Sunday, January 31, 2010

Catching Up

Random hodge-podge of pictures & a written update below.

He makes me laugh wearing these pj's. They are 18 months & he got 2 pair for Christmas. The other pair fits perfectly. For some reason, this pair is skin tight. The stripes don't help to slim him either!
His bed is always so straight when he goes to bed. He keeps adding things to the crib. He now sleeps with 2 animal mini-blankets, 2 stuffed animals, hippo pillow & a soft blanket to cover him. Normally I would oppose this many things being in his crib, but he likes to play with them in the morning. If it entertains him while I get ready, then he can keep them in the crib!

He never falls asleep in the position we put him down in.

Before school one morning. (His shirt says "The ladies love me")
He has had so much fun playing with his birthday toys! (You can't read it, but his shirt says "Bringing chubby back" Ha!!)
Playing in the beverage tubs
He is walking good in his shoes now!




Jake & Connor playing on the stairs
It snowed over the weekend (January 29-31). We got about 3 inches.
The snow as it was starting to fall
Our backyard (I don't think that my muscadine vines are going to make it!)
It takes FOREVER to bundle a kid up
At first he wasn't sure


He warmed up to it though!

Updates (13 months):
  • Jake is walking pretty good now. He LOVES his tennis shoes. He cries when you take them off. If he finds them in his closet, he wants you to put them on him. He is also no longer pulling up. He can go from sitting to standing all by himself.
  • We have been paci free for 2 weeks. It has been hard. Jake never took a pacifier as a baby. It wasn't until he starting teething did he take one & even then it was just to chew on. When he got sick in November, he started actually sucking on it and that is when he got hooked. We were hooked too, because he would fall asleep so easily with it! We knew the longer we waited to take it away, the harder it would get. So we bit the bullet & made him quit cold turkey. It's been hard for us both! It makes me so sad to hear him cry himself to sleep. I feel like such a mean mom. It is slowly getting better.
  • He is a scaredy cat. Loud noises scare him. We are baby proofing our house by putting a vacuum cleaner by anything that he should not get near. (And I can't believe that I have that many different types of vacuums!)
  • He loves any kind of ball. He loves to throw things. He loves to bang things together. He loves music (he is even dancing! I've been trying to get video of it, but it has been impossible). He loves books. He pulls all of them out of the book rack, then picks one to bring to me to read. He also loves to just sit and flip through the pages. He "reads" in a very soft voice. It is the sweetest thing. Again, I want so badly to get video of it, but he only does it when he thinks no one is watching. He still loves his baths. He loves to play peek-a-boo. He loves to shut things (the refrigerator door is his favorite).
  • He doesn't like when all of his food is gone. He doesn't like it if you eat in front of him & do not give him any. He refuses to let you wipe his nose. He gets mad when you make him get out of the bath tub.
  • He blabbers all of the time, but you cannot make out anything he says. Whenever he sees food, he starts clapping & clicking his tongue. I guess it is his own way of sign language.
  • We finally lowered his crib to the bottom latch. (I know, I know... we should have done it sooner! He never fell out though, so we made it okay!) He likes to walk back and forth across his crib. (And I thought that it was hard to get him to go to bed when he started sitting up!) He is still a very good sleeper through the night. Even when I go in to kiss him goodnight (or take his picture!), if he wakes up, he goes right back to sleep. Thank goodness!
  • He pouts when he gets in trouble or doesn't get his way. He will poke his lip out and lay his head down. It is pretty cute (right now) but I try not to laugh (or give in). He knows that I'm a bigger sucker than Robbie.
  • He is still in the Turtles Class at school. They moved up the older half of his class to the next class. That means that they will move up half of the class below him into his class. So now he won't be the youngest in his class. We are still so so so happy with our daycare. Putting your child in daycare is still one of the toughest things I've struggled with as a mom. I don't know if the guilt ever goes away or if I'll ever feel 100% good about it. I am so happy though, that we found a daycare that we trust, we believe in and is based upon Christian beliefs. His teachers are amazing & I truly feel like they love Jake, as well as all of the kids. And he is learning so much. His class has curriculum! We love the small classes (it is an 8 kids to 3 teachers ratio). He genuinely seems happy though, and that does make me feel 100% good!

The Monkey's 1st Birthday

Since there are so many pictures, I won't type much! We had Jake's (2nd) 1st Birthday Party on Saturday, January 23 in Chattanooga. Thank you so much to everyone that came & helped us celebrate. We had a great time & appreciate you being a part of his special day! Happy Birthday Jake!!
This was his mood for most of the party. He is still going through his shy stage.
He was not happy about the birthday hat.
Not happy at all
In his birthday outfit (Thank you Aunt Deborah!!)
The morning of... all of the decorations. Why didn't I start decorating earlier?!?
The invite
The front door
As you walk in, the foyer table
The party favors

Book for his guests to sign (I think I'm going to make this a birthday tradition. Buying a book that goes with the theme of the party for his guests to sign.)

The birthday banner for his highchair
Birthday hat he refused to wear


I know that this is not a good shot of the cake. I've got to get better at using the new camera!



Mini banana split bar

The centerpieces. (What on earth am I going to do with all of this stuff now that his party is over?!? It is all still sitting on our dining room table!)

Photo Banner
Door hanger for the back door
YEA! It's my birthday party!! I can't wait for my friends to arrive!
My sweet girlfriend Addie
My pals Dru & Connor
Playing in the ball pit with my cousin Jackson
My favorite part... the cake!

Thank you everyone for making my birthday [or birthmonth!] so special. From Prattville to Gulf Shores to Chattanooga, I've gotten to celebrate with great pals and have had so much fun. I'm a very lucky little boy. Thank you so much!