Playmates

I've been lucky enough to make friends with a great mom who has a son only 2 weeks younger than Jack (Nicholas, in the pic above.) It seems like most of the babies in our play group are girls so I'm so happy that my little guy has another boy to play with. And, as I've gone to more and more playgroups, it's obvious that boys and girls play very differently. In fact, one older mom was talking to me about how you end up only being friends with moms who have boys because girls don't want to play with boys. It's sort of sad considering that some of my new mom friends have lovely little girls who I know will not be interested in playing trucks and bashing around with Jack in a few months. But, happily, Nicholas' mom is great and we've been having fun hanging out.

Jack and Nick seem to like each other...as much as 8 month olds can. Sometimes they pull at each other and get mad when one is playing with the other's toys, but I guess boys will be boys.

Baby proofing

Our little guy is on the move and he's into everything. Of course. Just like every other crawling baby. We've done pretty well with moving the super dangerous stuff out of reach and putting the little padded corners on the coffee table and fireplace. But while I don't want him to get hurt, it's pretty funny how much joy he gets out of everything. He's obsessed with the curtains and can't play peek-a-boo with me by hiding behind them which is pretty awesome.

He loves the fireplace and heads towards it every chance he gets.

He can crawl up the step as well as use it to stand up which is pretty cool. I think he knows it's one of those off-limit places though. And he doesn't care.

He loves crawling to his high chair and grabbing the leg and moving it across the tile. Anything with a loud grating noise or bang is a plus in his book.

This foot stool never stood a chance.

He loves the remote control but that's not surprising.

And he ADORES the cable box and the receiver that sit below the TV right at his eye level as he crawls around.

He uses them to stand up as well which is pretty amazing. So it's hard to tell him to get away from those things. Not that he would listen. Besides, there are no wires exposed so he can't really do much damage. The little guy is getting more and more mobile every day.

Eating is Fun

So lately Jack has been less interested in baby food and more interested in finger foods. I need to start cooking some more so that he can try new things. I didn't quite capture his beaming face but he's got a slight smile in the picture above. That's because he tried the most delicious thing he's ever tasted. Literally. A pumpkin chocolate chip muffin. Before you judge, know that I didn't give him any chocolate chips and he had just two tiny morsels of the pumpkin bread part. But his eyes lit up and I could tell he loved it. It was pretty cute. Especially since it might be my favorite baked good recipe ever.

In the past week or two he's also sampled chicken, turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, bagels, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, avocado, scrambled egg yolks, and tortillas. His favorites were the chicken, turkey, and watermelon and his least favorite was the avocado. I just can't get this kid to like avocado. That's okay though...they're expensive!

Today Jack is...38 weeks old.

Another good week and now we've only got a week and a half left of the cast! He still hasn't let it faze him in the slightest and his army crawl is getting even faster. This crawling thing is awesome. He can just be happy and play on the ground on his own. See how pleased he is with himself?

Here he is practicing his elevated crawl (still not successful) but he's getting there.

There he was smiling, right next to me so I turned away to choose a book off the bookshelf and when I turned back around, he was off and out the door.

What happened to my little immobile baby? He's a speedster. One of his favorite "toys" this week was an accounting envelope John brought home with an address window so it had like cellophane plastic that would crinkle when he would throw it around. He was very very amused.

He also is still obsessed with mirrors and MAN, he loves himself. Which he certainly doesn't get from me.

The little guy is still into books and his daddy is more than happy to oblige most mornings. It's quite adorable.

Earlier in the week we headed on over to our favorite outdoor mall where they were setting up Santa's house. I'd like to say that this is him looking in awe at the Christmas decorations, but he is just enthralled with the big fountain as usual.

In other news, I'm almost done breastfeeding I think. Each day I've done it less and less and he seems to be taking it just fine. He's chowing down on the formula bottles. I think he's getting a lot more than usual because he's eating less baby food. But I guess that's a fine trade off. I don't know really but I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

And now, more pics from the week!

Looking at himself in the car mirror

Modeling his latest winter wear

And some pics of Jack enjoying time with our friend Orlando

What is this Pacific Standard Time you're talking about?

This is the picture of a boy who is lately confused by a) darkness while he's still awake and b) extremely cold temperatures. (Okay, 50 degrees but that's pretty damn cold compared to the majority of his life.) And, yes, those are mittens.

