Jack is 7 Months Old! (and an update on our family)

What is it about each passing month that time picks up greater speed and he grows, changes and learns faster than I can jot things down?  My baby is growing up so fast!  It was so great that I was on spring break last week and able to just slow down and enjoy more of the simple moments with him.  We woke up later, cuddled in bed, took our time doing things and just all around relaxed, played and enjoyed our time together.  Trevor and I both commented on how low key life was while I was on break.  Needless to say, we are both looking forward to the summer when I am off! 

Over break we did do some things, though!  We were hoping to start the moving process.  Waterford Schools are no longer what they were when we were there and although I can send him to the school district I teach in for free and not pay tuition (it is not a school-of-choice district), I am not sure I want to do that for several reasons.  We also would like him to live where he goes to school.  Well those plans are going to be on hold for a bit.  We looked at some houses in neighborhoods/districts we liked but we felt that they were all downgrades and they could potentially suck us into bidding wars.  We were fortunate to buy our house in 2009 when the housing market was so low that we walked away with a pretty much brand new house on the lake for a steal.  Now, with the market on the rise, we really can't get an equivalent house for a decent price.  I'm happy the market is making a comeback and that our house could have made us a significant profit in 3 years, but we were really bummed about the prospects.  In addition, because our house is so awesome, we know it would have sold almost immediately and then we would have been crunched to find something quickly and we were worried about settling when the house we have right now is perfect.  We didn't want bigger or better, we just wanted our house but in a different location.  So, instead of moving, we are going to refinance to take advantage of the great interest rates and to get rid of our PMI now that we have plenty of equity in the house.  We are lucky enough to be able to refinance to a 15 year loan and only pay $100 more a month.  If we stay in our house, how awesome will it be to be mortgage-less at 42?!  And that will be right when Jack starts driving and before he goes to college.  We will see, though!  We also took our savings and paid off my car 3 years early and are just a few months away from paying off Trevor's 2.5 years early.  Then we really hope to start saving lots of money and redo our floors and get new appliances (and maybe take a family vacation or two, and start planning for that eventual #2). 

Also, over break we did our spring cleaning.  Any one who comes to our house knows we are very neat, tidy, clean and minimalist people so they probably don't know what we cleaned but our computer desk, spare room and garage were looking a little crammed for our standards so we spent a day sorting through that stuff.  It was such a nice to-do to check off.

I did purchase a few things over spring break but with our minimalist viewpoint I was really mindful of my choices.  I bought a few clothing items for summer that would be easy to wear to work, mix and match and nurse in since I have a funky new body shape (thanks excess skin, gross!).  I didn't spend much money at all and was able to get several outfits from a few things.  I also bought a glass LifeFactory water bottle because of how nasty my plastic ones were looking.  The environmental impact of that bottle is much lower than other options out there.  Trevor and I have been really committed to making eco-friendly, vegan, minimalist choices and I think that is an awesome example we are setting for Jack on how to be happy without doing harm.  (Trev has been pop free and eating plan based and looks awesome if I do say so myself!)  If you get a chance, check out the short videos by The Story of Stuff on youtube.  I can't say I see things the same afterwards! 

Lastly, Easter was actually during spring break this year.  We took Jack with us to Inn Season where we always have a yummy vegan Easter brunch.  The Easter bunny brought Jack the book The Giving Tree to leave in his re-usable wooden Easter basket from his late Uncle Jack.  He also received another book from his Grandma and Grandpa Sheldon (which he loves) and some soft blocks from Nana and Papa that he loves to throw.  We also celebrated the short life of his late Uncle Jack, met Avery and Jianna at the park, hung out with Nana lots, and FaceTimed with Brittany.  It was the perfect spring break!

Now onto Jack!  He amazes me more and more every day.  I can't believe how much he changes.  Here is what he is up to this month (no weight/height stats because we don't have to go to the doctor's again until 9 months-woo!)

