wordless(ish) wednesday: such a boy

Going to the park with JC is always an adventure. He loves to run around, play in the dirt, and collect treasures. He probably handed me the same little piece of wood chip about forty times. Just wanted to make sure I didn't lose it! It's so nice to get out and enjoy the cool evenings at the end of summer.













{Linking up with The Paper Mama,a little king and i, and then, she snapped, Supermom, Live & Love Outloud, 5 Minutes for Mom, jenni from the blog and Baby Baby Lemon. Whew, that's a lot of linking up.}

{review & giveaway} mymemories suite scrapbook software

I'm so excited to be able to offer my readers a giveaway for the first time! I was lucky enough to be contacted by MyMemories.com with the offer to review their MyMemories Suite software and give a copy to one of my readers.

The software does take a minute to get used to but once you get the hang of it, you can do so much with this program! It comes with several "digital paper packs" that make it easy to customize your layouts with coordinating paper and embellishments. Or you can start from scratch, which is what I did, and use elements from different templates. I made a couple pages and exported them so you could see what I did with the program.

I really liked the textured backgrounds and adding shadows to my embellishments to make them look like they are really on paper. You have so many special touches that you can add including music, narration, videos, and links to the internet. The book can be shared in so many ways. You can print out individual pages or whole albums at home. You can also export them to be printed professionally. They can also be turned into a slideshow or put onto a DVD. 

There a lot of opportunities that this software gives you to display your photos. You could print out individual pages to create art to be framed. The software has the ability to make calendar pages that you can fully customize. It would also make for interesting blog posts by displaying photos in a totally unique way. If you run out of ideas with the paper packs provided with the software, you can also download other packs from MyMemories.com. Some you have to pay for but some are completely free! 

The good folks at MyMemories have also given my readers their own special coupon code: STMMMS73213

Use this code to get $10 off MyMemories Suite Scrapbooking Software and a $10 coupon to use at the MyMemories.com store.

Want to win your own copy of My Memories Suite?

To enter this giveaway, visit MyMemories.com and leave a comment here telling me which digital scrapbooking kit you would choose and your e-mail address.

For extra entries, please leave a comment with your e-mail address for each additional entry:

1. Follow knit purl baby via Google Friend Connect (located on the far right sidebar under my picture).

2. "Like" MyMemories on Facebook.

3. "Like" knit purl baby on Facebook.

4. Follow MyMemories on Twitter.

5. Follow knit purl baby on Twitter.

6. Tweet, blog or facebook about the giveaway (one entry for each).

Entry will be chosen at 12:00 am PST on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

buff mama monday w.4, setbacks

{check out my rewards/goals here}

Soooooo this week hasn't been the greatest for me in more ways than one. I only made it to the gym once. And only for about forty minutes. I was there for about an hour and half but most of that was spent trying to ease JC into the "kid's club". Heh, that didn't go over very well.

I hate to use JC as an excuse for anything but, as I'm sure is true for other mamas, being his primary caretaker is "my job" and it doesn't last from 9 to 5. I don't get a lunch break. I don't get vacation or sick days. I don't get weekends off. For the most part, where ever I go, he goes. Joining the gym seemed to be the perfect solution because I wouldn't have to use precious nap time to work out. I could take him with me to the gym and drop him off at their day care center while I got my cardio on. Except that JC hasn't really been watched by very many people besides Charles or myself. And if someone else does watch him, it's usually at our house so he's in a familiar environment. And he's going through his separation anxiety phase. So, needless to say, he isn't really down with hanging out in this kid's club. He pretty much cried the whole forty minutes that I was working out.

I know the more he goes, he'll probably get used to it and it will be easier. But it's really hard to concentrate on working out when I'm worried that JC is causing havoc in the kid's area. And it's already hard enough to plan the time to get to the gym without having to add an additional twenty minutes of "get JC acquainted to the kid's area" time.

Plus, the main reason why I joined the gym was because I want to take some of their classes but the times don't always work out best with our schedule. I have a treadmill at home so I feel silly dragging JC to the gym just so I can go on the treadmill there. I'm willing to give the gym a little bit more of a chance but I'm not so sure that it's going to be what's best for our family. I might just have to suck it up and plan better so I can work working out into nap times, after JC goes to bed or before he wakes up in the morning. Maybe when it stops being almost 100 degrees outside, we can go for jogs together. And bring Tsunami along too; she needs to lose a little weight too.

So ultimately, I did lose two pounds with week but I'm not getting really psyched about it until I get past the five pound mark because I have a five pound fluctuation that I go through.

