An easy week

Despite the steady rain that kept us housebound, this past week has been probably the easiest since Jack was born! He's been sleeping and napping well. Still eating next to nothing, but we weighed him and he's gained a pound since his checkup last month. A typical day's food intake is usually one banana, one cup of juice, a little bit of some other fruit, a small amount of dinner, and milk throughout the day. Crazy!

Jack at a glance 1/22/8

Sleeping: From about 8:30-9:15 to 6, pretty consistent.
Napping: Yes. About 1 1/2-2 hours a day.
Eating: Oh my, no. We have some luck mixing stuff into yogurt. He likes raisins and apples. Last night I snuck some peas into his zucchini and yogurt (it's all he would agree to). But he's really unwilling to eat most of the time. After his nap he gets a small cup of juice which is often a mixture of carrot and apple, so at least he gets a small amount of vegetable, albeit in juice form. We are vigilant about vitamins.
Strollering: Yes! He's doing great in the stroller. I think I've gotten him off my back (literally) for now.
Fun: Jack loves swinging at the playground. For some unknown reason he calls that "monkey tape." The Discovery Museum is the perfect destination these days. Not only do they have a wonderful train room, but there are small dump trucks to push around and a gravel pit for scooping and dumping. At home, he enjoys playing with his trains and legos. Play-doh is a new favorite, and he hardly ever tries to eat it :)
Miscellaneous: He doesn't seem to favor one hand when eating, so we aren't sure if he is left- or right-handed. Jack adores the moon, and looks for it every time we are out walking, and at night. Last week we blew bubbles to the moon! He puts Pinecone (that's his favorite monkey) under a blanket to keep him "toasty warm."

Meet the Beatles!

Hans put together a Beatles mix cd a few weeks ago. We listen to it in Jack's room, and he loves the songs! It starts with "Good Day Sunshine" and "Here Comes the Sun," and as soon as I go into his room in the morning, Jack says "Good Day Sunshine" over and over until I turn it on. He also really enjoys "Me and My Monkey" (of course), "Fixing a Hole Where the Rain Gets in" and "Yellow Submarine".

I'm wondering what other "adult" cds he (and we) would enjoy. Is "Dark Side of the Moon" too strange for a 2-year old?

If anyone can think of good songs featuring monkeys and/or the moon, let me know....

Helping

Not only does Jack not mind when I am busy with household chores, he wants to help! I am happy to devise tasks for him to do alone, or for us to do together.

Together jobs:
changing his sheets
making pizza dough or cookies
unloading the dishwasher (tricky)
vacuuming
laundry
grinding coffee beans

Jack-only jobs:
carrying anything up the stairs
unloading grocery bags
filling the bird feeder
carrying napkins and silverware to the table
weeding (when given strict instructions!)

Teeth, again

Jack's 2-year molars are coming in. He is doing pretty well with this, except that in the past few days he has eaten next to nothing. Today he had 1/2 banana in the stroller on the way to the playground, about 1 cup of yogurt with raisins for lunch, and then more yogurt (no more raisins... I fear the wrath of extra raisins) and 1/2 whole wheat cookie. In retrospect, I should have made oatmeal or peanut butter cookies, at least that way he'd would have had a little more nutrition.

He will not entertain the idea of anything else mixed into his yogurt. No blueberries, peanut butter, or bananas. He will not eat anything else, unless you count milk, which he is drinking quite a bit of.

Thankfully, he will still take his vitamins.

Ugh

Jack has not been sleeping better at night. Tuesday night he slept from 9:15 to 4:45. Last night, again, 9:15 to 4:45, except this morning I managed to get him back to sleep at about 5:30. He got up at 6:15.

Jack is nonplussed by his short nights, but it hasn't been easy on us. We've been taking turns sleeping in the morning. One of us gets up with him and the other puts in earplugs and sleeps a bit more. This morning, although it was my turn to get up with Jack, I reneged on the deal and asked for more sleep -- I had woken up at 1 and tossed and turned for some time, all the while thinking about how I needed to be sleeping.

This mild sleep deprivation is nothing compared to Jack's first few months, when sleep was a very rare and precious thing indeed. But he is very active and strong (body and mind) and after awhile not getting a good night's sleep wears me down.

Two year checkup

Jack had his 2 year doctor visit yesterday, and it went very well. He weighs 31 pounds and is 37 inches tall. Off the charts for height! He accepted his 3 shots without a whimper.

The doctor asked how he been sleeping and when I told her about his 9-5 schedule, she suggested shortening his naps. So yesterday after an hour and 20 minutes of napping, I went into his room, opened the shutters, then left his door open as I unloaded the dishwasher and did some dinner prep. About 10 minutes later he woke up. Jack went to sleep at 8:45 and slept until 6:15, (without waking in the night, which has been a problem lately) a significant improvement. It's rough to give up the luxurious peace and quiet of his 2 hour naps, but I'll make that sacrifice if the whole family can get a decent night's sleep.

Back in the saddle

After a 1/2 year boycott, Jack has begun riding in his stroller again. It's difficult to express exactly how relieved I am -- carrying 30 squirming pounds on my shoulders gets old very fast.