Watermelon and Popsickles

My little guy is getting to be so much fun! Now that he is a speedy crawler, we play hide and seek around the living room furniture! Jack sees me, gets excited and comes scooting in my direction to get me, then I move and sneak up behind him and get him! He laughs and laughs! He has also mastered standing without assistance, but still can only pull himself up to his knees. He did, however, climb up one stair the other day, and since he has discovered the stairs he keeps going in that direction, but we have them gated off, so when he goes in the pre-k room, we just close the gate.

Also, Jackson is trying new foods every day and what a beggar! I try to give him something from my plate at every meal so he can try new things, but lately he doesn't want to wait until I give something to him, he whines as soon as we sit down to eat! He loves to squish watermelon between his teeth, and the other day I was eating a popsickle and gave him a lick. That was a mistake. He practically attacked me for it after that! He was trying to grab it out of my hand and was climbing up my legs (I was sitting), mouth open, to get to it! Tomorrow when we are cooking out at Sara and Dwight's, I'm gonna strip him down to a diaper and let him go to town with popsickle! Stay tuned for pics!

Bathtime Friend

Jackson has made a new friend this week and he was found in an unexpected location...in the tub! It seems there is a little friend who has just been waiting for Jack to notice him in the silver drain cover (or whatever you call it) directly in front of him! Jackson was delighted to find him there this evening because it is the EXACT same friend who plays with him on long car rides! (I have a mirror in front of his carseat so I can see him in my rear view mirror.) I could hardly get him out of the tub tonight, he was having so much fun. Of course, with new toys, a new friend, the mysterious silver water-sucker at the bottom of the tub, and the realization of the acoustic capabilities of the bathroom, Jackson had to scream and squeal all through the experience! He truly is so funny to watch sometimes! He's turnign into a little boy, exploring eveything all the time, instead of a little baby. I can hardly keep him still these days. What happened to my snuggly little baby??

Mobile Man

Ho-ly Cow! I'm exhausted! A few days after my last blog, Jack figured out how to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. I thought that would last a while, but oh no! The next day he was taking his first crawl-steps to a welcoming proud papa. It has been 2 weeks and now he is pro! He will no longer stay on his blanket and play with toys; his poor little legs are getting raw. I have to keep pants on him because no amount of lotioning seems to help! Of course, with mobility comes accidents, and I am fighting my nurturing, over-protective mother instinct and allowing him to fall. I know he will learn how to pick himself up and move on if I let him do this. It has been hard though, not to scoop him up in my arms and cuddle him when his pride is injured from a recent fall. I'm trying not to raise a sissy-boy, so I just tell him, "You're okay. You're tough." He looks up at me as if to say, "Mama, where were you on that one??" Inwardly, I'm crying inside...

I'm really glad we haven't spent a lot of money on toys since Jackson doesn't spend any time playing with toys now. He has better things to do, people! ...like find things he is not allowed to touch! His favorite among this category are: dirty silverware in the dishwasher, the trash can, Lady's food, the vertical blinds, and many, many cords! He actually managed to rip a door stop off the wall and was near having it down his throat when mommy caught up to him and stole his fun toy away! (Luckily, Mommy just completed her infant/pediatric first aid and CPR course, so she knows just what to do if said baby manages to complete the task next time! Super mommy to the rescue!!)

The other new thing this month? A is for..attitude! Who ever said a baby under 1 year can't talk back is wrong, wrong, wrong!! My little man says all kinds of dirty words at me, the only problem is they aren't intelligible yet! They come out as a sort of mad growly grunt with a furrowed brow and a death look! Yes, an 8-month-old can give a death look, I've seen it!

Jackson is also trying new words. Well, no one else believes they are new words because they sound pretty similar to the old words, but I spend so much time with him, that I know he has an extensive vocabulary and I happen to speak Jackson, so let me translate for you. He can now say duck (Duh), Dada (Dadadadadada), Mama (buhbuhbuh), and Uh-Oh (Uh). We are working on Bite (Buh), Bottle (Buh), and Bye-Bye (Buh with a hand curl movement). Genius in the making, I tell you!

One of Jackson's favorite pastimes is reading bedtime stories. He will actually sit on my lap and remain still through at least 3 board books. His favorite books are the barnyard animals books. For some reason, he is keenly aware of animals around him and loves to hear the sounds they make. He laughs hysterically as I attempt to make bird, cow, chicken, bumblebee, dog, horse, and many other animal sounds. He really loves stuffed animals and finger puppets as well. Last week, I had us both laughing until we couldn't breathe when a giraffe finger puppet kept giving him kisses on both cheeks.

Stay tuned for next months blog! I'm sure it will relate Jackson's new walking abilities as he is quite good at walking with minimal assistance, and can stand momentarily without support. He is pulling up on furniture to his knees right now, so it won't be long until I am chasing a toddler on foot around the house! Good thing daddy has the stairs and the play room gated off! Now I can let him loose in a huge play area that I know is safe for him to play in and I can get work done at my table, too. I'll post pics of the new crawler and my now too-cute, finished Pre-K as soon as I get my camera fixed. (Pics are coming out blurry right now and I can't figure out why!)