Eleven Months Old

Jared is now eleven months old. I can't believe he will be a year old in less than a month! Time goes by so quickly when you have children. I am trying to enjoy him being little as much as I can, but he is growing up so fast. I think he is trying to catch up to those brothers of his.

He is an expert at crawling now. He can go pretty fast when he has a mind to. He can also crawl over obstacles, and up and down the stair in our living room. He loves to sit on his knees and pull himself onto his knees whenever possible. He is starting to pull himself to his feet now. He did just that yesterday at our fireplace and was (slowly) cruising along it. His brothers think it is great fun to bring him to his feet and prop him up against something. He hasn't quite figure out how to get down from his feet yet, so usually ends up standing there screaming, or toppling over and bonking his head.

His favorite mode of communication these days is screaming. He also makes a wide variety of letter sounds - his favorite of those being the hard "c" sound. He has connected me with the word Mama and uses it a lot to call for me.
He is ever so curious. He is constantly exploring anything he can get his hands on. He loves to go into the laundry room and play in the dogs' water dish. He also loves to visit the boys' bathroom and races for open doors at the front and back of the house. He gets quite upset when you stop him from opening the pantry door or the fridge door and loves to explore my kitchen cabinets and drawers, though he gets his fingers squished almost every time.

He is getting more hair. He isn't quite as bald as he used to be. Some of it is pretty long, but most of it is still only about 1/4" long. He has Jack's hair - very blonde, fine and thin. His eyes are still blue. If I remember right, Daniel's didn't change until he was a year old or older, so we'll see how they turn out.
He has learned to wave hello and goodbye. Sometimes he will even say bye-bye. I am working on helping him to learn a couple of other signs to help him communicate better - mostly "hungry" and "more." He knows what they mean when I do them, but won't repeat them back to me yet. He loves to clap, and will usually clap when you ask him too, or when he is happy, or even when he is watching someone else clap - like on television.

He is still a very happy boy. It is easy to get him to laugh and smile. He is very ticklish and loves to play. He loves to play with his brothers, and with his little music & lights learning table that I brought up from storage last week.
I let him swing at the park for the first time last week. He thought that was pretty fun. He has 6 teeth now and they sure make for cute smiles. He still does his "squinty face" that just cracks Gary and I up - but I haven't been able to catch it on camera. He is pretty silly. I think he likes to make people laugh, just like Evan does.
Here are a few more pictures from the past month

Nine Month portraits

I had these taken weeks ago, but I'm a bit behind in posting. Here are Jared's nine month portraits.

Ten Months Old

Jared is ten months old! He is such a joy to have in our family. His little personality is too cute, and so is he. He has grown in leaps and bounds in the past two months.

He is crawling all over the place. He is sure an explorer!

He puts everything into his mouth. He is definitely our "taster." He is the first of the boys to try and eat dog food, and I've found a wide array of objects in his mouth. I've found everything from Legos (yikes!) to bits of leather, plastic and paper. He loves to eat paper. We have to be very careful of anything we leave in his reach. He is very good at getting into his brothers toys when they're playing on the floor. One day they and Mandie put him in a toy box to keep him away.

Now that he is mobile he has a few favorite rooms. If he sees the door to the laundry room open he makes a beeline for it. He knows he isn't allowed in there. The same goes for the pantry and the boys' bathroom. He is very capable of getting anywhere he wants to be - even down the step into the living room. (He hasn't mastered getting back up the step yet.) He does this funny thing when he crawls - he'll stop and push up on his toes. It looks like he's doing a yoga pose, or push ups. He has strong toes I guess!

He is babbling a lot. At last count he can make at least 10 different word sounds. He says Mama and Papa, and it sounds like he is trying to say other words like "good" and "Jared." He is a pretty happy guys, but definitely lets us know when he is not. Usually if he is not, it's a good indicator that it is nap time. He doesn't generally like to rocked to sleep any more. If he is tired and we lay him down in his crib with his binky and blanket he will roll over and go to sleep. He still isn't sleeping through the night most nights, but usually is up only once so I don't mind.

He has learned to clap and associates it with the word "good." If you tell him he's a "good boy." he will clap. Even if he is crawling across the room, he'll stop to clap. He is so funny. He will also clap if there is applause on television, or if you ask him to clap. He also learned to wave "Hi" and "bye-bye." Granny taught him when we went down to St. George for President's Day weekend. Sometimes he will say "bye-bye" (or something close) when he waves. It sure is cute.

