Jake Month 10

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our 10th month together.  He is a little harder to get a picture with in focus, but Grammy still managed to get a lot of good shots, many of which show him in action, because he is ALWAYS in action!  The pictures here show him exploring, popping up where you least expect (like a prairie dog his Papa says), on his "search and destroy" missions, running from Mama during a diaper change with a bare bottom, on bike rides, broken swings, and out to lunch or dinner, enjoying his food, hanging with Papa, and just being silly and cute like always.  Just before he turned ten months old we got a quick visit with his Ti Ti Boom.  He loved seeing her and his Uncle Sammi too.

 His smile warms my heart every time.  It is completely impossible not to smile right back. 

Ten Months Old

Happy 10 Months to sweet Jake!

At 10 months old Jake was:

22 lbs 10 oz

30+  inches

The 10th month is most definitely marked by Jake being on the move and constantly exploring.  He has totally mastered crawling and by the end of the month he was crawling to push things and taking things with him.  He is always on his knees to reach things he wants and not happy unless he has something in his hands to discover. He definitely has a usual route around the house and some of his favorite stops are the stick that secures the back sliding glass door, the handles on the tv stand back there, any kind of remote control.  He loves to play with doors (scary for his little fingers) and will push them shut and pull them open over and over again.  So far without a pinch, but I stay close by just in case.  In the kitchen he loves the tupperware in the pantry, the plastic tongs in the cupboard and a ladle I strategically placed so we wouldn't drag the pots across the floor.  He still thinks the heat vents are pretty cool and is more interested in his high chair as a toy than he used to be.  He loves to be outside and will demand to get some fresh air by whining by the door.

Jake loves to chat.  He makes a lot of "Ba" and "Boo" sounds and points when he does it.  He loves loud trucks and airplanes and will stop what he is doing and point in the direction even if he can't see the object making a sound.  Jake is not pulling himself up yet, but started to do a bear crawl this month, up on all fours.  He will mimic any sound or motion you make, which makes me laugh and is always a daily activity.

Jake was nursing 3 times a day during this month and eating 3 solid meals.  He is a great eater, he has still found no food he won't eat.  He has 6 teeth now, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom.  I don't have to ever trick him or anything.  The kid loves food and hopefully continues to be open to try new things.  I'll feed him hummus in one bite, apples in another and then some chicken and he just keeps opening his mouth.  By the end of this month he is feeding himself finger food much of the time.  He still loves yogurt and fruit, but eats a lot of veggies and was orange for a while from the all the sweet potato.  He easily drinks from his sippy straw cups.  Sometimes he gets a little wet, but he is just playing then.  I give him a glass of previously frozen breastmilk some afternoons when he needs a little snack to get him to dinner.  He can suck down about 5 oz in 3 to 4 minutes.  Its incredible.

Changing Jake's diaper is a total nightmare, he never stops moving and we have had some pretty messy changes because of it.  There doesn't seem to be a toy in the world that will hold his attention through a diaper change.  He always enjoys the iPhone in my moments of desperation and has known to update my Facebook status once or twice.  He will also sit still if I give him the fingernail clippers.  Great toy.

We had a little refresher course on putting himself to sleep at bedtime this month.  Over time the length of my rocking and singing had gotten out of hand and he was mad when he was put into his crib.  One or two nights of a little crying at bedtime and we are back to easy bedtimes.  This kid has no faults, literally he is the best baby ever...but he is an early riser...like never past 6am kind of riser.  Luckily we are morning people, but sometimes just to sleep to 6:30am would be nice.  I guess if that is the one downfall we have to deal with we will survive.  We usually leave him in his crib for 15 to 40 minutes when he wakes up and plays until a more reasonable time to get up.  He sleeps through the night.  It just happened one day, he had gotten up for an early morning feeding at 4am for so long and then it just stopped.  If he is up (no matter how early) it is always for the day now! His naps continue to be hit and miss.  He almost always has a good morning nap 45 min to 2 hours, but the afternoon is a little harder.  If I do get him down it is never longer than 45 minutes.  Sometimes he is just so wound up he can't relax, I mean too many new tricks to do.  If he falls asleep in the car I have to keep moving to keep him asleep.  I have toured much of the eastside and NW Portland to give him a good nap.  I never mind though.  I have explored some new places and it is relaxing for me if I am not chasing him around!

