Jack - 13 months

Happy 13 months, little dude!

Stats:  At Jack's 12 month appointment on May 15, he weighed 20 lbs (no diaper or clothes) and measured 30 inches tall.  He wears mostly 12-18 month clothes and a size 4.5M shoe.  He still has 8 teeth.

Sleeping:  Jack is an excellent sleeper, both at nap and night time.  We're slowly dropping his morning nap, and he has been very flexible during the process.  He gets one a few times a week.  During the last 3 days since we've been in Texas, Jack has extended his night time sleep, going from 7 pm - 8 am with a 2.5-3 hour nap :)  Not bad!  He had his first ear infection this month, which caused a high fever and 3 nights where he woke up screaming.  The day he started an antibiotic, he started sleeping through the night again.

Eating:  Jack still loves meat, beans, and cheese, and has a new love for fruit.  It took him a long time to eat fruit from his tray, but we're finally there.  For some reason, he does not like fruit for breakfast.  Some days, he will eat green vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, peas, etc) and some days he spits them out, so he still gets a Sili Squeeze with a fruit/green vegetable puree quite frequently.  He likes all orange vegetables.  He dislikes cow's milk, so we're still nursing 4 times a day and eating cheese and yogurt.  He is very interested in the food on our plates and begged me (by signing "please" over and over) for some pizza crust at dinner tonight.

Playing:  Jack is walking about 50% of the time and he just learned how to stand himself up this week.  He can walk up to 20ish feet (across a big room) if he wants to and can also turn himself around without falling.  He loves to play "catch", and will throw a ball back and forth for a long time.  He's pretty accurate!  His favorite toys at home are the play kitchen, Fisher Price Laugh and Learning Home, and the Leapfrog Fridge Farm and letter magnets on the fridge.  He LOVES to take magnets off and then put them back on the fridge, all while listening to the corresponding music.  I think he has really good fine motor skills for his age.  He also loves to take lids off and put them back on, especially the Melissa and Doug Wooden Magnetic Kitchen Bottle Collection that Mimi brought Elise on one of her visits this spring.  He enjoys pushing vehicles and banging anything to make noise.  He got to swim for the first time last week and loved it!

Learning:  Jack has added a few new words this month, including "car", "ball", "Jack", "eat", and "shoes", which brings the total to 18-20 words.  His favorite words are "dog", "Elise", "keys", and "shoes".  He understands a lot more words than he can actually say and can follow a lot of commands, mostly involving "Walk to (a person)", "Bring (a person) (a thing)", etc.  He can identify some body parts, like "hair", "belly", and "feet".

He is so sweet and fun right now!  He gets so excited when he walks to someone and just laughs and giggles when he gets close to them.  He adores his big sister and the feeling is mutual.  We can't wait to celebrate his birthday this weekend!

Here are some pictures from my phone from the last few days.

Jack (13 months), Me, Gretchen, and Luke (10.5 months)

Busy boys!

Playing with GG and Paw Paw (Jack had just walked to Paw Paw and is holding his arms up to be picked up!)

Zoom in... Can you tell how much he looks like his Daddy?!

Single stroller recommendation

Okay so I'm really just procrastinating (does anyone like packing?), and I can't find the funny sayings list to finish Elise's next post, so I figured I might as well make a stroller recommendation.  In the last few months, I found the need for a new single stroller.  I've been using the Bumbleride Indie Twin 3-4 times a week (Elise still really likes to ride) and a small Chicco Capri umbrella stroller on times when I just had one kid or didn't need the double (like at the park).  Well, I was using the small stroller a lot at the park and I was frustrated because I couldn't push it well and hold her hand at the same time, and I really wanted a big sunshade and snack tray for Jack, so I started looking for another single stroller.  Here were my criteria:

1)  Large sunshade

2) Snack tray option

3) Small fold since I always have my double in the back of the van

4) Can fit a 3 year old and 1 year old comfortably

5) Can be easily steered with one hand

6) Decent basket, at least big enough to store my purse or Jack's diaper tote underneath   

Well, my friends, I ended up with the Britax B Agile and I LOVE it.  Here is the link on amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Britax-USA-U341783-B-Agile-Stroller/dp/B0050GD2AE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338164448&sr=8-1

Here's how it met/exceeded my criteria:

1)  Large sunshade - PERFECT for using outside.  If oriented correctly, Jack's entire body is shielded from the sun 

2) Snack tray option - a little far out for Jack to reach but if I loosen the upper harness straps, he can lean forward and reach the snacks just fine

3) Small fold since I always have my double in the back of the van - I can fold this and put it in the van with one hand (while holding a baby!).  It also locks in place automatically. 

4) Can fit a 3 year old and 1 year old comfortably - Elise fits PERFECTLY in this stroller and is extremely comfortable with room to grow.  The seat is actually wide enough that I could sit in it.  Jack also enjoys riding in it.  He usually ends up leaning to one side, but I think it's by choice :)  The weight limit is 55 lbs.     

5) Can be easily steered with one hand - I can steer with one hand with a 20 lb passenger or a 35 lb passenger.  

6) Decent basket, at least big enough to store my purse or Jack's diaper tote underneath - I can actually store both underneath along with some smaller items.  I also bought the parent console and two Think King stroller hooks since I'm going to travel with it to Texas... this will make it easier to navigate the airport by myself with two kids.  This will also be great to take to Sea World later this month. 

The other stroller I considered was a City Mini by Baby Jogger, which is also a great stroller but the B Agile has it beat in a few key areas (bigger seat and lower foot rest for a bigger child, more user-friendly brake, easier access to basket, has shocks, bigger rear wheels, and a smoother ride).  Happy Stroller Shopping!   

