Blue

Though he's happy to play with things of all colors, he seems to gravitate towards things that are blue when given the choice. I've been trying to teach him colors for awhile by showing him a blue, a green and a red block and then saying one of the colors. When I first tried this, when he was about five months old, I was amazed that he picked up the green block when I asked. Then I requested blue, and he grabbed that one. I thought I had a genius on my hands until I asked for red and he proceeded to pick up the blue one and smack himself in the head with it. I have kept trying but to no avail. He always goes for blue. Now, I could try to pull it off by always requesting blue and amazing my family and friends with Jack's parlor trick, but that's cheating.

Anyway, today Jack SAID "blue." I'm serious. He was playing with his ring stack toy and I took the blue and green rings and figured I'd try the color thing with just two colors and see what happened. I showed him green and said the word "green" very slowly and clearly. Then I hid it and showed him the blue one. I said "blue" the same way. Right after I said blue, Jack looked at me and said, "bwah". I stared at him wide eyed but then recalled the previous incident when I thought he was Einstein and I tried it again. "Bwah". So I tried it again, pausing after I said "green" to see if he would just babble in response to any word. Nothing. Then I said: "Bluuuuue". Pause. "Bwah". I called my parents immediately eager to have a third party hear and certain that Jack would sit there and stare at me and make me look like an idiot. "Bwah". Now, I am not disillusioned, thinking that he actually knows that "Bwah" is the color blue. But he is definitely trying to mimic me.

He's recognizing a lot of new words. In addition to his own name, he knows "Mommy", "Daddy", "Peek-a-boo" (as soon as I suggest it, he bows his head and hides his eyes), "Juice", "JoJo" (his stuffed monkey), and "Kiss" (and has just started to kiss back--he puts his face into yours). So we have started trying to use signs with him to see if it will help him learn to communicate better and faster. It can't hurt. He loves to learn and I love to teach so it's a good combo.

He also is doing a lot of furniture cruising and gets pretty excited about his progress. And his progress has kicked our babyproofing into high gear!

Halloween Test Run

RAWWRRR!

The costume is WAY cuter now that he's crawling!

We did a test run for Halloween today. I found Jack's costume at Old Navy after WAY too much online research. Everything was either cheap and junky or adorable and expensive. And though someday I may shell out a lot of cash for a Halloween costume, it won't be this year when he doens't even know what Halloween is.

Anyway, I had purchased two of the tiger costumes because he was right in between sizes and I didn't want to have the wrong size too late in the game, when all the costumes have been purchased. Therefore, I had to try them on. Paul did NOT appreciate the fact that I chose to do this during the Bears-Bengals game.

Just Some Stuff

Playing in the playpen

New BeBop band

Intently watching/dancing to Moose and Zee

Sporty Jack

He Likes Us! He Really Likes Us!

Navigating the stairs (at least the first one)

Hey, are you guys sure you're watching me?

Today, I got the greatest homecoming I have ever received. I walked in the door from the garage and Jack was sitting on the floor in front of the front door. He turned and saw me and lit up like a Christmas tree. That was good enough for me, but it didn't stop there. He then crawled down the hall to me, bypassing his toy that was along the way (though he did think about it), and when he reached me (I was on the floor on all fours too.) he reached out his arms and hugged me. It made my day. Heck, it made my year!

But the love didn't stop there, Paul got home about four minutes after I got home. Paul walked in and had his arms full of stuff. He greeted Jack with a hello but had to put his stuff down first, so he walked past Jack. Jack cried out an whined and then started to crawl after Paul until Paul unburdened himself of his load and scooped up his boy.

It's awesome to see that he thinks we're as cool as we think he is. We have to enjoy the moment while it lasts--we won't be cool forever!

Also, he has been pulling up on everything and standing. He has discovered the staircase and enjoys trying to climb them. However, most of the time, he gets up to the first stair and turns around to make sure we are watching, thus losing his balance. He also turned around numerous times to half jump into my arms for a hug.

