Where's Jett?

There he is!

Sick Day

This morning our nanny called in sick, so I stayed home with Jett. (Yep, I beat Charlie in the rock-paper-scissors contest. He always chooses rock. Fool).

You can imagine how disappointed I was to have to stay home today. We didn't have any fun at all.

Sixteen Months

Happy Birthday, Jett! This past Friday you turned 16 months old.

At sixteen months Jett is an expert at pointing, grunting, and whining to get what he wants. If you are trying to figure out what he wants and you guess wrong, he will shake his head no and screw up his face into a look of disdain that can only mean you've insulted him, yet again, with your stupidity. What this tells me is that I have to start looking up more signs. For instance, if we learned a sign for "Rice Krispies", and "Nilla Wafer" and "graham cracker" and "not that apple mama the other one duh" mealtimes would be a lot easier.

Napping has been a challenge these last few weeks. In other words, he's barely napped. He's exhausted when I get home from work and will happily nap in my arms then, if I will let him. Sometimes I do, which is probably part of the problem. It's a constant question of how much he needs to sleep that day, versus how much we need to teach him that 5:30pm is not the time for a nap.

Jett is expressing himself all over the place these days, and except for the crying and whining and throwing his head back and hitting me in the face while I carry him, it's really sweet. He's a charmer when it comes to doling out the kisses, and if he's in the right mood he'll give you a kiss shortly after meeting you for the first time. When he doesn't feel like kissing, he might still lean his forehead towards your lips so you can kiss him. He's usually willing to negotiate. He's also started to lay his head on my shoulder if I ask him to, and he could snuggle with me on the couch for minutes at a time (which is longer than it sounds like). He plays with my hair and rests his cheek against mine. I love it.

The most significant event for all of us this month is saying good-bye to seeing Grammy every day. And when I say "seeing Grammy every day" I mean depending on her every minute of those days. Thirteen months ago she promised us 12 months of loving, free, childcare for Jett. These thirteen months may have been the best thirteen months of Jett's life - and that still leaves room for hundreds of terrific months ahead. I know that for the last thirteen months, Jett has laughed every day, thanks to Grammy. And that is a fabulous feeling for a mom - to know that your baby is lovingly cared for, and happy, when you are not there. Soon Grammy will be working for someone who will actually pay her at the end of the day - pay her in something other than smiles and dirty diapers I mean. We were really lucky to have her help and love and company for so long. Thanks, Grammy!

This brings us to Jett's next adventure, which he started two weeks ago: the nanny-share. There are a few different ways to share a nanny. What it means to us is that one nanny watches two kids at the same time. One kid is Jett, and the other is a little boy, about Jett's age, who lives about a mile from us. This little boy has been with his nanny since he was three months old. The other family who was in the nanny-share relationship is moving, so the little boy's family was looking for a new family to share their nanny with, and with the help of a Chicago parenting website, we found each other. The boys are at our house two days a week and the other family's house two days a week (and I still don't work on Fridays). It's working out pretty well so far. Jett was fantastic the first week. Every evening he was his regular happy self, and he was even starting to take a nap for his new nanny. And then...

he got his first ear infection. Which of course we ignored for the first few days because we thought his fever and rash was a result of his latest vaccine. It was our nanny, actually, who encouraged us to bring him in to the doctor to have his ears looked at. Poor kiddo. It's been a rough few days, but hopefully we've turned a corner this weekend.

To sum it up, I'd say month sixteen has been a learning experience. As in, we've learned (kind of) how to identify an ear infection. We've learned that it is futile to guess what Jett wants to eat, you might as well open the refrigerator door and let him pick it out himself. And we've learned that if Jett wants to walk around the house carrying a bowl of dry cereal, Cheerios are a lot neater that Rice Krispies. Rice Krispies crumbs stick on everything.

after the farmers' market

trying on half of his Halloween costume

Happy Birthday, Handsome. We love you.

Temptation

I took Jett to his regular check up today. He's great, except he keeps getting taller but not fatter. So our doctor gave us some tips on increasing his calorie intake. This is what she suggested we feed him: heavy cream in his yogurt, brown sugar on his fruit, cream cheese mixed w/ scrambled eggs, and ice cream layered between two pieces of cake. I guarantee that one of us will gain weight in the next three months. It better be Jett.

Snacks

I may have just ruined Cheerios for Jett. Do you think it was too early to start on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

Stomach Virus

Or Why I Haven't Posted in Over a Week

It's been a messy, dreadful, exhausting week. I won't go in to the details, but I've learned a few lessons this week that I would like to share.

