Jadens Journey

It’s hard to believe that it is nearly the end of the semester. Finals week is next week…YAY!!! I have a lot to do before Christmas in order to get the grades done and rolled up, but I cannot wait for that moment that I click “send” on the grade entry page to submit my last set of grades!!!

Then I can start my Christmas shopping, because – oh yes, it would not be your average holiday season if I didn’t leave Christmas shopping until December 20th or later.

A lot has been happening here at the Neville, Luna and Jaden residence. According to Neville, Jaden took a couple of steps today before realizing that he forgot to hold onto something. I was upstairs, so I missed it – boohoo. Jaden has been testing the waters for a while now – he’ll hold on to me to walk and then let go with both hands to see if he can stand up or not (at least that is what I’m assuming is going through his little yet intelligent mind). He’s been standing up on his own for up to about 4 or 5 seconds before he plops his bum down on the ground or does a face plant. Any day now he’ll start running across the room to remind us that we still have baby-proofing to do.

We got the new TV – which is sweeeeet, but we haven’t been able to pick up the HD cable box yet, nor have we had the soundbar/dvd player installed (we’re going to hang it on the wall). So now, instead of having one TV to worry about, we have two. The new one is fenced in with a Super-yard, and the old one is on the coffee table with the VCR hooked up to it (we can’t live without Elmo DVD’s) and all of the bulkiest toys surrounding it to keep smarty-pants away from it. 

We had another word come out- he said “up” while watching the “Opposites” Elmo’s World DVD — which, as you probably already guessed, does a skit on ‘up’ and ‘down’. Grandma was here at the time, and we both looked at each other when he said it like– ‘did he just say up?’  So we didn’t want to assume he was saying up (even though he said it twice more before the DVD was over), until the next morning. When he woke up the next morning I went through my usual routine of taking him out of the crib, bringing him into my closet and putting him on the floor to wait for me while I get dressed. When I picked him back up, he said “up” —most definitely. I was amazed, and thrilled, and proud, and excited all at once. Wow – I couldn’t wait to hear him say it again!! I brought him right downstairs and told Grandma and Grandpa (who were staying for the weekend) what happened. We waited for him to say it again……

Well, that was it. The last time he said it. It’s like “mama.” He said it over and over for about a week and a half, then one day just stopped. The same thing with the ASL sign for “more.” He practiced and practiced, and then we never saw it again. So now we wait for him to do any of these things again. Maybe he figures he got it down, so why bother with it anymore when there are so many other things to learn? Who knows.

Last weekend we went to JC Penney in Meriden to have Jaden’s picture taken for the holidays. What a waste of time that was. Jaden didn’t want to sit alone for the picture, so you would think the photographer would have a few tricks up his sleeve to get Jaden to smile even if only briefly, but no. This guy was Mr. Personality himself. Seems like the photographers there get paid by the hour (not by the photo sold) so they don’t care whether they take a good photo or not. The photographer said “this isn’t going to work” and that was it. We left. Zero pictures.

We went home and set up some ‘gifts’ and other holiday-looking items near the fireplace and took pictures ourselves. There was only one problem; Jaden wouldn’t smile. No matter what we did. Well, it was no wonder. The poor baby was covered in hives from his neck down to his ankles. We still haven’t figured out for sure what did it; I suspect barley or egg whites (both of which I gave him recently–accidentally— for the first time) –  but the doctor said that the most common cause of hives in infants is a cold and congestion. How odd. Who would ever have guessed that one?  I’m still banking on the barley and/or egg whites, since they are two of the most allergenic foods in infants. 

I’d better start blogging more often so I can remember what I’ve written and haven’t written about yet. The brain starts to lose track when too much time passes by unnoticed.

About Jaden's Journey