5 Months

Here's a rambling update and lots of pictures of Baby Jack at 5 months old.

Baby Jack is getting so big and chunky that his legs keep getting stuck in the Bumbo chair. I'm not sure how much he weighs now, but it's definitely more than he did a month ago.

He drools and likes to have something to chew on all the time. His hands are preferred, but he will sometimes chew on his toys if he can get them into his mouth.

We spend our afternoons studying Thai with Jay. She loves Jack and Jack seems to like her quite a bit, too. The rest of the day is spent playing and occasionally making the journey to pick up Asher from school. Wednesday's have become our special play date day with Baby Daniel. Jack and Daniel love to look at each other and giggle.

This month we started using cloth diapers at night. I didn't think they could last the whole night, but they actually do better than the disposables. During the day I try to use the cloth as much as I can. I think I need a few more diapers so that I can not run out of clean diapers while washing the dirty ones.

Jack can roll over when he really wants to get something and he is getting closer to being able to sit up on his own. He is pushing up higher and higher when he's on his belly and he tries to grab and bat at everything near him.

Still no teeth and no solid food, but I'm really not in a hurry for either. I'm pretty satisfied with Jack staying little and low maintenance for a while longer.

He is sleeping better than he was a few weeks ago. At night he always sleeps good and he usually will take at least one long nap and a few shorter naps each day. I keep trying to get him on a schedule, but things are always changing and it's been hard to be consistent with his nap times. I did try to take him out of the swaddle blanket recently. After a few nights of him waking up a lot we decided he wasn't quite ready to sleep with his arms free.

Jack's favorite things are getting tickled by Daddy and being near Asher. He is always giggling when he is around those two.

4 Months

Daddy and Baby Jack had a little time alone one morning while Asher and I went to the grocery store. After they finished smiling and giggling at each other they decided to get the camera out and make sure Jack had a picture at 4 months old.

Jack weighs 14 lbs. 2 oz. (6.4 kg) and is 25 inches long (63.5 cm). He loves to smile and giggle, especially if he sees Asher. He has rolled from his belly to his back two times, both times it was to see Asher. He's so close to being able to roll over from his back to his belly, but he hasn't quite made it yet.

Baby Jack is still sleeping great at night. He goes to bed right after Asher, around 7:30 pm, I feed him when I go to bed and sleeps until 7 am the next morning. We are making progress with his naps, the hardest part is just not always being at home for him to sleep. His first morning nap is always good and lately he's taken a good afternoon nap as well. Usually we are gone during his second morning nap, but he will usually sleep in the carrier for a little while. The biggest change in the past month (actually the past week) is the discovery of Baby Jack's blanket.

It's just like Asher's blanket, just a different color. I gave it to Jack one day while he was laying on his play mat and I was studying Thai. I looked over a few minutes later and Jack had snuggled up to the blanket and gone to sleep. Since then he has taken some wonderfully long naps holding on to his blanket.

Jack has gotten pretty good at putting his hands and toys into his mouth. He loves to suck and chew on his fingers, his blanket and any toy that he can get close to his mouth. The Bumbo chair is getting a lot more use these days, Jack sits in it while we eat or play outside.

Baby Jack is still the most laid back baby and he almost always smiles at everyone we pass. When we stroll around I always hear people saying the Thai word for "doll" as they come over and squeeze his fat little cheeks.

Three Months

Happy 3 months Baby Jack!

I'm not sure how much Jack weighs at three months, but he definitely looks chunkier to me. He is still sleeping good and eating good. And drooling good, he's getting better and better at that.

This past month he took his first airplane ride and started sitting in the Bumbo chair. He really hasn't reached any big milestones. I keep waiting for him to roll over, but it hasn't happened yet.

Baby Jack is doing much better at bedtime (meaning that he has a bedtime and actually goes to bed before 11 pm). He goes to bed right after Asher, I feed him before I go to bed and he sleeps until close to 7 am most days. In the mornings he takes good naps, but in the afternoons he likes to be awake. I still swaddle him and put him on his back at night and he sleeps on his belly for his naps. The thing I like the best is that Jack actually falls asleep by himself for all of his naps and at night. I love getting to hold him while he gets sleepy and I love not having to rock him to sleep and hope he stays asleep when I put him in the bed.

Here's a few more pictures from Baby Jack's 3 month photo shoot. Feel free to add your own captions.

Two Months

Baby Jack is two months old. We went to the doctor this week so he could get some shots and he weighed 11 lbs. 10 oz. (5.275 kg) and was almost 23 inches (58 cm) long. I always think that Jack is bigger than Asher was at this age, but at two months old Asher already weighed 12.5 pounds and was 24 inches long.

Jack is still an easy baby and really doesn't cry unless he gets really hungry. He's on a good schedule, eating every 3 hours during the day and taking 2 hour naps, and he sleeps all night long. For a long time he liked to be awake from about 6 pm - 11 pm, but the past few nights he has gone to bed around 8 pm, woken up to eat at 11 pm and then slept until 7 am. I definitely can't complain. During the day he sleeps on his belly in his crib and at night we swaddle him and put him on his back. When we are out during the day he will nap in the Moby Wrap and when my Thai tutor is here he usually naps while getting passed back and forth between the two of us.

