Jaysen's Update

Yes, poor Jaysen is the second child and therefore gets significantly less blog post updates. So here it is....

Age: almost 14 months

He has 6 teeth and a little bit more hair than he was born with. The longer his hair gets the curlier the back gets (just like my dad), and it seems to be getting lighter in color but still pretty brown. His eyes are hazel, also like my dad, and he has very sensitive, olive colored skin.

He gets eczema on his feet and legs and a little on his tummy. He also gets little dots on his legs and arms that look like little bites or something. Because of this he gets his own laundry detergent. It helps but they still come and go. He also has a type of mole on his back that I guess is really a birthmark since it's been there since birth. It is the same color as his skin only it is raised and you can see tiny hairs on it. The doctor said it is fine for now but around 5 years old we will probably take him to a dermatologist to have it tested.

He crawls really well and really fast. He likes to pull himself up to furniture and walk around while holding on to it, or while pushing something. He still won't walk by himself but I'm ok with it. I haven't worked on walking until recently because I know what that leads to...running.

He can say "mama" or "mom", "dada" or "dah", what sounds like "all done" when he is finished eating and hands me his plate, and "uhhh uhhhh uhhh" which is his word for everything else. So not a lot of talking yet. He jabbers when he is playing but if he wants something he grunts at you until you give him whatever it is he wants. I have been working on "please" and "up" and "more" but so far he hasn't said anything that sounds like those words.

He throws temper tantrums that scare me. Mostly because Kyler never had a temper and I know how Jake's was growing up. I guess I'll have to learn to manage. (We will just have to buy him a punching bag early - Jake's parents bought one for him when he was a teenager.)

He eats. A lot. But he is also very picky, just like his dad. When he finds something he likes he will eat it 'til it's gone...and then ask for whatever is on your plate. Our morning routine goes the way it does because of this. I feed Jaysen baby cereal first. Then I make Kyler's breakfast. Ky usually likes French toast sticks or Eggo waffles or toast, not a cereal kind of kid. I usually make a little extra to give to Jaysen. Then I get my cereal ready while the boys eat that. Ky is a slow eater but by the time I sit down and take a few bites Jaysen is finished and ready for more food. So I either put some dry cereal on his tray or just share mine with him. And when Jake is home in the morning with the boys I always get a text that says, "he is going to eat us out of house and home!"

He LOVES his brother. Whatever Kyler is doing, Jaysen is right behind him. They love to play cars together and he already knows how to make car sounds - I think boys come with that already installed. Kyler is really good about sharing and finding things for Jaysen to play with, and when he isn't, we know it because Jaysen freaks out! Poor Ky sometimes gets yelled at when we hear Jaysen scream and Ky hasn't even done anything. Oldest child problems, I guess. I am trying to be more careful now because a temper tantrum doesn't always mean Ky isn't sharing, it also means he is frustrated with whatever he is doing and doesn't have the patience to figure it out before freaking out.
 
He has a good arm. Loves to throw things and is actually pretty good at it. Guess we need to get him into baseball or something...maybe a quarterback? Jake would like that better than baseball. We will see what he wants to do I guess.

He hates blankets. Just like his daddy. No socks, no blankets on his feet, and wants the fan blowing on him all night. He also likes it dark, which makes the boys sharing a room kind of hard lately. Ky has to have a light on and Jaysen has to have it off. I think we came to a compromise with a smaller, dimmer night light right next to Ky's bed but we will see. If not I'll be making a room divider.

He is finally sleeping better. FINALLY! Up until recently he was still waking up 1 or 2 times a night. He still wakes up, but not as often. And usually it's because he lost his binky or the light is too bright.
 
Yes, he is still a binky baby. We try to not give it to him during the day as much but sometimes it just happens. I'm not too worried about it. He still needs it to sleep and he isn't even walking yet so it's not like he is a 5 year old with a binky at school (no offense if your child is one of these, to each his own.)

He loves to go for car rides and I have (surprisingly) never had a problem with him freaking out in the car seat. Kyler hated the car seat and unless the car was moving he was crying. Every single stop light. Jaysen is content as long as the sun isn't in his eyes. And if he is tired he needs his binky and he is good.

He knows how to go up and down stairs. This surprises me because I didn't teach him. I am assuming his baby sitter did (bless her heart) because I don't even have stairs to teach him on. I think Kyler was 2 before he learned to go up/down stairs.

He is a smarty pants. I always say his is my "thinker" because he always has this very serious, concentrated look on his face. And he is very good at trying to do whatever it is you are doing (unless of course he isn't interested yet...like walking.) He is also very stubborn that way. He likes things done on his terms. Which could lead to problems but once again we will see how it goes and learn to manage.

He is a sweetheart. He grabs my face to kiss me (you know, the big, open mouth, slobbery baby kisses.) He hugs really tight when I pick him up and he loves to cuddle, not as much as Kyler did but he still loves snuggles.

He is a good boy. He listens when I tell him "no". He may throw a little pouting fit but at least he won't do it again...for the next 10 minutes. He doesn't cry too often, it's more whining than anything.

He loves to giggle and loves to be tickled. And his favorite thing is blowing raspberries. You know, like blowing on someone's tummy. He thinks it is hilarious. He does it to daddy and Ky and me whenever he gets the chance and even tried to do it to himself one time when his shirt was off and he found his tummy.

He is our sweet, silly, squishy little boy and we love him soooooo much! I just don't know what life would be like without him.

What Makes Jaysen Jaysen

I haven't blogged much about Jaysen. Second child syndrome, I guess. I just have less time and energy. With Kyler I blogged every milestone. And with Jaysen I realized that as important as the milestones are, the date that it happened isn't. Anyway, thought I would blog a little bit about what makes my sweet Baby J who he is.

He is now almost 10 months old.

He is my chunky monkey. "Squishy" as some (Mindy) call him. Kyler had so little chub that all the chub that Jaysen has is very noticeable and kissable.

He eats well. The only thing that he doesn't like so far is green beans. Baby cereal, baby food, cereal puffs, bread, and whatever else we put in his mouth he just loves.

He finally has 2 teeth! It seemed like everyone thought he was teething from the time he was 4 months. I guess because of all the droll and the fact that he puts everything in his mouth.

He started crawling last month and now he is a pro. He just loves being able to get around. He tries to pull himself up to things like the couch and chairs but he isn't quite strong enough yet. 

He does a little bit of chatter here and there, mostly mama, dada, nigh-nigh, no-no. He yells when he is happy. It's loud and high pitched but at least he is smiling.

Speaking of smiling he does it a lot. He is a very happy baby with a big, open mouth smile.

He laughs a lot and his favorite thing is to be scared. As in saying "boo!" or jumping out from behind something. He jumps and laughs hysterically every time.

He makes lots of "farting" noises....with his mouth. Sometimes it sounds like it should be coming from the other end. Pretty funny to watch.

Still a binky baby. Loves it more than anything. And speaking of binky's, he only likes the green ones from the hospital. I bought some cute football ones for Christmas and he doesn't like them. He plays with them but honestly I think his cheeks are so chubby that that the smaller binky doesn't fit.

Lately he doesn't like bottles. We even had to try and switch to sippy cups and he still doesn't have much interest. We really aren't sure why. I guess he just decided he likes to eat solid food more. I am fine with it but worried he isn't getting the nutrients he needs from milk and isn't getting enough to drink. I try and nurse him as often as possible but I am at work part of the week and lately he only nurses for a couple minutes or until he gets distracted and then he is done.

He is finally sleeping better. He has never been a good sleeper, from day one. 3 or 4 hours was the best he would do. But for the last couple weeks he has been going 5 to 7 hours at a time. I cannot believe how much having sleep has helped me function. I have SOOO much more energy. It's awesome. I just hope he keeps it up. *knock on wood* ----Guess knocking on wood didn't work. I wrote this a couple weeks back and now that his teeth are coming in we are back to long nights of very little sleep. Here is to hoping he remembers how to sleep again soon!

He cries when I tell him no. It is actually kind of funny that he even knows what that means. Especially because I didn't yell or even get up from my chair. I just said, "Jaysen, no no." And he looked at me and then put his head down and sobbed.

Although he and Kyler are brothers they are so opposites. Kyler is blonde and was bright blonde when he was born and has always had a lot of hair. Jaysen has dark hair and not much of it.
Both boys are pretty mild tempered but I have noticed Jaysen has more of a temper than Kyler ever did. He gets upset and throws himself back and kicks his legs. He will let you know he doesn't want something by throwing a fit with his hands when you try to give him something he isn't interested in. He seems a lot more serious than Kyler. I always say Jaysen is my "thinker". He tends to study things and have a very serious look on his face a lot of the time. He even has the cutest little scowl where he raises his eyebrows and it looks like he is either pondering something or giving you a dirty look. It always seemed like Kyler would laugh and smile at anything and everything and Jaysen has to be truly amused in order to give you the time of day. Not that he isn't a happy baby. He is just more serious about his happiness, haha!

I better post this now instead of trying to think of more to add. Last time I waited to post and had to make a lot of changes. For some reason my blogging time is very limited.....hahaha.