My baby spins circles around your baby

This picture has nothing to do with the subject of the post, but its just so cute!

Okay so I'm so not bragging my baby actually does spin circles. Jack lately is a circle spinning machine. He has this little toy mat thing and we will lie him down in it facing the kick pad and then head off to do the dishes/shower/anything really and come back and he has spun himself 180 degrees, then we'll leave again to make dinner/change the laundry and come back and he's spun around again. He just spends all day (well atleast the time he's in his play mat) spinning around in circle after circle. Its cute.

The only problem is I have never seen how he does it. Whenever Branden and I are around he is to busy making faces/slash/noises/slash/staring at us longingly DYING for us to pick him up and play with him that he does not spin his circles. Which is disappointing to say the least. I want to see how he does it. I'm quite certain it is some sort of support myself on my shoulders crab crawl type thing, but for all I know he could be standing up, doing the macarena and lying back down facing the other way.

To be a Better Mom

This morning I was sitting on the couch eating my cornpops and watching Jack playing on the floor and he was staring right back at me with this super serious look he gets on his face when he's trying so hard to figure something out. We sat there and stared at eachother for a good 10 minutes him just trying to figure his Mommy out. He does this alot. When I rock him to sleep at night or for his nap he stares into my face for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes and he plays with my face and he just tries to figure me out, he copies my expressions and watches my reactions. Its moments like this that make me realize I need to hurry up and become a better person and a better Mom immediately. I didn't think it happened so quickly that your children started noticing your behaviours and copying them and following your example, but I can see it happening already. This little guy is going to learn so many things from me, he is going to cling to my testimony and pattern his behaviours after mine and Branden's and it just makes me realize that I need to stop procrastinating all the things I know I need to improve. I need to make sure my testimony is as strong as it can be, that I am as healthy and happy as I can be and that I am the best possible example I can be.

Strange Day

Today has been a strange day. Jack has been a strange baby. We had his 4 month appointment yesturday (he weights 14 pounds 8 ounces and is 25 inches long, in the exact fiftieth percentile for everything) and got his shots. Yesturday he was slightly grouchy from the shots, but today he has just been strange.

Jack is normally a baby who enjoys much attention. He loves his Daddy or I to be dedicated to him alot. He wants us to play with him, sing to him, throw him around and entertain him in general. He's pretty good at playing on his own for half an hour or so, but other than that wants to be playing, standing and laughing with us.

Today he neither wants to play with us, nor on his own. He is the cuddliest baby in cuddle town. All he's done since he woke up today is cuddle and sleep and sleep and cuddle. He's just so clingy I've barely put him down all day. At first, I was annoyed. There were so many things I wanted to do today and clingatron baby was not helping. Then I realized, there is going to come a day soon that my baby will not be a baby anymore and will be a toddler, or a boy who doesn't not want to cuddle his Mommy so I better enjoy it now. So I sat down in the glider and spent my day cuddling my baby and it has been a day well spent.

4 Facts for 4 Months

I'm late as usual, but a few days ago Jack turned 4 months old.

1. Jack refuses to smile or perform in any way for the camera. He is seriously one of the happiest, smiliest, laughiest babies ever. He smiles all the time and laughs like crazy, but he will not do it for the camera. I dunno if the camera scares him or what, but even if I try and sneak up while Branden is playing with him he notices and the smile is instantly removed from his adorable little face. It makes me soo sad because when I look back at pictures I won't get to see that gummy grin I love so much.

2. Jack is a drolling machine, seriously the kid cannot stop. He soaks through bibs, outfits everything. Branden's shoulder is constantly covered in the stuff. I always feel it drip onto my foot when holding him and its weird drool too. You would think it would just be watery, but the stuff is wipe resistant. I think its oil based or something. weird. weird.

3. Jack now rolls and moves around like crazy. We put him to bed on his tummy at one end of the crib and in the morning when I hear him playing and go in to get him he is at the other end of the crib, on his back arms entangled in the crib posts. Its ridiculous.

4. Jack loves the water. He loves baths and swimming. Every time we go visit my parents we go swimming with him and he's just happy as can be. My Dad carries him around, so proud to all the lifeguards. The other day he interupted the water fitness class and gave the instructor Jack and she used him as a weight. its to funny. But he just loves it!

Oh No!

So Jack has been a major grumposaurus the last few days and this morning when feeding him I discovered why. He chomped down and a tiny little stupid 1/4 tooth has made an appearance and oh my gosh. I feel like I'm gonna die, it hurts so bad. Stupid tooth coming on a baby that doesn't understand no yet.

Baby Food

When I was pregnant with Jack I had all the best intentions for making all my own baby food for him, then he was born, I was overwhelmed and forgot my desires. This morning as I sat staring at a basket full of peaches I was never going to eat my desire returned and I spent the morning making baby food for him to eat in a few months when we start him on it. I made banana's, green beans and peaches of course. I wish I had started earlier in the summer so I could have caught more fruits and veggies in season, but I'll just start from where I am. My Dad will have a good squash from his garden for me to use. We always go apple picking on thanksgiving so I'll get lots of farm fresh apples and the rest will just have to be out of season.

