Catching Up - October 2009 - Halloween

We opted not to go trick-or-treating with Jack this year since he's too little to eat the candy and we certainly don't need it. Not to mention the fact that it would be a whole lot of work! But we still got Jack and costume. He was a lion ... and the cutest lion I've ever seen! I was afraid he would hate wearing the costume, but he loved it! He would just look at himself in the mirror and laugh. Even now (almost three weeks later) he still carries the costume around like a soft, fuzzy blanket!

Checking himself out in our full-length mirror ...



The Wednesday before Halloween, our church had a Fall Festival of sorts. We braved it and had a pretty good time. There wasn't much for the little guys, but there was a bouncy area and a pit of balls! Jack loved it, but it was very hot in his costume so we didn't stay very long! Here we are after all of the excitement!


I really wanted to try to get some cute pictures of Jack on the front porch with our lone Halloween decoration -- a foam Jack-o-Lantern! As usual ... Jack was perpetual motion and was not in the mood to sit still for pictures, but we got a few cute ones! (We obviously should have had a longer power cord for the Jack-o-Lantern, but just pretend it's not there!)



Jack loves Jason's flashlights so we bought him his very own to play with. That's what he's holding. It's a tiger that when you squeeze its tail he growls and opens his mouth and the light comes out! It's a light ... so of course Jack loves it!



A couple of not-so-good attempts to get a good picture with my little lion ...



Hangin' out on the front porch ... a caged lion ...


And of course ... he cooperated for Daddy! Love these last two pictures!

November 2009 - Wagon Walk

This fall has actually been unseasonably warm so we went for a walk with Jack's wagon one Sunday afternoon. He loves his wagon! It was a birthday present from Nonna and Pipaw!

16 month checkup

Jack was officially 16 months old in October. He had a very good checkup with the pediatrician. His weight gain is slowing down (not surprising since he is so active) and holding at about 26 pounds. His height is also leveling off some. His head is still at the top of the charts. He's just gotta have lots of space for all of those brains! :-)

He's gotten old enough that he knows the doctor's office is not a fun place to be. He cried a lot while our pediatrician checked him out ... and the shots were almost unbearable for this mommy!

The pediatrician is still a bit concerned about his language development. He's saying 4 maybe 5 words ... but he doesn't say them much and only close family can understand him. His words right now are:

• Moo
• Light
• Eye
• Uh-oh (but it's more like a grunt)
• Cat
• Turtle (more like tuh-tuh)
  
• He says Ma and Da, but we're not sure yet if he means Mom and Dad.

Even though the doctor's a bit concerned, I'm trying not to worry about it. He's grown leaps and bounds in his comprehension skills. He really understands most of what we're saying and he communicates his needs well most of the time.

He's begun to give up his morning nap. It's been a struggle some days and other days it's easy. He's a good eater most of the time and will eat any fruit you set in front of him. I'm convinced he's eat his body weight in fruit if I let him.

He has a grand total of 6 teeth now with a few more on the bottom that I really think will be coming in anytime.

As I mentioned before, he's super strong. The doctor commented on his strength and joked that if he gets much stronger ... he might have to give up!

He's very independent and plays very well by himself. He has days where he's clingy and cuddly, and he can be a bit strong-willed at times. He has tons of personality and always makes people smile and laugh. He's our little charmer! Can't believe he's growing up so fast!

Sorry there's no picture to go along with the post. I just wanted to be sure and document his growth ... even if just for my own benefit!

Catching Up - October 2009 - Trip to Park

We really wanted to take Jack to a pumpkin farm this fall. We did all of the planning and headed that direction, but the weather looked a bit iffy, so we decided to go another day. Since we were already dressed for the cool weather, we decided to head to the park instead. One of the community parks in Lebanon has a great playground. Jack had an awesome time walking, running, climbing, sliding, and swinging!









We were bummed about not making it to the pumpkin farm, but we had a great time. We planned to go again, but unfortunately the second day we planned to go ended up being a rainy day as well. Maybe next year!

Catching Up - October 2009 - Serious Bed Head

Jack's hair apparently grows as fast as mine does. It's getting to the point that he needs another hair cut. Every morning (and nap) he wakes up with a serious case of bed head!


This happens to be a very mild case ... we've yet to get good pictures of the best bed head examples!

Catching Up - October 2009 - Who Needs Toys?

Jack is a strong boy and he loves to push the furniture around. I'm sure that's what he was trying to do in this picture. The high chair is on wheels so it's easy to move, but he also pushes around the bar stools and table! The workers in the church nursery like to call him Hercules!


This is what it looks like when Jack says, "Moo" ... one of the four or five strange words in his vocabulary!


Who needs toys when you have things like paper towel tubes and laundry baskets??





I'm afraid our baby is quickly growing into a big boy! It is even more evident in these pictures!

Catching Up - September 2009 - Swingin'

One of Jack's best birthday presents was a swing from Ma. Jason figured out a way to hang it from our top deck. Can you tell that Jack loves to swing? It's written all over his face!