JackNeverSleeps.com: The blog

I just realized that I haven’t given an update in over a month–what a horrible blogging mommy I am–Jack has had quite an adventure since last I wrote–and he can do so many new things as well:

• Jack is eating FOOD!  he has tried almost everything, but his favorite is applesauce
• he is “talking” more and more–Mimi thinks he said HI–but he only says it to her so I am not sure that counts
• he is rolling over and over and over–he goes to sleep one way and wakes up smooshed all the way over on the other side of the crib
• he LOVES playing with rattles, rings, and his feet most of all

So, Jack’s big adventure was a trip to Washington DC–he AND daddy saw our nation’s capital together for the first time–we saw nearly everything–and Jack had his first plane ride, first trip on a metro, and first SNOW!  be on the lookout for new pix, but here is a couple for a taste:

Jack was an absolute angel on the trip–asleep on the plane–both ways–and lugged everywhere, up and down, in freezing weather and rarely complained.  i can’t say the same about me

yes, we have definitely decided to keep jackjack–even though he STILL gets up between 2-4 am every morning!

I have been reading my babycenter.com website as well as magazine articles about “developmental milestones” of a 5-month old.  Needless to say, Jack is taking his time in meeting many of these “milestones” that the so-called experts say he should be doing at 5 months.  I am NOT obsessing about this.  I promise…

To that end, I am going to write some of the things that Jack is doing now, which I (and his daddy) think are brilliant and funny and developmental milestones of his own making.  And who will have the last laugh when Jack is on a full scholarship to Florida (or Stanford as a second choice)

Jack can talk to himself for a long time–he has all different noises that he makes–Daddy calls the one today the “excited utterance”–but he can also coo and gurgle and blow bubbles with his drool.  Oh and he can SCREAM really well.  And he talks to us with ‘ga ga ga’ and ‘ah goo’ and ‘aaahhmmm’. 

He has his own language with Bert too.  Bert will walk by and not acknowledge Jack, and Jack will start yelling at him to come back.  Hilarious. 

And he laughs!  Especially when he remembers that he has a piano on his changing table that he can play with his feet!  He acts all surprised every time and then starts kicking and kicking and kicking.  Yes, he can play the PIANO with his FEET–how’s that for a developmental milestone???

Jack smiles all the time–especially at mommy and daddy.  And he LOVES music and he has practically mastered everything on his Baby Einstein sitting thing–including hitting the buttons 4 times to get music.  SO THERE!

Jack loves reading–READING–with daddy–especially Best buy ads or Pottery Barn catalogs:

And he loves bathtime–splashing and looking at mommy and touching his feet.  And he totally knows his nuk (pacifier)–when he sees it, he reaches for it and tries to put it in his mouth.

So that’s the developmental update for now.  Had to get that off my chest.  Maybe daddy will add some more milestones that I forgot. 

Jack’s father (aaron) has recently commented that there hasn’t been a blog in a long time–since Baby Jack was sick actually–well, there is a good reason for that–we have had some not-so-nice things happening in our family–the worst of which is the loss of Jack’s Great Grandmother (my gram).  Jack took this and his first Christmas all in stride–and provided all the attendants at my grandmother’s funeral services with a special treat–and long, pronounced, and extremely loud pooing session in the middle of the prayers.  Gram would have loved it.

On a happier note, GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  and GO GATORS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!  I have said to everyone–friends, family and strangers that I believe we have given birth to the Gator Golden Child–Jack’s year of birth the same as Gator National Basketball Championship and now Gator National Football Championship!!!  (jack slept through the game–but of course not through the night–

So, there is a blog for Jack’s daddy.  Who, by the way, is good at a lot of things–but my favorite thing this week has been his ability to act as Jack’s snooze control–sometimes getting us 2 whole extra hours of interrupted sleep  

GO GATORS everyone!

Ok, so Jack’s been dealing with a case of bronchiolitis for weeks now. He seemed to be getting better but over the weekend his cough has returned. And then there’s this sleep thing. He’s always fought sleep but I swear he’s just toying with us now. One night he’s up every 2 hours, the next he sleeps through the night (YES! See Mommy’s post) and the next? Up every 2 hours. We’ll see what tonight brings.

Read the rest of this entry »

I think he actually had his first “full” night of sleep last night–according to James’ definition anyway–10:30 to 6:30!!!!!!!!!!! And when he woke up he was MAD–he had missed at least one feeding and the opportunity to march his parents around like zombies all night like the night before

In any case, he remains the cutest baby I have ever seen even when he is not sleeping–oh and GO GATORS!!!!!!!!

If Jack sleeps from 9pm to 5am does that count as “sleeping through the night”? Use the comments feature peeps!

DaddyMac

Julie’s going to hate me for making this post…

I left town again on Monday for the last of our outreach presentations and what happens? Jack’s cold turns into his first fever. I’m not saying…I’m just saying. He’s better today and slept well last night so no (more) worries. I’m just never leaving town again:)

In other news, Julie is in full obsession mode with hosting her first Thanksgiving and I’ve managed to build a decent looking picnic table (still have 10 fingers, thank you very much). I still need to make the bench seats soooo…check back later to see if I survive.

DaddyMac

So, I leave Jack alone with Julie for one night (had to go to Jacksonville for work) and he gets a cold. Sure, some people would blame his first week at daycare but hey, I don’t believe in coincendences:P

It’s kinda cute really. He snuffles and snorts and makes a terrible racket when he eats but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him much. Julie might have a different story:)

So Jack had his first day of school this week.  I just dropped him off this morning for his third half-day  before he goes full-time next week.  I expected the first day to be difficult–leaving him with strangers and all–but did not expect the wave of emotion to take over me and leave me sobbing uncontrollably when we left him with his ‘abuelita’, Marivel.  Baby Jack of course was fine–smiling in fact–see below:

Marivel is trying to console me “tranquila, tranquila” as I left him with her.  I thought the rest of the week would get easier and easier, but it is just as hard each day, only now I can control the sobbing (usually)

As not one person in the entire school speaks a word of English, I have been bringing one of his ti-tis (aunties) with me each day as a translator (either Suzy or Jess).  They have made me a list of commonly used phrases that I use to communicate with Marivel:

Como se porto bebe Jack? (was he good?)

Acaba de comer (he just ate)

Cuantas horas durmio? (how long did he sleep?)

Cuanto comio? (how much did he eat?)

Hizo poopy? (did he poop?)

Necesito traer algo? (does he need anything else? ) this one is a joke with Marivel and the other teachers because the first day I packed him so many things that they thought I was leaving him for a month–or packed him for a trip to new york as Marivel joked.  I also discovered that as many pampers as I send, that is how many pampers he uses–so i have cut down on that so as not to subsidize the entire school with Jack’s pampers.

the most important thing is that Jack is doing great at school–he is always happy when I pick him up–and tired when he gets home–I cannot tell you how relieved that makes mommy.  And hopefully he will be bilingual so he can be mommy and daddy’s translator.

and here is his first halloween picture:

More ’Jack’s First’ holiday photos to come–