Jack’s first Christmas is only a few days away and although Jack, at 49 weeks old, is too young to be too excited about the upcoming holiday, the anticipation is most certainly growing for Mommy and Daddy. Despite the fact that we’re adults, that old fluttery feeling that children experience around this time of the year is definitely resonating with both of us, not because of any gifts we will be receiving, but because this is the first Christmas for Jack. Christmas is one of our favorite holidays, after all our wedding did have a Christmas theme, and more than any other holiday, we have been looking forward to making Christmas exceptionally special for our Little Man. It is this desire to kick off a life of Christmases on a very positive note that Mommy and Daddy have been working over time to make things special and this week was no exception.
Over the course of the past week Jack, Mommy, and Daddy have made Christmas cookies, played with wrapping paper, went Christmas shopping, watched Christmas movies, and read Christmas stories. Throw in a wonky ever changing sleep schedule and a visit from Grandma Cavanagh and Aunt Jentry and there is a recipe for one heck of a busy week lacking in sleep if Mommy ever heard of one.
For whatever reason, Jack’s sleeping schedule has been slowly devolving from a schedule into seemingly random chaos involving all night dance parties. At first, Jack was getting up later in the morning, around 9 AM. This later rise time resulted in a later morning nap, which triggered in a domino effect. Eventually Jack’s bed time was pushed back to 8:00 PM from 7:00 PM and perhaps, as a result of these changes in schedule, Jack began rising every few hours in the middle of the night to stand up and dance in his crib.
These little dance sessions wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that Jack, perhaps inspired by his own bouncing, throws his paci out of his crib which then results in cries for Mommy or Daddy to come retrieve it. This wouldn’t be too much of a problem either, if this weren’t a constantly recurring event (every few hours). To top it all off, Jack woke up last week at 4:30 completely convinced it was morning and time for everyone to be awake. The zenith of this experience was on Saturday.
Saturday, Mommy, Daddy, and Jack had a few items for Jack and few small Christmas gifts to pick up at Babies R Us. This was a rather challenging task considering Jack’s late nap schedule. To top it off, his morning nap, which he didn’t go down for until noon, lasted for two hours. So by the time we finished picking up a new Diaper Genie Elite II (Mommy broke the first one), an extension for Jack’s “Baby Jail”, some bath items, and a Christmas gift for Kiera, it was time for Jack to eat dinner. Unfortunately, we were still out and about and sans high chair. As a result, Jack ate food purchased inside the store, from his car seat in the parking lot of Baja Fresh while Daddy picked up dinner for the two of us. By the time we arrived home, it was time for Jack to go to bed. Despite the oddness of this schedule and having had only one nap the whole day, Jack managed to catch up on some much needed sleep and didn’t even fuss once upon going down for bed.
Little baby jail
Bigger baby jail
As exciting as Saturday would prove to be, Friday was equally as eventful. Jack rose late in the morning and despite his lazy day attitude he became all a buzz as he watched Mommy zoom around the house getting things in order for the impending arrival of his aunt and his grandma. Part of this zooming around also included the wrapping of Daddy’s Christmas presents. Jack loved all of the bows and pretty paper and I’m more than certain he will have a fantastic time ripping into his gifts come Christmas morning. Having received all the packages I was expecting, Mommy was quite surprised to receive a very special delivery from Daddy! He had a bouquet of white Daisies delivered to Mommy along with a big Mylar balloon in the shape of a heart that said “I Love You”. Although this was delivered to Mommy, I have a suspicion that the balloon was more for Jack’s enjoyment given his love of all things shiny and that float. Mommy and Jack are extremely lucky to have such a wonder Hubby/Daddy in our lives.
Later that evening, Grandma Cavanagh and Aunt Jentry arrived just in time to see Jack eat his dinner, have a little play time, and to go to bed. Unfortunately they weren’t in town for very long, so after this brief Friday evening visit, they stopped by on Sunday to drop off Jack’s Christmas present before leaving town.
Quick Jack Facts
- When you ask Jack how big he is, he will put is arms high above his head as if to say “SO BIG”.
SO BIG!!!
- Sunday night before bed, Jack watched Disney’s Prep and Landing, his first Christmas themed movie. He sat on Mommy’s lap, cuddling, with Daddy near by and he became more than just a little excited when he saw the reindeer.
- One of Jack’s favorite things to do when he’s eating is to try to balance a piece of food on the top of his sippy cup. He thinks it’s just wonderful when he accomplishes this, typically with Cheerios.
- Sunday afternoon, Jack watched Mommy make Christmas tree Christmas cookies. He hasn’t tasted one yet, but if he’s anything like Daddy, he will love them.
- Jack is now drinking a combination of formula and whole milk bottles to transition him off of formula by his first birthday. So far, so good.
- Tuesday night, while Daddy was playing Jack, Jack started to climb Daddy and with his mouth wide open, he planted his first “kiss” on him. Before bed, after reading a little bit of My First Board Book with Jack, he did the same thing to Mommy. Then he tried to eat my glasses. Both the kissing and the attempted eating of Mommy’s glasses are very much Jack moves.
- Jack has gotten into the habit of wanting to cuddle after his afternoon nap. This is quite wonderful as he’s never been too much of a cuddler. I think it helps him transition from sleeping to play time.
Cuddly Morning
Special Daddy Photos
As part of Daddy’s Christmas gift this year and as part of our ongoing effort to make sure Jack is the most photographed and highly documented child out there, Daddy purchased a very nice camera. With this new camera Daddy is constantly taking some very awesome pictures of Jack which may or may not have anything to do with this week’s post. So, to ensure this beautiful photos of the cutest little boy in the world are seen, they will be displayed here, in the “Special Daddy Photos” section. Enjoy even more pictures of our beautiful boy who, almost a year later, still remains the heart of our hearts.
Bathtime is fun now
Splishy Splashy
Getting dry .... ROAR
After bath toes
Too cute for words - see all them teef?
Our little boy
