Captain's Log

We find ourselves saying the following phrase several times a week, "Jack sure does enjoy his groceries!" This is definitey a growing boy. I was reviewing photos this past weekend of Catherine at similar recent ages to Jack and while they share a lot of the same facial features (it's the eyes, mostly), Jack has had one major standout difference... his TEETH. At 14 months, Catherine had her bottom middle two, that most kiddos push up first. And one of her top front ones was JUST peeking through the gumline. Not our boy! He's got at least 10 and all his molars are pushing through. And they all seemed to come at once. So he is putting them to very good use and can get almost anything into his tummy that I'll dare to put on his tray. He seems to like drinking water as much as his sister and parents do and we're thankful for that. Then again he and his sister have something of a mean mom since all I let them drink is milk and water with the occasional 4 oz juice box. Ah well.

Jack is a ham. Can't imagine where he gets that from. He has a bit of a flair for the dramatic. If he wants someone or something and is sitting on the floor when he is denied, he will just flop over at the waist, forehead to the ground, and wail. It's usually short-lived, but quite dramatic. He likes to point and while his speech is obviously still just "Jack-ese" he understands a lot and likes to nod his head, and let you know he knows what you're talking about.

He is more interested in our beloved yellow Lab, Chili (more on her later, I think), than Catherine was at this age. He investigates the feel of her tummy, feet and nose. She, of course, could not care less and likes the attention. Chili camps out under Jack's high chair, despite the fact that this behavior is rarely rewarded by Jack. He doesn't leave much behind. When's he is finally full (an occurence we've not often seen) he'll maybe drop a morsel over the side. She is most grateful. I realize that at this age many of the photos of the kids are while there are in the high chair. I don't think I imagined I'd see that thing in my memories so much when I selected it way back when Catherine was just starting to eat solids... It has definitely served it's purpose. As Jack isn't walking yet, we often have to "park" him somewhere to keep him contained. What better place than a venue for eating? I don't think he minds.

So about the walking... Catherine, like her Mommy, was late accomplishing this milestone. She was well into her 16th month before she made those first steps. We keep thinking Jack is going to beat her, as he's been cruising for quite sometime and he crawls faster than I've ever seen, but he's still taking his time about it. He loves to pull up on anything that will (or won't) hold still, stand on his tiptoes to better reach or see, and has no problems plunking back down to take off like a shot after a toy, his sister, the dog, or whatever. As he'll be 14 months old this week, I guess we still have time to break Chatty's record.

Jack has had a harder time staying healthy in these past few months than Catherine did at this age. He seems to be prone to respiratory illness and this crazy Central Texas weather doesn't help. I'm thankful, at least, that he seems to recover quickly and is all the more stronger after each episode. Additionally, it's probably good that he's giving his immune system such a workout with all the friends at school and his sister's contributions... But I'm ready to decrease the frequency of visits to our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Joe. We'll see.

OK, so I'm more caught up now... maybe I'll be better about getting my observations and our stories posted here a bit more often. Maybe not. Life in Liberty Hill, TX has been fun these past few years we've been here. I know it's just going to keep zooming by.