September was a very busy month for Mason. His latest surgery was on September 10th. This time we found out that the birthmark wasn't present in his trachea. Great news for Mason. YEAH! Whatever she said after that was pretty much a blur. We were so excited that it wasn't there. Now, from what I can remember, the birthmark could possibly be in the slow growing stages, so if it wasn't visible then, doesn't necessarily mean that it has stopped growing. It just isn't growing as rapidly as it had been in the past. She did laser out some more tissue. She also found a little bit of constriction below his trach tube. The doctor, thought it was possible that it was due to swelling, or it could be something different all together. We won't find out anything more until our next appt. in December. For the next week or so was a little busy with more suctioning his secretions, which is pretty normal after his surgeries. We just weren't ready to get up in the wee hours in the morning again. His voice came back sooner this time. That was nice to hear again.

    On the 21st of September Mason went on his first long trip. Jarita's cousin was getting married on the 25th in Montana. They left that afternoon and drove to Oskaloosa to say good bye to daddy then went to St. Marys to pick up Jarita's sister. They all drove to Grandma Carol's in Nebraska where they stayed the night and headed out the next morning. On the way out Mason visited The Badlands National Park, Sturgis, SD (kind of boring without all the bikes but a nice little town), Wall Drug Store in Wall, SD. A tourist trap, but really neat, if anyone is passing through, definitely take the time to stop. Our first night's stay was in Rapid City, SD. We got in pretty late, so there wasn't time to take a tour of the city.

    The next morning we visited Mount Rushmore. It was a beautiful sight. Another day on the road and we were at our destination. Bozeman, MT. The wedding was on Saturday evening. Mason outlasted most of the adults at the reception. Everyone he came in contact with said that he was soooo cute, and eating out of the palm of his hand.

    We were back on the road Sunday afternoon for another two day trip home. Mason did very well on the long trip. I have a feeling he will be traveling a lot more in years to come. After our long trip the rest of the month was spent at home recuperating.

    Mason has 7 teeth now. Four on top, three on the bottom. Be careful sticking your finger in his mouth to check them out. You may not return with all of it. He rolls all over the floor, and is quite fast at it. His muscles are getting stronger pulling himself up on his knees in his crib, and doing the army crawl on his belly are things he likes to do a lot. I am sure as soon as he is able to play outside he will be climbing trees like a monkey. Here are some pictures that were taken this month.