Its official...

Well, its official. We are raising an absolute nut. A fruitbar. A complete whack-job.
Jason is going through a new phase where he descends into hysterical fits of laughter. I dont just mean he gets the giggles, or has a hearty laugh. I mean he goes of like a madman. If hes in crawling position he laughs so hard he callapses. He gets tears in his eyes. And the funniest little thing will set him off. The other day it was Jacquie shaking her head and making a horsey sound. The other night it was his father flicking hair ties at him. Last night I could hear Jason having one of his fits, upon investigation I found him sitting in the lounge laughing uncontrollably while his father repeatedly bounced a ball of his head, chanting 'your a nut', with every bounce.

Now that Jasons been crawling for a week or so this morning I thought it was time to introduce a few activites designed to build on the skill. So, I built a hill out of the sofa cushions, and did every thing i could to entice jason to climb up it. I put on a puppet show, I jangled jingly toys and placed his faverite things on top of it. To his credit, he really did try to climb up it at first. But of corse it was a little hard being the first time hes ever tried it, and then the clever little bloke realised that he didnt have to climb it at all. By 'standing' on his knees, and streatching his torso, all he had to do was flop onto the mound with his arm outstreatched to reach the toy. Oh well, I reakon I either need to make the mound higher so he has to climb, or make it smaller so that its easier to climb. We'll try both! Yesterday we had a great time outside playing with a bucket of water and dunking leaves and sponges. Today I am going to make some jelly so that tomorrow we can sit on the lawn and smack jelly into the grass and smoosh it in our fingers. I cant wait!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay Yay Yay!!!

Well, its finally happened. The day before yesterday Jason started crawling forwards!

WAAHOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He did it in front of his Grandma (Grandma = Chris's Mum / Nana = my Mum) and me in the lounge. First off he did his usual funny little forward shuffle. Then, instead of sitting on his butt like he always does he did a little crawl on the spot - very funny - that had us excited enough, but then his on the spot crawl somehow gained a little momentum, and he was off!!!! I yelled so loud he got a fright and stopped in his tracks! We had to use incentives (keys and things) to get him on the move again after that, but oh so exciting!!! And now this morning hes been crawling all over the show, he even made it to the bookshelf where he proceeded to pull out half a row of books while I looked indulgently on, LOL!

Weve also had tragic drama in the last two days. The day before yesterday, I put him in the centre of the lounge on the floor while I went three steps beyond a dividing wall into the kitchen to get his bottle. In that time he made it to the fireplace on which he very firmly bonked his head - this was before any forward crawling that I knew of, so he probably backward shuffled/rolled there. The lump swelled before my eyes and there was even blood, oh no!!!

I took him down to the Docs just to be on the safe side and he was given the all clear. J was charming and gorgeous, and I dont know if Dr Bridge compliments all the babies, but he was quite impressed with Jase, he commented on his looks and his 'obvious emotional health'. I was very chuffed at that :)

So its been full on the last two days, but what a relief that hes finally on the move, although already it has presented new challanges. But then again, we new that it would so its not as though its coming as a suprise aye??!

Crikey, that hearth is really hard Mum.

Jase and his Dad in the back yard hanging the swing his Nana bought him for his birthday.

Our pasty white boy in the sun :)

a new approach...

Good Gravy I love my son!!! Sorry - I was just watching him sleep and I still cant get over how perfect and beautiful and just plain WONDERFUL he is!!!!! Sometimes I just get so excited over the fact that hes really here and I get to raise him. Out of all the babies in the world I happen to get the most perfect one ever!!!! I have to give Chris most of the credit though, cos I doubt all that charm and those good looks come from me! Anyway....

I received a pack I requested from Sport Waikato yesterday detailing all these activites that you can do with your baby to encourage various aspects of their development, such as cognitive and motor skills. So anyway... after a few minutes of reading it I started to get very upset because I couldnt do a lot of the activites with Jase cos he doesnt have the pre-requesite skills needed. A lot of babies J's age can crawl, say a word or two maybe, and some are even walking. Jase loves to scootch backwards in a round-a-bout sort of way, but cant go forwards, and all though he can stand there when I help him, hes not a big fan of walking. I think my baby is just a late developer, and for some babies their size (hes big) can be a hinderance. He is still very much in the normal range, but also I think some if it is my fault. The thing is I do to much for him. If hes struggling to get a book from the bottom of the pile I get it for him, if he wants a particular toy he cant reach I get it for him - that sort of thing. So, I have made a couple of changes.

Firstly, I have put away his soft blanky and pillow (one of those triangle ones) that has been permenatly set up in the lounge - so he doesnt hurt his noggin if he topples backwards. The pillow probably limited his mobility a bit cos it hemmed him in, and he just plain doesnt need a blanky to sit on anymore.

