Resting

See, he slows down (a little) sometimes (and no, we didn't drug him for the photo).

Cords

There are two things in the living room that Jack is not allowed to play with...the floor lamp and the computer cords. So, of course, the lamp and the cords are the things that he most wants to play with. He knows he's not supposed to, so he scoots towards them, and then looks around to find us and see if we're watching. Then he gives us a big, devilish smile, and proceeds to play with his favorite off-limits "toys". If we tell him "no" he cracks up. I'm not sure what's funny about being told "no," but he seems to think it's hilarious. All I can say is that I think Jack's toddler years are going to be very tiring...

Clothes Are For Suckers!

Jack hates getting dressed these days. It's not the actual clothes that he objects to, but rather the time that it takes to put them on. He can think of a million and one things he would rather be doing. So, I end up chasing him around the house, putting on one piece of clothing at a time. Sometimes it all just seems like too much work and I let him hang out in his diaper for a while.

Look Familiar?

Busy Boy = Busy Mommy

So, you may have noticed that I haven't posted much lately... I promise I will try to do better, but my newly mobile baby keeps me VERY busy!

And it begins...

Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen...Jack is mobile! Last night I left him on his alphabet mat in his room for about 30 seconds while I went to the kitchen to check on dinner. When I came back, he had somehow gotten himself over to the heater (about 5 feet away) and was playing with the electrical cord. I took the cord away, of course, unplugged the heater, and waited for him to show me how he managed to perform this new feat of movement. The answer is, he scoots (or army crawls, or whatever you want to call it)...backwards... It is the funniest thing. This morning he figured out how to go forward also, although that's a little tougher. He is really proud of his new skill, and has been scooting around his room since he figured out how to do it. I guess we need to get on the child-proofing pronto!

Pack 'n Play

Jack LOVES his new playpen! I was hoping he would tolerate being in it for a few minutes so that I could take a shower or make dinner, as we will soon need a safe place for him to be contained once he starts crawling. I never in my wildest dreams thought he would enjoy it so much (I know, my wildest dreams are pretty boring these days...). Things may change once he is actually mobile, but for the moment the Pack 'n Play is his new favorite hang out spot - not to mention a good place for an impromptu nap.

Put a Cork In It!

Jack's very first tooth poked its way through his gums this afternoon! Josh and I thought the occasion called for some champagne ~ Jack celebrated by chewing on the cork...

Sick babies are no fun!

Jack's cold took a real turn for the worse last night. His fever was up to 102.7 and he was wheezing a lot. So, this morning we took him in to see Dr. McGuinness. His blood oxygen level was pretty low, so the doctor gave him a bronchial dilator medication through a nebulizer right then (see last photo with gas mask). It seemed to help some, so we have to repeat the treatment at home every 4 hours until the coughing and wheezing stops. Ugh.

I have to say...it's been a lousy week so far!

Sick and Tired...

...as in, Jack's sick and I'm tired.

Oops, there's poop on your camera...

If anyone was thinking, "hmmmmm, I wonder what Josh and Stacey are up to today?" here's a little series of photos to keep you in the know.



It took us 45 minutes to get this one cleaned up. Afterwards, Jack got to take his first bath with his Daddy. And yes, I really did get poop on Josh's camera. Good times.

Vegetables = Yucky

Places To Go, Things To Do...

Jack is doing a little early Christmas shopping from the Pottery Barn catalog. The photos came out a little blurry because HE NEVER STOPS MOVING. EVER.

