Jack is 9 Months Old

Another month has passed and Jack continues to grow and develop in so many ways. In fact, I think this month I saw him develop more then ever before. He is learning so many skills. I keep telling people that this is the fun baby age, because he is so interactive and it is exciting to see him learn how to do new things everyday. I enjoy everyday, but I find that I can't keep my eyes off him or he will get himself into a mess. So we are fast approaching the toddler years and that makes me super nervous! Well, here we go with the usual stats.
Nicknames: Peanut (we use this the most), Little Man, Little Stinker, Mr. Trouble

Temperament: He is starting to go into the stranger anxiety phase. He seems more reluctant to be held by others, but usually after a little time he warms up to them and is all giggles. Jack has also learned to whine. He does it all the time. If he does not want to be sitting on the ground, or he doesn't want to be held, if he doesn't like the toys he is playing with, it really doesn't matter why, but he will whine. I think it is cute, but it does get a little old to hear his high pitched squeak! He is teething as well, so there are definitely days when he is not his happiest, however I think he continues to be a very happy little boy.

Solids He Has Tried: We were going through a phase where it seemed like I could not get Jack to eat any baby food. It was always a fight basically. However, when I saw my family over Memorial Day weekend, my mom showed me what I needed to do. She basically forced the first bite in and then he was opening up his mouth for more. So that is what we do now. He has tried prunes, kiwi, chicken, corn, and green beans in pureed form. Jack is also super curious with what we are eating and starting pulling food from my hands because he wanted to eat it. So we have started to also give him small bites of our food. He has tried, chicken, bread, rice, beans, apples, carrots, yogurt, and pasta. I feel bad if I eat something that he can't try yet so I have to eat something things when he is not looking. Oh, and after visiting all his family it was basically impossible to not let him try some ice cream (in very small amounts).

Items/Toys That We Love Most: I recently pulled one of his Christmas presents out from the toy box (since he is just now old enough for it). It is an electronic toy that can be put on plastic legs. He likes to pull up and stand next to it and push all the buttons. He also really loves to look at books and flip the pages. All he wants to do is flip the pages. It is not so much about the toys as it is all about pulling them out of their basket. Or pulling the dvds off the shelf. At my parents house he liked to pull the dog toys from their box. I guess that is the most fun for him right now. He is also in love with throwing things. It is funny to see him pull a pacifier out of his mouth and just throw it across the floor. I think this is the first time that toys have become super important, especially if they have buttons on them. It is nice to see Jack grow in his interests.

First Experiences: Well, he was able to do so many new things this month. He officially sat up on his own, started fully crawling without his belly on the floor, began pulling up onto his knees and then onto his feet, and eating food from our meals. He also took a trip to NY to see relatives from his father's side. We took a plane ride to Myrtle Beach to see my grandparents since the ticket price was so good. He did an excellent job on the plane too. Jack went to the national zoo and took a subway ride in Washington, D.C. He was also able to go to a Pet Farm on Long Island with some of his aunties and his nanny. Many of the pictures included are from that trip to the farm. He showed very little fear of the animals. It was cute to see him grab at the birds.

We are truly spoiled to have Jack in our lives. I know I say that every time, but he is wonderful and I can only hope that our next child will be just as cute and fun. I can't wait to continue to see him grow up! Who knows, maybe next month he will be walking!

A Funny Video

This is for Joe's family that read my blog. I think this will give them a good laugh!

What do we do when dad is away?

Joe has been gone the past three days for a school field trip to Washington, D.C. I wish we could have gone with him, but would have had to drive separately and gas is just way too expensive. From what I hear, the kids are having a blast. Most of them come from really poor families, and through funding the school was able to cover most costs. So about thirty kids and three days of D.C. sight seeing. Joe told me that the kids were so excited to be in the hotel, because they had never been in one so nice (how cute is that?).

So what did we do? Well, not too much. I have been tired lately and it was pretty hot outside. However, we did get out a little bit too. We took lots of walks (I was unmotivated to run...boo hoo), a trip to the park, a picnic in Babcock State Park, a trip to Summersville Lake, we watched a movie, I ate ice cream. Jack grabbed at my peach at one point the try it...he did the same thing with some bread and grabbed a big piece to eat. I guess pureed food just isn't cutting it anymore. We made homemade strawberry ice cream with berries from a friend's garden, and worked in our garden.


Our picnic at Babcock State Park...that is the first time Jack kept his hat on.

We both took a bath every night, because no air conditioning makes us very sticky through out the day (don't worry we have window units in the bedrooms).

Look who is taking over the whole bed? He sleeps just like his dad with the arms out!

Southport, NC

Over Memorial Weekend, Jack and I boarded a plane headed to Myrtle Beach, SC. However, we did not stay there, but drove an hour north to my grandparents house, which is also basically on the beach. We spent two days at Oak Island beach, a day in a swimming pool and shopping at an outdoor mall, then lots of relaxed time with family. I feel like I ate way to much, but thankfully I was very diligent with a running routine (which is super important to me right now since I really wanted to lose more weight...but, well, that would be happening for a few months). Anyhow, I thought I would add some pics for my parents to see. Enjoy!

"Dad, where did your dog go? Where's Roxey?"
Oh, she is sitting in his lap...that's my dad's new favorite child!

My mom was playing with Jack...I decided not to add too many more pics from the beach, because I look so bad in my swimsuit. I am embarrassed by it!

Jack is 8 Months!

Another month has passed and it went quickly. That is probably because we were very busy at our house. We had guests at our house every weekend through the entire month of May. This past weekend I was busy helping with the New River Rendezvous, which is a big climber's festival in town. Jack was in tow the entire time and seemed to be enjoying himself. I appreciate that he takes all the craziness with ease. I often wonder if he will be grumpy from a lack of nap time or if his schedule is "off" but he continually shows off his happy personality.

Nicknames: Little Man, Peanut, Wiggle Worm

Temperament: Often times people ask me if he ever cries and I think he is perfectly natured when we are out in public, because he is so curious that he has no time to be frustrated and cry. So yes, my baby does cry, but not a lot. He will cry if he is hurt and tired or if he doesn't feel well. As I suspected last month, the first tooth has emerged, and it is taking forever to sprout. I feel like Jack might have a high pain tolerance, because he doesn't seem to be too grumpy. However, he does have serious separation anxiety when he sees me walk away. Luckily he does well for his daddy though. We are still working on the bedtime routine. Right now he will fall asleep in his pack-n-play which is in our bedroom and around 1am he wakes up and wants to be close. I think we will be working on the bedtime routine in the summer when dad does not have to work.

Solids He Has Eaten: This month has been tricky with solid food. Sometimes he just doesn't want to eat, or he just wants to feed himself, which means nothing is going into his mouth. I am trying to figure out how to increase the solids, it just seems he doesn't want them. He did get to try spinach, pears, yogurt, mashed potatoes, and rice puffs. He doesn't like yogurt very much, but I have tried it with applesauce and then it is a little more tolerable. He really loves the rice puffs, but still does not have the finger technique to get it into his mouth. It is still fun for him though. Yesterday I gave him small pieces of a banana, which he loved so today I will probably try cooking a mango to make it soft and give it to him in little pieces.

Items/Toys That We Love The Most: I love putting Jack in the jumper, since it frees my hands up to sweep the floors, make dinner, or wash dishes. Jack has learned how to army crawl, so there is no leaving him alone. Yesterday he crawled from the living room, through the hallway into the dining room and he was working his way into the kitchen. Crawling is his favorite thing right now, and with that he has discovered cords, dvds, the bookshelf, the fireplace, the floor heater, and he loves to crawl over to our dog. I am constantly working to baby proof. Oh, which means I love all the baby gates that my parents brought with them a few weeks ago! Jack loves to play with all his round toys that will roll away and he has to go after them.

First Experiences: As I mentioned above, he has learned how to scoot across the floor. Each day it seems to get a little better too. He also gets up on his arms and knees to rock back and forth all the time. It is like he is learning new things every day. He still doesn't quite sit up by himself yet, but I figure he will learn that soon and once he does he will just be pulling himself all the way up! Jack has tried his first sippy cup, but still does not like it much! And he tried the rice puffs, which I feel is a big change to his eating patterns. We took a walk to the town park one evening and he loved it when I put him in the baby swing. He was swinging his arms and giggling, which is a clear sign of excitement over here. I will have to do it again!

We love having Jack in our lives. Everyday he makes me laugh and we giggle together. I love when he crawls over to his momma, because he is tired and wants to be snuggled. It is nice to know that I'm on his favorite list. I know that one day that will change. And I am already putting plans together for his first birthday party. I can't wait!

Charleston, WV

A few weeks ago I went to a weekend conference with 11 students from the high school that I taught at. I am still the school advisor for the HI-Y club, which basically helps students to develop leadership skills. For this particular weekend we were headed to the state capitol as they acted as legislatures and had to present a bill that that they wrote, or they were lobbyists, pages, etc. Jack came with me for the weekend trip. I always have fun chaperoning these weekend get-aways and I'm always very grateful to the program that has allowed me to bring my child as well. The first picture is a shot of Jack outside of the capitol building (I believe that is a memorial for the world wars).A church right next to the biggest mall around (totally small by comparison to NoVA). It was also next to our hotel and we got to see people practicing Palm Sunday.
There was a prom on Saturday night, so many people came to the capitol to take pictures. It really is a beautiful building, but I always find this so crazy. Back in my day, we just took pictures on the front lawn. It was also especially crazy this year because they had a rained out Easter carnival in the downstairs that morning, then there were the prom goers, and we also witnessed people setting up for a wedding in the hallway before we had left for the day.

Lunch on Saturday was at the governor's house, which is right next to the capitol building. I took a few pictures inside and of the gardens. It was a stunning building.

Spring Break at the Red River Gorge, Kentucky

Don't you just love the picture above? That was Jack after he rolled all over the cabin floor. We decided to spend our spring break in Kentucky, with family at a cabin. It is a great climbing area, so of course Joe was happy to get out and try some climbing, but we also did a lot of hiking and just quality family time. Most of these pictures are from our two days of hiking, when we searched out some natural bridges. I'm still waiting for my sister to send me more pics, but this will give you a nice peek into our trip.