Any other mama's have a workout system that works for them? Do you try to include your little one(s) or do you try to work it in during nap times?

I'll leave you with an arm workout video that I found the other day on Six Sister's Stuff. I ended up subscribing to this girl's videos because she has some awesome workouts and does a lot of reviews of workout classes and DVD's.



{linking up with The Crafty Nest}

week in iphone pics, w.15

Fifteen weeks of iPhone pictures! Cray cray!

We had a lot of fun stuff happen this week including my first day of school, our first visit to the library, and babysitting JC's BFF Damian. And I even got my hair did. Amazing.




On Monday, JC did some very serious modeling while eating his breakfast. It looks like he's trying to sell cologne. Damian hung out with us for most of the day. And we decided to chuck our icky hand-me-down rug that we had in the living room. Our hunt for a cute, inexpensive rug continues.




Damian came by again on Tuesday. I felt bad because Charles had the day off and I had a hair appointment so I had to leave him in charge of two babies six months apart in age. It's kind of a lot of work but Charles got it done. This allowed me to have a little bit of sacred "mama time" while I got my hair highlighted. I can't believe it actually worked, my hair is so naturally dark. I just got some reddish-brown highlights throughout but I think I might have her redo the top of my head because the highlights are too bright and chunky for my taste. And I reheated some Mexican leftovers for dinner. JC chomped on a tortilla and thoroughly enjoyed himself.




On Wednesday, JC got to have a PB&J waffle for breakfast. It's amazing. We sent a funny photo to Charles while he was at work missing all the fun. Then we went to Target at 11:00. Target is already awesome but it's even awesomer at this time of the day. Like, no one was there. So nice. Well I decided to get a chai latte at the Starbucks inside Target and I got JC one of the little Horizon milk cartons. This was all good and dandy as we enjoyed our beverages, until JC squeezed the milk and got milk e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. I knew it was going to happen but I went against my better mommy judgement. Later, JC decided to tell me that he wants more fiber in his diet by taking a chunk out of this little book. JC loves to bring me random shoes from the entryway and put them on my feet. He at least got one left and one right. After dinner, JC discovered an old-school nintendo controller and thought it was quite fun.




On Thursday, JC and I went to "Story & Play" at the library for the first time. They list the age range for this get together as "Birth to 5 years" which I find to be kind of a big gap. I was a little worried that it was going to be a bunch of older kids but it was actually a lot of 2-3 year olds and a few kids JC's age or younger. It was a lot of fun. JC especially enjoyed the playtime at the beginning. He kept taking out the same two fruits out of this bowl, putting them back in the bowl and then putting his hands up in the air like "Ta da!" For lunch, we met up with Charles for some Rubio's. JC kept eye-ing my burrito so I thought it was unfair to make him watch me enjoy such deliciousness and not let him try any. What JC did when I asked him, "JC, where's your ears?" And Charles and I like to party pretty hard once JC goes to bed.




Friday was my first day of school!! Seriously you guys, I haven't been this excited for school since I was in third grade. I'm only taking one class but I think it will be more than enough work for me right now. It's "Digital Imaging 1" which is basically a Photoshop class. I'm so excited to learn some new stuff. We're also working on Macs which I don't have very much experience with. But I know that if I really want to get into graphic design, Macs are pretty much the standard. Charles had the day off so he was able to watch the kidlet. When I got home at 5, they were both still in their pajamas. And JC looks almost as cute upside down as he does right side up.

Tomorrow is my catch up day so I will be spending most of the day cleaning. But Sunday we are totally having a sorta "end-of-summer bbq" with a few friends so I'm super excited for that! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

{linking up with a good life and life rearranged.}

wordless(ish) wednesday: old sacramento

Charles has been working so much lately, we just wanted to get out and do something fun on Sunday. We live maybe fifteen minutes away from Old Sacramento but we haven't visited since Halloween time almost two years ago. It's always fun and this was our first time taking JC to see the most "tourist-y" spot in our town. We grubbed on some pizza. Did some window shopping. Ate some ice cream. And walked on the dock (boardwalk?) along the river. Pretty good Sunday if you ask me.







{Linking up with The Paper Mama,a little king and i, and then, she snapped, Supermom, Live & Love Outloud, 5 Minutes for Mom, jenni from the blog and Baby Baby Lemon. Whew, that's a lot of linking up.}

{review} sidral mundet mexican sodas

When the good people at RocketXL contacted me about doing a review for Sidral Mundet sodas, honestly I thought it was a little random. But who am I to turn down sodas?  No one, that's who.

