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Sunday, August 16, 2015

7 Months

7 Months
June 27 – July 26

Happy 7 months, baby boy!  You are now closer to being a one year old than you are to being just a newborn.  Time flies!  This month you were On. The. Move.  Of course, I will be always be excited for your milestones and achievements, but I think part of me had kind of hoped you would be a late mover.  Well, you have your own agenda and nothing can stop you from moving and exploring now! 



Here’s a look at what Jack was up to during his seventh month of life:

Long story short:

-Milestones: Sitting up from laying down, sitting up from all fours, worm crawl, crawling on all fours, pulling to stand, cutting his first tooth
-Likes: Screeching, pulling my hair, aggressive open mouth kisses, music class, “Scout” toy, tags, eating paper, crawling, rubbing his head and playing with his hair while he eats or when he is tired
-Dislikes: Having his diaper or clothes changed, sleep, getting his head dunked during swim lessons
-Foods: Jack has tried most fruits and vegetables, and he seems to like most of them.  He started having meat (chicken and turkey) and dairy (yogurt) this month. 
-Sizes: Diaper size 4, Clothing: 6-12 month
-Sleep: I didn’t think it was possible, but his sleep has gotten worse.  There’s really no point in blaming it on teething, a growth spurt, a developmental burst, or whatever else, because really his sleep has never been good.  I’m trying to build up the courage to do some sleep training.  He needs an intervention.  And I need sleep. 

Long story (very) long:

Week 27 (June 27 – July 3)



Week 27 started off a pretty impressive streak of mobility for Jack.  He figured out how to sit up from laying down and from all fours.  On June 29, Jack did his first worm crawl across our bed.  He went right up to the edge and would have gone right over had I not been right there videoing… I mean watching him carefully.  This week he also started crying when something is taken away from him, and he thinks it hilarious to try and put his hands in my mouth. 

6 Month Doctor Appointment (a few days late).  He did much better with his shots this time! 

Waiting for snow cones!

This is what happens when dad is in charge of putting on pajamas.  Poor guy!

No fear


Probably my favorite picture of my son.  Germs... yum! 

28 Weeks (July 4 – July 10)



Jack celebrated his first Fourth of July this week.  We went to a little street festival in our neighborhood, but it was SO hot that we only lasted about 20 minutes before just finding an air conditioned place to have lunch instead.  We had Mexian food.  How patriotic!  Jack was in bed before it was dark so no fireworks for us this year.  Jack’s new favorite thing this week is playing on the kitchen floor.  I usually give him a spatula and a whisk and he entertains himself for quite a while.  


Watching the World Cup
 
BFF Scout


Mail From the Obamas

He likes swim lessons, I swear. 


Young Love At Music Class


Snow Cones with Friends

29 Weeks (July 11 – July 17)



Jack crawled on all fours for the first time this week (July 12)!  This milestone was made even more exciting, because he crawled to ME!  Oh, and later that very same day, he also pulled to standing.  Slow down, baby boy!  I’m not ready for all this mobility and independence all at once.  

In less exciting news, sleep has regressed hugely this week!  Ugh!  Naps are OK for the most part (2 per day), but night sleep is just bad.  He’s back to newborn status with his waking up every 2-3 hours.  It’s brutal.

This week we had lots of fun hosting our neighborhood mommy group at our house for a playgroup. It’s nice to have a nice group of mom friends in our neighborhood.  We also got to visit with one of my friends and former co-workers on Friday morning, and later that day Aunt Renee (and the rest of the Hemmasi clan) visited.  The very next day, my mom arrived for a week long visit!  

Playdate with Old TFA Friends

Crawled Right Up To the Teacher At Music Class.  Little Teacher's Pet




Aunt Renee

Our friend Lily
30 Weeks (July 18 – 24)



My mom (Mimi) was in town this week.  On Sunday we took a little day trip to a Round Top to see the farmhouse that my aunt bought as a second home.  It was fun to show my mom the Texas hill country and to let Jack experience the Texas countryside for the first time.  He loved it!  We also ate out several times, and it’s so nice that Jack is so much easier to handle when out to eat now.  He likes to sit in the high chairs and play with toys or try things off of our plates. 

In other news this week, Jack is cutting his first tooth (bottom, left).  I can’t imagine his cute gummy smile with a little tooth poking out!  He is now eating 3 meals a day, and he really does like most foods that he tries.  He does seem to like the sweet things better, but I’m trying to balance fruit and vegetables, so he doesn’t turn into the crazy picky eater that I was as a kid.  He also tried Puffs for the first time this week.  He was actually pretty good at getting them into his mouth.  He only near-choked/gagged a couple times.  

 
Lunch At Royer's Cafe In Round Top

Texas Country Boy

Music Class With Mimi


Baby's First Mohawk

Baby Jail




Swim Lessons


Happy 7 months, Jack!  I am sad you are growing up so fast, but I’m excited to see you learn and change! 

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Saturday, July 04, 2015

6 Months

6 Months
May 26 - June 26

Happy half birthday, Jack Andrew!  Half a year?!  How is that possible?!  My baby is well on his way to being a big boy, and I can hardly believe it.  