In addition, Jack has become increasingly interested in story time. We read his animal book and I make the noises of the animals, which he loves. He also enjoys turning pages. But he is only allowed to turn board book pages. Turning regular pages is less like turning and more like twisting, scrunching, mashing and wrenching them out of the binding. Anyway, he is usually not terribly patient about turning the pages and wants to turn a page as soon as you get to a new one. However, not with Corneilius P. Mudd, which still remains, by a long shot, his favorite book. With Corneilius, he waits until I am finished to turn the page. And what is even cooler, he knows when that is because he has begun to get the words of the book (we've read it enough!). Each page ends with a "Yes" or "No" and he has realized this and turns the page without being prompted right after. It's so cool to see him start to process language. I wonder if it is this cool for everyone or just language teacher nerds!

New Stuff

CHEEEEEESE!

So are you gonna take me out of this playpen or what?

Jack and Daddy showing off their pearly whites

Kiss attack!

So many new things, so little time to post! It's amazing how fast things go and how much an 8 month old learns and does all the time.

FOOD:

Jack is a good eater. He always has been. In fact, meal times are fun times for Jack as he likes to try new things, make faces and laugh at Mommy making faces. The only food that he truly dislikes are peas. He hated them the first time he tried them when he was about 4 months old so I decided to try them again to see if he had changed his mind. Nope. But this time, he ate it, made a stink face by scrunching up his nose, chewed it with a look of disgust, gagged and then laughed about it. He did this for about four spoonfuls in a row and I decided that he was just eating it because 1) it was there, 2) he was being good for Mommy and 3) he thought gagging was kind of amusing.

He is now also trying other more advanced foods. He LOVES puffs but I think he likes the idea of feeding himself much more than the actual taste of them. In fact, the other day I was walking towards him with the puffs and then realized I forgot something so I turned around. He screamed like a girl.

He also really likes yogurt and bagels and he just tried pasta tonight. He finds feeding himself to be extremely interesting and prefers to sit at the table with us while we eat (as long as there's something in it for him).

CHATTING:

Jack's a babbler. Actually some days (and some moments within days) he is just a chatterbox. Ba-ba-ba, ma-ma-ma, ga-ga-ga, da-da-da come out at various times and decibel readings. It is hilarious and I simply can't wait until real words start forming and I can't wait until he starts meaning Mommy when he says ma=ma and Daddy when he busts out with a da-da.

CRAWLING:

Jack crawls pretty well. He's not a road racer or anything but I think that has more to do with our hardwood floors than his ability to speed up. Plus, he likes to crawl a bit, then plop onto his butt, flip onto his tummy, then crawl a few more steps. He crawls the greatest distances when I build a tower with his blocks that he feels compelled to knock down in what we call a "Jack Stack Attack". It is adorable to watch him crawl and is especially cute when he sticks his tongue out, as if he is really concentrating on his technique. What isn't so cute is when he falls over and whacks his head or when I have to be super alert when playing on the bed with him. Suddenly a King size bed doesn't seem so large when he's crawling around towards the edge! Another danger is his new found interest in electrical cords. I turned around for a second and when I turned back, he had it in his mouth. We are working on the concept of "ouch" and he looks at me thoughtfully and stops what he is doing, at least for a nanosecond!

He's now pulling up quite a bit more and just today, pulled himself to standing using Paul's body. It was short lived--he was SO proud of himself, he immediately pivoted to see if I was watching with a big grin, and threw off his balance. He can also stand fairly well by holding onto furniture. Looks like furniture cruising is up next!!!

JEOPARDY:

Jack loves Jeopardy. I'm not sure if it is the blue background, soothing music, the fact that there isn't much going on so it isn't overwhelming, or that he is an absolute genius. I think it is the latter. Whenever we sit down to eat, we put him in his bouncy seat (except for the past two days when he has wanted to eat with us) and turn on a Jeopardy. He doesn't jump, he doesn't play with one of the many toys on the Jumperoo, he intently watches the screen. And the other day he answered the Final Jeopardy question.

