Monday, December 18, 2006
Jack is sleeping through the night!! Last week we made him cry it out. He was healthy, the teeth were out, he could roll over, he was eating plenty of solids, etc. There was no excuse.
It took two nights. He now sleeps 7:00-6:00am. We now feel in control after nine months.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Amazing in one month the changes. It has been a rough 2006. For us it seems like there is never an end to life’s challenges. I’m sure most people feel this way.
Even Mike’s hunting week had its disappointments with warm weather, rain, and the kids being sick. At least he got his deer though! 8:30 Monday morning.
Jack is still loud. He constantly talks, babbles or yells. He’s very large and wriggly. He weighs more than Isabelle at 23.12 lbs and Isabelle at 23.8lbs.
Jack is ALL boy. He’s tall, strong, fast, inquisitive and into everything. Mom says he’ll have to be watched closely once he can crawl. I know he’ll be my climber and adventurous one. Isabelle is my sweet girl – well most of the time.
We’ve not had a rest in so long. Between our most recent family tragedy, the colds in October, Jack’s first teeth, his inability to roll-over, lack of napping ever, still waking in night, more teeth in November, another cold, runny noses, ear infection, dealing with his acid reflux, and most recently in the past few days, diahrea we’re exhausted. Needless to say, jack is still waking in the night. We keep saying we’ll let him cry it out, but something keeps cropping up. Ugh…it’s a good thing he’s relatively a good baby and has such wonderful smiles when he’s not screeching or sick. I only wish he’d nap! A baby his age needs more than one hour a day of sleep!
Jack is scooting around quickly now. He drags himself along all over the house. He’s amazingly fast, and Isabelle panics every time he goes after her. He loves his sister.
The two of them are interacting more and more now. She tries to get him to laugh and he’s always smiling and giggling at her. It’s so fun to hear them in the car communicating to one another.
Jack has FINALLY learned to rollover from his back. He did it once, and now he practices all the time. He loves his new achievement. It’s great for me because he can right himself once he rolls on his back. He HATES being on his back. This was a problem when I’d put him down for a nap and in frustration he would get stuck on his back and then scream. What a difference!
Jack is on medicine for Acid reflux. He outgrew the last type and unfortunately he now is on something stronger. He seems much better, with lots of less spitting up and more agreeable temperment. I’m praying he will outgrow this by a year.
I’m still nursing, though have had many thoughts of stopping. Unless drowsy , Jack is squirmy and difficult to hold. Many times, especially when he was teething, he bit me. Hard sometimes. I do love to nurse, especially at night when he snuggles in, but definitely by a year I’ll stop. I also may start to wean slowly very soon. Right now I nurse about 5 times a day – this includes the night.
Jack is eating very well now. He can now eat with his fingers, which makes feeding fun now. He’ll eat cheerios, cheese, pasta, puffs, etc. Very fun!
Jack Accomplishments:
-finger picking food (11.27.06)
-scooting along
-rolling over from back (12.5.06)
-sitting up all on own without falling over (end of Nov)
-going from sitting to crawling (12.6.06)
-top front two teeth (11.11.06)
-top eye teeth (12.1.06)
Isabelle:
Words are still coming fast and furious. Two and three words together and repeating what we say. I’ll have to list all the interesting things she says. I’m amazed what she understands and how she uses it to communicate. She used to say MEES (for me), but now is saying MY. For pictures of kids she kept saying BABY, now she says BOY or GIRL. She is slowly realizing how to properly say words and piecing them together. Here are some words below.
-Daddy home
-momma sit
-baby mine! Mine baby!
Bella loves her brother and will often give an affectionate smile or sqeeze, BUT we’ve reached the age of her jealousy growing. If anyone shows more attention to Jack, she takes it out on him (hitting him with toy or sqashing him). She gets pretty upset at him because he is constantly touching her toys, which are technically everyones toys. She doesn’t understand that all toys are not hers…where ever we go. How often a day do I hear “NO BABY”. Many times she is so rough with him. I’m waiting for the day when he sqashes her. He already is bigger than her, so it’s not going to take long…
Not sure if this is an age thing, but Mike and I find ourselves often yelling or disciplining Isabelle. Overall she is such a good kid, but at times she taxes the patience. I guess she is a typical 2.5 year old. Testing constantly. Her big one now is to yell “NO MAMA” and slap at me. I try to ignore this, but at times it’s difficult.
We’re attempting to teach her responsibility and that she has to help do things around the house, be it work needing done or picking up toys. Most of the time she is a BIG helper, but other times it’s like talking to a brick wall.
Many times I feel bad because I’ve not been patient with her, and It’s becaues I’m exhausted and anxious about Jack. I try to remember this for she is such a love.
Isabelle loves to go walking now. She hardly ever wants to sit in the stroller. What a change from before!!
She also loves to read books or is fascinated by them. She wants us to read and read, and she is always thumbing through the pages of a book, magazine or paper.
I have not started potty training as of yet. There has been too much going on. I think Isabelle is getting close to trying though because she is fascinated with the topic. I might wait a few more months though because who wants to deal with underwear and snowsuits???? Well, I hope to accomplish 3 things in the next few months: Jack sleeping through night, Bella and potty training, and then Jack moving out of our bathroom to Isabelles room. That one will be rough.
Most of all Bella likes to hang out or do something with someone. She loves the attention and activity. I feel like she’s my little partner.
Things she likes to do/Accomplishments:
-going on walk
-wash hands in soapy water
-playing with bubbles
– playing with puzzles
-having tea parties
-reading stories/books
-sitting on counter and helping me cook
-climb upstairs/down without crawling