This isn't funny guys...

No More Bumbo

The Bumbo can no longer safely contain my "extraordinarily active" baby. Notice what he's reaching for. Can you guess why we have ear plugs? I'll give you a hint - it's *not* because Griffen has started barking all night. Josh's snoring would be a good guess - but it would be wrong. That's right - we're implementing the cruel and unusual "cry it out" strategy to help Jack learn to fall back to sleep when he wakes up at night. (Incidentally, these particular ear plugs have a noise reduction rating of 29 decibels, and they only succeed at dulling the noise of Jack's crying.) I'm not going to lie, it's horrible and heart-wrenching to listen to your baby scream and not run to comfort him. He's doing great though. Last night was the fourth night and he only woke up once, cried for exactly 4 minutes, and fell back to sleep. Hopefully he won't have any lasting emotional damage, but the truth is I NEED a full night's sleep in order to have the energy to be a good mommy all day long. So, hopefully Josh and I can stay strong, and Jack can stay asleep!

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?)

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.

iBaby

It's been a rough day.

That's right, my baby is sleeping on his head. What's it to ya?
Jack was screaming at us mercilessly this afternoon. We were at a bit of a loss as to what to do. He had been fed, burped, changed, rocked, held, given Gripe Water - all to no avail. Hip-hop music worked for a while, but only when combined with Josh dancing with him, and sadly Josh had to get back to work. So, I strapped him into his carseat to take him for a drive. He could imagine nothing worse, and let his opinion be known...loudly. So, while I was trying frantically to collect my purse and keys and get out the door, I left him with Josh. When I came back mere moments later, Jack was sound asleep...in the position you see him here. I'm not sure how his car seat ended up in this position, or why Josh saw fit to tip him on his head, and to be honest I don't really care. It made him not only stop crying, but fall asleep (for a few minutes anyway).

Jack fancies himself to be a boating sort.

Captain Jack - ready for an afternoon paddle in the canoe or a trip out on Grandpa's boat to bring in the crab pots.

Jack's musical preferences

Of all the different musical selections we've tried, Jack seems to be partial to Wu-Tang Clan. On the one hand, I should be happy about this because while I am not a fan of hip hop in general, I have always had a secret fondness for Wu-Tang. There, I admitted it. I don't know why. Their lyrics represent everything I hate about the genre. They are particularly offensive and misogynistic. I just really like their voices, and their beats make me feel like dancin'. It's hard to dance from up here on my high, hip-hop-hating horse though. So, because I don't want to be one of "those" parents, I am going to make an effort to lighten up and dance with my son to Wu-Tang at least once a day. It'll do us both some good. I just hope the first words out of his precious little mouth aren't "bitch gimme my money".