Jaymeson's vocabulary

What a smart baby we have! Here is a list of his current vocabulary..

Momma - mommy - mom
Dada
Papa
Dog
Ball
Kitty
Smokey
"what doing"
Tegan
No
"don't touch"
Book
Pumpkin
Go

PUMPKINS

One year..

Jaymeson Richard Bruce,

Peanut, lovey baby, lovey bear, blue jay

You are one year old today. Never in a million years could I have known what it felt like to love another, the way that I love you. You have shown me so much happiness and laughter. You are so special in so many lives. I am so thankful that I get spend so much time with you. 

Now it is time for me to tell you about our adventure together. Let's start from the very beginning. December 5th 2010, it was 5:30am, I had just woken up to get ready for my nanny job. Something told me "I think I am pregnant", and I was right! Your dad and I were so excited. We were in the middle of building our house and we knew we could give you a wonderful future home. 

The first due date our doctor gave us was August 3rd 2011. Once we had our first ultrasound (when you were 12 weeks growing), the doctor changed the due date to August 10th. Time went by and you were growing like crazy.

At 25 weeks growing, your dad and I just knew something was up with our decision to go through an OBGYN. We had been so disappointed at many different appointments. We went home and watched the documentary "the business of being born". Our minds were changed. We wanted to have an all natural birth and we wanted a midwife. The very next day I met with Darlene, at cascade midwives and our whole world changed. This is what was meant to be!
August 10th came and went and you were still happy as could be in my tummy. It was now August 21st and it was time to try and get thing going. Since we were going the natural route, it was time for the nasty castor oil trick, to get my contractions going. Well, two nasty castor oil scrambled eggs later, and nothing! It was Monday the 22nd and if I didn't go into labor with you by Wednesday, I would have to go to the hospital, which was NEVER part of our plan.
Tuesday the 23rd rolled around and it was time for some more castor oil. I took one dose at 10am, and the other at 3pm. I was hanging out at your Grammies house, walking, trying to get things moving. Kyla, our midwife, told me to come in at 6:30pm so she could check me out. I drove on in, since your dad was at work. And she then told me, "well I think we should pop your water". So I called your daddy and he rushed over. He then called the rest of the family.
My water was popped at 7pm. My contractions came on like a tsunami. I could barely move, I had the worst back pain and was frozen. After 4 hours of heavy labor, I crawled into the hot tub, and that was immediate relief on my back. Your daddy was at my side, rubbing my back, putting cold wash cloths on me, and keeping me hydrated. We were a great team. I spent another 30 minutes laboring and then it was time to push! "no way!!" I thought! I looked up at the clock and it was 11:30pm. I instantly thought of my grandpa. Only 30 more minutes and you would share his birthday. I then had the birthing assistant go get Grammy and auntie KK.
Kyla then told me, "your baby is coming", I said "really?" and then she said "well reach down, you can feel the head".
And there you were! Your little peach head was so perfect! You came out so quickly and then they immediately rested you on my chest. We were in love, and we didn't even know if you were a boy or girl! After a couple minutes I finally asked, "so this a boy or girl?" everyone laughed, then your daddy checked and screamed "IT'S A BOY". And so you were named, Jaymeson Richard Bruce.

And here you are a year later!
For the past year we have formed an unbreakable bond.
You have nursed strong for the past year, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. Never did I think I would Breastfeed this long, but I can't even imagine weaning you off. It calms you when you are hurt, sick, tired, it puts you to sleep, and it gives you amazing health benefits as well!
We cloth diaper your sweet bottom.
We make your food. And feed you organic fruits and veggies.
We are doing what you call "baby led weaning", where you feed yourself and we don't push food upon you.
Your eyes are blue.
You have dimples like dad.
You weigh 26.2lbs & are 31 inches long & 19 in head (95th percentile).
You got your first two teeth when you were 4 months old. You now have 7 teeth.
You first learned to crawl at 6 months old.
You took your first three steps at 9 1/2 months.
Your favorite mode of transportation is walking :-)
Your absolute favorite foods are: blue berries & raspberries.
You can say "momma, dada, dog, ball, and wee".
You like to clap & high five.
You love to read and spend time laughing at your books every single day.

