Mood Swings

The other day Jack threw a tantrum on the kitchen floor. However, he quickly ran out of steam and the tantrum turned into mild pouting. He eventually forgot about being upset and just decided to be happy. (I wish they all ended this way.)

18 Months Old

On Sunday, my little baby turned 18 months old. He is growing up so fast. Here are the latest Jack stats:

• 29 lb 8 oz.
• 35 1/2 inches long (off the charts!)
• Wearing size 3T
• 16 teeth (those last 4 molars are taking their time)
• Favorite treat: Nerds
• Can currently say: mom, daddy, no, kitty, dog, nose, eye, teeth, done, up, apple, stuck, eggs, hi, happy, and papa. Now, most of these are spoken only on command. His only meaningful words, spoken without prompting, are: mom, daddy, no, kitty, dog, eye, and happy.
• He has learned how to climb up on the tall bistro chairs around our table.
• He loves taking a shower with dad, especially with his foaming Elmo soap that he can rub on himself and the shower door.
• He loves to smell things. Today he played "smell the candle" with me for almost an hour. He took big sniffs and then offered it to me to smell. It was cute.
• Jack loves to help in the kitchen, stirring dinner, and tasting it. He even says "mmmm" after a taste.
• He talks in his sleep, which is a little weird. He mainly just says daddy, no, and dog, although sometimes he barks in his sleep.
• He has been waking up with nightmares or night terrors on a pretty regular basis and that has not been fun.
• He is very particular about which book he wants to read each night and it always changes, although he is very fond of Where is Baby's Belly Button?
• Every day his dad comes home from work he gets very excited, runs to see him, and then runs away and hides before his dad can give him a kiss. He loves his dad a lot and often times, when I ask for a kiss, he goes to kiss his dad instead.

Papa

Jack learned a new word...just in time for a visit from my dad and Laura yesterday.

(Yes, I edited the video to put it "right side up" but the program I use doesn't work with blogger, so try not to hurt your neck watching this.)

Mmmm Milk

I swear I only looked away for a minute while Jack was having his lunch today. I was trying to chop some vegetables for a stew for dinner tonight and when I turned around, I saw that he was covered in milk. Drenched. Sitting in a whole bunch of the stuff. He couldn't have had even one sip of it to drink. He needed a bath, but it was nap time and I didn't want to delay him going down so I just wiped him up and put him in his crib. I guess he is going to smell like sour milk later. Oh well.

Jack Loves Us Too Much

Everyday, by late afternoon, Jack has this need to be close to his parents. It isn't enough to just be in the same room as us, or sitting next to us, he actually needs to sit on us. Usually, I take the brunt of this obsessive love. Luckily, it was all directed at his dad the other night. Nice change for me!

STUCK

Did I mention that Jack gets into everything?

Valentine's Sweets

Normally, Jack doesn't care for sweets. Odd for a kid, I know, but we have been thrilled that he prefers healthy foods. Frustrating for family members who want to use cookies to bribe a boy (right papa?) Well, that appears to be changing. Jack just loved the Valentine treats we had around the house this weekend.

Yummy!


Not sure about this expression...


He loved his dad's cupcakes. No, they aren't from Sprinkles...I don't think those are all they have been hyped up to be. Try Scottsdale Cupcakes...much better!


Anyway, I hope you all had a sweet Valentine's Day!

"Happy"

Jack's new word is happy. He says it repeatedly throughout the day. Not sure where it started, maybe because I always ask him if he is happy when he wakes up...

Nothing is Safe

Jack is learning to put on clothes. Unfortunately, he doesn't limit himself to his own clothes. He found a pair of my panties last night and decided to try to put them on.

We're in Trouble Now

Guess who learned how to open the child-proof locks on the cabinets?

The Happiest Sick Baby Ever

Yesterday I was playing on the computer and Jack wanted a turn. I sat him on my lap while he excitedly manipulated the keyboard. I leaned over and kissed his head and was surprised that he was burning hot. Fever of 102.8. Shocking because he wasn't acting sick. I gave him Motrin and he fell asleep during dinner that night, which is very unusual. During the night his fever got as high as 103 and Motrin would drop it a little, but not very much. I took him to the doctor this morning and was told he has strep throat. As always, they were surprised at how he doesn't usually act sick. Poor baby. You know you are not feeling right when you fall asleep mid-bite.

As a mom I was not prepared for the fact that I would feel so much of what he experiences. I cry when he cries. I physically hurt when he hurts. The amount of empathy I experience is amazing.

Dad's Turn to Read

Lately, Jack will only allow me to read his bedtime story. If Stuart tries to read, Jack will pull the book away from him and give it to me. It makes Stuart very jealous. The other night, Jack made an exception and let his dad read to him, but insisted on sitting on his lap and jumping up and down during the story. It was great!

Visit from Grandma

I have lots of new stuff to share, but haven't been on-line much. I got violently ill the other night and wasn't up for much. So, I'll try to share some of Jack's recent escapades. Here he is with grandma last week.

By the way, Jin is ALIVE! I knew it! I'm so glad. (It's so nice to be proven right.)