Jordan is 7 Months

Between Christmas, New Year's, Doug's parents visit & a trip to Missouri - it's been a very eventful month for our little family. Baby Jordan's increased mobility continues to keep us on our toes as she amazes us with her curiosity. One important thing that happened this month, Jordan is learning to be much more independent. Being mobile has helped her to be comfortable playing on the floor and not needing to be held nearly as much. Her personality continues to be amazingly happy and sweet - she loves hugs and kisses. Here is what our big 7 month old was up to this month.

Crawling - (FAST!)
This past month was a busy one for mom & dad - chasing after our little mobile baby. Jordan's crawling went to super speed this month. She can also travel large distances - which seems amazing when I see her cross a whole room. This is Jordan crawling at 6 months, 1 week. You should see her move now - I need to get a new video.

Pulling Up
Right before the New Year, Jordan decided that she wanted to experience things on another level. She started trying to pull up - usually on her basket of toys or music table. Things progressed to couches, tables and even Willie. About a week later, Doug went in to get Jordan after her nap and found her standing in the crib - grinning at him. Pulling up was a bit traumatic at times, since she wasn't totally steady on her feet & couldn't really figure out how to get down afterwards. A few bumps, bruises and one black eye better - she is getting better every single day.
Here she is with Grandpa - playing peekaboo while pulling up. Momma's little multi-tasker.

Pulling up at 6 months, 1 week

Pulling up at 6 months, 2 weeks

"Walking" with Mom or Dad
So funny to see Jordan move her feet one in front of the other while holding onto Mom or Dad's hands. She starting doing it right around the time she was pulling up - so right around 6 1/2 months. Here is our sweet girl, after "walking" on the beach with Dad.
Sitting From Crawling
Last month, Jordan started crawling and mastered sitting, but could not transition from crawling back to sitting. She has learned to do that this month - she is getting so strong and deliberate in how she maneuvers her body. Here she is sitting in our bed - very interested in the humidifier steam.

Eating
Jordan started eating at the beginning of the month, and it was slow going at first. She still thrusts her tongue when she eats anything - so it can be a bit frustrating. She really got much better around the new year when Doug's parents were visiting. Whether it was their experience or patience, it definitely did the trick and eating has gone so much better since. Jordan is a pro at her rice cereal and loves the food I have been making - a new favorite is sweet potato.


Reaching for Mom & Dad
I remember the first smiles and laughs that melted our hearts. Recently when Jordan started reaching for us - well that almost topped those moments. It started with Mom and then Jordan started reaching for Dad, too. We are totally smitten.


Toy Basket
Jordan loves to pull up on her toy basket. Once she is at a good level, she proceeds to pull out every single toy. So much fun! Now if we could just teach her it's fun to put them away???


Dancing
Right at the end of month Jordan starting bopping her head to music. It's super cute when she "dances" - usually one of us has to start first, but then she joins right in.

Pincer
It's so fun to continue to see Jordan's coordination develop. She is really getting good at using two fingers to grab at things. She is able to find the tiniest thread or fuzz on the floor - it's amazing (and keeps me on my toes vacuuming).



Curious & Independent Jordan
Everyone says a baby's mind is like a sponge - and it really seems to be true lately. She concentrates on people and things and is so curious while exploring the house. We do our best to provide a commentary.

Goodbye Pacifier, Hello Thumb?
Jordan was never much of a pacifier girl, although, she would use them when going to sleep. All of a sudden this month, Jordan started throwing her pacifiers out of her crib - I think it had a lot more to do with her being able to pull up in her crib. Now, every now and then - Jordan will stick her thumb in her mouth when she is tired or needing to be soothed.


See you soon - Mommy was really late getting this month posted :)

Baby's First Christmas

Opening presents on Christmas morning

It's snowing! In Charleston!


First Visit with Santa - a bit traumatic

Santa, please put me on the nice list.

Christmas dinner with the Moses Family

Christmas day photo behind our house

Willie really hates this hat

Opening presents is fun, Dad!

Sweet baby under the tree

Santa baby!

Having a 6 1/2 month old at Christmas is a lot of fun - for the parents. Obviously, Baby Jordan didn't know the difference between the holiday and a normal Tuesday. We enjoyed spending time with our little one over the holidays and spent a lot of time talking about the fun Christmas holidays to come. All of our merriment was topped by snow the day after Christmas - a very rare event in Charleston! We started fun traditions and look forward to Jordan being a more active participant next year.

Simple Math

Baby Pulling Up

+

Baby Crawling

=

Babyproofing

Big shoutout to Doug and his dad for putting up the baby barrier in our loft. Looks like it was just in time :)

Merry Christmas!

Jordan is 6 Months Old!

On Jordan's 1/2 birthday, I looked at her and just couldn't believe it's been six months since the day she was born. In some ways, I can't remember a time that she wasn't part of our lives. She absolutely completes and compliments our family. In others, it seems like she was just born - coming into the world fast, perfect and with a little bit of attitude (just like she is now!)

