So Many Milestones - 9 months

I haven't blogged in a while, but I'm not giving up. I have just been a little busy with Jack getting so mobile. Last week, he learned to wave. This week he has accomplished walking by himself with the help of his push-walker, clapping and saying bye bye (which sounds a lot like baa baa), but he says it on cue when I tell him to, so I know he knows what he's saying. He is 9 months as of last week, and he's hit so many milestones in the past few days it's hard to believe.
I am already starting on his birthday festivities and that's the hardest part to believe of all. I can't believe my baby is almost a year old.

Stand up!

Yesterday, March 10, Jack had a big day for milestones... He stood up in his crib all by himself and learned to give big, open-mouthed kisses!!!

I was folding laundry in his room while he was sitting in his crib playing. He was babbling so I looked up to talk to him and he was standing, holding onto the side.

Then, later in the day I was giving him kisses and he started giving them back, the big, open mouth version that all babies start off with. It was so precious I almost cried. :)

He's been so clingy, cranky and not himself. I thought it was just the teething, but I have a feeling it was probably all the new things he's learned this week combined with teething. Being a baby can be tough!

Oh, MAMA!

Jack just started saying Mama on Monday. He's made a mama sound before but it was just once here or there on accident. This week he has said it over and over and especially when he is reaching for me. He's even thrown in a dada and baba sound a couple of times, which he has never done before. He is growing up so fast now.... Kinda sad, but really exciting.

Captain Jack

Jack loved the boat show last weekend. He especially loved grabbing the steering wheels on the nicer boats. We went Thursday and Saturday. Thursday he rode in the carrier most of the day and didn't make a peep; he was totally content, just looking around.

Tech Baby

Jack loves remote controls, laptops and cell phones. He would rather play with one of those than any of his toys. His DVD player in the car folds like a laptop and he's always tapping his fingers on it like it's a keypad. I guess he thinks it's a little bitty laptop and he knows those have buttons to push... even though his DVD player doesn't have buttons, he still tries. LOL

Our Typical Morning at 6 months

This morning was typical for us, but I wanted to be sure and write it down because it's different than it was a few months ago, and I'm sure it's different from how it will be in a few more months.

At 6 months, our mornings run pretty much the same every day. When Jack wakes up around 9 or 10 a.m., I prop him up on a pillow and he watches Playhouse Disney for a little while. I put some toys next to him so he can sit up and play once he is fully awake, and I sit next to him and check my e-mail and facebook. It usually ends up in him trying to play with the remote control, my phone and the laptop.

Letting Go

Last night Jack went in the nursery for the first time. They paged me after 45 minutes and I went and nursed him. By the time I finished, church was over. So, the first experience wasn't too painful. I think Jeremy had the hardest time with it. He was praying as we walked away from the nursery, and he kept a death grip on the pager. When it vibrated he practically threw me out of my chair! I was trying to tell him where to meet me after church and he was mouthing, "Go! "Go!"

But we survived nonetheless - the first of many letting go moments!

Teeth!!

Jack got his first tooth (bottom left) a couple of weeks ago and just this past Friday, Jan. 15, I felt his right bottom tooth. So within two weeks, he got both of them just short of six months old. The books say most babies get their first tooth around seven months so he is way ahead of schedule. We had to leave Austin's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's early because he was in pain from the teeth still coming in. Poor baby!

He also has been giving me kisses when he feels like it this past week.

Better Late Than Never

I can't believe Jack is almost six months old. How time flies when you are sleep deprived, covered in spit up and breast milk (still nursing every two hours) and enamored with a new little baby. He's already hit so many milestones -- holding his head up, rolling over, sitting up, reaching to be held, first solid foods, and as of last week, his first tooth broke through. But in the midst of keeping him alive, I forgot to write down the dates of any of these momentous events.

So motivated by a friend who daily blogs all her children's funny commentary, I decided to blog the rest of Jack's first year and document what's left of his firsts -- we still have DaDa and MaMa (I've heard a repetitive m sound, but not quite the real thing), crawling and maybe even walking, plus whatever else he figures out. And if I'm really good, I will post a picture along with it to some day have it printed into a book (stealing Leslie's great idea) for Jack to keep.

It's also a way for me to not forget the little things I want to cherish, like the way he watches cartoons in the bed when he first wakes up, holding his feet and calmly laying still on the pillow, which is a rare moment in the day (calmly being the rare part).

So if you are reading this in the future some day, Jack, Mommy loves you so much. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. Now I'm imagining him all grown up and wiping tears... OK, that's enough for one day.