Jones was 16 Months Old and now He's 17 Months Old, or, What's Going on with Jones in August and September

Sssooooo, long time, no blog.  I'm not going to even bother to make excuses, I'll just get right to the good stuff ...

In August, Jones was 16 months old!

 

 

At 16 months, Jones:

• Weighs between 25 - 26 pounds.  Still wearing some 12 months clothes, but they are almost all noticeably tight on him now, particularly his pajamas.  12 - 18 months is best, 18 months is still a little baggy, but usually good on the length.  Moving up to size 5 in shoes.
• Is still a good eater, still loves spinach.  Other favorites:  vienna sausages, mashed potatoes, chicken, and french fries.  He's also a little bit of a beggar - I usually feed him first and then let him run around while Alan and I eat.  He inevitably will end up right beside both of us at the table, asking for bites from our plate - last night I fed him several bites of salad and tomato, and he loved it, but I'm not sure if he loved it for its own qualities or because it came off of my plate ... oh well.  I hope we're not entering the stage where he refuses to eat anything but chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese ... I've heard that happens ...

 

• Is fast!  He runs everywhere.  It's exhausting.  Climbing is next on his agenda.  He hikes his leg up and tries to climb onto everything.  He can actually climb up on our couch, if he piles up pillows and uses them as a step.  He is always trying to climb out of the bathtub.  I am infinitely grateful that he has not yet attempted to climb out of his crib.
• Loves to ride in his Cozy Coupe - he's not very good at moving it himself yet, but he absolutely loves for you to push him while he rides in it - the faster the better!  Sad story, though:  I was rolling him down the driveway of our house (which is kind of steep), running along beside him.  He was loving it since steep driveway = fast ride.  Alas, I had not put shoes on the child (in my defense, he does not like shoes, and it's hot/summertime, so who needs shoes, really?), and at some point, he put his feet down while we were flying merrily down the driveway, and he skinned his feet, all up.  We're talking a fair amount of blood and a fair amount of crying.  I felt pretty bad.  And you have no idea how hard it is to put bandaids on little toes.  It hasn't soured him on the Cozy Coupe, though, thank goodness.  He also loves to play with any variety of balls and wheeled toys - his little airplane toy is his favorite right now, I would say.  He loves to roll things back and forth to you or to throw things back and forth with you - he just laughs and smiles and giggles the whole time you're playing with him.  He still really doesn't seem to care that much about his toys in general, he'd rather play with the dogs or the dishtowels, or tupperware, or go get something out of the cabinets, or help with the laundry/play in the laundry baskets.



• Molars are still pushing through - he tends to get his teeth four at a time, usually symetrically on top and bottom, so he's got two molars on top and two on bottom pushing through right now. 
• His newest sweet habit is that when you go to pick him up from daycare or from the nursery at church, as soon as he sees you, he breaks into a big smile and runs over to you, arms outstretched.  It is so sweet.
• Still sleeping great - he's a bit of a night owl, he's not really ready to go to sleep until at least 9:00, and he's usually awake at 7:00, but that seems to work for him so we don't push him.  He is still a terrible napper, unless you have the time to lay down with him, wrap him up in a bear hug, and wait for exhaustion to take him over.

• Is a ladies' man, apparently.  The girls at daycare tell me he is always hugging and kissing on the little girls in the class.  They probably can't resist his awesome dance skills.
• Still babbling, but adding words, too - he'll talk on his own time, I'm sure.  This month we've added "airplane" "please" and "cat" to our vocabulary.  This is the area where I am most convinced that he's a smart little toot with a mind of his own - because he absolutely, positively, will not repeat you when you ask him to (as in, "Hey Jones, can you say "airplane"?), but I do think he knows what you are trying to get him to do ... and he has his own mind and he's not going to do it because you're asking him to do it.
• The communication tantrums are beginning (all of the "experts" say that most tantrums at this age are due to the fact that he can't communicate with me and gets frustrated, which I believe), most particularly at meal times when he's trying to tell me something and I don't get it, he throws a big fit - throws his sippy cup in the floor, throws food in the floor, thrashes around in the chair.  It's a sight.  This is generally limited to breakfast.  He's not a morning person (like Mommy).
• Has a new facial expression - a thoughtful frown!  It's like, "What?  Is something wrong with you?"  He generally does it when you do something unexpected.