And because I couldn't resist some reminiscing on his half birthday, here are some comparisons:



 Here's a look at what Jack was up to during his sixth month of life:

Long story short:

-Milestones: Sitting unsupported, Getting up on all 4's, TRYING to crawl, the beginnings of army crawling, first music class, first swim class, discovering his screaming voice, finally has a decent head of hair, first unofficial word: "Momma!" 
-Likes: Screaming, sitting, downward dog pose, pulling mom's hair, aggressive open mouth kisses, music class, "Scout" toy, Sophie the giraffe, squash, apples, tags, drooling, blowing raspberries/spitting, his feet
-Dislikes: Changing clothes, loud noises (except his own scream), sleep
-Foods: Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Zucchini, Peas, Carrots, Banana, Mango, Apple, Pears, Watermelon, Cantaloupe
-Sizes: Diaper size 3; Clothing: Some 6 month clothes still fit but mostly 6-9 month sizes
-Height: 28.5” (98%) 
-Weight: 18 pounds, 14 ounces (74%)
-Sleep: The best way to describe Jack's sleep is inconsistent and unpredictable. He will typically have 5-6 nights of bad sleeping (waking up 2-3 times), but then he will follow that up with a couple good nights of waking 0-1 times.  This is just enough to make me think that his sleep is improving.  And then the cycle starts over again. The first part of this month, he was still on his schedule of 3 naps a day- needing to sleep after 2 hours of awake time.  However, he has now officially dropped his 3rd nap, so we are trying to figure out the new schedule again.

Long story (very) long: See below :-)

23 Weeks (May 30 - June 5)


Week 23 was a fun week in Jack's social life.  We started a weekly music class that we attend with 3 other moms/babies from the hospital mom's group.  It is really cute, and Jack LOVES the class.  It's a lot of singing relatively obnoxious songs with silly moves and hand motions, playing with little instruments, etc. We also went to a play date with some of the moms and babies from that same moms group.  We hadn't seen many of them in quite a long time, so it was fun to see how much the babies have grown!  This was also a big week for Jack's physical milestones:  He is mostly sitting up on his own, AND he can get up on all 4's and rock back and forth.  I had him on my bed one morning while I was getting ready in the bathroom. I peeked out the door to check on him, and there he was up on all 4's like he'd been doing it all his life. I was so shocked that I went right over and rolled him to his back.  I'm not ready for him to be mobile!  

Frozen Yogurt Date with Mom

Spooning Scout


First Music Class



First time up on all 4's


  A Few More Firsts This Week:
-Foods: bananas (not a fan), apples
-Baby yoga class at the library

24 Weeks (June 6 - June 12)


Jack just continues to get stronger physically.  It seems like he is doing something new almost everyday!  It really is wild to watch him and see how quickly he is growing and developing!  He is sitting on his own, but I still don't leave him unattended, because he does still tend to fall back or to the side pretty regularly.  He gets up on all 4's any chance he gets, and he also has mastered the baby plank move.  Jack has been rolling back to tummy since about 3 months, but is just now starting to figure out how to roll tummy to back, but he hasn't figured out how to get his arm out of the way to do it more easily.  I'm just waiting for him to start barrel rolling one day...  Sleep was horrible this week (more than normal).  I've read a few places that sleep tends to get disrupted when babies are going through developmental milestones, so maybe that explains it... 

Brunch


Secret Painting Activity For Father's Day

More Music Class Fun




Baby Plank Challenge

Yummy Mail From Uncle Mark

 A Few More Firsts This Week:
-He loves giving me big open mouth kisses on my cheek while simultaneously grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling. Ouch!
-Our little baldy is finally starting to grow some hair
-Making “ma ma” sounds.  He only does this when he's upset, and when I'm near him.  So can I count this as his first word?...

25 Weeks (June 13 - June 19)


This week Jack's grandparents and great uncle visited for a day.  It is so nice that they drive all the way from Austin to see him so often.  Jack also experienced his first tropical storm.  Tropical Storm Bill turned out to be highly overrated, and really never turned into much at all.  I hope that's the extent of the activity we see this hurricane season...  

Jack was working A LOT this week on his vocal skills.  He started yelling and screeching like a crazy baby.  Luckily, he doesn't do it when he's upset or crying.  He does it more just for fun and to get a laugh out of anyone who will listen.  I think he sounds a little bit like what I would imagine a pterodactyl would sound like.  The first time he really let out a high pitched scream, he scared himself- it was pretty funny. 

Baby Muffin Top






26 Weeks (June 20 - June 26)


This week we celebrated David’s first Father’s Day. We mostly just hung out at home and had a low key and relaxing day.  David loved his mug that Jack and I made for him a few weeks back. 

Jack started swim lessons this week.  I have always loved swimming, and I spent many summers lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons, so I’ve been looking forward to introducing Jack to what I hope will be something he grows up loving.  Jack did really well in the class.  He didn’t cry at all- which was my biggest worry.  He was very serious and somewhat skeptical the whole time.  The class was great though, and I’m excited to work on turning him into a little water baby! 

Baby-sized Frozen Yogurt


Runners Take Your Marks

Father's Day



Mommy/Baby Pilates Class

Get This Stupid Bumbo Off of My Butt! 
Beach Body

Ready For Swim Class
Smoothie!

A Few More Happenings This Week:
-Still trying to crawl, and he has started to do a little bit of army crawling/scooting
-Jack has become obsessed with tags.  He somehow manages to find the tag on any toy, blanket, or item of clothing and immediately begins chewing on it. 

Well, that’s all for month 6!  On to the second half of Jack’s first year!

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