He had a physical therapy appointment this morning.* His therapist was very impressed with his progress. The last time we were there he would start screaming the minute you put him on his belly, and now he lays there happily playing with toys for 15 minutes or more. He is also trying VERY hard to move. He actually pulls himself on his belly across the floor to get to a toy he wants (sometimes even giving himself "floor burns" on his belly from dragging it). Apparently, this is an unusual tactic. Most babies first master pushing up to their hands (he only pushes up to his forearms) and hang out in that position while looking around. Jack, however, doesn't "hang out." In fact, he hasn't remained in a stationary position during any waking moment since the day he was born (and actually well before that, as his exhausted mama can attest to). The therapist was enjoying his antics, and turned to me and said, "Wow, he is an extraordinarily active baby for his age." She was gracious enough to leave out the implied, "you're in deep s**t lady, you're going to have your hands so full, and you don't even realize it yet," but I heard it loud and clear.


*For those of you who I haven't talked to in a while, he was diagnosed with plagiocephaly (flat head) and torticollis (twisted neck - in his case, he only wants to look to the left). He has been doing physical therapy for the past month, and has made tremendous progress.

Does Jack need a helmet?

Nope, no helmet here. Jack was referred to the Craniofacial Clinic at Children's Hospital so that the doctors there could decide if his plagiocephaly was severe enough to warrant treatment. They said that his was a mild case, and that the shape of his head would either improve or stay the same (but not get worse) over the next couple of months. So, we are just supposed to continue with the physical therapy for his torticollis, and not worry about his cute little lumpy head. Yeah!

Little Pumpkin

Jack was (what else?) a "Jack-o-lantern" for Halloween. We dressed him up in his little furry pumpkin suit (which he wasn't very excited about) and walked up the street to the neighborhood pre-trick-or-treat party. He fell asleep in his Daddy's arms after less than 5 minutes, and slept through trick-or-treating (which consisted of knocking on the doors of four of our neighbors, two of whom weren't home). Happy 1st Halloween, Jack!

(Doesn't he remind you of the boy from "The Christmas Story" in his horrible little bunny suit?)

Tummy Time

Jack HATES tummy time. He hates it slightly less now that he has his new tummy time activity mat. He finds the baby in the mirror to be alternately fascinating, hilarious, and terrifying. Hey, come to think of it, that's a little how I feel about him too...

Reading Hurts!

It's hard (impossible) to see in this photo, but there are cuts on his fingers.
A few days ago, Jack started reaching for the pages as I was reading his books to him. I teased that he was trying to turn the pages...but the more I watched him, the more it seemed like he actually was. So, I let him try, and sure enough he turned the page. I have to hold it out a little at the corner so that he can get a good grip, but he takes hold of it and turns it (about 80% of the time anyway). I thought it was so neat that he was enjoying his books so much, that I read to him tons that day... The next morning when I looked at his little fingers I discovered six little paper cuts. Ouch! I felt really bad that I hadn't noticed he was cutting himself while we were reading. So, at least until the cuts have healed, I'm turning the pages of the paper books, and letting him turn the pages of the board books. His favorites so far are "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Are You My Mother?" Anything with big, colorful pictures - especially red. He LOVES the butterfly picture at the end of the caterpillar book, and the Snort (bulldozer) in "Are You My Mother?".

Incidentally, I'm wearing a band-aid in this picture because I have a paper cut also... I was trying to read one of my cooking magazines while holding Jack. He managed to kick his feet in just such a way as to grate the edge of the page against my finger. He certainly has busy little feet.

Bathing Beauty

Jack has graduated to sink baths. He seems okay with the whole thing...but just okay. He doesn't fuss, but doesn't seem overjoyed by the process either. I try to make it fun, but he seems less than amused by my antics, and is always eager to get out. It takes a while afterwards to get him dry and warm and happy again, so I am fairly lazy about his bathing schedule. He gets a full bath only once a week (or more if he really needs it - I will leave a detailed description of what that means to your imaginations).

iBaby

Jack's Feet

Jack's feet smell like...well, like feet. Stinky feet to be more precise. The rest of him smells like a sweet little baby (with the occasional exception of his back end) but those cute little tootsies smell like ten-day old gym socks.
They are also ticklish. He didn't used to react in the slightest to our tickling attempts, but today he started to twitch his feet away as Josh would tickle them. It was pretty funny.