Helping with Chores

Even though he's feeling under the weather, Jack has been so helpful lately. He loves to pull out the dishwasher racks for mom so she can put the in all the dirty plates and cups. He also enjoys clearing the table (and by "clearing" I mean placing everything on the floor).

Looking at these pictures you probably wouldn't guess the poor kid was on a tylenol high after having a 102 degree fever that morning. He's been battling his first double ear infection this weekend. Luckily we made it to the weekend clinic just before they closed and now have some killer antibiotics.

 

Making a Mess

So, one of Jack's favorite things to do these days is make a mess. He loves to pull all of the books off his shelf...all of the toilet paper off the roll...or all of his toys out of his toybox. So, mom is learning to love putting all the books back on the shelf...rolling all of the usable toilet paper that he hasn't eaten back on the roll...and throwing all the toys back into the toybox.

This bottom picture here with his books is such an accurate potrayal of where you can find him most days. He LOVES his books. Maybe he gets his love from his Papaw who has boxes and boxes of books in his basement and salivates at the thought of a trip to the bookstore. Or maybe he's just going to be a geek like his mom, who knows.

 

9 Months Old and Feeling Good

It seems like in just the past two weeks we've seen this enormous change in Jack. While he was once a shy, serious fellow, he's now turning into a very animated pretoddler. He laughs and smiles ALL the time these days...mainly at his goofy father. He loves his school and especially enjoys Mondays when he gets to hang out with the Toddler class (he's the only infant that attends on that day). He continues to grow like a weed. At his 9 month checkup last week he was 31 1/2 inches long (off the charts) and 23 lbs 11 oz (90th percentile). Whoa! I'm needing him to learn to walk soon before I have to enlist the help of a physical therapist. We just purchased some fancy new fall clothes in size 2T. He's pulling up and standing all the time now. I'm thinking anyday now the older girls in his class will motivate him to take those first few steps. We'll keep you posted...

 

Our Child Does Smile!

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While Jack likes to keep his silly side hidden from the world, he finally allowed me to capture some footage of his goofiness last night in the car. Everyone is always telling us how serious he is around them but THIS is how he acts with the two of us. If you look closely in some of the pictures you can see his new teeth! He is so proud of them! Tomorrow he will be 9 months old! Where does the time go? 

Two More Teeth!

After weeks of hard work and crazy chewing, Jack is finally the proud owner of two upper central incisors! They are just barely poking through the gums but you can definately feel them if he gets a hold of your finger. So, that brings his tooth count to 4. According to Nathan's baby book, he had 8 teeth by his first birthday so we'll see if Jack can catch him. He's half way there.

Grandpa and Jack

Nice hair. Can you tell he just woke up?


This past week Jack's Grandparents and Aunt Lainee came to stay with us for a few days. It was during that time I realized that I had NO pictures with Jack and Grandpa...so I attempted to snap a few. We couldn't quite seem to get Jack to smile and look at the camera at the same time. He's too preoccupied these days with his new ability to clap his hands together.

We did have a great weekend with my folks, though. Jack handled the intrusion far better than his previous experience with Nathan's family. I think preschool is helping with the "stranger anxiety" phase he's been experiencing these past few months. Jack came away from the weekend with a new swing on our porch (Thanks, Grandpa, for all your hard work!), a fancy halloween costume (Thanks, Grandma, I'm going to be so cute!), and a new appreciation for women who look like mommy (Aunt Lainee, I'm so glad you were a familiar face!).

 

Standing Tall

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Notice anything new in the video? Everything may appear normal...however, if you look closely you will see that Jack is STANDING in his crib and we didn't put him that way. Looks like he's starting to pull himself up. I was just walking by his room to put some towels away in the bathroom and glanced to the side and was like "wait a minute...something doesn't look right". Last week he conquered going from crawling position to sitting and this week he's standing. It's all going too fast! Pretty soon he's going to be lugging around his frail old ma. This just means more mischief and fewer naps!

A Full Recovery

Jack so excited about his new clothes from Grandma and Grandpa.


So Jack has made a full recovery and feels so good this week, we can barely keep up with him. He's crawling everywhere now but still isn't up on all fours. He's content with scooting on his belly (and actually has rugburn on his left knee from using it to slide across the carpet). His new favorite venture is rearranging all of mom and dad's books on the bottom of the bookshelf. He places them in really pretty patterns across the living room floor. He's also saying "mama", "dada", and "baba" now but really doesn't know what they mean (at least that's what we think); however, the other day nathan came home from work and when i asked Jack who was here, he said very clearly "DADA". So, maybe he is a genius! They say boys inherit their intelligence from mom so it would make sense.

Jack's First Cold

So, after a whirlwind trip from his Nana, Papaw and Uncle Mike, Jack was so exhausted he developed his first cold. He's spent the past few days with a low-grade fever and lots of coughing. I even got vomitted on one afternoon. Oh a mother's love! The saddest part of all was having to leave him with a babysitter because Nathan and I HAD to be at work. Yuck. But he survived and is currently on the mend. No fever today and the coughing episodes are reducing. So, mom and dad are finally able to rest a little easier (it was tough on us seeing him so sad).

 

Jack's Idea of Fun at the Park

Not too long ago, I took Jack to the park. And while he didn't want to swing or watch any of the other kids playing on the slides, he did have a good time eating the grass. He's an easy guy to please. I love this bottom picture with his little grass goatee.

