December 28

We had a nice Christmas with just our little family. We slept in a little late and opened presents in the afternoon. John had no idea what was going on but was interested in all the paper! Bill and I know next year will be a completely different story.....

Our little man can now sit unassisted for extended periods! It is so cute to see him sitting and playing with toys, picking them up and putting them right in his mouth! He rolls onto his side to sleep most nights, and actually one night this past week rolled onto his stomach to sleep with his head on the not-flathead side (which is not that bad anymore, but still a little noticeable to the discerning parental eye!).

Friday John's Grammy and Poppy came for the afternoon but for some reason no pictures were taken, not sure why. Saturday JohnJohn's aunt Linda and cousins Lauren and Emmy came for an overnight stay. I'll post pictures from that visit later. Needless to say, JohnJohn loved all the attention!

Don't forget to vote in my poll!

Today's pictures: JohnJohn's first Christmas- JohnJohn opening a present; John in his hat from his cousin Danielle, who put his initials on the hat; John with his Daddy opening a present; JohnJohn opening a present from his Granddad, drums which he really likes to bang on; Our happy family- it took us 20 minutes and these are the best of the bunch- the flash wouldn't go off or John would look at his Daddy at the last minute. Bill was getting so frustrated and I was laughing hysterically- you can tell how we're feeling by our faces in the last picture!

Today's video: JohnJohn banging on the drums on the Wii- our little rock star in the making!

nothing new

Just wanted to upload a cute pic of JohnJohn from this morning- he was his usual happy self!

Pictures 12-22

Here are some recent pictures:

JohnJohn sleeping on his side in his Pack-N-Play during his nap yesterday afternoon as I was updating the blog, talking about how he has started sleeping on his side

JohnJohn today in a coat/cold weather bundle-up thingy, which my friend Nikki got for him- He just gets cuter every day!

December 21

Here are some pictures I took that didn't make our Christmas card this year:

And of course, the two that did make the cut:

I'm not sure why he was so happy, he just loves to have his picture taken usually!

John continues to amaze us. He is getting so big, right around 16 pounds (yes, he has quadrupled his birth weight!). He has added several new sounds to his vocal repertoire, including a high-pitched squeal/sound that is his newest. It is precious! John has, on a couple of occasions, slept through the night, from about 9:30pm to 5:30 am, where he will eat and then go back to sleep. He doesn't do this regularly, but has done it, which is really nice! He's getting better at staying in a sitting position when placed that way, and loves to play with everything! It looks like he might be cutting a tooth on his bottom jaw (or rather, it feels like he might be getting one- he won't really let us look but is happy to let us poke around in there with our fingers!) He is rolling over more, and last night decided to turn over onto his side several times while sleeping. He is doing really well with getting his legs into a crawling position but never gets his arms right. He is doing so many things for his chronological age (7 months) and just about everything for his adjusted age (5 1/2 months), which we need to consider for developmental milestones due to his premature birth. All in all, things are peachy! I'm really looking forward to being home with him every day for the next two weeks!

Update

JohnJohn has really enjoyed eating solids. He especially loves oatmeal for second breakfast every day. He loved the rice cereal when he first ate it, but now that he's had other foods, JohnJohn only tolerates it. He also likes applesauce, and he loves sweet potatoes! He makes a mess but he really enjoys eating it.

JohnJohn is getting better at sitting up on his own. He can't get into a sitting position on his own but he can sit for about 15-20 seconds unsupported before he topples over. He doesn't roll over much-not that he can't, as we've seen him do it, but he'll roll halfway, onto his side, and then decide that he's gone far enough. JohnJohn also likes to practice standing- you can stand him up at the couch and let go for a few seconds and he'll stand there holding on, until he realizes that no one is holding him and then he panics. It's cute. He still shows no interest in crawling, but he may skip that completely, who knows. He moves around on his back while on his playmat and loves turning around in his exersaucer.

