7 months!

Our sweet baby Jameston turned 7-months-old on Tuesday, which also happened to fall on his Mommy's 28th birthday. I know this probably goes without saying, but I've gotta write it because I am beaming from ear to ear right now just thinking about our precious gift from God: he's the best present I've ever had!


My goodness, he is learning so much lately. These days our bald little boy is definitely an active fella, taking in the big world around him each day. And Brett and I are having the time of our lives watching him grow. I've heard this before, but now I can say that I truly understand...it is absolutely AMAZING to see life through your child's eyes!

With at-home measurements, we guesstimate JW, as we call him (or his even more concise nickname, "J-Dub"), to be around 20 pounds and 28 1/4 inches long. I think he realizes he is now bigger than Mr. Bear :-)

These days our BIG boy is eating solid foods three times a day, taking a bottle or nursing 4-5 times a day, and he started drinking diluted juice from a sippy cup about two weeks ago. Atta boy, Jameston!

This past month has been filled with some big "firsts" for our little guy. Now he is:

• Sitting in the tub: This is by far one of his favorite parts of the day! We bought an Elmo bathmat that he sits on after we start letting the water drain. He is still not the most independent sitter, so we take him out of his bath chair after he's all cleaned up and let him go to town! It is so fun to watch him splashing in the water (we need to wear scuba gear ourselves because of how drenched we get!) and grabbing at the different colorful characters. He is definitely our little water baby; can't wait to see how he reacts to swimming pools in the summer!
• Movin' and a Shakin': Jameston is a busy boy these days! Diaper changes are becoming more difficult, and his gross motor skills are great!  He is inching forward while on his stomach, and moving around a lot by pushing off of anything (the floor when laying on his back, our laps, etc.) with his feet.
• Brushing his new-found teeth: Let me clarify that, we are doing the brushing of course :-) He doesn't quite know what to make of it yet, but he makes the cutest little scrunched-up face when having it done! He still only has the two on the bottom, but his top right central is about to break through.
• Signing: I have started some Sign Language with him, mainly when he's eating, with the words "more," "all gone/finished," "food" and "juice."
• Passing objects back and forth between hands-and knowing when he drops something where to look for it!
• Reaching for and banging on EVERYTHING: Although we have not yet baby-proofed the house, we are becoming more aware of what's around us and try to be extra careful of what is within arms-length of our boy, who appears to have go-go Gadget arms!
• Sleeping through the night!: Let me type that again...our baby boy is (finally) sleeping through the night! This is a very recent development (seriously, only the past four nights...BUT he also did it several nights last week), so we hope he is onto something! I feel like I need to knock on wood as I type that because this has been an area we have really struggled with him. He still wakes up a couple of times during a 10-12 hour stint but has learned that he does not need to eat in the middle of the night anymore :-)
  
  
  
  
• (Above) Jameston is the Star of the Month at his daycare! And to celebrate, they have posted pictures of him and a list of his favorite things. Also, the other babies in his classroom get to enjoy some of his favorites: stuffed animal (Tigger), book (Goodnight Moon...one of many; he's not picky, since he mostly looks at the bright colors and just wants to put books in his mouth right now!), and toy (Lots of Links...of course, he's not picky when it comes to toys either, but I figured this would be a toy the babies could easily "share"). Ain't that right, Baby J?

At 7 months, Jameston LOVES:

Going for walks in his stroller, 

His Baby Einstein DVD, 

Playing in his Jumperoo,

(have I said that before? :-)

When Mommy claps,

Anything with tags and straps,

(to put in his mouth!)

Watching ceiling fans,

and Marlie!
 

We want to remember that, at this age, Jameston has:

• Unfortunately, had to endure allergies (thanks to our crazy weather) and constipation (thanks to one of his favorites foods, bananas)
• Been super clingy, especially to his Mommy (maybe stranger danger? Thought that happened a little later...don't know for sure, but I don't mind a bit :-) 
• Started to bite our necks when we hold him...we are assuming he does this to relieve gum pain from teething. Needless to say, we are not enjoying this new Vampire-like habit of his! So we are sure to say "No" when he does it. It's easily forgotten after we look into his baby blues...

Notice the bowls when he's in his highchair? They are not his food bowls (don't want him to learn to play with his food!) but merely a distraction ploy we use if he gets fussy while eating...and Marlie is another good distraction or "de-fusser," as she has been nicknamed :-)

Just love that smile and laugh of his!

We love you, JW, and thank God for you every day!

 

Blog to book...

A scrapbook, that is! Since I am doing a better job these days of blogging about Jameston's life versus the more traditional approach of scrapbooking (there's a pile in our guest bedroom that is getting taller and taller with pictures and mementos, for which I keep telling myself I'll get to tackle and compile in a beautiful (yet boyish), hand-made scrapbook "one day" :) we have decided to turn our little website into a book that we'll give him as a keepsake for his 1st Birthday! I know he (okay, maybe more his Momma at first) will cherish it forever.