Last day of preschool

Elise really grew to love preschool (and especially playing with other kids her age) this year.  She is definitely going to miss it this summer.  Today was her last day, and we celebrated with a "colorful" party.  The kids and parents wore their favorite color and Elise and I decided to match with purple shirts and denim capris.  Little did we know that we would later be interviewed for a news story at a park on why Baltimore is apparently the worst-dressed city.  What a fashion statement we made :)  

Elise and her classmates patiently waiting for food

Someone was more interested in eating than getting her picture taken....  

Jack had fun playing with the "boy toys"

Jack walking

Jack isn't 100% walking yet, but he's getting really close.  This video was taken about 2 weeks ago and he takes up to 20 steps at a time, but this video was the turning point when he figured out how to pause, catch his balance, and keep walking.  He will initiate walking short distances and will turn from a toy and walk to us if we are close enough.  More videos and pictures coming soon, I hope (my intentions are good)! 

Jack - 12 months

Happy Birthday, little buddy!  We ADORE having you in our family.  We always know that you are happy because you constantly laugh, giggle, and smile.  You bring us so much joy.  You love playing with Elise and Daddy but you are definitely a mama's boy and I love it.  We can't wait to see you continue to grow this year, even though it makes me sad to think that you aren't really a baby anymore.  Thank you God for entrusting us with this precious gift!       


Stats:  Jack is approximately 30 inches tall and weighs about 20 lbs.  His 1 year check up is next week and I'll come back and post his actual stats.  He has 8 teeth now (4 on top, 4 on bottom) and has been a very easy teether.  His size 4.5 shoes fit but his feet have definitely grown since I bought them last month.

Sleeping:  Jack is still a great sleeper.  He sleeps about 12 hours at night (7:30 - 7:30) and takes about 3.5 hours worth of naps per day (1 hour in the morning, 2.5 in the afternoon).

Eating:  We are still nursing 5 times a day but I'm planning to drop the late afternoon feeding pretty soon.  He eats 3 meals a day and his favorite foods are meat, cheese, beans, yogurt, and sweet potatoes.  Jack is still funny about picking up fruits and vegetables to eat.  Occasionally, he will eat a few bites of fruit from a fork, but he usually spits it out.  He is getting a little more adventurous.  He still eats pureed fruits/veggies every day in his Sili Squeeze (as does his sister) and gets super excited when he sees it.  He did love his birthday cupcake (pictures to come).  

Playing:  Jack is still a busy, busy little boy.  He isn't walking on his own yet, but he will take 3-4 steps if we initiate walking practice.  He spends a good portion of his day on his feet, either standing and playing with toys (sometimes holding on with one hand and sometimes standing alone) or cruising around from furniture to the walls to toys, etc.  He is a super fast crawler and loves to be chased around the room.  He ESPECIALLY loves to be chased when he sees a diaper or clothes in my hand.  He automatically crawls as far away from me as fast as possible, giggling the whole way.  He adores his big sister and would be happy playing with just her for a very long time.

For his birthday, he got Elise's old Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Learning Home and he LOVES it.  He is still very interested in musical things and  will press the radio buttons on the house and just dance and dance.  He likes to push his walkers around and push cars on the floor.  Elise picked out a dump truck for his birthday present and he immediately knew what to do with it.  He also loves climbing stairs, playing in the bath tub, closing the baby gates, and playing with the house and kitchen in the play room.  The B Parum Pum drum and instrument set is still a huge hit.          

Learning:  Jack has added several new words this month, bringing the total to around 15.  He started saying "Ma" for me and "Da/Dada/Daddy" for Mike.  Here is an approximate list (and I don't want to give the wrong impression here... he doesn't use all of these all the time, and some he uses more than others):  ma, da (or dada or daddy), eese, keys, chicken, cheese, socks, slide, boss, dog, drink, book, cracker, duck.  I am also pretty sure that he says Jack, outside (si si), ball, car, and probably a few others.  

He signs "please" for certain things, like to get in the bath tub or go on the slide, or occasionally for some food, but he doesn't really use the other signs any more.  I need to be consistent about doing them again.  He understands a lot of basic commands and certainly understands when we don't want him to touch something, but sometimes he does it anyway :)

Cute stories:  Before he started saying "Da/Dada" regularly, we were looking at a family picture on the wall and naming the people.  When I pointed to Mike, Jack signed "please", and then pointed to him and signed it again.  He wanted to see Daddy, who was at school.

A similar thing happened a few days later, when we were naming people and before I could say Elise's name, he said "Eese!"

When I change his diaper, I'm always trying to distract him so that he will stay in one spot.  Sometimes it works to play "Where's Jack?" and when I say that, he gets a big smile on his face, giggles, and hits his chest with his hand.  

Happy Birthday, Jack!

More pictures and a birthday post to come later.  Happy Birthday, Jack!  We love you so much.

Big

I am (like always) way behind on blogging, but here are a few pictures that sum up the last few weeks.

Big bed 

Big van

Big kids

About 3 weeks ago, Elise asked to change her crib to her big girl bed.  We've talked with her about doing this for a long time and were just waiting until she wanted to make the switch.  This transition has been PERFECT and it's like she's still in her crib because she waits for us to get her up in the morning and after her nap.  She is so proud of her bed and we are so proud of her.

We've been talking about getting a van ever since I was pregnant with Jack, and we got an offer that we couldn't pass up.  Here is the Honda Odyssey that we will be driving for the next 10 years!  It is amazing.  The power sliding side doors are more wonderful than I ever imagined.  I will admit that in the past, I declared that I would never drive a minivan.  Well, 2 kids later and I think I'll probably be driving one until the kids are gone.  Don't knock it unless you have 2+ kids and you've tried it :)

I love the last picture that was taken by Michelle in April.  I can't believe Jack is almost one!