So many exciting things have happened this month! You are officially on the move! You crawled for the very first time a couple of days ago. You've been scooting backwards for a while now, but never could go forward to get where you wanted to be. Then you started rocking up on your hands and knees, but any attempt to move forward resulted in a belly flop. Finally this week, you've discovered that picking up those hands and knees helps you actually move. While you haven't really taken off just yet, we imagine you'll be crawling across the room in no time (time to re-baby-proof!) The other exciting and helpful trick you've learned is how to sit yourself up from your back or belly. This discovery forced us to lower your crib mattress - a tell-tale sign that you're not our little baby anymore! You're also drinking from a sippy cup now, which means you're even closer to toddlerhood. And finally, you have teeth! Hooray! Your first 2 little teeth finally popped through this week. Your gums are super swollen & your drooling is incessant, so we're sure a couple more are on the way! Here are a few of the things you're into (and not) these days:
Favorites
Eating - Boy, do you love to eat! You get so excited (borderline impatient) when we put you in your high chair. You get downright giddy if you see the Puffs container! You stare us down and get grumpy if we're eating without you. Much to our delight, you've mastered the pincer grasp and can feed yourself now. This is hugely helpful, as we can give you little bites to snack on while we get your cereal/purees ready. You have never turned down a meal, big man!
Carbs - You've yet to meet a carb you didn't like. Your favorites seem to be plain pancakes and waffles (just wait until you can dip them in syrup!) You love to chew on a pretzel rod. You've also had & enjoyed your first bites of Skyline crackers :)
Standing - You love love love to stand. You'd stand night & day if we'd let you. The problem is you're not quite steady on your feet, so we can't let you do it unless we're right next to you. You'll likely be pulling yourself up to a stand all on your own within the month.
Clapping - You think it's funny when people clap. Though you haven't mastered it yourself just yet, you like to grab Mommy's hands and help me clap.
Playing Peek-a-Book - This is still a favorite of yours, only now you like to join in the fun. If we put a burp cloth or towel over your face, you love to pull it down & reveal yourself. You'll even grab for it and try to do it yourself. It's too cute!
Not-so-favorites
Strangers - This still hasn't changed - you still hate strangers. If someone tries to talk to you or get you to smile, they have about a 25% chance of success, a 25% chance of getting a blank stare, & a 50% chance of tears.
Avocados & Watermelon - You will gladly accept most of the fruit and veggie purees we've given you. And you're even starting to take to the chunks of them you've tried, like peaches, peas, and bananas (though you still haven't decided how you feel about bananas.) But the 2 that have been met with serious gagging and foul faces have been avocados and watermelon. Considering Mommy doesn't like either of these and didn't touch them once when I was pregnant with you, I'm not totally surprised. (They say a baby starts to develop his taste preferences in the womb, which means you're going to love ice cream and cereal!)
Getting out of the Bathtub - You have finally fallen in love with bath time. You have some monster truck bath toys that you like to chew on, but mostly you like to just make waves. You splash like crazy & are always so surprised when water splashes your face. Even though your teeth chatter every single time you bathe (no matter how warm the water is), you still love it. Until it's time to get out, that is. You get so angry when we take you out and wrap you up in your dinosaur towel. We try to get you dry and warm as fast as possible, but you still scream at us for being the Fun Police.
You're growing up so fast, Jack-Jack. We've had to seriously cut back on nursing because Mommy's milk supply is low (plus, you're too distracted!) We're down to nursing only 3 times a day, with a couple of bottles mixed in, too. You eat 3 meals a day on top of that, so that belly of yours is full! It's helping you sleep better. You're up & down a lot at the beginning of the night, but you usually fall into a deep sleep by 12 or 1 a.m. and sleep until 7 or 8 a.m. (or whenever your big siblings wake you up by being too loud.)
You are the absolute sweetest little boy. You smile when you see Mommy or Daddy across the room, which makes our hearts melt. You prefer to fall asleep up on our shoulder now, & you often wrap those chubby little arms around our neck. This is the best feeling in the world! We just love you to pieces, Fuzzy Wuzzy! (You can thank your very tall hair for this new nickname!)
Love,
Mommy & Daddy
