Werth Family OnlineHere are some more videos of the little guy. We have started introducing solid food for him to handle and put in his mouth. Right now we are using Gerber Graduates Finger Foods. They come in a variety of flavors, and just kind of melt in your mouth – making them a great introductory food. Jacob has started to get the hang of grabbing these small pieces and getting them into his mouth.
Thursday, August 25th, marks Jacob being 7 months old. This past Monday he has returned to daycare in Washington as Elise’s summer vacation ended. All the kids and caretakers definitely enjoy Jacob’s presence. He has unknowingly learned how to shake his head “no”, which is quite hilarious. This most likely stemmed from Elise and I bobbing side to side in order to make him laugh.
This past weekend, we were also blessed with a surprise visit from Caitlin Kennedy. On her way to Georgia with her roommate, the two spent the night at our apartment. In the morning, they were able to get a quick tour of Kalona, a delicious roll from the bakery, and a cup of coffee before heading out again.
Elise has returned to Washington H.S. for her third year and will be teaching Biology and Kinesiology this fall. Monday-Wednesday were reserved for teacher workshops, while the students will arrive on Thursday (the 25th). She is experimenting with an online classroom resource utilizing Moodle (an open-source, online education management system). While the system holds much potential, Elise’s site will be a listing of courses with assignments, lectures, and deadlines. Check it out at EliseWerth.com and use the guest password: WHSscience. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below!
On Tuesday, Jacob had his six-month checkup at the University of Iowa Clinic. The doctor (and nurses) said Jacob looks great, is healthy, and continues to develop steadily. Jacob weighed 19.5 lbs, which put him in the 72nd percentile for children his age. His length was 26.5 inches and head circumference 18.1, placing him in the 31st and 96th percentile respectively. In short, we have a short, fat baby with a massive head. 🙂
Along with all the measurements, Jacob received a number of vaccinations – several of which were the final in the series. However, the immunizations resulted in a low-grade fever on Wednesday. After some rest and baby Tylenol, he seemed to be doing better and the fever had subsided. As always, Jacob loves to play with any paper he can get his hands on, shown in this video: Fun with Paper.
In the past week, Jacob has continued to progress rapidly in his development. One noticeable instance has been the increase of sounds coming from his mouth. He has become quite verbal making all manner of little squeals, grunts, and la’s. His loves to move his lower jaw in a wawawa sound, seen a little in this video: Tupperware!
Jacob also enjoys sitting up, and is doing a great job balancing himself, despite the tendency to tip over backwards. While filming this one, he decided to also carry out some other matters: Sitting (and grunting)
Jacob received his first toy ever from Elise: a Woody and Buzz Lightyear ball. He enjoys playing with this strange spherical object and, of course, loves to suck on it. Enjoy these videos:
This past weekend, Larry and Mary traveled down to Iowa to visit and relax in Kalona. Despite being a little warm, we spent Saturday at Kent Park near Tiffin, IA. After a picnic lunch, we walked around the lake and dipped our toes in the water to cool off. It was a good chance to relax and for Mary and Larry to have some time with Jacob. Also, Mary quickly realized that Jacob’s nickname is the Tag-Finder, as he loves to find and lick tags on Pooh, the purple horse, the jumper, and just about anything else.
In the past few days, Jacob has continued to grow into quite the young man. His hands can now touch over his head, he continues to laugh at mom and dad, and is getting much better at moving around (through rolling and pushing up with his arms). We’ve attached the videos below so you can enjoy the fun as well.
On Saturday morning, the Werth family decided to take the canoe out for a spin at Kent Park. It was Jacob’s first time for many things: being in a canoe, wearing a life jacket, and being in water other than the bathtub. Overall, the little guy did just great – although, he was rather stunned by the lack of a bathtub bottom. When he did find the bottom, he found the sand to be a rather strange feeling on his feet. Enjoy the pictures from the day:
Jacob continues to progress well on solid foods; well, most days anyway. He is now eating apples, butternut squash, avocados, and pears. Currently, he does not like bananas. Here are a couple pictures from his not so good moments:
The second half of June has been an exciting time for young Jacob. While his parents were gone to the east coast, he was able to hang out with his grandparents and aunts. During that time he started being able to roll and has continued to work on it to this day. He can now turn from his back to his stomach and continue to his back – turning to his left. In the past two days, he has begun to roll to his right but hasn’t quite figured it out yet.
In addition to the rolling, Jacob (with the help of his mom) has discovered his toes. Namely, that they are an additional object on which to slobber. He is quite the flexible little guy:
