Two Years Old

We can't believe how time has flown! Jack is now two years old. He recently had his 2-year checkup at the doctor, and here are his new stats:

• Height: 36 inches (87th percentile)
• Weight: 26 lbs (24th percentile)

Besides being tall and skinny, the doctor said he is right on track for everything. He has more than 20 words (usually I'm the only one that can understand them though), he can follow instructions, he is running, climbing, playing and getting into everything. The doctor gave me some tips for potty training (poop parties!) since Jack has shown some interest in the potty already. I'm not under any delusions that he'll be potty-trained any time soon, though. The nurses who gave him his immunizations said they have never seen a calmer two-year-old. He didn't even shed a tear and was actually smiling once the shots were done (the grape sucker didn't hurt, either).

Jack had a great second birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Lanz's house. All of Jack's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were there. He received some pretty awesome trucks and Thomas the Tank Engine toys. If he wasn't obsessed with them before, he definitely is now. He pretty much walks around all day with a truck or train in his hand, saying "Choo Choo!" constantly.  He has also taken an interest in puzzles lately. Puzzles that frustrated him just a couple of weeks ago he does a couple times in a row with no difficulty. He's getting smarter before our eyes!

Of course, besides being brilliant, he's also adorable:

19 months!

I know, I know, it's been ages since I've last posted. I've been meaning to for awhile now, but Jack and I have both been sick for about a month now and we're just starting to get better.

Since I last wrote, Jack has done a lot of growing up. At his 18 month appointment, he was 22 1/2 pounds (25th percentile) and 33 inches long (68th percentile). Tall and skinny boy! Since he has been feeling better, I think he's gained about two pounds...he eats everything in sight! He is still rocking the spoon and cup, and now he is practicing using a fork. At least he hasn't poked his eye out yet.

As far as other development goes, he's walking and running and kicking and throwing a ball right on track. The doctor and I were both concerned that his speech was delayed, so he gave us a referral to a speech therapist. She asked me a bunch of questions about what sounds Jack makes and what words he recognizes, etc. She came to the conclusion that his speech abilities are only a few months delayed and it is not anything to be concerned about yet. If he hasn't caught up by the age of two, then she'll want to start seeing him regularly. She gave us some ways to emphasize speech at home, and Jack seems to be catching on really quickly.

The speech therapist also said that his speech comprehension is advanced for his age, which is great. Some examples of this that I've noticed in the past few days:

• When I'm getting Jack dressed in the morning, he helps me get his clothes. He knows where the socks and pants and shoes are. 
• He can point to various body parts (nose, eyes, ears, teeth, feet, and belly)
• When we say "Bathtime!" he walks over to the bathroom door.
• When I say "Do you want a snack?" he walks over to his high chair and tries to get in.
• When I put my shoes on, he gets his shoes and brings me my purse.
• When I say "Blues Clues," he brings me the TV remote and makes the hand signal for Blues Clues that they do on the show.
• Yesterday I asked him about baby monkeys and he found the ONLY book on his entire bookshelf (out of hundreds) that has baby monkeys in it. I was amazed by this one!

So, he's a pretty smart little guy, but definitely not wanting to talk too much. I'm trying not to anticipate his needs and to ask him more questions, hoping that he'll answer me. Hopefully it shouldn't be too long before he's talking up a storm (and then we probably won't be able to shut him up!).

15 months old!

I was going through a box of Jack's baby clothes today when I found one of his preemie outfits. It was soooo amazingly tiny! I remember thinking he was always going to be a tiny little baby and now....well, now he is not tiny nor really a baby anymore.

Jack just had his 15 month checkup and he is still doing great! He weighs 22 lbs 11 oz (22nd percentile) and is 31 1/4 inches long (54th percentile). When I laid him down on the bed in the exam room, he seemed to know that something bad was coming...he got three more shots...ouch. I thought he would be really tired after his shots, but that day he didn't take a nap until 5:30 pm. Argh.

He continues to learn to do new things all the time. He is soooo close to walking. He has taken a few steps on his own, and can walk around the whole apartment while holding our hands, but doesn't want to make the final leap to independence.

Other things he does:

• Eats with a spoon. He prefers to feed himself...which makes for messy and slow meals, but he usually gets most of the food in his mouth.
• Claps all the time! Whenever I say "Good job, Jack!" he congratulates himself with a round of applause and a huge grin.
• He now has four teeth!
  
• He is growing out of 12 mo. size clothing and into 18 mo (right where he should be!)
• Whenever I yell at the cat to stop scratching the couch, Jack starts snapping his fingers (more like just rubbing them together) to say "Stop that, Izzy!"
• He gives big sloppy wet kisses.
  
• He knows where socks go, where his nose is, and where his belly button is.
• He likes to pick up the remote control and point it at the tv and play with cell phones. He really, really, really loves playing on the computer.
  
• His favorite toy is still a book. He loves to sit on the couch and "read." He will sit with a book or photo album and flip pages all day long.
• He loves to push his shopping cart around; he has also started pushing other things around: laundry baskets, toy box, garbage cans...
• He is looking more like a little boy and less like a baby...which is definitely bittersweet for me :)
  

Update: 14 months

Well, we are still trying to get settled into Bemidji. Adam is enjoying his job at TrekNorth Jr. and Sr. High School and Jack and I get to spend all day together at home and exploring our new town.

