Convertibles Are Swell, But They Sure Do Call Attention to Your Comings and Goings

Jones is 9 months old!

At 9 months, Jones:

• Weighs 21.1 pounds
• Wears size 9 months clothes
• Wears a size 3 diaper
• Eats baby food (favorites are still blueberry yogurt and green beans) and formula, and we've started finger foods.  It's slow going, I'm not going to lie.  He's not a fan, really.  He picks them up and mushes them around, but he's not really a fan of actually eating the food.  He will do it if I put it in his mouth for him, but even then he kind of rolls it around in his mouth and then makes this terrible face, like he's gagging, and scares you to death (because you think he is gagging/choking), and then he either swallows it or spits it out.  That being said, he seems to like Cheerios, pasta noodles, and raspberries the best so far and, to my surprise, did not seem to be that big of a fan of cheese.  Hopefully this will get easier the more frequently we practice at it.



• Started at a new full-time day care (Noah's Ark) and is doing really well there - he's such a happy, easy baby, that I'm not totally surprised by this, and I am definitely grateful.
• Still loves the jumperoo, but loves his musical table even more now, since he gets to stand up and play with that ... this is because ...
• Standing up is our most favorite thing in the whole world.  This child will stand up for long periods of time - he's made it for 45 minutes at a time, and maybe longer, I don't know, I haven't really timed him (probably I should?). 
• Drumroll:  Jones is crawling!  He did it the first week in January, pretty much at exactly 9 months.  The first time was to crawl to me, and he crawled to Alan, and he's crawled to my parents - he does the best when he has a goal, like he wants to reach somebody or something.  This has resulted in us removing our coffee table since he was crawling over to it and using it to pull up and stand, and it is definitely not baby-proofed (glass, sharp pointy edges, rough un-finished underside:  none of these things work for a crawling infant.  We're going to get an upholstered coffee table eventually) and also has resulted us in lowering his crib almost to the last rung - we'd walk in to his room in the morning and he'd be standing in his crib hanging his head over the side, grinning at us - scary!  He doesn't seem all that interested in what crawling can do for him beyond getting him over to some piece of furniture or parent or leg in order to, you guessed it, pull up and stand up.  Maybe this means he is going to walk really soon?
• Is the worst nap-taker ever, I think.  Today, for example, he awoke at 8:30, took a 15 minute nap at 10:00, and then a 30 minute nap around 2:00, and that's it.  And he gets so sleepy, but he just refuses to succumb to the sleepiness.  He'll yell and talk to keep himself awake too.  Rocking or the swing is pretty much our only hope to make him go to sleep, and even then he will fight you (and sometimes win).
• Still loves bath time - it's super cute :o).
• Says, "ma, ma, ma, ma" and "da, da, da, da" a lot, and babbles a lot in general.  Alan thinks he really is starting to call us Mama and Dada and he may be right.  Jones will get upset (like, for example, when he hasn't napped all day and is tired and crabby) and say "Maaaa .... maaaa" really pitifully while looking at me, so maybe he is starting to know our names.

The Ward family has had a rough week - we are all sick:  on Monday, Jones was diagnosed with a sinus infection that is making his eyes red and sore because the sinuses are pushing on the tear ducts (per Dr. H), Alan has a sinus infection, and I have an actual eye infection (but not pinkeye, apparently:  no one has used the phrase "pinkeye" to describe it, so I guess that's not what I've got?  I don't know ... I think "pinkeye" is just slang for eye infection, but doctors don't like to use that term because of the panic that is associated with it) - it's gross.  On Thursday, poor baby Jones was burning up with fever when he woke up, so back to the doctor we went and were given the diagnosis of an ear infection and bronchialitis (a viral infection which means:  nothing to do but wait it out:  boo) and given two different kinds of asthma medication (to help with the wheezing and rattled breathing and cough that go along with bronchialitis) and a new antibiotic.  Alan and I are both somewhat recovered - my eye looks A LOT better, but I'm going to be wearing glasses and no eye makeup for the next week - I'm not taking any chances.  Jones is still obviously not feeling well - he has zero appetite, even for his favorite foods, and he is sleeping a lot during the day, which is unusual for him.  He gets up and plays late afternoon and all into the evening, and splashes around and plays in the bath, and you think he's on the mend, but then he is just not himself again in the morning and the cycle starts over.  I'm hoping the new antibiotic kicks in over the weekend and we get our 100% happy baby back.  It really is so pitiful, he doesn't feel good, but he smiles at you anyway. I hate that he's been sick as much as he has, but what are you going to do?  Dr. H made me feel better about it, he said, "Well, he can either be sick now, the first two years of his life, or the first two years he is in school.  Either way:  he's going to get sick."  So, I take that as small comfort.  Dr. H also joked that I probably wouldn't want to have any more babies since Jones is kind of turning high maintenance as far as being sick is concerned.  And then he told me some stories of other patients who have had way more trouble with sick kids than me (multiple sets of tubes, ear infections every other week, etc).  It really only bothers me from the standpoint that I hate that he doesn't feel well.  Going to the doctor and all of that isn't that big of a deal, in my opinion, especially since we like Dr. H so much and he takes good care of us.

