I wanted to be writing a post announcing the launch of the new website and blog for Jenna Cole, but apartment hunting has taken over my life! We still don’t have a place to live yet, but I do have a ticket to fly up on Sunday or Monday (not sure which day yet) and spend two days searching and signing for something. Searching for a place to live is the WORST THING EVER and now I understand why people write entire blogs about house hunting and home buying. So many details to research that it makes me head spin - good thing I have a husband who gets paid to solve problems and do research. I admit I did nothing and he did everything.
No place to live yet, but by the beginning of next week we’ll have somewhere for sure! I would tell you what neighborhood but that will probably change anyway so I’ll tell you all about it next week.
In other news, T1 had what I consider his first playdate last week. A friend needed a babysitter while she was at the dentist and so she dropped her super cute son off for a few hours. You’ve seen his cute face on here before because his mom is the one I walk with a few times a week.
This little plastic chair (it’s not a Bumbo, just looks like one) is one of our new favorite things. It even comes with a little tray so he can eat while sitting in it!
They didn’t really do a lot of playing together on this playdate. Other kids still find T1 pretty boring to be around.
This boy if half-Mexican. Can you believe it? Although my little blonde haired boy doesn’t look half-Polish either.
Nice baby.
This progression is hilarious.
First the finger…
Then both hands…
Then grab and pull!
Don’t worry, T1 looked like this 3 seconds after the face pulling was done.
T1 isn’t doing that great with the tummy time and the rolling, but he is KILLING it when it comes to standing.
What sport do kids with really strong legs play?
August 6th, 2010 on 8:39 am
LOL! The grab and pull pictures had me laughing out loud. That was hilarious. I bet T1 felt just like someone’s little brother
. Just wait to see what he’ll do when there IS a little brother or sister or pick on! Those pictures are so cute, love the bumbo-type-apparatus (amazing that you found something in red, they should also make black). Good job, P on the standing!
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August 6th, 2010 on 8:42 am
Wow, check out that standing! That’s amazing! Future soccer player for sure.
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August 6th, 2010 on 8:46 am
Look at him furniture standing!! I say this every time you post pictures of T1, but seriously. You have a really cute kid. Loved the face grab too
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August 6th, 2010 on 8:46 am
Aww so cute. I love watching little ones interact. I’m sure I did the grab and pull on my younger sisters. The standing is so impressive, he’s going to be a great little soccer player!
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August 6th, 2010 on 8:53 am
He’s a soccer player for sure. It’s the Polish in him.
Can’t wait to find out where you are going to be staying in the city. Need any advice or opinions on neighborhoods?
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August 6th, 2010 on 8:59 am
“He’s gonna be a soccer player!”
Love the photos! T1 is really grinning away! And it’s so funny to see a slightly older child interact with him!
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August 6th, 2010 on 9:01 am
Oh my goodness, Jenna… I really think him standing like that is highly above the norm! Go T1!
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August 6th, 2010 on 9:05 am
Soccer! Also, T1 is very cute, and I don’t even like babies. Good luck on the apartment hunting! I remember it being completely overwhelming and frustrating, especially since I was in an unfamiliar area and under a time crunch… and then miraculously an apartment just seemed to appear.
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August 6th, 2010 on 9:08 am
I’m convinced you have the most adorable baby in the world- both in looks & temperament.
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August 6th, 2010 on 9:15 am
Aww so cute! Good luck in Chicago
Just an aside - don’t you think a lot of Polish people are blonde? http://bigthink.com/ideas/21266
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Kelli Nicole Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 11:05 am
That’s a really interesting map! I don’t think T1′s Polish family has any blondes (especially TH, he’s always had really dark hair), but yeah, according to the map, there’s probably some blonde in the heritage somewhere!
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Katie Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Yeah, I thought it was interesting how Jenna’s made a few comments about T1 not looking very Polish with his fair hair, skin, and blue eyes. Just wanted to say that probably half of the Polish friends I have have blue/ green eyes, and many have light hair. Although T1′s coloring doesn’t look much like TH’s (at this point), it could very well be his Polish genes that helped out there!
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Marissa C Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Heck, I’m half Polish and I have dark brown hair and brown eyes with olive skin!
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Rebekah Reply:
August 7th, 2010 at 6:52 am
Yeah, my dad and his family are Polish and his sister was blonde blonde blonde.
