Testing Boundaries

In addition to the wonderful crawling milestone, Jameson is also testing other boundaries… this week it has been sleeping and napping (oh, and fussing when I took the remote control from him… that’s a new one too).

Perhaps it was because Brian and I slipped up a bit (long weekend you know). He was getting up at 5:30 asking to have his breakfast bottle, and we’d give it to him then send him back to sleep. Then it slowly crept earlier, and we’d give him the bottle at 5 am. That was probably the wrong message.

Yes, most definitely the wrong message.

So this morning, we had to let him cry it out from almost 4 to 5 am. I went in to rock him for a bit, and he was happy for 5 minutes until he realized that no sir, that bottle was not coming. Back in the crib and then he crashed out, butt in the air, until 7.

I had to be the bad guy though. Poor Brian just wanted to give him the bottle and be done with it, but I certain this was the right thing to do. Having him get up in the middle of the night again is not smart. Not unless Brian wants to be the one to get up every night, heh. 😉

He woke up happy, not screaming for food, so I’m validated in my decision not to give him the bottle. Still, it was a little bit of a rough morning for us…

So! On a happier, more fun note: here’s his crawling video, as promised. It’s sort of a series, starting out just before he turned 8 months on 8/15. Most of the video is from this past weekend of him scooting backwards, and  it ends on 9/6, yesterday, when I finally got one video of him going forward.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyvOvy3B7SU]

Oh, if you are impatient and want to skip to the triumphant end, the last scene with him crawling starts at 1:56.

Mostly yesterday I got video of him playing with his socks. Like 10 minutes of sock playing. If you really want to see 10 minutes of baby + baby socks, that’ll be up tomorrow.

P.S. This child is sitting up in his crib now. I suppose that means we should probably lower the mattress…

Continue Reading

a few of his favorite things…

Dear readers, so many exciting things happened yesterday! Jameson made his first “crawls” forward instead of just backward (before falling on his face), and he made his first baby joke!

I am not sure if baby jokes are considered a milestone, and I am pretty sure Brian might have been making fun of me a little but seriously: Jameson laughed for the first time because of something he did, rather than because of something outside him (ex., tickling or chasing the puppy or puppy licks)

He laughed when he was trying to roll away from me while changing, and I know he did it on purpose, because he did it again later. So cute!

Anyway, I need to get this forward crawl on video, and when I do I’ll share his adorable progression of crawling. Since I don’t have that just yet, I thought I’d share some of his favorite things, now that he is actually playing with toys (instead of just chewing… though he still does chew… haha)

We have a lot of toys. In fact, Brian and I are going to break out the *gasp* toy box very soon. He probably doesn’t need this many toys, but I’m not too worried about spoiling him yet. He plays with all of them right now, in different ways.

His all time favorite toy for the past few months and now is his piano. The piano has it all: a rattle, music, lights, moving parts and convenient-to-chew handle.

This just goes to show: the reviews on Amazon don’t mean baby won’t like the toy. This thing only has 3 stars… but there is another piano for $14 that is almost 5 stars. Which would you rather pay? $5 or $14?

We’ve really enjoyed watching his development in playing with toys. It started out as staring, evolving into batting at the toys above his head on the activity mat. Then we had reaching and grasping, and later turning in place in the exersaucer to chew on all sorts of toys.

Finally, he learned how to work some of the toys, first with the spinning rattles like in the piano above. The last one on the exersaucer that he figured out was the penguin that you have to push down to get the balls to move inside.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93EJaESzcMY]

Now that he can sit, he is playing with all the toys, shaking, chewing, rattling. We decided he needed a few toys that stretched his skills. We bought this great toy which took him a day or two to figure out some of it’s parts. He hasn’t gotten the hang of getting it to move and play music, but he is playing with the alligator and spinning bird… soon he’ll be working the rest!

And it won’t be long before he’s figuring out toys like this one, with it’s knobs and levers. He already pushes down on the boppers. (Hey, no batteries in this toy!)

