First Camping Trip

We decided to make our first camping trip close and relatively simple to see how Mason did. We went to the campground at Willard Bay. It was a chilly weekend, but we had a great time and Mason LOVED it.

Here he is splashing in the water, getting all wet and cold. He was mad when we took him away. He kept pointing at the lake from our tent and grunting to remind me that he wanted to visit again.

Scooting through the grass...

And a short video of him scooting around the picnic table. I was amazed at how long he kept going around and around. He must have been at it for a half hour. He made sure to stick to the dirt and concrete, he still gets off the grass as fast as he can.

I neglected to get a photo of our entire party. Kade and Minda came, and so did Sue, Matt and his kids. It was fun to get out with some of our favorite people. My dad and Susan even joined us just for dinner.

 Here are Damen and Mason sitting around the campfire after dinner.  Mason was so tired from all his playing. He fell asleep in the tent shortly after this, and slept great...until midnight.

Good morning! I was surprised to look over and see that Mason had found my toothbrush. We tried to keep him in the tent for awhile, but he was pretty excited to be up and going.

In the tent...all bundled up and ready to face the freezing cold morning!

A few photos looking over Willard Bay.

Damen packing up the car while Luke entertains Mason.

It was a good time, and a successful first camping excursion with the boy. We are hoping to get out again soon!

Standing Tall

A couple weeks ago, Mason couldn't pull himself to stand. I tried holding his hands to let him walk around, and he would get so excited after one step that he would pick up his legs and start kicking.


And then one day about two weeks ago that all changed. Literally it was an overnight change, like when he finally decided to crawl (or scoot rather). He started pulling himself up to stand whenever he could, and he LOVES walking around holding our hands. Sometimes when I'm sitting next to him on the couch he even stands so he can get right in my face, or in the middle of whatever I'm doing.


Sometimes he can sit himself back down, but most of the time he yells at me when he needs help getting down. Sometimes he falls straight down, and sometimes he ends up falling to the side and rolling. If he's tired he crys, and if he isn't tired he usually just rolls with it.


At first he was unsteady on his feet, but in just a few short weeks his balance has improved significantly. How fast he grows!


Here are a few photos of him on the porch, shouting at the occasional passer-by.

Easter 2012

As usual, a little late...easter 2012! We had a great day with family and friends.

A Week Away

In March, Mason and I were able to fly to California to visit Damen's parents. Unfortunately Damen had to stay and work. We had such a great time visiting Grandma and Grandpa! Even Great Grandma was there.


I was worried about how the two hour flight would go with an active young boy on my lap...and a full flight certain to have people seated next to us. I was grateful and relieved that it went extremely well. We were in the very back row aisle seat. The woman next to us was so patient and understanding, and didn't mind Mason at all. He was great for the whole flight until we landed. He finally was so tired after an extremely overdue nap that he started to fuss. (Ok, he screamed out once for 5 seconds...I can't complain.) The woman next to us pulled out her phone with a great app - Peekaboo Barn. Mason loved it and was quickly distracted. After a few minutes, he passed out on my lap and slept all the way through the airport, and almost until we got to Grandpa's car.

We drove home from the airport on the PCH, and I loved looking out at the ocean. We stopped at Grandma's work to say hello before going to the house. Then it was time to see Joe once again. 

Mason was mildly interested in the dog over Christmas, but this time was a whole new story. At first Mason gave a noise somewhere between excited laughing and crying. He was excited and scared all at the same time. Once the dog calmed down, Mason started following him all over the house.  He would squint as the dog walked by because he knew he would get licked. He got back at Joe by trying to grab his face.

I'm sure Mason wore the poor dog out by chasing him and keeping him up most of the day. We had to hide Joe's water dish because Mason loved splashing his hands in it. As soon as we set him down, he headed straight for the water. I think they made friends though, and Joe even napped with us a few times.

We had a great, relaxing time. I got to swim a few times which was awesome. The pool was great, and the sun felt wonderful after all the winter months.

We went for walks every day, and Mason "played" on the grass. I don't think he liked it much, but he loved watching the dog chase the frisbee, and he loved playing in the bark chips at the park. 

Mason had a great time visiting with his grandparents. Here he is reading stories with Grandma...eating her glasses is a bonus.

He got plenty of attention, which he loves. We had a great time and didn't want to leave...but we were happy to get home to see Damen. 


The flight home was even better than the flight to California. We had to take the 6:15 am flight to be able to make it on standby. About a half hour before landing, Mason fell asleep on my lap and didn't wake up until the gate. 

9 Months

I can't believe Mason is already 9 months old! Here are his 9 month stats:
Length: 30" (93 percentile)
Weight: 19.4 lbs (29 percentile)


So, 2" and 2 lbs in three months. No wonder his clothes don't fit anymore. Here are some things about Mason at 9 months.