This life we've got right now is pretty special.  We are buds, he thinks I am funny and although he is constantly on the go he still has time to swing by Mommy for some snuggles.  I have been there every single day since he was born and still when I look back at pictures it is hard to remember that little baby.  I feel so lucky to have all the little moments with Jake.  He would have been starting daycare at Nike right about now.  I know he probably would have loved it and made friends and charmed everyone, but instead we get to continue this crazy adventure we are on.  Days with Mom, nights with Papa, and a lot of laughs all around.  I get sad to think about Jake getting older, it must be time for another one...

Jake: The Movie

I'm a little behind on updates and then when I sit at the computer I never end up doing what I set out to do.  Yesterday I planned to put together Jake's 10 month update, but started to play in iMovie instead.  I put this together, my first attempt at a movie.  Have a great weekend. 

Unfortunately because I used some music with copyright issues, you cannot view this video on an iPhone or iPad.  It has to be viewed on a computer.  When you press play it will play tiny on the screen, but if you select the YouTube icon in the bottom right corner it will take you to their site to watch it and you can make it full screen, which of course is better.  

Little Man

Dear Jake -
Tonight after dinner you pushed open the door to the guest room, the one with all the cords that you love.  I followed you in and told you couldn't play under the desk, but that you could play on the bed.  This is where I change your diaper and you always like to run away and explore.  You crawled around for a minute or two on the bed and checked out everything.  I laid down on the only open side to keep you safe.  As soon as I laid down you came over to snuggle with me.

The next 10 minutes or so were some of my favorite I have ever had with you.  You gave me lots of kisses, I could smell your sweet hummus breath and I have teeth marks on my arm from your little mouth.  The feeling of your chubby hands hugging me and your slobbery face, mouth wide open, coming straight at my face has to be one of the best things in the world.  You climbed all over me, sticking your fingers in my mouth so I could "bite" them and make you laugh, blowing raspberries in each other's faces and of course watching "the little man" (my index and middle fingers) walk around the bed before he finally found you and tickled you so you would fill the room with belly laughs that I hope you never lose.

Don't get big Jake.  Don't stop crawling to your Mama for snuggles and kisses when you see she is nearby.  Don't stop smiling at everything and laughing at the jokes only you hear.  Don't stop exploring and being curious.  Don't stop being Mama's little baby and the sweetest little boy I ever knew.

Love,
Mama

Boys and Girls

Jake can't focus on anything if there is a noisy truck going by.  Is that all babies, or do little boys really come out loving trucks and other "boy" things?

Today at breakfast I was feeding Jake and the garbage truck was on our street.  We had a front row view right from our living room of the cans being lifted up over the truck and dumped in.  I even thought it was pretty amazing and Jake couldn't get enough.  As a girl with a sister I always thought I wanted to have girls.  I can't believe it, as now I can't picture anything but my little guy.  I feel like I might be a Mom that is better suited to boys anyway.  I'm not sure why, I just have a feeling we will be great buds. 

It is so much fun to watch him discover everything.  When he was a little smaller I told Brian that I worried sometimes because he was so sweet I didn't want him to get picked on when he was older.  He is still so sweet and his little bottom lip curls out when he starts to get sad, but he is also brave and smart.  He isn't going to be a push-over, especially with Mama's blood in him!  It's amazing how you start to worry about your kids before they have even taken their first step or roll for that matter.  

I follow this blog:

http://www.thewiegands.com

I am pretty obsessed with this sweet family.  They have a very strong sense of faith and are a little more religious than we are, but their values cannot be beat.  Casey's husband Chris is making a film called "American Blogger." He has been traveling all over the country filming and she posts some of the bloggers he has met with.  It has sent me to a couple of new sites, this one: http://nataliefalls.com and particularly her story I found incredibly honest and touching.  

Friday rambling I guess, just another fast and fun week with my buddy. Time needs to slow down!