First Word?

Being a speech therapist you would think I would know how to identify a real first word but I am a little hesitant. So for a couple of weeks now it seems as though you are imitating some of the things Daddy and I say. For example, one of your favorite books is about Elmo and bubbles. When we pull it out we say, "bubbles!" and you say "bubu, bubu". Also, you love to play with balls. We say, "ball" and you say "ba". Even though the 'b' sound is the most frequent sound you make, you are adding different vowels to say different words. So today I held up your ball and said, "Jackson, what is it?" and you said, "ba". Your first spontaneous word?!?! I will have to test you a few more times to make sure but it was accurate and meaningful...which adds up to your first real word!

A few other things: There is a Baby Einstein book that is really cute called "Mirror Me". On each page the characters are making different faces and there is a mirror so you can make the face back. You have started doing this! There is a cow puffing his cheeks and so you puff your cheeks. There is another character opening his mouth and you open your mouth and say "aahh". You understand and follow simple directions, like: "give it to me" and "come here". However, you still aren't clapping and you don't point to things that you want. You do point to pictures in books and to other things but you don't use pointing as a way to communicate.

I am finding your development fascinating. I am learning that real life is much different than the text books I had to study in school. There is a very large range for typical development and I try not to be anxious about things you aren't yet doing.

Countdown: 12 days until your first birthday! Here you are enjoying a sunny day in May:

Success!

You are drinking from the sippy cup! Yea! I admit that I have been a little apprehensive about it. And obviously we had some set backs with you being sick for so long. But over the past few days I have noticed that you are getting better and better at it. The cups with the soft spout have seemed to work best. You have been biting on them for awhile but today you were definitely sucking down some water.

Also, today for the first time you ate a meal that did not include any baby food! Wow! I didn't expect for that to happen so soon. I feel good about giving you baby food because I know how much you are getting and how much you need to be full. I have been a little more uncertain with table food but you are doing great. Your favorite foods seem to be: banana, strawberries, peas, carrots and bread. You like having a bagel or a waffle in the morning. You are growing up so fast!

Here's my sweet baby boy "reading" a book:

It's Official

Today is the day....you are officially walking! The other day you took four steps and today we counted 20! You walked half way across the room and you did it about a dozen times. We are very excited....and so are you! We were clapping and saying, "Yea!" and you starting waving both of your hands up and down and trying to say "Yea" with us. You got so excited you were yelling!

11 Months

You are 11 months old today. WOW! You are such a big boy. Here are a few things about you:

--You love to open and close cabinet doors. You will do it over and over again.
--Whenever you hear music play (from one of your toys) you start to "dance". You move your body up and down. It is really cute!
--You love to play with ANYTHING that comes out of my purse. You are so fascinated by it all.
--You are starting to be more consistent with waving. You will wave "hi" but not "bye". I think because you don't like to see people go. :)
--You love to give kisses (sometimes). You open up your mouth and lean over to my mouth and give me a big slobbery one!
--Your favorite table food is banana. We cut it up for you in little bites and you eat it up so fast.
--Your favorite animals are dogs and ducks. You love when we "woof" like a dog or "quack" like a duck.
--You still love books which I am so excited about. You have a basket full of them and you will sit and pull them out, open them up and look at the pictures.
--You LOVE to laugh. If Daddy and I are talking and start to laugh you will start laughing too!

You are so much fun at this age. I can't believe that you will be a year old in exactly one month!

Arms Up!

Fireman

Papa and Mimi (Kevin's parents) came into town to visit this weekend. They brought you a couple of presents and one in particular was a big hit. You had so much fun with this fireman's hat. You kept taking it off, burying your face in it and then putting it back on. You loved it! You squealed in delight.

I'm glad you were happy despite being sick. Your ears are draining, your nose is still running and tonight you had a low grade fever. You just finished your antibiotic so it obviously didn't work. I feel very helpless. Why do you keep getting sick and why don't you get better? I hate that the antibiotic didn't work because that means you will probably have to take a different one. I will just keep praying that you get better soon.

Walking

You are finally over your spring time sickness. Yea! UPDATE: YOU WOKE UP THIS MORNING (SATURDAY) AND BOTH EARS ARE DRAINING...I GUESS YOU ARE NOT QUITE BETTER YET.

Things have been so much better since you started staying with Grammy during the day. You are getting your much needed sleep and you are getting to spend time with Grammy and even Aunt Erin. Aunt Erin absolutely loves you and gives up most of her day off on Wednesday to play with you while you are at Grammy's. She is a busy 19 year old and hasn't really spent much time with you up until this point. I love that you two are bonding. Grammy tells me that Aunt Erin will read books to you and really likes to make you laugh. I am so much more at peace knowing you are there with them.