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Catherine Reply:
August 7th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
My grandmother is Polish and is blonde hair blue eyes fair fair fair!
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August 6th, 2010 on 9:49 am
Hi Jenna!
I read your blog every day and love it! As a (hopefully) future mama, I like your advice and experiences. Anyway, I live in Chicago and love it here - if you need neighborhood advice or help, please feel free to email me and ask! Also, I’m not LDS but I have some friends here who are, and I would be happy to hook a sister up!
Cheers,
Stephanie
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August 6th, 2010 on 9:57 am
Soccer! Definitely soccer! As the wife of an ex-soccer player, I can say they are usually pretty nice guys too!
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August 6th, 2010 on 9:57 am
SQUEE! That face pulling picture has me laughing out loud. Babies are quite resilient, aren’t they?
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Sophia Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 9:58 am
has me laughing out loud *as well*. I was seconding Kelli
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Jenna Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Babies and vaginas. Both very resilient.
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August 6th, 2010 on 10:15 am
Cute
& can’t wait to find out the apartment hunting results!
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August 6th, 2010 on 10:21 am
That face-pulling series of photos is hilarious, and I’m quite impressed at the standing. And I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thought soccer immediately.
(It’s my favourite.)
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August 6th, 2010 on 10:31 am
What were you trying to prove or point out about the boy being half Mexican?
To me, it came off as “He’s half Mexican! Can you believe how white he looks?! He doesn’t have any of those Mexican characteristics, just look at those blue eyes. So beautiful”- You probably didn’t mean that. I recognize that..But it was a very offensive statement to me as a person of color.
T1 looks like he’s havin’ fun though!
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Sarah for Real Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 11:58 am
Meg,
I too was a little caught off guard by her statement, only because I could foresee someone taking it the wrong way. You voiced your concern respectfully though, and as a reader and “Jenna fan” I appreciate that.
I don’t think she was suggesting that Mexican babies are not beautiful too. Her statement was a simple observation. Just like T1 doesn’t look especially Polish, this baby doesn’t look especially Mexican (or would Hispanic be a better description?).
I find it interesting that no one has a problem with Jenna saying how T1 doesn’t look Polish, but people take offense when she states the exact same thing about a different baby. Double standard? Or is it because Jenna can say whatever she wants because it is HER own baby? Perhaps this other baby’s mother just finished saying that same thing about not looking very Mexican?
It is a fine line that I don’t personally believe Jenna has crossed. Just my two cents. Again, I thank you for being respectful, and I hope I have been as well.
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Meg Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
For me, it isn’t a double standard but more of a, why is she saying this about someone elses baby- type of thing.
In no way do I think Jenna thinks Mexicans are ulgy or is prejudice in anyway, or at least it doesn’t come across that way in her writing.
I was just pointing out a sticky point for myself and maybe other readers who did not voice their opinion on the matter for whatever reason.
I think you were very respectful and thanks for noting mine! Yay! for adult conversations!
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Hayley Marie Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
I agree with Sarah, I haven’t seen anyone mention her comments about T1 but was waiting to see someone bring this up about the other child.
One of my closest friends is half Mexican and she always jokes about the same thing. In fact while her mom was up her, she made a comment about how she never thought she would end up with a blond daughter.
To me, Jenna’s comment just came off as stating that both boys pulled from the gene pool of one parent more heavily than the other. I don’t see how this is any different than when someone tells a mother “oh your baby looks JUST like his dad” or when someone tells me how I have all of my mom’s features.
A good friend of mine back home has a father who is Black and a mother who is White. He… in his own words… is “glow in the dark”. He looks nothing like his father. He certainly doesn’t take offense when people tell him he doesn’t look like father, it is just stating a fact. I think it is unfair to Jenna to make the assumption she is saying he is beautiful even though he is half-Mexican.
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Meg Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I agree with a lot of what you said but the key point for me in your statement would be that the parents of those children said that, not an onlooker. I can say something about my daughter all day long and if someone else were to say it, I am still able to be offended or tell that person they I’d like it if they didn’t say those things. That’s all I’m saying.