You have been on many adventures, such as:
Train to Montana.
Road trip to Montana.
Seattle center. -- folklife festival.-- children's museum.
Penn Cove mussel festival.
Daddy's softball tournaments.
Tulip festival.
And more.

You visited many of your friends right after they were born..
Tegan Morrice
Isaac Ramos
Bradley Coffin
Kadance Fredette

I love you more than you will ever know, and will support your every endeavor as long as I live.

Xoxoxo
You sleep right next to benefit and always have :-) When you stir in the night, you reach for me and cuddle back to sleep. In the morning you kiss me and love on me.

Birthday... Already?

Has it really been a year? I can't believe jaymeson is going to be one years old on Friday. Time has gone by so fast. He is such a blessing. I can't even put in words the amount of joy he has brought to our family. The birthday decorations are going up and the big party is next Sunday. We are going to do a very small celebration on Friday, then Sunday we are having a party at our house. It's going to be a blast! 

This was the announcement made by the Birthing Center. His sweet little foot print. Love it!

walking machine..

Jaymeson is a walking machine!

On father's day he took his first 3 steps completely unassisted. It was a perfect father's day gift : )

He is such a fast crawler that he hasn't shown much interest in walking, other than along furniture and the wall. BUT today he has been walking like crazy. It started at the park and has been going at home as well. Two, three steps, here and there. Nothing too major but still, it's a lot more than he was doing. Proud mama!

He is such a big boy! Over 10 months old already. Time flies!

We had such a wonderful Fourth of July. He had a blast at our block party and stayed up until 11pm watching people and of course the fireworks.

We are getting ready for our family reunion, around the corner! Can't wait to spend an amazing week in Montana with my wonderful family : )

Memorial day weekend..

Is June seriously starting this week? Craziness! We had a very fun filled weekend. My uncle rich flew out from montana and stayed with us on Friday night. Saturday we went out to lunch and then we went to the mariners game. It was so much fun. It was me, Justin, jaymeson, my mom, and my uncle rich. Jaymeson did better than expected! Sunday we worked on our yard, which is looking very beautiful. And then today Justin went in to work and jaymeson and I ventured down to folklife festival. It was a great day! We parked at the north gate park and ride and took the bus to down town Seattle. We walked around, listen to music, got jaymeson a new hat, ate some food, people watched, and then headed home. I even had time to go get my hair cut tonight :-) Tomorrow I start my new job.. YAY! I am working 8am-5pm. It is going to be a long day but it will be awesome to make money AND have my baby with me :-)

9 months already..

Can you believe that jaymeson is already 9 months old?? 9 months ago I was in MUCHO pain, and in 3 hours our beautiful baby was in my arms. Crazy to think that he is closer to his 1 year birthday then he is to his actual birth!

- What's up with our little guy... He is 24lbs 1oz. and 29 inches long. He is in the 95 percentile for total growth. He has 6 teeth. Four on top and two on the bottom. He can crawl, and fast! He can stand up and hold on to many different things. And he walks along the furniture and passes from one thing to the next. He still doesn't sleep through the night but I am used to his night time feedings and it's okay with me :-) He is still mostly Breastfeeding but has snacks throughout the day. His favorites are his "puffs", yogurt melts, "mum mum's", and then with baby food he LOVES squash and sweet potatoes. His favorite adult foods are olives and green beans. He hasn't said any words yet but he babbles a lot and nods his head at us all the time, as if saying he agrees lol. He also LOVES to clap and does it quite often. Lol. Well thats all I can think of for now!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day : ) This jar-vase was handmade by me (and Jaymeson) for my mother. It was an idea from pinterest of course, and turned out great! 