His second favorite toy right now I think is the xylophone piano. It’s a little advanced for him, but he loves to pound on the keys, and to eat the (thankfully one piece) sticks. This is an old toy though, I am not sure if they sell it like this anymore! It is however similar to this one.

Singing? or Eating? ha!

Like most babies, he enjoys the stacking cups. We bought these cute rubbery blocks for him to chew on, but he hasn’t shown much interest– until it also becomes a stacking (or rather, a knocking down) game!

Likewise, the classic ring stacker is fun right now to knock all the rings off, put rings on baby’s head, and to chew on. Later maybe he’ll start to stack the rings back on himself.

Of course, Jameson also loves to play with the parts that aren’t really toys. All his toys are in a low bin right now so he can pull all of them out. He also loves to play with the lid to one of his toys, and yesterday he enjoyed playing with an empty water bottle. Can’t forget the dixie cup in the morning when we’re trying to get ready, too!

A newly semi-mobile baby also enjoys finding new places, like the vent. This will be an accident waiting to happen this winter, but for now, it’s just cute.

Oh, the puppy is a pretty fun toy too. And the puppy’s own toys. Sasha knows which toys are hers, but Jameson hasn’t figured out yet which ones are his. Hmmm…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO-GdUEUiQQ]

Continue Reading

Bed Time = Playtime

Jameson has decided that the crib is his new favorite place in the whole world. No matter how sleepy he goes in, he wakes up, gives a big smile, and rolls around, talks, and plays in his crib.

This was taken a few weeks ago. Since then, he has decided to roll over onto his belly frequently, and then yell because he has forgotten how to roll himself back (remember, rolling belly to back was the first one he did… that must have been years ago in baby time)

P.S. This video is a bit dark, you might mistake Jameson for a baby seal, or a pterodactyl.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh7vA87HRMY]

P.P.S., Seriously, this baby is adorable. He has also discovered the joys of jumping (and laughing at dad) in one of my favorite videos yet.

Continue Reading

Jameson takes an Ice Bath

Just last week, a co-worker was telling me a story about a kid who stripped and dove right into an ice cooler, full of melting ice, and apparently enjoyed himself swimming in the “pool”.

Ironic, considering Brian did that to Jameson just Saturday. No, really.

We did this weekend casually at home, running a few errands and going to the farmers market. Brian mowed the lawn (another of the many reasons he’s such a great husband and father) and did some other yard work. Around mid afternoon on Saturday, after Jameson got up from his many naps (kid was a short sleeper this weekend), we decided to try out the baby pool that Jameson got Brian for his birthday.

That screaming face there looks like the permanently scarred for life from water kind of face doesn’t it? That’s because the water was ice cold, I-C-E cold. It could only have been colder if there had been actual ice in it. Brian filled it up from the hose… apparently we both neglected to check the temperature.

Add insult to injury, as I am telling Brian about how I recalled occasions where my mother had provided some warmer water from inside (I may have made that up, as I don’t really have any distinct memories of this), anyway Brian tells me that his mother made him swim in ice. Which I promptly shared with her. Liar liar, pants on fire.

I saved the day though and added some hot water to the mix, making it sort of luke warm. Then we got more curious than grumpy faces (though no big grins, and some rather startled looks while splashing; apparently he didn’t trust the water quite yet).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0STInWoPIUE]

He also enjoyed chewing on some of the pool toys that came with it. It has these little blow up mushrooms that stick in the base or float free, and some stick on blow up butterflies.

Adorable! A duck somehow snuck in there too.

We loved the baby pool, even if Jameson didn’t just yet. We’ll have to give it another shot, just like grass face. Which, by the way, we managed to get a non crying grass face this weekend. Will be sharing that soon.

Continue Reading

Love…

I love the Baby Smell. The milk smell. I have heard that if you formula feed your baby, they don’t have that lovely sweet baby smell. Is that true? If so, then that may be one more reason I will attempt to continue to nurse/pump for Jameson.

I think Brian thinks I’m a little nuts, because I love it all, I even love the baby spit up smell. Yes.

