Counting Down the Days 'til Christmas

First Bee Sting

Jack got stung by a bee this morning while I was letting the dogs out. He didn't cry to indicate that he was hurt, but Rachel and Charlie saw it happen so I took him inside and had to take this out of his cheek.

His poor little cheek turned red immediately, so I put a baking soda and water paste on it.

A lot of the redness went away quickly, but you can still see his sting in the next photo.

Poor little guy.

I'm Santa's Favorite...

... and Mommy's too!

Christmas traditions are fun for the most part. I say for the most part because the Thorn family had one of the worst traditions when I was a kid. Every Christmas Eve, we had to eat oyster stew, which is perhaps the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. Bleh! On to happier topics...

Since this is Jack's first Christmas, this is when all the Seaton family traditions will be established. John and I have one tradition that we started when we got married that we will continue. We take the cut off part of the trunk from the Christmas tree and write what big events have happened in our lives that year. Then I display them in a basket as a reminder of all the blessings we've had throughout our marriage.

Now that we have a baby, we want to add a few more traditions. My sister, Kathy, started getting her kids an ornament each year many years ago. That will be a tradition that we steal. Each year when we put up the tree, Jack will get to open his ornament and add it to the tree. As for the tree, now that we live in what we hope is our forever house, we are going to buy a small live tree each year that we will plant after Christmas. Jack is going to get to open a present on Christmas Eve. The gift will always be a pair of pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve as he waits for Santa's arrival. Another Christmas tradition we're going to have at our house is that Jack is always going to receive a Christmas themed book as a gift on Christmas Day that we can share as a family. Jack will definitely write a letter to Santa each year, and his elf on the shelf will be helping Santa make sure that Jack is a good little boy. Does anyone have any other traditions that you used with your kids or that you remember from when you were a child? I'd love to steal some good ideas!

Look Who's Ten Months Old!

Jack is ten months old today! We're cruising through this first year at an alarming rate. Mom wants to put the brakes on! Here are some quick notes about Jack now. There's no time for big long narratives any longer. Jack is too busy!

• This month Jack moved from taking three naps a day to taking two naps. His bedtime is 7:30, and he generally sleeps through the night though we've had a few exceptions this month. He wakes up around 6:00, but I can usually get him to lay in bed with Mom and Dad until 7:00. He loves snuggle time.
• Jack still uses his Army crawl to get around, but this month he started pulling up on anything that stands still long enough for him to get a grip. He'll let go of one stationary object to reach for another, but will not take any steps in between until he's got ahold of the next object. He's "cruising", which means that while he's holding on to something, he'll move all around it. All this movement has caused Jack to slim down. Pants that fit him a month ago are loose at the waist now. He's still wearing mostly 6-12 month clothing, but he's about ready for the 12-18 month stuff. 
• Jack loves to play. His favorite toy this month is probably his Fisher Price stacking cars. It's so cute because whenever he picks one up, he makes a car noise similar to Mom's. When toys are stacked, Jack tries to carefully remove the top toy instead of making them all tumble. 
• One of Jack's favorite things is to be read to. Jack's favorite books are That's Not My Penguin by Fiona Watt (We LOVE this series!) and Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora. 
• We have a verbal baby on our hands. We think he says "hi" when he waves. He babbles all day long, and when I sing so does he. 
• Jack loves our dogs and is extremely interested in Grandma and Grandpa's cat, but he is afraid of unfamiliar dogs. 
• There's still no evidence that Jack will struggle with stranger anxiety this coming month, but he does keep one eye on what Mom is doing at all times. Sometimes he chooses to cry when I leave the room, but most of the time he just continues to play. 
• Our little man HATES having his diaper changed or getting dressed, but it's all worth it if bathtime is to follow. 
• We're working on finger foods, but I think most of the work is on Mom's ended. Finger foods sort of stump me. What can he handle? What's easy? Is that too slippery? Too big? I've had lots of anxiety about finger foods. 
• All in all, we have a happy baby on our hands who is growing up all too fast. 

Mommy's Rambling

Our little man is growing up. It's amazing how it seems to happen overnight. He's pulling up on everything, moving around the house at breakneck speed, letting go of one piece of furniture to move to another, and yesterday he climbed his grandparents' stairs like he'd been doing it forever. All the while, he's jabbering away as if I understand his every word. When asked how big he is, he only raises one hand instead of the customary two, so John and I have decided that Jack believes he is only kind of big. A fake cough is still Jack's way of getting attention. It cracks me up. He has also developed a fake smile that he uses when the camera comes out, so I'm beginning to favor the photos in which he is not smiling.

Jack still shows no sign of stranger anxiety. I love watching people's reactions to a smiling baby. I took Jack in to get a flu shot last week. There was a sulky teenager sitting across the waiting room. In no time at all, Jack had her playing peekaboo and laughing. It was absolutely heart warming. In Dillards not too long ago, an aging salesman came toddling out of the shoe department to chat it up with Jack. My favorite story happened while I was in the grocery store earlier this week. There was a young man, probably 22 or so, who we met in every aisle. The first couple of aisles, he pretty much ignored Jack even though Jack was grinning and squealing every time he saw the stranger. By the third aisle, the guy was chatting with Jack, and throughout the rest of our shopping he waved and laughed every time he saw our smiley guy. Everyone seems to love a happy baby, but most certainly this mommy loves her baby.