Jack: Just a Couple of Firsts.....

Our little man is 10 months old!!! He has sprouted his first tooth (with the second close behind), taken his first steps and played on his first playground. We also started sleep training him.

 

The sleep training started right after his 9 month appointment. Jack has stopped sleeping through the night when we moved up here to Logan and we chalked it up to the move, the new environment, etc. But after a while it seemed like it had to be more than that, I mean how long does it really take a 7 month old to adjust to a new place?

 

So, at Jack's 9 month check up his Dr. mentioned that if he hasn't been sleeping through the night its probably because he's developed more mature sleep cycles as is typical of this age bracket. ok, sounds like a good thing right? nah...it means that during the lighter parts of the sleep cycle Jack  

wakes up and doesn't know how to put himself back to sleep (the way most adults have learned to). He cries, wants to be nursed, etc. So I'd been getting up with him 2-3 times a night. His Dr. suggested the common method of letting my baby cry it out. When he wakes up, don't go in and get him right away, instead let him cry for 15-30 minutes or however long it takes until he goes back to sleep. Now, there are always exceptions: The first night I tried this he cried and cried and then his cries turned from "come pick me UP!!!" to "I'm HUNGRY!!" ....you know the difference.  BUT! The second night he cried for a shorter time and then fell back asleep (this whole time I watched on our baby camera...so sneaky...) and after the 5th or 6th night he stopped crying. WOO HOO!! I was one happy happy momma :D  

 

Along with that.....I was up super late (like 1? ) the other night and had the Jack's camera pulled up on my computer (questions about our monitoring system? message me on FB!) and noticed he was awake. He crawled around in circles in his crib, no crying, for about 3 minutes then laid back down and went back to sleep. It was so funny to watch!!! He was so cute :D

 

Last Sunday Jack was super grumps all through church, wouldn't eat, didn't want to sleep, and just wanted to be snuggled - very out of character for him! Then bam Monday morning came and there was a little tooth on the bottom right. It had barely broken through the gums but what a difference it made, my happy little boy was back :D and with a cute new smile to show off. Jack loves his first toothbrush too.

 

With all the warm weather we have been frequenting the little park right across the street from us. Its called "Adams Park" haha we have our own park!

 

Its got lots of green space and a small playground and lots of trees and I love it. Ill just carry Jack over and let him walk all over! Its great practice for him, he loves to sit on my lap on the swings, and the fresh air is good for everyone :D

 

Speaking of walking....about a week ago Jack took his first steps. He walked from me ....to the xbox...

So we've been practicing with him every day and he's to the point where he can walk about 8 steps on his own if he sees something he wants and starts off properly balanced. He can walk anywhere as long as he has a finger to hold on to! We love that he's become so mobile :D

Jack: 8 Months, A Move, and Christmast!

Two months later again and this little man is growing up right before my eyes. He's taken well to solid foods - we have successfully made all our own baby food purees for him - and enjoys all the new flavors. So far we have tried peas, carrots, green beans, peaches, pears, bananas, asparagus, sweet potatoes, apples, squash, and zucchini.  By far his favorites are carrots and bananas! We are still feeding him rice cereal and baby oatmeal and are looking forward to introducing a multigrain cereal with wheat it in very soon.  He eats so much too, often eating more than a bowlful at a sitting....I've been joking that this kid must have a hollow leg or something because he's still so skinny despite how much he eats.

Jack is now crawling, pulling up on things like his walker and the couch, playing with ALL the toys (even the ones that are technically the remotes ;) giving kisses but actually eating your face, playing in the snow, giggling like crazy when you say things like "gross toes" or "belly button" in a silly voice, rolling his tongue sideways, and saying "mama".  Although, his "mama" is like "momomomomom" and he only really does it when he's very hungry or sad but I like the sound of it anyways.

Right after we moved, we drive back down to Utah Valley to spend the holidays with Jonathan's parents. It was relaxing and fun to spend so much time with family! Jack really enjoyed his first Christmas and got so excited about all the wrapping paper.  He also got to use his puffy snowsuit for the first time and made his first snow angel. We stayed there through New Years and then came back up to Logan and are almost settled. I'm still waiting for Jack to feel at home and start sleeping though the night again. Between packing, moving, and holidays he started waking up 1-2 times again at night. After we had been home for a week he slept through one night....then nothing. Fingers crossed for now! (Update Feb. 3: Jack is sleeping through the night again! We put a nightlight in his room and added an extra bowl of oatmeal before bedtime and that did the trick :)

Just before Christmas, the three of us made the move from Provo up to Logan. Jonathan just stated his master's of computer science at Utah State University. It's a big shift from working full time to going back to school and it's been hard adjusting to all the things that come along with that shift but we know its going to pay off in the long run. Logan is beautiful, snowy, and cold. Everyone says Logan is colder in the winter than Provo, and there have been days that have been pretty chilly, but I think over all its fairly comparable. The summers are supposed to be about ten degrees cooler on average, but i'm not complaining about that! Jonathan has been enjoying his classes and working as a TA for a PHD student who's teaching an undergrad CS course. 

Our new apartment is very homey feeling - it has newer carpets, huge sliding glass doors that lead out to a private balcony out front, our own washer and dryer in a hallway closet, and central air. No window units! I know its winter and that doesn't make a huge difference right now, but just knowing that as the weather warms up we don't have to lug the huge ac units out of the closets and tape them in the windows makes me happy :)