Other things I love about Mr. Jameson right now:

  • He is starting to reach for us. When he sees dad after work his arms go out and he smiles with excitement.
  • He is always happy when he wakes up, even if he’s still tired.
  • He talks to himself in his crib sometimes, or at his mobile. It is a nice thing to wake up to over the monitor.
  • He likes to take his legs and pound them both down at the same time. Over and over in his bed or on the changing table. And he grabs his feet too.
  • His baby giggles! So funny since he sounds like he’s catching his breath.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_gT_K2OWMQ]
  • His pucker face when he tries new foods like peaches or squash. Combining them with oatmeal or rice seemed to go over better than alone, haha.
  • He’s getting so big!

Things I don’t love about Mr. Jameson right now:

  • He’s pulling hair, earrings, necklaces. I know it’s not on purpose. My hair goes in a ponytail when I come home now.
  • His poo is less… attractive. If poo is ever attractive.
  • He never wants to rollover for me. Why is my son not a show off? lol
  • He seems to sit still for everyone but me. Sitting in mom’s bony lap must not be as comfortable, so I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.
  • He doesn’t sit up yet. Because I am seriously dying to take pictures of him outside in the grass.
  • He’s getting so big! That’s right, I love and don’t love it. Where is my small little 5lb newborn gone?

Speaking of love, how about these fabulous Garden of Love forever stamps? I purchased 100 of them. Yes, we did need stamps. And they’re for forever. Plus it’s only $1 to ship. I have finally joined Twitter and so far have made just a few tweets. But I’m stalking my favorites, like Young House Love who shared these lovely stamps the other day.

Continue Reading

New Videos

Have you visited and subscribed to our video channel on YouTube?

I finally stole Brian’s thunder uploaded some videos from our camcorder. I have a lot more to add, so look for more in the next few days. But last night I was able to load 3, “Jameson’s Rolling Outtakes” (wherein Jameson does not rollover); also “Jameson Rolls Over” (finally); and “Jameson Eats Cereal” (from a spooooon, and Brian and I harass each other).

Visit! And watch adorableness.

Jameson Rolls Over:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnzwZuMN8h0]

Continue Reading

Family Fun & Happy Easter

I have pictures in my queue for editing! We had a great weekend, visiting lots of extended family and enjoying Easter dinner. Friday night we visited my aunt and uncle, cousin Carrie and Brian and their daughters. So I was curious as to what exactly Jameson is in relation to their daughters, and my guess was second cousins once removed. Was I right?

According to Cousin Calculator, Jameson and my cousin’s daughters are actually only second cousins. Removed references a generation difference:

“When the word “removed” is used to describe a relationship, it indicates that the two people are from different generations.

The words “once removed” mean that there is a difference of one generation. For example, your father’s first cousin is your first cousin, once removed. This is because your father’s first cousin is one generation younger than your grandparents and you are two generations younger than your grandparents. This one-generation difference equals “once removed.”  The one-generation difference has nothing to do with age, but rather with descendance from the same person.

Twice removed means that there is a two-generation difference. You are two generations younger than a first cousin of your grandmother, so you and your grandmother’s first cousin are first cousins, twice removed.”

Therefore, my relationship to my cousin’s daughters is that we are first cousins, once removed.

Jameson sat in a borrowed high chair for the first time; not to eat, but just to sit with us as we ate salmon marinated in a honey and balsamic vinegar (plus a few other ingredients but we didn’t see the recipe). The fish was baked and was a little sweet. Very good. I forgot my camera though! I was very disappointed. They took a few photos though, I will have to see if I can get a hold of them.

On Saturday, we drove about 2 hrs and 45 min, Jameson’s longest car ride. He slept the entire time! We were so excited to see Brian’s grandmother in good spirits, talking and reaching out to hold Jameson. It is the best we have seen her in several years. We have some wonderful photos of Jameson and his great grandmother. I couldn’t help but be a bit of paparazzi, simply thinking that if my grandmother were still around, I would want a thousand photos of him and her together. We never know how much time we’ll have.

