Tim and Keri plus one

Jack "counts"

2010-05-07T17:59:00.000-07:00

Jack says "Achoo!"

2010-05-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

Jack says "Amen!"

2010-05-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Videos for Daddy

2010-03-01T08:06:00.000-08:00

I call this one, "Climbing Mr. Destructo"

And this one, "Boo, with happy dance at the end"

This one is Jack and my friend Ali's little girl, Brenna. We always have them kiss!

Jack's Trip to the Fire Station!

2010-02-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

Jack and I are in Minnesota visiting family and we got to go visit Uncle Brandon at the Fire Station!! He put Jack up in two different fire trucks, and he got to meet the fire chief too! The fire chief gave him his own fire hat. :) We also had Uncle Brandon's fireman friend who is a car seat technician check out the carseat in DD's car. We were glad we did, because we had hooked one thing up wrong!

Jack's new tricks!

2010-02-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here is Jack showing off some of his new tricks including some sign language. This was right after a bath, and if you look closely you can see his boo-boo from falling at the aquarium today. Mama turned her head for just a second and he fell. :(

I tried to get him to identify his "eyes," and he usually wiggles his eyebrows trying to blink, but he wouldn't do it.

Rotavirus and a new slide

2010-01-17T15:56:00.000-08:00

Jack is recovering from Rotavirus. Wednesday night he started throwing up and it quickly turned to blood. By Friday, we were faced with the possibility of a hospital admit, but thankfully, we were able to treat his dehydration sufficiently at home. Thanks to everyone who prayed for a speedy recovery!

It has been bad weather here, and since Jack has been sick, we're thankful for our new indoor slide found on clearance at Target:

Before I get any "homeless boy" comments from my mom, he had pants on, but has lost so much weight that he can't keep them up.

Eating like a big boy!

2009-12-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks Jack has really taken off with using silverware! This week he will not let us feed him anymore...he only wants to feed himself.

on the road again...

2009-12-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

Jack has started "pretending"(?) his food is vehicles. Today at lunch it was raisins...

Tonight at dinner it was pizza! He ate 2.5 pieces of pepperoni and black olive pizza!

Jack's First Fingerpainting

2009-12-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

I had to go into Rite Aid because Jack has a horrible teething diaper rash and we were out of the oatmeal bath we used last time. While in the drug store we passed by the craft section. This week has been the first time I've been able to get Jack to show any interest in coloring or art of any kind. He frequently passes up the opportunity to do sidewalk chalks while we're with friends...so I thought he might enjoy some finger paints now. I was right! He even helped me clean up afterward!

p.s. All you mommies out there...What diaper rash cream do you use? I've had two friends recommend Triple Paste to me. The problem is, it is two times (at least) as expensive as other Zinc Oxide brands and that is the only active ingredient! I thought it had other active ingredients...but it doesn't....now it doesn't seem worth the money...what do y'all think?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

Jack slept through Thanksgiving lunch, and woke up in time for dessert. We made the mistake of letting him try pumpkin pie BEFORE his dinner. You can see the result!

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-10-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

Punkin Patch!

2009-10-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Jack Working Out

2009-09-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

More pictures from today

2009-09-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

I decided to turn the sweater into an impromptu photo shoot. Here are a few more I've edited today.

I knit my first sweater!

2009-09-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

A Monkey and a Marine!

2009-09-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

First Spaghetti Dinner!

2009-09-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

I found a "spaghetti bake" recipe online that was DELICIOUS! We decided to strip down and let him chow down with his hands. The next night with leftovers, I let him practice using his spoon and fork but DIDN'T take his clothes off first and...well...lets just say I'm STILL working on cleaning the stains!

Staff Sergeant Gernand!

2009-09-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Tim was promoted today to Staff Sergeant! Jack was *mostly* good during the ceremony and only squaked a little. ;)

If you look really closely here, you can see that Jack took it upon himself to remove one of Tim's new SSgt rank. It is in his hand. I guess he needed to inspect it! ;)

Lt. Col Congratulating Tim

Since Tim is now a "Staff NCO" he had to re-take his oath.