Jack had his 1-year-appointment when he was about 13 months old. He was in the 10th percentile for weight at 20 1/2 lbs and the 50th percentile for height at 29 inches. He was very upset to get four shots that day, including his first flu vaccine!

Jack is soooo close to walking right now! He cruises along furniture and behind his little shopping cart. He also lets go for just a second and stands on his own before he realizes it! We hope he'll be running around by Christmastime.

He still just has two teeth! He has definitely been "teething" lately though....lots of drool and fussy nights. We expect four of his top teeth to bust through any day now...(although we've been saying that for months).

Jack does a few baby tricks too: he claps and gives high fives, he says "beow" or "ka ka" (meow or kitty) when he sees our cat, and he dances when he hears certain songs. He loves playing peek-a-boo behind the couch and also loves sitting with a book and "reading" out loud. He can brush his own hair and teeth, although he confuses the two occasionally. He still loves bath time and hates getting his diaper changed. And, of course, he's still the cutest little guy there ever was!

Happy First Birthday Jack!

Today is Jack's first birthday!!!!



I cannot believe our little JackAttack is already a year old. It seems like yesterday that we were in the NICU watching him hooked up to all those machines! How far he has come in twelve months!





Here are some updates on what Jack, the one-year-old, can do:

• He is about 20 pounds, we think (we haven't scheduled his doctor's appt yet). He is still wearing some of his 6 mo. clothes, but also wears some 12 month (Baby clothes sizes are all over the place!).

• He has two adorable little bottom teeth!
  

• He can stand up against furniture really well. He pulls himself up from the floor and can stand for a long time, just looking around.
  

• He can "cruise" along furniture just a little bit.
  

• He still does the "army crawl." I'm pretty sure he's never going to do the "normal" crawl, he'll just skip to walking.
  
  
• He can use a cup without a sippy lid to limited success. More than half the water makes it into his mouth! With the sippy lid, he has perfected it!
  

• He loves bath time, any toy with wheels, and playing peek-a-boo. His giggle is the best sound in the world.
  

Happy Birthday, Jack, we love you so much!

Big Changes

Well, the Lanz family has gone through some big changes since my last post.

The biggest change is that we have moved from Colorado to Minnesota! We knew we eventually wanted to make the move back, and Adam finishing school seemed like good timing. It was really difficult to leave all the friends and family and the life that we had built there, but we want to raise Jack around all his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We are currently living with Adam's parents (thanks Sandy and Tom!) until Adam finds a teaching job and we know where we're going to end up. It's getting to be crunch-time for the beginning of the school year; so...if he doesn't get a job by September 5th, we'll start looking for other things.

Jack is really enjoying being around family and having kids to play with every day. His cousins William and Eliana stayed with us for the last two weeks and they both love "Jackie." Eliana always brought Jack his binky when it wasn't in his mouth and William would sing and dance to try to make Jack laugh.

It has quieted down a little bit with the McKeevers gone, but Jack still has plenty of playmates. Adam and I are home all day (obviously), as is Grandma Sandy and Uncle Michael. Grandpa Tom makes Jack giggle and scream with delight when he comes home from work in the evening. And, there are always a few daycare kids or haircut appointments to keep us all entertained and busy.

Jack has some new tricks of his own, however. He has his first tooth! It is really adorable and sharp! This has definitely pushed me to start the weaning process! Jack gets one bottle of formula a day and I only nurse him three times a day. We'll cut that down to two in a week or so, then to one, then hopefully he'll be one and we can put him on regular cow's milk rather than formula.

He is also showing interest in climbing up the stairs and standing up against furniture. He is definitely a few months away from walking, but we'll keep practicing. I can't believe his first birthday is coming up next month! In some ways, this first year has felt like forever (I can't even remember not having Jack around) but in other ways it has flown by (wasn't he just a four-pounder?). I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for Jack!

9 Month Check-Up

Jack had his 9 month doctor's appointment today. The doctor said he is looking great and is the "most proportional" baby she has ever seen: he was in the 20th percentile for weight, length, and head circumference!

Here are some of the highlights of what Jack is up to lately:

• He weighs 18 lbs 3 oz! I look back at pictures of him when he was a newborn and cannot believe that my chunky little boy was once only four pounds!
• He rolls around whenever he wants. He can get from one end of the living room to the other in just a few rolls. He can also pivot himself so that he can start from any direction in his rolling madness.
  
• No crawling yet. He is enjoying his tummy time a lot more and actually sleeps on his tummy most of the time now. The doctor said not to be worried that he's not crawling because he seems to be getting everywhere he wants to go by rolling.
• He "talks" all the time. No real words yet, but he definitely is making all different sounds, including rolling his R's constantly.
• No teeth yet, either. Jack still drools all the time, which is usually a precursor to teeth, but nothing so far.
  
• Despite his lack of teeth, he's a huge eater. He definitely prefers solids over breastfeeding nowadays. He eats oatmeal and fruit in the morning, a snack of fruit and cheerios or puffs in the afternoon, and rice cereal and vegetables or meat in the evening. He gobbles up his solids and makes a big mess of himself. What a big boy!