Sunday, I dressed Jameson in his Easter finest, and Brian was super pumped dressed to match him. We took some family photos, of which I only have one right now, but I have some great outtakes which I’ll be posting to flickr soon. We managed to get Sasha in the photo nicely, I think the only photo we have of all of us together, in focus (since she likes to move so much, of course!).

I don’t know if I have mentioned, but poor Sasha has been to the vet a lot recently! After the infection in her leg, she then got a hematoma on her ear, which I think is fairly common for dogs (could have been caused by her scratching her ear). We have opted not to do surgery on it though because of her older age and because antibiotics would be harmful to her already compromised liver. So it’s a big pocket of blood on her ear, but apparently smaller as far as hematomas go, and we’re just waiting for it to heal on its on. On top of that, she started limping again on Sunday so we have confined her again to the first floor. Brian had to sleep downstairs that first night but she’ll learn quickly again. We’re waiting a few days before going to the vet again; thus far, the limp doesn’t seem to be getting worse and actually seemed slightly better, we shall see.

Of course, the biggest, best news I have saved for last! On Sunday, Jameson rolled over, belly to back! I have yet to see it, and we don’t have it on video yet, but when we do I will be posting it (we have probably 20 minutes now from various 5 minute attempts of tummy time to get this rolling over on video, haha). His first roll was on Sunday morning while I slept in: Brian turned around while Jameson was on his belly and when he turned back, Jameson was happily on his back. He did it again later while Brian’s parents and sister were over for Easter dinner. None of us but Brian saw it though. For second I thought he’d do it once more after we put him back on his belly because he tipped himself but then he stopped.

Speaking of video, we have a lot of video captured on our video camera (as opposed to my camera phone which I used in his early days). However, we haven’t edited any of it. Brian’s been talking about exploring iMovie on our first ever Mac computer, but hasn’t had a chance yet. It won’t be long before I steal his thunder though and do it myself, haha.

This weekend is my birthday (and I will finally be on the later half of my 20’s), and Brian and I are having Brian’s sister Melissa babysit for us while we go out to dinner at a fondue place. I love going there because it’s always what I like to call a “slow” meal. Since Brian and I are very quick eaters, its always nice to go somewhere that forces us to slow down and chat a little. Melissa is excited because since Brian’s parents are out of town there’s no “competition” for Jameson’s attention. And a great time will be had by all!

Continue Reading

Happiest Baby

Jameson is just a great baby recently — and when he is grouchy, I am starting to get a clue as to why! Usually, he is grouchy when he is overtired or bored. Of course, when he is hungry also, particularly at night.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xcmuOeTxAM]

Last night was a great night for us; the past couple nights we have been putting him to bed at 9. This seems like a great time because he is already getting tired, but I don’t think I’ll feel like he is going to bed right away when I get home from work. Also it gives me like an hour or two of alone time or time with Brian, which is nice. Anyway, last night we gave him a bath and this time I got in the bath with him so he could experience more water while Brian did the washing. It was fun, I think we’ll enjoy bath time. Then I fed him and we put him to bed drowsy but awake. I had to put his pacifier back in about 4 times, but he was asleep by 9:20 and he slept until 3:30!! That is almost 6 hours of sleep. I went to bed a little after 10 and got 5 hours! Just great. I hope we can keep it up! To top it off, it was storming like crazy (apparently both Brian and Sasha had trouble sleeping) and neither Jameson or I woke up (at least until he cried). This is much better than our usual, which is him getting up every three hours. Maybe we can get this down in a couple weeks and start working on better naps!

On Friday we went to see Lisa and new baby Jonathan. He was a little less grouchy than last time we visited and since it was daylight, we got some of the cutest pictures of the two of them together. He still has a big set of lungs on him while Jameson is still just starting to discover his. Lisa and I talked baby the entire time. I’m going over again this week too!

Lynne dropped by last week also and we got some cute pictures of him smiling at her.