Asher gets excited every time we go get Jack up from a nap. He can't wait until he can see him, but then as soon as I pick Jack up Asher starts asking (and demanding) that I put Jack down. It's a little love/hate thing, but overall I think Asher sort of likes having him around. Jack definitely loves Asher, he gives Asher the biggest smiles and giggles.

Now that Jack is bigger the cloth diapers fit him even better, he even wears them out of the house (I was a little scared to do that at first because Jack was too skinny and the diapers would leak a little bit). He still wears a disposable overnight, but I think I'm going to try cloth one night and just see what happens.

Jack spends most of his awake time playing with the play gym, hanging out in his swing or sitting on the couch with me while Asher plays cars. We have been taking him to the park in the evenings, but he has yet to stay awake long enough to actually see the park. The taxi ride puts him to sleep every time.

We are having so much fun with Baby Jack and this next month should be even more fun. Baby Jack is taking his first trip to the beach next week and then his first airplane ride the week after that.

1 Month

Jack turned one month old on Monday. At his one month check-up he weighed 10 pounds (4.55 kg) and was 21.5 inches (54.5 cm) long.

So far Jack is an easy baby. He doesn't cry much and he sleeps pretty good. A few times last week he slept through most of the night and even when he doesn't sleep all night he goes right back to sleep after eating. We swaddle him at night and he seems to really like that. He is eating great and obviously gaining lots of weight. Mimi gave him a bottle for the first time while she was here. He attacked it, drank 4 oz. and then got handed over to me to eat even more.

During the day he mostly naps on the couch or in my lap. It's not that he won't sleep in his bed, it's just that I am having so much fun laying around in the afternoons holding him. We have started putting him in his bed for naps in the morning and as long as we put him on his belly he sleeps really well.

My mom brought all of the cloth diapers with her, so within the past two weeks we have started using them. They are pretty bulky, but seem to fit Jack for the most part and they give him a sweet cloth diaper booty.

After a month Asher still really likes having Baby Jack around. He likes to know where he is and what he is doing at all times. I am so thankful that Asher adjusted well to his role as big brother.

Twelve Months

Asher is twelve months old! He is walking everywhere and getting into everything. He can eat almost anything, although often he refuses everything except for Cheerios and grapes. Over the past month he has mastered his sippy cup and gets a big kick out of carrying it around and drinking water. Sometime soon I am going to let him try real milk and over the next month or so I am hoping to get him drinking only real milk from his sippy cup. Asher is starting to talk more, he can say mama, dada, bye bye, hi and quack.

I can't believe how fast this first year has gone! Asher continues to grow and change so much everyday. He is so much fun now, he loves to play ball and to hit things. He is all boy.

Eleven Months

At eleven months Asher is learning more and more everyday and changing so much everyday. He loves going to daycare and doesn't cry when I drop him off. He still loves to swing and to be outside and during the times we have church with lots of people he loves to bounce up and down to the music while on top of Daddy's shoulders or in the sling.

It only took Asher 8 days of daycare to figure out to crawl and after another two weeks he is pulling up and standing by himself for a few seconds. Saturday night he took his first steps and I think in another few weeks he will be running.

He still weighs right around 20 lbs. and I'm not sure how tall he is. He is starting to outgrow some of his 6-12 months clothes and he looks really cute wearing his big, baggy 12-18 month shorts.

Asher is still a big milk drinker, but he loves to drink water out of his sippy cup. He is starting to eat a lot of table food and he can chew pretty much anything as long as it is a small bite.

I can't believe that next month he will be 1!

Ten Months

Asher is ten months old. He is starting to crawl, although at this point it's more of a lunge/scoot and it usually ends with him being frustrated he can't get to where he wants to go. One of his favorite things to do is to walk around holding our hands, he gets so excited and can walk pretty fast.

Asher still loves to be around people, but he still prefers to be held by me or Roger while he is with people he is unfamiliar with. I have been told that in the church nursery he gets more excited very time a new baby gets dropped off. Hopefully this will make his transition to daycare easier. Starting next week Asher will be in daycare Monday - Friday for about 6 hours a day. This will be the first time he has been without Roger and I during the day (I'm thinking this will be much harder on us than it will be on him).

Next week will also mark our move to Asher's third home in the past ten months. This one will be pretty short term, only eight weeks. We are praying for a smooth transition for all us and I expect Asher will do great as always.

Coming soon, in honor of Asher's Ten Month birthday, another "Asher's Top 10 @ 10"

Nine Months

This past month has been full of milestones for Asher. He can feed himself and he can stand up.

He still will not crawl, but he does try to pull up to standing. I am starting to think he is going to skip the crawling and go straight to running. Asher also started clapping his hands this month, he likes to show off and clap them when there are lots of people around.

The past few weeks have been pretty rough for Asher. He has gotten 4 teeth, had an allergic reaction to yogurt and he currently has his second ear infection. Before the past week I had never called the pediatrician, I think I have called at least five times since then.

