Mom don't want to work and Jack wants to bang on the drum all day

Jack enjoys playing with Mommy's kitchen supplies. At least someone is getting use out of them!

Back to School

So, yesterday we went back to school. It was almost harder than leaving Jack at home in April. Probably because I now have the entire school year in front of me rather than just two months. It's also difficult now because, now that Jack has a regular schedule and goes to bed at 8 rather than 10 or so, we only get four hours with him rather than the usual twelve. And that's on a day when we can get home at 4.

I also don't get to see him in the morning, which is my favorite part of the day. I love walking into his room, having him smile his first big grin of the day at me, and knowing that we have the whole day together. Now, Carmen gets to see that on a regular basis. However, the past two days that I have been at school, it is almost like he knows it. Yesterday, I left around 7 because we had a later start due to Institute Day. He happened to wake up just before I left just so he could say goodbye. This morning, he uncharacteristically woke up at 5:30 crying. After letting him try to cry it out for awhile, I finally picked him up around 6:15. As soon as I picked him up, he stopped crying and just snuggled in. Though I wanted him to get good sleep, I felt so happy to get the chance to hold him and hug him goodbye for the day.

When we have gotten home the past two days, he has greeted us with a lot of excitement and big grins. Today, he was so happy to see us and, though he was super tired from his rather awkward sleeping day, he fought sleep for hours because he wanted to play with us. I put him down for a nap but he cried until I picked him up. He just wanted to be with us. Eventually, he fell asleep in my arms but I didn't put him down after that. I just wanted to hold him and snuggle.

Afterwards, we played on the bed (one of his favorite thing to do because he is not afraid to flop around and fall over) and laughed and snuggled. It is amazing how much he learns and explores each day. I think he will walk before he crawls-he is so good at taking steps and hasn't quite figured the mechanics of crawling yet! He is close to pulling himself up to standing and can stand, holding on to you for a little while. He also is searching for hugs more, which I, of course, never mind!

I find that now I hate bedtime more than I did when I was a little kid myself. I dread the 7 o'clock hour, when I know that I have only an hour left. I keep hoping, like when I was a kid, that the story we are reading will last just a bit longer. And I get a little choked up each night when I give him the last (of many) goodnight kisses and set him down in his crib.

Jack has really helped me put things into perspective. I have been much more relaxed about the start of school than usual with regards to the work part. I have promised myself (and Jack)that from the time I get home to the time Jack goes to bed is the time that is reserved just for us. No grading, no planning. There will always be another day to plan but I cannot get back the minutes I lose with my boy. And I know that no matter how much time I have with him, it will never be enough. But I have promised that those four hours will be the best hours of both of our days.

There are many things that are important to me in my life but nothing in this world is as important as Jack. I never understood it before I became a mom-how powerful this experience and love could be. He is simply the light of my life. I can't believe he is mine and I can't believe how lucky I am to have this wonderful, perfect, sweet boy in my life. I don't know what I did to deserve him but I know that I have been given this most extraordinary gift--I get to be his Mommy. And I cannot screw it up. And I promise to never take this gift for granted.

Barnyard Zoo

The African goose was nice enough to get close and put on a show, which delighted Jack.

My boys

Hello, Goat!

Jack loved the swings at the playground.

Jack thought his day at the park and zoo was great!

On Saturday, Paul and I took Jack to the Randall Farms Barnyard Zoo just 5 minutes from our house. What a hidden little gem! Paul discovered it when he took a peek at the nearby golf course and suggested we try it. It was fun for all! Just $5 (Jack got in free) got us in to see horses, llamas, ducks, geese, reptiles, goats, sheep, cows, donkeys, pigs, etc. Jack, like on his trip to Brookfield Zoo, really only liked the things that he could see (i.e. the things that moved) That made the reptiles (which made me happy) and the pig rather uninteresting.

He especially liked the geese and ducks and also enjoyed the donkeys and goats, who came right up to you so you could feed them. We didn't do that this time, as I don't think Jack is ready to feed them but soon! After checking out the zoo, we went to the attached park/playground. We watched the pony rides and put that on the list of things to do when he is older. Jack loved the playground. We put him in his harness and went on the teeter totter with him, which he found to be great fun. We also put him in the baby swing and he couldn't stop laughing. We had to stop for fear he would throw up! It was great to find such a nice place so close to home. I love taking Jack new places and love watching him learn and experience new things. It's fun to see his new world through his eyes.

