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.