I'm glad I agreed because the sodas were really really good!




I just so happened to already be making a lovely Mexican meal for my family when the sodas arrived on our doorstep. It was like it was meant to be.

The sodas come in two flavors, Original:




And Manzana Verde (Green Apple):




I love when we can get sodas from Mexico because they are made with real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. These sodas are made from natural ingredients and taste super yummy! They even suggested that we use them as mixers but we drank them all before we could try it with alcohol! Whoops. These would be so pretty at a summer bbq or picnic. Honestly, I would just buy them for looks alone but that's how I roll.




As you can clearly see, we enjoyed both sodas. Charles and I both agreed that we liked the Original red soda better but the Green Apple was good too. Just a little bit sweeter than the Original.

If you are interested in checking out Sidral Mundet check them out on Facebook. They have a store locator so you can find out where you can get Sidral Mundet in your area.

Bottoms up!

{Disclaimer: This review as made after receiving these beverages for free. I was not expected to give a good review or any kind of review in exchange for receiving the sodas or monetary compensation. These opinions are mine and not influenced by anyone else.}

buff mama monday w.3, goals

I'm feeling good about this week because I actually went to the gym yesterday! And it kicked my ass. No joke. I did a cycling class for the first time and I really was not prepared for the beating that I got. Could they make those bicycle seats less comfortable? I mean, I knew that I wasn't going to be sitting on a memory foam mattress but come on. Luckily, I actually don't feel as bad today as I thought I would. In fact, I think I might try to go to the gym again today. How un-convincing did that sentence sound? I think I might try? Hmm. I really want to though! Just not for a cycling class today.

I've decided to set up a (what I hope to be) realistic weight loss goal for myself to achieve by the wedding. Thirty pounds. Would I like to lose more than this? Yes. But I feel like this is what is realistic for me now especially with a deadline looming less than nine months away. Even still, it does seem a little daunting. But to help me reach this goal, I took a page out of Jenni's idea book and decided to give myself rewards for each ten pound mark that I reach. This, I hope, will motivate me to push myself harder.




I've been wanting to get my eyelashes permed for a while now. I have the most stick straight eyelashes ever. They are long but they won't hold a curl at all. This is actually something I wanted to do as a Mother's Day gift but I just haven't gotten around to making an appointment and getting it done. I've also been drooling over dresses at Ruche and Modbe so I'd love to be able to get one of them as a gift to myself at the twenty pound mark. Since thirty pounds is the BIG goal, I thought I'd put the biggest (and probably most expensive) reward for last. I've been itching to get a new tattoo for a little bit now. I'm not set on exactly what I want yet or where I would want to put it but I have some time to decide.

Goals this week include going to the gym at least three times and continuing to watch what I eat. No set diet yet, just trying to really think about what and when I'm eating. Good luck to the other "buff mama's" out there!


{linking up with The Crafty Nest}

week in iphone pics, w.14

Egh, I was pretty lame with the picture taking this week. Just like how I was pretty lame by doing my "lazy grid" as I like to call it. To myself. This week has been so weird, I just feel out of it. I've been a day late for everything it seems like and I haven't been able to catch up on anything. I'm a little worried because I'm trying to add a gym visit to my daily routine and I start my class next Friday. Trying to do it all is hard work!

Anyway, this week was full of celebrating Charles starting his new position at work, Glee, taking naps at Target, and a lot of determination. Anyone remember the movie "Little Giants" and the kid with the glasses whose mom duct tapes foam all over his body as protection for football and he says "DETERMINATION!" Anyone? Anyone? No? Just me? Alright.

Monday, instead of doing laundry or housework, I did something really productive and tried to catch up on Glee. I only got to the Christmas episode and I was trying to watch it while chasing JC back and forth from the living room to his bedroom. It was Charles' first day at his new position so we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate. I sang "Because I'm Proud to be an American" as I ate cheesy bacon covered french fries dipped in ranch dressing. JC liked the poster of a beer that was hanging above his head. Tuesday, JC enjoyed a squeezy pouch while Charles and I downed some cheeseburgers (this week was NOT good for my diet, btw). And we (by we, I mean JC) enjoyed some nakey time before his bath. It's his new favorite time. Wednesday, JC felt like he was in a glass cage of emotion. And I tried to make him feel better by going on a Target trip. But I think he was hoping that Target had comfier shopping carts. Thursday, JC looked like his walking efforts were being sponsored by Nike with the sweet haul he pulled from his Aunt Rebel. And there's not much cuter than JC enjoying a juice box. Elmo helped entertain while I tried to make dinner. After dinner JC was determined to try to RE-attach his buckle on his high chair. I don't know, this kid is weird. He was very focused. And Friday, JC spent a good portion of the day playing with this ikea magazine holder. Why did I spend $45 at Border's the other day on books and toys??

