Vacuuming

Jayden picks up on things so quickly. While I was vacuuming, I pulled the extender attachment off the vacuum. When I turned off the vacuum and started moving the furniture back, Jayden came toddling in the kitchen. He picked up the attachment and started running it along the baseboards making a sound like a vacuum cleaner. He did that all around the room and then brought the extender back to me. I was cracking up, and he was so proud of himself.

Jaw Teeth

Jayden is getting four jaw teeth! He's getting one on top and bottom on both sides of his mouth. They're probably a day or two before coming in. He's been a little feverish and really whiny, so I gave him Tylenol last night. He slept much better. Then I gave him a little today before his nap. He seems to be resting well, which is good for both of us. It's weird because he doesn't have his canines yet, so he'll have a gap between the teeth he has and the ones he doesn't have yet.

Mustard

We went out to eat Saturday when we went to pick up the car from Lexington. We went to Max and Erma's; it's similar to Applebee's. After we got through eating, we were sitting and talking, and Jayden wanted to get up. We let him sit at the table with us, and he grabbed the mustard bottle. He threw it to Brian like it was a ball. He was so funny because they he would pump his little fist and clap for himself. Brian would hand him back the bottle, and he would do the whole thing again.

"Di-pah" and "Wan-wo"

This morning when I got Jayden up, he grabbed one of his diapers from the trunk, handed it to me, and said, "di-pah." I was so proud - his first 2-syllable word!

Then this afternoon, he was playing with one of the cats. Her name is Orlando, but we usually call her Lando for short. He said, "Wan-wo."

I wasn't sure what he said, so I said, "tell Lando you love her."

He grabbed her tail and said, "Wan-wo!"

I'm glad his language skills are picking up. Maybe he'll talk to us more.

Jayden The Thug

Yesterday, we went to this little store here that's kind of like Cato. When we were in the parking lot, these two guys came out and got in their car. They had rap music playing loudly. Jayden stopped in the middle of walking and started dancing. They started cracking up.

It was so funny because he puts his hand in the air and waves it around. He looked like this dorky little white kid trying to be cool. He had on this outfit we got that was a little polo-type shirt, navy blue shorts, and suspenders. He's such a thug!

What's in that little head?

Jayden's getting 2 more teeth! These grueling nights are wearing on me. I feel like the walking dead today. Brian stayed up with him until 2 last night so I could get a couple of hours of sleep. Then I got up with him starting at about 2:15.

At one point, I made a pallet on the floor and put him down with me. He stood up with his eyes closed. He would put his feet shoulder-width apart, bounce between them like a Sumo wrestler, grin, shake his head, and lie back down. He did that about 10 times before I started rocking him so that he would go back to sleep.

He never got to sleep hard, and he got up at 7:00. He had an hour nap this morning, but he did go to bed early. We usually have 2 or 3 bad nights per tooth, so I'm hoping we're not in for 6 bad nights! I think I'll cry.

Milk

We're moving Jayden over to cow's milk. We've been moving him slowly, but it's working. He's been on half soymilk, half regular milk for about a week now. Today we're going to 75% regular milk. If it doesn't cause him any problems for several days, then we're going to switch over. He's had a couple of little cartons of milk. We went to Frisch's to eat (like Shoney's), and he had a little milk there out of a big boy straw. He did fine with that, so we're hoping he'll make the transition okay. Plus I've made pudding with regular milk, and he gobbled that down. I think it was just a weird coincidence before that he got sick both times we tried him on milk.

Not Much To Report

There's not much going on here today. Jayden's napping, and I'm working.

Here's another picture of Jayden.

Easter's Coming

We picked up a few things for Jayden's Easter basket yesterday. We got him a plastic Easter bucket with little chicks on it because we thought that would be easier for him to carry around. We also got some grass for it, which will probably be eaten.

We got him one of those bendable bunnies with the long plastic arms and legs and a little rabbit-shaped cup with a straw. He learned how to drink out of a straw last week, so we thought the cup would be fun.

We'll probably get a chocolate bunny and some Peeps when it's closer to time. I just didn't want to get them yet.

I guess we're going to go to the church Easter egg hunt and then do a little one just for us. We can do it in the backyard, and he'll have fun.

Marker Mania

Jayden got a highlighter yesterday. I had been doing some schoolwork, and he picked up the highlighter I was using. He figured out how to open it and thought it made great lipstick. He wrote on his legs, stomach, and arms, too. It was really funny. When we fussed at him, he just smiled. He got a good bath, but he still has some marker around his knees.

Nursery

We had supper at church last night, and then Jayden got to go to the nursery while we went to the prayer meeting. He's so funny about the whole thing. We went in, and he got all excited. I wrote his name on a sticker to put on his back and had to chase him down to put it on him. Then he turned around and waved bye and ran to the corner with the toy cars.

When we went to pick him up, he kept ducking between us and giggling. He got mad when we caught him. He kept reaching back for the room while we were leaving. I told him we'll come back Sunday so he can play more.

There were only about 6 kids in the 1 & 2 year old room last night, so he had plenty of room to play. When we got there, he was sitting in a circle with two other boys and one of the ladies who keeps nursery. They were throwing a ball back and forth.

More Pictures

I have two more pictures of Jayden. We took the first one on Monday and the second one yesterday.

Here's Jayden.

He's getting another new tooth! This one is on the right side right next to his front teeth, which is good because he already has two other teeth on the left side. He still only has three on the bottom.

Pictures

I haven't figured out how to do pictures here yet. Here are 2 pictures from Jayden. We finally got the camera working again, so I have a million to go through.

See pictures here.

Entertaining Family

My in-laws came up today (Sunday) with Brian's brother and his girlfriend. They're moving to New Mexico at the end of this month. Jayden entertained everyone. He shared his range of vocal skills, which made everyone laugh. He also rode around on his little four-wheel car he got for Christmas. He played with a bunch of his toys. I realized that Brian and I really spoil him and dote over him because we get so excited when he plays. I think everybody else thought we were nuts.

He's learned to build towers with his wooden blocks. He builds them up about five blocks, which takes him a long time because he's very methodical about it, and then he knocks the tower down. Then he starts the process over. He thinks it's great fun, and so do we.

The Little Helper

I have been making my bath and body baskets this week. Yesterday we worked on the bath salts. Jayden thought that was wonderful, particularly since they turn colors when you put in the food coloring. He loves to "help," but it gets so messy! He also likes to help with other household chores, like sending out mail. He thinks that's really cool and that he's such a big boy. I try to let him help me as much as possible. Maybe it will be this fun when he's older.

Poop in the Tub

Well, Jayden did it. Yesterday he used the bathroom in the tub. He freaked out. (So did I.) I have to say that it's one of the grossest things I've ever had to do. The funny part, though, was that he kept yelling and pointing at it while I was trying to clean it up. Then he would run in the kitchen, peek at me from the door, come back, and start pointing and yelling again. "Thank you, Jayden. I realize there's poop in the tub."

Terrible Twos Hitting Early?

Jayden and I went out yesterday, and he really acted up. When we were in Wal-Mart, he got mad because I wouldn't let him topple a Roman vase. I told him that he had to get back into the cart and tried to pick him up. He made himself go limp and laid out in the floor. I pretended to walk away, and he started running to catch me. So in the end, he wasn't all that upset.

Then we went to Jo-Ann Fabrics. There were a ton of people in line when we were checking out. When I was writing the check, he grabbed a huge bag of party mints off the rack and started walking off. I said, "Jayden, come back."

As soon as I got "Jayden" out of my mouth, he started running. The women in line were cracking up. I caught him and brought him back to the counter where I had to hold a very wiggly Jayden while I finished writing out the check.

One of the women said, "Oh, Mom, let him get the mints. He wants them."

They were all cooing at him, and he, of course, was just grinning. After all, he is adorable.

Better Night Last Night

Jayden slept better last night. I think that he's feeling much better now. I'm pretty sure he's feeling crummy because he's getting a new tooth. He's gnawing on everything. He's so funny that it's hard to get frustrated with him. Yesterday he would just lie his little head on my shoulder and slough around. I try to be comforting, but I will admit that it's not one of my stronger points. Still, I hug him, and it makes us both feel better.

Another Long Night

Jayden got sick last night. The poor little guy just isn't feeling well. We all had to get up when he got sick to change his bed sheets and his clothes and mop him up. I gave him a little juice to soothe his tummy. Then he thought it was play time, so it took forever to get him back to bed. We're both exhausted, but he's out like a light.

A Sleepless Night

Jayden didn't sleep well last night at all. He was up and down, up and down. I slept in the room with him for a couple of hours, and Brian's sleeping in the room with him now. There's nothing wrong. He's not even really waking up. He just wants some comfort. It's exhausting.

"Whoo" "Whoo" and "I Wub You"

Jayden has learned to make an owl sound. It's really cute. He's just been walking around making his mouth into a little circle and saying "whoo!" He likes to do the circle with his mouth. It's cute to watch him try to imitate the way our mouths move to say things.

When Brian was leaving for work yesterday, he waved bye to Jayden, and Jayden said, "I wub you." Of course, Brian thought that was wonderful. We weren't sure what he was saying because Jayden babbles so much, but later I said, "Jayden, I love you." He looked up and said, "I wub you." I don't think he knows what it means, but he gets that he should say it back and that we say it when we're leaving. It warms our hearts, so it works for us.

Optometrist

Jayden went to the eye doctor yesterday. I was really curious as to how they would check his eyes. Dr. Munsun had him look at little stripes and solids on fans. If his eyes focus on the patterns instead of the solids, then he can see well. Apparently he has very good vision at this point.

She also dilated his eyes. Let me tell you how much fun it is to keep a 13-month-old occupied for 30 minutes in a waiting room. He was everywhere! Luckily for him, all of the women in the office thought he was cute. They kept saying, "oh let him do what he wants."

I was thinking, "he'll destroy the place if you give him 5 minutes." He grins, and then everybody thinks it's okay to let him go.

He was pretty well-behaved, though. He was intrigued by all of the doctor's equipment, so he was very good during the actual exam.