grabs my face and lays one on me!

I can't believe nine months has come and gone!! I am such a proud mommy and love my Mason more and more each day!