10.30.2009

Gurgles

Jack is doing great! Ever since he turned two months old on October 17, he's been going 9+ hours between feedings overnight. I was waiting to write about it for fear of jinxing it, but it looks like the sleep is here to stay!! He often wakes up once or more, but we just have to put his pacifier back in his mouth and he's right back to sleep. I'm so happy this happened before I have to go back to work a week from Monday (sniff, sniff), so I won't be a zombie like I expected!

He is getting so strong - very good at holding up his head and loves to sit up (with assistance, of course). He's making all kinds of fun noises now - you can tell he's really trying to hold a conversation with you because he makes really good eye contact when he's "talking." He stayed with my parents last night while Jason and I went to the hockey game and they took this cute video, which perfectly displays his favorite sound, the gurgle!! He's doing this ALL the time - we love it!!

10.27.2009

Cousins

We celebrated our niece Paige's birthday last night - can't believe she's turning 10 today!! She's having (in her words) the "coolest party ever" on Friday. She got to invite about 20 kids for a costume/birthday party and their basement is all decorated with black lights and ghosts and spiders, etc. She is so pumped. Cute. I'll probably have some more pictures to post after the big party.

Last night I finally got a picture of all the cousins together!! I think it turned out pretty cute! Taylor, Lily, Jack, Mia and Paige:
Lily, Jack and Mia:The birthday girl! I was too slow taking pictures, so I made her pretend to blow out the candles again:
Grandma Clayton and Jack:

More Friends!

Jack met another friend last week - my friend Joan brought over her daughter Molly, who is about 2 months older than Jack. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to get out the camera - bummer!

We also went to visit Reghan again - she's doing great! Such a cute baby girl!

I love this picture - it's like Jack is imitating her pose!Here's Jack with the Lade doggies - Tia and Remy:One of my favorite things - when babies sleep with their arms in the air!Here's our big boy getting much better holding his head up in his Bumbo seat!

10.20.2009

Off the Charts!

Well, it's official...our son is off the charts!! Jack had his 2 month check-up today, and he weighs 16 lbs., 14 oz., which is pretty far off the charts! He's 24.5" long, which is the 92nd percentile and his head circumference is 16 1/4", which is 79th percentile. The doctor said no worries about his size, he's just going to be a big boy.

He did warn us that he might not roll over anytime soon since he has so much weight and cushiness - too funny.

Jack also had 4 immunizations today. The first was just a liquid they squirted in his mouth and was painless, but the other three were not as easy! After the first shot, he had a look of shock, and after the second and third quickly followed, he let out a piercing, heartbreaking wail. I picked him up immediately and gave him his bottle and he was good to go, but not before Mommy and Daddy shed a few tears. I think it hurt us more than it hurt him!

The rest of the check-up went well - the doctor said his head control/neck strength is great and everything else looks good. We asked about his excessive spitting up, but the doctor said as long as he's gaining weight (clearly is), isn't fussy (rarely is) and is consistently filling his diapers (no problem there!), then it's not an issue. Phew!

Pumpkin Patch

One more post about our busy weekend! We went to the pumpkin patch Sunday with all of Jack's cousins. It was a really neat place with all kinds of stuff for the kiddos to do: a big maze, a train ride, pony rides, slides, tire swings, lots of little animals to see, etc. It was a fun time. Unfortunately, Jack slept through it, but next year, he will enjoy exploring all the fun activities!

Paige, Lily & Mia:Mia & Lily playing in the corn box (like a sand box but with corn kernels instead):Paige & Lily going down one of the slides:Lily & Jack posing for pictures:The Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch (that's what his shirt said):

Quality Time With Aunt Kelly & Uncle Greg

Also this weekend, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Greg were in town for a wedding, so Jack got to spend some time with them. He hasn't seen them since he was a week old, so it was very exciting. We mostly just hung out at our house and my parents' house, but we also went to the winery for a bit on Saturday. It was a little cold and noisy, so a little too much stimulation for the little man. All in all, we had fun though!

Aunt Kelly & JackUncle Greg & Jack hangin' out on the balance ball:Jack and Grandpa:Play time with Aunt Kelly & Uncle Greg:All bundled up with Grandma at the winery:Me, Kelly & Dad:

10.19.2009

Another New Friend

Jack finally met his New York girlfriend!!! Giana and Alison came in town this weekend for a visit. Poor little Giana had a rough go of it with some tummy issues and was just out of sorts with the travel and routines being out of whack, BUT she is absolutely adorable!! Despite being 2 days older than Jack, she seems like such a peanut next to him! We'll find out for sure this week when both of them have their 2 month check-ups, but my guess is Jack's got her by at least 4 pounds.

I had a really nice time both Saturday night at Jen's shower/bachelorette party and today when all my girlfriends (and their kiddos) came over to visit. With Alison in New York and Amanda in San Antonio, it's been a loooooong time since we've all hung out. Fun times. Amanda and/or Emily will hopefully supply the group photos since I didn't take any, so stay tuned.

Here are some pictures of the babies from today. Cute, cute!