Secondly, I have had my child in socks every day since last summer ended cos I didnt want his poor little feet getting cold. But apparently having bare feet aids walking and crawling - so he hasnt has any socks on since yesterday. Hes become obsessed with his toes, hes constantly nibbling on them - poor little buggars probably trying to figure out what they are!!!

And, we have also packed up all his toys - they are no longer permenantly set up for him in the lounge. After every play time they go in a big giant nappy bin with a lid and put in the corner of the lounge. When its time to play again I get the bucket out and J takes of the lid and gets his toys out himself. I think he really digs that - he plays with the lid for a while before examining the contents.

But I have to admit, its been a rough day or two for me, feeling like Ive let Jason down. But, the thing is - it doesnt matter when he learns to crawl forward (if he ever does), or when he starts walking, talking or rides a bike. He will eventually do it, and I have read enough testimonials from other parents whos baby's didnt start walking till 15 months and is now captain of what ever school sports team, to know that it really really doesnt matter. I think what has me so upset, is that deep deep down I worry that other people will think Im a terrible mother. That my baby isnt crawling yet because I cant be bothered doing the excersises and activites with him. The thing is I spend ALL my time with Jason - in fact my Mum says I spend TOO much time with him. He has a very structured day - the schedules on the fridge, so that if I die Chris can see what happens when!! - two naps, three meals, two snacks, two story times, one walk - all that stuff is structured and happens every day at the same time. I really thought I was doing every thing I could to encourage his development - and its all been undone by a pair of socks??!!!!!!!!!! what the????

Ahh, perhaps I just need to chill. He will do things when he feels like and not before. We will try out these activies and just have fun - if it puts the idea of crawling or walking in his head a bit sooner that it would have - great, but if not - its no big deal. And in the mean time I will practice letting him do things himself, instead of always running to the rescue.

and now...some photos! Taken in the last two or three days.

Sometimes morning tea just gets a little boring.

This is the beginning stage of his demon boy look. The expression becomes a lot more exagerated and he really does look like a happy little demon!

He cant crawl forwads, but he has his first pimple!!

follow on from last entry...

oh yeah and I forgot, I also wanted to list all the names that Jason has/does go by...

Jason
J
Jase
pork chop
porkachoppa (variation of pork chop)
bug
little pot roast
grub
munch-a-kin (variation of munchkin)
demon boy
angel baby
grub
boy
the boy
little shit (that ones favoured by his father)
cabbage (also favoured by father)
baked potatoe (again - one of his fathers)
fatty
chubbo
J W (his Granddad sometimes calls him that)

I think thats it. Some of these names arent used to much anymore - havent called him little pot roast in a while I dont think. The ones used the most at the moment (other than Jase and J) are: chubbo, fatty, munch-a-kin, porkachoppa, demon boy and angel.

All said with love of course!!!

Glorious glorious days!!!!

My gorgeous little boy only woke twice last night - thats significant because the night before we had the night from hell. FROM HELL.

Now then - I have a plan for todays posting. I want to list all the funny little quirks and habits of Jasons, because I realised the other day that hes changing so fast we are already forgetting some of the funny little things he used to do but has now grown out of. But, before that - we have a new development. Jason kisses!!!!!!!!

When you are holding him, just say kissess, and give him a kiss, and he laughs and then lunges at your face with his mouth wide open. Its extremely cute, sloppy and sometimes painful, because he also loves to bite, and if he gets the right part of your cheek in his mouth its all over Rover.

So, here are some of Jasons little idiosyncracies....

When Chris comes home from work you say to Jase in a real excited voice, 'wheres daddy?', and he immediatly drops his toys, starts flapping his arms like hes tryng to take off and swinging his head from side to side looking for his father. If he doesnt see his Dad within seconds, he starts bawling and is inconsolable till he does see him.

One of his faverite activites is to sit on his dads lap while he plays Super Mario brothers on the computer. He sits there, eyes glued to the screen, and literlly shaking with excitement.

Hes a very slow waker, just like his father. The only way to manage this process without tears is to sit on the couch with him after each nap and read at least 3 or 4 stories to him.

He loves to select his own biscuit from the cookie tin.

He cant see someone wearing a hat without feeling the desperate and urgent need to rip it from their head - for this reason I dont go out without two caps - one for me and one for Jase to pull of my head then chew

He bites. Hard.

He has an unexplainable attraction for phones and remotes. He can spot one at 50 paces and will lunge for it at any oppertunity.

oh - there were so many others i thought of this morning, and now cant remember! oh well - here are some recent photos - taken last week I think.

Why didnt these people give me a bib?

Hey, photo opp!








Bath time !