We got a new umbrella stroller and I love it. We took it for a test spin last night during a break from the rain, and JT seemed to like it too. Here he is testing it out. Notice he is wearing his serious face. 🙂

JT and Jim went to Cabela’s this week with one of Jim’s friends for a Man Day. JT wore his Carhartt overalls so he would fit in.

This week we had Aly over to hang out one night. We made chocolate chip mini muffins, and Aly did a great job mixing the ingredients together and getting the batter into the muffin cups. We enjoyed our muffins while watching a recent episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Good times!

JT wakes up on his tummy more and more now. The other morning he was so curled up in a ball I just had to take a picture. His little bottom sticking up in the air was so adorable!

JT has his first ear infection! We caught it right away because he wasn’t eating as much as usual, and that was concerning. Not once in eight whole months has he turned away food! We went into the pediatrician’s to check out the problem and got some antibiotics. The good news is that we caught it so early that he really hadn’t had a chance to be in pain, he was just grumpy from being hungry all day long. Already we’re pretty much back to normal!

Now that JT can roll to get to what he wants, poor Slider has to stay on her toes. No longer does she have the luxury of choosing when she wants to be near him and when she wants to be left alone. One minute, you’re relaxing next to him and the next, your ear is getting pulled. (Or your tail… or your belly fur…)

You’ll notice that Slider’s expression is exactly the same in both pictures. While we are thrilled with this docile behavior, we monitor it carefully… and we are already teaching JT to be gentle, and telling Slider she can get up and move if she wants.

Beautiful weather this week. Oh, but did I mention, it snowed? Several days in a row? Spring in western Washington has been nothing but crazy this year. Here we are taking Slider for a romp in the park, during a sunshine break.

This week’s Flip Clip isn’t any new exciting skill, because the clip of him trying to eat bits of avocado off his tray involves several instances of gagging, and who wants to see that? 🙂

I like to call this picture “Who, me?” 🙂

On to our list…

New Thing #1: Waving bye-bye (not consistently, but sooo cute)

New Thing #2: Eating avocado or banana all by himself

New Thing #3: Moving around the room on his tummy

New Thing #4: Sleeping in any position

New Thing #5: Kicking, touching the wall, and more at swim lessons

JT just loves getting his tooth brushed. He opens wide when he sees the little finger brush coming. It’s nice not to have to battle that twice a day. We’ll see how compliant he is when he’s five and it’s more like a chore. Here’s a Flip Clip of brushing in action:

If you’ve ever been the only adult with your child in a store, you know what these things are. It’s a chair you’re supposed to put your child in while you use the bathroom, so they don’t sit on the floor. How is this seat cleaner than the floor, exactly? Does it get sterilized when they clean the bathrooms? Does this look safe to you? I spent the whole time concerned that he would tip over and get caught in the not-so-snug straps while he dangled above the floor. Anyway, that’s not the point of the blog this week. But I think it’s a little strange, and so does JT!

This week we have had marvelous weather, especially for February. We went out in the boat twice and spent time at two parks. As expected, JT loves the swing! I took video of him swinging, but it made me dizzy just watching it once.

Some other pictures from around the house this week…

Turning seven months old this week brought with it a few changes for JT. First of all, he got his first tooth! There is a bit of white glistening through in his lower middle gumline. He plays with it with his tongue and obviously knows something is there. His snotty nose hasn’t been for nothing! All that work has made him a little extra sleepy. He even slept through the last half hour of The Bourne Supremacy the other night, surround sound and all. 🙂

The other big news is that he is swaddle-free at night now. For months now, JT’s nighttime routine has been set: go to sleep about 9 PM, wake up around 6 AM and talk to himself for a few minutes, fall back asleep, and be to get up about 8 AM. I was very nervous to lose this wonderful schedule… especially since he is on his own to fall back asleep at the 6 AM time slot with no binky or help from us. But he must have been ready for the big change, because I didn’t swaddle him Saturday night and everything went like normal. Phew!

JT enjoyed getting some mail on Valentine’s Day. He was, however, more interested in eating the card than the yummy chocolate fish from his cousins. I guess I’ll have to help with the chocolate…

This week’s Flip Clip is pretty boring, but I think it’s a nice one. It’s JT playing with his blocks. Yep, blocks. He can take them out of the basket by himself, so it’s twenty minutes of independent fun from something that does not blink, make noise, or require batteries. Ahhh…

Post #3 this week… it’s been busy!

It is so fun to watch JT learn and grow. Now when I make the sign for water, he looks at his sippy cup and reaches for it. He has recently decided that previously frozen banana is icky, while fresh pureed banana is fabulous. Tough cookies, JT. Mommy isn’t going to puree new banana every day. He’s just going to have to learn to live with it!

Here’s our little man ready to play ball. Onesie courtesy Kim Pham… hat courtesy Eli Hollander, who was sad to give it away. 🙂

JT still loves his laundry basket rides. Here he is (left) now, and (right) only three weeks old. Wow, what a change in such a short time!

People have been asking me if JT “says anything.” Of course, he makes lots of sounds that mean something to him. Some days he never stops. He does freeze up a little when he’s put on the spot, or on camera, but I managed to catch some action here. The other day it really sounded like he said “i-er” when the dog walked by, which was funny!

The bath videos seem to be very popular. 🙂 Recently JT has had a stuffy nose, and my friend Sarah clued me in to a baby vapor bath. We’ve been using it with great success, and it makes bubbles. JT is pretty excited about splashing in the bubbles. Also, sometimes I let him hold the shower sprayer, and he either plays in the water or wrestles with it until it’s out of his way. I put a few clips together to make this one.

Compliment of the week: “Excuse me, but you have the cutest baby in the world!”
-Some lady at Ikea

Last Wednesday was so sunny and warm! What a nice change. JT, Slider, and I went on a walk and spontaneously decided to stop at our neighborhood park. There are two play structures, and one is for littler kids. Turns out, JT loves the slide! It was so much fun. He even started anticipating going down and would laugh right before the big fall. (Watch for yourself on the video clip.) We had a great time! Now I really can’t wait for spring…

This week JT had a few new exciting things:

• Clearly pronounces syllables like ba, da, wa, pa, ma
• Is visibly excited to see Mommy when she comes home from work
• First time to go to story time at the public library
• First time to go to childcare at our gym
• Loves bananas

The least exciting thing is that we think he has a cold. It is either that or a really bad case of teething symptoms… either way, he is snotty and has a small fever. The good news is that he isn’t very grumpy and is still sleeping well, thanks to saline nose drops and a new humidifier.

He still enjoys (pictures/video to follow) playing with Slider, sucking on ice cubes, riding in the boat, bath time, and sitting in the sink to look in the mirror while I get ready to go.