Playing outside

With the nice weather we've finally been having, Mason has had a chance to play outside. He doesn't quite know what to think of grass yet, and won't crawl anywhere because of how it feels on his hands. Today he just started to pick the grass so maybe soon he'll be chasing the dog in the yard.

This evening Jeni and I took him outside to play with his new soccer ball. He is learning to roll the ball back to us which makes for some fun.

There is a long building at the edge of the property just behind our yard. You can get a nice echo off it, as Mason learned tonight.



Lastly, Mason stood tonight, by accident. He was playing at a small activity table, steadying himself with one hand and moving blocks around with the other. Every so often he would switch hands. Eventually, there was something interesting enough to devote both hands to it, meaning he wasn't holding himself up with his hand anymore. Unfortunately, he quickly realized what was going on, freaked out, and fell over.

Mason speaks

Mason has become very chatty. He is even starting to use recognizable words in the appropriate situation.



Mason also says (not always clearly):
"Hello" into his toy phone, once in a while to a person
"Hogarth" at the dog, though it sounds like "Hurra"
"Buh" when he wants us to read a book that he is holding out to us
"Dadadadadada" and he even means me sometimes
"Muh" occasionally to Jeni

He also babbles numerous other syllables.

We are trying to teach him "more" when he wants more food. Unfortunately, he just squeals, screams, and squeaks as he sees us getting his food ready.

The video also shows how quickly things can fall apart for Mason at night. He crashes pretty hard just before 7:00 p.m. and just wants his bottle or Jeni. When he's not teething (unlike now), he'll fall asleep soon after.

Belated Happy St. Patrick's Day

(So this is late, but Mason has been keeping us pretty busy.)

When his Grandpa Tom and Grandma Hollie went to Ireland a few years ago, they bought the still-enwombed Mason a wool Irish hat.

He's finally big enough to wear it, so when it was warm two weeks ago we thought he could wear it on a walk. Unfortunately, Mason no longer wants to wear hats, just play "Mason's hat." We got a few pictures before the hat was removed. (You may notice I am holding his hands down.)

We ended up at a bar to watch some basketball. Mason had his first bar food (sweet potato chips). He liked them.

A new game

Mason is at the age when he is starting do things that he finds funny (like dropping food on the floor for the dog). One of the most hilarious (to him) (and us the first few times) games that we play now goes like this:

1. Mason picks up an object. It could be anything.



2. He then places it on his head like so.






3. You say, "Mason's hat!" and everyone has a good laugh. But wait, the game is not over.



4. Mason hands the object to you.
   
   
   
   



5. It is now your responsibility to place the object on your head and say, "[Your name here]'s hat!" This where it gets really funny.



6. You then hand the object back to Mason, and start over with step two.

In a sign that Mason has been in Madison with its ironic hipsters for far too long, the other day he started a game of "Mason's Hat" with, get a load of this, his hat. (Warning: this should only be attempted by advanced players.)

Water park pictures

FYI: Those waterproof one-time-use cameras they sell at the drug store don't come with a flash, and hence take crummy pictures inside indoor water parks.

That said, here's what we got out of the one we brought to Rockford.

CJ, Mason, and I were ready right when the water park opened Sunday morning.

Mason liked the water and was very relaxed.

Jeni put him on his back and he totally relaxed. It looked like he thought he was back in the womb.

Mason's Nana watched him for a while.

So Jeni and I took a ride down one of the water slides.

Everybody had a good time, except for poor Joey. Amy was able to get his feet wet for a bit, but mostly he didn't want anything to do with the water.

Last, but definitely not least, here's a picture of the fearless CJ underwater.

We ran out of exposures before we could catch Mason crawling around in the wading pool after a little ball. He looked like a natural (like many babies are I guess).

The tooth!

Jeni just pointed out that if you click on the bottom picture and zoom in on the full-size version, you can see the tooth!

It is on the lower left (Mason's right).

Mason grew a tooth!

Mason has been having some issues lately. Waking up in the middle of the night, wanting to be held a bit more than usual. In fact, he's crying in his crib right now.

We figured he was getting a tooth, and sure enough, today Jeni saw the first little white bit of a tooth break through his gum.

Can you see it in this picture? (Neither can we, but you try taking a picture of the inside of a 10-month-old's mouth.)

Mason has also started to straighten his legs when he is on all fours. Sometimes he rocks back to sit, but usually he just bends back to his knees.

Lastly, here's a picture of Mason's latest face. I guess I would describe it as "happy surprise," or maybe "extreme excitement." I think I surprised him by calling his name and he made this face when he saw me with the camera.

Trip to the water park

We went down to Rockford to their new indoor water park. We met Mason's Nana and Papa, and his Aunt Amy, Uncle Tim, CJ, and Joey and stayed overnight in a hotel.

We celebrated Jeni's 30th birthday and Papa's retirement. Here Amy and CJ are blowing up balloons to decorate the hotel room.

Here we are ready to go down to the water park.

We brought a waterproof camera, but it is still being developed. Tune in soon for those pictures.

Mason in the bath with Jeni

Mason and Jeni took a bath last weekend. Don't worry, these pictures are G rated.

He seems to like the water (he said forshadowingly).