Mobility: It was a matter of 4 days from when Mason was experimenting with bum scooting and moving a few feet at a time until he was cruising around the house. Whoa. It messed with his head for about a week and he slept even worse than usual! He follows me everywhere now, and likes to explore the apartment. He won't crawl on his hands and knees, he prefers to scoot on one knee like a little ape. He likes to open drawers, pull things off shelves, and play with toys on the floor. He loves to empty things - the laundry basket, toy bins, drawer contents, diaper bags, and of course the garbages. He can pull himself to standing, but does it rarely. Fortunately he hasn't figured out how to open the cabinet doors...it's only a matter of time. 

Teeth: Mason has 6 teeth now, and is chewing like he's getting another. At first I thought his canine teeth came in, but then only two came in between them. So, he's got his four front teeth and two bottom front teeth now. He bites pretty hard, so you have to keep your hands away from his mouth! He still loves eating whatever I have, and he LOVES to drink from a cup. He goes nuts whenever I fill a cup with water. He loves to drink from the cup and then stick his hands in it. 

Here's the best photo I could get of his "vampire" teeth (above) and the only one I have of his current teeth (below). Neither are great...but you get the idea.

He definitely knows what he wants, but he obviously can't talk. He has started grunting loudly and yelling to communicate that he wants something...badly. He wants to touch and explore everything. The hard part is in places like the grocery store. I can never quite figure out what he sees that he wants. Sometimes he sees objects 40 feet away that he gets huffy about. Below is a photo of him being frustrated that I won't let him touch the camera. This photo cracks me up...it's a face I see often.

Here he is yelling at, and chasing after, Uncle Jeff's chickens.

His talking in general has started taking on more form and definition. He says "dada" and "mama" but only once have I thought that he actually knew what he was saying. He loves chatting and often has a lot to say to me in the morning as he is trying to crawl all over me. 


He loves mirrors. He is the funniest, and most interesting person he's seen yet. He loves to talk to, look at, kiss, and laugh at his reflection. He'll even get excited if he catches his reflection in the oven or a window. He loves the bathroom in general. In addition to the mirror he likes to unroll the toilet paper, empty the garbage, take a bath, try to climb in the tub when I'm showering, sit in the sink, and play with the blowdryer. The sound of the blowdryer will bring him trucking faster than almost anything else! 


Other things he loves? His blanket. Cuddling - in short intervals. (When he gets excited, this sometimes includes him biting my face). Being independent. Exploring...as long as he can see me. Looking at lights. The ceiling fan. Being outside. Smearing food on the counter. Pulling hair. Playing with dad. Mom for anything else. The iPhone. Computers. Cables. Chewing on shoes. Clapping. Kicking his legs when he gets excited. (I'll miss that when it goes...it's so cute) Peekaboo...he figured this game out a couple weeks ago and he loves it. For awhile, anytime his blanket would get near his face, he would cover his face, pause for a long time, and then pull it back and smile at me. Even during meals, when he is almost asleep, or first thing when waking up. As a matter of fact, besides "Where's dad?" and having him look in Damen's direction, "Where's Mason?" is the first command he seems to understand. He'll put his blanket over his head if I say it in the right tone. 


Things he doesn't like? Being diapered - which he used to love. Baby food. (Except squash). Taking naps, or going to sleep in general. Seeing things he can't get. Being tired or hungry. And that's about it. Oh, and apparently grass. The poor kid touches it and then recoils. I guess we'll have to get him out on the grass more now that it is springtime! Here he is, disgusted with the grass and trying not to touch it. 

We just love this kid so much. We talk about it every day. He is so adorable, which makes up for a lot! Every day we marvel at the new things he learns. Tonight we sat and watched him crawl around the living room and play with different objects. He would frequently turn back to make sure we were watching him. He would give us a big smile and a squeal, and then go back to what he was doing. After awhile he would scoot over to the couch and want to join us. We sat completely exhausted, but happy with him just climbing across our laps, grabbing at our faces, and jabbering away.

Getting Mobile

Here's a post I found that I never put up from the first week of March...

Last weekend we went to Midway to spend the afternoon with Sue and Matt at the Worldmark Resort. This photo was taken of Mason during our drive. He went swimming for the first time and seemed more interested in the other kids in the pool than the actual pool itself. 


In this photo, he has a bruise on his left cheek from smashing into the hardwood floor while trying to crawl around the day before. He is getting so much more mobile! I can tell a difference even in the last week. He rocks back and forth on his hands and knees and then just pushes himself back to sitting. To move around, he bum scoots with one knee bent and one leg straight out in front of him. He is already getting into everything!