10 months old!

Jackson is 10 months old!

He had a great time hanging out in Papa's truck for the first time on his 10-month birthday.

Isn't he cute in his 2-piece firetruck jammies?

I haven't weighed or measured him since April 28th, but he LOVES to eat and is quite the big boy!  His legs are longer than Lincoln's were at this age, for sure.

Here are Daddy, Lincoln and Jack hanging out:

And here is Jack sitting in the bin of cars and trucks!

Jack and Lincoln both love to play with their kitchen stuff (aka old ketchup, honey, sour cream, etc., containers that I washed), and one day decided to play in the cabinet that houses the kitchen stuff:

And then Jack had to figure out how to get out of the cabinet:

10-month favorites

EATING!  The boy is a human trash compactor!

Lincoln.  It makes my heart melt to watch them play together and see the look of adoration on Jack's face.  Of course, that look quickly changes to wailing whenever Link smacks him on the head or pushes him over--but those are the knocks!

Reading books...

...on his own and being read to.

He loves to turn the pages (very rapidly), smack at and talk to the pictures.

Taking sips of water from a cup that I hold for him.  Actually, they're more like gulps and he chokes half the time, but when he sees the cup, Jack freaks out!

Opening and closing doors over and over and over

(although this is quite dangerous, as he smashes his fingers quite frequently)

Crawling everywhere SUPER FAST!

Climbing stairs.  He can climb from bottom to top all by himself! 

DANGER!!

Practicing walking with his new "lawn mower" (as Lincoln calls it):

Initiating peek-a-boo with the burp cloth while we change his diaper.

CUTEST. THING. I'VE. EVER. SEEN!

He pulls it up over his head, waits until I ask where he is, then yanks it down and laughs hysterically.  It is awesome!

10-month dislikes

Teething.  Jack STILL only has the 2 teeth that cut through when he was 6 months old!  His poor gums are so swollen, and I know he's just miserable, even though he's always smiley and happy.  He doesn't let his lack of teeth stop him from eating anything and everything, though!

Napping longer than 30 minutes to an hour.  This varies by day, but most days he still only sleeps 40 minutes for one or both naps, and then is exhausted by bedtime.  Sometimes he takes longer naps, but there's just no predicting it.  Urgh!

Having his face and hands wiped off or his nose picked.  He hates, hates, HATES it!

Really, that's it.  Jack may be an even smilier and happier baby than Lincoln was--which I didn't think was possible!

A little pat on the back

...for myself, even though it's not really because of me.

I now weigh the same as or just less than I did in college!!  I'm in shock.  I'm also fitting in clothes that I've kept for years thinking that someday I would fit into them again, although never actually expecting to.  And now I'm so glad they're still in my closet! (especially since my wardrobe is down to almost nothingness, which is a whole other post)

I worked my butt off after Jack was born to lose enough weight that I wouldn't have to buy a bunch of new clothes to go back to work, since we couldn't afford it--and I did.  But since then, the weight has just continued to come off and it's so freakin' awesome.

Not that I'm a stick, by any means.  I'm still plenty mommy-ish, complete with wrinkles, sags and bulges where there didn't used to be any (tmi?), but overall, I'm thrilled.  It feels good to be healthy and (somewhat) strong and be able to keep up with both boys.

Again, I attribute this mostly to God, because without good genes and blessings from Him (what else could it be?), I wouldn't have lost any of it!

Of course, all of this might end if I don't stop treating myself to ice cream after the boys are in bed...but for now, I'm going to enjoy it.  And keep working out!

9 months and counting

Jack-Jack is 3/4 of a year old!

Where has the time gone?

As you can see, his favorite thing to do is pull up to standing on anything and anyone

(especially the train table, as here):

He makes some REALLY funny faces!

And he is quite agile:

His 9-month checkup was Friday, and he is perfectly healthy and happy! He is, can you believe it, even sleeping through the night again! SUCCESS! (now I've jinxed it and he'll wake up a bunch tonight...sigh) He's even sleeping at night in spite of teething so hard he can't hardly stand it.

Naps are a different story. He's starting fighting/refusing to take a morning nap, which is really, really unusual for him. However, yesterday after no morning nap, he took a t 2-hour afternoon nap! It was great.

Jack is such a happy baby and is always smiley:

9-month stats & loves:

-18.5 inches long

-19 pounds, 4 ounces
(same as Lincoln at this age!)

-Lincoln. The complete adoration in Jack's eyes when he watches Link run around or when Link plays with him is heart-melting.

-Eating. I've had Jack on table food for a while, and the kid cannot ever get enough! He is a human trash compactor!