In September, Jones turned 17 months old!



At 17 months, Jones:

• Probably weighs close to 30 pounds.  He can wear 12 -18 months clothes, but they're pretty short on him, but the 18 or 18-24 months are pretty loose.  He wears a size 5 shoe (my favorite purchase thus far:  Chuck Taylors!  The girls at daycare lllooovvvveeeddd it when I brought him in wearing them).  I don't know how tall he is ... everybody tells me he's tall and thin, like his Daddy ... he comes up to the bottom of my hip bone/top of my thigh.
• Is not picky, but is slowing down on the amount of food he'll eat.  Breakfast has become a struggle and I get reports back from the daycare that usually say he ate "most" of his food but not "all".  Oh well ... I'm sure he'll let me know if he's hungry.  Favorites include:  spinach (my child is Popeye), vienna sausages, mashed potatoes, and carrots.  He likes fish, especially salmon, and he loves him some fried chicken.
• He is obsessed with straws.  He loves to drink anything out of a straw, and he really wants anything you are drinking out of a straw.
• Is a climber, and may have a future as a yogi - he's always hiking one leg up and then balancing on it, like he's trying to climb on something imaginary.  He practices this skill in the bathtub.
• Prefers to play with the dogs or things from the cabinet as far as toys are concerned.  He likes to push things around, so we have one of those push-walker things, and he likes it a lot.  I've already said he's a climber, and one of his favorite games and toys is to climb up into his walker and wheel around in it for a bit.  He needs help getting out, but when he wants out, it's generally just to climb right back into the walker.  He loves the remote controls and phones - he's called quite a few people on accident on my cell phone.  He likes his toys that sing or make noise, in particular the Fisher Price puppies that sing and dance, and Scout, the Leapfrog Dog.

• Is fast!  He runs everywhere, all of the time, and he does it with a purpose.  It is simultaneously funny and cute to watch him go.
• Is teething.  No fun, since it's all molars.
• Gives high fives and kisses. 
• Talks in his own special alien language, with the occasional word thrown in that we (think) we understand.
• Is a good sleeper, and we're graduating to the point where we don't have to rock him to sleep and then put him to bed.  We generally give him a cup of milk and rock for a little bit until he's chilled out, but not asleep, and then we put him in his crib, lights out, and he's usually fine with it and goes to sleep on his own.  He goes to bed around 9:00 and sleeps all the way until 7:30 or so.
• Was sad to see the pool close - swimming is our favorite:  any time, any where!

• Is starting to throw tantrums.  He'll fling himself to the floor and wail like his heart is broken, and then he'll kick is feet wildly.  Right now, we're just ignoring him and this seems to work.  He'll only keep it up for a little bit and then, when he gets no reaction, he'll move on to something else.  Obviously, this is just at our house.  If we're out anywhere in public and he does it, we usually hustle him out of there (this hasn't happened a lot, only like, twice).  Disciplining him by swatting his hands or his little bottom doesn't seem to work.  He finds it amusing, and grins and laughs at you.  I think we'll try time-out when ignoring him ceases to work.

This last bit of summer has been a busy time for us, or at least it seems that way.  Heck, life with a toddler is busy no matter what time of year it is. 

Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails, or, Jones Tries to Figure Out What the Spoiled Labradors are Made of

Jones loves Augie and Layla more and more every day, and they are so patient with him.  He is very grabby right now, and very interested in all people's features - noses, eyes, mouths, etc.  This also goes for the spoiled labradors.  He is constantly pulling their hair, pulling their tails and ears, poking their eyes, trying to grab their tongues (he's having a lot easier time with that than you might think, since it's like 100 degrees everyday and therefore, they are always panting, putting their tongues in easy reach).  Augie is the most patient with him, but Layla does a good job too, although she'll get up and leave and go hide somewhere where as Augie will just endure Jones' explorations (that's why most of the pictures are of Jones and Augie).

This shows another new thing he's started doing - he walks with his hands behind his back, like he's trying to be all non-chalant, "do-de-do-de-do, nothing going on here, just strolling through the house, la-la-la-la-la ..."

