Jason Karl turns the big 3-MO

Today Jason officially became a 3 month old baby. Amongst the day's activities were taking pictures, going to our autism screening research project appointment (not that we suspect he has autism, but they need normal babies in the research as a comparison), buying a new outfit for family pictures next week, and trying to get in some naps. I even got to feed some mallards that wandered over to our apartment pool during one of Jason's naps. (The pool is literally right out our front door). Here are some of the pictures from today.

Still loves to gnaw on his hand. Don't know when that phase will pass.

When Jason wants to smile really big, he just opens his mouth as wide as he can. We love it.

He's about to fly up on my legs and be "Super Baby". I love how he looks in his hoodie!


These next two are similar poses to his 2 month pictures, so they'll be easier to compare. Does he look like he's getting bigger to you?

And here's one last treat for everyone. When I was getting him dressed, I noticed he had TONS of lint stuck in the creases of his neck. All the drool and then the hoodies and bibs and other fabrics up in there; it only made sense. I never could clean it well during bath time, because he doesn't really like bath time much and while he doesn't normally cry, he did fuss when I spent too much time cleaning around his head and face last time. So I decided to try just lifting him up with my hand behind his neck so he would arch backwards and then using a baby wipe to clean up as much as I could. I did that, and he startled me by the sound he made. At first I thought he was about to cry but then I realized he wasn't crying; he was laughing uncontrollably. Jason was incredibly ticklish underneath his neck! It was awesome. I did it once more to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and same reaction. I quickly grabbed my camera to record the moment. I didn't take the time to find the tripod and set it up, so the camera was propped up on a box on the bed, and the shot isn't too well framed, but you see and hear what I mean. I was so excited to show Dustin when he came home, but after having done it 4 times in a row that afternoon, Jason apparently had learned to control his tickle urges because he didn't do it at all for Dustin. Oh well, at least I got in on video when it did happen, right?

Let the games begin!

In trying to get Jason on a schedule that includes taking longer naps IN HIS CRIB, falling asleep on his own (which means letting him cry at times), taking naps at the same time every day, and hopefully, eventually, even sleeping through the night, I have taken to keeping a very detailed log of times and events. It, along with this blog, is the closest I've come to journaling since Jason was born. If any one has some insights on how to help with any of the above mentioned goals, please let me know. Right now it's just about recording the data, analyzing it and tweaking the schedule/routine where necessary to try and find the optimum times/tactics. That's the theory behind it all. It feels much more hit and miss when put into practice. So any insight from parents is greatly appreciated.

Anyway, last night as I was jotting down some stuff in the baby log, just before Jason was supposed to go to bed, I hear Dustin laughing hysterically on the sofa. A pause. More laughter. Another pause. Laughter again. Curious as to what could be so side-splittingly entertaining, I went over. Turns out that while we normally play with Jason, this time, Jason was finally playing with us and it was the cutest thing in the world. Every time Dustin would blow in Jason's face, Jason would gasp or flinch, or some similar reaction involving inhaling air. He had never reacted this way before when we've blown in his face, and it was the first time that we had gotten him to consistently react to something the same way over and over again. It became a game, which even Jason picked up on because he was smiling and enjoying it just as much as Dustin and I were. Anyway, I had to get it on camera. The lighting is really poor, so I'm sorry for that, but here it is. Needless to say, he didn't get to bed on time because we were having too much fun playing with him. But watch the video and you'll see why we couldn't tear ourselves away.