I got to pin on his new rank. :)

Walking, waving, throwing and upside-down-time!

2009-08-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

Surfer Dude

2009-08-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

Mommy's Helper!

2009-08-25T23:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some family pictures Grandpa took for us before church when we were in Texas last month:

Our sweet new neighbors invited us over for dinner and they let us bring dessert! So I made this tart. I had to make a few mommy modifications (read: who has time to make their own crust!?!?!?!?), but Jack thoroughly enjoyed licking the beaters after I made the filling.

Whew! What a move!

2009-08-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm blogging for the first time from California, which also means for the first time from Tim's computer. It doesn't like to let me rearrange my pictures! BOO!! So you'll have to take them out of order...sorry...

Jack has developed an affinity for Tim blowing bubbles with gum. I love this shot I got with my new lens for our camera. :)

During our move, we had fun playing with cousins. Jack and Audra (who is 18 months old) had a blast. Here they are playing hide and go chase.

Jack's face is so funny here!

Audra loved to feed the baby a bottle. Jack didn't seem to mind that the bottle was fake.

We got a halfway decent shot of the four cousins! Now that Ezra is back from Bangladesh, we should hopefully get a picture of all five cousins (and all three 2008 babies!) finally together this fall.

Audra was great to "be sweet to the baby."

Jack had his first taste of chocolate and cookie for his birthday celebration:

He didn't make a mess AT ALL, did he?

Nor would he go to GREAT LENGTHS to get every last bite...

You're right, he obviously didn't like cookie cake at all...

This is actually one of the first pictures in the series...still checking it out...

Camryn blowing out the candles for the July birthdays.

Jack pretty sure he is going to like this whole birthday thing...

What are we doing today?

The last big news is that Jack is now a WALKER!!! He is up to crawling about 50% of the time and walking more each day. He looks so cute waddling about!

New Video and pictures!

2009-06-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is the sign we saw in the "Legal" office on base: I think the picture is priceless. To me it says, "change our channel and your hand will require first aid"

Jack has mastered the sippy!!

He also loves his new play table!

Here we are at chilis. Jack enjoying cheerios. Me trying to get him to say "Woof!" which he says as "Boof!"

This one is pretty pointless, but still cute...to me at least :)

Recent pictures from the park with Daddy

2009-06-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

by Alison Lea Photography

2009-05-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

jack and "happy appy"

2009-05-31T12:14:00.001-07:00

photoshop lessons

2009-05-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Ali from high school (actually, I was in middle school and she was a freshman in high school when we met, we've known each other for 14 years!) is now a photographer. She takes *AWESOME* pictures and has recently started a photography blog with lessons on it. I was blessed to receive some lessons in person today in achieving one of my favorite effects.

If you are planning a destination wedding, or will be in Minnesota, give Ali a call! I know you won't be disappointed! She also does portraiture (I hope to have some of Jack to show you soon!). Here are Ali's websites:

photography blog: http://alisonleaweddings.blogspot.com/

lessons blog: http://alisonlealessons.blogspot.com/

business website: http://www.alisonleaphotography.com/

Based on our lessons using a 50% opacity b/w adjustment layer, I got these results with some photos I've taken of Jack. I can't wait to play back in Georgia with some pictures better suited for this tool. But I'm still happy I could figure it out. :)

Sweet Brenna and Jack Videos!

2009-05-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Ali and I decided to take our kiddos on their second date...do you remember their first date?

We had tons of fun, and I think the kids enjoyed it too.

Jack and Brenna's first kiss

Jack on Brenna's rocking horse! Such a big boy!!

Okay, before you call child services on us. We were in the car, there was nothing we could do. Brenna started crying, which upset Jack. They would just go back and forth making each other so sad. It was very pitiful...in a cute, filmworthy way of course. ;)

You wanna knuckle samich?

2009-05-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

Don't you steal my 'cado and 'nana!

YUM!

2009-05-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Want some Avocado and Banana?

2009-05-24T19:42:00.001-07:00

Goin' for a walk

2009-05-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Rockin' Good Time

2009-05-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

Great Maw rocking her first great grandchild to sleep.

Can you believe this guy?

2009-05-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

I see you!

2009-05-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

Uncle Jim and Jack playing games

Twinkies

2009-05-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Cousin Whitney bought Jack a "frat boy" shirt, and he and Hunter matched for dinner.

Screaming contest

2009-05-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

Do you know what my mommy loves?

2009-05-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

I LOVE!

2009-05-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

That pensive look he gets while tasting his food.

I LOVE!

2009-05-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

That Jack is in a phase where he is open to trying and devouring anything I put on his tray.

I LOVE!

2009-05-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

My baby boy covered in mangoes.

I LOVE!

2009-05-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

Babylegs!

Walking with the push toy

2009-05-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Showing off

2009-05-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Look Ma, one hand!

2009-05-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Who do I look like here?

2009-05-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Mac 'n Cheese

2009-05-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Turns out Jack has inherited my affinity for Macaroni and Cheese.

He also, turns out inherited a few other characteristics from me. Double fisting macaroni into the mouth:

What, do I have something on my face?

Really? It's still there?

Ooops, my bad...

He also inherited mommy's reaction when she needs sleep.

9 months old!

2009-05-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 9 months old yesterday. I can't believe how fast his first year is flying by! We had his checkup today and his stats were as follows:

Weight: 16lbs 3oz (3rd %)
Length: 27.5 inches (25%)
Head: 46cm (75%)

Jack still nurses around 6 times per day and usually once at night (occasionally he'll like to keep me on my toes and wake up SEVEN times...). He generally sleeps from 6:30pm until around 3-4am, wakes up to nurse and goes right back to sleep until somewhere between 7-8am. His first nap is usually an hour and a half long and begins around 9. His second nap is usually two and a half hours long and begins around 1pm.

Jack loves all solid foods now (no more green bean incidents!). Today I gave him sliced banana for the first time and he LOVED feeding it to himself. We recently tried baked potato and he loves that as well. We're slowing going to more "table" food and less "baby" food! Yay for the pocket book!

Jack can sit great without support, crawl (he's fast too!), pull up and cruise furniture and he's becoming more and more steady with a push toy that he can walk behind. Mommy loves hearing all of his variegated babbling (he now changes consonants, like "ma da go te oh"). He has also started "singing" and will say "ahhhhhhh" while I sing to him and frequently sings himself to sleep, especially in the car.

I have been trying desperately to get him to associate "Mama" with me, but unfortunately, every time I say "Mama" to him, he looks back at me and says "Dadi" or "Dada." :) Tim is a huge fan of this recent development.

His latest trick is when he is not tired or when he has woken up from naps he will throw all of his pacis out of the crib as a signal to me that he's not having it. :) What a stinker!

For real though, we feel incredibly blessed to be his parents. Jack brings us so much joy every day, and we couldn't be happier. :)

i gotta inspect your rank

2009-05-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Padawan

2009-05-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

walking with daddy

2009-04-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Yay for Videos! And the Animal Kingdom!!!

2009-04-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Jack enjoying an icee type drink because it was SOOOOO hot and I felt horrible eating it in front of him.

Pictures with Rafiki and Timon. Jack really wanted to give Timon some lovin' but Timon was in a hurry to take pictures with other kids. :(

Here's us being silly on the monorail. Please ignore my quintuple chins...PLEASE.

Jack playing with his favorite toy...the door stopper.

From around the Condo

2009-04-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Turns out Disney can really wear a brother out:

Jack LOVING his first trip to a pool with DD and GG:

Practicing his standing skills under DD and GG's watchful eyes:

Not quite sure what to do with the fake boob GG tried to give him while mommy was gone at the water park. Thankfully he caught on again pretty quick. (He hadn't had a bottle in about two months.)

More Disney Pictures

2009-04-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Jack at Cinderella's Castle

2009-04-24T16:50:00.001-07:00

mom's picture from rome

2009-04-15T18:31:00.001-07:00

Random pictures

2009-04-14T13:02:00.001-07:00

Granny, this one is for you

2009-04-11T21:38:00.001-07:00

The many faces of Jack Jack

2009-04-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

2009-04-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

playing with photoshop

2009-04-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Videos GALORE!

2009-04-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Jack says, "WAAAAARRR EAGLE!"

2009-03-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Visit to Great Maw's House

2009-03-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Jack and I are in Montgomery visiting Great Maw. She bought Jack a swimsuit to take on our trip to Orlando next month. We decided to take some pictures in the backyard today.

I'm on a roll!!

2009-03-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

The weather here in Georgia has been absolutely gorgeous. The trees are flowering and today it was 85 degrees!!! So I took Jack to Fort Gordon and took some pictures at Barton Field. This big parade ground is surrounded by flowering trees. We had fun, and all of the sunlight wore him out so he's having a really good nap right now. :)

New video!!!

2009-03-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Jack's just doing so many cute things lately! Today I got him on camera doing what I *tried* to get him to do yesterday: WIGGLE.

He also has started waving "Bye Bye"...if you hold up his arm....for whatever reason I can't get him to do it if I don't hold his arm up for him.

Anyway...here it is:

Long time no bloggie.

2009-03-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I'll put a video from today. I'll title it: "ppppbbbbbllllllllllltttt!"

Jack's New Big Boy Carseat

2009-02-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

6 month stats!!

2009-02-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

Jack went to the doctor on his 6 month birthday for a well baby visit. He looks good and is doing everything that they expect for his age. However, we're still battling weight gain problems... :(

Weight: 13lbs 7oz (less than 3%)

Length: 26 inches (25%)

In the last four weeks he has only gained 1 ounce. So we were instructed to feed Jack as much as he will eat (only after he has nursed). I have been giving him bottles of pumped milk after he nurses during the night. He loves sweet potatoes, but those don't have very many calories, so we introduced Avocado today! Taking after both of his grandmothers and mommy, Jack LOVES Avocado! Just for comparison, sweet potatoes have no fat and only 40 calories in a Jar. Avocado has lots of good fats for brain development and about 150 calories!!!

Here's a picture from Jack's play date with sweet Emmy the other day. He would smile and smile at her everytime she would look at him. It was so cute!!

First Food!

2009-01-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

After much debate, we decided to go ahead and start solids (sweet potatoes) today. Jack will be six months old on Friday! Here are some pictures:

Before the carnage

Not sure what to think yet...

Getting impatient for more

Loving it!

mmmmmm...Mommy this is good!

After the carnage:

DD, this one is for you!

2009-01-26T11:12:00.001-08:00

Like mother like son. :D

DD's visit plus SNOW IN GA!

2009-01-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

Fun with Daddy and other pictures

2009-01-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

We love how Jack does this thing where he opens his mouth whenever you kiss him:

A friend of mine has an embroidery buisness and she embroidered a diaper for Jack. You should all go check out her business at: www.hyenacart.com/elephanttrunks
We got this for Tim's reenlistment ceremony (even though no one will see it, we still thought it was fun). We also got a bib and a onesie. :)

A cute one from his exersaucer today!

Jack's New Towel

2009-01-10T20:34:00.001-08:00

Christmas!!!

2008-12-28T22:56:00.001-08:00

So in Texas, Jack had a lot of people to meet! Here is MeMaw (Tim's mom's mom) showing Jack the tree!

When mommy was supposed to be getting ready to leave for Dallas, she couldn't resist taking some pictures of me in my Christmas outfit!

In Dallas, Santa brought lots of goodies for all the kids!!

Jack with his Santa stash!

READ MY LIPS: MY TOYS!

Pupa (Tim's dad's Dad) with all the grandchildren sans Ezra (who is in Bangladesh). From L to R, Camryn, Audra, Pupa, Jack and Ellie.