Start off with a little ear-pulling ... notice Layla in the background ... she gets up and leaves right after this:

Move to checking out the back fur:

Neck fur:

Soft!  I love the look on Aug's face in all of these pictures - he's such a martyr :o):

Snuggling (and hair pulling):

You can't tell, really, in these pictures, but Jones is really pulling on Aug's hair - he's like, really pulling it as hard as he can, like he wants to find out how strong the hair is, how it's attached, etc:

I love that the dogs are so good with Jones, and so patient, and so laid-back with him.  It warms my heart.

Jones is 15 Months Old, or, What's Going on with Jones in July

Jones is 15 months old ... well, he was 15 months old ... in July ... oh well:  better late than never!

He is learning how to open the door ... that is to say, he knows how it should work, but he's not quite put it all together yet, thank goodness.  All he does at the moment is grab at the handle, but he's not tall enough to have the leverage to actually open the door ... again, thank goodness.

At 15 months, Jones:

• Weighs 25.2 pounds (I know this is accurate because, alas, Jones got hand-foot-and-mouth disease ... again ... and we had to take him to the doctor and of course they weighed him) and wears a size 4 diaper.
• Is getting some molars, two on the top, two on the bottom. This is tough - way worse than any of the front teeth. There's lots of drooling involved.
• Still wears size 12 months clothes in a lot of things, 12 - 18 months fit him the best, and 18 months is a little loose on him, but generally okay length-wise. He is still wearing size 4 shoes, but I think it's time to move up to a size 5, especially his Toms. He doesn't like shoes, though, so he works to take them off as soon as you get them on and since it's summer, we don't wear shoes unless it's absolutely necessary.
• Is still a good eater - favorite food is still spinach, and he likes all green vegetables in general, and carrots. He eats a lot of chicken, and seems to prefer white meat over a drumstick. He had his first happy meal this month (chicken nuggets), and he liked the fries the best but I would say that, overall, he wasn't that impressed with it. He loves ice cream, and doesn't seem to have a preference on flavor. He doesn't really like or eat a lot of fruit, except for bananas, which he loves - I buy the little baby bananas and he looks like a little monkey while he eats them - so cute.
• Is a great sleeper at night time, but a terrible sleeper when it comes to naps. He will fight sleep all the way during they daytime, and he frequently wins.
• Makes it very difficult for you to take a picture of him - he is constantly in motion.  When people ask me how Jones is, my reply is generally:  "Busy!"

Playing with Daddy!  Fun times!  He loves to be swung around and jumped up and down.

Handstand!

This is what almost all of my pictures look like - Joneser does not stay still!

• Still babbling more than talking, but says "mama" and "dada" and occasionally "mommy".  "Dog", "badger", "biscuit", "Augie", "Layla", "ball", and this month we added "please", "yuck" and "duck" (which reminded my mom of a story about me when I was little:  we were at a Razorback football game in Little Rock when I was little (my mom says really little), and we were in the stall and there, written on the door of the bathroom stall, was a four-letter word that rhymes with "yuck" and "duck".  And rhyming is precisely what I proceeded to do, after I said the four-letter word out loud.  In front of everyone in the bathroom.  With great delight and innocence.  Aaaaaah, childhood).
• Waves hello and bye-bye when he feels like it, and claps his hands, and dances to music or when he's really excited or happy about something.  His dancing is pretty hilarious.  He just sort of squats and bounces - we joke that he's "backing that thang up."  Sometimes it seems like he's doing the moonwalk - he moves in reverse!
• Loves the water - he's our little fish!  He kicks his legs and his feet and really seems to be trying to swim.  He will stay in the water without complaint for a long time, even when he's tired. 
• Likes his toys with wheels, because he likes rolling them along the floor.  I even think he is making a "vroom" sound some of the time, but this might be projection on my part.  He loves his talking dogs, the Fisher Price one and Scout, and presses the various buttons to get them to talk or sing.  He is very interested in balls, and is learning to throw - he does pretty good a lot of the time, and then some of the time he lets go before extending his arm and the ball drops behind him and he is always very confused.  He loves to play with the spoiled labradors and a tennis ball, and they are so good with him, they love it, but they are very gentle with him at the same time.  He likes to roll the ball back and forth between you and him.
• Is best friends with the spoiled labradors.  This month, his favorite thing/discovery is the joys of the labrador tail.  He likes to grab a-hold of one of their tails and run behind them, pulling all the way, squealing and giggling the whole time.  It is a testament to the good natures of both Augie and Layla that they bear this treatment as stoically and nobly as possible.  I say it a lot, but it's true:  they are such good dogs, and good fur-siblings to Jones.

