Happy Thanksgiving!

Jack was very excited for Thanksgiving...


We all sat down and enjoyed our meal; Jack was asleep (which Mommy and Daddy were thankful for because we were able to get our first helping before he woke up to join us). This mean no cold food for Mommy!

Jack was thankful for turkey, broccoli, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, crackers, and cheese.

Jack was so excited all day that he insisted on practicing running, not walking so much, but running -all day long!

Uncle Tom did not go unscathed either.

We're thankful for our new family.



Then on Saturday we threw Kristin and Rob a surprise impromptu baby shower! Because we aren't going to be able to make their actual shower in January.

By the end of the weekend Jack was a basket case. There was just so much action and excitement!

New skill: Clapping!

Thanksgiving (sub 1)

On Thursday we had Thanksgiving with Matt's parents and their super fun neighbors. Jack was, of course, a well behaved boy because there was food involved. I almost forgot he was there!

We totally dropped the ball because the car was already packed for Thanksgiving at my parents and thus the cameras were in the depths of the trunk and not used to document 'Thanksgiving (sub 1)'. Today we are celebrating Thanksgiving (sub 2) and we have 12.5 people at the table. (Because Sierra is still in utero so she counts as .5).

Double Trouble

Eric, Emily, Field, Kate and Colin showed up yesterday for a N 64 James Bond, Mario Kart tournament which we impromptu decided to host yesterday. Will less than 3 hours notice the troops rallied for an afternoon of fun.

Jack took Colin aside and explained to him the importance of having his own in-house ball pit.

Later on they had a meeting at the conference table. I'm not sure what was discussed because it was a closed door session. No lame adults allowed. Clearly, there are no pictures of us 6 adults haning out and having a good time because we're just not as cute.

Today we returned to the ball pit for some more excitement.

Monkey chased the rogue balls around the room. This was the best purchase ever! The cat entertains the baby; the baby entertains the cat and they both find the ball pit to be the most amusing thing ever.

Uncle Tom came over to hang out and we again forgot to break out the camera and prove that adults exist in the world of Jack. It is my mission to improve upon this at Thanksgiving!

I can't wait because I have many many many things to be thankful for.

Bedtime Silliness

Bread

Monster.
After consuming two pieces of bread I was chased by the bread monster; I think he was looking for more.

First snow of the year. It snowed and melted all within an hour so there was no time for cute baby pictures in the snow. Next time!

Exciting news!

I'm pregnant.

Just kidding!!

Matt finally got his 10-month overdue promotion. Hence we are now living in the Black and no longer suffering in the Red. Yay for Matt for a completely deserved increase in responsibility (and pay woo hoo!). I'm sure Matt can handle the responsibility (because he's already been doing the job for the last 10 months). -I might be a little bitter.-

In the jungle

I feel like I'm on safari lately. Trying to capiture the best shot of a wild animal (and failing miserably). This was an attempt at capituring Jack's curl (above his left ear). Clearly this was a non-success. I am also still not able to get a shot of his teeth. Not for lack of trying I just took 10 or 12 pictures yesterday of his cheek, chin, lip, and elbow. I won't bore you with all of that today.

Here is Jack enjoying his ever changing-jungle. I'm arranging and re-arranging the basement because I'm trying to find what works best (and I'm bored).

I believe Jack is amused by the ever-changing playroom furnature.

Black is the new Red. YAY!

Perspective

I'm not upside down. You're upside down.

Lil' Swimmers

Another Monday marks another swim class for Brooks, Cady and Jack (l-r). Cady being the lady that she is sat nicely while the boys splashed and played.

After swimming class we bundled up because it's cold out there! Brr!

Here is my latest creative creation. In our basement we have this plumbing access panel and we can't get rid of it, obviously. So instead of having this framed trim with nothing in it I decided to get crafty and paint a port-hole. Never mind that it's rectangular and not round.

Teeth!

Finally Jack has been able to join his peers with this exciting milestone. Jack has teeth!!

Today his two bottom teeth poked through the gums. We discovered this while on our hike to Savage Mill with Eric, Emily and Colin. When we arrived at the mill we celebrated Jack's teeth with some pints!

(The walk was 2.2 miles each way so we totally earned all the naughty food we ate and all the pints we drank for lunch.)

What's the big deal? You might ask. Well babies are *supposed to* get their first teeth (the bottom two) at 6 months. So yes, at 9 1/2 months, Jack is very pleased with himself to have finally cut his toofers!

"Kitty"

Breaking News!
We have a first word...



This just in Jack has said his first word. Yesterday when Monkey walked into the play room Jack said "Keh-keh" and I thought, ''Wow what a coincidence!' Then later that day he did it again. Well this morning he confirmed that he knows that Monkey is his "Keh-keh" because he said it again on her cue!


For the past few weeks he's been saying Ma-ma-ma-ma and Da-da-da-da but because I've never done this parenting thing before I don't count that as 'talking'. I assumed he would wake up one day and say Ma-Ma and I would know he was talking to me and he would reach for me or point to me or something to confirm that we all knew he was saying a 'first word'. Well, since this is my first time at the rodeo I needed something a little more specific than that and Jack delivered!

5 words:

Matt put Jack to bed.

Woo Hoo!

Updates

For those who spend their time wondering what's new in Jack's world... admit it, it's all you ever think about! This blog is for you.

Early Potty Training:

Jack has been successfully using the potty several times a day every day. He is still wearing diapers but he is holding it some days. Meaning: in the morning after using the potty we eat breakfast and play in the play room for 2 hours, when I go to put him on the potty before his morning nap the diaper is completely dry and he goes in the potty. This certainly doesn't happen every day but it's starting to occur more frequently.

Sippy Cup:

The search for the perfect sippy cup has been a long and arduous one. Ideally I'd love to find one that is spill proof, that he can drink from unassisted and that doesn't have Disney, Dora or Diego characters on them (Don't even get me started). We have found a cup that he enjoys drinking from and is able to drink several ounces at a sitting, but he cannot use it by himself because of the angle it needs to be held at and a serious spill-prevention initiative. So although he likes the straw one to chew on he clearly prefers the spout one for actual beverage consumption.

Walking:

Jack loves walking. His favorite thing to do is walk around the house for hours holding on to my (or Matt's) fingers. Oy! My aching back! Sometimes he will take a few steps holding just one hand but he clearly would prefer to have two-handed assistance. Place your bets now for when he will take his first steps.

Weaning:

Oh my favorite subject. I cannot wait to wean him! Why? You ask... don't you love BFing and cherish the closeness and bonding? Yes, yes that's all well and good, but I would also love to be able to leave the house for ::gasp:: an entire day, or not to be required for nap and bed times. I also, selfishly, would love to eat more than one tuna fish sandwich in a week without feelings of guilt regarding mercury poisoning. Well, it looks like Jack might also be ready for a change because for the last 4 nights in a row he has not wanted his last feeding of the day (right before bedtime). Tonight Matt is going to put him to bed without me. ::fingers crossed:: This could mark the beginning of the dawn of a new era in parenting. We'll see how it goes!

Baby Gate:

We have found that the best 'baby gate' for the bottom of the stairs in the play room is a pile of pillows! It doesn't ruin the wall and it allows us to move it or walk around it easily.

Playdate and a Shout-out

Yesterday we had a play date. The kids got a little rowdy. They look innocent.

Until their is food involved. I don't want to use the words 'swarm of vultures' but....

swarm.of.vultures.

And a shout-out to Twades, Baby A and Baby B... luckily we have a boy and a girl so there will be no switching or "oops which one is which" a la Uncle Jesse with his kids on Full House.

Happy and Healthy times two.


They go from this to that in 6 months... which makes me ask are these tricky babies sneaking in some baby miracle grow?

Weekend with the Grandparents

On Friday we went out to celebrate my brother's birthday, 11/11. Grandpa had a meeting at his old office cause they're recruiting him to help out on a project cause my dad has 'mad skillz'. My mom and I hung out in old Ellicott City.

On Saturday Grandpa got down to business immediately showing Jack how to climb over our 'Baby Gate' at the bottom of the basement stairs.

Matt had to work on Saturday so Gigi, Grandpa, Jack and I went for a walk around Wilde Lake. We found this tree with all its yellow leaves on the ground and thought, Photo Shoot!

We stopped at the park and went down the slide, went on the swings and rode the chipmunk. Jack, being the dare devil that he is, enjoyed the swing the most.

Matt and I went out to dinner for our anniversary on Saturday night. It was a complete success!

On Sunday we went to breakfast/lunch at Eggspectation. I had the most amazing muffin breakfast, the wait was long and our waiter was not great but the food was sooooo goooood.

Remember that?

Barely. I was a little sleep deprived, how tiny and snuggly my little man was.

History

Jack is excited to be able to witness history. We'll have to show him the headlines later... when he doesn't want to eat the newspaper.

Barrack Obama (and Joe Biden) was elected President in a landslide victory over John McCain (and scary, scary Sarah Palin). WOOT WOOT!!!

Check, Check, Check

Mommy and Daddy have been married for 2 years today. Lets review the special day: It was fall...

Our friends were there...

We went to the Church...

And there were sparklers!

CHECK.

We went to our local polling station and voted.

CHECK.



We went to our nine month check up.

Our big boy is 29 inches long and 21 lbs 2.5 oz. We got some shots and a hemoglobin test (hence the finger band aid).

CHECK.

We stopped in to play at Cady's and Jack got several kisses from Cady, none of which we caught on camera. Boo! But here's one of him trying to woo her!

P. S. Our friends Mike and Jen just found out they are having Baby Boy #2 and we're so excited for them! Andrew is going to have a little brother. How much fun are they going to have together?!

Pregnancy

This is Matt's attempt at understanding what it was like to be pregnant. Ha!

Tomorrow is election day and we're very excited to see how things turn out! ::fingers crossed::

Tomorrow is Jack's 9 month check up and we're also looking forward to learning how big, exactly, our big-boy is...

Tomorrow is our second wedding anniversary!

It's going to be a busy day!