-Crawling really fast!

-Pulling to standing at any chance

-Being outside. There's so much to see.

-Chewing on his fingers/fist/Mommy's toe/toys/ANYTHING.

-Toys that are meant for older kids--we've got to move some of them (magnetic refrigerator letters, your time is coming)

-Music. Bust a move!

-Books. He loves to turn pages (very rapidly) and soon as one is done, he's looking for the next.

-The activity table. We finally got it out after deciding the Exersaucer has served its time. Complete love.

-Clapping. It's so cute!

-Crawling after Mommy in the kitchen, grabbing my legs and laughing hysterically.

9-month dislikes:

-Teething. Come ON, teeth! Break through! Jack STILL only has 2 teeth!

-Having his face or hands washed/wiped. It's kind of funny how much he freaks out.

-Having anything taken away from him.

-Not being fed fast enough! Jack bashes both hands on the high chair tray and/or claps a lot when he's ready for the next bite & it's not in his mouth.

That's it. Many more likes than dislikes!

3/4 of a year

Jackson is 9 months old!

(as of two days ago)

Photos & update to follow.

Good times

Spring break has been a blast!

Lincoln got to meet the Cat in the Hat

and do some work outside with Daddy.

Jack is becoming a regular bookworm


and is trying to pull up on anything he can!

We love being outside!

Jack is 8 months old!

Jack turned 8 months old on February 28th!

He has been in his new "big boy" car seat for several weeks now:

And loves to play with Lincoln's stuff, like this sword:


Lincoln wasn't in the room at the time, or he would have freaked out!

Jack has been sleeping through the night MUCH better for several weeks--YES!! We discovered the key by accident one evening after going to the store. Jack fell asleep in the car on the way home around 7:45, so of course he didn't want to go to sleep after we got home. So we put him in the crib awake, he rolled around and talked to himself for a while, and then BAM! Fell asleep on his own and didn't wake up until 7 AM. HOLY COW!

Let me tell you, it's about time, after the hellish last 3 months we've had! 'Course, it's our own fault. We should have been putting him the crib awake to fall asleep on his own from day one. Sigh.

Of course, the last four nights he's been waking up at ridiculous times--5 AM, 4:30 AM, 3:50 AM--wide awake, not wanting to go back to sleep. This morning it was 2 AM and then again 3 AM. I let him fall asleep on me at 3 AM, but the second I put him in the crib, he woke up, so we all got to listen to him scream himself to sleep. And then not wake up until 7 AM. Poor kid is teething so hard now that he's miserable! Come on, top two teeth!

Stats

Weight: approx. 19 pounds

Length: haven't done this yet. Oops.

Teeth: two, bottom middle. Had those for a couple of months now

Words: two, Dada and Mama. But he's not babbling nonstop yet.

Clothing size: 9-12 months

Jack's 8-month likes

Lincoln. Link will always be Jack's #1 like!

Food. Oh my goodness, this kid could eat a cow in one sitting!

Especially if that cow were made out of Cheerios.

Jack loves finger foods, but only if they're crunchy and relatively easy to

pick up. Banana, bits of cheese, mango--he likes them when I feed them

to him, but will ignore them if up to his own devices. Grrr.

Bouncing. Loves the Jumperoo, but will bounce and jump anytime

he's being held! My leg muscles get a good pounding when he stands on me.

Being outside, looking outside, anything to do with outside! Come on spring!

Toys that are meant for older kids

(although baby toys are OK too).

Crawling--but only in reverse! Apparently it's just easier.

When Jack can crawl forward, it will be the end of the world as we know it.

Kid will be unstoppable.

Squealing and laughing

Peek-a-boo. This will never get old.

Bath time & splashing. Cracks himself up.

Jack's 8-month dislikes

Getting stuck under things when he crawls backwards

(even though he looks pretty happy under the dishwasher in this photo)

Not yet being able to crawl forward!

Teething, of course. Ouch.

Not being given Cheerios the second he makes a sound indicating he wants more.

Hello, freakout!

Having his face washed or nose suctioned.

On his 8-month birthday, Jack attacked Lincoln:

But don't worry, Lincoln got him back later that evening!


Our boys are so much fun and are the lights of our lives!!

7 months old!

Jackson turned 7 months old on January 28th!

He is an uber-happy, uber-smiley guy when he is awake.

Hey! I'm really excited that it's my 7-month birthday!!

