Silly Siblings

Here's a good reason to wait ten years between having your babies: Cassady and Jack adore each other. I realize that as Jack gets older/more mobile/more verbally inclined, this may change just a bit, but for now..I love it.

Where's The Beef?

Why, all over Jack's face of course! He has had it for dinner for the past week, and still gets excited about having more. A true test of how much Jack is enjoying a particular meal is to check how much he spilled. If he got his food all over himself, he didn't like it. If he does like it, he gets as much in his mouth as he can - no waste allowed. Other than a few traces on his chin, he was pretty clean after this meal. He is definitely not going to be a vegetarian anytime soon!

Game Night

Here's more proof that Jack is brilliant: he loves to play Scrabble with Mommy and Daddy. So what if he just likes holding the bag of letters, rather than actually forming words. His interest in the game shows that he is incredibly advanced. Right?


Disclosure time: After this photo was taken, he dropped the bag & went for the Cheerios scattered around his jumperoo. Hmmm. Maybe we should just focus on developing the pincer grasp so he can pick up his own Cheerios...

My Baby Can Read!

Just kidding on that reading thing. Although lately, Jack has been very into looking at magazines and books. Or pretty much anything he can grab while rolling around on the floor. He started out playing peek a boo in the blanket, then somehow twisted himself up in it. Then he needed a little reading material for entertainment. He really does have baby toys...you'd just never know it by looking at what he chooses to play with and chew on!

Staring Contest

Jack's favorite person in the house is definitely his Daddy. Oh sure, he has fun playing with Cassady & me, but Daddy's the one who gets the big belly laughs. Jack likes to sit and stare at Daddy, demanding attention and he becomes rather disgruntled if he's ignored. Not that he's ever ignored...he's quite skilled at getting what he wants, when he wants.

Cheerio, Dahling!

Since acquiring two very sharp little teeth, Jack has been all about biting anything he can get into his mouth. His very favorite items to gnaw on seem to be my cell phone, an old pair of Cassady's sunglasses and Cheerios. He still can't get the cereal in his mouth very well, but once we've helped him, he'll say "Mmmm!" Another fun thing to do with Cheerios? Dump the bowl all over the floor and watch Mommy pick them up. Then do it again. Repeat until bored. Then find the sunglasses :)

Catch Him If You Can

Jack is thisclose to crawling. He gets up on his hands & knees now, and will rock back and forth before collapsing back down into the carpet. He uses a combination of scooches (generally backwards) and rolls (usually to the left) to get around for the time being. I think it's only a matter of time before he will be on the go. I'd better finish up the baby-proofing!


Could he look any more like his Daddy? Jack is quickly becoming a mini-me :)

Jack Attack

Poor little seahorse never saw it coming....

Makin' A Splash!

Someday Jack might be a little upset that there are so many bath time pictures. With a happy little face like that, though, how can I possibly resist the urge to capture the moment? He's learning to splash now, which makes his baths a bit more challenging. He thinks it is funny to slam both hands down, and will giggle when the water gets all over. I think the days of docilely sitting while being scrubbed are behind us!

Concentrate!

Can you guess what he's doing?

Hi, Chair

Jack is now eating two "solid" meals a day, so we decided that he needed a high chair. Since going on vacation, finances have been a bit tight, so we were putting this purchase off. Daddy decided to solve this problem by secretly saving a little money from his daily tips, and surprised us with this lovely chair today. No more meals in the bumbo! Doesn't Jack look grown up in his new seat?

Sitting Pretty

Jack is all about playing, sitting, rolling and smiling. Sometimes he mixes and matches, sometimes he attempts to do all these things at once. The big favorite at the moment seems to be grabbing his feet while laying on his back, then rolling around in all directions. He is quite entertaining, and I'm pretty sure he knows it.

Chickening Out

Although you can't easily tell from today's picture, Jack was not impressed with his dinner. He tried some chicken, and while he did eat about half of it, he let me know that he was not eating any more. He used the cabbage patch face with great success, and mealtime was over. I honestly can't blame him on this one: jarred chicken just isn't right. It's got this gooey consistency, almost like silly putty (the same coloring, too). I think it's time to search for a good baby-friendly chicken recipe. Putty chicken just isn't gonna fly!

