Jack Update: Better late than never!

Call it what you will.  Writer's block.  Laziness.  Winter blues.  I wish I could give you good reasons why I haven't posted in so long, but then I'd just be making excuses. 

Oh well .... here they go anyways:

Maybe it's my crazy toddler who keeps me on my toes at all times.  Perhaps it's the fact that Jack's naptime (formerly known as the time I sat down to blog) is now filled with rushing around cleaning up a gazillion toys, goldfish cracker crumbs, dog food and house plant dirt off the floor .... all leftovers of the musings of one gregarious toddler.  Rather, it could be that I've been so focused on getting my little man to walk and talk that I have had little time to report back to you all. 

But ... it's probably just that I get so lost in my baby boy's blues and infectious smiles all day long, that I'm honestly not thinking about you folks all that much!  {No offense.}

For those of you craving an update, though, the truth about our last six weeks is that our little buddy has hit quite a developmental spurt, more like BOOM!

No to brag or anything, but here's a little breakdown of just some of the things our Jackers has been up to:

Standing up from the floor (without pulling up on anything) ALL DAY LONG.

Walking up to 5 steps at a time.  Yup, WALKING!!!  (Not walking across the room yet or anything, but he's close!)

Eating ALL big boy foods, finally!  (Jack had some texture issues, and preferred pureed foods for a very long time.) 

Working on eating with utensils (more like, playing with utensils, but it's a start!)

Saying lots of new words, including dog, shoes, car, ball, bubbles, go, hi, up, and our favorite, "cool!"

Signing probably about ten to twelve different signs, including more, sleep, eat, bubbles, go, dog, pig.

Putting things "in" and taking things "out" of containers, and helping Mommy clean up toys (well, sometimes ... it's a work in progress).

Giving hugs and kisses on command ... AHHHHdorable!

Giving high fives, waving "hello" and "bye bye" to any and everyone, especially in the grocery store. Sigh. ;)

In different news, we have been very blessed that Jack has had a very healthy winter thus far with only one or two minor colds (and NO ear infections, knock on wood).  We feel very fortunate that our insurance approved him for the very expensive seasonal Synagis vaccine (RSV vaccine) last year.  It requires Jack to get a shot in each leg every month during the winter months, which is sad for baby and Mommy, but it's definitely been worth it.  Our pediatrician yesterday told me that the CDC is estimating that nearly 30% of our county's pediatric population has contracted RSV this winter.  Eeeeek!  I'm usually not the biggest fan of insurance companies who, in my opinion, pay for as little as possible when it comes to their clients's health care needs.  But, I've gotta hand it to our company this time for helping keep our little buddy healthy this winter!  Whew!

Other exciting news is that Jack is going to be starting preschool this fall!!!  Last week, our big boy was accepted into a great preschool here in town, and we're really excited about this new beginning for him.  He will go two days per week, from 9 am until 1 pm (hopefully on days that Mommy will be working).  We looked at several preschools and just knew that this one was a perfect fit for our buddy after visiting.  The staff was so welcoming to our family, and they are all very excited to have Jack join them in the fall.  They follow a Montessori-style of teaching, which I've read is very successful with children with Down syndrome.  It seems like the perfect fit for our special little boy, and we couldn't be happier!



Mommy's handsome stud!



"Bieber fever" hair

Well, that's our news for now.  I promise to try to keep you better updated from now on! 

Have a wonderful rest of your week, everyone!