Jack At One

A little about Jack as a One-Year-Old: 

Pictures taken by my dad, my mom, and myself at the Park for his One-Year Photo Shoot

Stats: Jack's 1 year appointment was the 27th. He is 29.5 inches tall in the 42 percentile. He weighs 21 lbs. 3 oz. in the 27% percentile. The Doctor said he is perfectly healthy and was surprised at how developmentally advanced he is. I made a joke about him being a shrimp and the Doctor said there is a different growth chart for Asian children so Jack is actually right where he should be. Based on those numbers, Jack has grown exactly 9 inches since he was born and gained exactly 14 lbs. So funny when you think that I haven't grown any inches in probably over a decade and thanks to him, I weigh 10 lbs. less than I did when Matt and I got married! 

Personality: Jack continues to be a bright, shining light of happiness. Now that he is more cognitive he is developing a very strong will- wonder where that comes from? He loves to snuggle when he's sleepy. He loves to jabber at anyone and anything. He loves to figure out new things- like buttons on toys. If he see you looking at him he'll immediately smile. He loves attention. He is beginning to understand discipline, but not yet to the point where he'll stop doing something naughty or dangerous after the first scold. He is growing in independence, but still is very attached to Momma. He loves to explore in our home and when we go out. He is very silly and he loves it when people laugh. He has developed stranger anxiety and doesn't like it when Momma is not around. He is very smart and we know that we'll need to keep a close eye on him as he grows and learns how to manipulate.

Eating: Jack typically eats Gerber 2nd Foods for lunch and dinner along with some table food. The only food he has not liked so far is Tortellini- I think it was too dry for him because he likes other pasta. Some of his favorite foods are eggs, apples, animal crackers, raspberries, ham, cucumbers, and cheese. While I do cut everything up into small pieces, I can slice up an apple into semi-adult sized pieces and he will bite off pieces bit by bit. He hasn't choked on anything yet and knows to chew up food until it's small enough for him to swallow. He bites almost everything in half no matter how small it is, including Cheerios and Baby Goldfish! He is a very good eater and so far shows no food allergies or signs of being a picky eater. He is still nursing and we're trying to wean him now. He has never liked taking a bottle and still resists it. He does like chewing on sippy cups and will drink about 3 gulps of water or milk before he decides he's finished drinking. He used to be picky about sippy cups but now he'll drink a little out of the tommee tippee cups, take n toss cups, Nuby cups, and Nuby straw bottles. We just got him a Nalgene Sippy Cup that says "Daddy's Lil Soldier Fort Sill" on it. Adorable and Jack seems to like drinking water from it. I'm trying to get him to drink breastmilk from sippy cups first, then I'll mix it with regular milk little by little. The past week has not been very successful.

Sleep: This is definitely something I plan to do differently with any subsequent children we have. When Jack was a newborn I let him sleep with me because he slept better and I was more at ease having him so close. I would wake at the teeniest movement or noise from him so I wasn't worried about rolling on him or dropping him (which has become much more difficult now that he crawls off the bed!). Because of that, he has only spent one whole night in his crib without me (he would still wake up to snuggle or nurse). I try to start him in his crib each night and he'll make it anywhere from 1 hour to 8 hours in his crib (with wake ups in between). Generally there is a point where he won't settle back down in his crib or I'm too tired to care. So we're working on getting him in his crib on his own. I can handle waking up throughout the night to snuggle or feed him (which will hopefully stop once I wean him), but he needs to be in his own bed and his own room- especially since Matt is with us now! 

We start Jack's bedtime routine around 8 right now, I'm hoping to get that back to 7 eventually, but now he settles down between 8-10! So we're trying to get him settled consistently each night. We have bath time for however long Jack wants. I wash him then let him play- he got a lot of bath toys for his birthday! It's nice because I can catch up on my reading while he plays. Then I lotion him and get him in his pjs. We read from his Bible (He got the Beginner's Bible for his birthday) and 1-2 other books depending on how sleepy he is. I then nurse him and try to get him to settle in his crib. If he's not acting tired I let him play in his room with the lights off. If I'm super tired we'll go to my bed and watch Disney Junior with the sound really low. Surprisingly, this seems to calm Jack and he usually dozes off pretty quickly. 

He has been napping much better. He goes down between 12:30-1:30 and sleeps for 1-2 hours! Much better compared to two half hour naps previously.