He actually has been more intrigued by the television. We don't let him watch much but sometimes when he is getting ready for bed or a nap, we settle down and he gets pretty snuggly and I love it! He seems to find Dora the Explorer particularly intriguing. I wonder if it's because she's Mexican too?

HIGH FIVES:

Jack now understands the concept of the high five. Most of the time. Most of the time, when you raise your hand up and say "High five" or "Gimme five" he puts his hand up and lets you smack it. Then he smiles--he thinks it's pretty funny. So do we.

SHOES:

There are few things in the world that are cuter than baby shoes. But despite my love for baby shoes, I can't justify buying shoes for kids that don't walk. Why have shoes that are supposed to serve a purpose have no function. Jack can't walk yet. I just bought his first pair of shoes this week. However, it wasn't because they were particularly cute (though they are) nor was it because I just wanted to spend money. It's because the kid refuses to keep his socks on. He thinks socks are stupid. They make his feet hot. Even the best sock slips off an active baby foot. It's not really a problem except that he insists on taking them off when Grandma tries to take him outside. In the subzero October we have been having here in Chicago, it's not the best idea. So they are less protective and more preventative. And if there is anything he thinks is more stupid than a sock, it's a shoe. But he can't find a way to get them off. Though velcro is usually a kid's best friend when they are learning to tie their shoes, it's an 8 month old's torture. He keeps pulling at them and can't get them off. So he waits patiently for awhile, and then he just cries about it. Fortunately, Grandma is working on putting the shoes on for a little each day to get him used to the idea.

TEETH:

Two on the bottom are in. Two on the top coming in right now.

RECOGNIZING WORDS:

He is gradually learning all sorts of new words. He knows his name (even if he doesn't always respond to it). He knows "kitty", "Daddy", "Mommy", and "Puffs". The other day, Daddy said, "Let's go see Mommy!" and he squealed with delight (which I, of course, loved). He also recognizes when I say words from songs he loves and lines from his favorite book. He does NOT recognize the words, "Clean up your toys".

KISSES:

Another word Jack has started to recognize is "kiss". When I say, "Give Mommy a kiss" he usually will stop, look at me and lean in with a very sloppy open mouth. I love it, even if I have to wipe off my face, but I do hope he gets better at this when he is older.

STINKFACE:

Jack has taken to making a stink face by scrunching up his nose and blowing air in and out of his nose. It makes him and everyone else around him laugh. Especially when you do it back to him. Today, he started making the stink face and then saying "ma-ma". I hope he's not trying to tell me something.

PEEK-A-BOO:

Jack thinks that there is nothing funnier than a good game of peek-a-boo. Hide behind a corner and jump out, scare him with a sneak attack, hide behind the couch and pop out, put him on the bed and hide below and pop up or wait for him to look for you, or just turn away and then quickly turn back around--it doesn't matter, it's all funny. Now he has started to play back. If I put him on my lap and hold his hands up, he'll drop his face into my hands and then pop his head up and laugh. Other games he is starting to enjoy: this little Piggy and pointing out his eyes, nose and mouth. I hope he is always this easy to make laugh, though I also hope that he doesn't find peek-a-boo hysterical when he is 30. There's a fine line between cute and socially awkward when it comes to peek-a-boo and age.

MUSIC:

Jack has always loved music. He dances, he loves to be sung to, and last week, at the Oktoberfest party, he tried singing himself. Auntie Michele was holding him and dancing. I don't know if it was the Lederhosen, the oom-pah-pah music or the dancing but he started very softly saying, "ba-ba-ba". He just loves anything with music. And some things that aren't music but he turns them into music. I bought him this big soft school bus that makes a motor noise when you press the bumper. I hit it for him and he looked at it with wide eyes, plopped down to his butt and began rocking back and forth. Music makes him drop all he is doing, listen and sometimes boogie down. He must get it from Mommy, who used to conduct with her toothbrush to Lawrence Welk. We'll have to see what happens when the new season of American Idol kicks off!

TOYS:

Jack loves to play. He likes all of his toys, though he is partial to his jungle ramp thing where he puts animals down a ramp, and his ball popper that shoots balls into the air and plays music. I, on the other hand, get extremely bored. When Mommy gets bored, Jack gets new toys. The problem is 1) there isn't much selection for 8 month olds and 2) EVERY stupid toy makes noise. This is annoying for a couple of reasons. First, I am big into getting Jack toys where he has to be creative himself. Second, they annoy ME to no end. I don't mind music but I could do without the cheesy, annoying voices that screech out the ABCs or chuckle or sing stupid nursery rhymes that are made up to go with the annoying toy. When he's 12-18 months, a whole new world of toys opens up and I can guarantee that that prospect delights Mommy way more than Jack!

MY LITTLE BUDDY:

Jack is just my little pal. I love being with him. He likes to do everything and everything is just way more fun with him. He's funny, easy going, sweet, snuggly, and just the most amazing person I have ever known. I am so lucky to be his Mommy and can't wait for all of the adventures to come with my favorite little buddy.

Jack's First Oktoberfest

We hosted our very first Oktoberfest on October 11. Jack's been better about parties and crowds so we thought that he'd like Oktoberfest. Wrong. It was just too much to see Mommy and Daddy but not be engaged by them and be held by strangers. He cried a lot, unless Mommy or Daddy was holding him. But he did brighten up enough for me to snap these photos!

8 months old!

Crazy. My baby boy is eight months old! I can't believe how time has flown! It's only been 8 months but I really can't imagine my life without him. He is such a joy and every day I love him more and I am more amazed by him. He is babbling a lot now and grabbing at everything. He is also starting to crawl. He's not real smooth yet but he's getting better every day. He's playing catch now--it's simply amazing to see him learn and grow each day. I am constantly in awe of him. I wonder if that will ever change. Like, will I still think he is the most amazingly wonderful thing when he takes the car without permission and stays out past curfew? Yep! (even though I'll kick his little butt first!)

Playing Catch with MA-MA-MA-MA-MA

It was a rough week at work. Scholastic Bowl started and I had to stay later after school on Tuesday and Thursday, reducing my time with Jack to three hours a day. Part of it was probably due to the fact that I was in a bad mood about the situation, but Jack was grumpy and not his usual happy self. I missed a lot of smiles and it made me even sadder. Carmen said he was great all day and was saying "Ma-Ma" a lot but I hadn't heard it at all. It also felt like one of the longest weeks of my life. So I was extremely excited when Saturday rolled around.

And my Jack was back! It was so wonderful to spend the whole day together. We didn't do anything special, other than spend so much quality time together but it was perfect. We played in every room of the house and played on the bed. He's been pretty mobile without quite crawling and has really enjoyed his new found freedoms. We played peek-a-boo on the bed. I put him in the middle of the bed and then disappeared below the bed. I would pop up at various parts of the bed and he LOVED it. Perma-grin across his face the whole time.

Later we played in the living room. I bought a six pack of "sensory balls" (balls with little spikey things on them) of varying sizes. Jack has always enjoyed them. I always roll them to him and he rolls them, though not necessarily in your direction. Today, he decided that throwing them would be more fun. So Jack and I had our very first game of catch! And he was great! I would roll him the ball, he picked it up, passed it to his right hand and threw it to me. Accurately! This went on for a good ten minutes and he was delighted everytime I caught the ball. Maybe we have a future pitcher on our hands.

And if all that wasn't wonderful enough, I caught him saying "MA-MA-MA-MA-MA" twice today!!!

I really didn't know what "living for the weekend" meant until this year!