Jones is 18 Months Old, or, What's Going on with Jones in October!

Jones is 18 months old!

Wearing his Razorback shirt - we're true fans, through and through!

At 18 months, Jones:

• Weighs 26 pounds and 13 ounces (I know this is accurate because we had a trip to the doctor for a well-baby checkup and our last round of shots). Truthfully, this surprised me. I thought he weighed closer to thirty pounds, as did everyone else in our family. He's quite the lug to be carrying around!
• Is 33 inches tall. I asked Dr. H, "So, Dr. H., is he going to be tall? His six-foot-five-inch daddy wants to know?!" Dr. H did some calculations and he said at this rate, we're looking at 6'1" or so. Then he asked me, "Wait, did your husband get taller after he turned 18?" Of course, I didn't know. I came home and asked Alan and he told me that both he and his (also tall) brother Patrick both grew taller after they were 18. So, I think he'll be tall like Daddy, and Grandpa and PePaw and Uncle Patrick. Not really a surprise, but I am kind of shorty, and you never know where kids will fall in the gene pool.
• Wears size 18 - 24 months clothes, but only for the length. His size 12 months shorts still fit him around the waist :o). He has a pair of size 18-24 month jeans that are way big on him in the waist. He was running around the house the other day, and the jeans just kept sagging further and further down his little bottom. Finally, he stopped, sat down, and started pulling off the pants - it was pretty funny! You could see him thinking, "Dang these pants! Slowing me down!"
• Wears a size 4 diaper.
• Wears a size 5 shoe, and some size 6, but they are kind of big on him - he walks out of them after awhile. Jones is not a big fan of shoes, in general.

He's crying/throwing a fit because he wants the camera - we go through this frequently when I try to take pictures of him ... you have to be quick on the draw to get a good one, or all you'll get is pics like this, or pics of an extreme close-up of Jones, since he runs toward you to try and get the camera.

• Loves to be outside, and has figured out how the door handles in our house work. He cries if you go outside without him (like to put water in the dog bowls or some other such chore). The last time Alan mowed the yard, he sat and watched him from the windows, and ran through the house to keep Alan in his sights as he went back and forth across the lawn. So sweet.

Playing on the porch at Grammy and Papa's!  He would go up the steps and down the steps, and liked for Grammy and I to count as he went up and down, or say the words "up" and "down" as he did it.

• Has lost interest in his food. He's just too busy to care about eating. He's not picky, he just doesn't really care about eating anything. He still really likes spinach, broccoli, and mashed potatoes - he's really very good with all vegetables. He loves salmon, which I think might be a little weird, but he'll eat an entire salmon fillet on his own, if you let him. Oh, and he loves French fries (who doesn't?).
• Loves to drink through a straw, especially Mommy's straw. Still working on not squeezing all of the juice out of the juice box, though.
• Has 12 teeth, I think, and detests brushing them with every fiber of his being. Not even the Sesame Street toothbrush and toothpaste can persuade him. It's exhausting, and currently requires both Alan and I to actually get the job done (one to hold him in place, one to brush). He likes to hold the toothbrush in his hand, but he does not like to brush his teeth with it. He more prefers to wield it as a weapon.
• Is talking more and more, but you can't understand a word he says, for the most part. This month, we've added "thank you" and "sock" and "shoe" and "car" and "pig" that I can think of for sure. We were up in the country the other day and my grandparents have lots of horse stuff around; Jones kept pointing at this one particular picture and I said, repeatedly, "Yes, that's a horsey. The horsey says, 'neigh!'" He kept pointing at it and several other things in the room until Grammy said, "Yes, there are horseys in those pictures too!" Jones looked quite pleased, so I think he was doing it on purpose. Then I asked him, "What does the horsey say?" and he said, "Neigh!" So cute.
• Is a good sleeper and a poor napper. He naps once a day now, and then only for about an hour. He sleeps through the night like a champ though, so I really can't complain.
• Is still a paci baby. Dr. H. and I discussed it; he said now is the time to start thinking about weaning him from it. I told him that Jones is about to move up to a new room at day care, and I have been told that they will probably try to break him of the paci. Like I told Dr. H., "Good luck with that!" Dr. H. laughed in agreement, but he did say that day cares have a way of getting children to do things that their parents can't, so we'll see. He also told me his tried and true method for breaking the paci, and we're definitely going to try it out - I'll report back on here ... I don't know when I'm going to start, honestly. The paci is so easy right now, and still so helpful, and, honestly, he's still a baby!  He's only 18 months old!  I think we can hang on to the paci for a little longer without any permanent damage.  It's not like he's about to start kindergarten :o).
• Is moving up in the world - into a big boy car seat! Forward facing! Like my dad said, "So now he can see where he's going, instead of where he's been." He lllllloves the new seat. He's all smiles, and talking and pointing and looking around. He could still have ridden in the rear-facing infant seat - he was well under the weight guideline for it, but he was getting too long for it and had started fussing when we put him in it, so we decided to go ahead and make the switch, and it was definitely the right thing to do.