I have made good progress on finishing Jones' room - hopefully will put the finishing touches on this weekend and then post pictures for everyone to see - I really like the way his room has turned out, it's one of my favorite spots in our whole house.

Christmas with the Wards!

We hosted Christmas at our house this year (side note:  we have vowed to host every holiday gathering we can at our house.  Why?  It's so much easier if everyone comes to you ... selfish?  Maybe.  But also, it keeps other people from killing themselves and I really do enjoy getting the house decorated, setting the table, doing centerpieces, and planning a menu ... I've never once regretted it, and the stress and planning never outweigh the benefits of having it at our house ... I remember all of the years of driving all over creation to celebrate with different branches of family, and how tired we were and then I compare to having it our house - no comparison ... I can't even imagine how impossible it would be nowadays with Little Bit and all his accoutrement). 

And now:  the Ward Family Christmas, in pictures!

This is our living room and all of its Christmas cheer!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ...

Confession:  I'm a little peeved at myself because I feel like I didn't do well taking pictures this year ... for example, there was a tree in Jones' room, and a tree in the dining room, and the dining room had a really pretty centerpiece and was set with our wedding china, and I never took the time to take a pic. Also, I never got a picture of Alan, Jones, and I, or him with my parents or with Alan's parents, or any pics of any of us together.  I don't really know what I was doing besides taking pictures, but I'm going to go with, "I was living in the moment instead of taking pictures" in order to make myself feel better about it ... at least I did get some great ones of the boo-boo ...

Christmas Eve morning (you can kind of see his tree in the background there)!

Christmas morning!

After church, in front of the Christmas tree

I really don't want to be all complain-y, make it seem like Christmas wasn't great, but in the interest of full disclosure, I was really bent out of shape about this Christmas outfit - I had bought it months ago for him to wear on Christmas, and we went to put it on Sunday morning, and it was defective!  It doesn't snap in the legs, had a defective snap as a matter of fact, and even if the snap had been working, I don't think it was long enough through the torso anyway.  We did the "fake it til you make it" for pictures and then he changed into a Mack's Prairie Wings t-shirt because everyone was insisting he was hot and shouldn't wear long sleeves (insert dubious facial expression by me, but ... oh well ... I will admit it was pretty warm in the house with the cooking and all of the action, so ... next year I will definitely have a Christmas t-shirt or something for him to wear in case this happens again, and I will definitely try on his Christmas outfit way ahead of time ... so, now it's not a complaint:  it's a learning experience!  And I know how blessed we are as a family, thus making Christmas outfits and pictures unimportant, and I do know that.  So ... don't think I'm an ungrateful ol' meanie :o).

The most fun part for everyone:  Jones tearing into his Christmas gifts!

We took a little trip up to North Little Rock to see the rest of the fam ... Jones loved being around his cousins Jonah and Mattie, and it was really sweet to see them all together.

Mattie (almost 2), Jonah (4 1/2) and Jones (8 months)

Christmas night, the little bandit playing with all of his loot!

All worn out from all of our Christmas cheer (wow, I look kind of rough ... in my defense, I had stayed up til 4:00 a.m. the night before wrapping presents and putting the finishing touches on stuff, and I actually am just now recovered from that ... another learning experience:  I will definitely not procrastinate with anything Christmas-related next year)!

Merry Christmas, yall!