 

Heat Wave

Because of the soaring temperatures, we've been doing everything possible to keep cool. This means lots of time in the water for Jack. You can tell he doesn't seem to mind.

 

Back by Popular Demand

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing Because the videos were popular with the grandparents, we're posting a few more. Nate was so proud he actually caught these smiles on tape.

A New Toy

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Seems that Jack has found a fun new game this week.

Mommy and Jack

I realized the other day that there weren't any pictures of Jack and I on the blog so I decided to change things up and post this one. We almost have a smile out of him here (he's pretty camera-shy).

 

Our Boy is Growing...

It's really crazy to think of how quickly Jack is growing and learning new things. He's no longer dependent on us to help him sit up and get from place to place. Now he can conquer restaurant high chairs and be an active (excuse me, VERY active) participant during mealtime. We instantly sit down at our table and scan and remove all items which he could harm or vice versa. Usually he's able to locate a hidden gem that we missed. His hands are so quick!


The changing table has become another battleground where he's already learning to test Mommy's patience. He no longer wants to sweetly lay still and gaze into his Mom's eyes while she cleans his bottom. Now it's all about how quickly he can turn over and grab for the wooden rails and start chewing once the diaper comes off. So, I'm having to compensate by putting the diapers on backwards...which is no easy feat. (By the way, this picture makes him appear gigantic. Somedays I forget that he's all that big.)


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And now he's finally crawling! It's still kind of a "bear" crawl but it definately gets him around...and gives him even more freedom to be into everything. I came home from work today to find a messy living room. His Pops was so proud because Jack was actually able to make the mess by himself. I guess that is a good thing. And while I'm sure the noisy participation at restaurants, the crazy changing table manuevers and the constant messes in the living room may get old, for now they are a sweet testament to the milestones of a growing boy.


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Jack's First 4th of July

Everyone keeps asking us how Jack spent his first 4th of July. Well, we like to keep things exciting and unconventional here at our house so instead of fireworks, parades and barbeques, Jack was able to help Dad do the laundry and tidy the house while Mom went to work for 12 hours. And then we all fell asleep by 9 p.m.. Happy 4th of July! Maybe next year we can mow the grass or polish the silver to commemorate our country's freedom.

 

Like Father, Like Son

Jack and Daddy modeling their Red Sox hats.
Jack is still waiting for the day when his will fit. Maybe next season.

 

Henry

So, this is my friend Henry. He's a hippopotamus. I don't really know what that is yet but mom and dad tell me it's a pretty cool animal...and I believe them because Henry is indeed a pretty cool friend. He keeps me company at night in my crib. In fact, we've become so close that I have a hard time going to sleep without him. Thanks, Jon and Janna, for sending Henry my way. I think our house would be filled with many sleepless nights if he wasn't here with me.

 

Grandma's Visit

This week I was so happy because Grandma came all the way from Missouri to see me. We did all kinds of fun things. We went swimming and played with my toys. She even let me chew on her hands because my teeth have been bothering me. And even though I was grumpy this weekend because I'm getting another new tooth, Grandma didn't seem to mind. I hope she comes back again real soon. She's a lot more fun than mom and dad because she lets me stay up late and makes my cereal extra sweet. 

Rocky Top

Jack and I have been watching the World Cup together for the last couple of weeks and he seems to be enjoying it. So I thought I should go ahead and give him a heads-up about football. It was our pre-season chat. I told him that he was a Tennessee Volunteer fan. In the top picture I was telling him about the glorious 1998 season. In the bottom picture I was telling him about every season since then.
(This was posted by Jack's Daddy. Jack's Mama does NOT support the Volunteers in any way.)
 

Mom's Leaving Me With Who?

So, I officially start back on the floor tomorrow and I have to tell you that I'm dreading it. I realize that it will probably feel good to have some mental stimulation and adult conversation but I'm so sad at the thought of being away from my sweet baby for an entire day (my shifts are 12 hours)! And even though I'm leaving the Jackster with his dad, it's still hard not to think he just won't miss me a ton. I'm sure he probably won't even realize that I'm not around, as he'll still have a parent there to care for him, but I'd like to think that I make his day a little brighter and more fun. At least he's in capable hands and not with some crazy stranger or daycare (although, I'm afraid those days will probably come soon...guess I'll have to save that emotional breakdown for another day). Anyway, just think of Jack's mama tomorrow during my long day of transition back into the workforce.

(Oh yeah, and if you look hard enough in this picture, you'll notice Jack's new tooth.)

6 Months Old!

Jack turned a big 6 months old today and to celebrate we headed to the pediatrician's office to get measured and weighed and also for some vaccinations. He continues to surprise us with his growing. He was 30 inches long (off the charts...again!), weighed 21lbs 3oz (97th percentile) and his noggin was off the charts, too (but proportional with the rest of his body). During the visit, the doctor thought Jack was so special that she gave him 4 shots instead of just 1 or 2. He was so worn out following the trip to Missouri and the shots that he spent the rest of his 1/2 birthday sleeping. Happy Birthday, baby Jack! Mom and Dad love you so much we don't want you to get Diptheria, Pertussis or any other nasty bugs that might be preventable!

 

Experiencing Rosendale

Aunt Lainee pushing the swing.

Sorry, we've been away from the blog scene for a while. We took an unexpected trip to Northwest Missouri due to a death in my family. While there, Jack was able to meet lots of second cousins, third aunts, uncles twice removed, etc.