He also has started to play the head shaking game. If you shake your head at him, he'll shake his back, and so on. At first he would only play with me, but has since branched out. He thinks it is funny.

He is still our pint sized foodie. I've given up on baby food entirely at this point. He will eat almost anything we do, so I let him. He still loves Gerber puffs. I'll put him in his high chair and dump some on the tray and he will go at them with both hands, grabbing fist fulls and stuff them in his mouth. It is so funny! He definitely knows what he likes. He has 6 teeth now so he is getting pretty good at chewing.
He still doesn't have much hair, and what he does have needs to be evened out but I don't have the heart to cut it. He and Jack have the same hair - fine and thin and very blonde. At his 9 month appointment he weighed 19.5 pounds and was 26(?) inches long. He is tall and thin, just like the rest of the boys. He had his first big cold this past month. He was pretty miserable for a few days and ended up with an ear infection too. One night he wouldn't go to sleep for more than 10 minutes at a time in his bed so we ended up sleeping with him in the recliner for most of the night. 
We took him on his first two hikes over President's Day. He did pretty well in the hiking backpack. We'll have to get him and his brothers out more this summer.

I can't believe he will be a year old in less than two months. Time goes by so quickly!

Eight Months Old

So, I totally missed Jared's seven-month update. Bad mom. Here I am for month eight though, that counts for something, right?
Jared turned eight months old last week. I didn't even realize it had come and gone until the day after. I was too busy prepping for our NYE party I guess. He has accomplished quite a bit in the last two months. He is rolling everywhere. He can also scoot backwards, though it is not intentional (I think.) He can get up on his hands and knees and rock, which usually ends up in him pushing himself backwards. He is so funny to watch. It's like he knows that he has to move all four appendages to get somewhere, but he hasn't quite figured it out. He studies the dogs intently when they walk by, trying to figure out how they do it. He usually ends up balancing on his belly, kicking and waving his arms simultaneously hoping that he will get somewhere. He will also rock from side to side when he pushed himself up with his arms. It's all adorable of course. I've tried to capture it on video but, as usual, he stops when I bring out the camera. And, he is still very good at blinking at the exact moment the shutter clicks.

He got his first two teeth this month, the bottom front two. That makes for fun nursing sessions sometimes. I think he is working on a back tooth now. He is still a very happy guy most of the time. He does get fussy when he is hungry or tired or needs a change, but is generally a pretty good-natured kiddo. He did recently decide that screaming is a good way of communicating. Not so happy about that. He is very ticklish and loves being tickled. He has such a cute personality already. He loves playing with his Papa.

Jared is also very curious. He is constantly exploring anything in his reach. He loves playing with toys. We have to be very careful that he doesn't get his hands on the boys' Legos or Squinkies.
I have discovered that he loves to be in his Bumbo seat on the kitchen counter when I am working in there. He tried to grab everything, but he is happy there!

He still will not eat baby food, so we have been feeding him what we eat. He will eat almost anything we do (except bananas) and can eat a whole avocado by himself. He's a foodie already. He loves the baby cereal puffs and he can feed himself those if we put him in his high chair. He would survive on nursing and puffs if we let him, I think. I don't think it is hurting him in any way - he is a little chunk!
He got his first two teeth since the last update. They are the two bottom front teeth. I think he might be getting one of his top back teeth too. I can see a little white bump back there. He loves to chew on things - everything goes into his mouth!
He celebrated his first Christmas this past month. He and his brothers were spoiled by everyone. Jared loved the lights on the Christmas tree and loves the toys he got. He got a Raggedy Andy doll and I find him playing with it in his crib all the time.

Here are a few more photos from the past month. Enjoy!

A comparison

Jared had his six-month check up this past week. He weighed in at 17 lbs 10 oz and is 27 inches long. He is the biggest of our boys at that age. Daniel was 17 lbs 5 oz, Jack was 14 lbs 7 oz and Evan was 15 lb 5 oz. His brothers better watch out!

Jared's six-month pictures

I took Jared in this morning for his six-month old portraits. They turned out so cute. I Fotofly and I LOVE this boy!

