All In a Weekend's Work

When I last left you, Jamey was working on mastering his army crawl. I am happy to say, he has it down. He can creep and crawl with the best of them, as Christopher can attest while he attempts to keep his truck away from him. Now if he would just manage to lift his body off the floor as he crawls.

However, in the same hour that he mastered his crawl, he was on to another skill-- pulling himself up. Just after he crawled across the living room to get his drum, he took notice of this big wooden object in the middle of the room, which we refer to as the "coffee table." Our coffee table has a shelf about halfway down. Jamey crept over to the table, lifted himself onto his feet at the first shelf and then reached up to stand all the way up next to the table. My jaw stayed permanently dropped.

Lucky for us, we were able to get this skill on camera today, as he now plays the role of daredevil... attempting to pull up on everything possible, including Mommy and Daddy.

(Since I originally wrote this post, Jamey has also learned to "speak" through a megaphone made of his stacking cups and has also finally figured out how to crawl on all fours, but still prefers army crawl.)

This week, Jamey had a few special visitors from out of town. His cousins Jack and Ben, along with Aunt Lindsay, made the trip up from Raleigh to spend a few days with us.

It is an understatement to say that Jamey loved playing with his cousins and equally an understatement to say they loved hanging out with him. They even took the chance to take care of Jamey for a day, providing Monica with two days off. Taking him on a field trip to the mall, they fought over who would get to push him in the stroller. Seven-year-old Ben even scolded his brother for saying the word "poop" around Jamey's delicate ears, and learned how to use Jamey's diaper pail properly.

But really, it was very cool to see the three of them play together. Jamey wanted nothing more than to sit in the same room with them, and watch them. I can't wait until he can follow them around like a little puppy.

Wednesday, Glenn and I took a day off and we all headed into DC to check out the National Building Museum. It wasn't actually as cool as we had hoped it would be, but we made the best of it. While Glenn took the boys on a scavenger hunt of sorts, Jamey, Lindsay, and I hung out on the steps. After having fun banging a mini can of hair gel on the tiled ground, Jamey then figured out that crawling stairs wasn't all that hard when you have a little help. Wouldn't it be funny if he started to crawl up stairs before he could crawl in general?

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As I finish my blog, I realize that I never relayed the events of Jamey's 9 month appointment. On the 11th of the month, he turned 9 months, and I am happy to say he is finally measuring in at a relatively average weight: 20 lb. 9 oz, which is the 55%. His height is 29 inches, still in the 75%. In true "van Welzen" fashion, his head is still in the 96%. Guess that means he has a big brain.

He is also getting four teeth in and has become quite active with his toys. To demonstrate, I will share a video of him going crazy playing in his Exersaucer.

Easter Weekend

After an eventful Spring Break, Jamey also had a busy Easter weekend. Saturday, we headed up to Hard Bargain farm for the Dance Group's Pasta Party, which was fun as always. Jamey fell asleep on the hay ride, but ate a nice meal complete with spaghetti and apples. He also held onto the trophies that Mommy and Daddy won for their archery skills. He likes to think he had something to do with them both winning prizes.

On Sunday, although Jamey can't eat any candy yet, the Easter Bunny still dropped off a special toy and littered the living room with plastic eggs. Jamey had fun rolling around the room finding them.

And as an Easter treat for all, I just had to share a video of Jamey laughing. Monica always says that Christopher makes him crack up and now, Glenn and I have made a habit of finding things that make him laugh too.

Jamey's Crazy "Beach week"

For the first time in three years, Glenn and I were able to actually both enjoy a Spring Break without accompanying students to a foreign country or hosting students from Europe. And not only was it relaxing for us; it was Jamey's first Spring Break. It had been a while since he had had beach time with Grandma V and Granddad, so we headed down to Emerald Isle for a few days.

Spring Break Adventure, Part 1: A six hour car ride with a baby who doesn't just fall asleep the car is in motion. It used to be so easy. The car moves, the baby sleeps. Now, he looks around, he wants to move around. Luckily, though, he is also great at playing on his own and loves just kicking his musical farm. Getting on the road at 6 AM, the trip actually went faster than I had expected. By around noon, we were there and the weather was beautiful.

And then it wasn't. The second, third, and fourth day we were at the beach, we weren't actually ON the beach. It rained, it was overcast, it was cold and my mom was compelled to continually apologize for Mother Nature. But Glenn, Jamey, and I didn't mind. Being away from home is being away from home. We found other ways to entertain ourselves. Whether it was just rolling around with Granddad or going for a walk with an extra sweater on, we enjoyed the compulsion to not do anything too responsible.

In fact, Jamey even went to the circus for the first time. I'm not talking Cirque de Sole acrobatics. I mean true circus, elephants, camels, and all. No flying trapeze, but I will let that go. Sure, Jamey probably wasn't totally sure exactly what was going on, but he LOVED it. When the acrobats spun from the ropes in the air, he stared with his mouth agape. When the elephants strutted around, he clapped his hands. At one point, there was an acrobat on a pedestal in the middle of the circle. Thinking the spotlight was in his eyes, I put my hand down over his face to shadow his eyes. Apparently, there was no light in his eyes becaused the only reaction I got from him was that he was pulling my hand away, as though to say, "Mom, you're blocking my view."

The highlight of the week was of course the last day. Bright sun, warm weather, and finally the chance to head down to the sand. So we suited Jamey up in his swimsuit and water shirt to see how he likes the feel of the sand in his hands, and not just under his feet. He liked it, for sure. Sure, the water was a little too cold to do much more than drop his feet into for just a second, but the sand was a hit.

Sitting on the edge of the blanket, he first moved his feet back and forth, digging in. Then he realized, I was going to let him put his hands in it. He began to move the piles back and forth. Soon, his wrists were going to work, moving all over the sand. And then it happened. Jamey remembered that he likes to chew on his hands. The rest of the afternoon was spent, attempting to keep handfuls of sand out of Jamey's mouth.

All in all it was a fantastic week. Always nice to show off Jamey to other people. On this beach adventures, a few more subtle firsts: first solid chunks of fruit, first spaghetti, first time seeing an elephant pee (and man, was that loud and violent), and first time playing by himself with books.

And Jamey even got an Easter outfit!