GO GATORS!!!

Birthday tracker

Aunt Kelly found this cool birthday tracker... Mom's still trying to figure out how to use it, but this is what it looks like. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

My first Thanksgiving was a blast! We packed up and headed to my friend Ella's house for the day... I got to spend lots of time playing with my cousin Grayson and my Aunts while Dad and my Uncles goofed around on motor bikes that were WAY TOO SMALL for their tall bodies bodies. :) And for dinner, I got to eat turkey, squash and mashed potatoes. Here's a few pictures of our day.

I did it!!!

I've figured it out - I'm crawling!!! Well, it's not the most graceful crawl, but I can move one arm and and then one leg, then the other leg, but when it's time to move my other arm forward, it gets stuck under my legs and then I'm back to square one. Then I start all over again until I get to where I want to be. :) Dad's gone backpacking but he'll be so proud of me when he gets home!!!!

Look at me go!!!


How did I get over here????

My Dogs

Here's some pictures of me and my doggies (Hannah and Otis).





I love them soooo much! I smile and giggle every time they walk into the room. Hannah loves to kiss me... all over my head, my hands, my face, my ears.... Otis doesn't like to come near me though (he's jealous of all of my squeeky toys because he can't play with them). I think I'm starting to respect that Otis doesn't like me much because I don't reach out for him like I do for Hannah. Mom and dad thought it would be the other way around... that Otis would be by my side, since Hannah is older and set in her ways. But instead, Hannah is always checking on me - if I cry or yell - she comes running every time!

Otis will come around one day too... he's starting to pay attention to me (especially when I'm eating at the table like a big boy). Like last night - I was eating a cookie and Otis was sitting next to my chair, so I held it out to him and he licked it and licked it and licked it. Then Mom and Dad told him "NO", so I put the cookie back in my own mouth instead. They made "yuck" faces at me but I thought it tasted just fine. Oh well, maybe next time they'll let me share my cookie with Otis again.

8 Months Old

Today is my 8-month birthday. I feel like a little boy these days... no longer a baby! I just love all of the new things that I can do and say.

I've got a few words that I like to say regularly, but I'm the only one who knows what they mean: like Dobbin and Blaadin and banabanabana to name a few.... I also say dada but that's just what I call everyone (not just dad but mom, Hannah and Otis too). Mom and dad have been signing with me since I was about 6 months old - I think I'm starting to understand some of the signs, but I don't know how to use them yet (like doggie, no, quiet, more, help, and all-gone).

I'm not quite crawling but I'm still getting around just fine... I think I'd rather crawl with my feet and hands instead of my knees and hands. Mom (and my Nagy) have seen me attempt to do this several times now and today, I actually got to my toy by moving on my feet and hands (and sometimes elbows). Otherwise, I just scoot like I'm in the army and that works just fine for me. I've been pulling myself up on the side of the bathtub (dad gets scared when I do this) and if Mom puts me in front of the coffee table, I like to stand there and grab stuff - I've even taken a step this way! Luckily, Mom and Dad started protecting me from things like electrical outlets and the corners of the brick fireplace... Just wait until that Christmas tree goes up though - Wooohooo!

Mom and Dad measured me and I'm now 30" long and 18 pounds. Mom said I grew last week because all of the sudden, my 9 month clothes stopped fitting. :( It's no wonder that I'm growing because I eat so much now! I'm still a slow eater, but I eat large quantities when I'm hungry... my latest favorite is Dad's cream of wheat! Last night I ate some of Mom's green beans but they weren't as yummy. But mix anything with applesauce and I'm all over it! I eat three real meals a day, but I still love my bottles and have 4 or 5 of those a day too. I also love my cookies and cheerios... i figured out how to gently pick up one piece at a time and feed myself.

I've been feeling pretty good since my pneumonia last month...I've got the sniffles right now but it might just be allergies. I had ear infections with my first cold in September, and never again since then. And to this day, I still haven't ever had a fever (even with the pneumonia!!!). All and all, I'm doing pretty darn good. Mom said to knock on wood. :)

Here's a few pictures of me over the last few weeks... click here

A Word From Mom - Crawling

Each day, Jack does something new and exciting and it blows us away. Sometimes we think we can follow "the manual" and watch our baby progress through life, just as the chapters tell us he will (and usually, this works out perfectly). Then other times, we find that he does what he wants and only when he's ready. No practicing or warming up first... For instance - rolling from back-to-front. We tried and tried to "teach" him...countless hours on the floor with him, coaxing, cheering (also pulling in other resources, like tid-bits from Aunt Amy)- but in the end, one day he just decided it was time and we found him rolling all over the living room. Same with drinking from his sippy cup... he just chewed on it and played with it for a month or so, then one day he grabbed it and started chugging! Even laughing and smiling (I can't tell you how many cumulative hours we've spent trying get him to smile and then laugh). In the end, he just decided one day that he was ready, and then he ran with it.

So as far as crawling is concerned... this task is a tough one, but, he'll do it when he's ready (or maybe he'll skip this all together), and that's that. Worst part is - "the manual" doesn't rate this task as a milestone of any kind and Marc and I are very much goal-orriented people (we like to follow "the manual" through life checking things off as we go). Will he crawl soon? Only Jack knows... but for now, we're just going to have to watch him "scoot" across the floor to get around, which he does well. :)

Other new milestones - he started saying "da da" (more like "da da da da da" - so no, he's not choosing to say "dad" over "mom" as his first word). He's also using his pincer grab (using two fingers to pick things up) and has become quite precise with this. He pulls himself up, but only in the bathtub (real safe) and with certain big toys that he can wrap his arms around. He has even taken one step on his own, while holding on to the coffee table. And of course all of the other "manual" goals that should have been hit by 7 months.

By the way...still waiting on teeth too, but I'm sure he'll get them when he's ready. :)

Bath time!

Every night, I look forward to my bath time with dad. It's our time to bond with eachother, and play our own games, with our own toys... just me and dad. We both love this time together and even if I'm not dirty, it's just something that we do each night, together. It's our "routine". Anyhow, here's a few pictures of us goofing around during bath time.