He weighs 16 lbs, 15 oz, so his growth is slowing down; he's only about the 50th percentile for weight. Length I keep forgetting to do, so let's say he's average length for a 7-month kiddo. :)

He's still sleeping in the swing and still not making it through the night most nights. And we thought Lincoln was a challenging baby!! Little did we know how easy we had it.

Three nights ago was GREAT. Jack slept from 8 PM to 5 AM, then went right back to sleep after I put the bubble (pacifier) back in his mouth and didn't wake again until 6:37 AM! WOW!

Two nights ago was the night from hell. He was up all the time, every 20 minutes to an hour, from the time we put him down until 1:30 AM--then we finally just had to let him scream himself to sleep. :( It was awful.

Last night was better in that he only woke up at 5 AM. The problem was that he was totally awake then, so G had to bring him to bed to get him to sleep again. Urgh.

Yes, he is totally pacifier-dependent. Ugh.

Although...the night of January 10-11, he slept 8 PM to 7 AM!! See, kid? YOU CAN DO IT!

Jack's 2nd tooth poked through on the bottom 4 days before 7 months, just to the left of tooth #1!

7-month dislikes

Teething. Poor kid's gums hurt so badly he can hardly stand it.

Bedtime snack nursing. He won't stay on me long enough to make my milk let down--pulls off & cries over and over and over. It's a nightmare. I've taken to pumping to get milk flowing and then nursing him. It is exhausting.

Tummy time. I feel awful because he doesn't get enough, and hasn't gotten enough, hence why he hates it so much! I'm afraid he will never crawl, and I feel so guilty because it's our fault for sitting him up so much.

Being sick. Jackson is still getting over his THIRD cold. Come on! He's not even a year old yet!!

Having his nose wiped/sucked. Both are 2-people jobs, the little monkey.


7-month likes


Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln!!
(except when he knocks Jack over or takes his toys away)

Llama, Llama, Llama!!

Eating. Almost anything and everything.
He doesn't care for the texture of meat, especially turkey,
but will eat it when I mix it with veggies.

Baby Mum Mums:

Biting Mommy while nursing
(Mommy is NOT a fan of this)

Taking longer (1.5-2 hour) afternoon naps. YES!!

Cutting out evening cat nap and going to bed a smidge earlier

Wearing 9 month clothes

Splashing in the bath & squealing!

Smiling like mad

On to month 8! I cannot believe Jack is getting so old so fast! I can't think about it or I'll cry.

Come on, springtime!!

Christmas. Better late than never!

Christmas was SO much fun this year (I mean last year). Lincoln had a blast, and Jackson really enjoyed his first Christmas! Although both were a little overwhelmed with all the festivities. We had Christmas at my folks' on the 23rd, with George's mom on Christmas Eve, then family Christmas at home Christmas morning, church and Christmas in Monett Christmas afternoon. Whew!

We were supposed to go to St. Louis for Christmas over New Year's, but both boys were getting over colds and mind was still lingering so we didn't make it. :(

Here are a few photos.

What? You mean your husband doesn't put on your toddler's

Captain America mask for your family's Christmas photo?

FAIL!

Jack is really excited about his first Christmas!

Lincoln is stylin' the 1980s way, complete with popped collar and

"I'm a stud" stance.


My boys. :)

And a sort of, slightly better but yet slightly

more deranged Christmas family photo:

Lincoln is 3!

Happy 3rd birthday to my big boy!

Lincoln had a birthday party on Sunday the 22nd with mostly family and had a great time. We are so blessed with such loving and generous people in our lives!

Cousin Kelli made the most awesome T-rex cake ever seen:

and Lincoln adored it!

On the 23rd, his actual birthday, Lincoln got to choose where he wanted to eat, and he picked the mall so he could see the BIG GORILLA!


Which he didn't want his picture taken with once we actually got there. Of course.

The mall was mostly deserted, which was great, so we walked around some after we ate and let Lincoln play in the kids' playplace. We don't usually get a chance to because it's so crowded with kids snotting everywhere, but that night Link was the only kid playing. Woo hoo!

He also got to sit on the riding lawn mowers at Sears, another of his favorite places.

Unfortunately, he started getting a cold Saturday evening after getting back from Monett (we had gone down for the day to help with the cake), was worse Sunday and absolutely miserable on Monday. What a way to spend your birthday! He still had a good time running all over the mall. It take a lot to slow this kid down!

He ended the night by reading a book with Jackson:

At 3 years old, Lincoln...

-is close (sort of) to being potty trained. It's one day at a time,

with some days better than others.

-knows his colors, ABCs, basic shapes, some presidents

(thanks to his awesome placemat) and millions of animals & dinosaurs.

-can recognize many lettes and numbers

and is curious about words.