Mushy Musings

Jack & I spent the day by ourselves today, since Daddy was at work and Cassady was with her dad. I love these quiet days together. When I found out that we were expecting a boy, I admit I was a little nervous about raising him. I know that this is the "easy stage", but I have to say that it has been wonderful. He is such a sweet baby. His little giggles, his giant smiles, the way he will reach out and stroke my face with his soft little hands..I just love it. I like being a Mommy. Especially to my two babies :)

Ap(pear)antly...

...Jack loves pears too! He tried the last of the "first fruits" today, and scarfed them down. He is quite interactive during his meals now. He will sit with his mouth open and making "ahhh" sounds until I put the bite in his mouth. If I take too long (ie: more than 2 seconds) he will grab the spoon and feed himself. He was reluctant to release the spoon at first, (it makes a nice teething toy) but has since realized that in order to have the food replenished, he has to let go. He has also discovered that he is NOT a fan of having his face wiped after eating. He starts making a face as soon as I even start reaching for the washcloth. He'll usually try to protest by putting his hands in his mouth, but that plan generally backfires since his little fingers are usually a mess too. So then we get to start all over again with the cleanup process. He likes to make it a challenge - I think he gets that from his mommy :)

Wee Fit

Jack's got his game face on today! I noticed that he actually has both bottom front teeth coming in right now, although the left side has emerged a bit more than the right. Despite the teething, he has managed to maintain most of his usual cheerfulness. He is such a team player!

I Say (Sweet) Potato...

...You say delicious dinner for Jack! He gobbled it up speedy quick. As in, all 4 oz within about 10 minutes. (His applesauce this morning took nearly an hour, just to put this amazing feat into perspective.) After dining, he rolled around the living room. He is being just like Cassady and rolling wherever he wants to go, rather than crawling. (You could say that she is his "roll model"!) Oh, and if all that wasn't enough excitement for one day, he went and popped out a tooth. It's a sharp little nub on the middle of his bottom gums (on the left). Wow! What a day for our little guy :)

Army Crawl

Jack took his first scooches toward mobility today. Naturally, the first time he did it, I didn't have the camera ready. And of course, his second attempt was not nearly as glorious as the first. At any rate, it's clearly time to baby-proof the living room, and either get some baby gates to block off the other parts of the house, or baby-proof that too. (With Cassady's room, it'll probably be much easier to just go with the gates!)

Lil' Swimmer

Jack had his second "swim" in the pool today. The water was still a bit chilly, so it took him a bit to warm up to the experience (pun intended!). I haven't gotten around to buying him a baby raft yet, so he sat in his bumbo on the first step. He still really wasn't into it, so I carried him around the shallow end for awhile - which he very much enjoyed. After some quality time in the water, we headed for the shade, where Jack played with some pool toys and people watched. All in all, it was a great afternoon!

PS: The hat was borrowed from Daddy, since Jack's head is too big for most baby headwear :)

Peachy Keen

As you may have guessed based on my clever blog post title, Jack had his first taste of peaches today. When I say "taste", what I really mean is that he chowed down. He loved those peaches! He ate an entire 4 oz jar - just for breakfast. (To put this in perspective, the 4 oz jar of applesauce took him 3 days to eat.) I think I'm going to add in another meal of solids, because after wolfing down the peaches at breakfast, he then ate an entire jar of carrots (mixed with oatmeal) for dinner. It's rather bittersweet, this eating of "real foods". It means he's getting older, and we are another step closer to weaning. Before I get too nostalgic for baby-hood though, I remember that he has yet to crawl or sleep in his crib. So we have a ways to go, still :)

Mama's Boy

Jack has been in super-cling mode lately. I am not allowed out of his sight without theatrical tears and general hysteria. While I appreciate the boost to my self esteem (I feel so very loved), this new attitude makes it rather difficult to accomplish anything. We have spent the day playing together, reading books and we napped. Hey - I can't leave him alone..might as well take advantage of it!

