Five Months

Honestly, where does the time go?  I know that I say that just about every week, but this past month has literally flown by.  As I was setting him up yesterday for his monthly picture, it seriously felt like I had only done this last week.  I am continually in awe of him and how much this little person has changed our world for the better.  Seriously, there is no better feeling than being Jack's mother.  I have been bringing him into our bed for his nightly feeding, just before I go to bed.  After I feed him, I lay him down on my chest and I am overcome with a profound sense of peace.  It just doesn't get any better than that.  So, here is my baby giant, sitting proud at five months old:

 

We had a pretty great week.  Jack and I managed to sneak in a few walks and a couple trips to the park.  On Friday night, we all went up to the club for dinner.  Jack stayed up pretty late on Friday night and we were rewarded, as he slept until about 5:30 the next morning!  This is unheard of and (hopefully) a new trend.  So, even if he got up ridiculously early on Saturday morning, it was a real treat for us to get that many hours of uninterrupted sleep!  On Saturday, Jeff and Jack stayed home and watched some television while I ran errands, did the laundry and cooking.  It was a pretty crummy day but we managed to sneak out in the afternoon to meet Aunt Annie, Cousin Wim, and Grammy to do a little shopping.  

Yesterday, for Jack's five month celebration, we took him to the zoo.  I was a little apprehensive about the outing, mostly because I didn't think he'd really enjoy it, but I was pleasantly surprised.  He really liked watching the dolphins and fish swim in their tanks.  Jeff and I had so much fun watching Jack!  The zoo had a "farm babies" exhibit, so we took him up to see that, but he was pretty uninterested.  Plus, we were bumping up against our afternoon nap time, so we really didn't end up staying that long.  Here is is (not) enjoying the baby chicken exhibit at the zoo:

We're very mean parents, I know.  Along those same lines, it was "Spirit Week" last week at school, and Jack made sure to participate.  On Tuesday, it was "jersey day" and so he supported the Chicago Bears (outfit courtesy of my dear friend, Beth!).  Wednesday was "pajama day" which he promptly blew out, requiring an outfit change.  On Thursday, it was "wacky wear" day, and I ended up dressing him like Elmer Fudd.  Whoops.  I tried putting his Uggs on him, which were a present from Grandma T., but they were still too big and I didn't want to risk losing them because they are just THAT cute... 

On Friday, it was "beach wear" day.  Jack didn't have a swimsuit, or any beachwear for that matter, but no worries - Grammy promptly hit up the outlet mall and made sure Jack had the necessary clothes to complete his look.  So, not only did she buy him a onesie and top siders, she also bought several other shirts, shorts and overalls!  This week, we say a special thanks to Grammy for making sure that Jack is always stylin'!  I'll have to get a picture of the top siders because they are really cute... 

And finally, I have to post this picture - we've been on the go a lot this week, and it can get tiring for a baby.  Especially one that's usually too amped up to nap.  So, he catches a snooze when he can.  As evidenced by his nap on the Jump Jump...

Like Father, Like Son?

Grandma T. has long told stories about Jeff as a child.  She used to cover up or take down all the mirrors in the house because Jeff used to constantly examine his reflection.  She also used to sing him a song that went something like, "You talk to much/You worry me to death..." I don't know or really remember this song, but apparently Jeff has never been shy about expressing himself vocally.  I would say these trends have continued into adulthood.  I was mentioning this to Jeff this morning and he remarked that it was like the pot calling the chatterbox black.  Meaning I suffer from the same habits.  And I suppose it's true.  My mother used to worry that my sister would develop a stutter because I always talked for her, and I always had to be positioned away from reflective surfaces (i.e. windows and doors) because I would always make ridiculous faces. 

In fact, both of our mothers have warned us that we (meaning Jeff and me) were "difficult" children.  Most of the time, Grandma T. tells us that it was work just to keep Jeff from killing himself.  Literally.  If there was an open window, Jeff would find it and crawl out.  If a cupboard was open, Jeff would empty it.  He also "ran away" more than once, I believe.  I wasn't quite as daring, but I gave my mother her own share of headaches and trials.  I choose to interpret this as my own assertion of independence....

And so, it really should come as no surprise that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree(s).  Granted, we have a long way to go before Jack makes it to adulthood, but if what we're seeing now is a sign of things to come, we had better hire a body guard just to keep ourselves sane.  

