First Christmas

Jalen really seemed to enjoy his first Christmas. Santa had stuffed his stocking full of blocks, and he was very excited to empty it, one by one. He also had lots of toys under the tree (mostly thanks to his nanny, Emma). After opening presents, he headed to Nana and Vaari's house to spend the rest of the holiday with them, as well as Auntie Erica, Uncle Ayman, and cousins Ella and Maddy, where he was again spoiled with gifts.

9 Months Old

Our big boy now weighs 22 lb, 10 oz, and is 31 inches long, again putting him in the 75th percentile for this weight and off the charts for his height. This has been a big month for the little man. After overcoming his first attempts, he now eats finger foods happily. However, he insists of being fed the finger foods directly - any placed on his tray or in his hands quickly becomes a Poika snack. We're seeing a lot of signs of increased mobility, but no crawling... yet! He can get into crawling position, but flops back down to his belly and ends up moving backwards, instead (and usually ends up wedging himself under a couch, chair or bed in the process). In general, he's turned into a very squirmy, wriggly, wiggly little boy.

He's also gotten to host his first Hanukkah party, and loves to play with his dreidels and watch the candles on the menorah. The lights on his very first Christmas tree is also a source of fascination, and we all can't wait for his first Christmas morning!

8 Months Old

First Finger Foods

Our little boy is growing, and is finally ready for finger foods (or so we thought)! After this first attempt, Jalen now refuses to open his mouth. For now, he's happy with his purees.

Bath Time Splash

Tubby time is one of Jalen's favorite moments of the day. His days of relaxing in a baby tub are over, and splashing has become serious business. He still takes the time to give Mommy big smiles, though!

Seven Months Old

This month has been so busy for Jalen, he's barely had time to update his blog!
He isn't yet crawling, but easily gets himself into crawling position - he now loves to sleep with his knees tucked under him and his bum in the air.


He's also become more aware of his body , and loves to look at himself and play in front of the mirror.
"Hello, handsome!"

He's found the time to pursue many autumn activities, including apple picking and trick-or-treating. He seems to have enjoyed the holiday more than the skunk did!

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!