1. Immediately after your baby throws up, he might be very, very thirsty. He might beg you for a drink. He will cry and his face will get red and little tears will leak out of his eyes, but DO NOT GIVE HIM ANYTHING TO DRINK FOR 30 MINUTES. Otherwise it will come right back at you and then you will both be crying. You are his mom, so it should be easy to entertain him for those thirty minutes.
2. Once he's had his first sip of pedialyte or water or whatever, and you know he can keep it down, you should give him a few more sips every 5 minutes. YOU DO NOT NEED TO WAIT 30 MINUTES BETWEEN SIPS. No wonder your baby is still crying. Geesh.
3. Buy a better book that will put 5 MINUTES and 30 MINUTES in bold so you do not get confused.
4. If your baby is going to poop through his diaper make sure he is with his aunt so you don't have to deal with it.
5. If both parents and baby are going to be sick at the same time, make sure that an aunt and a grandma are willing to risk their own health, and the health of their families, to take care of you and yours.

One last message for Virus: I'm done playing the student now and Jett is tired of being your model, so get out of my house. And take those messy diapers with you.

15 Months

Today Jett is 15 months old. Jett - with his 5 little teeth and his size 6 feet - is 15 months old. Sweet Jett.

This has been an excellent month. A month of eating, climbing, and signing.

Eating
This month I finally let Jett hold an entire piece of food himself. I seem to be more hesitant than other parents I know about how big of a piece of food I let Jett put in his mouth. But my hesitancy hasn't really caused any problems for Jett, and hey, I've never had to fish anything out of his throat either. Besides, he has a very small mouth. Anyway, now he holds peaches and bananas and graham crackers all by himself. Such an exciting development (for me at least) with such a mundane benefit: now that I let Jett hold his own food I can unload the dishwasher while he eats.



But that's not all. You should see what my baby eats. Two bananas for breakfast, plus a small bowl of Rice Krispies with milk, plus some cut up strawberries, and some blueberries. This week he was willing to eat tofu and broccoli blended in cottage cheese, which just goes to show you that he didn't get my taste buds when the chromosomes divided.

Climbing
I know most kids Jett's age are natural climbers and he is no exception. He climbs up his highchair, his crib, the stove, the stairs, his changing table, and he climbs on me. My favorite activity with him right now is to push the foot stool up against the couch. He climbs up on to the footstool and throws himself down on the couch, giggling.

Signing
We started teaching Jett a few signs just for the fun of it a few months ago. It's pretty intriguing to watch him catch on to the signs. He learns them pretty quickly now. Tonight we were laying on the couch and I started "quizzing" him on the signs. (I know that sounds ridiculous, but we were just goofing around). Most of the time, when I said a word, he could sign it. His favorite right now is "rabbit". The sign is to put your fingers over your head like rabbit ears. (I made that one up). The thing about signing is, it's not like we have real conversations that way. Sure, he knows the sign for elephant, but how often do you say "elephant"? For now anyway, signing is mostly a fun party trick, and believe me, we'd be a hit at a party, if we could stay awake past 8:00.

I could go on and on but we haven't been sleeping much these past 10 days and it's hard to write creatively when you are as tired as this. Jett either has allergies or a cold but except for the lack of sleep and the constant nose wiping, he's great. He's always great. Even when he's not great, he's great.

Happy Birthday, Baby Jett. We love you.

The Park

Today at the park Jett slid down the little baby slide all by himself and then he slid down the bigger baby slide all by himself. So brave! Then he said "hi" to a new person for maybe the first time. So social! Then he demanded that I break my back and hold him up so he could drink out of the water fountain (he had his first drink from a water fountain last week with Charlie) even though he had a perfectly fine sippy cup full of water right in his stroller. So Charlie's fault.

But Then He's So Good!

So we're trying to slowly cut out the bottles. Part of the problem with this is that Jett doesn't like to drink milk from his sippy cups, and he's supposed to drinking some milk every day. Charlie, who gets up with Jett in the middle of the night now, has stopped offering Jett a bottle in the middle of the night, and Jett has been just fine without it. And for the last few days I've only given him a bottle when I have to change his diaper - because then he's so good. I only put a couple of ounces of milk in it so he'll have it finished by the time I'm done with his diaper. But just 10 minutes ago I filled up the whole bottle with milk - what was I thinking - and changed his diaper, set him down on the floor, and walked in to the kitchen. I never took the bottle back from him so he's still walking around with it. But if something keeps him so quiet and so occupied and so content, can it really be a bad thing?

Besides, I happen to know for a fact that Charlie gave him a bottle last night.

At least we never let him climb up onto the stove. We do have some limits.

Update: Finished that bottle, threw it on the ground, and is now walking around with a snapshot of my sister. Maybe I can hand that to him when I change his diaper. I'm sure that's an association they'd both like to develop.

When is a Baby Not a Baby?

