Utah Part 2

So the reason I mostly split this vacation into 2 posts was so I could post a ton of pictures of my son.  No surprise there!  But I think you will really enjoy them.  Let me set them up for you:

One of our last days in Utah we took Jaden to the cemetary to Jake's mom's grave.  We wanted to spend some time there and take some family pictures.  Or, at least, we would have taken some family pictures if there had been someone else around to take them.  Anyway, I wanted some pictures of Jaden by himself so I had Jake sit him up on his blanket and then I told him to get out of the picture while I quickly took some pictures.  This was the first time that we realized that Jaden could sit up on his own for short periods of time!  And when I say for short periods of time, it was really a short period of time.  Here is what happened:

Don't you love how I just sat by clicking picture after picture as my son is tumbling down?  Yup - I'm a good mom!  In my defense, Jake was right there ready to scoop him up, and it looks a LOT steeper than it actually was.  And in case you didn't appreciate it enough earlier, here is my favorite out of all of those pictures:

Opposite Day

Jaden likes to do things his own way.  I think it definitely comes from me!  He doesn't want to conform to the carseat:

or to sit on the couch the right way. 

And for those of you wondering about his size, at the time of the couch picture we would say that:

He is 9 months old

He is developmentally a 6 month old

He wears 3 month clothes

But we can't say that anymore since now he is 10 months old and developmentally a 7 month old.  But he still wears 0-3 month clothes. :)

Solids!

For a long time Jaden wasn't gaining enough weight, even for his adjusted age.  They were charting him as if he were born in April like he was supposed to be, and he was in the 0 percentile.  Yup - that's a zero.  Our pediatrician (who I LOVE!) told me we were going to have to squeeze one more feeding in a day and I had no idea where to fit it in.  He also told me that one of our other options was to start him on solids, so that was what we decided to do.  Apparently Jaden thought he would try both!  Before this, he was sleeping a solid 12 hours at night (it was absolute heaven!) but then he started to wake up at around 3am for a feeding before going back to bed and then ultimately getting up around 7-8am.  Even though that schedule isn't too bad, I still missed my 12 hour nights! 

Jake and I decided to start with rice cereal and he did better than I thought.  We took some really cute pictures!

He didn't last for too long on the rice cereal and quickly let us know he was done.

Since then, we have tried him on peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, prunes, squash, and pears.  He really likes all of them except for peas, only likes prunes when they are chilled, and will down an entire container of carrots and pears in no time flat!!  In fact, here he is loving his carrots!

All of this has really started working - Jaden in now officially almost 15 pounds!!!!  That puts him at 2%!  But I really like that he's small.  It makes him easier to cuddle!

Jaden and his Daddy

It is so fun to watch Jake and Jaden together!  I knew that Jake would be a fabulous dad.  In fact, that was one of the main reasons I married him.  And it has proven to be exactly true!  I wish you could all see how Jaden just lights up whenever Jake walks in the room!  His whole face just gets so excited and he does everything he can to get over to Jake as fast as he can.  And if he wants to be held by Jake and Jake doesn't pick him up - watch out!  The waterworks turn on fast! 
Here is a video of Jake making him laugh - one of many I assure you!

Jaden's Exersaucer

So my mom got us an exersaucer for and he usually loves it.  But the first time he was in it he didn't know what to think!    He definitely didn't want to touch the ground with his feet!  He has now gotten used to it and will be very happy in it, as long as he doesn't see anyone else in the room who could come and pick him up and play with him.  But here is a video of his first time in the exersaucer:

Halloween 2011

I was excited for Halloween this year.  I figured it would be the only year where I could pick out Jaden's costume before he started making his own decisions.  We thought about a little gangster (since his name in the womb was Coolio)

(Here's his *stank* face:)

But in the end we thought a Baby Harry was cuter

but he is apparently terrified of wizards.

So that one didn't fly either.  So Jaden did what he always does and took matters into his own hands. 

Doesn't look like much?  Let me give you a different view:

He decided to be a Poop Monster.  And he worked hard getting it authentic.

What a mess!  And so much for me choosing his costume.  Oh well!

Also - this huge temptation has been sitting on the counter for days and mocking me:

You are mine tonight!  Here's to hoping we don't have too many trick-or-treaters!

Utah! Part 1

Since Jake is on hold now, we got the chance to go back to Utah for a visit!!  So many people out there had never seen or help my baby, and we missed our families and the mountains, so it was wonderful to go back!  Of course, even on vacation, it's really just business as usual - my boys playing on the computer!

