Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Baby Jack is Big Boy Jack Now!

I'm going to try to avoid the much used phrase "I can't believe my baby is...." but let's just say I definitely understand the sentiment! Jack will be 2 on Saturday. That means 2 years ago, I was hugely pregnant, impatient, and NAIVE to what motherhood really meant.

I definitely think motherhood changes you very quickly. There's no doubt it's deepened me as a person and rearranged the order of importance of everything in my life. It is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me. And not just motherhood, but specifically Jack (who wouldn't exist without that other great thing that happened to me - Jacob Landry).

Every month since Jack was born, I've been writing down what he's like in a little journal. I always get frustrated as I sit down to do this because there is so much to say and my hand writes so slowly. I've decided I'll switch to typing from now on.

Let me tell you a little about Jack and his first 2 years:

Adorable 8 lb, 10 oz baby


Cuddly, milk guzzling, BIG baby


Strong, brave, soul - an eternal inspiration to me
(open heart surgery at 3.5 months)


Mr. Chunky


The Third Musketeer and Big Time Traveler


A Very Loved Owen/Landry Family Addition


An Avid Reader


Momma and Daddy's Baby and Best Buddy


As he approaches the milestone of his second birthday, who is Jack now?
  • He is definitely independent, insisting on carrying his own bag or playing contentedly by himself.
  • He is imaginative "I am a dump truck"..."I am a car carrier"... I've watched him make up many games and identities.
  • He is polite - he says "Excuse me" when he "has gas" and always says "please" - actually kind of a challenge bc I don't always want him to have what he's asking for!!
  • He is a smart little cookie. I know it might sound like bragging, but when it's your own child who you have watched evolve from a tiny baby to a thinking, talking boy, everything is amazing! He knows his ABCs, including identifying all letters except a handful (U, V, E, and N if you are curious). He counts to 11. He knows an impressive amount of machine names ("Mommy, I see a mobile crane....Mommy, where digger go?.....Mommy, find backhoe loader")
  • He has an uncanny memory. Jake gets tired of my stories, but the child doesn't forget anything. We go on walks and he knows what road the hospital is down, where he'll likely see school buses, and remembers that a car that looked like his friend Felix' Mommy's was parked over there once. He randomly spouts out things from months back. For example, when he heard us talk about Uncle Chris, he said "Uncle Chris has a boo-boo" - which was true, when he saw Uncle Chris 3 months ago.
  • He loves, loves, loves to read. My favorite moments are the ones where I look over to find out why Jack is so quiet and it's because he's sitting on his blanket reading his books, slowly flipping through the pages. We read together during the day, before nap, and before bed. He loves Sesame Street books (mine and Jake's from our childhood), loves non-fiction books about trucks (I highly recommend the emergent reader Mighty Machine books), and random other books.
  • He loves his school, the Child Development Program. When we sit down to say his prayers, he immediately says "Ms. Robin" wanting to make sure we bless his teacher in our prayers. He's proud of the pictures he brings home and is making good buddies at school (Stephen and Jack namely).
  • He has had a wonderful first best buddy Felix, who he's been hanging out with every week or so since he was 9 months old. Sadly Felix is moving to NC, but hopefully will come back to visit.
  • He loves to eat. He can definitely be picky when he wants to, but the boy is indiscriminate when it comes to fruit and cheese -- his two favorite types of food. Jake and I are pretty proud of Jack's diet and the fact that he eats very little processed food. I have a feeling we come off a little intensely to some (i.e. the church nursery ladies) but I'm confident we've got sound logic on our end and I know Jack is healthier for our strictness.
  • He is so loving. He says "Mommy hold you" and "Mommy snuggle" a lot and I love that he comes to me for comfort. Now that he knows we are having a baby, he is so sweet and cute. He says "Hi baby, how are you?" to my belly and has started to say "I love you" and gives my belly a kiss, unprompted.
  • He will be an awesome big brother. He's just a great kid, so who wouldn't want to have him as their big brother? He knows that when the baby is ready, we'll go to the "hopipital" and that he'll get to hold him/her then. (He thinks it's a girl).
  • He is still a baby. I LOVE his pronunication of certain words and almost encourage it just bc I think they are so cute. My favorites are "hop-e-pital" (he's obsessed with building hospitals and looking for the hospital and ambulance trucks so he says this a lot); "nummy" (which means another, i.e. "Jack had a nummy bad cough" after he coughs a second time); "manana" for banana and "banola" for granola and "strawbay-yay-yay" (and rasbay-yay-yay etc.) :)
  • He is not perfect. He has a temper, he's definitely hit Jake and me more than I'd like to admit, and he is nowhere near rational at this point. But these are all parts of Jack and the little boy his mind/body/soul are working toward becoming. It's our job to be patient and help teach him in these moments (EASIER SAID THAN DONE but we are working on it!)

There is so much to love about him. I hope I get to be blessed with a long life as his mother so I can get to watch him grow up through all the stages and get to know the wonderful person I know he will be as an adult.

Happy Birthday Jack - we love you the most!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my! Said with tears in my eyes. What a wonderful time he will have reading these!

Aunt Kala said...

This is great! He is a precious little boy. They grow up so fast. You will always remember these moments.

Aunt Kala said...

This is great! He is a precious little boy. Wish we were around y'all more, but thankful you share his life with us. They grow up so quick & you will always remember these times.