All About Jack Walter

Our life forever changed last year on September 21, 2010 at 3:55 pm when Jack was born. He began life at a whopping 8 lbs 2 oz & 19.75 inches, and as of his most recent well-check the big man is 24 lb 2 oz & 30.5 inches!! He has done A LOT of grrrrrrowing this year :-) Since my posting has been almost non-existent I want to devote an entire blog to Jack now, and one on Alexa soon, in the hopes that if I am focused on updating about only one child then I will not leave anything out. The goal is to try to capture in words how amazing each of our children are!

With no further ado here is the update on our Monster Man/Buddy/Jack-Attack :) Jack's Day...

• It usually begins somewhere between 7-8 am. With a smile. A huge one!
• Before long he is fussy and saying "ba-ba" (even though he doesn't get a bottle anymore) to signify that it is time for breakfast.
• Breakfast is usually around 8:30 am and consists of waffles, fruit, toast, zucchini/pumpkin bread, yogurt, oatmeal, or something along those lines.
• Then we either play in the basement, run errands, or go to the gym, zoo, library. I have to say, Jack is a hit at the gym! The staff in the playroom love him!! He never cries when I drop him off, which is amazing considering the separation anxiety Alexa had at this age when I would take her there. If we stay at home, Buddy is surely causing mischief - climbing on the fireplace, opening the TV cabinet, tearing toys/books off of shelves, trying to get into the pantry, dumping out toys, taking apart Alexa's puzzles, etc. The boy is busy!
• He eats lunch usually around noon. This meal is usually a PB&J sandwich, a quesadilla, fruit, veggie straws, hot dog, etc. Jack has become a kinda picky eater lately so I try to make his favorites for breakfast & lunch so I know he is eating, and then I offer him a variety at dinner.
• After lunch is nap. He is a solid napper, from like 1-4 pm (or so).
• I'm usually cooking dinner to some extent when the kids get up so we will either play in the basement or the kids will play in the kitchen (with a few pans & utensils I've designated for them) depending on how close by I need to stay to the meal.
• We eat dinner between 5:30-6 pm, whenever Daddy walks through the door :) Whatever I make is what goes on Jack's tray. If he likes it, great! And he'll devour tons. If he doesn't like it (or more likely, refuses to try it) he doesn't eat. I figure if he's hungry enough, he'll eat.
• After dinner we play in the basement as a family.
• The kids get a bath every-other night, so if it is a bath night they head upstairs with Daddy for "bath time fun" at 7:10 pm.
• We read him a book (or 2-3 depending on how tired Jack is), say a quick prayer, sing a song, and the little man is diving for his crib by 8:00 pm. He does NOT want to be late!
  

**Every day with Jack is exhausting & entertaining and frustrating & fun - seems to be the job description of parenting: It is challenging yet rewarding!! It is so great to see him learn new things. He really won't sit still to work on shape sorting, basic puzzles, flashcards, animal noises, body parts, etc. like big sissy would at this age - which makes me frustrated because I'm not directly teaching him things, like I used to do with Alexa. Although he doesn't know these things that she did at his age, he knows things that she didn't (i.e. if he is holding a brush he will put it on his head and brush his hair, he puts a phone up to his ear, he puts toys back in the containers, etc.). I'm sure as the weather continues to go downhill and we are staying home more he will begin to learn these other basic baby knowledge facts! Some of you might remember the Milestone Charts from Babycenter.com that I was using before to identify where Alexa & Jack were developmentally. As a reminder, M (Mastered), E (Emerging), and A (Advanced)... I'm gonna try to identify if Jack was doing each thing by the listed age - if I can remember, hahaha.

10 months

• Waves goodbye (M): He's an excellent waver :)
• Crawls with belly off the ground (M): Check... He started crawling while Daddy & Mommy were in Mexico!
• Stands alone for a few seconds (A): Negative. He hardly ever does this now.

11 months

• Says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent (M): Definitely. We produce talkers, not walkers LOL
• Plays Peek-A-Boo (M): Absolutely. He LOVES this!!
• Understands "no" and simple instructions (E): Debateable. He can follow directions and I think he understands no, he just doesn't listen!
• Says one word besides "mama" or "dada" (A): Yes. I believe by this age he had words for Chloe, bottle, book, woof

12 months

• Imitates others' activities (M): Check
• Indicates wants with gestures (M): Check
• Takes a few steps (E): Negative
• Scribbles with a crayon (A): Doubtful - He normally eats it! Haha.
• Says two words (A): Yes!

13 months

• Bends over to pick up object (M): Yes, if he is holding onto something. He is still not standing/walking alone.
• Enjoys gazing at his reflection (E): OMG, YES!! And he loves to watch videos of himself - he points and says "Jack!!!!"
• Holds out arm/leg to help you dress him (E): Check
• Combines words/gestures to make needs known (A): He points at things and says "this" or "that" ALLLLLLL DAYYYYY LONGGGG!!!
  

