Jack: 16 months

At 16 months Jack:

• is all over the place. There's no such thing as sitting still and its very apparent where's he been by the "debris trail" he leaves behind :)
• had a serious growth spurt around the beginning of this month. Literally one night his 12 mo jammies still fit and the next night there was no way they would zip. We've moved up to 18 mo ones and he's starting to outgrow them now...
• has a major love for "Boomer Sooner". If we play it he jumps, claps and laughs uncontrollably. He looks around to make sure everyone else is clapping too. And when it's over, he gets upset if we don't play it again. Oh the brainwashing!
• has had his 4th haircut.
• calls all animals and other objects dog (DA!)
• loves making phone calls on speakerphone. He talks and runs around and, just like Boomer Sooner, when the call is over, he gets upset and wants to call someone else.
• loves puzzles.
• is a HITTER. Ugh! Talk about super frustrating. This is one of the worst things and nothing I do has changed this behavior. When he's upset or frustrated he runs over to me (it's almost always me) and hits me. I've been hit on he leg, on the arm, in the face ... it's beyond irritating. If anyone has some insight on how to handle hitting, I'm open to all suggestions.
• is running everywhere. He loves to run and loves to jump and he's alllll boy!
• is a good eater. He's picky but will eat what he likes really well. But, he's started throwing his food on the floor and it's not just when he's frustrated or finished, he's just throwing it on the floor. Boo. He's also getting better with a spoon. He can dip the spoon in the food (usually yogurt) and get it in his mouth. But, don't be fooled, he's still REALLY messy and tends to give up on the spoon and just put his whole hand in there.

All in all the 16th month has been fun. He continues to be a good sleeper (down around 7 and up around 7) (knock on wood). We've had a few nights with wake ups but I think it's his teeth. He's been chewing on his hands for weeks with no end in sight. I really wish those incisors would push on through.

And, though we can't always understand him, Jack is a talker. He repeats a lot of things and has several words that he says on a regular basis (mama, dada, dog, gus, yeah, moo, eye, truck, Jack, more, ball, all done, toodles -- thanks Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). And, he loves to point at things and try to tell us what it is. When you ask him where Mama/Dada/Grams/Uncle Matt are he can point to them all. He gets confused between Grams and Gramps (they sound so similar) and therefore thinks we're saying Gramps both times.

16 month stats:

•probably about 25 lbs (no official stats this month)

•LOVES: bananas, peanut butter throwing/"catching"/chasing balls, blowing bubbles in the water, "Goodnight Moon", running everywhere, all phones and all things that he can use like a phone

•DISLIKES: having his nose wiped, not getting what he wants (usually a phone)

•mostly 12-18 month clothes, size 4 shoe (but not for much longer)

•size 4 diaper, size 5 at night

12 month pictures.

love the lighting on this one!

always on the move

And the final 12 month comparison. It's so amazing how much he's changed in just a year. 

These pics are being posted over a month late and were taken 2 weeks after Jack's 1st birthday ...

just like dad.

Uncle Matt got Jack this cute little shirt.

Daddy, uncle Matt and Gramps are all Sigma Chis, so it's only fitting they'd want this little legacy to follow in their footsteps.

In Hoc, Jack.

all about the applesauce.

Jack is definitely a fan of applesauce and is recently a fan of trying to feed himself. Every time there's a spoon involved with a meal, he wants to hold it himself. I'm still not too keen on him getting food everywhere, but I'm getting there. Usually, he holds one spoon while I feed him with another.

On this particular night, with some applesauce left, I just kinda let him go at it. He's not nearly as messy as he could be, but he had fun!

Yes, he's usually that loud. Ha!

11 month pics.

hilarious. Gus is like, "uhh, why don't get out from behind that camera and GET MY TOY BACK FROM THAT BABY!"

that onesie is way too small!

easter, walking + shoes.

Hey party people! Who's been singing "Bbring the boys out!" all weekend? No one? Oh...

Anyway. We had a great Easter weekend and hope you all did too! J spent a good part of it glued to the tv watching the Masters. Unfortunately, Phil didn't pull it out, but another American, Bubba Watson won his first green jacket! Woohoo 'merica!

Yesterday we went to church {where it's getting harder and harder to keep Jack quiet and content} and enjoyed the service then had Easter lunch with J's family. It was a nice, relaxed, long weekend and who doesn't love those?

So, I've mentioned that Jack has been walking for a while now, but have yet to get a decent video of it. Yesterday I finally got a pretty good one, so enjoy!

