Birthday Boy

Half of me can't believe a whole year has passed and the other half of me can't believe it's only been a year. So many moments to look back on and smile. What a year it's been! We feel so blessed to have a happy, healthy one year old boy. J had a great birthday. We had a nice morning celebration last Wednesday before we went to work. Opened a few presents and sang happy birthday. It was really nice. So hard to bring him to daycare. I wanted to spend all day with him so badly. Luckily the day flew and we had a nice celebration when I got home. Noisemakers, party hats and all. After dinner, he got his first taste of cake. He was definitely more interested in the icing than the cake, mushing the icing between his fingers and shoveling it into his mouth. Had a bite of cake, but was quickly disinterested.

Yesterday, we had birthday party #2 at a local park with our neighborhood friends. Having had a little practice under his belt, the cake eating was a little more animated and much more colorful. Turns out he likes chocolate cake better than white. Blue icing everywhere...hair, face, and I found later...in his diaper (yuk!). It was a beautiful day and so nice to get together with everyone. We're looking forward to party #3 over Easter weekend. That will be a big blowout in Newport with two other little ones to celebrate with. J will have this cake eating thing down!

J had his 12 month appointment last Thursday. The doc said he looks great. He's 23lbs, 12oz and 31 inches. Long and lean...just like his daddy. He's crawling all over the place and cruising along furniture and anything else he can pull himself up on. Not walking yet. He likes to walk while we're holding his hands, but I think it might be awhile until he braves it on his own. We practice standing a lot and he thinks it's hilarious when he stands for a second and falls on his behind. I tell him he needs to "balance" when he's standing and he kind of puts his hands out and bends his knees...it's pretty funny to watch. He looks like a little surfer. He's into everything and has a very healthy appetite...just like his mommy : ). We're trying all kinds of new table foods. He's eating whole peas and cooked carrots, broccoli, zucchini, chicken, burgers, pasta...and when he doesn't like it, he's mastered the art of pushing the food out with his tongue. Which he also finds hilarious. He's got about 8 teeth now and is working on a few more, I think. He can't get enough of the outside. Loves to go for walks and now knows which direction the neighborhood playground is. He's pointing at everything under the sun and communicates very well that way. He can be very demanding with his finger. As long as he continues to use his first finger, I'm okay with that ; ). He does say mamma and dadda and babba, but we're not convinced he necessarily associates them with anything yet. If you ask him where his ball is, he knows to look around on the ground for it. And, if you ask him "where's the light?" he looks up and points at a light. So, I think he knows more than he lets on some of the time. He gives us high fives and is starting to wave "hi" and 'bye" more and more. He loves to dance and shakes his booty every time any kind of music comes on. He gives us lots of hugs and is such a little snuggle bug. We're embracing that now, because we know it won't last long.

Well, we should get moving with our day...lots of errands to run. Hope this finds everyone well.

Lots of love,
T, M & J

9 months and growing!

Christmas Day marked our little guys 9th month. It was quite a bit different than previous months, considering it was about 10 below outside. We spent the Christmas holiday with Tom's family in Wisconsin and had an absolute blast. Incredible hosts made our entire stay smooth as can be. Despite the freezing cold, we did make it out onto the Jansen lake for a little winter fun. J's reaction to the snow was pretty anticlimactic. We were all excited to get him out in it and I don't think he moved his face once (maybe it was frozen?). We did get him out on a sled and towed him around a bit on the 4-wheeler. Again, he was pretty disinterested, but I had fun!

Christmas morning all the kids woke up to lots of fun presents from Santa...it was so cool watching how excited they all got. The day after Christmas my parents drove up to stay with us for awhile. It was so nice to have all 4 grandparents together to have some quality time with J.

Of course with travel comes the inevitable illness which thankfully, I think we're all over now (knock on wood!). However, New Years Eve was probably the one of the lamest we've ever had...in bed by 10:30. We didn't even see the clock strike 12. Pretty sure that's the first time that's ever happened. I'm sure it won't be the last. Turns out...I kind of like being lame. It was so nice to wake up with a clear head : ).

J is doing great. He recently learned to clap on command and is so proud of himself every time he does it. It is incredibly cute and of course we do everything we can to encourage it. He's also waving "hi" and "bye". He's kind of starting to crawl...he can definitely do it when he REALLY wants to get to something, but usually he finds it too exhausting and gives up mid-crawl. Who can blame him? He is 21 lbs (and, I think about half of that weight comes from his head!). When he's not crawling, he's getting around one way or another. He will squirm his way to something he can pull himself up on or pull himself forward with. I know soon enough he's going to be going a million miles an hour, so I'm enjoying this not fully mobile stage as long as I can.

