Things I wish I knew about before...

Teething- It's a tough time, though Jack is now able to hold the teething-chew-toy thing in his own hand and put it in his own mouth. Hurray for progress!

Baby Carriers- Ultimately the problem here is you have no baby to try out a carrier with. But seriously, these are the most creative baby carriers I have ever seen. BabyHawk The best part is that if you don't like the fabrics they have you can send them a fabric of your choosing.

Cloth Diapers- Not nearly as difficult to use or time consuming as I thought it would be. We use them at home, at the beach (away for a weekend) and on the go during the day. I really thought this was going to be a terrible hassle.

Anyone else care to share?

Yard Sale Day

Today was Jack's first yardsale. He did a great job of attracting customers, which helped his parents make some good money! I believe the term is "Mad Bank".


We are taking guesses for Jack's height and weight at his next appointment. Leave your guesses as comments!

Daddy, The Photographer

The Beach

Mommy and the Little Man

Tiny Hands

Super Baby!

Beachy Keen Part III

On Sunday: Mommy and Daddy went on a date to the boardwalk and to breakfast.

Jack didn't seem to miss us at all!

Then all 7 of us went to the beach! Jack had a fantastic time. He got his feet wet, which was a little shocking - because it was so cold. But there were no tears. Just a look that said "Oh my, that's cold!!"

Like I said - COLD!

And then just as the day was winding down, we had a terrible incident with a pacifier. Party foul.

Beachy Keen Part II

On Saturday: We went on the boat. Amy was very excited! Amy and Daddy didn't go in the water but Mommy and Uncle Tom were 'brave' or crazy enough to go tubing.




This photo was taken before the wipe out, and let me tell you- the water was very cold!

Beachy Keen Part I

On Friday: We arrived at my parents house to find the house painted it it's new fancy colors! (The house used to be brown, on brown with brown roof. Now it's creme, white with brown roof.) Soon it will have a new door, new deck and new patio.

Jack wanted to be dressed for the occasion, so he decided t wear his fish onezie.

Daddy went fishing, so we said 'Bye-Bye' and Mommy, Gi-Gi and Amy went on an adventure.

We went exploring. We saw tadpoles, fishes, frogs and lots of plants in the pond. We went to downtown Berlin and wandered in and out of shops. We ate lunch at Raynes Reef and Jack slept in Mommy's arms.

Beachtastic!

We are have a wonderful time at the beach (as per usual). We are having so much fun, in fact, that I don't have time for a real blog. We'll post pictures as soon as we return, try not to miss us too much!

Belated Posting

This Thursday marked the final official meeting of the Moms' Group. We had a guest speaker who taught us baby yoga and baby massage. Baby yoga is challenging because we did a lot of holding and lifting the baby to tone the arms. I wish I had started earlier when Jack was smaller, it would have been easier to work up my muscles as he grew. We'll find out his new stats in a little over a week.

Here's a photo of our group. Not all the Moms were there - but that's pretty normal for us. There is always someone absent because they're away visiting family, fighting a cold, or otherwise busy.

But seriously, aren't the babies adorable?!

Party!!

Happy Birthday to Mommy and Daddy! We had a party and invited some friends over for kabobs, hummus, baba ghannouj, and a good old fashioned beer tasting. The babies, of course, had a fantastic time! Here is Colin, Jack and Cady. The Ladies had a fun time with the babies, and then we left the daddies in charge and went for ice cream!

The guys enjoyed the tasting! Left to right: Matt, Kevin, Eric, Field & Tom. (Josh and Jon not pictured.)

p.s. Baba Ghannouj is spelled 4 different ways and all 4 are accepted as correct. Like Chanukkah.

Flowers

Tulip.

Tulip.

Roses.

Unknown annual (looks like a cross between a Pansy and an Orchid- But I don't remember what it's called, sorry!)

The Library

Today we went to the library for baby and toddler reading/play time. It was so much fun to see babies of all ages. Jack and his friends were the youngest babies there but they had a fantastic time singing the songs and playing along with the other babies.

Jack is a big fan of the circle song.

Colorful Jail

I imagine Jack's thoughts went something like this:"How interesting, I have been confined to a very colorful prison. My captor tortures me with tickles, singing and peek-a-boo. I have been imprisoned for several days. I hope that someone on the outside receives word that I have been imprisoned and quickly comes to rescue me. I fear I may develop Stockholm Syndrome."

