13 months

On Friday, Jack turned 13 months old!



This month was a lot of fun and I think the biggest advances were in the area of language and understanding. He learned to say "dog" which admittedly sounds just like "duck" and "woof." He also started saying "mama" and "dada" though not always directly to us. But the progress in comprehension, while harder to explain, was really impressive to me. Not only does he understand our words quite often, he understands how things work a lot more than he did last month. He knows which side of the gate will open and how to get out of the way of the gate so he can get up the stairs. He knows when we get somewhere that I have to push the red button on his carseat and will often poke at it if I'm not moving fast enough. At meals I am often at a loss for what he actually wants and sometimes if I hold up a box of crackers he will shake his hand no at me, and for other boxes or choices, he'll smile and clap. We're getting there. I continue to look forward to the day where we have more words and I can better meet his needs without him needing to cry. Baby steps. They might not even be noticeable to someone who isn't around him all the time but I do think we are starting to figure each other out. Watching his little mind work to figure out the world will never cease to amaze me. It's so exciting and fascinating and rewarding all wrapped up into one!
He gets a good "woof" out once in a while and these aren't his best, but it's hard to get him to do it on demand:



He's still not walking on his own though he loves to walk holding your hand or while pushing something. Here he has removed the file drawer from the cabinet by the door and is taking it for a spin.



He's much more interested in his surroundings than toys. Exploring cabinets, or finding his way out from under the table seems to be much more entertaining to him. He studies everything.







Outside is his absolute favorite place to be. He cries when we have to come in and races to try and get out the door anytime he sees it open. Thank goodness the weather is starting to be a bit more conducive to outside play!



He's certainly become a bit more mischievous. He often knows he's not supposed to do something and will take off as soon as he knows he's caught. This time however, he got into the goldfish that were sitting by the door for Kenny to take to work. And he knew I saw him and immediately shoved as many goldfish into his mouth as he could instead of running from me! Mind you, it wasn't even 8 AM and he'd already had breakfast!



This month Jack also started working on his first molar on the top right and now it looks like he's getting 2 more teeth on the bottom. He had a fever followed by a rash and now has a runny nose. All of that added up to not enough sleep for any of us but a lot of snuggles which I loved! While some days the stay-at-home mom gig can be quite trying (though of course most days, absolutely wonderful), I was really thankful to be home for all of his illnesses and not have to worry about missing work or leaving him before he was really feeling better. I hope we can be healthier this month and that we'll get to soak up a lot of sunshine playing outside!

Happy Spring!

Cuteness

We had a bit of a rough week last week with a temperature and a molar coming in. No one slept well, Jack didn't eat well, it was just a yucky week. But this weekend, we did get to have some fun and today, he seems right back to his normal happy, CUTE self.

Here's a few fun shots from the past few days...

Grams and the gigglebox:



And Grams and Jack with more hand motions. I think they were flying this time!



Playing with the spatula on the island at Gram's and Gramp's house:



Waiting for the rest of the band to show up at Aunt Audrey and Uncle Eddie's house:



Having fun with Daddy:



Sporting his new big boy pj's that Grandma bought him as he tried to figure out how to open the gate and get up the stairs:



And the gate...well...it's there to make sure that the following doesn't happen without someone right behind him:



He LOVES going up the steps and would do it all day every day if we'd allow it. He sits at the bottom and stares at the gate and cries sometimes. It's hard to tell but when he gets to the top, we all clap. That's definitely his favorite part!

Fun on the Farm

Yesterday Jack and I went to Orange to see Ansley and Page and the baby cows! It was a gorgeous day and Jack loved being outside and didn't seem to be scared at all. The babies are just so cute!







Gisele came over to check Jack out too! The baby ducks flew away as soon as we got to the pond so we'll have to get back to see them.



Thanks for having us Ansley - we can't wait to get back!

Happy Friday!

Just a sunny smile to wish everyone a great weekend!



Hope that it is sunny and warm where you are.

We're still here!

It's been a while, I know, but it's been raining for what feels like weeks and we haven't gotten out to do too many fun things...and I failed to capture all the fun things we did inside on camera! Either way, we hear the sun is coming out tomorrow and we can't wait!



Yesterday we did finally get to go to our 12 month doctor's appointment after their big pipe bursting disaster. They were still a bit disheveled from it but all went fine. Except that Jack has figured that place out. He usually is perfectly happy while we are there. It's a very bright, colorful place with lots of toys and smiling faces. But yesterday was different and according to the nurses, 1 year is about the time they all figure it out and it lasts until they are 3-4 they say. He clung to his Daddy so tight and had NO smiles for Dr. Schweiker, even though she can usually pull quite a few out of him! It also may have something to do with how we aren't going there every few weeks for visits without shots now that he's not in daycare. Who knows, but either way, he didn't enjoy the trip, or the 3 vaccinations.