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Jenna Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
I think maybe we’ve just become overly sensitive about race and ethnicity? Making a simple observation that someone looks like they have a specific ethnic origin (or not), isn’t racist or offensive, it’s fact. African-Americans tend to be black, Caucasians tend to be white, and there are a whole spectrum of colors in between. Then there are individual characteristics like noses and eyes and hair color, etc.
And yes, as someone mentioned above might be the case, the mother of this child brings up the fact that he doesn’t look like her ALL THE TIME.
And I’m not sure where you got the beautiful thing from?
I just think we need to lay off the sensitivity and accept that it’s okay for us to make observations about the way a person looks. Some have dark skin, some have light, curly hair, straight hair, etc etc. Things like weight or judgement about how attractive a person is should be kept to oneself, but when we are talking about very basic things that everyone can agree on I don’t think we should have to tiptoe around quite so much as you seem to be implying.
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Jenna Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I just read this back and I worry that it’s coming across as hostile. Please don’t take it that way! I admit I am a bit stressed about this whole housing search. The message is the same, but please read it with some smiley faces inserted:
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Opal Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
I find the constant reiteration of “can you believe T1 is Polish” problematic too. I’m not sure there’s such a thing, as Jenna suggests below, about being too overly sensitive about race and ethnicity. There’s is something to how much whiteness is valued in America and how various ethnic groups have and have not been fit into the rubric of whiteness (e.g. Polish people faced discrimination as they immigrated to America and only by assimilating were they able to find a place). The issue is not so much the statement but the underlying assumptions behind it (that there is something so different about being half-Mexican or whatever it is that it’s somehow surprising that the baby would look more Western European) — so many Mexicans are descended from the Spanish so they’ll look as Western European as a Western European!
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Meg Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Agreed.
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silvia Reply:
August 7th, 2010 at 12:57 am
Jenna, your comment made it seem as if Mexicans all look the same. Perhaps dark skin, black hair? What did your comment really meant? What does Mexican look like? What does Polish look like? Im starting to notice a lot of double standard issues, you want everyone to stop pointing fingers at you and just accept your decisions and religious views. But on the other hand you dont respect everyone else’s views. You are bothered when people voice their opinion. You delete people on twitter for cursing. You dont approve of working mothers. You write entire posts on those subjects. And yet you come asking for a blog vacation because people are attacking you. You are coming off as if you feel better than everyone else who doesn’t think or act like you.
I dont feel like I’m attacking you, but I’m sure you will take it as that.I’m just voicing my opinion in comment form. Isn’t that what blogging is about?
You say you have feelings… do you not think of other peoples feelings when you delete them for cursing (not at you) or when pointing your finger at working mothers?
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Kristin Reply:
August 7th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Hey Jenna,
Just wanted to share a video with you that shows children from all around Mexico from a photography project UNICEF did. I saw the expo while I was in Mexico City a few years back and it is great for showing that people from Mexico come in all colors, heights, and shapes-Just like here in the US.
For example people from Colonia Juarez, where the Mormon pioneers settled are very white, and there are many places, especially small towns which the British settled for mining purposes, where people are white and have last names like Smith and Johnson. There are many red headded Jewish Immigrants that live in Mexico City, but they all consider themselves to be Mexican. I have been traveling to Mexico for the past ten years, and each time I go I see a new face, in a new region that continues to tell me Mexico is just as diverse as the United States.
I know you probably haven’t had an opportunity to travel to Mexico, so I thought I would share the video link with you, I really wish they had the exposition online but this is close!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23m4bruFXrg
Hope you like it!
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August 6th, 2010 on 10:45 am
How is he standing already?? That is amazing! Go T1! And he seriously seems SO sweet tempered. Both boys are really adorable.
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August 6th, 2010 on 10:53 am
i can’t believe he can already hold himself up-his legs looks so teeny for standing!
he probably needs a bit of the younger sibling complex-before too long he’ll be ruling the roost at home with his younger siblings
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August 6th, 2010 on 11:25 am
He’s not pulling himself up though is he? You make him stand of and he just hold it?
I always heard that kids need to crawl first before they stand up as it help build muscle strengh in some areas were it’s needed. But then again every kid is different right.
So do you think he’s standing up and enjoying it or holding for dear life. If he’s already enjoying that you can probably expect him to be climbing up things quick.
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Mary Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
My 4-year-old nephew isn’t ambulatory and probably never will be. He can’t walk or crawl. He has however slowly worked his way up to standing with assistance.
If T1′s muscles are able to support himself while standing, even if he didn’t lift himself from a sitting position, I really doubt it’s going to hurt him although he isn’t able to crawl yet.
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Jenna Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
I think that’s pretty common for people to think, but there is a National Geographic special on babies that says that babies don’t have to do anything in some special order. Some babies never even crawl before they start to walk!
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Cécy Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
@Mary, I didn’t think he would be hurting himself. I guess if he was in pain he wouldn’t be looking like he’s having so much fun.
My little cousin has to use an ambulatory thing, I don’t even know if he ever crawled after age 1 (when things went wrong). So it’s awesome that your nephew can stand, any step is so wonderful.
@Jenna, You’re right it’s definitely a misconception I had. I’ve also never seen a 3 (almost 4) month old with enough strength to stand up
It’s amazing how the body can adapt. Now you just need a bit of carpet in the next house to cushion falls and he’ll be free roaming.
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August 6th, 2010 on 11:28 am
I grew up moving, and now that I’m doing it… I don’t know how my mother kept things together! I freak out over having to rent a hotel room, much more over an apartment!
Good luck! I’m sure you will find something perfect for your family.
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August 6th, 2010 on 11:33 am
oh that last picture is adorable
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August 6th, 2010 on 11:48 am
I totally understand the whole frustraing house/apartment search. My husband and I are in the process of looking for a rental in the ‘burbs since we’ve spent the past couple years near downtown Chicago and are ready for some more space. Our current lease is up at the end of the month so time is ticking!
Good luck when you come out! I’ll be anxious to here what neighborhood you guys end up in.
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August 6th, 2010 on 12:24 pm
That standing is pretty unreal. Especially that he’s able to do so much of it by himself! Our baby hates tummy time, too. She NEVER practices lifting up her head, she just turns her head to the side and sucks/licks her hand and drools everywhere.
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August 6th, 2010 on 1:10 pm
Wow, I can’t believe he’s standing already!! Is he standing on his own? Wow!
The picture of the face pulling had me laughing out loud at work. Woops! lol.
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August 6th, 2010 on 1:15 pm
These pictures totally just made my day. You have the cutest little boy!
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August 6th, 2010 on 1:15 pm
I’d highly recommend Craigslist when it comes to rental/apartment searching. You get your fair share of crazies/dead ends, but there are some real gems on there. That is where we found our Dallas duplex (the day it was listed). It’s awesome. I called our landlord yesterday at 4 to tell him the AC was out, and he had someone out there by the time I got home from work-it was running again by the evening.
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August 6th, 2010 on 1:34 pm
What cute boys! T1 getting his face squished is truly hilarious. And his friend has such a sweet little mouth.
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August 6th, 2010 on 5:16 pm
I have friends who have an available apartment in Chicago, but it’s in Jefferson Park. It would be about a half hour commute to his university by car; unfortunately, double that by public transport. If you’re interested, I can give you the info, however. It’s a 3 bedroom for 1200 a month, heat included.
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Marissa C Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
“Heat Included” is gold in Chicago!
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August 6th, 2010 on 7:14 pm
Good luck on the apartment search! I know how frustrating it is looking for a place when you’re not living in the city you’re looking in. Sometimes it works best to do things under the gun so I’m sure you’ll be successful.
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August 7th, 2010 on 1:18 am
It seems like no matter what you write there is always at least one person that has to find a “problem” with it. You’re a great mom & writer so people should just take what you say with a grain of salt. Also, why does someone always have to play the race card? You weren’t saying anything negative about Mexicans, you just shared the assumption that they are generally darker in complexion. People need to lighten up!
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Melissa Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Ugh I agree. People do need to lighten up and stop playing the race card. She didn’t insult anyone. She made a comment that pretty much anyone would have made looking at that little boy. Get over it!!
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August 7th, 2010 on 3:20 pm
I love T1′s little red seat! I wish seats like that had been available when my now adult children were babies!!
T1 is Toooo Cute!!!!
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August 8th, 2010 on 11:46 pm
I don’t recall you talking about T1′s little red seat before. What kind is it?
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August 10th, 2010 on 1:50 pm
Your son is just the cutest little boy! I want to give him a big squeeze
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