Jake's parents had never even held Jaden, so we stayed with them and they had fun just loving on him!

We had a lot of people to see and a lot of places to go, so by the end, we were exhausted!  Jaden slept practically the entire day after we got home.  But it was so fun showing off our beautiful son!  It was funny - if we were showing him to someone Jake knew, they would exclaim at how much of a Cuthbert Jaden looked like, and if it was someone I knew, they would tell us how he looked like a Doggett.  So far, we know that he got my eyes, and other than that, he must be a good mix of the two because we don't think he looks just like either one of us.

More on our trip to Utah later, just as soon as I upload the pictures.  Depending on when Jaden lets me put him down, that could be in a couple of hours or a couple of days....

Graduation and More Poop

Jake graduated from "A" school!!  And not only did he graduate, but he was an honor graduate!  That means he had one of the highest GPA of all of the students in his class!  Here he is getting his diploma from the Lieutenant:

We were so proud of him!  He has worked SO hard!

Jaden, one the other hand, wasn't so excited...

Just kidding!!!!

It was kind of mass pandemonium after the ceremony, so it was hard to get Jaden to look at the camera.

He was also apparently hungry as he tried to eat my face several times.

And then when I asked for a kiss I got a face plant instead

What a silly kiddo!

But, OH BOY, does he make me happy!!!

Here is Jake with part of his graduating class (he is on the far right)

What a cute sailor I have!

So now we go on to "C" school, but we don't know where or when yet.  Jake put together a "dream sheet" of his top three choices of jobs within his field, so now we just wait until they tell us what job he will get, where he will be training, and when he will leave.  Some people get their orders right away, and others wait for months and months, so we have no idea.  Depending on how long his "C" school is depends on if Jaden and I get to go with him, so Jake made sure to put all of the jobs on his dream sheet with the longest training times.  I'll let you know when we know more.

So Jaden flunked out of church today.  Or should I say, Jaden pooped out of church today.  I took him to change him, saw the extent of the damage, went and got Jake, and told him we were going home.  It was one of those that really required a bath tub!  Jake told me to take this picture quick because if he had to smell it any longer he was going to puke!

This innocent little face really hides what was lurking below:

Don't let the innocence fool you

But boy did he feel good afterwards!

Oh, and did I mention that was the first time he ever wore that outfit?  Just breaking it in I guess....

My Sharing Issues

My camera charger is lost and I am too busy lazy to find it.  So no pictures of my little man.

One of the things that you learn as a small child is how to share with others.  For the most part, I am pretty good at sharing.  I like sharing because it makes me feel good and I like to help others.  But there is one aspect of my life that I do NOT like sharing, and that is my son.  Sure, I will share his story and his pictures, but when it comes to holding him and playing with him, I have a really hard time letting others in. 

As many of you know, I have waited my entire life to be a mother, but more specifically, I have waited, yearned for, prayed for, and cried for want of a baby in the last 4 years.  At one point, the doctors told me I absolutely could not try for children for a few years until my health was cleared.  That was one of the darkest days in my life.  So I think it's understandable that I have such a hard time putting Jaden down. 

But it's been a tug-of-war between Jake and I.  When Jake comes home, I understand that he needs to have his time with Jaden too since I am with him all day.  But I have such a hard time giving him up.  We have to set a schedule for who gets to change the diaper, who gets to give him his bath, who gets to take him out when he gets fussy during church, who gets to take him to class at church, who gets to sit next to him in the car, who gets to push his stroller, and who gets to play with him and do tummy time with him. 

There is a  reason that Jaden doesn't nap in his bed during the day but in my arms instead.  It's about 25% that he doesn't sleep as long in his bed and 75% that I can't bear to put him down.  I just love holding him and marveling over his perfection.  Jaden sleeps about 12 hours at night now (you put him down at 8pm and you don't usually hear him again until 8-8:30am) but occasionally he has his 5am "you get to come in and love me!  Aren't you lucky!?!" wake up call.  I really don't mind those.  He isn't really hungry.  All he wants is a pacifier, being cuddled, rocked, and an occasional bum pat.  It is a time where it is just him and me and there are no other distractions and I can just stare at him, marvel at him, and kiss him. 

It is easy to be selfish with him when you live hundreds of miles from anyone you know and you are home all day with him, but I am really going to struggle when we go back to Utah in 2 weeks for a visit.  There will be other people that will want to hold him and love him and that's fine.  But I am worried because I won't get my exclusive one-on-one time with my miracle.  So if I let you hold him and then after a little while I yank him from your arms with no explanation, now you know why.