• Is our joy, in every way :o).

 

 

The Bad Cat Returns, or, Welcome Home Clyde!

The Prodigal Cat returns!

Clyde went to live with Richard and Betty last summer after some post-Jones drama.  He, for reasons that are still unknown to anyone and everyone, began using the bathroom outside of the litter box.  It was bad.  Very stressful for everyone.  More than we could handle with a newborn baby in the house.  And stinky.  Very, very stinky (there's nothing in the world that smells the way that cat pee smells ... trust me on that one).  So, Betty very sweetly offered to take Clyde on as a boarder.  He lived like a king for the last year, and Richard and Betty grew to love him (he is very lovable ... when he's not being bad ... like peeing in any place other than the litter box). 

Living like a king in NLR!

When we finally were able to pull up the carpet in the house and stain the concrete, we made arrangements for Clyde to come home, and in July, Clyde came back.  He was very standoffish at first (holding a grudge, it seems) and spent a lot of time hiding under the bed (probably plotting his escape back to NLR), but he's warmed back up to us - he's sitting in between Alan and I right now as I type this!  My new joke (although, honestly, I'm actually pretty serious about it) is that Clyde went to rehab at the Betty Ward Clinic and came back a new cat.

Jones is still trying to figure out what, exactly, Clyde is.  Is he a funny looking dog? Some sort of very life-like stuffed animal?  Clyde, in turn, is also trying to figure out where Jones came from.  They had a stand-off the other day. Alan witnessed it and said you could clearly tell that both of them were thinking, "What the heck is that?!"  Jones has learned to say, "cat", too, and the other morning he was eating breakfast and Clyde sauntered into the room to sit in the window and get the good sun,and Jones looked over and then looked at me and pointed and said, "kitty cat" (again, it was super garbled, but that's definitely what he was saying - I repeated, "Yes, kitty cat" to him and he looked quite pleased with himself.)!  He still calls him "dog" a lot though (pretty much every animal we come across is a dog, at least in Jones' world view).

After Clyde really got used to being back with us, I held him one day and let him meet Jones "officially".  I was really pleased with how well Clyde handled it (cats have a mind of their own, you know, so you can never tell how they are going to react to stuff ...).  I held him to my chest and squatted down and let Jones pet him, encouraging him to be "careful" and "gentle", and giving examples on how best to pet a cat.  Clyde stayed very still the whole time.  I think he was a bit nervous since Jones' petting is a little forceful, and he has a tendency to kind of smack instead of pet, and he likes to grab (especially soft things, like fur), but I also think he understood that Jones wouldn't hurt him (or that I wouldn't let Jones hurt him).  At one point, he turned his little cat face toward my neck and pressed his nose into my collarbone pretty hard - I could hear him breathing quite clearly.  It was like he was saying, "Okay, hold on now, just a little longer, you can make it, just a little longer, don't look, don't look, don't look, just a little longer."  So I let Jones pet him a couple more times after that and then released him back into the wild.  Clyde, since the initial encounter, is still very curious about Jones, but not curious enough to risk getting caught by him.  I catch him sauntering around, sticking his head around the corner in Jones' room, and into the dining room when we are feeding him, but if Jones sees him, he always books it back to our room and under the bed, usually with Jones in hot pursuit.  He has better luck when Jones is sleeping.

He also is very interested in Jones' room, I think because it gets the best sun in the house and is the warmest room in the house.  I don't let him in there, though, because it's carpeted and we all know that Clyde can't be trusted where carpet is concerned.  This, of course, makes him even more interested in the room.  He waits for me outside the door of the room every night when I put Jones to sleep.  I think it's sweet.

We are all glad to have the Bad Cat back, even Alan (although you would be hard-pressed to get him to admit such a thing) - I've seen him secretly petting Clyde when he thinks no one is looking.

A Visit to the Country, or, The Wards Go to Van Buren County

Last weekend we took a little day trip to my grandparents' place up in Scotland, Van Buren County.  The weather was so nice, and Alan needed to refill the corn feeders (Scotland is his deer camp, and I have to say, it's probably the best deer camp ever, seeing as you have Grammy meals when you stay there, and Grammy meals = heaven).  We had a great time, as evidenced by all of the pictures that I took!

I can't lie - part of my excitement for this trip was having Jones wear these precious boots!



We saw 2 deer - Jones was very interested - he said, "dog?"

Guarding the deer corn!

All sorts of buttons and fun stuff in the Ranger!

Very curious about what, exactly, Daddy is doing



Hmmmmmmm ....

Nature Boy!

Trying to figure out what a corn feeder is, and what its purpose is ...

Deep in thought:

Everybody loves the Ranger!

A trip to the country always makes for the best day!

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.