Sweet Ellie comforting a Jack who was sick of picture taking...

Audra kissing Jack. <3

Lots of pictures and presents makes for one tired boy.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. We're in Texas with Granny and Grandpa, so there likely won't be any updates. I'll leave you with this pic of the little guy in front of the tree. :)

Bad Blogger Mommy!

2008-12-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts...things have been crazy with the holidays plus Mommy got the flu. :(

So...to recap...

Jack had his four month check up! Big boy stats were:

Weight: 12lbs 3 oz (10%)

Length: 25 inches (50%) --I personally do not think this was correct as Jack was not straight or lined up correctly...

The doctor said he is doing well and gaining weight fine! Yippee!!

On to the pictures, which is what is the only fun part of the blog anyway...

This is Jack saying goodbye to DD after they visited for Thanksgiving...

Jack in his "kickin' it old school" shirt..
Being cute and showing off his baby blues for Mommy's camera.

We had some family photos taken while everyone (but Uncle Brandon :( ) was in town.

Uncle Jim, Aunt Elise, GG, DD, Jack, Daddy and Mommy.

Jack got a little sleepy from all the picture taking...

Happy in the Bumbo!

2008-11-19T08:11:00.001-08:00

This is quite an accomplishment for us, as you could tell from the Monster pictures Jack usually isn't too big of a fan of the Bumbo. He's been enjoying it a lot more over the last two days and actually cried when I took him out of it today!

Granny and Grandpa came to visit!

2008-11-18T05:19:00.001-08:00

Jack and Grandpa having one of their many deep conversations.Granny and Jack before she had to leave. :( (You can see what Jack thought of them leaving...)

Grandpa, Granny and Jack on Sunday.

Granny helping mommy out with Jack's bath.

Grandpa and Jack looking out at the weather.

Visit with Great-Maw

2008-11-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Keri, Great Maw and Jack
The cousins: Whitney, Hunter, and Keri

Jack loving his first real tub bath!

My little drooler:)

Great Maw and Jack

We went to Montgomery to meet Great-Maw (Keri's paternal grandmother). It was a very fun visit as we also got to see Aunt Brenda, CW (Cousin Whitney), and Hunter (who just got back from Iraq in April!). Jack also enjoyed his first, full-on big-boy bath! At our house we can't give him a real bath in the bath tub because of shower door issues. But in Montgomery he got to splash and splash as long and as much as he wanted and he LOVED it! It made us very excited to move so we can get a house that he can take a real bath in.

More Monster Pictures

2008-10-29T13:15:00.001-07:00

Jack's Halloween Costume

2008-10-28T18:51:00.001-07:00

We had a little meltdown at the end...

Pics from Today

2008-10-25T19:50:00.001-07:00

Jack discovered his hands over the past week or so. Really just his right one. But he sure loves it!!!

Finally caught the stinker smiling more!!! Doesn't it just make you wanna kiss him??

Tim v. 1.0 and Tim v. 2.0

How cool is this picture I took during his bath tonight? He loves to look at himself in the mirror. He's so vain. ;)

In other news, Jack has been eating much better over the past 24 hours or so!!! He actually seems to like eating now, which is a HUGE accomplishment!! We're very thankful for the new medicine. Please keep us in your prayers that he'll continue to gain weight and like eating more!!

"Two Month" Stats

2008-10-23T21:00:00.001-07:00

So, one of our pediatricians is on maternity leave meaning to make a well child visit you need to call about 3 months in advance. Since I thought we were going to be on base for our pediatrician, you can see where the problem is. So our "two month" appointment was yesterday when Jack was exactly 12 weeks old. Here are the stats:

Weight: 11lbs 6 oz (10-25%)
Length: 23 inches (10-25%)

His weight gain hasn't been so stellar so they started him on another reflux medicine (Prevacid) to try to help him eat better. I hope it works soon since I had to stop the Zantac and I can tell he seems to be hurting more right now...