{Linking up with a good life and life rearranged.}

august sponsor love

This is my first month doing a sponsor post because I have my first sponsor! Yay! So, that being said, I wanted to give a big shout out and send lots o' love to Christa over at Young & Restless for being my blog sponsor swap buddy. Please give her some love and check out her adorable family! Here's some background on her blog by Christa herself:

Hey guys my name is Christa and i blog over at the Young&Restless blog (http://christanncox.blogspot.com). Im a random 22 year old wife to Jeff for almost 4 years, and mama to Braylee who is 2 :). On my blog you will find everything from beauty tips, recipes for yummy food, LOTS of pictures, and a alot of personal things. I blog openly about my struggles with weight loss, hypothyroidism (Hashimotos to be exact), miscarriages (ive had 2 so far), you name it, ive been though it all. I do this in hopes to touch lives vicariously through my blog and to find others going through the same thing to help me get through my tough times. So make sure you come check us out and join us in our journey of randomness and life! :)

{blog} {facebook} {twitter}

If you have a blog and are interested in swapping sponsorships, please check out my "blog sponsor swap" page. Thanks!

wordless(ish) wednesday: busy hands

JC makes it a point to always be carrying at least one thing (toy, random object) with him whenever he is walking around the house. A lot of the time, it is two things. I thought it would be funny to try and snap a picture every time I saw him carrying two items. His choice of items is always interesting. (not the best pictures, btw because I was trying to chase a toddler and he thinks it's a game)











{Linking up with The Paper Mama,a little king and i, and then, she snapped, Supermom, Live & Love Outloud, A Beautiful Mess, 5 Minutes for Mom, Parenting by Dummies, Angry Julie Monday, and Baby Baby Lemon. Whew, that's a lot of linking up.}

buff mama monday (or tuesday), w.2

This post being a little late kinda goes hand in hand with my motivation this past week. It hasn't been so great. BUT, that is different now. I'm really ready. We went today and are now officially signed up for our new gym! I'm really excited to try the different classes that they have available. Although, I am a little scared of the cycling class now after our tour guide told me that I'll probably only want to do the first ten or fifteen minutes of the class my first few times. Is cycling class really that intense? 

Either way, I'm super excited for our new gym. They even have a kid's center so I can drop JC off while I work out. Unfortunately, the price of the center isn't included in the gym membership (LAME!) but it's reasonable. We let JC check it out today while we looked around. Since I stay home with him, he hasn't ever been in a "daycare" environment. I made sure I told him I was leaving because I didn't want to sneak out. When we left, he didn't even seem to notice though. But I guess once he realized we weren't there, he started crying. When we came to pick him up, one of the ladies was holding him and you could tell that he had been crying. But they said that he wasn't upset for that long. It's so hard to let someone else watch him when it's always me everyday. But it's time to extend the umbilical cord a little bit. Mama needs to get her cardio on. 

I fully plan on having a more motivating plan next week. My goal is to go to the gym at least three times this week so wish me luck!

{Linking up with The Crafty Nest}

week in iphone pics, w.13

Lucky number 13! I can't believe I have 13 weeks of iPhone pictures documented here. I love looking back at previous weeks and seeing all the little things that happen everyday that I would otherwise forget. This week was full of nakey time, haircuts, and spontaneous dance sessions. Enjoy.




Monday, we put our new ikea score together in the living room. Best. Idea. Ever. Now all of JC's toys that inevitably stay out in the living room have a place to live when we don't want to trip over singing bears and tow trucks. JC got the idea right away. My Swiffer Wet Jet came on Monday too! I was beyond stoked about this purchase and it really has changed my life. We have no carpet in our house so this makes cleaning the floors super easy. You know you're becoming domesticated when you're this excited about a freaking mop. We met up with Charles for lunch at one of our favorite Mexican digs (we have about five favorite Mexican spots). As you can see, it's one of JC's favorites too. We had some cheerios for a snack later in the day. No bowls were damaged in the making of this photograph. And we had some semi-nakey time before bathtime. JC proclaimed his freedom all over the house.




