Sleep Study

I  got an email yesterday about a “Step Study Class” at church, only I read it as a “Sleep Study Class”.  Made for a very confusing moment, wondering why they wanted to study sleep at church.  *Insert 12 lame or not lame sleeping in church jokes here*

If it really were a sleep study though I think it would be interesting to observe Jimmy’s sleeping habits.  I might have signed him up out of sheer curiosity. He runs and runs and runs and still has approximately 200x the energy I have in a day.  Then when his energy starts running out he still soldiers on and runs and runs some more.  Actually the more tired he gets the more frantic his running and playing gets.

Falling asleep is all dependent upon the surroundings.  If he’s exhausted and in the carseat he just gets really quiet, then we look back and he’s knocked out.  If he’s in my arms, the high chair or his reclining rocking chair he’ll sit peacefully until the big Z is just about to hit him and then he starts fussing and crying and twisting and then ZONK! he’s out….sometimes mid-twist/cry/fuss.  The last type of surrounding we have is the crib.  You can never tell whats going to happen in the crib.  If we put him in there asleep or in twilight mode he’ll stay asleep generally for the rest of the night.  If we notice how extremely tired he is and how his eyes keep closing or he’s rubbing them non-stop and we say good night, have good night hugs and kisses and go lay him down – WOOSH! – a second wave of energy hits him.

He very rarely fusses in his crib unless we’re in his room and not getting him out.  If we lay him down, kiss him, pat his back and leave he’s fine.  Doesn’t really mean he’s going to sleep though.  He’ll talk to himself, lay this way, then that way, then throw the pillow in the air until it falls out of the crib.  Lay on his back with his feet up on the bars.  Then we hear BOOM! BOOM! and we look at each other wondering if there was a wreck outside or something.  It never fails, one of us will look out the window and then a few seconds later the other one will realize it’s Jimmy banging on the wall.

Sleeping doesn’t keep him still either.  Unless he’s tied into the chair, the high chair or the car seat he is all over the place even in his sleep.  I’d love to know how many times he sits up in his sleep, how many times he changes positions and how on earth does he get all crammed into the corner?

He’s such a big boy though.  He’s figured out that his little pillow is comfy and if he wakes up on the opposite side of the crib from it he’ll grab it and hug it to himself like a body pillow. 

Nothing beats greeting him in the mornings though after a good, albeit busy, nights sleep.  I generally know he’s awake because I can hear his pacifier strap clacking against the rails.  He doesn’t cry or call me (unless I ignore the strap clacking for an inordinately long period of time) he just stands there looking around and waiting.  And when he sees us he’s so happy and almost jumps into our arms.  Except he can’t quite jump yet.

Yes, I think a sleep study on Jimmy would be very interesting indeed!

No, No, No!

He's learned the power of "no".  I think its super cute right now, I’m sure there will come a day I wish he could unlearn “No!”. 

I don’t think I say “No” more than 3 times in a row and 3 times is usually reserved for the final time.  It usually goes like this:

“No, Jimmy.”

“That’s a No-No!”

“No, No, NO!”

I’ll do my best to get a video of it soon but until then you’ll just have to take my word for it that its really adorable.  Sometimes he uses it perfectly and makes me gasp in shock. 

MacGyver, MacGyver Let Down Your Hair!

MacGyver is Jimmy’s new nickname.  I’ll be honest I’ve probably seen less than 3 episodes of MacGyver but I’ve seen enough to know that Jimmy’s hair is starting to rival MacGyver’s! Maybe he’ll have a knack for creating something amazing out of a red string and a AA battery too. 

And honestly we really do call him MacGyver. 

"Mia" o "Mira"?

He’s such a smart little booger!  I know every parent marvels at seeing their children learn new things and how smart they are…and I’m no different.  I’m not going to say that my baby is smarter than all the other babies out there…especially since I’m about to have two of them...but he sure is smart and amazes me all the time with what he knows and what he can do and say.

A couple of weeks before his 18 month birthday we were out in the back yard and he made a running beeline for the riding lawn mower that was sitting outside of its normal hiding place in the shed.  I watched him from my chair on the porch not thinking much about it…mostly just that its so cute how much he likes the “tractor” as we call it.  With no hesitation or break in stride he climbed up onto the cutting deck, over the “shifter” and into the seat!  I was shocked!  When did he learn to do that?  HOW did he learn to do that??  And he did it like a pro!  He sat there holding the steering wheel looking like the cat that swallowed the canary and then occasionally would try to move the “shifter”.  He’s a natural born tractor man apparently.  After sitting in shock for a few minutes just watching him I realized my less than 18 month old baby was waaaayyyy across the yard sitting on the tractor unsupervised and then started picturing all the different ways he could fall and hurt himself so I hurried over to rescue him from himself.

Now every time the “tractor” is out of its “barn” Jimmy is climbing on it or riding on it with Daddy.

Jimmy's Corner - 3/7/12



Mercedes & Jimmy - wearing her new glasses

 It’s been an interesting and informative week in Jimmy World and we’re only 3 days in! Most of the excitement happened on Monday though. You might want to skip this part if you have a weak stomach. He has a little cough that started over the weekend and Sunday night he coughed quite a bit. Since he had his 18 month checkup Monday morning we got to sleep in a little but he was raring to go at 6:30! So I brought him to our bed and he drank his morning sippy cup of milk and then bounced around the bed having a grand time. Rolling around and wrestling the pillows and then running from one end to the other. Then he sat down next to me and puked curdled milk. I could see what was about to happen so I grabbed the towel laying close by and tried to hold it close to his mouth but for some reason that irritates him so much and he pushed it away. I guess he was also trying to get away because he stood up and proceeded to puke a few more times, whimpering in between each time. The last time we had to laugh because I was trying, futilely, to hold the towel up again and he shoved it away saying something that sounded an awful lot like “STOP IT!”

Jimmy's Corner – 18 Month Edition - 3/2/12

It’s official – Jimmy is 18 months old today!
I don’t think this is just my imagination but it seems that in this past week he has changed a lot.

Tuesday night he was sitting in his highchair, leaned on the tray and talking to me very sincerely and using his hands and eyes to emphasis the sincerity. It was the cutest thing and I’ve never seen him do that before.

Wednesday he was talking to Daddy in the truck on the way home and pointing at things out the window.

Yesterday he was running around chasing the “big kids” when we picked him up from the sitter.  His little run is so cute, he's just learning how to really put on speed and his little legs look like he's wearing 4 diapers or something!

La Esquina de Jimmy (Jimmy's Corner) -2/22/12

We have such a sweet little boy but he’s such a boy’s boy. I can’t really say man’s man yet can I? Here is an example of what I mean – I keep a hammer in Jimmy’s room. I’m positive that means I’m an exemplary Mamma. His room doubles as the office and for some reason I used a hammer in there and then never took it out. His room is FULL of toys and other things to get into but he always gravitates towards the hammer and wants to hold it and play with it. I finally did the logical thing and hid it in a banker box (instead of removing it) and that solved that problem for awhile. Until he found it. Now when we’re in his room/the office he heads toward that banker box sooner or later to find the hammer.

But along with his love of hammers and all things tools he’s also quick to defend himself when a threat, real or imagined, arises. Sure, he’s a baby still and he gets scared of things he’s not familiar with but mostly he’s ready to strike at a moment’s notice…no matter how big you are.

La Esquina de Jimmy (Jimmy's Corner) -2/15/12

“No one puts Baby in a corner!”

And now a new segment devoted to my firstborn son (as if a blog named after him isn’t enough).

*On a side note the name of the blog may change at a later date but I must wait upon the fickle whims of Ms. Inspiration.

His brother has a weekly post written about his progress, changes and growth. So I thought it might be fun to have a space that’s just for Jimmy. After hearing a random Dirty Dancing quote yesterday and then going home and playfully discussing with his Daddy which corner in our house would be a good one for Jimmy to stand in when he needs to - this segment was conceived.