I am not sure how much it will cost, what the page/picture/design limitations are, but when we complete and receive Jameston's digital blog/scrapbook, I'll be sure to blog about it :) Just wanted to pass this website on to you fellow bloggers:


http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

I am so excited!! Happy blogging (er, I mean scrapbooking)!

Happy Easter!

We hope that you and your family had a wonderful Easter!

Jameston thought his first-ever basket from the Easter Bunny was so neat:

He received a book for church, a stuffed bunny (blue, of course), 

a pair of sandals, and a fancy hat rack, all of which was neatly 

placed in his new basket filled with sports-themed plastic eggs. 

It was so fun to watch him go through it...it's hard to keep up with him! 

Happy Easter from our little Easter Bunny (with his two bottom teeth :)

Can't wait to see him in action next Easter hunting eggs!

Cousins!

Lately, Jameston has had the opportunity to see all of his cousins... 

A couple of weeks ago with Aspen, 3 months

Two weekends ago with Layne, 7 1/2 months

And last night, with cousins Riley, 3 1/2, and Ruby, 16 months

Sweetest picture ever:

Can't wait to see what shenanigans these kids get into together in the years to come! 

Six months: Stats and pics

The numbers are in! Jameston had an appointment this morning with his pediatrician. His stats are:

Weight-18 1/2 pounds (75th %) and Height- 27 3/4 inches (90th %)

Bring on the convertible car seat!

He was a trooper during his shots (me, on the other hand, not so much :( And throughout the entire appointment he wanted to play! His doctor and nurses commented on how chipper he was despite all they had put him through! Dr. Smart mentioned that he probably won't be as outgoing at the 9-month appointment, because by then he will know what to expect with the shots and be more shy around strangers. Jameston, shy? No way...

We took him in to have his six-month pictures taken last weekend at Portrait Innovations in Plano. Since we have not had professional portraits taken of him before, we were a little anxious about how he would do. Despite a wardrobe malfunction which required a diaper change not even 10 seconds after we put him in one outfit, he did fantastic! For the 30-minute session, he was such a great sport, and we are so pleased with the pictures! The one above is the picture we ordered the most of. And here is my favorite:

Brett's favorite:

Well, it is hard to say that only one is a favorite because they are all good (I know, we are a little biased but proud parents)! Out of the 50+ pictures the photographer took, we had a very hard time narrowing it down to just 9 poses (and I had the unrealistic expectation that we would only purchase about 3 poses...ha! Silly me:) Here are several more:

Some close-ups:

This is what Jameston thought of the entire process:

Guess Who's Six-Months-Old?!

On Saturday Jameston celebrated his HALF-BIRTHDAY! I've said it before, but I'm gonna say it again (and probably every half-birthday [okay, maybe every month] from here on out: it is amazing to us how fast he's growing! We describe him as our little "sponge" these days, because it seems that he's soaking up the world around him at a rapid pace. Speaking of soaking...

Jameston continues to put everything in his mouth these days! His bottom centrals are in (we haven't been able to get a picture yet), and his top gums are still red from the next two teeth inhabitants. We are anticipating he'll have four teeth by the end of the month! For gum relief (we presume) this is a common face we have seen lately:

along with a little slobber!

This last month has been filled with some fun "firsts:"

First ride in his stroller without the carrier---check!

First time eating solids, and in his high-chair---check, check!

We registered for this inexpensive Safety First seat, which came highly recommended to me by my friend Jessica (mother of three). It is great because it can connect to any chair with a back, and also because we can even set it on the floor, which Jameston likes because he can feel the carpet on his feet :)

First time for him to "sleep through the night!"---Check, check, check!

Although he hasn't stuck with it as well as we had hoped, he's getting there!

These days our little man LOVES:

His Baby Einstein Discovery Center,

his Jumperoo,

He was so mesmerized at first with all the toys on top that it took him awhile to figure out he could jump while playing! (This toy is wonderful, and is great for when Mommy needs to be hands-free :)

And FOOD!

Our little boy is getting BIG because of all the solid foods he's eating, and we are anxious to find out what he weighs when we go in on Wednesday!

Over the last three weeks he has tried green beans, peas, squash, carrots, avocado, bananas, pears, and applesauce. What a food connoisseur! His faves: bananas and carrots; least favorite: avocado and squash...

Oh, and he also uses his spoon as another teething toy! And we sometimes forego a bib at his feeding before bedtime since we are about to give him his bath :)

Mommy is making most of his food from home, and she is still nursing/pumping about 6 times a day (which she is hoping to do for at least three more months if she can keep it up). At daycare, Jamston is taking two 7 ounce bottles like a champ, along with two snacks (usually oatmeal and fruit in the morning, and either carrots or applesauce in the afternoon).