Tuesday, I painted my nails "mint sorbet". I never paint my nails (as you can see by my accuracy) and I've never painted them this color, but I'm digging it. JC and I hit up the grocery store before we met up with Charles. JC decided it was acceptable to chew on his sunscreen while I picked up a couple of things. JC and Charles got their hair did. JC chewed on Diego and read about bugs while his dad got a haircut. And all that shopping and haircuting can seriously wear you out.




Wednesday, I made "JC's eggs" for JC's breakfast. Scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, and a couple dashes of hickory smoked salt, cumin, and chili powder. It's delicious and JC loves it. Koosh ball time in new pajamas. Trying his hardest to wedge himself between the ottoman and dog couch (what, your dog doesn't have her own couch?) to get into the dog toys. Not gonna happen buddy. JC and Tsunami anxiously awaiting the arrival of Charles after work. And we had some more real nakey time before bathtime. I debated back and forth about whether or not I should censor this picture but I decided that JC should decide when (if ever, hopefully never) his bare booty should be on the internets. Trust me, it's really cute though. I can't say I won't show this picture to your first girlfriend though, JC. Sorry.




Thursday, we had time to go out to breakfast in the morning before Charles went to work. Apparently it was "Slow Jazz Thursday" at Mimi's Cafe and JC was digging it. He did his "old man dance", as I like to call it where he twists his upper body while waving his hands up in the air. He was really feeling it that morning. After breakfast, we hit up the park. We were super active in the morning which is really weird for us. The rest of the day, we were both super lazy.




Friday, I had a million things to do. Actually, eighteen to be exact. That coffee helped me get most of it done. I dragged the kidlet to my least favorite place, Costco. It actually wasn't that bad. There was a time when I couldn't go there by myself without having a mini-panic attack. Now I go with a toddler like it ain't no thang. I'm proud of myself. And JC, too. He played with his bottom lip while I bought paper towels. And after a day when you're running around like mad woman, giving your kid a blueberry muffin for dinner doesn't sound like a half bad idea.

So excited, my mom and sister are coming out this weekend!! Glee movie on Sunday!!

Linking up with a good life and life rearranged.

wordless(ish) wednesday: jc's second haircut

JC's first haircut might have been the easiest, most carefree event that I've ever witnessed. He couldn't have cared less and was generally happy even. This time, ehh, not so much.

Started out a little resisting, but not too bad.

Oh but that changed pretty quickly.

But it was nothing a little Elmo and Katy Perry couldn't fix. What did parents do before they had smartphones???

{Linking up with The Paper Mama,a little king and i, and then, she snapped, Supermom, Live & Love Outloud, A Beautiful Mess, 5 Minutes for Mom, Parenting by Dummies, Angry Julie Monday, and Baby Baby Lemon. Whew, that's a lot of linking up.}

buff mama monday w.1, let's do this

Source: None via Melissa on Pinterest

For a split second, maybe you thought that was a picture of me. That would be awesome.

I'll tell you what's not awesome. I'm no where NEAR that level of feeling comfortable walking around in a bikini. I don't even want to see myself in a bikini; I wouldn't want to put anyone else through that misery.

If you remember my post about the goals that I set for the rest of the year, "making healthy choices" is one of them. Notice that I didn't say "lose weight" or "drop dress sizes". It was my way of making my goal seem more doable. But it also makes me less motivated to "lose weight" or "drop dress sizes".

When I saw that Vanessa over at The Crafty Nest (one of my blogger inspirations) is starting up a weekly "buff mama" link up, I had to join. I need more motivation than what I've got now. I know I don't like how I look. I know I have a wedding coming up in (eek!) nine months. I know that I feel tired and sluggish all the time. But those reasons have not been enough for me to get off my butt.

Source: None via Melissa on Pinterest

I know that I will probably never be as skinny as Katy Perry or look as amazing as Kim Kardashian looks in a bikini, but I definitely want to try. I can't expect for that to happen without putting in any effort.

As of yet, I'm not set on my exercise/diet plans. I've tried just hitting the treadmill at home during nap time, but I lost steam after a couple of weeks. I started doing C25K and it was ok, just kinda boring. I'm thinking about joining a gym. I have a friend who goes pretty relig so I would have a workout buddy. Stroller Strides has a LivingSocial deal right now too. I really just don't like exercising so I get bored easily. And I always feel like I have 102958210 more things that I need to be doing instead.

Let me know if you've tried anything that has worked for you. Preferably something that can be disguised as "fun". Link up with Vanessa too so we can all track each other's progress! Maybe in a few months, we'll look like Beyonce. Maybe.

