Six Months Old

Jalen is so excited to be a half a year old! At 19 lb, 11 oz, he is in the 75th percentile for weight, and at 28 1/4 inches, this tall guy is in the 90th percentile. He is sitting up on his own now, and has learned lots of other new tricks, too -- he loves to reach into his toy box and pull out toys on his own, turn on his crib aquarium by himself (sometimes with his head in the middle of the night) and pull -- hair, ears, necklaces, whatever he can get his hands on. His other interests are jumping in his jumperoo, watching Nana chase Poika (especially when Jalen gets to go along for the ride) and splashing wildly in the tub. What a multifaceted boy he has become!

Becoming a Boy

Jalen's development has taken off in the last couple weeks. He is finding that there are many benefits to growing up, including getting to go to his first Mets game. Unfortunately it is not a memorable year for the Mets and Jalen showed his displeasure by falling asleep. The good news is that this lucky charm helped bring a rare Mets win.

There are also signs of being able to sit up on his own, which meant that Jalen was able to get his first ride on the playground swings in Union Square.

Five Months Old

The little man is now officially five months old, and as you can see, is always on the go - he didn't even want to sit still for his monthly photo shoot. While he can't yet crawl, he sure is ready to! This month has also brought his first taste of real food (rice cereal), and he's anxious to broaden his diet even further in the next month. Weighing in at 17 lbs, 11 oz, Jalen is now 'only' in the 75th percentile.

Pool Party

After getting his toes wet a couple weeks prior, Jalen jumped right into the pool last weekend. Sporting a lovely blue one-piece, he was excited to splash around for a little while before lying back and relaxing. It seems as if we have a water lover on our hands.

Four Months Old

On July 15th Jalen officially turned four months old and at his check-up this week he clocked in at 17lbs, 3oz, good for the 90th percentile. And his height was up to 27.25 inches, which was literally "off the charts" according to the doctor, so we will call that the 101st percentile. While he has shown more and more signs of being aware of his surroundings, in the recent weeks Jalen has also learned how to roll onto his side from his back. He has yet to master the full rollover, thus keeping Poika ahead of him in motor skills. His sounds have expanded to include razzing, which he proceeded to do for the first 24 hours straight after he learned how to do it. He is quite the smiley baby these days.

Man of Many Homes

In a very busy couple of weeks, Jalen has spent a lot of time in the car. 100 miles on either the New York State Thruway or the Long Island Expressway takes him to his second and third homes in Woodstock and Amagansett. In Woodstock, while visiting his Mima's house in Dad's hometown, Jalen went on his first hike up Overlook Mountain. In Amagansett he visited his Great-Grandmother Cindy and his Great-Aunt Stephanie, while taking the time to throw on his bathing suit to dip his feet in the pool and the sand.

Nana Time

Jalen was very lucky to get a visit from his Nana, who came from Massachusetts to visit him in New York.
He loves to dance with her and cannot wait to see her again in August.