Last revised: January 5, 2002

Mancub's Journal

This has been an incredible year of learning, crying, and changing diets. Enough about me though. John has truly been a blessing and a wonderful experience for Amy and me. We tried to keep an online document the important events of his first year without getting into what we found in diapers. We hope that our efforts keep John from being a stranger to family and friends no matter how far away they live.

The family will be keeping this ongoing journal of major events in Mancub's life. This is not a daily journal, but a record of things that made us happy, sad, or that family and friends asked about. Each entry will be dated, with the most recent entries at the bottom.

The previous site that documented John's life as Cletus the Fetus, has been retired. It contained notes regarding our preparation for John. John's First Year Journal has also been archived so that this page does not get overwhelmingly big.

Go to the most recent entry.  Go to the archive of previous dates.

April 24 - John's sixth tooth makes it's arrival.

April 28 - Amy has this as the official date when he consistently says, 'Da Da'.

April 29 - John's first pair of store-bought shoes at the mall. He wanted the Air Nikes and the shoes with the 'Pump', but he settled for a basic pair of Nikes.

May 1 - John consistently walks on his own. John also starts to consistently get into things he shouldn't. :)

May 14 - John is clapping and saying, "Yeah!" when he hears other people clapping. He also does the, "How big is John?" bit with his hands up in the air. However, it's often just one hand in the air.

May 19 - John had his birthday party a week early in Austin. He ate cake, played with other kids, and swam in his new pool.

May 26 - John's first birthday is spent in Houston at a wedding. He will have his yearly checkup this week, so some stats are on the way!

May 29 - After a two hour wait and doctor no-show, John's one year doctor visit was put off until June 8.

June 8 - Doctor came today. John was checked and we were told he is making great progress. He weighs 25 pounds and is 31 inches tall.

June 9 - John went to the Austin Zoo, (yes we have one!), to celebrate Jonathon Jesus' birthday. John had a great time and got to pet horses, goats, deer, a big nasty and mean antelope, and some small pigs. The look on his face when the deer licked the food out of his hand was very memorable.

June 12 - Father's day brought two bikes into the household. About 5 days later, we found a cheaper bike trailer for John to ride inside. Now the family can ride together. (Pictures of John in his trailer and wearing his bug-head helmet to be posted in the future.)

June 19 - Hi Matt! John is understanding much more these days. He responds positively to 'bring', 'read a book', 'mommy', 'daddy', and 'outside'. The confusion these days is that Kati is competing with John by following many of the same directions. It is a toss up as to who gets more excited when we say, "Outside?" to the two of them.

June 26 - John is becoming more successful with holding his own sippy cup ... and actually getting something to drink. He also likes to walk with us to the mailbox rather than riding in the stroller. The normally short trip now lasts about 20 minutes due to John's stopping to smell and taste the roses, each bug, and many little rocks.

July 4 - Much has been happening for John. His eighth tooth came in on the third. He finally has a molar and everyone within two miles heard it come in. We have been trying to use some minimal sign language for food and drink for some time now. He is now showing good understanding of our 'hand to mouth' sign's meaning for "Please bring the food closer to me so as to facilitate my feeding process." Amy has also had much progress in John taking a loaded spoon and eating somewhat successfully from it. Lastly, John got to take his first trip to Barton Springs Pool. Aunt Valerie and cousin Michelle went with us to find out how cold the springs actually are!

September 11 -
October 1 - John's 15 month checkup was delayed. However, he weighs in at 30 pounds, 33.5 inches long, and has a 50 cm head (all stats in the 95%.) He's on target with running, coordination, eating most foods available to mankind, and speech.

October 20 - He doesn't get an allowance yet, but John does have some chores. He can put away dirty diapers, close doors after coming inside, close the dryer door, and he likes to empty the dishwasher. We're still working on only emptying the dishwasher after the dishes are clean. John likes to dance and loves to watch VeggieTales and Blue's Clues. He consistently plays the keyboard using one finger and a soft touch. He has just started playing by himself for more than 10 minutes at a time. He still likes to read books.

December 31 - John is working on his last four teeth, the canines. As of his doctor visit for his ear infection, he is weighing in at 30 pounds. He responds to many more parental commands and requests. He is much more playful and is becoming more of an independent player. We love his frequent laughter as much as he loves to hug and kiss us. Some of his current "words" are: up, Hi, no, yes and please = /sss/, duck = /guck/, apple orange and banana = /app/ (thanks Mrs Tiemann!), socks = /otts/, a cow says = /mmm/, a snake says = /sss/, a dog says = /fff/, fish = /shh/. John knows his eyes, head, hair, ears, mouth, teeth, nose, feet, toes, hands, and belly. Our favorite new accomplishment is watching him 'sing' the Itsy Bitsy Spider and make most of the hand motions with us. Happy New Year!

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