Future Miamian?

Goofy grin!

Auntie Michele got Jack this adorable onesie on her recent trip to our alma mater. Gotta get him started out on the right foot. At present, Jack already has two Miami outfits and zero Northern Illinois ones!

The Music Man and Storytime

Jack LOVES music. I don't know if it is because we always sing to him, because we dance with him and around him, play music frequently, or because his Exersaucer rocks from side to side, but Jack dances. Whenever he hears a song that he likes, on his Exersaucer, one of his toys, etc., he starts rocking from side to side. Sitting or standing he starts rocking. Some of his favorites are Old MacDonald, the ABCs, and Coming Round the Mountain.

Also, we found that he likes his routine. Every night (well, every night that he doesn't fall asleep while eating his last bottle) we read a couple of stories just before bed. I used to read him big hardcover books but now, he grabs everything and doesn't do it gently. Since I don't want him to destroy his books before he ever truly enjoys them, I have resorted to reading exclusively board books. For the first one, he always tries to wiggle away. But the book just before bed has been "Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed?" because Jack is always very into it, for whatever reason and because he calms down and smiles throughout. Anyway, my mom is in town and loves to read stories to babies. Last week, I gave her Corneilius and she started reading. Midway through the book, Jack's lower lip stuck out in a pout and he started crying. I stepped in to finish the book and he stopped crying. We figured it was a fluke since he has been irritable lately due to teething. However, when the same thing happened tonight, we knew that this book was just something that Jack keeps solely for me. It's something that just the two of us share, which is kinda nice. It is also nice to know he likes my storytelling voice. I think my mom is the best story reader ever but, apparently Jack thinks, at the very least for one special story, that I am the best reader he's ever heard.

Me Me Me!!!

Jack has decided, probably with a LOT of help from Mommy and Daddy, that the world revolves around him. Though he will play by himself happily on occasion, he REALLY prefers it when someone is watching him. He likes it even more when you are amazed at what he is doing. Even if you have seen him do it 100 times. In fact, sometimes, he will whine until someone watches him. Finally, when you turn to recognize him, he flashes this big grin and makes you laugh, thus encouraging his behavior.

He also has decided that he doesn't really want to be out of the line of sight of Mommy or Daddy. The other day, after having played with him and spent a great deal of quality time with him, I tried to put him in his Exersaucer so I could have the two free arms needed to get something in the kitchen. Now, the kitchen is open to the family room, where the Exersaucer is. That still didn't stop him from screaming and pivoting around in his seat trying to find me. He then whined until I came back. It's hard to find the line between, "am I spoiling him" and "does he need me" (and it's also pretty fun to be so needed and loved so much). Plus, he's just so darn cute! He's really irresistible. Kryptonite to my "I am going to stand firm and teach him to do what I want him to do" strategy.

He is also looking more for hugs, turning to us to hug us while taking a break from playing with his toys. He also looks for reassurances. While reading his nightly story (which by the way, he has no attention span for. I read two stories a night. The first rarely gets finished as he squirms trying to get out of my arms. The second is ALWAYS "Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? which makes him grin like a Jack-O-Lantern EVERY time!), he looks from the pages to my face as if to say, "do you SEE this, Mommy?" It's like he wants to make sure we share experiences with him.

He is also trying to communicate more. Mostly, he just screams because he likes to test his voice and it gets a reaction from whoever is around him whenever. So he finds it amusing. He also yells while smacking his mouth to make a funny sound. He loves to blow bubbles and occasionally says, "ba ba ba". I keep trying to get him to say "Mama". He laughs and smiles when I say it and really listens. He will have a mini conversation with you, trying to repeat what you say. However, he has yet to master the sounds!