So far 2009 has been great. We're getting a lot of stuff done around the house and looking forward to all the new challenges the new year will bring.

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!
M, T & J

Happy 6 month old!

Hard to believe his six month appointment was just this last Thursday. Man, time flies when you're exhausted! Once again, we were blessed to get yet another clean bill of health from the doctor. He now weights 18lbs 13 oz (75th percentile), he's 27-3/4 inches long (90th percentile) and his head circumference is in the 97th percentile, which of course we attribute to the space required for his enormous brain. He was all smiles and giggles, showing off for the doctor by sitting up so strong and flirting with her with his inherited crooked smile. Then, the doc left and the big bad nurse came in and ruined his good time with four shots in his legs and an oral shot. One of which was the flu vaccination. Poor little guy was such a trooper though. Smiling again shortly after. Of course a good dose of Motrin will do that. He struggled most of Thursday and Friday with lots of fussiness and had a hard time getting a good nap in during the day. He is a much happier boy today.

Other things that are new with J...hmmm...his personality is coming out more and more. T and I are having a ball figuring out what makes him tick. We've found a few key tricks to make him laugh that seem to work most of the time. A good game of peek-a-boo will usually get him going. It is such an awesome sound. Never gets old. He is also starting to reach out for us now which is so cute. He loves to touch daddy's face. He is certainly in awe of his father. Every time T walks in the room he just lights up. It is so cool to watch.

This morning he was all smiles, especially after Skyping with Grandma and wishing her a happy birthday. He is finally taking a good long nap this morning which is very important so he can rest up for a night with is Aunt Mary Rose. She'll be babysitting while we head off to the wedding of some of our very good friends in Laguna Beach. We're really looking forward to hanging out with friends and celebrating such a great couple.

Halloween is just around the corner..the first of many for J. Not quite sure what he's going to be this year, but we'll be sure to post a nice pic on the blog. I'm sure he'll want to wish everyone a happy one. T and I are headed to a neighborhood party next weekend where costumes are required. We haven't dressed up in years, so it should be fun.

Well, I'm sure our little bubba is going to wake up soon, so I should make an effort to get a few more things done. I'll try to be better at keeping this blog updated more regularly.

Sending out lots of love...
M, T & J

Four Months Already

This picture was actually from his 3 month pics. I can't believe it's been a whole month since they were taken. Lots has been going on. Mom and dad were here for two weeks staying with J as I made my way back to work. It was SO NICE to have them here and to know J was in such good hands. It is definitely making the transition to daycare easier. They just left on Saturday. To say it was hard to say goodbye is the understatement of the year. I'm finding that having a baby makes EVERYTHING more emotional. The good news is that we'll be back in KC for his christening at the end of this month where he'll also get to see his other Grandpa and Grandma, so that will be exciting!

J had a great time with his Grandma and Grandpa Murphy. He decided to show off for them quite a bit, turning over from his back to his front their first week here and from his front to his back their second week. T and I missed both of these firsts, but were so happy mom and dad got to see it!

He had is 4 month appointment the first Friday mom and dad were here. The doctor gave him another clean bill of health. He weighs 15lbs, 11oz (70th percentile) and is 27inches long (97th percentile), so he's starting to thin out a bit. I think he's going to have his dad's build. He got some pretty painful shots, but was such a tough little guy.

Before mom and dad got here, we had two weekends in a row with great friends, so it was such a nice ending to my maternity leave.

Being back at work is going okay. It's been hard being away from James during the day, but it is nice seeing my co-workers and having some adult conversations : ). And, the drive home is so awesome. It is never quick enough, but getting in the car to go home immediately puts me in a good mood.

J has been smiling and giggling and cracking us up. He is so into his hands and feet and will study them with such great intent at long lengths. He is so vocal, constantly reminding his father and I that we are no longer in charge. To say the least, we are having a blast.

Well, I need to get to bed. Mornings are much earlier now!

Sending out lots of love,
M, T & J

Livin' la Vida

Life is good at the Jansen household. J is now 3 months old and cute as ever. I unofficially weighed him yesterday and he was a solid 14 pounds, 8 ounces. Just 4 more pounds and he'll be double his birth weight! It's crazy how fast he is growing. He's getting so long he barely fits in his 3 month clothes anymore. I have him in a lot of 6 month stuff now.