I have been saying over the past few months that Jack has "really found his voice."  I correct my past assertions.  He has only now discovered his voice and is using this new skill to his full advantage.  On Saturday morning at around 4:00, he started "singing" and did not stop.  All. weekend. long.  He's lucky he's such a cute kid.  I jest, but I also may have remarked to Jeff this morning that I was looking forward to going to work today just to get in some peace and quiet.  

I've attached a video of Jack below, demonstrating his "singing" skills.  Every once and a while, I'll hear a consonant sound in there, which makes me hope he'll be an early talker.  Jeff thought he said "da-da" this weekend and I was also convinced he said "yea-yea" and "hey" but obviously, we're just hearing things.  

He's also turning into quite the little escape artist.  He has figured out how to get out of his bunny chair.  We haven't let him complete the task, but we're literally days away from finding him on the bathroom floor.  When he's on his play mat, he's also figured out how to barrel roll.  The other day, I was in the kitchen and Jack was on his mat.  I went into check on him, and he wasn't where I expected him to be and I had a moment of panic when I couldn't find him, only to discover that he'd rolled under the coffee table.  He thought that was pretty fun. 

He's starting to "stand up" on his own.  He can't sit up yet, but if you hold onto his hands, he can pull himself up.  Makes me think he'll bypass crawling entirely and just decide to start walking one day.  I put a video up of him doing his latest "skill"...to my New Jersey relatives, just ignore my accent please!   

We also celebrated Jeff's thirty-third birthday this weekend.  I use the term "celebrate" lightly.  He woke up on Saturday morning and played golf with some of his friends.  We had plans to go out to dinner, but I was so tired on Saturday night, we ended up vegging on the couch.  Yesterday, my parents took us all to brunch and we celebrated Jeff's birthday as well as my grandpa's and sister's.   

So, in all, we had a pretty great weekend.  Jack continues to keep us on our toes.  I suspect that we're in for one heck of a ride...

Chicago

I'm currently writing this post approximately 28,000 feet in the air.  It's amazing how quickly technology changes our lives.  However, for every comfort we have now, there's a price to pay!  I'm headed to Chicago for work.  The flight is rougly an hour.  As I was checking in, I was asked if I wanted all these special "uprgades" - I could upgrade to first class for $45.00 (I was tempted - and had it been a longer flight, I may have actually done it.  And let's be honest, I know I could drink at least $45.00 worth of free booze.).  I could pay $9.00 to board the plane earlier.  I could pay $50.00 for a pass to the admiral's club.  I could pay $15.00 to get a better seat on the plane.  And thankfully, I didn't check a bag - because then I would have been compelled to pay another $25.00!  Even now, to use the Internet, I had to pay $7.95 for a 24-hour pass.  Unreal.  The phrase "nickel and dime-ing" passengers doesn't even do this justice.  I bet they won't even offer free sodas on this flight.  Although I'd kill for a Diet Pepsi right about now...

In any case, Jack will be staying with his daddy while I'm out of town.  He's with my parents today and then Jeff will have to do both day care drop-off AND pick-up tomorrow.  So much work (sense the sarcasm).  I set up the house before I left this morning so Jeff cannot fail - the laundry is done, the bottles are all washed, dinner is even made.  The house is nice and clean, and I even laid out Jack's pajamas and an outfit for tomorrow.  Granted, Jeff knows what he's doing, but I'm hoping to make my brief absence as easy as possible on my two boys. 

I took Jack to my parents' house this morning and then my dad drove me to the airport.  Thankfully, few tears were shed - by me, of course.  Not Jack.  He was happy to sit in his car seat and watch my mom dry her hair.  He's probably napping by now, blissfully unaware of the fact that his mom is in knots over leaving him for a few days.  I'm hoping he actually sleeps tonight and isn't too anxious about the fact that I'm not there. 

We had  yet another great weekend.  We tried meeting some friends for dinner on Friday night, but it didn't end up working out, so Jeff and I went to a cute little Irish pub for a quick bite.  On Saturday, we went for a walk with a few of my girlfriends, and then to the grocery store and Target.  Afterwards, Jeff did a bunch of yard work, and I got things set up and taken care of for the week.  Yesterday, we went to brunch with some of my girlfriends, and believe it or not - Jack napped for five hours.  I couldn't believe it.  Longest nap on record.  He's still fighting that cold, so I'm thinking that he really needed some sleep to help him get over it. 