14 months

• Eats with fingers (M): He's been doing this for months!!
• Empties containers of contents (M): He is a master at this!
• Toddles well (E): Still not walking
• Responds to instructions, e.g. "give me a kiss" (E): Yup
• Uses a spoon/fork (A): He can kinda use utensils - but he makes a big mess!
• Pushes and pulls toys while walking (A): He walks pushing anything, the walker, the toy piano, the tricycle, chairs, bins, but does not pull anything

Other accomplishments

• He claps at the right time to If You're Happy and You Know It
• He turns pages in books
• He understands when someone (usually Alexa) is sad and gives hugs & kisses ♥
• He is beginning to stack blocks (does better with larger ones then small ones... and the best part for him, knocking them over!!)
• He can climb up stairs completely independently, as well as safely slide down 'em on his belly
• He dances to music
• He gave up his pacy!! (Well, I took it away from him, but it is still an accomplishment)
• He will fake cough if you ask, "Jack do you have a cough?" Then after doing it a few times, he laughs and laughs. The boy is getting a sense of humor :) I also had this pacifier game I played with him (that he usually initiated by putting his pacy in my mouth & laughing), he would tug on it until I would let it go and then quick as can be shove it into his mouth, repeat repeat repeat, and he would be in hysterics the whole time!
  

Jack loves...

• playing in water! He had so much fun going to pools this summer :) LOVES taking baths (even though Daddy spends lots of time saying "Jack sit down") and really enjoyed swim lessons (that he took in Sept - Oct)
• his tag blankie and stuffed moose at nap/bedtime... so much so that when we forgot to pack them for Perry this past weekend he was extremely upset when being put to bed :(
• Alexa ♥ She is seriously his favorite person in the entire world. He calls her name, looks for her, follows her... For right now, they are the very best of friends :) (And I hope that we can find a way to ensure they always remain so close!)
• Chloe... He loves to watch her, and most particularly to feed her (even though we tell him no)
• Daddy ♥ As soon as he gets in the door from work, it is all about "Dada" all night. I'm chopped liver, LOL
• playing! His favorite toys include (but aren't limited to and are constantly changing) anything to do with the kitchen set (a spoon, pots, the ear of corn), various cars, the vacuum, phones, dinosaur, books (although he tore apart his favorite Oscar the Grouch book on Sunday, boo - his other fave is The Three Bears by Byron Barton), motorcycle, Pokey the rocking horse.
  
• food: bananas, blueberries, grapes, apples, PB&J sandwich, waffles, yogurt, hot dogs/sausage, chicken nuggets, rolls/biscuits, Chex mix... Notice a trend? Mostly things with carbs (i.e. breads and fruits)
• playing Peek-A-Boo!!!! He is starting to do a good job of actually covering his eyes (rather than placing his hands on his forehead, that both our babies have done initially when learning this milestone game) and will sometimes say, "Jack???" or "Boo!"
  

Jack is...

• (and has been) completely transitioned from bottles to sippy cups. He stopped breastfeeding at about 11 months old and was on formula for a month then we switched him to milk in a cup.
• no longer on medicine for acid reflux. We weaned him from it back in July and he has done great without it!
• the proud owner of 7 (I think) teeth. He doesn't really let you get in there and look around! I've always been a big fan of the gummy grins since they only last a short part of a baby's life, but even I have to admit that when he smiles and shows those ' teethers' it makes me smile too :)
  
• a total handful! But I absolutely love this boy to pieces!! Even when he is frustrating me, it is hard to stay angry because he has the cutest face ever. His smile just melts my heart ♥
• a sponge - ready to learn, I think. He has become fascinated with teeth recently and can also identify where his belly is :) I really am excited about the winter weather forcing us to stay inside more often so that I can really begin to work with him on some stuff! I've also been encouraging Alexa to help out too - she knows to help him with his words by telling him what something is when he points to it :)
  
• a camera's delight, haha! Seriously, our lil buddy takes THE best pictures!!!! In fact, one of his pics from his Sept 1-Year photo shoot was on display at Portrait Innovations the entire month of October.

Many of you can probably remember when I was posting about Jack's plagiocephaly condition back in the spring... I'm sure by now, you know that we opted to NOT treat it with a molding helmet. It was an extremelyyyy tough decision for Dan and I, one that we constantly second-guessed ourselves about, but ultimately we came to the conclusion that the potential help it would offer in reshaping his moderate condition did not offset the potential damage it could do to him in all aspects of his development. The doctors/nurses told us that either way his head would always be slightly asymmetrical (i.e. even the helmet would not have made Jack's head perfectly round). Studies showed that in cases similar to his, equal success was made with repositioning techniques while sleeping and keeping the child off his head while awake. Mainly with those two points in mind compared to the risk of the helmet hindering breastfeeding, crawling/walking, talking, and his overall personality, we just thought it was in our/Jack's best interest to be diligent with repositioning him to his left side or belly while sleeping and staying upright while awake. And that is exactly what we have done. When I took him back to see the pediatric neurosurgeon's nurse practioner back in May or June (I can't exactly remember when) she was astounded at the progress his head had made!! Our pediatrician comments every time we see her that his head just looks great too! Of course, there are days when we over-analyze, question, re-think our choice - but in the end, I think we made the right decision for Jack.


Just to be a tad nostalgic - Let's take a quick look at photos to see how much my most favorite little boy has grown and changed in his first year!!

Welcome to the world, Jack Walter Ritchey!!









A newborn photograph taken when Jack was 6 days old








We knew those eyes were gonna stay baby blue - 4 months








Happiest kid alive - 8 months old












Our big boy (this is the pic of him that was on display at the portrait studio) - 1 Year








Happy 1st Birthday!!












What an absolutely incredible year it has been with the amazing little boy that God blessed us with last fall. Jack Walter brings us so much joy and happiness! We are looking forward to making many more marvelous memories with our remarkable son ♥ Ciao.