You would think that after a big birthday bash, all of the fun and celebrations would be over with, after all, Jack did have his first cupcake, what more could a kid ask for? Well, unfortunately, not all of Jack’s loved ones could make it to his party, so the rest of his birthday week was spent continuing the celebration. Grandma and Grandpa Washington sent Jack Jack a darling little card and the thoughtful gift of a gift card to one of the best places in the world, Barnes and Noble. One of Little Man’s favorite times is story time, which aside from before naps and bedtime, is whenever he picks up a books and waves it at either Mommy or Daddy. He appears to be such a fan of reading that just today, while I was writing this post in his playroom, Jack began jibber-jabbering behind me. When I looked over, there was Jack, sitting on the floor with a book in his lap, jibber-jabbering and turning the pages. He seemed quite pleased with himself and Mommy must admit, it was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. So, needless to say, Jack was quite happy when he saw the book Daddy picked out for him at Barnes and Noble, The Day is Done, a Song Book by Peter Yarrow.
It’s a very lovely book with beautiful illustrations. Daddy is also quite thrilled to have something new in the rotation at bedtime. When Mommy is home for bedtime, I still enjoy reading from The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh. I almost have all of the voices down just right. Unfortunately, as of this past week, Mommy is only home in time for bedtime four nights a week. Mommy’s Spring semester has begun and as a result, from 6-9 PM on Monday’s, Thursdays, and Friday’s, Mommy has class, which means on those nights Mommy and Daddy pass each other in the garage with a kiss and off Mommy goes to school and off Daddy and Jack go for a “Guys’ Night In”.
Unfortunately for Daddy, Jack has been in a bit of grumpy mood when it comes to sleep these past few weeks, which has meant Jack has had a hard time going down for naps, but even worse, he was exceptionally uncooperative for bedtime. Listening to our little baby-man cry is tough enough, but to have to do it without the support of the other parent is especially difficult. Daddy is definitely a trooper for being able to pull through the experience with all of his hair still intact. Fortunately, Monday night went better than Thursday and Friday as Jack passed right out the moment his head hit the pillow. Having experienced these moments of victorious relief myself at naptime, Mommy is glad that Daddy was able to experience his much earned deep breath and easy evening.
This grumpiness and overall distemper is something that has been coming and going for the past few weeks. From Jack’s birthday to random moments leading up to today, Little Man has been testing the patience and resolve of Mommy and Daddy. Crying for 45 minutes solid or just yelling for an afternoon for no apparent reason, Jack has been a little more than difficult. To top it all off, his sleep schedule has been completely off the map. One night he’ll sleep through the night, but wake up 6:00 AM (something he has never done before) and another night he’ll wake up every other hour to yell. Sometimes he’ll go back to sleep on his own, other times he’ll cry for 20 minutes while Mommy tries to rock him back to sleep and then pass out like nothing ever happened. For 4 days, Jack’s rise and cry time were as follows: 6:30 AM, 6:00 AM, 5:45 AM, and 5:00 AM. He couldn’t decide what time he wanted to be his new time to wake up. To top it all off, he was waking us up with his yelling at all hours. Mommy and Daddy were beginning to have our doubts that we would ever have a peaceful night again. It was for these reasons that we were slightly worried that Jack might be in a bad mood when it was time for his Birthday Breakfast at IHOP with Grandad and Nana.
If we had any worries about Jack’s mood going south, they were quickly abated the moment Jack saw Nana and Grandad and the swinging IHOP kitchen door. For whatever reason, he was absolutely fascinated by the comings and goings of the wait staff. However, this fascination was quickly replaced when presented with yet another gift in celebration of his first year of life. Unlike Mommy’s Christmas wrap jobs, this gift wasn’t hermetically sealed making it far easier for Jack to just tear into the Sesame Street themed paper, but it did take a little bit of instruction by Grandad for Jack to get the hang of the idea. Once the mystery package was released from its Elmo printed confines, Jack was quite pleased with himself. Grandad and Nana had given Jack an ocean themed talking and singing top! Grandad had remembered how much fun Little Man had had on Christmas with Grandad’s German spinning top, so he picked out a similar, more age appropriate version. Jack loved it. Although we spared the restaurant patrons all the commotion associated with a toddler toy in the full on position, Jack was still able to spin the top by pushing down on it and this made his quite happy.
After opening his present, Little Man enjoyed a buttermilk pancake, apple juice, and a little bit of a spinach omelet, but, like all birthday parties, this one had to come to an end as well. However, it was clear by the look on the faces of Jack, Grandad, and Nana, that a good time was had by all.