We've been working on sitting up unassisted, as evidenced by the pictures below.  He's slowly learning how to crawl - right now, he lifts his arms and legs up off the ground and pretends he's swimming - that's the best way I can describe it.  He's also "talking" a mile a minute, and I think he entertains himself with all the crazy noises that come out of his mouth.

We also started sweet potatoes this weekend.  I've decided that I am going to try and make my own baby food.  This is no easy statement, but I figure that I do so much cooking for Jeff and I, it's really not too hard to throw an extra sweet potato into the mix - all you really need to do is stick it in the blender, add some milk, and hit puree.  Pretty easy.  In any case, he was a huge fan of the sweet potatoes, and is actually starting to get the hang of spoon feeding.  I think we'll start on some squash in a few days.  I also bought some avocado and banana, so we'll start throwing that into the mix as well. 

I've attached some pictures of Jack over the past week.  I swear he wears clothes.  The first pictures shows how good he is getting at sitting up on his own, unassisted.  He can't maintain this position for very long, and eventually folds himself over, so his chest is resting on his thighs.  The second picture is of him, sitting in his Bumbo with me while I cook dinner.  He's munching on a green bean.  Don't worry - he didn't eat it, he just stuck it in his mouth, gummed it, and eventually handed it back to me.  The next picture is his "swimming" imitation I described above.  He'll get the hang of crawling eventually, hopefully later rather than sooner.  And lastly, the final picture is Jack after bath time.  I can't stand how cute he is.  He should be a baby model.  And I'm totally not the first parent to ever think that about their child, right? 

Easter

I know I usually get a post up first thing on Monday morning, but I wanted to save the post to share the details of Jack's trip to the doctor for his four month visit and check-up.  I'm glad that we went to the doctor because he has had a terrible cold for the past week.  I kept thinking he'd get over it, but he's woken up every morning with snot covering his nose.  It's just gross.  I feel so badly for him.  He's had a bad cough, and I lie in bed, listening to him cough and there's really nothing I can do for him.  I've tried everything - the humidifier, the saline solutions, the little sucker thing (honestly, does this tool even HAVE an appropriate name?), but the little man just keeps on running the snot factory.  I kept him home from school last Tuesday, hoping that some quiet time at home and good naps would improve him, but no such luck. 

The thing that just baffles me is that even though he's sick, he's just so happy.  Granted, he had lots of quality time these past few days with his family, so I'm sure he's digging on the attention.  The doctor gave him a glowing review, so I don't think its anything more than the daycare virus.  Jack has been in daycare for just about seven weeks now, and he is a true petri dish.  He starts off with a cold, comes home and gives it to Jeff and me (and we both have sore throats now!) and then goes to Grammy Camp, and spreads it to my parents.  The doctor told me that babies get about seven to ten colds a year - more if they're in daycare and the colds last between seven and ten days.  So, all of us can expect to be sick roughly the entire first year.  Super.

So, Jack's official stats from the appointment yesterday - he's 15lbs 10oz and 26 inches in length.  He's in the 99th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight.  He's still got a huge head.  He did get three shots yesterday, but he did much better this time around. 

In any case, our Easter weekend was wonderful.  I can't seem to figure out how to upload the pictures from our camera, so I can't post any pictures of Jack with his Easter basket in his full seersucker finery.  He really did look cute and he was so patient and even managed to keep his outfit marginally clean.  We went to my parents' house for Easter dinner, and cousin Wim was there, so he and Jack enjoyed some time together on a blanket.  They were so funny together, and clearly fascinated with one another. 

My sister and I had so much fun playing with them and taking their pictures.  Jack looks like a giant next to Wim, as evidenced by his massive head.  These little buddies are going to be bruisers in a couple of years and I can't wait for Easter next year when they can run around, hunting for eggs. 