Other than the weight gain, the pediatrician said Jack looks great! He is doing everything he should be developmentally and then some! Hopefully we can get the weight thing under control soon. We know he likely won't ever be enormous or anything, our goal is just for him to maintain along a single curve (for instance, stay on the 25% line).

He continues to be a very happy baby and such a great sleeper! He sleeps anywhere from 8-12 hours every night. Napping is great if he has a snuggle buddy (read: Mama). Napping solo is something we're working on, he'll do it, he just wakes up sooner than if he is snuggling with me.
Now, done with the boring stuff, onto the fun pictures! I have pictures from when Amy and her mom came to visit as well as Jack in his new Bumbo seat. I got Jack to take a good solo nap today, and I'm sure y'all will be amused with how I pulled it off. ;)

Harding Roomies:

Aunt Sheree, Amy and Jack:

What you lookin' at?

So one of the ladies at church taught me this. Jack has totally reached the age where he loves to look around too much. So when he is completely exhausted he will still look around but cry too. If I put a burp cloth or blanket over his face (while rocking him, etc) he will go to sleep in less than 60 seconds. Literally. It's like he just needs me to help him tune everything out. So anyway, like I said I haven't been very sucessful at good solo naps, he just keeps waking up. So while I took care of some things today, this is how I got him to stay asleep. When I put him in the chair, he woke up, but as soon as I put the diaper on his face he went back to sleep. So I uncovered room for him to breathe. He would wake up occasionally, but would go right back to sleep. If it hadn't been there, I guarantee he would never have gone back to sleep.

Jack being silly with Mama the other day:

Trip to Minnesota!

2008-10-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

We're home and Jack is officially a GREAT little flyer! Too bad he still hates the car though. :( I had zero problems with him on the plane, in fact, thanks to our Wrap 'n Wear, he slept the whole way both trips minus waking up to eat. :)
Here are some recent pictures:

DD and Jack in his first NWA World Club (for frequent fliers):
DD and Jack in the outfit she got him in Paris
Tim modeling the benefits of the wrap 'n wear before we left for MN.

Baby Girl Geier and Jack's first date. :)
Jack's first MN bath.

You don't know Jack! (At a restaurant called Mad Jack's)
Jack smiling at GG!!! FINALLY ON CAMERA!!!
Jack in his fireman jammies with his uncle, the fireman!!!

Beware of the BABY MONSTER!!!!

2008-10-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

With Halloween quickly approaching, Jack finds himself getting into character:

Great Grandma bought Jack a new carrier since he is outgrowing his sling. He likes his wrap 'n wear A LOT!
Here is a 2 month photo: (Outfit is courtesy of sweet Brittany, a friend from church in Auburn)
This is Jack anticipating kisses from his monkey. Aunt Sheree was helping out with the pictures. More pictures from Amy and Aunt Sheree's visit soon!

This picture is from weekend before last when we took Jack on his first walk. We took him to see a memorial to the Confederacy...Oh the things you find in Georgia that you don't find in Minnesota!! Anyway, this was at the end of the walk and he just kept scowling at Tim pushing the stroller.

Houston, we have a roller.

2008-10-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

Well Jack is officially rolling over! He had done it once before (the day of the blue diaper pictures) but I think it was fluke and because he was really mad.

Today he did it three times in a row in both directions, then he even let me get it on camera this afternoon. I'm so bad with movie timing because you can tell it was nap time. Oh well, at least I caught it on camera. :)

More Pictures from Great-Grandma's Visit

2008-09-28T13:36:00.001-07:00

Here is Great Grandma and Jack having a conversation.

Jack sporting his first pair of blue jeans!

Keri, Great Grandma and Jack

Family picture
I love seeing his little head looking over Tim's shoulder!Off to church!

Grandma's Visit and Fleeting Smiles

2008-09-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

Jack snuggled right in with Grandma today. She is here until Monday and we're already enjoying it. :)

Here is Grandma (Jack's Great-Grandma) talking to him and we got some fleeting smiles on video finally!!