Clothing: I have put away almost all of Jack's 6-9 month or 9 month clothes. I left out some of my favorites tops and pants and he still fits in them super well. Most of that size is long sleeved though, and it's generally too warm in Oklahoma for long sleeves. So he's been getting lots of use out of his 12 month clothes, which are all a little baggy on him. When we go to church and he wears a disposable diaper (size 3) his pants slide down his buns! They fit well when he's in his cloth diapers though. He still is wearing his 9 month white onesies under most of his T-shirts. I haven't even bought any 12 month white onesies yet since the 9 month still fit him well. He is wearing size 4 shoes. We did buy him a new pair that were way too big though! But his stride rites and sandals are all size 4 and fit well.

We are still cloth diapering and loving it! We use Bum Genius Freetimes and those fit well and absorb great during the day. I tried to keep him in those with an extra insert during the night, but it wouldn't last the entire night. Hopefully once Jack stops nursing during the night he won't go as much at night time. We also just got some Ragababe diapers so I'm trying those at night with extra inserts. I am not opposed to using disposables at night though. 

Likes: He likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Tinga Tinga Tales. He likes making messes on his high chair tray- like painting with sauce. He loves loves loves to swing! He likes going for walks, both in the stroller and walking holding Momma's hand. He likes anything with buttons- especially the remote control! He has his own remote, but he always wants the real one. He likes reading stories and turning the pages on his own. He likes his Baby Motrin, berry flavored, which is super nice when he's not feeling 100%. He likes the straps on his high chair or car seat. He likes finger food and feeding himself. He likes ripping paper or tissues. He likes pictures or animals. He loves music and dancing.

Dislikes: Jack does not like being put down when he wants to be held. He likes sitting on Momma's lap a lot... and when I put him next to me or on the floor he'll fuss or crawl after me crying. Jack does not like getting his diaper changed because he doesn't like lying still on his back. Jack does not like being too hot or cold, and who can blame him? He does not like having mess on his hands, this was confirmed with his smash cake! He does not like when doors, cupboards, etc. are closed in front of him.     Jack does not like being told no and will fuss or say "Na na na", his version of "no" in response. He hates getting his nose wiped and hates even more the boogey bulb.

Milestones: Jack is walking! He has been taking 1-2 steps for a couple weeks, but he is off and toddling now! He can walk around corners and across rooms with no assistance. He is pretty sturdy but he'll get excited and topple over. He can squat without touching the ground or something next to him and stand back up. He can dance in place without falling over or holding onto anything. He walks a lot of his own, but he does walk to people if they are calling him or prompting him with snacks or toys. It is adorable watching his little wobbly walk! Jack says Mum mum, DaDa, ah-pull (apple), na (no), buh buh (bubble), baba (bottle- even though he doesn't drink from one), hi, buh buh (bye-bye, yes, same sound as bubble, but he says both in context), and a few other words I can't think of right now. He babbles constantly and has the cutest little baby voice! He can play a few apps on my phone and knows how to swipe to unlock my phone. He still has excellent fine motor skills. He can pick up anything with just his thumb and forefinger. He is great at sharing too, especially food that's already been in his mouth. He climbs on almost everything. He can climb on and off our couch on his own. He can climb up the stairs and has climbed down the stairs a couple times... but usually gets too intimidated and reaches for someone to carry him down. He waves bye-bye and gives fives. Jack has had his first and second haircuts. I've given them to him... and they both have been ok. Nothing that I wouldn't take him out in public with, but I'm hoping that third time is a charm and both sides and the back will be even!

Favorite Toys: Jack loves books. He constantly gets them out on his own and turns the pages. He loves his ball popper he got for his birthday and poppin piano. He loves balls and knows how to throw to someone. He loves playing with his new cars. He still loves the stacking blocks I got him for Christmas. He has begun to put the blocks back on the pegs instead of just taking them off. He will restack them by mixing and matching the shapes- I like to think that these are works of abstract art! Jack loves playing with the toys on his walker and pushing his walker around. Jack loves his stuffed Pengi that my friend, Erika, got him for Christmas.

Favorite Activities: Jack loves to pull out his dishes that are in a bin on the kitchen cart. I put them there because I didn't mind if he got into it, and thankfully I don't mind messes! Jack loves playing with shoes! Matt's shoes, my shoes, his own shoes. Jack loves to go the park and swing or slide (as long as Momma is with him). Jack loves going shopping and seeing all the people. Jack loves being carried in the Ergo carrier. Jack likes playing with the blinds, but we're trying to teach him to leave them alone. Thankfully the blinds are thick and heavy so I don't think he'll destroy them (until he leaves how to swing on them...). Jack loves when we toss him onto the couch or bed. Jack loves when I put on music and dance around with him. Jack loves looking at pictures and watching movies of himself. He likes watching other babies too, specifically his cousin, Waverly, but he gets super excited when he sees himself.

Perfect little baby!