And, during my errands on Friday, I ran into Dillard's and they have Sperry's that are just Jack's size. I didn't buy them then, but they may have to be in his closet sooner than later. I mean, how cute are they???

 

Happy Monday! 

PS -- I'm planning to do a tiny little blog sale tomorrow or Wednesday, so keep an eye out! Thanks!

Jack: 11 months

Wow. To say that this first year has absolutely flown by is both an understatement and cliche. But, it's the truth. We are only a month from our favorite Little Monster's first birthday!

I'm a little sad to see my baby grow up but I'm always eager and excited about the next stage. But, I have to say, I miss that little baby that could just lay in one place, because this new mobile version is exhausting!!

Jack has been walking for a little over a month {his first steps were February 24} and he's definitely gotten faster, more stable and {the scariest...} more daring. We've had a few incident reports from daycare for falls and he is currently bruised in several places. Just this morning he fell and hit the side of his face and now has a little shiner to show for it.

Jack is a great eater! He loves most of the things I serve him {hot dogs, grilled cheese, banana -- but only straight off of the banana, none of that cutting it up business, toast, waffles, cheerios, graham crackers, apple sauce, yogurt}. The frustrating funny thing is that he'll eat most fruits and vegetables at daycare, but if I try to give them to him at home, he spits them right out. Stinker!

We've added whole milk to his sippy cups and, in that transition, have eliminated one of his bottles. And, today, I started the elimination process for the second one. So far, so good. At first, he didn't like his milk ice cold, but since he's gotten used to the taste, he's not quite as picky. So, we're {hopefully} down two bottles, with only two to go! I went about dropping the formula ounces and bottles cold turkey. I tried putting formula in his sippy cup and he hated it! And, rather than have an aversion to sippy cups, I decided to just skip the formula and move on to milk. And, as I said, so far so good.

Our Monster loves to talk. Unfortunately, most of it sounds like German (earning him his newest nickname: The German). He definitely says Dada, and rarely says Mama {never when prompted...} and other than that, mostly he just talks in his own language.

Right now, Jack:

•has a love for the bathroom. He loves the faucet, he loves the shower curtain, he loves the toilet. If I close the door, he gets upset.
•wants to be constantly on the move. This need makes church and going out to dinner a little more difficult.
•isn't as much a fan of his car seat. He gets fed up with it much quicker and sometime we get to enjoy a cry-filled drive.
•really is a great baby. Those first three seem like complaints, but I think he's just a bit strong-willed.
•happy most of the time. He's definitely very social and loves to be the center of attention.
•loves to watch the dogs. He like to check them out in their crates and be near them. They never cease to get a chuckle out of him.
•is going to daycare 5 days a week.
•likes to click his tongue. He learned it from a lady at the paper!
•Saying the d, m, n, f, ya sounds

11 month stats:

•no clue how much he weighs. my guess is over 20, but I do know he's heavy!

•10-14 oz./day and added whole milk

•12 month clothes, but some 9 month bottoms 

•finishing up our 3s and moving on to 4s

incident reports.

Yesterday when I picked up the monster from daycare, as I was signing him out, I heard one of the girls tell the "teacher" in his room that I was there to get him. Then I heard her say, "aww, his poor eye." Or something along those lines.

Uhhh....what?

When I got to his room, he was in his teacher's arms and his little eye was scratched. She handed me not one, but two incident reports!

Another kid in his class had scratched him around his eye.

And while walking {or something} around the room, he tripped on a little mat and fell head first into a table leg. Poor guy had a knot on his forehead between the eyes, and a bruise!

Luckily, he's no worse for wear and he's taken it all in stride. You'd never know he'd had two incidents at daycare.

I just love that squinty smile!

Such a boy.

I'm excited about him starting to walk, but these kinds of things make so nervous for him to be too mobile!

10 month pics.

We finally had time yesterday evening to take Jack's 10 month pics. He was hamming it up for us!

He looks just like my brother Jason here.

One of his newest things is to smile and then really cheese it up and squint really hard while still smiling. I love it!

The colors on these pics are a little weird because when John took them it was super dark. Oh well, they're darn cute!

Jack: 10 months

Jack is 10 months. TEN. So crazy. The countdown is on for his first birthday!

Jack is definitely on the move these days. He's gone from crawling everywhere to "cruising" along the furniture to taking steps here and there. Yep ... steps! J and I both witnessed his very first 1.5 steps a couple weeks ago and we've each seen a few since then. He still isn't quite steady or sure enough to really take off, but he's working on it every day. My guess is that he'll be walking by 11 months, but I'll keep the blogosphere posted.