In any case, we talked to the doctor about starting solid foods yesterday as well.  Basically, Jack can now start eating mush.  I had bought some rice cereal a few weeks ago to weight down his evening bottle in hopes that he would stay fuller longer and sleep for a longer period of time at night - no such luck.  In any case, I decided that we'd try a little bit last night.  He understood that I was feeding him, however the concept of a spoon was a bit foreign to him.  He couldn't quite get the idea of swallowing, and kept trying to "suck" if that makes sense.  I guess it does.  That's the only mechanism he's needed to eat for the first four and a half months of his life.  He got better at swallowing as we worked on eating, but it seemed as though I'd give him a small spoonful, he'd get it in his mouth, somehow doubling it in size, and consequently spit most of it out.  I'm not certain how much he actually got into his system.  We'll keep practicing.  I don't think his pallet is exactly discerning, since he doesn't really care what goes in his mouth as long as it's food and fills his belly.  I managed to capture the rice cereal experiment on video, which I've attached below for your viewing pleasure...

Like I said, we'll keep practicing, and I think that we may even start sweet potatoes next week!  I head to Chicago on Monday for work, and even though I'll only be gone about thirty hours, I'm nervous for my first night away from Jack.  However, I'm wondering if I'll be able to claim my first full night of sleep in about nine months! 

May the odds be ever in your favor...

It seems we always have so much to share after the weekend.  Perhaps it's because we get to spend so much time together and we've always got things to do, and this weekend was no exception. 

I picked Jack up from day care on Friday afternoon, and we headed home.  Jeff had been out playing some golf, so he came home early as well and got to spend some time with us.  He had a client dinner that night, so after he headed out, Jack went down surprisingly early.  His teachers at school told me that he hadn't really been interested in taking an afternoon nap, so he ended up falling asleep fairly early.  I didn't even give him a bath or put him in his jammies...he fell asleep cuddling with Jeff and me in our bed.  Since he's not really a cuddle bug, it was hard for me to actually put him down in his crib for the night, as I was enjoying snuggling with him. 

On Saturday, we woke up early and did our morning chores - washed the bed clothes and did the grocery shopping.  Since that was exhausting, Jack took a nap when we got home.  After he woke up, we headed up to my girlfriend's house to visit her new twins.  Jack was entertaining as ever, and content to play on the floor and let other people hold him so I could get a good snuggle in with the babies.  The twins are both shy of five pounds each, and absolutely beautiful.  I couldn't get over how small they were - both looked like dolls, especially when compared to my behemoth child.  We stayed there for a few hours before heading home.  However, Jack failed to take a nap on Saturday afternoon, so again, he went down rather early.  Jeff and I tried to watch "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" but I couldn't follow the movie, despite my best efforts, and we fell asleep. 

Yesterday, Jack and I got up early and went to church.  Jeff and Uncle Alec went golfing.  Afterwards, Jeff and I dropped Jack off at Grammy and Papa's and went with my sister to see "The Hunger Games."  We all loved the movie and afterwards, we had dinner at their house.  Again, Jack didn't nap in the afternoon and this trend has me a bit concerned.  I think he's a little young to be dropping a nap already! 

We scooted out of there pretty quickly last night, as I could tell Jack was heading for a melt down because he was so tired.  However, in order to keep him quiet for just a little bit, I gave him a pickle to gnaw on.  It's a pretty extreme change, especially since his diet is only dairy, so I was surprised when he continued to chew on the dill pickle:

This week is, of course, Holy Week.  I'm hoping to make it to Good Friday service and we'll all go to my parents' for Easter after church on Sunday.  He's got his four month check-up next week and I'm anxious to see how much he's grown since his last appointment.  He'll also get another round of shots, which I'm not looking forward to.  Everyone has commented that, in the last few weeks, he has seemed to quadruple in size.  I'm attributing that to the fact he's started getting formula. 

We bought him an Easter outfit, and I'm anxious to dress him up.  He's getting an Easter basket as well, although we're foregoing the whole Easter bunny tradition this year, since he's a little young yet to be hunting for Easter eggs! 

In two weeks, I'm heading to Chicago overnight for business.  This has me nervous.  It's going to be my first night away from him.  Granted, he'll be in good hands - as he'll be with his daddy, but my separation anxiety will definitely be kicked up a notch.  I keep comparing all these "milestones" in motherhood as ripping off a band-aid.  The anticipation is so much worse than the actual event.  And I'll really be gone for about twenty-four hours, and that seems manageable.