Our Newest Addition To Our Walk

Sorry it's been so long.  I've been really busy planning Trunk or Treat, trying to organize the Primary Program, and getting our Primary fully staffed and functioning.  Oh, did I mention I'm the new Primary President?  Busy times at our house!  Here are some of the things that have been going on:

Jaden and I have altered our daily walk a bit.  We now bring the sand toys and play in the sand!  We set up a fun photo shoot to show you:

Of course, since he plops himself down in the sand and just plays, our walks have gone from 30-45 minute walks to now being 60-90 minute walks.  We are taking every advantage of that beautiful Florida sun!
We have been trying to give Jaden more opportunities to learn how to feed himself.  This is a big step for me because I just think of the mess it will make and I usually just decide to feed him myself, but eventually he has to learn how to function with a spoon and fork.  So I am trying, little by little, to let him learn those skills.

Jaden now has 10 teeth with more on the way!  He has been pushing so many teeth through in the last month that I have lost count.  He has also learned to use them in creative and painful ways...

He can now say "Where'd it go?"  "There it is!" "Tootles" (from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) "Thomas" (as in Thomas the Train) "Fishy" "Turtle" "More"(which he use to just sign and now is starting to say) and my personal favorite "Thank you!"  He says thank you all the time for everything!  He will almost always say it without me having to prompt him.  Sometimes he even reminds me to say it!  It's also fun to see him stringing words together.  We will be watching Mickey Mouse and he knows Tootles is about to come on so he'll say "Where's Toodles?" with his hands up in the I Don't Know pose and then when Tootles come on he'll point to him and say "There's Tootles!" and then giggle into his hands.  LOVE IT!!!

He is starting to become more interested bordering on obsessed with Thomas the Train.  Those are his favorite pajamas, his favorite books, and sometimes his favorite shows - nothing can really touch Mickey in the favorite show department, but Thomas has come the closest.  He has also recently taken a liking to Finding Nemo.

For awhile there, Jaden wouldn't eat anything but goldfish and animal crackers.  It was really frustrating.  He refused to even put most foods in his mouth to try them.  Jake and I were really worried about his nutrition and tried EVERYTHING.  What we should have known was that Jaden would start eating when he was good and ready and not a second before.  He will  now consistently eat yogurt, re-fried beans, and meatloaf and sometimes he will surprise us by him liking other random foods.

I know he must be getting enough to eat because he is starting to hit a growth spurt!  He now weighs 19 pounds 7 ounces!  That still isn't enough to get him on the weight chart, but it's good for him!  He is growing out of his clothes and shoes so fast (for him) that it's crazy!  We'll soon have to start dressing him in 12 month clothes!  Just to remind you, he is 20 months old now.

Anyway, things are good here, but busy.  Always busy.  We are enjoying every single day with our miracle child.  Not every day is easy, but we're grateful for every single one!

Oh - and the promised picture of Raymond, the Manta Ray that lives at our beach: