Jacques is 6 months old

Yup...it's hard to believe that yet another month has gone by, and now Jack is officially half a year old! There have been so many little changes with Jack this past month, that it makes it seem like our baby is growing up too fast! Here are a few new things going on in Jack's life right now...

1) Teething. Actually I guess I should say teeth. Thats right, in just a few short weeks, Jacques is now the proud owner of 3 beautiful (albeit, sharp!) teeth. We discovered his two lower teeth coming in a few weeks ago, and just one week after that, one of his top teeth decided to arrive as well. Since teeth usually appear in pairs, I guess we can be expecting the other one any day now. So far we have been pretty lucky, besides a few less than sleep-filled nights, Jack has remained in quite good spirits.

Check out my new pearly whites!

2) First Haircut. I don't think it's ever easy to decide when to first cut your baby's hair, but a couple of weeks ago Alexis and I decided to do just that. Actually it wasn't quite a real haircut since we just trimmed a little off the top...but it was time. You can see Jack's new do in all of the photos from this month.

A freshly washed Jack, ready for bed

3) Exploring. Jacques is becoming more and more curious about his surroundings and himself everyday. One of the things he loves most in his day is naked-time, especially because this means he can finally have some good quality time for toe nibbling. It's great to watch him play while naked, because no matter just how tired he was before, he has bottomless energy once the clothes come off.

Mmmm...I love my toes

...and playing with my feet

...and just laying down and relaxing

Don't worry...Jack also gets to enjoy tons of playtime fully-clothed as well. During the day his Mama and Papa's bed gets coverted into a small playarea for him. Here are a few pictures of him enjoying one of his new favorite toys, his barn complete with furry farm animals.

4) Eating. Yes, that's right!...Jack has finally taken a liking to eating solids. After a couple of not-so-successful weeks, we finally discovered the secret to eating that works for Jack, he's a social eater. He loves to share a piece of fruit with his Mama at snack time, and will even eat a vegetable or two with her at lunch. So far Jack's favorite foods are pears and bananas, but he successfully eats apples, carrots, green beans and pumpkin as well. Cereal was less than a success and we officially gave it up after one week. Unfortunately, we haven't taken any pictures of Jack eating just yet, but here are a few cute pictures of him nibbling on his stuffed farm animals.

First course...fuzzy sheep...

and for the second...some pig!

5) Singing. Jack really loves children's songs and nursery rhymes, and now that he is awake more during the day, we have plenty of time for singing! Since he mostly hears english from his Mama during the day, we have been trying very hard to at least listen to and sing french children's songs together.

6) Playgroups. One of our biggest accomplishments this month was to find a few young english-speaking Moms with babies around the same age as Jacques (between 4-9 months). We have been meeting for a cup of coffee once or twice a week, which has been really great...it's really fun to watch Jack interact with little people his age. He is super curious...even though they are all really just at the stage where they like to look at each other and smile and sometimes reach out and touch each other. I think everyone is really looking forward to when the little ones can move a bit more and we can have playdates in the park.

By far, Jack's favorite playdate is with his Papa in the evening. Whether it's just for a few minutes or a couple of hours, Jack is always over-joyed to see his Papa when he comes home from work. His big smile of joy and anticipation for the fun ahead is always a great part of our day.

Jacques and Papa

Jacques is 5 months old

Well, its a bit belated, but Jacques celebrated his 5 month birthday a little over 2 weeks ago. It's amazing how curious and adventurous our little man has become in just one short month. He is much more mobile and attentive now, and wants to explore everything with his hands...and mouth! Here are a few of the things Jack likes to do best now...

1) Hanging out with his two most favorite people in the world...Mama and Papa! We know that this will change shortly, so we are both taking as much advantage of it while we can!

Papa's beard tickles me...

More kisses?...

Happily sitting...on my invisible Mama's lap

Taking a well deserved nap on Mama...

This picture is a nice segway into favorite pasttime number 2...but is also great for showing you all just how much Jack has grown in just a few short months. He's becoming a little boy!

2) Sleeping. Thats right, one of Jack's all time favorite activities is still sleeping. He still needs 3 naps a day and about 12 hours of sleep a night to have all of that good energy to keep active and happy. Like all babies though, his naps and nighttime sleep are always an adventure...sometimes everything goes like clockwork while other times he needs a bit of extra love. (The picture above was taken when he had to take one of his naps on his Mama's chest...luckily it only lasted a few days)

3) Tummy time! We have always encouraged Jacques to play on his tummy, but I can honestly tell you that he was never much of a fan. He has dabbled in rolling over the past couple of months, but never really fully got it. However, the day he turned 5 months, suddenly he figured out how to not only roll from his belly to back, but also back to belly (something he accomplishes more on his playmat when there are things to help him out). It's wonderful to watch him chose to play on his belly and move around to where he wants to be (and not where his mama puts him...). But now we have to definitely keep a closer eye on the little guy!

Tummy time is fun on Sunday mornings...

To cute...had to post 2 pictures...

Blankets are fun!

4) Playing...while sitting up! Another of Jack's newest accomplishments is being able to sit by himself. Sometimes he is distracted, tired or not in the mood and he falls backwards rather quickly, but other times he can just sit and play forever (well...forever in babytime terms). Below are 2 videos which show him playing with some of his favorite toys. The first one I edited quite a bit since there was a lot of time were Jack was just sitting wiggling his feet(fun for a Mama to watch...not so much fun for everyone else)...the second one is over rather quickly, but it's fun to see him reach out and grab his favorite rattle...

I love my new blocks!...but I love my red box and my thumb even more...

The one where he falls over...

5) Watching his mobile. Yes...even after 2 months have passed, and with no mobile upgrade...Jack still loves his mobile. Since he is a bit older now, he sometimes has trouble deciding what is the MOST interesting thing to watch. Below is a video of him trying to watch his mobile, but he is clearly distracted by me (and the camera) and his new favorite campanion, his doudou (the tiny blanket you see in the video)!

Watch me smile...

Which leads us to...

6) His doudou. For his first 3-4 months of life, Jack could have cared less about his doudou. We always kept it in his crib, but he never showed much interest in it. Then a few weeks ago, he suddenly discovered the vast potential of the doudou. He now sleeps with it next to his head or in his hands, and he even "sings" to it before falling asleep. I'm even convinced it helps put him back to sleep at night...instead of crying, he now has something to distract himself with. Yay for the doudou!

7) Reading. Ok ok...he doesn't read...but he really loves it when his Mama and Papa read to him. He usually gets a quick story before each naptime and before bedtime. It's really cute though, because although he typically enjoys all stories...he definitely has his current favorites (The Ear Book...and The Moveable Mother Goose). Whenever he hears the first few lines of these stories, his face lights up!...and just a few days ago, even seeing the cover of The Ear Book put a big smile on his face.

One other thing, which is new in Jack's life, is that we have decided to start introducing solids into his daily routine. Unfortunately, this is definitely not a favorite, and could not be put into the list just yet. It's still a very new part of his day, and I can't say that he hates it...but he definitely doesn't seem to get much enjoyment out of it either. He seems to like exploring new tastes and textures...but he hasn't gotten around to swallowing anything yet! One of these days... I know there is still plenty of time, and right now it should just be something new and fun for him to explore.

The list could go on...but I just wanted to give everyone a tiny glimpse into our life with Jacques! I hope you all enjoyed!