It's Time For an Update!

It's been a while since I updated and so much has changed around here. First, my apologies for not having pictures. My camera has been out of memory for a while and every time I try to delete pictures, I just fill it back up again. I think I just need to break down and buy a new memory card. However, I did get a great Flip Camera for Christmas. I have so many videos to post, but it takes SO LONG to upload them, I lose patience. Here's my first attempt at posting one. My sweet angel boy has developed quite the sense of humor lately!



Speaking of having a sense of humor, Johnny and I are learning more about the value of that every day as we prepare for our new arrival in August! We were very surprised to find out that we're expecting another baby. You want to make God laugh? Tell him your plan! Jack will be 15 months old when this baby is born, so we're excited that he will have a playmate for life! It's very different this time around. At this point with Jack, I could have told you exactly what was happening in the womb every single day and now, I have to think about how far along I am. I don't really have time to be tired, and naps are out of the question. I go to bed each evening at around 8:30 and sleep through til 6:00. Even with all of that, I'm still pretty exhausted. I'm approaching the end of my first trimester and I'm hoping my energy comes back very soon!

I'll need all of that energy to keep up with my little guy. My, my he's growing up so fast! He'll be 9 months old on Feb. 7 and he just gets neater every day. Here are some of the things he's accomplished since my last post (in November...bad blogger).

1. He's crawling! Jack started crawling a few days before Christmas and is like a little critter scurrying across our house now. He follows us around and loves to chase me as I vacuum. He's even learned to crawl on the hard, slick wooden floors with the greatest of ease. Watch out where you step when you come to our house!

2. He's pulling up to standing and "cruising" a little. Jack started pulling up about 2 weeks ago and his balance is getting better and better. I catch him letting go with one hand from time to time and he can inch his way down the side of the couch. Ah, it won't be long and he'll be walking.

3. He's eating "big boy food." I started Jack on finger foods during the Christmas break and though it was slow going at first, he now loves his puffs, yogurt melts, diced bananas, and whatever else I put on his tray. He still misses from time to time, but most of it makes its way to his mouth.

4. Jack is "sleep trained." We've been rocking Jack to sleep since he was born and, quite honestly, holding him through long stretches of the night from time to time. I blame the reflux. When we brought him home, we didn't know he had this so he would wake up constantly and the easiest solution was to hold him and rock him. He got pretty good at sleeping through the night at 6 months, but over Christmas, he started waking up and NOT wanting to be put down after being rocked. With another baby on the way and exhausted Mommy and Daddy, I decided enough was enough. The Sunday before school started again, I started "ferberizing" Jack. The first night, he cried for 30 minutes and I had to check on him 3 times, the second night he only cried for 5 minutes, and the 3rd night he cried for 30 seconds. Despite an occasional waking at night (especially when he had a cold), he pretty much goes right to sleep and sleeps through the night. When he does wake up, he goes right back to sleep. We're also putting him to bed earlier (at 7:00 instead of 8:00) and it seems to be really working. Life around the Smith House is much less stressful at night!

5. Jack is a giggle box. As you can see from the video, our little guy has quite the sense of humor. Once he gets going, it is so funny to see him laugh and laugh. He's so sweet.

6. He's learning new skills every day. Right now, he's mastering rolling a ball and putting blocks in a box and then taking them out. It's an amazing thing to watch him learn.

7. Temper, temper. Jack is starting to display his little temper when he's frustrated now and I'm not sure who he gets it from. ;) He flails himself backward screaming when he doesn't get what he wants. It stresses me out but Johnny just kind of chuckles. We'll see if he's chuckling when he's 5 years old and doing this!

In a few weeks, Jack will go for his first overnight visit with Nana and Papa without Mom and Dad. It's a little unnerving for Momma and Daddy, but I know it will be good for all of us and Jack will be just fine. I can't believe our little guy is almost 9 months old!!! Time sure does fly! We love you, Jack.