At our 9 month appointment, Dr. S gave us the go ahead to start finger foods. We've tried lots so far, and his favorites are hot dogs, toast with butter or yogurt, saltines, graham crackers, nilla wafers {the boy already loves carbs...}, steamed carrots, peas, green beans, asparagus, corn, cheese, mac and cheese. We've tried fruits {watermelon, cantaloupe, apple and blueberries} and pickles, but he hasn't liked any of those.

Jack has a few tricks up his sleeve these days, too. He can pretty much wave and clap on command. If you clap and say "yay!!" {or just say "yay"} he'll clap and smile. And, if you say "hi daddy" or "hi mommy" or hi to most anyone, he'll wave. And, his wave is super cute. He tucks in his thumb and wags his whole hand up and down. So cute!

We're pretty sure he's said a couple of words. Nothing specific to anyone or anything specific, but we think he's said Daddy and doggy. Even though we can't always understand everything he says, he's babbling and "talking" a lot. Also, we'll hear him babble something and then chuckle at whatever he said. He's a comedian!

So far, this has been the most fun age. But, that doesn't mean we haven't had our trials. We've definitely seen a rise in "tantrums". Though they're not full blown tantrums {can't wait to get to that phase!}, he'll throw a little fit if you take something from him, or don't put him on the floor when he wants down. He knows what he wants and if you don't give it to him, he'll let you know he doesn't like it.

Right now, Jack:

•still has 6 teeth, no new ones since his 9 month update, but I kind of think number 7 is on it's way because the drooling has returned with full force.
•still takes 2 naps a day, but only one on daycare days
•has minimal separation anxiety. He goes to the teachers at daycare just fine. It's the times when he knows I'm getting ready to go somewhere and then leave the room that he really gets upset.
•sticks his tongue out while concentrating. He definitely got that from the Montgomery side of the family.
•loves to bang everything together and crawl while dragging a toy and yelling "ahhhh".
•is in desperate need of a second haircut.
•has started choosing Daddy over Mommy a lot more.

Like I said, this has been my favorite age so far. He seems so much more content and I just love his curiosity. I'm really looking forward to when the weather stays warmer {not that we've had any semblance of a winter} so we can spend lots of time outside and take the monster to see all of our favorite places

10 month stats:

•definitely over 19 lbs., but not sure of the exact weight

•21-24 oz. of formula/day + 3 meals of baby food and finger foods

•mostly 9 month clothes, some 6-9 month {if they're long enough} 

•size 3 diapers, 4s at night

play date with luke

Several weeks ago, my friend Sarah and her sweet baby Luke (also known as Jack's best friend) came over for our first of many play dates!

Luke isn't quite as mobile as our little monster, but he did great on his belly!

strong baby!

ALWAYS on the move!

Sarah and our boys. So dang precious!

We had a great time with our babies and I'm excited about future play dates. And, we have scheduled for this Friday! 

belly laughing.

I don't think this was working for everyone yesterday, but hopefully it's fixed now. I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of Jack's belly laughs!

9 month pictures.

These are wayyy overdue, but at least I have them, right? Right.

We finally took pics of Jack two days after he turned 9 months. And, lucky us, he'd really gone to town on his food at daycare ... so those little yellow spots on his onesie? Flavor savers.

It definitely was a two-man job taking pics our little mover.

Enjoy!

 

The verdict is in ... we have the cutest kid ever!

sleep positions {take two}.

Seriously, guys. Jack ends up in the most hilarious positions!

The theme this time seems to be using the back bumper as a pillow.

happy valentine's day {yesterday}.

This little monster was the perfect Valentine!

breakthrough!

We've been slowly trying finger foods with Jack since probably the middle of January, maybe earlier. Nothing special, just bananas or blueberries cut into quarters and puffs. And, like I've mentioned, he's just never really taken to it. And, even though we haven't been at this for long, I was getting frustrated! I just really thought once he tasted "real food" he'd be all over it. But, he wasn't. (Aren't babies the best at proving you wrong??)

No matter what has happened, I've been determined to keep consistent with finger foods. At every meal I have something on his highchair that usually just gets pushed around or thrown on the floor.

Last night for dinner was no different. But, I'd skimmed some baby led weaning information and thought I'd try something along those lines. The tip I read was to give them something bigger they can hold onto and just take bites off of. So, I made some toast, spread it with blueberry yogurt, and gave it to him.

Of course he mushed it all up and his hands ended up with most of the yogurt on them, but he actually held it and took bites. And, the biggest success of all was that we only had one almost-gagging incident that I distracted him from and he was great! We celebrated and he even clapped for himself some!

This morning I gave him the same thing and we had the same result, without the almost-gagging incident.

My plan is to keep giving him this for a few days and use this as a jumping off point.

I fully realize that eating "real food" is not going to happen right away and that we're in this for the long haul. But, the fact that we had a success to hang our hat on last night has made me so happy. Baby steps, people.

And, if Jack is eating only toast spread with blueberry yogurt for years on end, I think I'd be ok with it. (I say that now, but ask me in a month and my answer will probably be different.)

see the "toast" in his right hand?

Jack: 9 months

I say it every time, but this month has flown by and it's hard to believe our little monster is 9 months!

I know I've already mentioned this, but January was a rough month for us. Jack started daycare on January 4. The 3 days a week he goes really seems to work and, though I miss him at work, it's best for all of us. He gets to interact with other people and babies and I don't feel stressed about having him at work.

But, as a welcome to day care, the Friday after he started he got super sick! Since then, he's definitely been on the mend. The only thing we can't seem to shake is the green, snotty nose and a nasty cough. But, if that's all, then I think we're doing fine. The doctor said his lungs sounded great and his ears looked great, so I can't really ask for much more!

For a few weeks, Jack had really lost his appetite. He didn't finish many bottles and absolutely refused solids, especially cereal. But, now that we're on the mend, he's really made a comeback. Except with the cereal. Now, were just giving him baby food and attempting finger foods. He'll occasionally eat a puff, but that's it. He's put some other food in his mouth (banana and blueberry) only to gag and throw up once he realizes it's in his mouth! I'm hoping that when we find something he likes it'll be a springboard for more foods. Fingers crossed!

Yesterday he was scarfing the puffs! Then, this morning, I gave him some puffs while he was in his highchair and he gagged until he threw up. I really think, for whatever reason, he doesn't like eating them when he's in his highchair. Ugh, what a stinker!

Now that Jack is a seasoned crawler, he's rarely happy just sitting in one place playing with toys. He especially loves to drag a toy with him when he's on the move. And, he still loves to pull up and can now stand on his own for a short time (5-10 seconds).

At this point, he has two bottom teeth, and four (FOUR!) top teeth. The doctor even said that 6 teeth was a lot of a 9 month old. Needless to say it's not safe to just stick your finger in his mouth anymore... And, he'll occasionally grind all those teeth! Definitely not a good habit to get into at such a young age.

We've really been working on Jack holding his own bottle and waving hi and bye. So far, we're getting better at holding the bottle. The waving, though, well, he's still a little unsure. But, I know we'll get there. I mentioned last month that Jack was clapping. He's still doing it, but now, if anyone says, "yay, Jack!" he starts clapping! Sometimes he'll clap when we say "hi" too.

All in all, Jack's ninth month was really great. As we embark on this finger food journey, I'm already a little frustrated and nervous. He doesn't seem very interested and everything we've tried has had the same result: gagging and eventual throwing up. Please say a little prayer that we make it over the hill and make some progress on moving toward solid food.

9 month stats:

•18 lbs. 11 oz. (I think he lost weight while he was sick)

•29 1/4" long

•26-28 oz and fruits/veggies three times a day, attempting finger foods, too

•6-9 and 9 month onesies

•size 3 diapers, 4s at night

I completely forgot to take pictures last night. And, J wasn't up yet when I wanted to take them this morning and it's definitely a two-man job these days.

my boys.

100 days.

I'm sure no one else really cares but me, but there are only 100 days until The Monster turns one!!

How can that be, you ask? Well, I'm asking the same darn question, but he'll be 9 months in less than 2 weeks, so his first birthday is seriously right around the corner.

In true crazy-new-mommy fashion, I've already started preliminary plans for his birthday. It won't be some grand affair, but something fun and family-filled.

At this point, he's not really obsessed with trucks or airplanes or dinosaurs, so I get the luxury of choosing the theme. And, I'm a sucker for teal/light blue and red and, who doesn't love Dr. Seuss? I've checked out Pinterest (follow me!) and Etsy for ideas and here are a few things I've got earmarked for the big day in May!

Luckily, I'm pretty handy with design software and I'll be able to design some of this myself. Yay!

Source: etsy.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: jenniferstonebarger.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babycenter.com via Emily on Pinterest