These days our-sixth-month-old is up to a lot! No longer are the times when he can lay content just looking at bright objects, playing with his hands/feet, etc. He's an active little fella, and his current antics are:

• Rolls like crazy, and in deliberate directions to get certain things he wants
• Sits up on his own, albeit a little wobbly because his belly gets in the way :)

• Stands on our laps when we're burping him (we are still having to burp him and hoping his spitting up gets better once he's sitting up more)
• "Sings" when music is on, especially in the car. We hope to catch it on the video camera soon without him realizing (as soon as he sees the red light from the camera, he's entranced and stops what he's doing!) He's known as the "opera singer" in his daycare class!

• He wants to hold and touch everything he sees...he's a big fan of his Tigger the Tiger stuffed animal, anything with textures (corduroy, carpet, etc.), and our faces :)
• His vocalizations are becoming more consistent and repetitive babbling, and, oh man, he can squeal, yell, grunt and gurgle with best of them!
• He has been very clingy lately, and we've been told it could be due to his teething pain. When we set him down, it can't be for very long, and when we go to pick him up again, he wraps his arms around our neck. Soooo sweet!
• He knows his name! He will look at you, depending on what he's doing, as soon as he hears us call his name. Love it :)
• One of his favorite items this past month: teething rings! And he also loves chewing on his burp cloths and blankets (and washcloths, when Mommy can remember to chill them :) He is over the pacifier yet again, because all he wants to do with it is chew on it. Oh, and he has found his thumb (picture to come)!

Our lives have been abundantly blessed more than we could have ever imagined, and it is hard to think that it has already been six months since we became parents to our precious little boy.

My heart fills with joy and my eyes tear up as I sit here and type this and think about how much we love our little boy! Can't wait to see what the next half-year has in store for us and everyone who loves you, Jameston!

Laughing out loud: Take 2

Since my last attempt to chronicle Jameston's laughing did not turn out as I had hoped (i.e., worst video camera job ever!), we decided to give it another go this past weekend. Although our little guy was feeling under the weather (runny nose and fever thanks to teething :( he let us know another activity that he thinks is just SO funny: getting his nose cleaned out with the bulb syringe! Who would've thunk it?! He has cracked up with it before, mainly when Daddy does it, but this was the first time we caught it on video. Hope you enjoy!

Laughing out loud: Take 1

One thing is for sure, Jameston loves to laugh! And it is the CA-UTEST thing to hear him do so. Okay, so I may be a little biased, but I have been hoping to get it captured on video! Just in the past few weeks, he has started to interact more with the dogs. One example is that when the dogs lick up the water on the ledge of the bathtub from his splashes, Jameston seems to want to kick and splash even more!

He also tolerates it when Marlie licks him; and for those of you who have met Marlie, you know she's a licker! I see this being long-standing amusement for both of them...and I just had to get a video clip of it for memory's sake (although it was hard to film while holding JW and keeping the dogs at a safe distance...it is filmed Blair Witch Project style :) So the visual is shaky, but it's all about the audio!

P.S., We just dread the sound/volume of our voices. Hope it doesn't annoy you as much as it does us!

Public vs. Private

No, not schools...although we will probably be contemplating that question in a couple of years when Jameston starts school. Oh goodness, I am tearing up just thinking about that day!

Anywho, there have been some recent events and discussions regarding the blogosphere that has made us contemplate both the relevance and audience of our blog. Most people who know me know that I am like an open book, which can be a huge fault when just about anyone can get online and view this website. And after much thought, we are making our blog private so that only the people we know, our family and close friends (and friends of friends, too :) can read about our lives. I know several of you who read have done the same with your blogs, and we really appreciate your insight on this subject!

So, if you are an avid reader, please please leave me a comment with your email address, shoot me an email or find me on Facebook so that I can get your email address (if you don't feel comfortable leaving your email address :) And, over the course of the next week, I will send you an email for the private blog. Thanks, foremost for reading and secondly for understanding!

We now have a...

SITTER,

{better} SLEEPER,

and SOLID FOOD EATER!

Over the last week we have tried several solid foods...

Green beans were a hit

(and he wanted to feed himself...Recently, he

has started using the spoon as a teething toy)!

Avocado not so much...

We redeemed ourselves on Wednesday with oatmeal and bananas...

and we tried peas today,

which were also a success!

What a week it's been at the Winters' household! Our little boy has been tackling some major milestones lately. On Thursday he sat up independently for the first time!!

And, after what seems like two months of congestion-ridden restless nights, Jameston is sleeping about 11-12 hours at night. He still doesn't "sleep through the night," but we are hoping, with the introduction of solids, that major milestone is around the corner. Come on, son, we know you can do it!

We are having a blast watching him grow and learn the world around him. Keep 'em coming sweet baby Jameston!