Bath Time.

 

Bath time is a favorite at our house. Recently, Jackson graduated from his baby tub on the kitchen counter to the BIG tub.

I'm going to go on a little tangent to tell you how much I love our bathtub. The Germans totally got this right. It's deep and it's LONG. I really should spend more time in it because it's so relaxing to be in- you can really sink down in the water and get fully submursed, unlike the American ones where you always have to have some of your body sticking out in the cold air. Jackson thinks it is equally great, though, of course we only fill it a few inches.

Bathtime usually falls on Dad when he is home (while Mom cleans up dinner) and these boys have fun. Lots of splashing and playing. Jackson's new favorte 'toy' is the bathtub stopper- he's constantly trying to pull it out.

I call it our magical bathtub because this is what goes in.

and THIS comes out. MUST be magical!

He comes out so soft and smelling soooo sweet. I love when we bundle him in a towel and cuddle him close sometimes he will make little kitten mewing sounds, like soft whispers of secrets he's telling you.

I bought this towel over a year ago and have been waiting to use it. Watching my 'little dino' explore after his bath has more than exceeded anything I could have dreamed of.

Rub a dub dub. Jack loves the tub!

Watermelon.

Jackson had his first taste of Watermelon this July. I love watermelon and figured he would too, I mean, who doesn't? Judging by his smile I'd say it's a hit!

I bought a WHOLE one because I like to cut it up into bite sized pieces (without the seeds). I really hate having to spit out seeds, or accidentally chomping down on one, eww. The best part is it becomes a super fast, easy to eat snack. Great for when you have very little time to eat, which seems to happen more and more often these days. Cutting up and de-seeding an entire melon can be a pretty legnthy process. I pulled Jackson into the kitchen to keep him entertained. He happliy ate and played with his watermelon . . .until I heard a SPLAT and turned around to this.

Quite possibly my favorite picture is this one- he's actually trying to 'nurse' it.

The dogs also got their first taste of watermelon, and loved it as well.

Ah, summer.

Milestones

Another couple of milestones a little late. I waited to post about these because I was SURE we had more milestones just around the corner. However it looks like just the two. . .for now.


Standing

One day I put Jackson up to the coffee table to see what he would do. He stood there like he'd been doing it forever. He didn't fall, topple over, nothing. Just stood there happily until I took him down. He's done it every day since and is his favorite position to be in (he has toppled a few times but is getting better at landing on his tush- though he usually voices his displeasure).

It must taste good, or something.

He can't get there himself- but you put him there and he hangs out indefinitely. Occasionally he 'cruises' a foot in one direction or the other, depending on the motivation with computers and remotes at the top of the list.

**He did practice on his music table before I tried the coffee table. Jackson loves his music table. He thinks it's the coolest thing ever. I like to put it on the 'Spanish' setting, because, well, who doesn't need more langue skills these days. It drives Andy nuts and he is always popping it back to 'English'. Oh well, I tried.

Signing
We've been working with signing for quite some time. We work on MILK, WATER, BATH, MORE, MOMMY and DADDY to name a few. Though the one we do most consistently is MILK (and MORE). The hard part about MILK is the sign is simply opening and closing your hand. Obviously this isn't a unique gesture, and he often makes this motion when feeling textured objects- or if he gets a Cheerio stuck to his palm. But there are times he does unconnected to any physical reason, and when offered said MILK he gobbles it up. So I'm calling this one too.

Upcoming milestones. I said I didn't post this earlier because I REALLY thought we had two big milestones coming up quickly, and they still are!

Crawling- for someone who's been up on all fours rocking for over 2 months you'd really think he has this one figured out. But not yet. Before vacation he started to get really good at belly-flopping around. That semi crawl where he pushes with his feet and pulls with his hands? Yeah he's a master- chasing balls, dogs, ME.

Teeth. Ok, so they STILL aren't here. I've said it before. (I think it was OVER a month ago.) Jackson is teething. Red, swollen gums, with big teeth-like bumps, check. Grouchy, check. Oh so grouchy for my usually happy baby. And he's drooly (check). Everywhere he goes he leaves a trail of slime as big as any 20lb slug. It seems we are on a teething rollercoaster and currently are on another upswing. The good news is that eventually I have to be right. I'm *pretty* sure he won't be toothless forever.


He is also starting to pull up on things (as standing is his favorite position, he's always trying to get there). He's not  good at it, but he's working on it. He's also started to babble recently. . .lots of bababa, yayaya, and dadadas :)

Baby Tips

Jackson was born with a full head of hair. Totally different than what I pictured him as. I thought he'd be a bald blondie but he came out with all of this!

His dark hair stuck around for a while, and just kept growing. Many people recognized Jack by his wild hair.

                                                                            Month 2                                                               Month 3

                                                                          Month 4                                                                    Month 5

He's been compared to famous people such as Kate Gosselin and Conan O'Brian.

Eventually it started to rub off in places and what grew back was this sweet, fine little blonde hair. For whatever reason the only part that didn't rub off was on top of his head- ok I guess that actually makes sense- but it seems the top keeps growing and growing with the sides and back never really catching up. He ended up with short fuzz everywhere except for 'the poof' on top.

Because the blond hair was growing in under the dark hair growing out it looked rather like he had reverse frosted tips (people honestly thought I dyed it that way)- lowlights I guess.

I LOVE these baby tips. Love them, and that's just what I call them. So when the time came for his first haircut I hated, but expected to see them go- the cut turned out more of a 'minor trim' so the tips stayed. His first haircut was when we were visiting back home in the states. Before.

and After

I saved a little lock from the 'first cut' and now can't remember where I placed it, but I look forward to the day I do come across it. I know I will smile thinking back to my furry headed baby.

A few weeks ago I decided the top was getting long again and in need of a trim so I trimmed it myself. I broke all the parenting rules. Baby Einstein and the Bumbo on the table, but we got the job done.

 Before

and After

Again I expected the tips to be gone but thankfully you can still a dark tip or two depending on how he 'styles' it. Part of me is sad to see his hair get shorter and his face become less baby and more little boy but a big part of me loves watching him grow, learn and explore. I know I will miss those last remaining tips terribly once they are completely gone. One day soon it will be hard to believe he had a head full of THIS when he was my itty bitty baby.

I so look forward to watching his sweet little head (and hair) change over the next years and will always look back fondly on his 'baby tips'.

Forgive my absence.

I feel the need to apologize to both of my readers (or are there three of you now? :) for my prolonged absence. I planned to blog before vacation but the to-do list piled up on me a bit, along with other fun social engagements. We are a little tired and pleasantly 'sunned' but glad to be home. Our trip? Wonderful. Here are a few pics to hold you over.

Life's pretty great, huh?