My mother's day was perfect. Jaymeson woke us up at 6:30am of course, and Justin grabbed him and in his PJ's they went to the store and got me a coffee and flowers. I hoped in the shower and took my time getting myself together for the day. Then when I was done I came out to our dinning room to find flowers and a beautiful necklace from my hubby, and then a little rose bush and a "bear" cup from my little "lovey bear" baby. Justin then made us blueberry muffins for breakfast. Later my mom and dad came over for lunch and then Justin worked on the yard and mowed the lawn. Now I am just hanging out, enjoying this beautiful day, lost in my thoughts. It has been a truly wonderful day but I can't help but feel a little sad. Feeling a little sad about the relationships and friendships that have failed. Feeling sad about the lack of family around today. I know I should just be happy about the wonderful day but there feels like something is missing : /  Hmmm..  Maybe it's just that our little family is mellow and small and I am used to holidays be big and hectic. 

our day at the park.. (last week)..

Hello my name is Jaymeson and I like to swing : )

sometimes all alone...

or sometimes with my mommy...

or sometimes I like to slide with daddy...

or take a break for a picnic...

then it's back to crawling with daddy...

then ending our adventure by going on the tire swing with mommy...

My mommy and daddy are the best when it comes to adventures : ) 

- love Jaymeson

I LOVE THIS... A letter from a momma to her daughter..

I Will Not Nurse You Forever

by SARAH on MAY 5, 2012 · 

Dear Daughter,

You are only three weeks old and so no one really asks yet about your weaning time.  Those questions will come later, along with the many and varied opinions about when you should be weaned. Having been through this twice before with your older brothers, I already know the answer to this.

Let me share a secret with you. Weaning is misunderstood. It views nursing as an act with a beginning and an end where the end is chosen and a hard drawn line in the sand. It’s not like that.

Nursing is a part of motherhood, of parenthood. It blends in with all of the other things and it fades in from the obligations of pregnancy and then fades out into the series of obligations of a parent to their growing child.

There was no hard drawn line for the start. Even before your birth you drew from my body. You grew within my womb. You were nourished from my placenta. I was your life support system and home while you prepared to be born. It was when you were ready to be born that you signaled to my body that it was time, and it was then that labor began.

Moments after you were born. You squinched your little eyes at me and bobbed your head around and fussed because you understood that there was something to be done, but not what to do.  Instead of sucking, you chomped down. Then you pulled your head back and mewled. We worked together and gradually you learned what to do. And a few days later you stopped biting and set into an easy pattern of nursing that allowed my cracked nipples to heal and my milk to flow.

I do not know the moment that you were conceived. I do not know the moment that your cord stopped pulsing. I do not know the moment that you stopped chomping down and began to nurse.

Some day you will no longer need the sustenance from my body, your suckling reflex will fade away, and instead of turning eagerly toward my breast you will do as your older brother does now as I am writing this. You’ll turn your back to me and curl into my arms in a different way, and you will comfort yourself to sleep with my proximity rather than my breast. And then on another day further into the future you will be even more independent still and instead of curling into my arm you will use my belly as a pillow while you talk to me about Kindergarten friends, as your oldest brother does. And then you will walk back to your own room and your own bed, and you will fall asleep on your own.

I do not know the moment that you will stop nursing. I do not know the moment that you will stop comforting yourself to sleep with the closeness of me. I do not know the moment that you will move off and be fully independent with a life of your own creation. I know that you will do each of these things when it is time for you to do them. And I know that I will smile with pride at your independence even if I want to hold on a little longer.

The commitment that I’ve made to you is life-long. There is no hard start, no hard ending, no fading away of obligation. There is no “weaning” that I plan on doing. There is you. There is your quest for independence. There are the needs that drive your little body and that will fade and change with time. And there is me. My job is simply to be here and meet your needs as you have them. I need neither to push you away nor hold onto you, as you will peel off or cling close according to your needs.

You already have that drive for independence and will take it eagerly at your own pace. Weaning is not something that I need to do. It is something that you will do as an inevitable part of growing up and of life.

I will not hold you back, and I will not push you away. I will not nurse you forever, but I will always be there for you and I will always love you.

<3 Mama