Jack sure does love his Boomarings!

Happy Mothers Day!

Today is Mommy's first Mothers Day! Daddy, Gi-Gi, Grandpa and I took Mommy out for brunch.

I got dressed up, because Daddy says that mommies like it when their children look nice. You know me, I aim to please!

Mommy wated a picture of the boys. This is my handsom Daddy- Can you tell where I get my tragic good-looks?!

Wedding Day!

Today my Uncle Josh (Daddy's brother) got married! Now I have an Auntie Kate! This is the church they got married in.

The inside had lots of interesting things for me to look at. The stained glass window was especially interesting.

This is me at the wedding.

This is my Auntie Kate and Uncle Josh.

Here's one of the family. We all had a great day! I was a good quiet boy during the ceremony and I took a nap at dinner afterwards so Mommy and Daddy could enjoy celebrating the special day.

The car ride home took a long time (2+ hours) because every single road between Alexandria and Greenbelt was underconstruction. I think Mommy and Daddy were a little stressed out, but I tried to remain calm to set a good example for them.

Mom's Group

I often reference my Moms' Group as a source of support, friendsip, and knowledge. Here is a photo of many of the moms out at lunch after our Thursday meeting.



This week we met at the Howard County Central Library, which was so fun. Jack really enjoys songs, games and stories... so it was fantastic for him. As always, we moms had a great time too.

After group Emily 1, Emily 3 and I went to Lets Dish to pick up our free meals. Lets Dish is one of those kitchens where you can take cooking classes, or go to cooking parties. For all new moms in 2008 as a Mothers Day gift they're giving away 2 small dishes per baby (yes if you had triplets you get three meals). So we got some yummy food in our freezer now that I can't wait to try!

Mothers Day is Sunday May, 11. Don't forget to do something nice for the woman who brought you into this world! :-)

Breaking News

Guest Author: Mom

Jack is now rolling front to back and back to side. Peek-a-boo is the new favorite game. Jack is officially teething, as demonstrated by evening fussiness. It's getting easier and easier to read him and guess what his needs are, which is fantastic because being a new mom is tough stuff.

I've decided that there should be at least some deal for new moms. I mean we're in pain from birth, we don't look like we used to, we have a baby who may or may not sleep well, and then there is the fussiness. It seems that mother nature (or whoever) should throw new moms a bone. We don't need parenting to be easy, because it should be a challenge, it's beautiful and it's something to appreciate... but maybe we could give birth and then ::poof:: instantly have our body back... that would be ok.

With that said, Jack is a pretty easy baby, and I'm lucky to be his mom. He's a good sleeper, and when he's 'fussy' it's really not that bad. But the best part of all it he's such a happy guy, just about anything and everything makes him laugh.

Busy Busy!

On Thursday Mommy got her hair cut. She calls it her "Mom do".

On Friday we went for a walk. I wore my safari hat, and I pretended I was exploring. It was pretty hot so the walk didn't last too long.

Saturday we went to a neighbors birthday party. She turned two. It was a fantastic time!

Sunday mom tried to change pacifires on me. I'm skeptical but not entirely opposed to the change.

Daddy- the artist

In no particular order: Looking out on the St. Martin river.

In the hospital.

At Easter Dinner

Tummy Time

B&W Portrait

Three Months Today

Guest Author: Mom

Today at my Mom's Group I learned that photos are automatically date stamped. I knew this was possible in that photos would have the date imbedded in the image in the lower right-hand corner. But now I am wiser. Now I know that the data is saved to the file whether or not it is visable on the image.

As a demonstration of the power of Mom's Group - sometimes we moms share tips on getting the babies to bed, or how to deal with fussiness - today I learned about date-stamped digital images. Fantastic! Jack's monthly birthday pictures will now be shared without wasting paper and killing trees.

Additionally, my images (which are all saved in the Jack 0-3 file) are now in CHRONOLOGICAL order. How did people live before this technology?! Thanks Daddy! We went to take Jack's birthday photos today, and 'big sister' Monkey insisted on joining the fun!

This was when he tried to stand by pushing down on the chair with his feet.

And there's my happy guy!