I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...

31 Weeks and counting! It was a challenging week for us here in the Bennett household...

Let's talk about sleep... something at which Jackson has always been so good... all of a sudden turned to POO! Sunday evening it was REALLY hot here. I mean REEEAAAALLY hot. And nobody wasn't happy about it. We ended up moving his cot into the lounge room with the air conditioner and he slept better. But ever since he has NOT wanted to go to bed. He will sleep until you put him down. And then CRY! Not just a cute little whimper... but SCREAM CRY. Until you pick him up. And he has done this every day this week. We have tried music, a variation on the normal routine, going to bed earlier... nothing seems to work. So I am putting this down to one of two things: either a newly developed separation anxiety or teething. His nap times have also been quite screwy. Not sleeping as long... I am hoping this is just a phase. In any case, I can see 4 bumps where teeth are growing. They haven't popped out yet, but it looks like he might get the top ones before the bottom ones. We'll see.

And it has been extraordinarily hot here. Sticky, nasty hot. And it doesn't cool down at night. YUCK!

David took the week off to spend with us. He came to GymbaROO on Monday. He was so funny doing the dances and games. The three of us really enjoyed ourselves. The theme was Butterfly, but I didn't have anything butterfly at home so I took Jackson's bee.... It was a bee-terfly. Hey. What did you want me to do?

On Tuesday, David came to swimming lessons with us. He was SO impressed at how well Jackson was doing with it! He also took a multitude of pictures. (I am not posting them all here...)
Here is Jackson floating on his back BY HIMSELF!

Here is Jackson swimming to his teacher, Miss Paula. Have I mentioned how much he LOVES Miss Paula?

And here he is hanging onto the wall ALL BY HIMSELF!



On Tuesday night David and I had a date night and Mel stayed with Jackson. We went to a Thai restaurant and then went to see "2012". We both thoroughly enjoyed the couple time! Thanks Mel!

There has been lots of scootching this week. Jackson has figured out how to roll over and then scootch... so placing him on his back is no longer safe. It's all fair game. He is so clever and quick. And can even take corners. The only catch is it is all done going backwards!

Saturday we caught up with our friends the Keats for a spontaneous lunch at LoneStar. When I was pregnant, the moment we stepped into the restaurant and Jackson heard the country music he used to kick kick kick! And he seemed to enjoy himself outside of my belly, too! He loved hanging out with Julian. He even sat in a high chair and chewed on his teething rusk while the grown ups ate.


I managed to get some giggles on video this week. His little laugh is so contagious!


This week in the food arena we tried mango. It was a bit too tart for him, but he gave it a go. He also has been trying some finger foods - banana chunks and toast.

We leave tomorrow morning! We're all packed and ready to go. We're giving daddy lots of hugs and kisses to make up for an entire month without seeing him. I am full of mixed emotions: excited, nervous, happy, and sad. I am hoping Jackson does ok on the airplane and we are able to get back into a routine quickly.

Over and out for the last blog from Kerr St. See ya soon!!

And we love you and will miss you, Daddy!

Can't Hold Us Down

I'm 7 Months Old (30 Weeks)! It's been such an eventful and exciting week! There is so much we want to share with you... but where to start...

Monday: GymbaROO. Theme: bowl. Trying desperately to crawl, but can't seem to get anywhere.
Tuesday: Swimming Lessons. He happily went underwater so many times I lost track! Lots of splashing and kicking and floating BY HIMSELF. And lots of kisses and cuddles for his teacher, Miss Paula. At the end of the lesson when Miss Paula works with each baby individually, for the first time she said "Swim to Mommy" and just let go of him and he wiggled and kicked and swam to me! I was only about 2 feet away, but it's something! I was as proud as punch! I even went in thinking it was going to be a waste of a half hour as there had been NO morning nap. Boy, was I wrong!

Speaking of naps, there has been a dramatic decrease in the amount of time the little bug sleeps during the day. It could possibly be because it is just too hot to nap here lately (104 degree days)! But he hasn't been cranky because of it. But as I speak, he has been asleep for 2.5 hours and counting. So who knows...

Wednesday we went to the Babes In Arms movie session with Bianca and Julian. The grownups watched "This Is It" - the Michael Jackson documentary. I wasn't ecstatic to see the movie going in, but left feeling absolutely awed by the talent of MJ and his surrounding musicians, dancers, and host of advisers. Jackson did well through the movie, playing in his own seat, taking a short nap, and then playing in my lap with my straw. I keep having to pinch myself "Is my Baby really this good??"
The week's biggest event happened before we left for the movies in the morning. I put Jackson down on his stomach on his playmat with a few of his toys. Then I went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. 2 minutes later when I peeked around the corner to check on him he had moved! And not just moved... MOVED! See for yourself:

Keep in mind... he started where his toys are placed at the top of the mat.
And here's a close up of what he was doing underneath the piano:

So I put him back and grabbed the video camera. Within a minute he was on the move again (stopping to play with the orange thing on the way). Here is how he did it:

Clever boy! And ever since he scootches everywhere. Not quite crawling and not quite forward, but he's mobile. He has also figured out how to get on his knees. If you're sitting down he will crawl all over you.

Thursday we went to the park early in the morning before my appointment. When I say early I mean 8:30... it was already HOT outside so we only spent about 15 minutes playing. Jackson enjoyed playing on the ladybug:


And the swings:


He is very curious about everything. And has to check everything out before he can officially begin to play.

He was very excited to see Mel again on Thursday night.

Friday was a STINKER of a day... 104 degrees F. So we headed down to the air conditioned shopping centre.

Saturday was still hot, but a bit better. We read a lot of books. David has been reading a book to Jackson before bed each night. So when we read yesterday afternoon, Jackson was keen to take pages in his own hands:


Saturday night when we were playing before bath time (as we usually do), Jackson got on his stomach and started blowing raspberries on my leg. It was hilarious... and yet again, the video camera came out (Lucky you! Two videos in one blog!):


Sunday we headed to Mt Sugarloaf for Julian's Naming Ceremony. It was another 104 degree day, but the ceremony was lovely.


Jackson was happy to see Julian. They like to give each other hugs and try to eat each others hands (as one does). Julian has one tooth. Jackson still doesn't have any. Julian, 1. Jackson, 0.


We also had an opportunity to explore a new toy: the jingle toy! Jackson loved shaking the be-jesus out of it. And in typical Jackson fashion, he plays with two toys: one toy with his hands (or more specifically, in his mouth) and one with his feet.


New foods this week include: Millet (it appears that there is no reaction to the gluten in Millet or Barley, so it must just be the oatmeal... we'll try it again in a couple of months) and Wholemeal Bread as a finger food. We have also gone from 2 cubes of food 2 meals a day to 3 cubes of food 2 meals a day. Jackson also drinks about 100ml (3oz) of water a day in addition to 6 breastfeeds. He's a growin' guy!

Only 1 week till we leave!! I have made lists, bought the necessary provisions, and prepared my mind for the flight(s) over. David has taken the entire week off to spend with us before we leave. I am excited that he'll be able to go to GymbaROO and swim lessons with us. And, weather permitting, we'll spend some days at the park as well.

Coming up this week: GymbaROO (theme: butterfly); Swimming Lessons; DATE NIGHT; dinner with the Keats; and a trip to Burning Mountain. There won't be any new food as I don't want any allergic reactions on the plane. I'm sure Jackson understands :)

One more blog to go. See ya soon!

Mama

29 Weeks Old and all's well with the world.

The week held the usual activities: GymbaROO (theme: bell) and Swimming Lessons (went under water more times than I could count and didn't cry once: SUCCESS!).

In GymbaROO we were practicing pushing off. All the other little babies were scootching along and Jackson was just sitting there watching them. Wouldn't move. Then all of a sudden he gets up on his hands and knees and tries to crawl forward. I scream "Oh my goodness Oh my goodness" and the teacher is going "He's going to crawl!"... but then he falls. He gave everyone a bit of excitement though! I don't think it'll be long now. He still won't roll over on his own (without it being an accident). I don't think he's found need to yet. But his arms are super strong: He can prop himself up on one arm:

And he jumps like a kangaroo in his Exersaucer. He sure takes after his mom and dad... wants to do everything HIS way and in HIS own time!

David gave me the morning off on Wednesday. I went to my Aqua Aerobics class, did a bit of window shopping and got a hair cut. He also did ALL the housework. And I mean ALLLLLLL of it. When I got home I had a clean house, laundry done, and here is how I found Jackson:

ALL TUCKERED OUT!! He had a good morning with his daddy. And I felt absolutely revitalized! Thank you, honey!!

What else did we do this week?

Giggled a lot. This little guy is TICK-L-ISH!


Played:


Napped. I love his post nap hair and eyes:


And generally had a grand ol' time. It was Steph's last week of babysitting for Jackson... Mel is back next week. Jackson LOVES Steph, too, and we're glad we have two reliable girls that take good care of him.

(This picture was unprompted...he just smiled for me...camera shy no more...)

And despite him not being one year old yet, we gave him his first haircut. He had a rats tail growing down his back and neither David nor I liked it very much. So after his bath Friday night, David did the quick snipparoo and voila...


Oh yeh - and he has started saying "Mama"! At first I thought it was just me hearing things and then David heard it, too. Jackson says it when he is upset and wants to be picked up. It is so sweet. He gets stuck on the first "M" and then goes for it "Mmmmmmmmmmama". He has been saying "da" and ba" a lot, too. I think he is practicing for "Dada" and "Bapa". He also came out with an "H" this morning (is this an "Aunt Holly" I hear coming?). No "Nana"s yet, but I am sure he is just saving that for the right moment.

Food this week included the usual staples (I'm still feeding him disguised peas, sorry Mom) plus pumpkin and barley. The barley was earlier this morning so we'll see how he goes with it the next couple of days to determine whether he is gluten sensitive or if it is just the oatmeal. His new favorite food is Pumpkin and Apple. He LOVES this...the first night I gave it to him he ate twice what he usually eats! He usually eats 2 cubes at each meal (breakfast and dinner). This week (on his 7 month birthday) I will start giving him 3 cubes at each meal. Besides the Barley, new foods this week will include Millet and a dash of cinnamon to spice things up. We also bought him some gluten free organic teething rusks for him to practice self feeding. He does well with them.

Coming this week: GymbaROO (theme: bowl), swimming lessons, Julian's naming celebration, and Jackson's 7 month birthday (how fast has that gone)!

14 days until we leave for the US of A. I went to the Baby Markets this morning and got some good deals on winter clothes. I even bought some small toys to surprise him with on the plane. Not long now!
Adieu for another week!

I Like To Eat Eat Eat Apples And Bananas

Yay for week 28!

What did we do this week?

Well, we went to GymbaROO on Monday. We learned all about horses.

We went to swimming lessons on Tuesday and went under water 5 times and only cried about it once!

We played the piano...


alot...


concentrating on getting all the notes just right...


and being quite please with ourselves because of it!


We invited the Keats over for dinner and board games. Julian and Jackson played on the mat... they are starting to really interact with each other.


We went shopping for groceries and sat in the big boy seat!

But it didn't last for long because we also tried to eat the shopping cart and Mommy was too scared of germs.

Speaking of eating, I am sure Jackson is allergic to oatmeal. I reintroduced it Friday morning resulting in a fitful afternoon nap (move move move fart, move move move fart...), 2 messy diapers and a runny nose the next morning. Next I will try him on Barley to see if it is gluten he might be sensitive to or just oats. In any case, we have been enjoying a variety of fruits and veggies this week our new favorite being apples. AND much to the dismay of Nana, Jackson will eat peas... as long as they are mixed with pears and sweet potatoes.

Next week we will be trying pumpkin! I am excited to have FINALLY received my "Super Baby Foods" book and am devouring it to get baby recipe ideas.

We called Bapa to celebrate his birthday. Happy Birthday, Bapa!!

Jackson has been giggling lots this week. It is the smallest things that set him off... blowing raspberries on his feet, hanging upside down, bouncing in his Exersaucer... the sound of his laughter is the most glorious thing! In addition, he has been talking A LOT. He gives hugs, too. Speaking of... the little man has just woken up from his nap and is talking up a storm.

It's the same routine this week: GymbaROO on Monday (theme: bell) and swimming lessons on Tuesday. On Sunday we are going to the baby markets with the Keats family.
We leave in 21 days! Can't wait to see everyone back home!!
I somehow managed to not get anything in video this week. In the meantime, I'll conclude this posting with a self portrait of Jackson and I taking a nap. It's a precious time of day for both of us.

Love you all!