-also knows almost every single Star Wars character

(loves Chewbacca) and is familiar with much of

Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

-loves How to Train Your Dragon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas,

and pretty much any movie we'll let him watch.

-loves to sing: the Grinch, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,

Old MacDonald had a Farm, Knick Knack Paddywhack.

-dances to "Can't Touch This" every night at 6:45 when an alarm

goes off on Mommy's cell phone. He calls it "Tan Hox It" and

will mumble along with the words as he jumps around the room.

-is super happy, super friendly and has good manners (most of the time).

-LOVES Baby Jack and is always telling him, "You're so cute,"

and "it's OK, Jackson, I'll protect you."

-BUT. He has started randomly knocking Jack over since J now sits up

on his own. He will also grab Jack's toys and is having a tougher time sharing.

-is a major talker and says such funny things so many times a day

that we can barely keep up with writing them down.

He has been speaking in complex sentences for a while now

and has an amazing vocabulary.

-adores other kids, his age, older and younger. Doesn't matter.

He always wants to play with every kid we see.

-can undress himself on his own except for his shirt but has trouble

getting dressed on his own.

-loves to be outside to run around and ride in his Cozy Coupe, which he's

getting too big for! He should be able to reach the tricycle wheels

this spring.

-is in the "what?" and "why?" stage and asks those questions about

EVERYTHING, even if it is obvious to him/he already knows

the answer!

and a million other things which I will post as I think of them. :)

6 months old!

Jackson is half a year old (as of December 28)! Where has the time gone?

He is SUPER smiley, SUPER happy baby--he may even be smilier than Lincoln was as a baby, which I didn't think was possible. Or maybe just about the same. Who can tell??

Jack is 27" long and weighs 16 pounds and 4 oz. That's the same length, but almost a full 2 pounds less than Lincoln did at this age--who knew Link was such a porker?

He was a trooper at the doctor's office. He cried when being weighed & measured, but didn't have a problem getting pocked and prodded by Dr. Griesemer. Kids. Who can figure them out?

Jack has a tooth! His bottom right tooth starting poking through the day after his 6-month birthday. That explains SO much, and he's definitely getting ready to cut more based on his behavior, chewing on his own fingers/anything at all, and waterfall of drool.

Here he is looking at a book with Lincoln:

Jack has been on solids for about a month. This child is an eating MACHINE. He will eat everything and anything in sight if we're not careful! And he likes everything, although he's not a huge fan of all-natural applesauce unless it has cinnamon in it. He's had cereal, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, acorn & butternut squash, pears, applesauce, avocado, banana, and several spieces...that may be it.

He really liked carrots on this particular day:

I'm not following the "feed one new food every 3-4 days to see if an allergy develops" for 2 reasons. One, we hardly have any food allergies in the family. Two, I read an article a year or so ago that said that babies who were fed new flavors rapidly tended to be better eaters as they got older. Since Lincoln has become averse to pretty much any fruit or vegetable, and I did follow the "3-day" rule with him, I want to see if not waiting between new foods has any impact on Jack.

Unfortunately, solids haven't really had any impact on his sleeping habits. UGH. A couple of weeks ago we (I. I was so desperate) were so desperate to get more then 2-3 hous of sleep at a time every night that we started putting him back in the swing to sleep. Sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn't. He's been doing a bit better lately, but again, he's still in the swing. The transition back to the crib is going to be the stuff nightmares are made of.

We'll have to do it soon, though, or else it will just get worse as he gets older.

6 month likes

Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln

Reading books

Turning pages of books (he's great at it!)

Exersaucer & Jumperoo

Sitting up on his own. YES!!!!

Squealing, cooing, babbling ("gagagaga" "baba").

Jack tries SO hard to form words.

Pulling self up while holding on to people's thumbs

People. Jack is a charmer who distracts people in church

because he's so adorable! (we don't want him in

the nursery until after cold/flu season is over)

Peekaboo. Best. game. ever.

Mirrors

Pooping in new diapers Mommy has JUST put on him. Grrrrrrrr.

Wearing 9 month onesies and sleepers, and already outgrowing some of them!!

His feet! Grabs them compulsively & is about to start sucking

on his toes. Yum.

6 month dislikes

Teething. Who wouldn't?

Not getting to eat until he explodes. He nurses and then has
solids, and when he's finished the solids and sees us take

the bowl or jar from him, Jack freaks out!!

Sleeping through the night (although getting better recently),

past 6 AM or longer than 45 minutes for naps

Soon to come: Some Christmas photos (better late than never) & photos of good times around the house!