• When he starts eating ice cream cones?
• When he can feed himself macaroni and cheese?
• When he will find his shoes and try to put them on, find his hat and try to put it on, and then take hold of your finger and walk you to the door in order to convey that he wants to play outside?
• When he can climb into his highchair by himself?
• When he can use the toilet as a stepping stone to the sink?

I know, I know. Now I'm just bragging.

Lunch Time

Charlie and I have different philosophies when it comes to feeding Jett. Charlie feeds Jett everything, bit by bit, spoonful by spoonful. I tend to hand Jett the spoon and let him go at it. Both methods have their advantages. For example, Charlie usually doesn't have to sweep and mop the floor when he's done. But I get all the good pictures.

Cousins on Vacation

My camera came out as infrequently as the sun, but at least, like the sun, it came out once in a while. Here are some sweet sweet pictures of Jett and his cousins in the old house on the lake.

I think the raft spent more time on the living room floor than it spent in the lake. It worked out perfectly as a tickling mat.

Jett was very kissy during this vacation.

a jett sandwich

On Our Way Home

We're on our way home from vacation a day early. Why a day early you ask? Let me count the reasons: this was the coldest week our vacation spot saw this summer and the thermometer read two record lows. It rained every day. For 5 minutes the wind blew about 70 miles an hour. It blew over the grill, knocked over a giant willow tree, rolled up part of the shoreline line like a rug and knocked out our electricity for the rest of the week. At least we were vacationing with some of the most fun people Jett is lucky enough to be related to. Pictures coming up in the next post.

On the Train

Jett and I are currently on Amtrak on our way to the Hall family vacation in Michigan. Charlie can't come until later in the week, but Jett and I couldn't wait to get started, so here we are. Jett made a lot of friends on the train as we walked up and down the aisles again and again and again. Now he is sleeping on the empty seat next to me. If the 6 year old on the other side of me would settle down he might even keep sleeping. Fingers crossed - the train is already an hour late.

What We Do...

...when Uncle Nathan is in town:

We check out the largest corn hole tournament in the midwest and toss a few ourselves.
We visit Homer and friends at the Kwik-E-Mart.
We get a little messy.





It was a great weekend!

Lion Hugs

When I get home from work in the evening all I want to do is kneel down so Jett can run in to my arms and receive my hugs and kisses. Usually though, when I walk in the door, he looks up, turns around, and walks the other way. He'll stop and look back, and then keep walking. It's not until I walk over to the sink to wash my hands (washing all the bus germs off) that he finally comes to me. Then when he does, he pulls on my pant legs, whining. I'll take the whining, of course. But after ten hours apart, I wouldn't mind an occasional leap in to my arms, an occasional flurry of kisses, an occasional bear hug.

Look at this lion being reunited with the humans who raised him.This is what I'm talking about.

What He Does Now

When Jett wants to go outside (which is just about every morning when Charlie and I leave for work), he tries to open the closet where we keep the stroller. Then he stands below the hooks where we hang our keys, and then he walks to the front door.

When I sign "bath" he walks to the bathroom, and when I open the door, he walks in and tries to climb in the tub.

And when I ask for a kiss, he puckers up and lays one on me. (If he's in the right mood, of course.)

Fourteen Months

Jett is fourteen months old. He can walk. He can get on and off his rocking horse. He can say "ball". He can pull my shirt up and try to nurse in public.

I thought he would have stopped by now. I hoped he would have stopped by now. But without realizing it, and without planning on it, we've entered that misunderstood world of extended breastfeeding. That world where the nicest people ask me how long I'm planning on breastfeeding my son, and then say, "well, I guess it's ok as long as he's not still doing it when he's two, or three, or fill-in-the-blank-with-whatever-they-think-is-socially-acceptable."

I think they're trying to let me know that even though I'm crazy, I've still got time to make it back to normalville if I get him off of my breast right now.

The thing is, I have no idea how long I'm going to nurse Jett. When he was born my goal was six months. At six months I hoped for twelve months, and at twelve months I expected him to stop nursing, get a driver's license, and drink coffee for breakfast. But here we are, still drinking our favorite breakfast, only now we've got teeth to deal with too.

Maybe you will understand if I put this way. Picture the usual evening. He tries to turn on the oven and I say, "No." He wants to play on the kitchen counter but I say, "No." He wants to play with my cell phone, and I say, "No." He wants to sit in the dishwasher, but I say, "No."

No, no no. Cry, cry, cry. Stomp, stomp, stomp. Grump, grump, grump.

Then he climbs up into my lap, curls in to my arms, and snuggles in. I say yes. Every time, yes.

He's my baby. Yes, yes, yes.

Go! I said go!

In Honor of Ruby

1916 - 2007