JohnJohn will now reach up his arms to be picked up if I hold my arms out to him. He still looks unsure when he does it, but he's learning cause and effect- you can see it in his eyes.

I took him up to school today for a picture with Santa. We were having the holiday shop/crafts show and I figured it was the best way to get a Santa picture. JohnJohn just looked at Santa with curiosity, and reached out to touch his beard. I'm sure the picture will turn out cute, as most pictures of my boy do! I also had lunch today with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. It was funny, because my friend Bene, who is only 10 years older than me, had her youngest child there, and she is old enough to be JohnJohn's mom (she is 21). We had a good time, and JohnJohn loved my friend Tracey's two kids, Gina who is 9 and David who is 8. It was very cute.

Oh, and in case anyone is asking, we are not traveling for Christmas or during my two week vacation. We will be staying home to start our own Christmas traditions with JohnJohn. However, our house is large enough to accommodate overnight visitors, so feel free to plan a short visit if you'd like!

Pictures: JohnJohn eating sweet potatoes; JohnJohn not crying anymore because Daddy pulled out the camera- he's fascinated by it

Applesauce!

Here is a short video showing JohnJohn eating applesauce for the first time. He kept opening his eyes really wide, and I tried to film that, but of course, as soon as he saw the camera, he was distracted.

Thanksgiving

Mom/Nana, Carolyn, SaraBeth and James came for Thanksgiving. John loved having all the attention. Bill cooked macaroni and cheese, mashed potatos and a turkey breast; Mom made dressing and gravy; Carolyn cooked almond-green beans and heated store-bought sweet potatoes; SaraBeth entertained John, texted her friends, and played two songs over and over on Guitar Hero on the Wii ("Slow Ride" and "Hit me with your Best Shot"; James played Battlefield on the computer, and Guitar Hero, earning money in the career mode, and trying to beat my high scores; I entertained John, set the table, cleaned up after dinner, and kept beating James' high scores on Guitar Hero. We had a fun time!

The apnea monitor is gone! Someone from the company came and picked it up Tuesday evening. We stopped using on Sunday (or maybe Saturday). It is much nicer not having a cord to trip over or maneuver when I am nursing JohnJohn in the middle of the night.

Today's pictures: Thanksgiving pictures!

New Makel pics

Just wanted to add a few new pictures of Makel that I found- some are from a trip to the mountains we took in the early spring of 2007, and the others are just chillin' out at home....

Big changes in the Leith Household!

JohnJohn has taken some big steps towards growing up over the past couple of weeks. He moved out of our bed and into his own, still in our room but in his own space. He started solid food (rice cereal) this past Monday and really likes it- he especially likes trying to hold the spoon himself. JohnJohn also is very interested in what we're eating and drinking, and if he is sitting in my lap when I'm taking a drink, he reaches for the cup. I let him hold it (with help) and bring it to his lips to chew on the rim (it's always water I'm drinking when I hold him). He prefers to hold his bottle when he gets one.

The other day, JohnJohn rolled over for the first time. However, he didn't do what most babies usually do. He didn't roll from his back onto his tummy- he rolled from his tummy onto his back to get out of tummy time! He was very pleased with himself and has done it a few other times.

At JohnJohn's six month check up, his doctor recommended that we take him off the monitor. We got a call from someone yesterday wanting to see if he could swing by and pick it up, but we were out, so I have to call Monday and schedule a time for someone to pick it up. Bill and I are both a little anxious about it, of course, but it's time.

We bought JohnJohn an early Christmas present- a (as Bill calls it) "standy-uppy thing" for him to work on sitting and standing- it is an Exersaucer, and JohnJohn really likes it. He is getting good at moving himself around to play with the different toys.

Today's pictures: JohnJohn eating solid food for the first time; upside down, being silly; JohnJohn 'helping' Daddy feed him; JohnJohn in his Exersaucer- he woke up with that scratch on his head- so of course, he got his nails clipped that day!