Source: cityrag.com via Melissa on Pinterest

week in iphone pics, w.12

Another week in iPhone pictures for ya! It's always fun going through the quick snapshots from the week. I think I deserve a prize for how much cooking I did this week. Like fo sho. I also wore my hair differently too??!! This week was cray cray.



Monday, JC woke up from his nap with some awesome bedhead. Probably the best I've seen yet. He played at the playground by our house during his fourteen month photoshoot. And I made caci e pepe that my brother and I drooled over as we watched America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Yeah, I watch PBS. Wanna fight about it?



Tuesday, we had some fun during breakfast. JC didn't want to let his dad have a minute of privacy while he used the bathroom. After seeing JC at the park on Monday, I decided to stop by another park by our house before dinner. We played on the swings, looked really emo by these bongo thingys, climbed up the slide all by ourselves, and played in the dirt like a big boy.



Wednesday, JC modeled his new pj's that his grandma and auntie bought for him. And a photo of me wearing my hair wavy, glamour shot style. Geez I might as well be super imposed into a brandy snifter. We met dad for lunch at Dos Coyotes. So good. We stopped by the grocery store on the way home to get ingredients for lasagna. JC really needed to make sure I got the right mozzarella. I had to take a picture to show the difference in volume in my hair at the end of the day. I never wear my hair this way but it actually wasn't all that bad. And the fact that it took five minutes made it even better. And a picture of my little sleepy man playing before bedtime.



Thursday, we got a balloon at the grocery store so that was pretty cool. At least JC really thought so. I made some bomb dot com chicken club sandwiches for lunch. Yes that's a grilled chicken breast, bacon and avocado. It was amazing. And JC colored for the first time at dinner at Macaroni Grill.



Friday, we shared some snuggles after breakfast. JC found this big wheel and decided that he couldn't ride it but he could damn well push it. I made some broccoli cheddar nuggets (pretty good if I do say so myself) and miraculously, JC liked them. Charles stole some cuddles during his lunch break. JC helped me get supplies for carnitas making. And he attempted to brush his hair after his bath.

Tomorrow we are visiting our BFF's with their brand new little baby boy! So excited to grub on some carnitas and love on some babies.

Linked up with a good life and life rearranged.

fourteen months

Check out JC's other monthly updates here.

Every month it's the same, but I can not believe how big my little man is getting. This month has been crazy full of new milestones but the biggest one was definitely walking. JC took his first steps on the fourth of July and everyday he is walking more and more. He's still very wobbly but I think he's more sure footed than he seems. He went from primarily crawling with the occasional steps to preferring to push his walkers all over the house to walking primarily. He's also able to pick something off the floor and stand back up without sitting down or falling. I took him to the playground on Tuesday and he was practically running to the different equipment. I was so nervous that he was going to faceplant on the sidewalk but he did really well. It was the first time that I felt like he "belonged" at the playground. He wasn't "too little" to do anything. I was so proud of him.



I love this picture. He looks so big! I can't believe he could actually walk in those flip flops. Like a flip flop walking pro.

His vocabulary and communication skills have improved greatly as well. It's amazing how much he can communicate with pointing and grunts. The other day he crawled super fast through the kitchen into the pantry, sat up on his knees, pointed at the box of Cheerios and said "that". He understands a great deal of what I am saying to him, making it much easier to find out what he wants or what is bothering him if he's upset. Some new words this month: "bird", "button" (sounds like "buh-on"), "this", "that", "no" (i'm a little scared of this word), "again", and "done".



Pointing and clapping have been other skills that JC has mastered this month. He is learning when it's appropriate to clap. He is usually prompted by the word "yay!".

I'm not sure how much JC weighs or how tall he is but he is finally starting to outgrow some of his 6-9 month stuff (yeah, he's a little guy). I'm guessing he's around 20-21 pounds. He's been wearing 6-9 month and 12 month shirts, pajamas, and shorts/pants. Some 12 month stuff is still too big on him though. Including a REALLY cute Sesame Street t-shirt that looks like a tunic on him. I'm patiently waiting to put that on him.

JC cut one more tooth (his top left middle tooth) bringing our tooth total to four. Teething has still not really been an issue (knock on wood). I've discovered that if I give him something to hold, he will be distracted enough to let me brush is teeth for at least a few seconds.

His favorites this month include Yo Gabba Gabba, his Bright Baby First Words book, balls of all shapes and sizes, ducks and geese at the park, opening up all the cabinets he can find, taking awesome naps, and bananas.



I'm looking forward to what the next month has in store!