Six Months Old

Jared is six months old! Holy cow! How can he be that old already? He is growing up way too fast. He continues to be a very sweet, happy baby. He is testing out his vocal range and has been very talkative of late. He loves to talk to his toys, or scream at them. It is pretty comical to listen to. When he gets excited all of his limbs start moving at the same time and he gets the biggest grins. It is so darn cute. I love his smiles.

He has started taking more of an interest in his brothers and the dogs. Evan especially loves to talk to him and sing to him. Jack likes to talk to him, but only for short spurts. Daniel doesn't pay him as much attention as he used to, but makes it clear that Jared is his favorite. That is probably because Jared doesn't mess with his toys yet.

Jared is a very curious baby. He tries to grab anything that comes near him. He'll grab my drink if I'm holding him, or reach up and pull on the brim of my hat. He has discovered his feet and likes to grab those too. He has started rolling, slowly, across spaces. I set him down on one side of the family room floor the other day and walked out. When I came back he was on the other side of the room.
We set up the Jumperoo for him this past month. He loves it! He will jump and jump and jump. His feet almost look like a ballet dancer's when he pushes off the ground. I keep trying to get a video of him jumping, but he always stops when I get the camera out. He also is very good at closing his eyes mid-photo. He gets that from his Opa Jones.

We have continues trying to feed him rice cereal. He still doesn't like it. I even tried a different kind (oatmeal) and tried mixing it with apple juice and formula. Still no luck. I have gotten him to eat it with a syringe and the last try he fussed when it wasn't coming fast enough. Maybe it is time to try and have him eat from the spoon again.
He has been having these shaking episodes, almost like he is shivering, every once in a while. I took him to see the doctor about it. Dr. Allred said he wasn't concerned, but to watch him and bring him back in if he started jerking during the episodes. So far, so good. He has had one or two more since then, but they are the same.
Jared took a tumble down the front steps in his stroller this month and landed face first on the cement. Scared the living daylights out of me. I rushed him to the doctor, and other than a swollen side of his face he was fine. Thank goodness he was buckled into the stroller.
I have been working with him, trying to get him to sit up. He does great in the Bumbo seat, not so great without it. It will come though. I'm in no hurry. I enjoy this stage when they are learning so much and he is such a good natured kiddo. We keep him up with us after we put the brothers in bed, just so he gets some alone time with us. I think he really enjoys it. He really loves Gary. He will be sitting on my lap, content, but the whole time he'll be trying to get Gary's attention. No one can get him grinning and laughing like his Papa. They have a special bond already. We sure do love that boy.

We took him trick-or-treating with his brothers at Papa's work this past week. He wasn't too sure about the whole experience, but looked darling in his lion costume. It was the same costume Daniel wore for his first Halloween. Jared even held still so I could paint his nose and some whiskers. The older boys had a great time filling their treat bags. Next year Jared will be all over the candy, I'm sure.

Happy half-birthday Chub-Chub!

Five months old

It's hard to believe that 5 months ago Jared was less than 24 hours old. Time has gone so fast! He is at such a fun age. He is a very happy baby, and smiles a lot. 

He is shy sometimes, and has moments when he will cry when someone unfamiliar is holding him, but he is mostly a happy little guy. He is still very vocal, making all sorts of sounds. He is laughing on his own now (without being tickled), especially at his brothers.
He rolls over almost every time you lay him down on his back. I think he is starting to like being on his tummy, as he will last ten minutes or more before he gets mad because he can't roll the other way on to his back. Sometimes he tries to get his legs bent up underneath him, like he knows that will get him somewhere. He is also getting better about sitting in his Bumbo seat, especially if he gets to watch something on television. He loves electronic screens - the computer, the television, my e-reader. He is fascinated with them. Daniel was the same way at his age.

He loves chewing on things and sucking his fingers. Almost anything he can grab goes straight to his mouth. It's probably a good thing he's not mobile yet!
This past month we took him to his very first University of Utah football game. He was very good through the game and even took a nap at halftime. He was very relaxed about the whole thing right up until the last 10 minutes or so.

 We also took the boys to the State Fair. The older boys had more fun, but Jared will get to that point sooner than I'd like. He is already growing up way too fast!
Two more pics for the month:

 I don't know how he can sleep like that!

With Nana at Aunt Mary's.