Little Gym

This morning we did a trial class at The Little Gym. It was a 45-minute class and it was a lot of fun. We played with bells and scarves, walked and jumped and much to Jack's delight, played with balls. But the best part was exploring all of the gymnastics equipment - they had balance beams, bars, rings and lots and lots of mats to play on. Jack pretty much ignored all the organized activities (circle time, etc.) and explored the whole time. He had a lot of fun!I don't know if we'll start going there regularly though because it's pretty pricey. It costs about $300 for 20 45-minute sessions.

We took some pictures the other night of Jack's first experience with toothpaste. We've been brushing his teeth for a few months, but have just been using water. He really enjoys it. Now I bought some fluoride-free toothpaste and so far, so good!Just being cute:
Playing in the kitchen:

First Steps!

Jack is officially taking steps! He has been standing without holding things for longer and longer periods and occasionally takes a step/stumble. Tonight he kept lifting his hands above his head and laughing, then all of a sudden, he took off for his daddy, which was about 4 steps! After that, he was all about walking, going back and forth from Mommy to Daddy, giggling the whole time (while Mommy and Daddy both had tears in our eyes). Such a big shot! We took some video to demonstrate:

As the night wore on, he kept trying out his new skill. I think his record was about 10 steps in a row! My favorite is that you know when he's going to take off because he lifts his arms above his head (I guess from walking holding our hands??), lets out a giggle, then takes off. He'll be walking all over the place in no time!!

Also, we went to the ENT specialist today, and as we suspected, Jack will be getting tubes. We haven't scheduled it yet, but it will likely take place in the next few weeks. It is a quick out-patient procedure, and his total time away from us (including going to sleep and waking back up) will be 30-45 minutes. The recovery is very quick too - my friend Kate said Zoey was back to normal after her second nap. Hopefully Jack's recovery is that quick too, and we can nip these ear infections in the bud!

Ears...Again

Jack has yet another ear infection! He's had a runny nose and has been coughing and Monday night started tugging on his ears, so we took him to get checked Tuesday. Sure enough, both ears are infected. We started Augmenten again, and we're going to meet with an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist on Wednesday. It seems tubes might be in our future. Jack seems to be feeling back to normal - his cough and runny nose have gotten better and he's sleeping great.

Some other updates...day care has successfully switched Jack's daytime bottles to sippy cups, which will make our transition to whole milk next month (!) easier. We're still doing bottles in the morning and at night, but the rest of Jack's formula comes via cup.

He is still not walking, but so close. We keep thinking any day now, but he seems perfectly content cruising around behind his walker. He practically runs behind that thing now, and just steers it all over the place.

Jack now has seven teeth - four on top and three on bottom. He's starting to bite things (the spoon, for example), but luckily hasn't started biting us yet - that will not be a fun day!

Mini photo shoot of the smiley guy:

I don't know why, but I LOVE this picture. It was taken mid-raspberry and his lips look HUGE - ha ha!
Daddy put him in a grown-up chair to eat a donut (this lasted about 2 minutes, when he was quickly moved to his high chair, but it was cute for those 2 minutes):

Magic House

This weekend Jack passed the eleven month mark, and we celebrated by checking out the Magic House. Melissa and I took Addi and Jack Saturday while the daddies played in a golf tournament. Neither Mel nor I had been to the Magic House since we were in grade school, and boy has it changed! The place is HUGE now! Three stories of exhibits and fun things to do. We had a good time, and both agreed it will just get more fun each time as the babies get older and can do more.

There was one whole section made for kids their size, and it included a ball pit (Jack LOVED it)a toy kitchen (Addi LOVED it)a waterworks area (BOTH loved it) and a few other pint-sized things to climb on.

And of course, we couldn't go to the Magic House without touching the electrically-charged ball. My hair so heavy and thick, it wasn't near as funny as other people's, and Jack hair already sticks up, so our picture is somewhat disappointing.
Melissa & Addi's picture turned out cute though - if you look closely, you can see Addi's hair sticking out. So fun.Then on the way home, Jack got his first kids' meal! Turns out Burger King has a mac & cheese meal. It came with a juice box - his first experience with juice (aside from prune juice from his early cereal-eating days) and first successful encounter with a straw. What a big guy!

First Lake Trip

We went to the lake last weekend for our annual family friends trip. It was Jack's first trip to the lake, complete with his first boat ride. We had a great time, though we quickly learned a trip to the lake is not the same when you have a child with you (planning around nap times and bedtimes = much more condo time than we're used to). Jack struggled sleeping the first night (Thursday) and was awake from 12:00 - 2:30. Phew!! Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa were there to help a very frustrated Mommy (Jason didn't arrive until Friday). He did great for all his other naps and night times, so I guess he was just getting used to the new surroundings.

His first boat ride was when we got there on Thursday afternoon - we just took a quick ride over to the restaurant where all the parents (including Grandma) were hanging out. Jack seemed to enjoy the boat ride - he even lifted his arm up at one point, I think to feel the air blowing on him. However, to say he was not a fan of his life jacket is an understatement! He's too young to understand "see? the other kids are wearing one too" so he just had to fight us.

First boat ride (you can see his wind-blown hair):
On Friday's boat ride, he seemed to tolerate the life jacket much better and was so relaxed that he fell asleep in Daddy's arms. When we anchored the boat to hang out in the water for awhile, we laid Jack on one of the seats in front of a fan and he slept for a good hour. Impressive with Grandpa's friend Smitty's music and the chatter of all our friends. After his nap, we got in the water. He liked it at first, but got annoyed after 15 minutes or so - I assume because the life jacket was riding up on him. That pesky thing!

Second boat ride - VERY relaxing:
Snoozing on the boat:
Swimming in the lake!
Cool guy in his shades:
We also did some shopping (a must at the lake!) and hit the pool for a bit. All in all, it was a great weekend.

I like this picture because you can see his new front teeth and the cute little gap that it looks like he'll be sporting:
Jack & Grandpa in their (kind of) matching shirts:
These jammies were a lake outlet mall purchase - too cute (thanks Grandma!):

Bad Mommy & Happy 4th

Well, I've officially forfeited my bid for Mommy of the Year. Thursday night as I was putting Jack into his high chair for dinner, he arched his back and spun right out of my hands, tumbling to the floor. I dropped my child. Turns out he's fine, but oh man, that is not a good feeling. THEN, in case my good mommy status was still unclear, I rolled his fingers up in the car window Saturday night. Again, he was fine, but Mommy is not very happy with herself. Poor baby. It's hard enough being a toddler trying to explore the world without your mommy trying to beat you up left and right!

On to happier topics...we had a very nice holiday weekend. We spent a lot of time with good friends and Jack got a lot of quality play time with his buddies.

Family photo:Jack & Nathan swimming:Jack and Addi swimming:
Addi, Jack and Nathan trying out the play yard (thanks Claytons & Knichels - that thing worked great to corral the kiddos!):
This is Jack's new way of playing with Maggie - too funny. Good thing we have one of the world's most tolerant dogs: