Jared Nine Months

This was a huge month for Jared developmental. Here is the latest info:

1)   He waves and claps. At the Easter service he was clapping to the music… so adorable.

2)   Jared has turned a corner with solid food. He will now at least eat something every meal and has started having a morning and afternoon snack. We still have to give him something to self feed so that we can get spoon in his month, but he will now will open his month for us once he decided that what we are offering is acceptable.

3)   Still no crawling, but he tolerates being on his stomach for short periods of time and he pushes himself backwards. He also moves around in the sitting position, but he mostly just spins himself around. He still loves to stand and is starting to slowly move around furniture.

4)   He still wakes up once in the night to feed. He is also in a habit of getting up for the day at 5:30am…. A habit we are trying to break.

5)   He loves story time before naps. His favorite books are ‘Eyes, Nose, Toes, Peek-a-boo’ (he giggles at it every time) and ‘Have You Ever Tickled a Tiger?’

6)   He gives the best hugs…He will just snuggle into your shoulder. I love it!

7)   He has been teething and his two top teeth are just below the surface.

Soccer

 On March 31st, I (Ryan) took Micah to his first Major League Soccer game (and mine too!) to see Toronto FC play the Columbus Crew. It was quite the trip to get there from our apartment in Yorkville as it took about an hour by subway and bus to get to  BMO Field. Micah was very excited to go and he watched the the game intently, asking me often to explain what was happening.




Near the end of the first half, we got to see a penalty shot taken by Columbus (on an awful call by the ref), which the TFC keeper saved. After hotdogs at half time, Micah was done so we went to a near-by park and then went home.

Jared at Eight Months

1) Jared loves peek-a-boo and it always produces giggles

2) Jared had his first swim. It was in Grandma and Grandpa O’s hotel. It did not go over very well, I think it was a little shockingly cold for him. I am hoping to take him to a teach pool sometime soon for another try.

3) He loves standing. He has no interest in being on his stomach or to try to crawl. He just wants to stand and tries to walk; however, he can’t stand on his own, so basically he wants us to hold him up as he leans against something or tries to move around. He can pull himself up to kneeling position.

4) Jared is now the proud owner of two bottom teeth.

5) Still is resistant to solid food. He will eat a few things that he is able to self feed, but will usually be tight lip when it comes to the spoon.

6) He loves being outside and watching kids. He often seems like he would love to join in the fun.

Maple Festival

March is Maple season in Ontario. Last Saturday we had a family outing to Bronte Creek Provincial Park for a Maple festival. We had fun learning everything there was to know about maple, enjoyed tasty maple treats and of course had a pancake breakfast with maple syrup.  Micah also enjoyed playing in the kid’s barn and checking out the farm animals.

Auntie Time

This past week my sister came to visit. Micah loves his auntie and was so excited to see her. Jared also allowed auntie some cuddle time. We went to the Bata Shoe Museum, the ROM, the library, saw the St. Patty parade, and spend time at the playground. We were also able to have some sister time without the kids and went to the ballet, did some shopping, saw a movie, and went out to my favorite chocolate café. We all had a wonderful time and wish we lived closer together.

All About Micah

Micah has been growing and changing a lot in the last few months and is less and less a toddler and becoming more and more like a preschooler. He continues to have an active imagination and along with this imagination and pretend play is his request for costumes. Last week I made a pirate costume, this week it was a spaceman helmet. I am not a creative, artsy type, but luckily it does not take much to make him happy. He is also developing a sense of humour and I find it interesting what he finds funny.

He is also going through a puzzle phase. He has an amazing memory and only needs help to do new puzzles once or twice before he can do them on his own.  He continues to love all sport and our living room is often converted into a hockey/ football/ soccer field or basketball court. Every morning he watches hockey highlights with Ryan. He always asked to watch Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, or San Jose Sharks. Micah still loves books and will often 'read' to his teddies or Jared.

He continues to be a proud older brother of Jared. We have had to recently work at teaching him not to grab toys away from Jared, but more and more he is starting to play with Jared. I will often hear them laughing together or see Micah bring something to Jared to show him or Micah will want Jared part of his play. When Jared is crying Micah will often go up to him and say: “It is okay, Jared”.

Teddy, affectionately named “Baby” is a constant companion for Micah at home. He has been loved so much that his nose has been repaired twice and now needs a nose transplant J

We started potty training last week and have to say I have been pleasantly surprise.  We tried to make it as fun as possible: We got some fun under wear, bought some potty books for boys, and made a chart with stickers. We have had no pee accidents in the last few days. We are still working on getting Micah to poo in the potty but I am hopeful that will come soon enough.

We have had some rough days these past few months with me being tired and less patient as I would like and him learning about his emotions (i.e. tantrums), but I am so blessed to be part of his life and I love him more then words could ever express.