"Uh Oh"
Yes, the dreaded "uh oh". The word most parents despise hearing. It's usually immediately followed by whatever he's holding ending up on the floor. He delights in dropping raisins, goldfish, and grapes one by one onto my polished (ha!) kitchen tile. And seems to find even greater joy as I crawl around picking everything up. It's at those moments that I have an internal struggle - do we get a dog? A dog eats rogue cheerios, licks up strewn spaghetti sauce, and would eliminate my nightly sweeping sessions. However - they shed. And if you get the dogs that don't shed, they stink. And of all the chores, vacuuming is my least favorite. So for now, we'll stick with my nightly routine of sweeping a mound of crumbs from the kitchen floor. Yes, for now.
"More, More, MOOOORE"
Jack's known the sign language movement for "more" for awhile now, but nothing makes him sign as furiously as Starburst Jellybeans. It's probably bad parenting to feed your newly minted one year old jellybeans, but they are just oh so delicious! He knows I keep them on top of the fridge, and will crawl over to the area and sign, "more, more, more". He knows I know what he wants, and wow you should see his face when I had him two tiny red beans. He lets out a laugh that you just can't ignore. It's infectious. This is a kid that appreciates the small things in life. And the small things are jellybeans.
And the best part? He can be bribed (yeeeess!).
Jack - do you want your diaper changed? [runs away from me]
Jack - do you want your diaper changed and a jellybean? [signs more, more, more and crawls over to me, rolls onto his back, opens mouth]
If that's not a parenting victory, well I just don't know what is! We've also added "wipe down" to our daily routine, which consists of wiping off red dye from around his mouth and his chubby little paws.
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| Scaling the fridge to reach the jelly beans |
The First Cut
First haircut? At 12 months? Something I'm just not familiar with. Remember, Colin was BALD for the first 18 months of his life. He still can go over three months between cuts. Jack had these little wings sticking out behind his ears, and it was driving me nuts! I know most parents have a hard time giving their children the first haircut, and they let hair grow and grow and grow. Boys look like girls. Mullets happen. I cringe when I see it, and just want to take a sharp pair of scissors to the overgrown mop. So, we packed up the mini van and visited the barber shop last Saturday. Twenty minutes and two suckers later and the Beirne boys were all trimmed up!
Houston, We have a walker...
My prayers were answered and Jack finally learned to walk. . Maybe it had something to with the sigh I let out each and every time I heaved 27 pounds of Jack up onto my hip. Maybe it had something to do with his new shoes. Extra wide. Required two trips to Stride Rite to ensure we had purchased the widest shoes available - and for the record, wide shoes aren't cheap. The first pair, while about as adorable as boys shoes can possibly be, needed two adults working in tandom to squeeze them on Jack's chubby tootsies. He got the hang of walking pretty quickly - Once he started his new day-care it was just a matter of days before my little baby toddled across the floor. He's an old pro now though, and can even crawl up and most importantly, down the stairs.
By summer he'll be running - probably in the opposite direction of Colin.
For some babies, it's a challenge to make that transition from bottle to cup. I'd have to say it's more of a challenge for moms. Seriously. It's the last "baby" thing I can hold on to. I mean, he's scaling the fridge, getting his haircut, and walking. You really expect ME to go cold turkey on the bottle. Absolutely not. I look forward to that nighttime bottle, cuddle, and the routine we've been in together for the last year. It might take me a few months to feel ready to fully give it up. And for the record, Jack loves cups, juice boxes, and anything that makes him a "big kid". Stay little Jack. You're still a baby, ok?
And finally...I've been replaced by a turtle
Yes, you read the correctly. As I noted above, Jack and I have a little bedtime routine. Bottle, cuddle, crib. In the last week it's changed. Now it's bottle, crib, turtle. (tear)
I randomly put a stuffed turtle we got last summer in Jekyll Island, GA in his crib, not really thinking much of it. And then, all of a sudden, he got....attached. I lay him down in his crib and he immediately grabs the turtle and starts rubbing it's leg or arm as he drifts off to sleep. Of course he couldn't get attached to the cute little brown dog Colin gave him when he was born. Well, he didn't really have a chance to considering Colin hi-jacked that dog about 11 months ago and claimed it as his own...
And there you have it. A quick little Jack update. I'll probably blink and the kid will be talking in sentences. Time flies when you're having fun, right?
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