You are getting bolder in your standing/walking abilities. This past Wednesday you were holding onto the table and then took 4, almost 5, steps on your own to get over to me. It was so exciting. If I stand behind you and hold onto your waist you take off so fast...almost as if you are running! You get so excited and your body gets ahead of your feet. It is very funny to watch.


We are really enjoying the beautiful Spring time weather these days. You love to be outside. One of your new favorite places to play is in the sun room. Daddy opens up the windows and you just stare out as you listen to the birds, dogs, etc. You love to play outside with your riding toys, go for walks, and swing at the park.

This is definitely a Kevin face!

Still Coughing

You have been coughing for over three weeks now. And it's not just a little cough...it makes me cringe every time I hear it. You are coughing up gunk that is draining I guess. I took you to the doctor last Monday and she said you had a sinus infection. You have been on antibiotics since Monday but your cough doesn't seem to be getting better. On Tuesday night your temperature went up to 103 which is the highest it's ever been. After a warm bath and some Tylenol it quickly went down. You haven't had a temp since Thursday morning so I am hoping that means that you are getting better. I am just worried about that bothersome cough...I can hear all the film in your chest. You aren't eating well either, just a little bit here and there. The sippy cup has definitely been out the window for the past week. I am just worried about you getting enough liquids. I am really hoping and praying that once you get over this that it will be the last of your sickness for awhile. Since you are staying with Grammy when I go to work hopefully you won't catch anything else.

You continue to be relatively happy even though you are sick. You are content to play and you are even taking two and three steps on your own. You can stand on your own for about 20 seconds now before grabbing onto something. You continue to sleep well. You sleep about 11 1/2 hours at night and you continue to take good morning and afternoon naps. I just hate to see you sick!

The Game

So my latest hobby is cutting coupons. The game is to try and save more than you spend. Since I have started working part time I have been trying to find ways to save money. At first I thought, "How much money can you really save with coupons, 50 cents?" You actually can save a lot of money! As you can see from the Publix receipt I spent about $37 and saved $39. So essentially I got about $75 worth of groceries for $37. Yea! I now look forward to going to the grocery store to see how much I can save. If you are interested check out the blogs Fiddledeedee and the Coupon Saving Game to see how you can save money too!

Ok Jackson, about you...You are doing lots of fun new things. Your new favorite place to play is in the kitchen. You love to open and shut the cabinet doors and bang on all the pots and pans. You are starting to point at things too. You point at pictures in books and you like to point at other people's mouths and noses. Another new trick you like to do is to raise your arms up above your head. We will say "arms up" and raise our hands above our head and then you raise your arms up too and then laugh. You think it is so funny!

You are such a sweet boy! You have become quite the snuggler. You love to put your head on mine or Daddy's shoulder, especially when you are tired. All day long you are always on the move and it's so nice at night when we rock together and I give you a bottle and you curl up in my lap with your head on my chest or shoulder. It's one of my favorite times. I am really going to miss giving you a bottle. We may still have a few more months left with the bottle as you are still having a hard time transitioning to the cup. Sometimes you will bite on the spout of the cup and get some milk but mostly you just play with it or drop it on the floor! I continue to try and be patient.

The most exciting news is that now that tax season is over Grammy is going to start keeping you again. Yea!!! You are going to go stay with her at her house and I know you will be so much happier. You love her dogs, Baxter and Lady, and she has a nice quiet house where hopefully you will be able to take your naps. It has been really hard on you and us on the days you don't get your naps. We bought another pack and play to keep over there so you can sleep and we took over some toys and other things. We are so grateful for Grammy!

Hallelujah

"Hallelujah, Whatever's in front of me help me to sing, Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Whatever's in front of me I choose to sing, Hallelujah." -lyrics from Bethany Dillon "Hallelujah".

Yesterday was your first Easter and it ended up being a rough day for us. You looked cute but you didn't really feel your best. I know it's going to be a rough day when you wake up crying after a full 11 1/2 hours of sleep. You were very fussy, clingy, and overall unhappy...which is very unusual for you. You had a low grade fever last night and you have had a runny nose and cough for a couple of days. I'm not sure if you are teething or getting sick. I guess we'll find out in the next couple of days.

Even though you had a hard day Daddy and I really enjoyed church and what a great reminder of the FACT that Jesus has risen, He has risen indeed!!! How thankful I am that Jesus loves you and me SO MUCH that he would die on a cross. Thank you Jesus!

We did manage to distract you from your ill mood long enough to get some good pictures. We also did an Easter egg hunt in our front yard for you on Saturday. At first you weren't really sure what we were trying to get you to do, but once you spotted those colorful eggs you went right for them!

First Step

You took your first unassisted step today. You were standing up on your own and got your balance and then took one step before falling. You are on your way!