I thought the making of baby food would be tedious, but it soo wasn't! And it got me started feeling all home makey so I followed it up with fresh bruchetta Bread for Branden and I for lunch and fresh brownies for dessert.. yumm.

Give Away oh Give Away

Jack absolutely loves music, he giggles like a maniac when Branden puts on some music and dances around with him. When we are in stores and music is playing he loves to be bounced to the beat. If you want a smile from him, sing to him. He just loves music and has since he was pretty little. One of the first few smiles I got from him was when I was singing the commercial song "Good things grow in Ontario". Lately he has quite a favourite little diddy though and that is "give said the little stream" He just smiles like crazy when I sing it to him. If I'm holding him close after I feed him and rocking him I'll sing it to him and he gets the most adorable little smile on his face, he grabs my mouth and starts to sing (slash make random noises) along with me. ALWAYS keeping a firm grasp on my mouth and trying his hardest to imitate the motions of it. I've changed the song though to be about him. I sing to him...

Give said the little Jack, little Jack, little Jack
Give said the little Jack as he hurried down the lane.
I'm small I know, but wherever I got the people smile more.
Singing, Singing all the day
Give away oh Give away
Singing, Singing all the day
Give oh Give away

farts

I think farting is funny, I really do. I am endlessly fascinated and entertained by farts. Anyone who knows me well could tell you this. You will be hard pressed to make it through a conversation with me without a humorous fart or poo story making its way out of my mouth. I think it is hilarious everytime I toot and laugh psychotically while my husband looks on in terror. Everytime Jack lets one rip Branden and I both laugh uncontrollably. I just love farts, they are HILARIOUS.

I was quite shocked earlier today when I discovered a fart I did not find hilarious. Not hilarious farts occur when you are carrying your stark naked baby boy to the bath tub and he wet farts on your arm. That is not a hilarious fart, no not at all.

(and yes my baby is having naked tummy time in that picture. I feel bad for him being stuck in a diaper all day so after he's recently pooped (so it doesn't happen sans-diaper) we let him have naked tummy time and get some air for his business)

Out of Shape

Some women manage to workout throughout their entire pregnancies, eat only the perfect healthy foods and jump right back to the gym a week after giving birth. I am not and was not one of these women. I didn't put on too much weight during my pregnancy, but I was not such the good one at keeping in shape throughout. The first trimester I rode my bike to and from work every day (about a half hour trip each way) and was in good shape, but as I went into my second trimester it was too cold for bike riding and I gave up on working out. I just felt too tired (although I am quite sure I would have been less tired if I'd actually managed to keep working out, but oh well).

Now almost 4 months after having Jack I'm finally really wanting to get back into shape. I've lost all the actual pounds I put on, but I have less muscle and therefore am still not small enough to fit into all of my prepregnancy clothes. I NEED to work out very badly! So this week I got myself a gym membership and have been going all week and let me tell you I am seriously soo out of shape. I want to die right now my muscles hurt so badly I can barely carry Jack.

I think part of the problem is that I went in thinking I could do all the things I used to do at the gym before I got pregnant (not factoring in how atrophied my body has become in the last 10 months of inactivity). I went in and did half an hour on the eliptical, lifted heavy weights, did hundreds of sit ups and leg pressed to my hearts content and now I am paying for it.

There is something enjoyable in a sore muscle though. As weird as it sounds when my muscles are sore I immediately feel slimmer and in better shape. I know I'm not, but a sore muscle to me feels like a small muscle.

Oh well, if I keep it up I'll hurt for a month or two, but it will all pay off in the end... right??

Chatty Charlie

Jack has been babbling and chatting away for quite sometime now, but until recently it was rather sporadic. The last few weeks he's just talking more and more and more. Seriously the kid never shuts up. At first Branden and I thought it was so cute (and secretly we still do) so we would encourage it and chat with him etc. UNTIL the other night when he laid on the ground under his toy and honestly just chatted for 2 hours straight, with no break. OH MY HOLY HECK! If this kid keeps it up like this he is not going to leave any room for anyone else to talk EVER. I was telling my sister about it on the phone the other day and she said "what do you expect, his parents never shut up either." apparently we are the loudest house ever. Below is a sample of his totally adorable babbling.

Bumbo Deuce

Recently we purchased Jack a Bumbo chair. I got it at a garage sale thing for quite cheap and hence it is girly purple (don't mock him, he is a manly enough baby to handle a purple bumbo chair).

Jack for the most part quite thoroughly enjoys his bumbo chair. He likes being able to sit and look around and its quite handy for many occasions. There is only one small problem with the bumbo chair. Jack apparently thinks it is a toilet and quite honestly I get his thinking it looks like a toilet, feels like a toilet, so it must be a toilet. Everytime we set him in his Bumbo chair the boy takes a big juicy dump. Its hilarious and I really hope this means he will be easy to potty train. Also its good because should my baby ever be constipated (as if, pooing is SOO his favourite thing to do) we have an instant bumbo chair cure.