Hollie and the girls visited yesterday and Maria is coming over today to meet Jameson, so the next post should have some cute photos of them! Tonight I am also going to attempt to make dinner, like one of the soups at Olive Garden, so that should be interesting! Last time Brian made it we took a photo, here’s what it should look like if I do it right:

Continue Reading

6 weeks old!

Today Jameson is 6 weeks old! I usually don’t post the same day, because it takes a while to edit the photos, but today I decided to forgo the shower and got the photos done early instead, ha! Jameson posed in a guitar case this week, Brian’s dad’s idea. I am running out of ideas, not sure what we’ll do next week!

Just these past couple days I have noticed a change in Jameson! He is starting to smile a lot more and shows more enjoyment! I think maybe today he smiled at me, just me, when I was changing him. I got some great pictures of his smile just the other day. He had on his little booty rattles which his cousin Gabrielle and great-uncle Mike got him. I am not sure if that was what was making him smile or not, but I enjoyed it! He is also starting to reach at things a lot more. I can’t wait til he grasps some toys (instead of just the burp rag which hopefully is just reflex and not his new favorite thing haha).

To go with his smiles, he is also showing a lot more grouchiness, but hopefully that is just the cold. On Tuesday, he wanted to eat all day long. Yesterday he was a perfect angel, and our photo shoot today was okay but since then he has been making me pay for it by generally not sleeping and spitting out his pacifier a lot. We did have a nice 10 minutes that he played on the activity mat and didn’t need his pacifier to prevent crying! He enjoyed himself for a good stretch.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzIRcXg-IT4]

Last night Brian and I went out to dinner with Jameson for the first time. He was a perfect sleepy angel. We even got to have an appetizer and dessert. We went to Vito’s, which is always great Italian. Earlier this week we had a nice visit from Cathy and Dan. They are always really busy so we had them come over even with Jameson’s cold. Last night Jameson sounded better, so hopefully the worst of it is over.

I purchased some black and white baby flash cards for him to look at. We tried them out the other night and his eyes did follow them quite a bit, his head even moved to continue following it. But mostly he is still enjoying looking at the ceiling fan, speakers and picture frames and whatever else is in the living room. Upstairs he really loves looking at the swinging birds over the glider chair. He’ll stare at those for a long time without getting bored!

It looks like he’s actually sleeping now, maybe I will get a shower in today after all!

Continue Reading

Four Generations

On Sunday, we visited Brian’s grandpa Thomas in the nursing home for his 90th birthday. It was very nice– we got a very nice photos of all 4 Thomas’s! Brian’s dad was excited to get everyone in one photo.

It was nice to have an opportunity to see Brian’s cousin Gabrielle, her son Griffin, and his uncle Mike. There were also two cousins of Brian’s dad, Bob and Carol, who I got to meet. Jameson’s great grandpa enjoyed having everyone there! Jameson was very well behaved and took his bottle so well!

This week Jameson and I went to the grocery store for the first time! It was our first errand out alone. It was uneventful save that I had to go to the bathroom myself and was at a loss as to what to do when you have a full cart of groceries plus a baby and need to use the restroom. I barely made it home to the bathroom, haha!

We have also been doing tummy time more this week, and I have taken a few videos of him, one where he looks like he’s trying to eat the mat, it’s hilarious.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODsKhSK6FYU]

Today Jameson turns 4 weeks old, but I am not taking 4 week pictures, because I will be taking one month picture this Sunday. I can’t believe he’s already almost one month old. He is such a good baby, I can’t believe how lucky we are. Most of the time, he only gets up once in the night, though last night he got up twice. I’ve been watching Battlestar Galactica on Netflix to occupy the night feedings, I am on season 3 already. I can tell he’s getting a little bigger too, I think he is fuller in the face and hands. I finally got the cute naked baby photos I’ve been wanting to get for some time yesterday. It’s difficult with a little boy but I was able to get nice ones yesterday after his bath.

That’s all for now since he’s getting a little fussy!

Continue Reading