On December 4th, Jace turned 9 months old. I am a few weeks late is writing this post, but Christmas is soon approaching and life is very, very busy. I feel guilty that I have not written much about Jace's life, but I guess I just need to be thankful for what I have written down. Right now, I am working 3 days a week with Jace at home with me. That means that really I only get to work when he is napping, but I am thankful to have the opportunity to work and help out the business and be at home with him, too. Easton is in Pre-K 3 days a week and Lawson goes to an in-home daycare on those same days. I have struggled with not having Lawson here with me as well, but it is just so hard to concentrate and get work done if all the kids are here. Jace typically takes a long morning nap and that is when I get most of my work done. So now on to baby Jace...
- We all tend to call him "Baby Jace". In fact, sometimes Lawson just shortens it to "Bay Jace". ; ) I also call him "Jace-a-roo." I don't know where I got that, but I just said it one day and it has stuck. : ) Occasionally, we will call him "Jacer." I love all his many nicknames.
- At Jace's 9 month doctor's appointment, he weighed 19 pounds 4 ounces and was 29 inches long. He is in the 75-90% for his height, but has dropped down between 25-50% for his weight. He is by far my skinniest baby and he is not small. : ) The others had lots of rolls, but Jace just has a few. I think he is just perfect though. I might try to fatten him up a bit before his 1 yr appointment. I think Dr. Moore would like it if he was closer to 50% for his weight since he is so tall.
-Jace is wearing 12-18 month clothes right now. : )
- Jace is still on Enfamil Premium formula and drink 6 ounces with each bottle. He drinks 3 to 4 bottles a day and still wakes up in the night to drink one. We are working on transferring from baby food to table food. He is a great eater when it comes to baby food. He will pretty much eat whatever I feed him. He loves to snack on Gerber Puffs. As far as table food goes, we have worked really hard the past 2 weeks. He has eaten bananas, lasagna, spaghetti, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, small bites of turkey, cooked carrots, and pears. There may be more, but that's all I can think of now. He is not solely on table food, but we are transitioning. : )
- Jace has a really sweet personality. He has the biggest smile. When he smiles, his whole face lights up and he has really deep dimples. Everyone always comments on his big dimples. They are pretty cute, I must say. He has always smiled very easily. Overall, he is a very happy baby. The older he gets, the more demanding he is becoming though. He definitely will let you know if he is not happy that you took a toy away or if you leave a room without taking him with you.
- He is extremely ticklish! Especially on his back, neck and feet. ; )
- He loves his big brothers and loves for them to talk and play with him. They are so good with him and I know that he will do everything he can to keep him with them.
- Jace does not like to get his diaper changed. He is constantly turning over making diaper and clothes changes very difficult. I think I remember this with the others and I know it is just his independence starting to come out as he gets older. It is so sad - they don't stay babies long enough.
- Jace can clap his hands, raise his hands to "praise the Lord" (something we have taught all the boys at a young age), wave to you ( but not on demand), crawl, pull up to standing, and cruise along a sturdy surface. He has not stood alone yet, but seems to be very close.
- Speaking of crawling, Jace can crawl so fast!! It is really funny if he has something he knows you don't want him to have or if he thinks you are gonna pick him up before he can get to something. He will start crawling really fast and I almost have to run to catch him. He is usually laughing or smiling really big when I do catch him.
- Jace also crawls exactly like Lawson did. He uses his left knee and his right foot. I think this technique aids to his extreme fast crawling. : ) I could not believe it when I saw that he started to crawl like that. I thought it was so unusual with Lawson, but I guess not. ; ) It runs in the family. ha ha!
- Jace can hold his own bottle, but only when he is in his car seat. If I am holding him, he still wants me to hold it for him - and I don't mind a bit. He is my sweet baby and I love holding it for him. ; )
- Jace also loves music. He bounces to music and waves his arm in the air when he hears music. He kinda looks like he is directing the music. ; ) He loves for me to sit him on the piano bench and let him bang around. I pray that he will have a love and talent for music. I know that is something God-given and I pray that God gave that gift to all my boys. Music has meant so much in my life. I don't consider myself to be extremely gifted in music, but it has always been a huge interest and I believe helped me in life.
- Jace is babbling a lot now. He says Mamama, Dadada, Bybyby, Bababa. He has also babbled with the letter "g". I don't think he has tried to intentionally say much except maybe "bybyby" for "bite". He has seemed to use that more while we are feeding him. Jace's babbling is a huge answer to prayer. Right before he turned 8 months old, I started getting very concerned because he had not tried to babble at all. In fact, he was not making many sounds at all. Just crying and laughing and an occasional "ahhh". I knew he was supposed to be much further along that that at 8 months old. We started praying and started working with him a lot. The weekend he turned 8 months old, he started using "guh guh" some. We were so excited and praising the Lord for answering prayer. He is progressing so well now and I am so thankful that he seems to be on track now.
- Jace doesn't have any teeth that have come through yet. I have been able to see at least two on the bottom front for a couple of months now, but they have not pushed through yet. It's okay though because the doctor has always told me that their teeth will be healthier if they come in later. We'll see...
- Jace's Schedule: Well, this is not exact because it changes a little each day, but....He usually wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00. He takes a 2 t 2 1/2 hr nap in the morning sometime around 10-10:30. He is usually up for 3 or so hours and then goes back down for a shorter nap. This afternoon nap really varies on how long. Sometimes it's only 30-34 minutes and sometimes it is as long as 1 1/2 hrs. He is usually up then until he goes to bed at night around 9:00. Unfortunately, Jace is not sleeping through the night. He usually wakes up at least once to have a bottle and sometimes even twice if he goes to bed early. I know I should not give him a bottle the second time but I have been to get him back to sleep. My goal for the next month or so is to stop the second time all together and hopefully get him to sleep all night long. I will need the Lord's help with this because I just hate to make him "cry it out". It's funny - it was hard for me to do that with Easton because he was my first baby, a little easier for Lawson because I knew he would be okay and now harder again because this is my last baby.... Ha ha!
- I think I am "babying" Jace a little more because I feel he is my last. I love him so much and I love being his momma. I love to hold him and rock him and snuggle with him. He will lean his head into mine and we will rub our foreheads together. This is our special "lovin". I am getting teary thinking about how quickly this time will pass and I will wish for it back. I am really trying to enjoy every minute, but they just seem to be slipping through my fingers. Life is so busy and even though I want it to slow down - I don't see a way.
Jace is such a sweet little baby. I cannot imagine life without him. 3 is a great number. God has blessed me with 3 special little boys. They are all so different and unique and my heart overflows with love for each of them. My prayer is that I can be the kind of mom that each of them needs and that ultimately they will grow up loving the Lord and living their life for Him.
