9 Months

Mason is getting so big, so fast!  We went to his 9 month appointment and here are his stats:

Height: 29 inch (80-85%)

Weight: 17.2 lbs (10-12%)

He is still a skinny boy, but feels sturdy when you hold him.  He is getting pretty good at keeping himself balanced and catching himself from falling over.  He can cruise along the couches pretty well and is starting to move quick.  Every now and then he gets to the edge of the couch, holding on with one hand and decides he wants to walk all by himself and will just take off.  This means I have to always be watching with one eye in case I have to dive to catch him from face planting into the floor.

He was being a super big pain for the past month not sleeping and only started sleeping better this past week. He started getting teeth a couple weeks ago and has moments of being really needy, especially for me; but overall he's pretty tough and doesn't seem bothered by his two lower teeth pushing their way up.

We went to Coeur d' Alene a couple weekends ago with our friends the Owens, just hung out in the sun and played a little bit in the water. We were glad we got to try out Mason's water stuff, he was safe from the sun and pretty darn cute!

He loves to eat bananas! Anytime he sees me having one he will scramble his way over to me as quickly as possible and start yelling and me, trying to get it.  He is starting to eat better with his hands.  Most of the time I try and hand him little cereal puffs but instead of grabbing it with his own hand he will bend over and eat it out of my hand. If I have it in the palm of my hand he will take my hand with both of his and bring it up to his mouth to eat it. He's pretty stubborn. He can grab the food with his thumb and index finger but loses them in his hands; sometimes he will even squeeze his fists really hard when he knows he has food in them, probably frustrated that he has them but can't find them.

One of my favorite things he's doing right now is whistle breathing.  He does this crazy breathing thing with his mouth kinda puckered up and will breathe in-and-out.  A lot of the time as he breathes he will make a soft whistle because of the shape of his mouth.

He is finally starting to let me read books to him. When I used to give him books he would just slap them with both hands, shake them around, or eat them.  Now he will actually sit in my lap, touch the fuzzy, soft, or bumpy parts, and even turn the pages for me.  I'm glad he is slowly starting to use things for what they are made for, instead of just eating everything.

He is so fun to be with, he's a happy boy who loves to greet Dad when he comes home. I am so grateful I can hang with Mason and play all day!

Quick Trip

The week of Memorial Day Christopher had only one class on Tuesday so we decided to see Nana and Pop Pop and the family in Bellingham. We left on Wednesday morning early enough so Mason would sleep a good amount of the time. He did a good job and slept almost the whole way from our house to Ellensburg, almost 3 hours.  We met up with Brianne and Eric and their girls for lunch, it was nice to see them on our way up and give Mason and ourselves a break from the car.

When we got to the house his parents were at work so when we opened the door for Rio to come Mason flipped.  He grabbed my arm and squeezed really tight and cried in a way I have never heard him cry before, he was really scared.  After a little while of watching Rio, and Rio calming down, Mason adjusted to him pretty quick.  Once he did, he LOVED Rio.  He made this new screeching noise when he saw him and loved to lunge for him and pet him.  I was glad that Mason warmed up to Rio, we would have been pretty sad if he didn't like dogs.

The time we spent in Bellingham was very relaxing, we hung out during the day while his parents were at work, and had breakfast with Grandma B one morning.  We also went on a walk with Nana when she got home from work. I think Mason really liked the scenery, he was making little noises here and there but mostly sat and watched everything.

We had lunch with the grandmas and spent some time talking with them over some delicious food at El Rinconcito. Mason didn't let the Great Grandmas hold him, but he looked at them and smiled lots.

Mason did however let Nana hold him a little during lunch and didn't start crying till people came over and tried to talk to him.  It gives me hope that he will warm up to people and let them hold him.

We decided to get a hiking backpack and found one online for a pretty good price, went to pick it up then took it for a test run...or hike rather.   Mason loved being in his pack. He was up high, could see everyone and got to watch Rio walk around.  He did get a little scared when he was out by the waterfall.  We think because it was so loud and new, he didn't know what to think.

We loved taking a trip to Bellingham and seeing friends and family, we can't wait to live there this January!