Super Smile

We spent our day playing at home today. Jack is really into rolling around on the floor on his playmat. He voluntarily rolls himself onto his tummy, although he doesn't stay that way for very long. He scooches and will use his feet to sort of push himself off solid surfaces, but he really has no interest in crawling just yet. I have the feeling that once he gets going, it will be hard to keep up with him. So I am okay with him taking his time :)

Apple Of My Eye

Well, technically it was applesauce. And really it was all over his face, rather than in his eye. (Or mine, for that matter!) Nevertheless, Jack had his first taste of apples today, and while I can't exactly report that he loved them, he ate 1/4 of the jar before making his cabbage patch face. I'd say we were successful, overall. He seems to prefer fresh fruit over those little jars, so I plan to make some applesauce for him soon. After his foray into the world of new foods, he snacked on a biter biscuit. Those little "cookies" are very messy! He seemed to enjoy it (he was making happy noises while gnawing on it), but I think he prefers the Baby Mum Mum. I am okay with that - the Mum Mum makes much less of a mess!

GameBoy

Another one of Jack's favorite spots in our house is Cassady's room. He adores his big sister - plus her room is full of all sorts of fun items. Her Game Cube, for example. Cassady was quite impressed that Jack figured out how to work the controller so her video game character was moving. Apparently he was buying items in the game, too. He is just so advanced!

Cute & Cuddly

Mr. Jack Ellis is developing quite the personality. He is outrageously flirty with almost everyone we meet. He really likes to turn the charm up to at least a 10. It's pretty irresistable, if I do say so myself!

Pool Boy

Jack took his first trip to the pool today. Unfortunately, there were a zillion kids there and the water was still a bit chilly, so he has yet to take his first dip. He had a great time sitting poolside (in the shade, of course) in his bumbo, playing with Sophie and watching all the kids running around. We ended up being there all afternoon and he loved it. We're planning to go back tomorrow - we'll get him in that pool yet!

Rock On

Jack has a new favorite spot to hang out - my rocking chair. He loves to sit in it with his toys and play. Sometimes he makes it rock back and forth a little, too. Another thing he suddenly loves? Fresh bananas. Yes, you read that correctly. I fed him half a banana this morning and he gobbled it right up. Since the banana was so successful, I decided to re-introduce oatmeal for dinner. And he ate that too! It was miraculous.

Stars & Stripes

Jack celebrated his first 4th of July today. Due to rainy weather, we didn't swim or see any fireworks. We kept it pretty low key, other than visiting friends. (Hi Brandan & Lia! Thanks for letting us visit today. It was fun to see you!) After socializing, we stopped at the grocery store to get appropriately patriotic ingredients for dinner. Jack wasn't interested in corn on the cob or potato salad...guess we'll save those treats for next year!

Hold My Calls, Please

Jack has developed an obsession with my cell phone. He will do just about anything to get to it. In fact, we have taken to setting it just outside his reach to encourage him to move. Most of the time he will lunge for it, although occasionally he will just look at it sadly and cry. Normally he likes to just hold it, but there are times that he starts chewing on it. I hope it doesn't get water damaged from all his teething drool!

Action!

Instead of the same old "trying a new food" post, here's an action shot! Jack is really into grabbing things now. Anything he can get his hands on, really. Most things do end up in his mouth, but sometimes he just likes to hold his latest capture. He also likes to slap and kick things. As he is a strapping young lad, this can be rather painful for non-inanimate objects. He's got a lot of hand-eye coordination, though. He almost has the pincer grasp down. Bring on the Cheerios!

Green Beans

We are moving along now, folks! Jack has now tried green beans - which he didn't completely dislike. Nothing can compare to the almighty avocado, but at least he didn't outright refuse them. We have one more veggie to try (sweet potatoes), then we are off to explore the amazing world of Stage 1 fruits. Pretty soon we may even eat a veggie and a fruit everyday - wow! Stay tuned for more thrilling updates from "As Jack's Palate Expands"!