The newest stats:
Weight: 20 lbs 12 ounces (25th percentile)
Height: 30" (50th percentile)
Head: 19.5" (off the charts)

He's thinning out a bit which she says is normal when they get moving. He walked for her holding my hands and she said he was ready to go in terms of the mechanics of it, he just needed the courage. She encouraged us not to turn his carseat around until he was walking well even though he's 1 year old and 20 lbs. She thinks the milk intolerance is dose related, so he tolerates a small amount, but not large volumes. Since the soy milk is going ok for now, I think we'll stick with it for a while longer but I was quite encouraged to hear her say he needs only 2-3 ounces at each meal, not the 16 ounces I had read elsewhere. He has given up the bottle on his own pretty much, swatting you away when it's presented, so we got to escape the "no more bottles" lecture. So, all in all, things are going great it seems!

In other news today is St. Patrick's Day! Not Jack's first, but I can't even remember it last year and feel certain we were still in the sleepless fog, so hopefully this year will be more fun for him. The O'Donnell clan sent him a St. Patty's Day duck!





Who knew such a thing existed, but there's no more perfect gift for him at the moment since he is hooked on ducks! Thanks guys! The doctor said he should know 1 word at 1 year and his is definitely "duck." He hasn't moved past "duck" and "uh-oh" but she said he probably wouldn't until 15 months when he'd pick up a handful of new words...and she warned us to start watching which words he hears! For those that haven't heard him say it yet, here's a little clip. We know it needs work and most people wouldn't know it's "duck," but he uses it appropriately and can spot ducks most anywhere!



But maybe he's going to speak in clicks instead of words anyway...here's his newest trick...



Sure hope that the day is full of rainbows and pots of gold for everyone! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Celebrations

Jack had a busy birthday week full of parties and playdates. It started the weekend before his birthday with a trip to my hometown to see Granny.



He had so much fun exploring and checking out everything at her house!



She was so sweet to have a little birthday celebration for him to kick off his week of birthday fun! He got some great presents...





and she even had a cake for him to try!





He was NOT a fan. The icing was sticky (as all icing is) and that seemed to bother him. I have him a piece with barely any icing in hopes of that helping...but it didn't.



We had a great trip though and really appreciated all Granny did to make the day special for Jack.

Monday we had the big snow and so Kenny was home with us all day which was such a treat!

Tuesday was Jack's big day but the snow got in our way a little bit. It was really cold and everything was pretty icy so I didn't want to chance going out in the car with him. We stayed in and played most of the day. Auntie Stephanie and Uncle Dan and Emory and Ellie and the Bradburys had sent Jack such great gifts so we opened those one at a time every hour or so throughout the day. Thanks guys for being our snowed-in birthday fun! Kenny came home early and we took Jack for a stroll up to the park to watch the sledding.







Wednesday schools were still closed so we got to have a playdate with Mary Alex and some of her friends! I forgot the camera so there aren't any pictures but we had a great time, as usual!

Thursday I had a haircut so Gramps came to play with Jack for a little while which was such a treat.

Friday we had a playdate with Carter at the park which was also lots of fun! Jack was not in the best mood but it was a lot of fun for me! Kenny came home early again so that was a nice treat too.

Saturday was a big day! We started a parent and child swimming class at the Y first thing in the morning. Jack was again, not in the best of moods before it began and as such, it didn't go that well but we have high hopes that in the next 8 lessons he'll get a bit more comfortable. The class is designed only to familiarize them with the water, not to teach survival skills or any real swimming skills. It's based around song and play and seemed like it would have been a lot of fun had Jack not been so fussy.





Here's hoping next week goes better - he's got to be pool ready by summer!!

After that we had a little family birthday party which was a lot of fun. I never would have guessed we'd be in the teens and under 5 inches of snow in the same week that we'd see 80 degrees, but it was a beautiful day for an outside first birthday party!





Jack was surrounded by his parents and grandparents which made the day extra special!









He had a great time opening presents and playing with new toys...though the Jack in the Box might have scared him a time or two.



But I think his favorite part was his own little table of treats.



He loved getting to eat all of the crunchy treats he wanted!



Despite working really hard to make these cupcakes for him...






and even offering him a cupcake without icing, he had NO interest in the cake (or hat) part of the party. Oh well! We all had a great time and we really appreciate everyone coming to share the day with us.



Sunday was another beautiful day so we headed out to Maymont to get some fresh air! Jack was more concerned with his cheerios than the animals...until it looked like a goat might be able to snag a few cheerios right from his tray. Then he was a bit concerned.





It was such a nice day even BOTH of the bears were out!





I love my boys...and pretty Spring days spent at the park with them are just about as good as life can get!!



Sunday night Uncle Eddie & Aunt Audrey came over for dinner and a little more fresh air. Jack loves being outside and gets really fussy when he's inside these days. So he enjoyed their visit even more than he usually does, which is a LOT!







It was a wonderful week and thanks again to everyone who helped make it so! Hope your week was great too.