Sleepy Time Pictures

2008-09-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

Jack continues to hide his smiles as soon as the camera comes out, so you'll have to wait a little longer. However, I've taken some cute sleeping pictures recently so these will have to do. ;)

Sometimes when I lay him down (AWAKE, mind you), he will cover his eyes with his hand like this. I think when he wants to sleep, he wants to sleep and, like his Daddy, he likes it DARK!
Tim started working nights, and Jack and I joined him for a nap the other day. I got up to answer the phone and when I came back, this is what I saw:
Jack's other favorite sleeping position is to lay face straight down into the mattress. If we didn't have an apnea monitor, this would bother me a lot more. I just don't get how he is comfortable, but he frequently sleeps like this...
Since Tim is sleeping during the day, I've been trying to minimize my trips into our bedroom. I've set up a little blanket with toys, diapers, etc upstairs for us to hang out on. But I also decided it was a good time to get Jack used to his crib for daytime naps. Today, he took a GREAT 3 hour nap in his crib!!
Isn't it cute?

Hopefully I'll be back soon with the elusive smile!! If not, Jack's Great Grandma Doris is flying into town on Thursday. We're very excited to see her and will for sure have pictures. :)

More big boy clothes

2008-09-19T12:13:00.001-07:00

Can you tell he was hungry? ;)

Isn't it cute how he rests his face on his hands? I love it!!

Jack in his big-boy clothes!

2008-09-19T04:26:00.000-07:00

Here is Jack in some clothes that are not jammies! YAY! The shirt is a 0-3 month from Gymboree and I can't believe how big it still is on him! (It is supposed to be 3/4 length sleeves, by the way...). The pants are 3-6 month from the Gap, and obviously big. I am just not going to buy any 0-3 month pants when I know he is so close to being out of them. Honestly, the 0-3 pants he has are pretty small, but these are huge. There really seems to be no continuity between the sizes, if you ask me.

Jack kickin' it old school

2008-09-18T13:56:00.003-07:00

So I put a cloth diaper on with pins! Aren't you proud, mom??

Recent Pictures

2008-09-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take some pictures of Jack in one of his bright blue diapers against the brown background. I think they turned out pretty nice...

I wanted to document his wrinkly back again. I think it is so cute. :)

I think his eyes are starting to come into their own "Jackness" not just regular newborn baby blue eyes. I know they can still change a lot, but all the same, I love the color they are now.

Jack fell asleep eating the other day so I just left him on the pillow on my lap while I watched some TV. When I looked down again, this was the position he was in:

We survived our first cold! Luckily Mama got it way worse than Jack. I had my first real dose of how horrible it is to see your children sick. It made me understand why so many speech pathologists don't want to go back to work at children's hospitals once they have children of their own. It changes things so much!! I always knew it was hard for my patient's parents, but now I know I can't even imagine what they went/go through every day.

This is how Jack and I camped out for a few days:

Here is Jack on the phone with Granny and Grandpa finding out that they had to evacuate for Hurricane Ike:

He was so happy to hear that Granny and Grandpa returned to an intact house and were even lucky enough to have power when they got home! Please pray for everyone in Texas and Louisiana that were affected. Jack's Great-Aunt Debbie had a tree go through their house, so prayers for them would be especially appreciated.

We had a weigh in at the doctor today and Jack weighed 9lbs 13 oz!! The doctor was very happy and said we didn't need to come in anymore for weigh ins, just our well baby visits.

Also, Saturday morning we got our first real social smile. Jack smiled at both of us as we were getting him in his carseat. It was very sweet, but unfortunately we have yet to catch it on camera...

What peace looks like...

