Four months home!

Today marks four months since we brought Baby J home and we really cannot believe just how fast the time has gone!  So much has changed in our lives that some days it is hard to take it all in and really realize that he is ours, now and forever.  I sometimes find it hard to remember how things were before we brought him home; that is how much of an impact (obviously!) he has made on our lives!!  J is a super kid and no other one could have fit as well into our family as he does.
We think he's going through a growth spurt, as he is sleeping more and not quite as picky about his food as usual.  He has been sleeping through the night for the past week (knock on wood that I'm not jinxing us again) and some nights going 11 hours!!!  And I am super excited to announce that the past two naps and two nights that I have put him to bed, I have actually left the room before he's asleep.  This is a major milestone, as my leaving has been followed by either no crying or less than 5 minutes of the crying that says "hey, come back in here with me, but if you don't, I'll go to sleep anyway."  He seems to be liking his crib a bit more these days and is not terrified of being alone in his room.  When he wakes up in the morning, he'll now cry out a couple of times to tell us he's awake...if we don't get in there within a few minutes, then he lets us know that we're taking too long!  I can't wait for the day that he calls us by saying mommy or daddy, but that day will come and I'm trying to be patient!!
The poor boy is also cutting his top two canine teeth at the same time.  He has had one tooth or another (molars) coming in for the past 2 1/2 months!  No wonder he's picky about his food.  But other than that (and drooling buckets!!), he really is doing well with the teething.  Two more to go and then he's good until his two-year molars start coming in, right?!?!
Now for a bunch of cute pictures of our son...what, were you expecting otherwise?!

Giggles...

 ...kisses...

 ...and hugs with Grandma.

 Hanging out with Daddy watching football and using J's phone.

First trip to the pumpkin patch...loving the ride in the wagon!  Guess I know what will be on his Christmas list.

With his Illini gear on. 

Doesn't he look like he's about to get into trouble?!?!  I adore this boy!

Flying high and loving it with some help from Dad.

Sleeping in (until 7:40 this morning!).

Snack time on the stepstool made by Great-grandpa.

I haven't put in a picture of our first two babies lately.  Lexi and Jinx resting after a day of being chased around by a toddler.  Poor tired girls!

Lexi puts up with soooo much!

It's been a while!

So much going on and so little time to get to the blog these days!  I am back at work, which means J has started at the sitter's house.  I would give anything to be home with my son every day, but that is not feasible at this time.  :(  I know Chris has a hard time dropping J off because the. kid. is. smart.  The first day, he started crying only once Chris put him down inside the house and started leaving.  Now, after only 7 days going there (and they are sporadic, usually only twice a week and not the same days), he is starting to cry and shake his head as Chris pulls into their driveway!  Smart boy, but it's breaking Daddy's heart.  Note: our day care lady has said he is getting into playing quicker each day, which helps to know.

J turned 17 months old last week!  We can't believe it!!  He's still only saying a few things in English (uh-oh, hi, and I think he's starting to say "up"), but we can tell that he's understanding a whole lot more, so it's just a matter of time before his babble turns into actual words.  I cannot wait!!!!!  I asked him to open his mouth yesterday and then showed him what I meant, and he mimicked me right away, down to saying "ahhhhh!"  It was absolutely adorable!  And he giggles afterwards each time.  I love that boy.

My mom came up and stayed with us last week, as Chris was out of town for work.  J loved having his grandma here...on the second day, she started getting big hugs in the morning, which was amazing for me to see.  I have waited years to see my mom with my children and it's finally here.  And she was so excited too that I'm not sure who had more tears in her eyes!  Anyway, we had a great time with Grandma here, but were also very excited that Daddy came back a night early and was here when J woke up on Saturday.

Speaking of waking up (and I really really hope I'm not jinxing ourselves!), J has been sleeping through the night for the past 3-4 nights, maybe waking once to have his diaper changed but going back to sleep right away.  And then the earliest he's woken up for good has been 7.  One day I even got to sleep in until 8am; mind you, I had been sleeping on his floor since about 5:30 that morning, but who cares...8AM!!!!!

Now for the pictures and some video:

Day 2 at the sitter's, his binky and blanket at the ready.

"Maybe I'll feel more comfortable if I can hold J's hand."  Our sitter's older boy; her younger one is a week younger than our J!

Day 4: his big brother buddy.  Such a sweet picture!!

We tore out our old front porch and had a new, bigger one added.  We absolutely love it and wish we would have done this years ago!  We can even put the baby gate across the opening and let the dogs come out.  They love that!

Spent July 4-5 at Chris' extended family.  J was so taken with their cat and vice versa.  I think it's the first time he's seen one.  He was sooo gentle with it!  Can you see the one pointer finger reaching out?!

"Here kitty kitty!"

He was giggling uncontrollably.  He thought that cat was the best play thing!

Spent some time at a lake they have...

...looks like he's just floating in deep water...

...surprise!  Not even waist deep.  He was liking it for the most part until he went under backwards (by accident, people! I was right there, but he was slippery!) and then wanted nothing more to do with being in the water by himself.  He rested on my shoulder for probably close to an hour after that.

Getting to sit in the driver's seat of the ski boat.  Daddy kept a close eye on him so he didn't push that oh-so-interesting throttle forward that's on his right side!

And then great-uncle Donald let him help steer the boat back to the dock.  Wonderful, wonderful day!

This first video I can't get to turn vertically, so sorry about that!  But oh, so, cute dancing.  We went to a Jazz Fest in town and found out our boy likes jazz as well...although he will start dancing to almost any song with a good beat.

And this one was just a cute moment between Daddy and J.

Tomorrow, Chris' parents are coming for the day, so J will get to spend time with them.  I am putting together a small picture album for J of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins so that we can look at it frequently and he can at least get to know their faces.  I'm hoping this will help make him more comfortable with them when we all get together; I only have a couple more pictures to get and it will be complete.  He already likes to flip through the pages, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  

I'll try not to let as much time go past before my next post, but you never know!  Hope you've enjoyed this one and didn't get bored.