At our most recent trip to the doctor's office Asher weighed 19 lbs 4 oz.

And, oh yeah, this month Asher decided he loves to eat grass.

Eight Months

Eight month old Asher still loves to eat, still loves to smile and he still loves to have his picture taken.
I have started making his baby food chunkier and giving him little cereal puffs to snack on.

We haven't been to the doctor lately, but I think he probably weighs around 19 lbs.

Asher has gotten more interested in his toys lately, he loves to sit in the floor and play. Of course, his favorite part of playing is putting everything in his mouth.

All of his top front teeth are coming in right now. So far only one has broken all the way through, but I think the others will be here any day now.

Asher has started pushing up on his arms and he can scoot backwards when he really wants to. He seems a little more interested in trying to crawl, but he hasn't quite figured it out yet.

The biggest challenge this month has been the appearance of some separation anxiety, mainly when Mama leaves the room. Luckily Asher is easily distracted by pretty much anything.

Asher talks more some days than others. He still sticks to the "mama" and "dada" sounds most of the time. Roger claims that Asher almost said dog and ball the other day. I'm not sure if this really did happen, but I do know that Asher loves dogs and balls, so it is a definite possibility.

Seven Months

Look who's sitting up tall, eating all kinds of fruits and vegetables, talking all the time, not interested in crawling and getting cuter everyday.

It's Asher!

At Asher's last doctor's appointment he weighed 17 lbs 12 oz and was 27 inches long. He is now back on the "normal" schedule for vaccinations and he even had the blood work done that was supposed to be done when he was born.

Asher is eating solids three times a day and nursing five times a day. He eats rice cereal, squash, carrots, pears, sweet potatoes and avocados. Thanks to Sleep Week he has returned to his great night time sleep habits and we are finally starting to make some progress with his naps.

I feel like he is always talking! Most days "mama" and "dada" are his favorite words to say, but he can make a "baba" sound, too.

Lately we have been going to the park, Asher loves to swing and to ride in his stroller. Here are some pictures from our recent trips to the park.

Six Months

Asher is a spiky, red haired six month old!
Sometimes the hair is not so spiky and sometimes it is more blonde than red, but it always makes people smile. The name "Asher" means happy and we love to see how happy Asher makes people. Every week as we go grocery shopping we watch as people see Asher and smile, every time we are at church we watch people rub his fuzzy hair and smile. We love that our son is such a happy baby and that he makes other people happy, too.

We haven't been to the doctor in a while, but I think Asher weighs about 17 pounds. He has just started eating cereal and some vegetables, but still loves milk more than anything else. Asher still rolls over all the time and is learning to sit up on his own.

Asher's favorite toy is his walker, he gets in it and zooms around the kitchen playing with his toys, opening and closing drawers and grabbing towels to stick in his mouth. When he gets tired of the walking he goes under the table and plays.

Five Months

Asher is now five months old. Wow.

We went to the doctor last week for shots and a check up and Asher weighed 15 lbs 15 oz and was 26.5 inches long. He got his first round of American shots and then spent the rest of the day sitting in my lap being sleepy and grumpy. I'm not sure what they put in those American vaccines, but it definitely does not make my baby happy. In Indonesia the shots never bothered him.

Yesterday there was an old tractor sitting in our yard. So we dressed Asher like a farmer and decided it was the perfect time to take some 5 Month pictures. There were two different photo sessions and I have two favorite photos.

Asher has mastered rolling over and keeps trying to pull his knees under him and crawl. We are working on sitting up, but he hasn't really figured that out yet. He still loves the exersaucer and knows how to spin around in it and last night he started pushing different buttons to make noise. In fact, he likes it so much it makes him a little silly.

Asher is still on the all milk diet, but I guess when he hits that 6 month mark we might start on the cereal. He already has a special bowl, spoons and bibs, I'm just waiting on him to act like milk is not enough.

Four Months

Asher is now four months old and is getting his first tooth. It started a few days ago and now the first tooth has broken through his gums in a fit of screaming and tears.

The photography session really did start out well.

But right after this picture he fell forward onto his face and I may have accidentally knocked him in the head with my knee trying to catch him...and it all went downhill from there.

I really feel like we captured his pain. Poor baby! Hopefully he will start to feel better soon. We have been trying to give him cold teething toys to chew on, but he doesn't know how to chew yet so he just sucks on the toys and get his tongue cold.

Besides teething this has been a pretty uneventful month. Asher has started to giggle and interact with us more. He loves to sit up in his Bumbo chair or stand up in his walker. He's finished with all of that laying around like a baby nonsense.

We haven't been back to the doctor, so I don't have an update on his size, but I think he's getting bigger everyday. We still haven't started solids and I really don't plan to until around 6 months, but we will see how Asher does on his milk only diet.

Asher does have a favorite toy, his puppy.

This is the first toy that Asher has really shown an interest in. He mainly enjoys picking up the puppy and then throwing him on the ground, he also loves to get a puppy dog ear in his mouth so he can suck on it. The other day he even fell asleep holding his puppy.