He's really interested in his toes these days and pretty much has his tongue hanging out 24/7. I've read that babies at this age start to really discover their hands and feet, so the toe thing seems to be right on track. Not sure where the tongue thing is coming from, but it only adds to his cuteness, so it's all good. He is getting better at lifting his head up and strengthening his neck muscles. Not rolling over yet, although he's rolled off his surf mat a couple of times, so he's getting there! I definitely am in no rush for him to grow up, so I'm totally comfortable with him taking his own sweet time with these developmental milestones.

He is "talking" more and more. It's so cool to see him discover new things throughout the house. He is obsessed with light fixtures and ceiling fans. It's cheap entertainment and they don't even have to be on, so it's earth-friendly, too! He is smiling so much and opens his mouth real big like he is going to just start cracking up. Every now and then he'll give us what seems to be a giggle, but I don't think it's a conscious effort to giggle, more of an accident. But, we take what we can get over here.

I hate to jinx it, but he's been sleeping really well. He's had several 8 hour nights, a few 9 and 10 hour nights and one 11 hour night! It was incredible. There were high-fives all around. He's also been napping pretty well, so overall, we feel very lucky to have such a well-rested little boy.

Well, I could go on forever about what an amazing, humbling, enriching, enlightening and sometimes frightening experience this parenthood thing is, but I'll spare you those details as many of you are already in the know. I'll just say this...we certainly don't deserve him, but we are so incredibly grateful to have him.

Sending lots of love out to you all,
M, T & J

2-1/2 months today!

So, it's been another month with this chunky monkey and he is doing so well! We are so proud of him. He had his two month appointment last week and weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds, 8-1/2 ounces and is almost 25 inches long! He is in the 90th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height. Apparently he gets his weight from this mother and his height from his father :). He also got 5 vaccination shots which weren't so fun, but he was a real trooper. The doc gave him another clean bill of health which we are, again, so grateful for.

He is smiling up a storm these days and we act like we just won the lottery every time we see it. It is awesome. He is also kicking like crazy. We've kind of made a little game out of it. He gets real focused and so intense and pushes his legs (one at a time, as if he was walking) against my hands. It is hilarious. He is so serious about it. He's also making all kinds of new noises. Just when we think he's about to cry or fuss, it turns out he's just talking and has discovered a new "word". It's so fun to encourage the noises and have conversations with him.

I'm happy to report he is sleeping pretty well. The past three nights he's slept at least 7-1/2 hours straight. It's close enough to 8 hours that we're considering it "sleeping through the night". It sure feels like we're getting more sleep, which is so nice.

We had a great visit from 4 of my college girlfriends over Memorial Day weekend. It was so great to see everyone and introduce them all to J. He made a good friend that weekend since my friend Stacy brought her little boy, Reid, who is only 5 days older than J. It was so fun for the girls to get to know the new men in our lives.

Well, J and I are about to run out for a bit, so I should get going. 'Till next time...

Love to all,
M, T & J

12 pounds of pure joy

I can't believe our little man has been with us five and a half weeks now. We've been quite busy with fun visitors and big events. He has been such a little trooper.

We had a great visit with Grandpa R and Grandma M. Now that their grandchildren have doubled on the Jansen side, their trips to CA have become even more busy. Cousin J had his 7th birthday party on Saturday at a park in Encinitas. We took J to it and enjoyed the magician that performed. It was so entertaining and the kids were so cute! It is hard to believe cousin J is 7! Sunday was A's baptism. We are so honored to be her Godparents...it was a beautiful service and both babies did pretty well keeping it together through the whole thing.

J had his one month checkup and is still going strong. As of last Wednesday he weighed 10lbs, 10oz and was 22 inches long. I just had him weighed today at a mommy group and he now weighs 12 pounds!!! What a chunker! The doc had said he is in the 75th percentile for weight, height and head circumference. She said it is really rare for a baby to be perfectly proportioned like that, so of course, I am just beaming with pride (even though I know it really doesn't mean anything). I am also happy to report he is sleeping for 3 to 4 hour increments at night now. He is still gassy as ever, but we've started giving him gas drops and that seems to be making a difference. I had heard that those drops are no more effective than water, but I swear he seems to do better when he takes it.

I finally did get a quick little smile the other day and it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't wait until he shares that smile with all of you. The pic above captures the start of one, but the real deal is awesome. It is amazing how such a small little person can have such a huge impact on your life. We are looking at everything with fresh eyes and it is so incredibly wonderful. I am so in love with our little family.

Sending all our best,
m, t & j