I think he's slowly getting used to it though and I'm having fun buying warm clothes. He certainly wears a hoodie quite well.

Sitting in style

Look who's a big boy now? This might change my life. Though he still is a little small for some of the bigger carts. But, man oh man, did he love sitting and watching everything. And he can see me which is obviously a plus. :)

Soothing Sounds

As is well documented on this blog, Jack has never loved car rides. Thank goodness he's past the "screaming until he chokes" phase that lasted 3 1/2 months. And he's also past general crying every time we get in the car. Now we're in a pretty good place. He stares out the window, he looks at himself in the mirror, he plays with the seat straps, he babbles away...generally he's pretty good. Until he's not of course. But I've found something that soothes him - classical music. We listen to the local classical music station and it's so damn relaxing. For Jack and for me. And it's listener-sponsored which means no commercials. Jack just focuses intently on the music. During particularly rousing pieces with horns, etc. he even "sings" along. Of course, the classical music doesn't trump my singing of camp songs, but it's a good backup.

Things to Do in LA with Kids: Lake Balboa

This past weekend John and I finally checked out Lake Balboa with Jack. I've been hearing about it since I had him and just hadn't gotten the chance to drive there. Plus, I didn't know what to expect when I heard there was a lake in the middle of Van Nuys. Not exactly the most picturesque town. But, man, I can't believe what was hidden in the middle of the city. A giant lake with a path around it and tons of grass and hills and open spaces. As well as fishing spots, one of the biggest playgrounds I've ever seen, and every type of bird imaginable.

John and I strapped the lil' guy in the stroller and started off on our jaunt around the lake. It was pretty chilly but sunny and a gorgeous fall day.

He loved looking around at all the trees and all the kids running around.

About halfway around the lake we stopped at the playground so he could enjoy the swings. Jack certainly loves a good swing.

We also stopped at a nice grassy spot so Jack could sit and look around. Here he is completely ignoring the giant egret birds a mere 10 yards from him so he could look at a pretty toddler girl walking by.

The lake also happens to be very near Van Nuys airport so there were constantly planes flying over. And, man, does this kid like to look up at planes.

All in all we had a great time and I can't wait to go back.

Today Jack is...37 weeks old.

Another cast week down and he was mostly all smiles. We've decided that he's so happy nowadays because of his new-found crawling freedom. He LOVES being able to get around. he crawls and chases around his ball. He crawls to the curtains to play with them. He'll follow me around rooms too. He came dangerously close to crawling into the garage a few times but he didn't know how to negotiate the steps.

(Excuse the mad man hair...he had just woken up for a nap.)

I guess the best part of the crawling is that it means he's happier to play on his own for a few minutes. Sometimes as many as 15! Amazing. It's so cute to watch him entertain himself.

His eating is still going pretty well. He loves his fruit purees and has started eating the little pieces of fruit that I put in his mouth. He loves kiwi, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberry, and watermelon. He got a hold of the watermelon rind this week and went to town.

My milk supply seems to be dwindling more than ever and I've started giving him a bottle a day because he seems like he needs it. I can see breastfeeding slowly coming to an end (though hopefully not in the immediate future) and it's a bummer. For bonding, sappy reasons but also because it's how I calm him down and put him to sleep. So, without nursing, I'm not sure what I'll do.

I also feel like I'd be remiss in not mentioning sleep...even if it's just for me to document it. He was sleeping pretty well but this past week he had some bad nights. Unusually bad nights. I'm wondering if this is the 8/9/10 month sleep regression that I've been reading about. He'll wake up around 11:30 or 12:30 and just be wide awake. Nothing can get him back to sleep. Not bouncing, not nursing, nothing. It's just terrible. He stays awake for about 2 hours. I'm really hoping these bad nights are few and far between because they make for a very tired mom and dad.

He still loves mirrors so we have a good time making funny faces. He also watches me try to high five him and practice waving and I think he's finally starting to get it! Maybe.

And now, more pics from the week!

Smiling at Aunt Leslie's dogs, off camera.

Not that you can tell, but rooting on the Steelers with Daddy's hat

Asleep because he was completely bored with my wandering through the Christmas decoration aisles. I don't know why he didn't find it fascinating.

Plum and grape puree...yum!

And this is one of John's favorite pictures of all time. He thinks he looks like a Disney character. I think it's pretty cute too. I just wish he wasn't sitting in front of a toilet. But, hey, I have to brush my teeth at least once a day. :)