Just Jack

My baby boy is now 15 months old. I know I say this all the time but it is just so hard to believe how fast time flies. I wish things could slow down a bit so I could get more slobbery kisses and sweet cuddles at bedtime. Since I know that won't happen I am enjoying every moment with Jack.

He is so different than Avery. It is almost easier to say how they are alike rather than list all the ways they differ. He is much more adventurous. He has no problem going up and down steps on his own, wandering from room to room, sticking his hand in the toilet, opening drawers, etc. We never had to worry about any of that with Avery.

He says about 12 words clearly and then maybe 5 more that only we can really understand. That is also a big change from Avery who was saying at least 50 words by this age. But he is very good at letting us know what he wants either by hand gestures, walking us over to something, or a series of grunts and babbles. It is fun to experience the baby talk and try to de-code the language.

He is very fond of his thumb on his right hand. That is something he shares with his sister. He also loves to read books more than anything. Often in the morning when we are rushing to get out of the house Jack will run up with a book and softly say, "book?" which is his way of asking us to read to him. We almost always do because he is so cute and sweet when he asks.

I'm not sure "freak" is the right word (ahem, Uncle Larry) but he is a very big boy. He weighs 31 pounds and is 35 inches tall. That puts him in the 95th percentile for weight and off the charts for height. His head is also in the 95th percentile so he is pretty balanced out. He is hitting all of his developmental milestones with ease and is even ahead of the curve with fine motor skills.

Enough talk...onto some pictures of my big man...

Future American Idol, perhaps? He was singing "Row Row Row Your Boat" except that he only knew how to say the "Row Row Row" part of the song. Simon Cowell frowns upon those who can't sing the whole song so I think we are a few years away from auditioning for AI.
Here he is running to the camera and yelling "CHEESE!"
If we ever need to get anything done we simply give Jack a book and he is good to go for a few minutes. It's funny to hear him "read" out loud.
I think it is safe to say that Jack has a smile on his face 90% of the time. He is just a really happy guy. I love the way he squeals with delight when we come home from work.
He's also a very curious little guy. Here he wanted to know what the heck those lights on the ceiling were flashing for. He kept pointing up and grunting at us as if to say, "could someone fix those lights? They keep blinking."
We are so blessed to have such a great little boy. It is so fun to learn how to be a parent to him. I love the contrasts between the kids but most of all I love that they play so well together. It is clear that he really loves Avery and most days she loves him, too!