After having a little pancake party, it was time for Jack to take his morning nap. Despite Mommy and Daddy’s best efforts, Jack awoke in his previously described grumpy mood. This was very trying on our patience as Mommy and Daddy had no idea what Jack needed . So, we did what we could and continued about our day. For Mommy, that meant finishing up meal plans and creating our shopping list and so we would be prepared for a jaunt to the grocery store in the afternoon. Eventually, the day came to a head while Mommy was making dinner along with two separate lasagnas, which would be frozen for meals over the coming weeks. With classes starting the following week, preparing meals in advance seemed the only feasible way to provide healthy and home cooked meals on nights when I would be dashing out the door. During all this hustle and bustle in the kitchen, Jack and I were watching the Golden Globes because despite Daddy’s general distaste for such affairs, Mommy finds the occasional award show to be fun and entertaining. Then, just as surprising as all of the fits that preceded it, Jack gave Mommy a big hug. For the first time, Mommy’s baby boy laid his head on my chest and held onto me. As soon as this moment registered, I began to cry. With all of the stress that accompanied Jack’s bad mood, this seemingly small show of affection coupled with a darling smile was enough to overwhelm my heart with love and wipe away all of the previous frustrations. Those are the moments that make everything worth it.
Often times, Mommy and Daddy do our best to just survive day by day, sometimes moment by moment. Some days are amazing and go like clockwork, full of scheduled naps, smiles during meal time, and lots of laughs while other days are full of flying food, hurling sippy cups, and an endless stream of whines and tears. Regardless of the temperament, life with Jack is never boring. Just when Mommy or Daddy thinks we’re about to reach our breaking point, just when things seem impossible, the seemingly impossible happens, Jack turns everything around with a smile or a laugh. Mommy once said that we don’t get report cards as parents. We’re never sure if we’re doing the right thing and while Jack is screaming mad it’s easy to wonder if we’re even good parents, but whenever we’re in doubt, all it takes is smile or a hug to remind us what is important – Jack.
Quick Jack Facts
Play time with Jack is an ever evolving activity. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, Jack surprises us. This past week has seen the following new playtime pursuits of our Little Man during all times of the day:
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The other day, while Jack was playing in his play yard, I noticed that he had emptied out his little plastic yellow bin, that he usually uses to fill with a varying array of toys, was turned upside down, and he was standing on top of it like a mini step stool.
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Jack has always enjoyed tossing toys and various objects outside of the area he occupies. Recently, he has used his new found talent of standing on “stools” as a means of furthering the distance in which these objects travel. In other words, Jack has turned into a veritable pitcher with quite the throwing arm.
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Mommy and Daddy discovered one of the reasons behind Jack’s grumpiness is his desire to have free reign over the house. To help with this, Mommy and Daddy give Jack time to explore various parts of the house. During this time he will roam the halls, crawling to and fro wherever doors are not closed. This includes moving in and out of his playroom. However, this intense curiosity can pose its own problems. One of these problems is Jack’s desire to be a door stop. Without Mommy or Daddy realizing it, Jack will close his playroom door and plant himself in front of it making is rather difficult for us to open it back up. Jack can be heard on the other side, giggling.
- Just as Jack’s curiosity is pervasive during playtime, it also rears its head during meal time. One of Jack’s favorite meal time activities is to take pieces of food, i.e. a cheerio, piece of broccoli, etc. and attempt to balance it somewhere. Jack will try to balance a cheerio atop his sippy cup, his own arm, and even Daddy’s arm.
- Prior to going down for a nap, Mommy gave Jack a paci and put him in his crib, which is the typical routine. However, this time, Jack discovered a second paci was already in his bed. This caused a great deal of delight. Mommy stood and watched as Jack switched back and forth between the two pacis, pausing between each transition to smile with great glee and pride.
- On Wednesday, January 20th, while Daddy was changing Jack’s diaper, Jack suddenly began clicking his tongue like had watched Mommy do several times before, but had failed to figure out the trick. Then, on this particular evening, everything just seemed to “click”.
This Tuesday was a very big day for Jack. He had his one year check up at the doctor’s office. He is definitely growing. He currently is in the 90th percentile for height and 97th percentile for weight. Unfortunately, with this particular check up also came four shots. This was especially difficult because Jack is getting to the age that he is able to register what is going and has a harder time getting over the shock of an injection. Of course it didn’t help any when the nurse accidently poked Jack in the eye with the thermometer as a result of him jerking his head as she attempted to put it in his ear. This caused quite a crying fit as well. However he was more than willing to let Mommy comfort him, which was a first as usually it was Daddy who has done the comforting after such ordeals. This would have been the end of Jack’s outings for the day, but due to poor planning on Mommy’s part, Jack also had his third haircut later that evening, but more on that next week.