2008-09-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

Jack Talking

2008-09-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

So here is a video of Jack "talking" and being cute. Unfortunately I enjoyed our conversation a bit too long before beginning the video so at the end he gets mad at being in his carseat. But I promise, we enjoyed good conversation about politics (he thinks John McCain made a great choice with Sarah Palin), travel (looking forward to going to Minnesota soon!), and his excitement that the Iraqi troops have control of Al Anbar. :)

Jack in his wool

2008-09-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

Here is Jack in his "woolies." These were made by Tawny at Baby Bean Design. These are a diaper cover (all cloth diapers require a cover, with the exception of "pocket" style diapers or "all in one" type diapers such as the bum Genius! one-size diaper which has all the pieces in one with the ease of a disposeable! Tim uses these with ease!). They serve as an alternative to the famous plastic pants of yore. Now, plastic pants aren't used anymore, but more breathable fabrics like PUL are used to keep the wetness from the diaper off the clothes. Why a wool cover instead? Wouldn't that get let moisture out Keri? If you have these questions, read on!

Why Wool?

It is Antibacterial: In contrast to synthetics, which are commonly used as wetness barriers when cloth diapering, wool is antibacterial. The difference lies in the way the fibers wick. Synthetics hold or block moisture in its liquid state, thus creating an ideal breeding ground for bacteria to grow. Wool, on the other hand, absorbs moisture in its vapor state, easily releasing it into the air, before bacteria ever has a chance to set up shop.
It is Self-cleansing: Wool is lanolin-rich. Lanolin is a popular ingredient in soapmaking. Lanolin’s constant presence in wool, along with the friction produced by vapor-swollen wool fibers, enables the wool to perpetually scrub itself clean. On those occasions when wool gets soiled with larger particles that can’t evaporate, the lanolin content makes it a breeze to rinse those deposits away.
It is Breathable: Individual wool fibers are crimped, and this crimping creates thousands of microscopic chambers of trapped air. In conjunction with wicking away moist vapors, this trapped air enables the skin to breathe, keeping it warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. Many athletes are rediscovering this unique property of wool, and use wool year round as the ultimate technical base layer.
It is Odor-resistant: Odors are caused by bacteria growing on the fibers. Because wool is anti-bacterial: no bacteria, no odor!

Wool keeps sheep dry. Why? Wool's structure produces an elegant combination of water repellence, breathability and moisture absorbency.

At a microscopic level wool consists of a series of overlapping scales (called cuticles) which have a tendency to repel water droplets. This structure, in combination with a thin coating of lanolin (an oil secreted from the sheep's skin) causes water to run off the fibers. (The duck's back effect is also a sheep's back effect.) Natural water repulsion makes wool a good candidate for a diaper cover.

But there's more. Many artificial fibers also repel water, but that alone does not make them a good choice for a diaper cover-a plastic bag would fill this condition. It is important that the fabric also be able to breathe, or the temperature next to baby's skin will rise. Breathability (and hence reduced skin temperature) is an important factor in preventing diaper rash. When a woven wool fabric is boiled, the fibers become entangled and they form a lofty mesh with many tiny air pockets. This process is called fulling. Fulled wool is a highly water-resistant, breathable fabric.

But there's (yet) more. There are artificial fibers that both repel water and breathe-Goretex is one such fabric. The third important property of wool is that it also has the ability to absorb moisture at a microscopic level. Beneath the water-repellent outer cuticle of the wool fiber is a highly porous core. The voids in this core can store minuscule water droplets-up to 30% by weight of the fiber itself-so that wool is able to both absorb and transmit moisture simultaneously. This is a very elegant, balanced mechanism, and there is no artificial fiber that can do this.

This threefold combination of water-repellence, breathability and moisture absorbency make wool unparalleled as a choice for diaper covers.

It is also worth noting that even if an artificial fiber could be manufactured that exactly duplicated the properties of wool, it would still be a less desirable choice. Without exception, attempts to mimic nature are highly energy and resource intensive, even if they achieve their goal. Simple wool keeps sheep dry. It will keep your baby dry too.

Guess what I did last night?

2008-09-06T02:26:00.000-07:00

I slept from 9pm to 4am!!! Mommy's trying not to get too excited. But since she has been half waking me up to eat for a while now, she's not too surprised. Sleeping on my stomach sure helps!!

What happens when Mama finds the sale rack at Target...

2008-09-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

Aren't they cute?