A Year in Review

Wow. It's been a year (and a week and a half) since Jack was born. It's really amazing how far we've come! Here's where we are: Jack is a sweet, caring, inquisitive little boy. He wants to know how everything works, and then he wants to make it happen himself. He remembers things about his toys that surprise me still -- how to make the noises that make him dance, how to lift the doors to hide toys and how to push the truck so it starts revving its engine again. He is funny about his hands. He immediately notices when they're dirty and often can't get past that. I have to wipe them off before he can begin eating again or move on to the next thing we're doing. As we told Dr. Fromson the other day, he will eat any dry carb with his hands, but once moisture comes in to play all bets are off. He's just funny that way! Jack is down for a nap. In the hour he's been down I've mowed the front lawn and cleared some caulk out of the shower (I'll get to the re-caulking another time). A year ago if Jack were napping, mama was napping! We're transitioning to one nap a day. He's already that way at school, but not in a good way. He refuses to nap for more than 45 minutes or so when he's there. Too much excitement I suppose! It's a tricky transition, and he's often tired in the morning but I push him to stay awake. If he sleeps early, he's tired in the afternoon but refuses to nap! One day he'll look back on this time (maybe when HE has a 1-year-old!) and realize he was missing out. ;) He's eating 3+ meals a day, which is a huge relief. That kicked in right about at 11 months. It just clicked for him, I guess. I'm starting the weaning process, so we're into the frozen stash of breastmilk. I'm thrilled that solid food appeases his hunger, he's willing to try new things (whether he keeps the food in his mouth once he takes it in is a different story), and he's dropping bottles. At home now he takes three bottles -- morning, pre-nap and night. At school he drinks a ton more but I'll address that with them soon. He's close to walking. He keeps a firm grip on our fingers but will walk all over the block that way. Today we walked down to Heather and Joe's in an s-shape... sidewalk to the street and back to the sidewalk. He giggled when he'd go up the "step" on to the curb. Last night he would take a few steps holding on to just one finger and holding a wooden spoon in the other. He wasn't convinced but he'd do it. I think we're only a few weeks away from real walking! Jack babbles all the time. There have been a few crystal clear Mama and Daddas, but nothing first-word-esque yet. But he knows who we are. He understands a LOT. My favorite is KISS. He'll lean forward, mouth open wide and give a kiss. To any puppy (life or stuffed), any time. To us... half the time. He's such a sweetheart. He's gentle with other kids, eager to hand his toys away (and hopefully get them right back), and gives big smiles all the time. He emotes -- he'll cry when he sees other kids get really upset. We've seen it a few times and his teachers say he does it there too. He loves his big train scooter that makes train sounds, pushing his radio flyer wagon, LOVES riding in his cozy coupe (and now pushing it around), and all of his stuffed animal puppies. He nests and un-nests blocks and loves to shake shake shake anything that rattles. He's sleeping well, for the most part. He sleeps from about 6pm until 5 or 6am, has a bottle then is back to sleep until somewhere around 7am. He can self soothe, and sometimes will cry in the middle of the night for a few minutes but then go right back to sleep. Daddy hears it sometimes and I'm out cold and don't. At this point he'll go a few days sleeping great, then we'll have to bring back the CIO phase for a few nights, then go back to sleeping through the night without issue. We look forward to him sleeping through the night all the time. Whenever that happens. Age 14? Love him. :)