Eating:
Most importantly, we are still nursing and we are not having any troubles.  Over break it was so nice to not have to pump and worry about drinking my tea and how many ounces and cleaning bottles, blah, blah, blah.  Nursing is infinitely quicker and easier than pumping and bottle feeding so yet another reason I can't wait for the summer.  He has tried mashed potatoes (with breastmilk), mashed sweet potatoes with nutmeg and cinnamon, roasted potatoes, mashed peas, asparagus, hummus, mango, and cauliflower (in addition to things he already tried last month and is still loving).  Any time we eat he will get angry if we don't offer him anything so we have been eating super healthy so that we can always have some of what we are eating (Trevor has had some amazing weight loss and I am below my pre-pregnancy weight by 5 pounds!).  It is really cute when he eats, he chews so well and goes "mmmmmmmmm" the whole time.  We know he is done because he starts feeding Sofía (and laughing when we say no) and ripping his bib off and sending food off everywhere.  I did get my second plugged duct, though, this month and boy, are those painful!  Again, pumping I am sure is to blame.  Bonus to nursing is now that he is more active, he bumps his head often but a quick nursing session has him tear free and happy almost immediately!

Sleeping:
He is doing better!  We now have his crib side-carred to our bed (the front rail off and the bed pushed up against ours, level with our mattress).  We bit the bullet and are letting him sleep on his belly and he is doing so much better (he sleeps just like his mommy and even snuggles like me, with one leg on the other person, lol).  I was wearing him in the Boba to get him sleepy and then transferring him to the crib, but now that we made his bedtime around 9/10 instead of 8, he falls asleep on his own much easier.  He still nurses throughout the night and then wakes around 7/7:30.  Even though it is a small improvement, it is better than regression and it feels great.  I'm pretty much used to this now and if he sleeps for long periods, I actually wake up to check up on himWe notice that when he gets tired now he pulls at his right ear, it is pretty cute!

Development, learning, play, preferences and everything else!:
Jack is a very vocal and social little boy.  He loves to scream and talk LOUDLY and make a noise that sounds like an owl going "hoo, hoo".  We think he has waved hi a few times but it is hit and miss at this point.  Speaking of hitting, he loves to slap the skin of anyone around him and hear that noise, so watch out!  He is also in love with touching books that have fur, scales, etc.  He loves to learn and experience new things!  Thanks to object permanence he is understanding things leave and come back so Peekaboo is a huge hit, as is throwing things off the high chair and looking for them.  In addition, when we each come home after being at work, he is not only thrilled but when you say "Mommy/Daddy is home!" and he hears the garage door, he starts looking around.  If you hide during peekaboo he will start pushing off, moving and looking for you.  This pushing off is becoming more common as he wants to investigate and even be mobile!  He rocks in the crawling position, can stand holding on to things (though not pull up), doesn't like laying down, can sit on his own and even reach all around pretty well (just the occasional fall), can scoot backwards and sideways a little and wants to be active.  I am starting to think he will love his swim lessons that start in about two weeks.  I've been taking baths with him in our tub to get him ready for being in deeper water with me and getting his face wet.  He loves it! 

His blonde hair is really filling in.  He is still in 6-9 and 9 month clothing.  I am glad I bought 12 month clothing last summer for him for this summer.  He loves his teddy bear that Aunt Annie and Uncle Max got him when he was born, will only take Dr. Brown's pacis and can hold them, twirl them, put them in his mouth and fling them everywhere!  When he sees himself in the mirror or a picture of him on our desktop monitor, he is besides himself with joy.  He enjoys sitting down and flapping his arms non stop like a duck and is being a little bit of a Mommy's boy right now and reaching for me when Daddy holds him (I'm sure we will trade off being favorites throughout his life, though!).  He did great on our weekend trip to Traverse City for cousin Matthew's baptism and he was able to meet Great Grandma and Grandpa Moore for the first time.  We used disposables during the day (not night) while gone and we HATED them.  What a disaster.  I will be traveling with cloth from here on out!

Well that is what is happening in the Sheldon household! :) Right now we are anxiously awaiting spring and considering growing veggies but I have no idea what to do!  Any advice would be great :)