Ella & Lisa, Giana & Alison and Jack & me
Pretty girl Giana:Giana and Jack playing footsie:
Girlfriend & Boyfriend:Sweet Giana:

10.14.2009

Zoey & Jack

We met Zoey tonight - she is an adorable little peanut!! She is so teeny - she weighs 7 lbs., 14 oz. at 1.5 weeks, so smaller than Jack ever was!! Steve and Kate are doing well and adjusting to the lack of sleep that comes with a newborn.

Of course we took some side-by-side pictures of the little friends - can't wait until they can play together!

Two Friends, One Day

Jack is having a big day today. First, he met his new friend Reghan. Darrin and Chrissy had their daughter on Tuesday morning at 5:32 am. She weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz (same as Jack was) and is 22" long (one inch longer than Jack was). We visited them in the hospital today and now it's Jack's turn to look like the huge baby!!

Reghan is adorable! I can't believe how teeny she is - hard to believe Jack was that small 8 short weeks ago!Tonight, Jack will be meeting his new friend Zoey Kuehler who is 1.5 weeks old. I will post pictures of that meeting tonight or tomorrow.

10.11.2009

Big Boy

We did another unofficial weight check Friday night, and according to the home scale, Jack weighs somewhere around 16 lbs! Yowzers!! I can't wait for his doctor's appointment a week from Tuesday to see where he falls - I bet he is off the charts.

My friend Stephanie had her baby yesterday! Owen and Jack will have to get together to play after Stephanie & Brandon move back from Louisiana!!

Chrissy is being induced first thing tomorrow morning - more news on that when I have it!

Maggie could not get close enough to Jack the other day while Grandma was holding him - we're starting to think she thinks she needs to protect him when others are holding him. She only does it when someone is holding him that is not Jason or me, but she just has to sit RIGHT on top of the person.
Jack's audition for the next eTrade commercial:Just looking cute today:

10.09.2009

At Long Last...A Real Bath!!

Well, Missouri sports left something to be desired last night, with all three teams losing their games. However, we were ecstatic about the loss that occurred at our house - the umbilical stump is FINALLY gone!! I almost cried I was so excited - the poor little guy is 7.5 weeks old!!!

This morning we gave him his first real bath! He was a trooper - he liked being in the water, but cried the first few times I poured water over him - I don't think he knew what to think. He got used to it though and I think he liked it in the end.

We only had two pee incidents - one in the bath and one as soon as he got out - I suppose it could be worse and probably will be in some future bath.I put him in his ducky bathrobe after the bath (he wanted to snuggle so he didn't feel like smiling for this picture). Amazing what a difference 7 weeks makes!

First sponge bath - 8/23/2009:
First real bath - 10/9/2009:

10.08.2009

My New Mission

I started my new mission today - lose this jiggly belly! I think I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but that is NOT my goal weight (I was carrying some extra lbs. prior to that) and I certainly do not have a pre-baby body!! Jack, Maggie and I have been taking walks, but today I got on the dusty treadmill and ran. It felt good!

Some Jack snippets:

We tried to bring our Cardinals good luck last night by putting him in his Cardinals sleeper even though it's a bit too big. It didn't work. :(We gave his Bumbo seat a whirl this morning, and determined that he's not quite ready - getting close though!This is how I found him Wednesday morning when he woke up. Poor little spitty man!!
Tonight is a big night for St. Louis sports - Game 2 of the NLDS is on now, followed by MU vs Nebraska and the Blues home opener. Go Cards! Go Tigers! Go Blues! My Thursday night shows will just have to wait.

10.06.2009

Lessons Learned

I've learned a few mommy lessons in the past week or two.

1. Last week at Taylor's football game I brought a bottle for Jack and it was spilling all over his chin with hardly any going in his mouth. Not a pleasant experience for either of us. Turns out it was a size 2 nipple instead of the size 1 he was accustomed to - who knew? He could have been in a Got Milk? ad, only instead of a milk mustache he had a milk goatee. Lesson learned: always check the nipple size before giving him a bottle!

2. We are now battling a case of cradle cap. I'm told the remedy is to apply baby oil to his hair and comb out the flakes. Of course, I then bathe him to get the oil out, but apparently I didn't get it all out. When his daddy got ahold of him with still-wet hair, this is what he did to him:The bath was Sunday night and this picture was Monday morning. His hair was spiked ALL day yesterday. Lesson learned: don't let Daddy get near wet, partially oiled hair.

Jack is doing very well. He is now 7 week old. It's amazing how his little personality is starting to show! He's smiling a lot and making lots of little noises. We are having so much fun with him. He's also sleeping really well, much to my delight! He typically goes 6-7 hours after his last feeding of the evening, so I'm only usually getting up once with him.

This week's milestone was his first babysitter. Jason and I went to a wedding Saturday night so Jack stayed with Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Todd. Aside from a few tears by me when we first got to their house to drop him off (come on, is anyone surprised?), it went really well. Turns out I can survive with him out of my sight.

Jack also gained a new friend this weekend - Steve & Kate welcomed their baby girl, Zoey Elizabeth, on Saturday afternoon!! We haven't met her yet, but I will most pictures when we do - sometime in the next week or two. We are still awaiting the arrival of Baby Lade, who was due on Sunday.

New pictures of our growing boy: