Bye Bye Helmet!

After four months of (almost) 24/7 helmet wearing, Jack is finally done!  After his scan last week, the doctor said his head reshaping was complete and we can retire the helmet to the shelf forever.  Overall the past four months have gone by quickly and smoothly.  Jack never seemed to mind wearing the helmet, and in fact I think it was great protection for his head while he was learning to stand, climb and walk.  My favorite part about the helmet were all the reactions we got from the public.  Of course we got plenty of compliments from our fellow Houston Texans fans, but there were some other interesting comments as well.  A few people were very impressed with how well he was doing following his "brain surgery" while others commented that he "must fall down a lot!"  One mom even came up to me in a store and asked where she could get one for her son because he was always bumping his head!  We had a lot of fun with our little "Texan" and his helmet, but now that he is finished wearing his helmet, maybe he will finally grow some hair?!?!

Here are a few before and after pictures...

Before

After

Before

After

Jack's Certificate from Dr. Stelly-Seitz

My happy helmet free boy!

  

14 Months Old & 15 Months Old

I have gotten a little behind on my blogging lately.  So here is a recap of Jack's 14th and 15th months!

November 4th, 2012 - 14 Months Old

1. Height - 32"
2. Weight - 25lbs 5oz

December 4, 2012 - 15 Months Old

1. Height - 32.5" (88%)
2. Weight - 27lbs 2 oz (83%)
3. Head Circumference - 18.9" (74%)
4. What is Jack doing - Jack is finally walking!  On November 25, 2012 Jack took his first steps and within about a week he was walking everywhere! It is so cute to watch him walk because it is still so new to him and he gets very excited with his new skill.  Jack is also using sign language to communicate some basic requests with us (i.e. milk, more food, all done).  His favorite toys right now are balls (all shapes and sizes) and blocks.  He enjoys stacking his blocks and putting them into the shape sorter.  He consistently sleeps about 11 hours at night and usually takes one nap a day.  He talks, squeals, screams and babbles all the time.  The only words I have identified so far are dada, mama, ball, dog, darla (my mom's dog), hi and bye.  
5. What is Jack eating - What isn't Jack eating is the better question!  Some days I think he eats more than me.  I have had success lately with corn, peas and cauliflower, in addition to his usual favorites (corn dogs, waffles, bananas, yogurt etc).  He also loves lasagna and spaghetti, but prefers to feed himself which can get very messy.  He still doesn't seem to have any interest in potatoes, french fries or chips.
6. Helmet update:  Jack will go for a re-scan on December 13, so we will see if maybe we will be done with the helmet just in time for Christmas?!?     

13 Months Old

October 4, 2012 - Jack turned 13 Months Old!  Our little boy is growing so fast!

1. Height: 32"+ (hard to get an exact measurement)
2. Weight: 25lbs - big boy!
3. Head Circumference: No idea, but it is looking nice and round!
4. What is Jack doing:  Jack has started trying to stand alone, but he is pretty shaky.  I think he will need to get more comfortable standing before he tries to take a step.  Jack has also become an excellent climber.  He can climb on and off or our couch with no problems, he can also go up and down stairs.  His favorite toy right now is a ball.  He loves to play with balls, throw balls and chase balls all around the house.  Jack still loves to talk, babble, squeal and even scream.  He has lots of words in his vocabulary, I'm just not sure what most of them are.  In my 12 Month post I mentioned that Jack had begun sleeping 12-13 hours at night.  Well that ended about as quickly as it began.  I guess it was a growth spurt.  He is back to 9 1/2- 10 hour nights again.
5. What is Jack eating:  A perfect food day for Jack would consist of nothing but corn dogs and milk.  This little boy loves lots of foods, but mini corn dogs have recently taken the top spot!  And he is really liking his milk as well.  Sometime after his first birthday he stopped nursing completely and now he drinks at least a half gallon of cow milk a week.  Some other new foods that he has tried and liked recently include, fish sticks, pumpkin bread, green beans, french toast, cream of wheat, blueberries, lasagna and sausage.  He still does not seem to like potatoes (not even french fries!) 
6. Where is Jack going: We have mostly been hanging around home lately.  We did take a trip to the zoo for Zoo Boo last week, and I think we will visit the local pumpkin patch next week.  Jack will also be spending 4 days with his Nanny next week because Mommy and Daddy are going to the Bahamas!
7. Helmet Update: Jack is doing great in his helmet, he still wears it 23 hours a day (although I do sometimes take if off when I take his picture.)  His head is looking better and we will have another scan the first week of November.  

Hanging out with his cousin Stephen

Jack and Uncle Mike

Jack's first Pro Soccer Game - Sporting Kansas City

Jack and Isabella at Houston Zoo Boo

Checking out the elephants

Cruising through the dinosaur exhibit at the zoo!

Playing in the driveway

Eating a rock!

Since Jack clearly hated the adorable lion costume I got him for Halloween...

His new Halloween costume this year will be a Houston Texan (he is obviously much happier about this choice.)

Two Cute Boys!

Jack's friend, Weston, from music class just moved into the neighborhood right down the road from our house!  Weston's mom, Allison, and I have become friends and we love to get our little guys together for play dates.  Last week, we got the boys together for a backyard play date.  It was a beautiful day and of course I snapped some pictures of our sweet little boys!