Sharing the teddy bear with Augie:



• His most favorite thing in the whole world is peek-a-boo.  He runs and hides behind stuff and then peeks his head out and waits for you to say, "Pee Pie!".  He loves it.  He loves for you to hold him and then tilt him around the corner to "Pee Pie!" whoever is standing around there.  He loves to hide in a corner and for you to peek your head around and say, "Pee Pie!"  He looooooves it.  It's so cute, it's bananas.
• Understands what "no" means and will shake his head vigorously when you tell him "no" or if he is saying "no" to something (usually, "No, Jones, don't play in the dogs' water bowl."), but tests us all the time - the biggest obstacle is the dogs' water bowl.  He knows he is not supposed to play in it, but he can't help himself, it seems.  It's hard to keep a straight face when he gives you this little look that says, "I know I'm not supposed to but I'm gonna do it anyway because I really want to and I just can't help myself."

Checking to see if the coast is clear.  "Is she looking?  Does she notice me over here by the water bowl?"



Yeah, that's right.  My hand's in the water bowl.  (This was taken just after I said, seriously, "Jones, no.  Don't put your hand in that water bowl."  Look at the look on his face - do you think this bodes well for our future?)

I know it's probably bad parenting to take pictures of him directly disobeying me, but it's such a cute face.

 15 months and busy, busy, busy!

Spoiled Labrador Games, or, How Jones and the Spoiled Labradors Play Fetch

I have stated repeatedly on this blog that Jones and the spoiled labradors are bestest buds.  He's now trying to play with them more.  He's learning how to throw things, and he likes to try and throw their tennis balls and their toys, and they love this game.  I tried to take pictures of their latest game:

Look at Layla!  She's really focused on the tennis ball in Jones' hands, while he is just excited to have gotten it away from her!



Augie had managed to get the ball away from Jones and Layla, and took it back to his command post.  Jones is trying to sneak up on him and take it back (he just wants to throw it).

Layla is trying to help Jones get the ball back!

Jones is trying to hide the ball from the spoiled labradors.  Layla is not fooled.

Trying to sneak up on the spoiled labradors again:

"I love playing with Aw-ie and Yay-yah!"

Jones Goes to the Zoo, or, The Ward Family Visits Broken Arrow

We went up to Oklahoma last weekend to visit my parents. 

Jones did great on the ride up!



My dad's bank had a family day for the bank employees, and it took place at the Tulsa Zoo.  Now, Jones had yet to visit a zoo.  He was too little last year, and it has just been too dang hot this year, so far.  Which, obviously, hasn't changed, but since there was an occasion, we thought we'd go and said we wouldn't stay that long if it was too hot.  I liked the zoo, but frankly, it was just too hot to really enjoy it, although we did as best we could.  All of the animals were in hiding because of the heat.  We got to see the chimpanzees up close because of the way that the exhibit was made, but all of the other animals were far away from any of our vantage points because, again, it was just too hot for man or beast outside, so they were either inside, or scrunched up underneath whatever shade they could find.  Even the sea lions looked hot and they have a huge exhibit full of water.  But we had a nice time on our quick run through the zoo.

He enjoyed riding the carousel with Mommy!

We had a good lunch - hot dogs and chicken and burgers, oh my! And then Jones won this huge monkey as a door prize. He likes it, but the spoiled labradors love it more (they have a hard time distinguishing between Jones' stuffed animals and their own stuffed toys).

Afterward, we went back to my parents' apartment (they are in the middle of building a house out there, and in the meantime are living in a little apartment which, much to everyone's delight, has a nice pool) and hit the pool to cool off. 

I think Jones preferred Bass Pro Shop to the zoo (a preference that makes Alan and my dad happy - any excuse for Bass Pro, right?).  He loved the fish, especially.

Waving to the fish!



It was a good weekend.  I am looking forward to more trips to the zoo, including the Little Rock Zoo, where my aunt works (so we have an "in" and will hopefully be able to get up close and personal with some of the animals there), but definitely in the fall, when the weather is more tolerable.