Week in Review - 3/31/12

Jack kept practicing walking this week and he's gotten quite good. A little too good because now he's trying to walk too fast and he's falling a lot just because he's picking up too much speed. A few days ago he fell and hit his forehead on the toilet, of all things. Later that day a big bump with a bruise appeared but, luckily, his bangs covered it up. Then the next day we were at the park and he was running around and he fell and hit his cheek on the edge of the play equipment. Immediately his cheek turned red and swelled up and he got a bruise on his cheekbone. Geez. So now he just looks like a prize fighter. It doesn't photograph very well but here's one where you can sort of make out his injury.

I am horrified of course but John thinks our little bruiser is adorable. I imagine he'll have many more injuries in his future.

This past week Jack showed his March Madness basketball spirit by sporting an awesome Syracuse shirt.

Sadly, John's alma mater lost, but the boys were glued to the game the entire time.

The other big news this week is that we turned his car seat around. Now he faces forward and he loves it! I just had to do it because I was tired of not being able to see him when I'm driving. I had no idea if he was asleep, if he was eating something, or what he was doing. Now I can see him and it makes me feel much better. And he's happier.

Okay, gotta run because we're out of town again this weekend. But here are more pics from the week!

playing drums with his new friend

playing with blocks

first trolley ride at the mall

black beans!

"who ya gonna call?!"

exploring the shower

Five for Friday: Essentials for Jack's first year

5. Baby Bjorn - This help me survive a lot of months when Jack hated his stroller, car seat, and couldn't ride in a shopping cart

4. White noise - Any sleep aid is a good thing

3. Fisher Price Laugh n' Learn table - Out of all of his toys, this is the one he's played with most

2. Upholstered recliner/glider - I've spent many many hours napping with the boy in this chair

1. Exercise Ball - I don't want to tell you how many hours I've logged on the evil ball

Today Jack is...49 weeks old.

This week Jack and I got to do a lot of fun things (as usual). The big news is that he has a new stroller that he seems to really like.

I know he doesn't look super happy in that picture but that's because he's mesmerized by the seals at the zoo. I found an Uppababy Vista stroller on Craigslist for an awesome deal so I went for it. He loves sitting straight up and much higher and can hang on to that bar.

Prior to the new purchase, we had a play date with one of my favorite moms and her son who is the same age as Jack. They were nice enough to patiently stand by while we filled up our frozen yogurt cups.

Jack definitely enjoyed being with his bud.

This week was full of more exploring and getting into things. He can now lift up the toilet seat as well as flush so that's fun. It's pretty exciting that he's learned how to climb stairs so well but also to climb back down feet first. He used to just dive off the step and cry when he fell. But now he's learning!

It was really warm this week (80 degrees) so Jack got to play outside a lot. He truly LOVES the backyard. I let him out the door and he runs wild, crawling from one end of yard to the other. Which is a long distance if you know my yard. He starts on the one side with the trashcans which he seems to really enjoy.

And here he is picking lemons off our tree.

And studying the trees.

Oddly, after I saw this photo I thought of Wyeth's Christina's World

He loves playing outside so much that I've got to start researching some outdoor play stuff. Maybe one of those plastic houses with doors or maybe a miniature slide with steps or something. I don't know but I know he would really really love something like that.

He's not walking yet but still cruising on everything. He can stand without holding something pretty well now. He still loves his walker though.

And now more pics from the week!

"Let me into the pool!"

And a little video from our park visit this week. He was a speedster climbing up this one piece of equipment so I wanted to take a video to show his dad. He usually got to the slide and then sat down and waited for me to help him. Of course, the time I chose to record a video, he got a little more adventurous and threw me for a loop at the end.

Goodbye baby gear

Well, Jack has pretty much outgrown most of his baby gear. We've packed away his co-sleeper, his swing, etc. His bouncy seat should be packed up as well but he just loves the darn thing. He uses it as his own personal jungle gym. He uses it to stand up, climbs over it, and kneels in front of it. Unfortunately a lot of the time he'll also slip and do a face plant. So this morning John plopped him in the seat for a first time in a while and he sat straight up and studied the little moving bubbles and fish. And when I say studied I mean STUDIED. He was about an inch away from it and couldn't take his eyes off of it. So cute.

What's in a Stroller?

Like everything else in the world, strollers have gotten fancy and expensive and trendy. There are brands that tend to "say" something about the mom that's pushing them. Of course, sometimes a stroller is just a stroller and it's ridiculous to give any weight to what brand allows you to push around your kid on four wheels.

I have many strollers. It's not really my fault. We got one great Chicco stroller at my baby shower and I love it. But then we got a couple of hand-me-down strollers from friends and I took them all. When I was pregnant I didn't really have any concept of what I would like or what the little guy would like. Mainly we use the Chicco one but the other day I busted out this little Maclaren lightweight stroller. Of course, I didn't really want a Maclaren stroller because, around LA, it just means fancy and rich and it's what the beautiful 105 pound actresses push their babies around in. (Babies who are named "Bear" or "Axel" or "Zuma" by the way.) But, I have to say, it's a great little stroller. I think Jack likes it because he sits really upright and is right out in the action, no tray to come between him and his trees. Of course, I wish it didn't have the words "Maclaren" blazoned across the seatback. But hopefully I don't look too cool for school in my sneakers, stained t-shirt, and ponytail. My son on the other hand... Maybe he should lose the shades.

Latest Favorite

This weekend Jack got a surprise from his Grandma... the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Table.
It is now his new favorite toy and, I have to say, it's pretty amazing. It's got 4 "stations" and they all speak numbers, letters, shapes, read book pages, make animal sounds, and play the piano. It also does all those things in Spanish. And plays lots of songs. And pretty much can talk to Jack. It's awesome. And will occupy Jack for a good 20 minutes at a time. A new record!

Today Jack is...33 weeks old.

Jack had a lot of fun with all his toys this week. His big toys. He is loving his walker.

He can go backwards in it very well but is still working on going forwards. He is also still enjoying the jumperoo. He bounces and bounces all day.

Then this week we got a swing that we hung from a tree in our front yard. He loves the swings at the park so we thought this would go over well and, man, it certainly did.

He squeals in delight...the higher and harder I swing him, the louder he laughs. As for movement, nowadays when I take my eyes off of him, I look back and he's in a totally different place. He's not crawling. But what he is doing is scooting backwards, rolling all over, spinning in circles and, within the last couple of days, usually all his energy and grunting and struggling and inching forward. It's pretty comical to watch just because he's trying so hard. I also left him today sitting in his crib and I came back and he was standing up. So that happened.

This week we also had our first successful restaurant high chair experience. We went to a super super casual restaurant (no waiters) and the little guy sat in the wooden high chair for the first time. He picked at my steamed vegetables but mostly just dropped them onto the floor one by one. At the end of the meal I was extremely grateful that we hadn't gone to an actual nice establishment where I couldn't have picked all of his veggies off the tile floor. But it was a good start.

And now, more pics from the week!

Testing out his "new" hand-me-down stroller

Another trip to the Americana

Enthralled by the fountain

Updating his Facebook page