With mom at playgroupBundled for Christmas tree pickingLove this - both so happy

Great fall day with friends in Durham

It's been a great month - between Thanksgiving visitors, our Florida trip, Jordan's Baptism and holiday planning -we've been busy! And Jordan is keeping us on our toes, too. Lots of big milestones this month!!

On the Move!
She had been "scooting" on the floor for awhile and while we were in Florida - Doug all of a sudden looked at me and said, "She is CRAWLING!" Sure enough, she was picking up her legs independently and moving across the bed. This was mid-month and it's been fun to see how much better she has gotten the past few weeks. I have a few videos of how she progressed throughout the month. She isn't zipping around the house yet - but the doctor warned me that it will be soon! December 3

December 9

December 16

Sitting
Jordan mastered sitting this month - she also can transition from sitting to crawling position. Not to say that we don't have the occasional "topples" but they are less and less. She is also getting really good about putting down a supporting arm when she feels herself leaning to one side. Sitting has brought around more fun playtime and bath time. Jordan loves sitting up in her duck bathtub.

Intention
This month, we noticed Jordan starting to really "flap" her arms at times. At first, I thought it was excitement - but then I noticed sometimes she did it when she was unhappy. One of my friends characterized it as "intention" which I think is a very accurate description. She seems to make the movement when she wants something - Mom, a toy, etc. So amazing to see her start to communicate in these ways - makes me think it's time to start baby sign language.

Hand Coordination
It's amazing to see Jordan's coordination improve everyday. This month she is doing a lot with her hands. She likes to bend them at the wrist and twist them around - sort of checking to see what all they can do. She is also developing her Pincer Grasp - where she can pick up small items with two fingers. She really likes to pinch at the diamonds in engagement rings - uh, oh. She already likes jewelry?? Another big coordination milestone this month, is Jordan transferring items from one hand to the other. We keep looking for any clue if she is going to be right or left handed but think it's still way too early to know.

Solids
We started Jordan on real food on her 6 month birthday. Rice cereal went pretty well & now we have branched into bananas. She does pretty well eating, although she still sticks out her tongue which means we loose a lot of food in the process. It's still the first week - so it's a slow process.

Sleeping
During this month, Jordan got into a great nap/sleep pattern - 2-3 naps/day and 12 hrs at night - with one feeding around 3:30 AM. However, the past week since her 6 month birthday has been a little rough. I've read that babies can change their sleep patterns after a big milestone (like crawling) because they want to be doing it all the time. It's that or teething - whatever it is has thrown mom for a loop.

Other fun things this month:
Willie's toys - so much more fun than baby toys.
Christmas tree & garland - so pretty, must touch
Sitting up in the cart at the store. Shopping is so much easier because Jordan loves it!
Splashing in the bath - Jordan usually splashes the water with her hands when we say "Splash". She thinks it's so much fun! This video also shows Jordan's favorite toy this month - her hairbrush. Loves it.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

6 Month Check Up

Jordan continues to do great with her well baby checkups and routine immunizations. She is 25.25 inches long (25-50%), 13 lbs 15 oz (10-25%) and 43.25 cm head circumference (50-75%). If this continues, she is going to resemble a tootsie pop!

In all seriousness, the doctor was very happy with Jordan's stats - not worried about her weight, since she has been steady (not bouncing around along the curve). Plus, we decided to hold off on solids till she was 6 months, so that will start to bump her up. Starting on rice cereal will also help her iron count, which is a little low - one of the only issues with exclusive breastfed babies. She also mentioned that a big head means good brain development - which is nice to hear.

Jordan showed off her sitting and crawling for the doctor - and of course Mom was so proud! I just can't believe she is six months!

Florida Fun

Doug had a conference in Boca Raton, Florida at the first of December and Lil' J and I tagged along for some sunshine. We were happy with our first long road trip - driving through the night so Jordan would sleep. Doug did great staying awake and Jordan did great sleeping. We enjoyed the sunshine, resort and our time away. The ocean was too cold for swimming but we had fun at the pools, beach and just walking around the beautiful resort. Not to mention Jordan started crawling while we were there - but more on that later.

We lucked out and avoided the cold snap that hit right after we left. We made a stop in St. Augustine, FL - for Jordan to stretch out and roll around since we didn't drive through the night on the way home. Now I can say I've been to all three walled cities in North America - Quebec City, Charleston & St. Augustine. Huge dork, I know.

Doug & Jordan chilling at St. Augestine

Family shot on our trip home - the fort

Beach baby. She loves sand but not the cold ocean.

Perfect photo of my babies. Jordan cracking up and Willie looking like "What is so funny?"

Chilling poolside with the cutest baby on the block

Sunrise over the orange groves in Florida. Possibly the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen.