Big Boy

At Mason's 9 month Well Visit, he dropped significantly in both length and {especially} weight. From 6 months to 9 months, he'd only grown 0.75 inches and a tiny gain of 1 lbs 5.5 oz {head circumference is proportionate}. Length-wise he was down in the lower tenths percentile, and his weight was even lower...BUT on Wednesday I had mixed emotions as I had to take Mason in for chest congestion. I'm sad that he has the beginnings of a sinus infection {poor baby, it's his first real sickness since his "first cold" was diagnosed by the Dr as teething symptoms!}, but since he's been pretty happy and only sounds horrible, I was absolutely ECSTATIC to find out he's gained 2 lbs in a month to 18 lbs, 14 oz! We're back just under the 50th percentile!!!

Just look at those thunder thighs!

I'm also convinced my child is a genius/prodigy. He amazes me every day with new things he's learning, processing, problem-solving.
So many people have told me he should be an E*Trade baby. And of course Mason proves them correct at my laptop, solving highly complex equations and computing formulas that go way above my head. What a smart little guy!

Yay for my BIG little guy!

10-Months Old

At 10-months, Mason's...

...had his eyes checked at the Optometrist's office. I'm legally blind without corrective lenses, so I'm concerned about his eyesight as he gets older and was curious as to whether they could predict if he'd need corrective lenses in the future. Mason's eyesight is perfect now; HOWEVER, at his age he should be slightly farsighted (like a +2). It appears likely that he'll be slightly nearsighted as he ages. *sigh* At least we know ahead of time.

...wants down so he can move around all the time. I'm not really sure how our next flight is going to be since he never wants to sit still anymore. I can barely take a picture of him now at our house.

...starting to have horrible sleeping habits again. As we're still weaning {we're just about there!}, he's started the nasty routine of waking up around 1:30/2am and then I've let him fall asleep with me because I've been too tired to go through the 15-20 minute back-to-sleep process in the middle of the night. Here he is one night when I was just being ornery and flashing the camera phone in his eyes. He actually thought it was funny...you can see his little smirk...what a booger!
...climbing on everything. He is quite the destructive little guy. One day last week he pulled down an accent table (and contents), a fabric bolt, the kitchen trashcan, a lamp, and this bouncy seat.

...wanting to feed himself, but not quite there dexterity-wise. He makes the biggest messes. And while he'll take a sippy cup for a little while, he still prefers the bottle.

...quite the flirt! Mason loves to be the center of attention, and he enjoys being around people who will smile with him. He's starting to wave more {random times} and when he hears excitement in someone's voice, he'll clap for them.

...not walking. He stands well and he's taken steps a few more times, but just doesn't seem interested in working on walking proficiently. With his adventurous destructions, I'm not going to complain that it's not figured out yet. In fact, I may just push him down whenever he tries to take steps {ONLY KIDDING!}.

Breakfast with Santa

Very early Saturday morning, it snowed in Birmingham...HOWEVER, Mason and I were too busy keeping warm inside to notice. And of course by 8 am, every bit of the snow had melted in our neighborhood and not even a trace of frost was seen on rooftops. It's the Southeast- go figure.

But all was not lost as Saturday was an incredibly fun day! Mason got all spiffied up for Breakfast with Santa {this Strasburg jumper is a 3 month outfit...SERIOUSLY!}

I even bundled Mace in a black cardigan to match my black sweater. We were stylin'!

While I'm not putting a tree up at our house this year, he was excited to see the decorations and trees with ornaments.

Mason even enjoyed playing with other kiddos.

But of course, his favorite part was meeting Santa Clause AND he was actually tickled to meet him. Mason whispered in Santa's ear about what he wanted for Christmas; I think I overheard something that sounded like "World Peace"...needless to say, I was very proud of him.

I can't believe Mason's first Christmas is around the corner! We're going to have a blast!!!

May this Christmastime be beautifully blessed for you and yours!

Baby's Got Skillz

Chef Mason tests out his culinary skills in the kitchen.

And he challenges his mind with flashcard puzzles...

...organizing the entire stack in perfect numerical order.
After a long day's work {hey it's tough being a BABY}, he realizes it's time for his Happy Hour drink.
Good stuff, that milk.