Jared Crawls

Ten Months

1.     Has started to crawl, but he isn’t very efficient at it yet and usually complains about it. He would rather be walking and he is getting very good at moving around furniture and walls.

2.     He can get from lying down position to standing, so we had to lower the crib mattress.

3.     He makes car and truck noises. It is so cute. He tries to mimic Micah when he sees Micah play with cars and trucks.

4.     He points at everything now: If he wants something he points, and if  he wants to go somewhere he points.

5.     He is fascinated with trees. He loves to be held under a tree so that he can look up at the leaves.

6.     The teeth keep popping out. He now has five and has another on the way.  

Florida 2012

The last week in April we took a family holiday to Pompano Beach, Florida. It was a much needed break. Our laptops stayed home and it was a week free of work, email, Facebook, blogs, pinterest, etc and all the stress from home. Both of the boys loved the beach. Walking to the beach one day, Micah sang the whole way, "Mister Sun. Sun. Mister Golden Sun. Please shine down on me!" Jared would giggle, flap his arms and legs wildly, and try to dive bomb into the sand whenever we would get to the beach.

Micah was also so excited to see palm trees. The first thing he said as we left the airport in Fort Lauderdale was: "Wow, Mom, look at all the palm trees!" and then when we got back to Toronto and were leaving the airport he asked "Where are all the palm trees?" I had to sadly remind him that we were back home in Toronto and we don't have palm trees in Toronto.

Besides beach time we also did some shopping, went to the everglades (Sawgrass Recreational Center), and visited the Gumbo Limbo Nature Centre. Below are a few pictures from our trip.

Happy Birthday Micah

We officially now have a three year old in our house.  Micah had attended several birthday parties in the past year, and for the first time was excited about having his own party. We had his birthday party the Saturday before his actual birthday. We were planning to have it at a local park; however, the weather did not cooperate, so we hosted it at our apartment. I am so glad that I only allowed Micah to invite three friends, because with parents it was the perfect number of people to have comfortably in our small place. We had a play dough table set up and lined the hallway with big sheets of paper for the kids to draw on. We had a car theme, so we had play dough car molds and we drew a racetrack on the paper that the kids could draw cars on, or put car stickers on it, along with what ever else they wanted to add.  Both activity centres were a big hit.  We had a simple lunch of beef or turkey hotdogs—hotdogs are one of Micah’s favorites which we don’t have that often, so it was a special treat—with veggies and fruit. Micah got some wonderful books as gifts from his friends and I think everyone had a wonderful time.

On his actual birthday he opened gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Olfert and from us (earlier in the month he got gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Knelsen and Auntie Janette). He had fun playing with his new toys and after supper we all went out for ice cream. The next day we left for Florida…..

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.