When my sister-in-law enrolled her daughter in a baby sign language class a few years back, I was skeptical at best. And then one day while babysitting, she proved me wrong by signing that she was all done eating. How neat!
When it came time to enroll Jack, I was again skeptical. Not only in a 6 months olds ability to learn sign language but also my own.
Now, 4 months later, we are both doing great! His favorite signs are "light" and "fan". Totally random, I know.
The other day he did the sign for bed and I couldn't have been any more proud. I don't know why this particular sign means so much to me…I just think it is so cool that at 10 months he is learning to express some of his needs in a way that clearly makes sense to me.
Here is the link for Signing Smart if any mommies out there are interesting in learning more: Signing Smart
ASL bed sign is here.
And for you skeptics out there here is Jack doing the sign :)
Lindsey
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
10 Months
Bubba hit 10 months today! Instead of a lengthy commentary describing how well he's doing and how proud I am, I'll just show you :).
Jack's favorite toy from Christmas is his xylophone. I was just amazed how he corrected himself and turned the hammer around so he could use it the right way.
Goodness…Is it time to start thinking about a 1st birthday party already?!!?!?
Lindsey
Jack's favorite toy from Christmas is his xylophone. I was just amazed how he corrected himself and turned the hammer around so he could use it the right way.
Goodness…Is it time to start thinking about a 1st birthday party already?!!?!?
Lindsey
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Christmas 2011
Our first Christmas as a family of three was a success! After a lot of debate, we decided to stay in Colorado for the holidays. An unpopular decision but one that we felt was right for our family.
This Thanksgiving and Christmas were two of the best I can remember in a long time. No running around, low on the stress level but still getting to spend a lot of quality time with most of our family. We laughed and bonded and for the most part took it easy. It was GREAT!
Henry, Evie and Jack opening presents on Christmas Eve morning.
Family.
This was the first time in 22 years that MY family was all together on Christmas. I think that it is truly fantastic that my parents have reached a point in life that spending a holiday together can be a reality…I never thought it would be possible. Let's face it, in the 20+ years since their divorce there have been A LOT of ups and downs (no matter what anyone says). Thanks guys….for making it easy on me and most of all Jack.
Terrible photo but you get the point :).
Jack got so much great stuff from all of his family…he's a VERY lucky little boy and he told me to thank everyone once again for thinking of him :)
Hoping everyone had a fantastic Christmas and NYE!
Lindsey
This Thanksgiving and Christmas were two of the best I can remember in a long time. No running around, low on the stress level but still getting to spend a lot of quality time with most of our family. We laughed and bonded and for the most part took it easy. It was GREAT!
This was the first time in 22 years that MY family was all together on Christmas. I think that it is truly fantastic that my parents have reached a point in life that spending a holiday together can be a reality…I never thought it would be possible. Let's face it, in the 20+ years since their divorce there have been A LOT of ups and downs (no matter what anyone says). Thanks guys….for making it easy on me and most of all Jack.
Jack got so much great stuff from all of his family…he's a VERY lucky little boy and he told me to thank everyone once again for thinking of him :)
Hoping everyone had a fantastic Christmas and NYE!
Lindsey
Thursday, December 8, 2011
9 Months
Our little monkey man is 9 months today! It's crazy to think that he has been in our lives as long as I was pregnant! In either situation, time flies. Jack had his check up yesterday and his stats were: 16 lbs 2 oz (3%-yes, he is a SHRIMP but the doctor was not worried at all…small but might!), height-27 1/4 in (25%), and head-17 in (50%).
What he lacks in size, he more than makes up in gross motor skills. He has been pulling himself up and walking around objects or with a walker since 6 1/2 months and in the past few weeks he is beginning to let go of whatever is holding him up so that he can stand completely on his own. Granted it only its only for 5 or so seconds nonetheless exciting! He is also learning to maneuver between objects, say the coffee table and couch. And much to my surprise, Jack has mastered going up AND down the stairs! To say that the little man NEVER stops moving (unless he is sleeping) would be an understatement.
Speaking of sleeping, things are going great in this department. He is teetering somewhere between one and two naps a day. Bedtime is after dinner sometime between 6 and 7 and then (for the most part) he has been up at 5 am to nurse and then back to sleep until around 7 am. In the Voigts house, I totally qualify this "sleeping through the night." Considering what his first 4-5 months of nighttime habits were like, this I can handle!
His little personality is really starting to shine too. He LOVES other babies and kids! He is very social and we are still trying to figure out where this trait came from because neither J nor I are particularly outgoing. Jack is very good at what I call "independent play". I have different stations of toys set up around the family room and kitchen and he is perfectly content moving around and playing by himself. His favorite activity lately has been his walker. He has learned that when he runs out of space he can simply walk around to the other side of the walker and go back the way he came….it's so funny to watch him do laps back and forth across the kitchen :)
Jack loves Stella. Maybe because she is more his size but he loves to crawl over and lay on her or be near her. We are currently working on "gentle", sometimes he gets a little too excited! He has also started to do some sign language. I have been working with him daily for about 2 months on basic signs (like more, eat, drink, stop, fan, gentle) and he has finally signed eat, more, drink and fan back to me and J…very cool to see!!!
He is also proving to be a good listener…so far ;). When he gets into something he shouldn't be playing with, I do the firm mommy voice and say/sign Stop! He will turn to look at me, give an adorable little smile and laugh (it's so hard not to laugh back with him!) and after a few "stops" he will crawl away and move on to a new activity. Amazing! But I don't anticipate this lasting forever :(.
On a note so happy note, Jack now has 4 teeth which has been a not so pleasant experience for mama…ouch!
Overall, he is just the light of our lives and I couldn't be any more pleased with what a sweet, independent little boy he is becoming. I love you Jack-a-doodle, monkey man, senor stinky pants or…just Jack!
What he lacks in size, he more than makes up in gross motor skills. He has been pulling himself up and walking around objects or with a walker since 6 1/2 months and in the past few weeks he is beginning to let go of whatever is holding him up so that he can stand completely on his own. Granted it only its only for 5 or so seconds nonetheless exciting! He is also learning to maneuver between objects, say the coffee table and couch. And much to my surprise, Jack has mastered going up AND down the stairs! To say that the little man NEVER stops moving (unless he is sleeping) would be an understatement.
Speaking of sleeping, things are going great in this department. He is teetering somewhere between one and two naps a day. Bedtime is after dinner sometime between 6 and 7 and then (for the most part) he has been up at 5 am to nurse and then back to sleep until around 7 am. In the Voigts house, I totally qualify this "sleeping through the night." Considering what his first 4-5 months of nighttime habits were like, this I can handle!
His little personality is really starting to shine too. He LOVES other babies and kids! He is very social and we are still trying to figure out where this trait came from because neither J nor I are particularly outgoing. Jack is very good at what I call "independent play". I have different stations of toys set up around the family room and kitchen and he is perfectly content moving around and playing by himself. His favorite activity lately has been his walker. He has learned that when he runs out of space he can simply walk around to the other side of the walker and go back the way he came….it's so funny to watch him do laps back and forth across the kitchen :)
Jack loves Stella. Maybe because she is more his size but he loves to crawl over and lay on her or be near her. We are currently working on "gentle", sometimes he gets a little too excited! He has also started to do some sign language. I have been working with him daily for about 2 months on basic signs (like more, eat, drink, stop, fan, gentle) and he has finally signed eat, more, drink and fan back to me and J…very cool to see!!!
He is also proving to be a good listener…so far ;). When he gets into something he shouldn't be playing with, I do the firm mommy voice and say/sign Stop! He will turn to look at me, give an adorable little smile and laugh (it's so hard not to laugh back with him!) and after a few "stops" he will crawl away and move on to a new activity. Amazing! But I don't anticipate this lasting forever :(.
On a note so happy note, Jack now has 4 teeth which has been a not so pleasant experience for mama…ouch!
Overall, he is just the light of our lives and I couldn't be any more pleased with what a sweet, independent little boy he is becoming. I love you Jack-a-doodle, monkey man, senor stinky pants or…just Jack!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
Today was our first Thanksgiving as a family of three and it was fantastic! We spent the holiday at our home and my in laws joined us. It was a very low key day with a few funny moments that made it a memorable day.
Jack had turkey (or meat in general) for the first time today and he seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. Now that his top two teeth have come through and his cold/flu are behind us, his eating habit have remarkably improved. Getting him to eat is no longer a battle and he is finally wanting to eat three meals a day in addition to snacks. So we are very thankful for this!!!
Justin and I are constantly reminding each other that we have SO much good fortune and so many things to be thankful for and today is a good day to stop and bring our gratitude to the forefront. We are very much "instant gratification" people…we want it all and we want it now! But we also have to remind each other that in this moment we have everything we could ever ask for. For me, this year, there is one thing that I am above and beyond thankful for….my HEALTHY baby boy.
From my family to yours, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Lindsey
Jack had turkey (or meat in general) for the first time today and he seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. Now that his top two teeth have come through and his cold/flu are behind us, his eating habit have remarkably improved. Getting him to eat is no longer a battle and he is finally wanting to eat three meals a day in addition to snacks. So we are very thankful for this!!!
Justin and I are constantly reminding each other that we have SO much good fortune and so many things to be thankful for and today is a good day to stop and bring our gratitude to the forefront. We are very much "instant gratification" people…we want it all and we want it now! But we also have to remind each other that in this moment we have everything we could ever ask for. For me, this year, there is one thing that I am above and beyond thankful for….my HEALTHY baby boy.
From my family to yours, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Lindsey
Monday, October 17, 2011
I have been a bad mommy blogger over the past few months :(. So here's a quick catch up of life in the Voigts' home.
The developmental changes in a child during this first year of life continue to amaze me. For my record keeping purposes here is a list of Jack's accomplishments over the past few months:
* At 5 1/2 months Jack started to crawl (army crawl).
* 6 months- he crawled over to me and pulled himself up to a standing position, much to my surprise.
* October 4- discovered Jack was cutting his first teeth. A week later the bottom 2 teeth had popped up. The top 2 are a day away from coming through also.
* October 5- learned how to crawl on hands and knees.
* 7 months- can go from a crawling position to a sitting position without assistance, likes to kneel while playing, and pulled himself into a standing position in crib. Also, we have started to have 3 meals a day and just started to try out finger food (cereal).
*November 1 (a week shy of 8 months) with the assistance of the walker, Jack took off on his feet! I think he really might be on track to walk before Christmas!!!
We went on vacation to Florida during the second week of October and Jack experienced so many firsts…sunset, swimming, sand! He was an EXCELLENT traveler and with the exception of one night he was a great sleeper too. We took walks on the beach every morning and evening while J carried Jack in the carrier. We also learned that we need to change our expectations of vacations now that we are a family. It was wonderful to watch Jack take in all of these new experiences but vacationing with a baby isn't necessarily as relaxing as a vacation without your child ;). That being said, I look forward to many (many) more family vacations!
We have been trying to keep busy as the weather get cooler by taking classes and having play dates. Jack and I are participating in our second Kindermusik class and also Signing Smart (sign language). I absolutely LOVE watching his interact with the other children and parents. I like to say that Jack has never met a stranger because he will just crawl over and hop in another mother's lap.
Here is the end of summer & fall in photographs…
We spent Labor Day in Vail.
Opa came to visit.
Jack got his first cold ;(
Mommy's little helper!
Grandma Harris came to visit.
Happy Halloween!
Stella joined the family.
Gigi visited.
Jack just being awesome ;)
Family.
Lindsey
The developmental changes in a child during this first year of life continue to amaze me. For my record keeping purposes here is a list of Jack's accomplishments over the past few months:
* At 5 1/2 months Jack started to crawl (army crawl).
* 6 months- he crawled over to me and pulled himself up to a standing position, much to my surprise.
* October 4- discovered Jack was cutting his first teeth. A week later the bottom 2 teeth had popped up. The top 2 are a day away from coming through also.
* October 5- learned how to crawl on hands and knees.
* 7 months- can go from a crawling position to a sitting position without assistance, likes to kneel while playing, and pulled himself into a standing position in crib. Also, we have started to have 3 meals a day and just started to try out finger food (cereal).
*November 1 (a week shy of 8 months) with the assistance of the walker, Jack took off on his feet! I think he really might be on track to walk before Christmas!!!
We went on vacation to Florida during the second week of October and Jack experienced so many firsts…sunset, swimming, sand! He was an EXCELLENT traveler and with the exception of one night he was a great sleeper too. We took walks on the beach every morning and evening while J carried Jack in the carrier. We also learned that we need to change our expectations of vacations now that we are a family. It was wonderful to watch Jack take in all of these new experiences but vacationing with a baby isn't necessarily as relaxing as a vacation without your child ;). That being said, I look forward to many (many) more family vacations!
We have been trying to keep busy as the weather get cooler by taking classes and having play dates. Jack and I are participating in our second Kindermusik class and also Signing Smart (sign language). I absolutely LOVE watching his interact with the other children and parents. I like to say that Jack has never met a stranger because he will just crawl over and hop in another mother's lap.
Here is the end of summer & fall in photographs…
Lindsey
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