In other Jack behavior news, he has increased his activity 100 fold! He is the wiggly-est child I have ever seen. He wants to stand, walk by holding onto your hands, turn around and walk back, try to crawl, etc. He is constantly in motion. When I change him, he keeps trying to flip over to his tummy, making for very long and difficult diaper changes. He also tries to flip over to his tummy in the bathtub, which makes it even tougher because I don't want him to waterboard himself and also because he is really slippery! He is not yet crawling, though he is scooting backwards and can turn in a circle. He can't push himself up to sitting yet either but I think that his arms aren't strong enough yet. His legs definitely are but I think that he can't fully push his upper body up. He's just too stocky! My mom's co-worker's son is one week younger than Jack and can do all of this. At first I was bummed, but then I saw how skinny and little this kid was in comparison to my Bruiser! It will all come in good time and it sure is fun to watch!

Going back to school is going to be really difficult. I love being able to spend so much time with him and see all of his progress. Every day there is something new and I worry that I will miss out on things. I am also sad that I will go from being with him all day to only seeing him for about 4 hours when he is awake, as he goes to bed at 8 and I will be out the door before he is awake in the mornings. I am really going to miss it but I guess I have to be thankful that I have a job that allows me to be home early and gives me summers and lots of other vacation time off. Hopefully the pictures of my smiling boy on my desk will at least get me through the school day until I get to grab him and cover him with kisses when I get home!

Laughing at lunch

I finally figured out how to get ALL the videos we have taken off of the camera and into the computer. The manual was NOT user friendly! I haven't edited them yet and I sound like a doofus on the videos but I just wanted to see if I could do it!!!

More Pics!

Smiling despite the teething!

Laughing. . .again!


Learning to read. Well, at least learning to look and smack the pictures.

Up next: War and Peace

6 Month Stats

We went to the doctor today for Jack's 6 month appointment, which included Jack's latest round of shots (which he did NOT care for). After waiting for over an hour (!) we found out the following:

Weight: 20.4 lbs (90th percentile)
Height: 27 1/4 in. (80th percentile)
Head: 42 1/2 cm (10th-20th percentile)

So from that information, we learned:

1. He's a big boy. (but we already knew that)
2. Yay--he's also growing lengthwise and is pretty proportionate!!
3. He has a pinhead! His head does not look disproportionate but at least now we know that he got something from me! He doesn't have Daddy's ginormous head!
4. He's perfect. (but we already knew that too!)

Yay for being 6 months old!!!!

Jack thinks being 6 months old is awesome!

He thinks it's funny that he's already a half year old. He can't believe how the time has flown!

So, Jack is 6 months old today! Unbelievable! I think we've both loved every minute of it. Well, except for the last two days with the teething. He has been teething for what seems like forever--he's been biting everything for the last three months. But the last two days, he really wasn't himself. It was sad to see him not smiling and laughing as usual. He was reaching out for hugs a lot and wanted to be held. He was also napping really poorly because of the teeth so he was overtired too. And the worst was when we brought him to our softball games last night. He usually likes to watch and sits through them without problem. Last night, he screamed and cried the entire game, with the exception of when Mommy or Daddy ran over to hold him. To make matters worse, it was the playoffs and we won so we had to play a second game. He was fine the hour in between when we were holding him but as soon as the next game started, he was miserable. I felt so bad for him and for our friend's mom who was watching him and I felt like a terrible mother. He never cries so to hear him cry so long was heartbreaking. I felt so bad for him and sad that I couldn't do anything to help him. When we got him home, he passed out and woke up this morning super happy. But still no tooth! I wonder when the pesky little bugger is going to show his little pearly white head! I hope soon! So does Jack!

Other than that, he has been an absolute joy. It's great to see him learn so much all the time. He loves music and we're pretty sure he's going to be quite the dancer. He loves to be sung to. He also has this toy on his Exersaucer that plays music when you hit it three times (it cycles through the word for the animal in English, then Spanish, then the animal's noise, and then a song). He slams his hand over and over on it (prompting us to call him Wacky Jacky) until the music comes on somewhere and then stops hitting it and starts rocking back and forth on his feet in the saucer. It's adorable. We keep telling him that someday the ladies will really like that he likes to dance and I think he's listening.

He sits up very well by himself now and is also starting to babble. His raspberry/bubble blowing has turned into a b sound and he occasionally will keep saying "ba". He also loves to scream and yell (not crying) to test out his voice. He is especially screamy in his Jumperoo.

So I am loving each new stage (except teething) and dreading going back to work. I know he will be in good hands but this has truly been wonderful to be able to spend so much time with him. I can't wait to see what the next 6 months has in store for us!!