Halloween surprises!

Auntie Stephanie and Uncle Dan and Emory and Ellie sent Jack a package for his 1st Halloween! Here's what we found inside:

Some great Halloween art!

A cool spider shirt:









































And this card that made me laugh out loud!

THANKS GUYS! Wish we could all be together but your costumes look great - have fun!!!

Jack's Magic Spaceship

And this is how I get laundry done...





































Admittedly, Daddy gets all the credit for constructing the spaceship. I love how Jack is holding on as though it just might take off!

New toys!

Jack's gotten a few new toys over the last few days and he's really having fun with them!

































































































































It's really a lot of fun to watch him figure it all out and get upset when they get out of his reach and try everything he can to get to them back. He's growing so fast and learning even faster!

On the move

Jack's not quite crawling but he's sure finding ways to get where he wants to go! On several occassions today, he's started out in this position...playing with a few toys, on the floor, with the Boppy behind him just in case he lost his balance...
























Within minutes, he's halfway out of the Boppy...
























And then...he's completely out and on his way to somewhere...



















I suspect we'd better get to babyproofing this week!
Hope you all have a good one!

Just a few things...

that we haven't told you about!

1. Jack not only loves playing with boxes but he also really likes the chip clip collection...
























Kenny has class 3 nights a week and so I'm often trying to cook dinner and keep Jack entertained. Chip clips buy me a good 15-20 minutes! He isn't a fan of the Exersaucer anymore however. That used to work well too, but I'm lucky to get 2 minutes out of that anymore :(!

2. Jack moved up to the big boy carseat! He looks so tiny in it! He wasn't really all that excited about it on this particular day. He wasn't really excited about anything - he just wasn't feeling good. But I think he likes it a little more now. He sits up a little higher and can see out the window better. And I LOVE not having to carry that other seat around.



















3. Still no teeth but he is ALL smiles these days...

















He's dropped a bottle during the day - but is still getting about the same amount of formula, just in fewer, larger doses. He's working on the sippy cup and last night he fed himself a few cut up green beans! He's getting SO big!

4. Jack's favorite puppies, Lacy and Abigail, are sick...and Jack wants them to get better SOON!

Getting close

I'm really not in a rush for Jack to crawl. I feel certain everything will change at that point and life is pretty simple these days when I can sit him on the floor with some toys, walk into the other room and come back to him in the exact same spot. However, they have been working hard on it at school and keep encouraging us to work on it at home too. Like I said, I'm in no real hurry so we haven't worked on it at home really but I did want to see what he had learned...and...it looks like he's a lot closer to it than I thought he was! According to his teachers, once they master "rocking," they take off... (If it looks like just a black square, just hit play.)



We've also noticed in the past few days that when we put him on the floor with the toys, and come back a minute later, he's moved. He's still sitting...but he's a foot or so away from where we left him. Not quite sure how he's managing that, but so it begins...

Nice long weekend!

We made it a long weekend just to fit in as much fun as we could!

Thursday we got to see Dillyn play in the championship soccer game! She's only in 6th grade but plays on the 7th/8th grade team and they made it all the way to the championship!
























Jack cheered extra hard and shook his soccer rattle!
























Dillyn brought Jack a book about his first Halloween! Thanks cuz'!























Friday we hit the road to see Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa and Grandpa! Everyone had a great time...but mostly Jack! He really enjoyed showing everyone his books...and his smiles!














































































But most of all, he liked Great-Grandpa's recliner!





































Jack also mastered the fine art of finger foods this weekend! Well, maybe mastered is a bit of an overstatement, but he figured out how to pick up smallish pieces of food and put them in his mouth, all by himself. Prior to this weekend, we would feed him small items of table food (bananas, bread, etc) but he wouldn't do it himself. Now he LOVES being in charge!




































It helps that the Gerber Graduates puffed snacks are designed to melt in their mouths. It also makes them stick to wet hands!

















and noses...



















Saturday we drove home to and spent the evening at home watching the Hokies lose to Boston College. :(!

Sunday we did lots of chores and then spent the afternoon at the Colassacos'! Jack sure thinks Darin is funny!

















Hope you guys had a great weekend and that the week ahead is good to you too!

Get better Grandma!

Grandma isn't feeling too good...but we hope this sweet picture of her littlest boy will make her feel better!



















He's got on a Mickey Mouse suit...it was a hand-me-down from a friend of mine at work and it's adorable!

Welcome to the world Margot!

Nash has a new baby sister!

Margot Elise Pratt
10/17/08
11 AM
7 lbs 3 ounces

She's perfect!! And we're so sad that we can't be there to see her in all her newness!

Congrats to the Pratts!!

We miss you Noah!

Two years ago today we lost our little friend Noah and watched two great friends go through the most horrible event imaginable. We didn't have Jack at the time, of course, but couldn't imagine the pain they felt. Now, with Jack in our lives, my heart aches even more for them. It's a night that will forever be engrained in my mind, and one that I wish that no parents would ever have to live through.



















Noah loved balls. Jack has a football but no real regular ball. I think we'll try and get him one soon, in honor of Noah. They would have been great friends, I'm sure.
























I'm sure Belle and Darin and Connor would give most anything to be able to hold Noah for just one more minute. So to all of those with little ones, or loved ones of any size really, hold them just a little tighter tonight...

First of many

Today Jack got his first boo-boo! His teacher called me at work to tell me that he had bumped his head while they were working on crawling. I didn't really think it was such a big deal at the time but when I got to school and saw his poor little head, I'll admit I got a little choked up. Poor little guy!

I'm SURE this is only the beginning of the bumps and bruises he'll acquire...I guess I'd better get used to it!

**Update...so the story from his teacher is that they had Jack on his hands and knees and were rocking him back and forth a bit. Apparently, that's how they teach them to crawl. Once the child gets the hang of rocking in that position, they'll take off on their own. All was going well until...Jack decided to suck his thumb! That's how the bump/rug burn came to be - he fell, of course, unable to support himself with just one arm!

Get well soon Maggie!

We're sending our love in every way we can...



















Here's a rainbow we "caught" just for you!
Hope you are feeling a little better today sweet pea! We miss you and just want you home and all better as fast a possible.

Happy birthday Ansley!

As long as Ansley and I have been friends, which has been over 13 years, there has literally never been a decent picture taken of the two of us. At her birthday party Monday night, Page tried yet again, and of course, it wasn't good. So in honor of all of our bad pictures Ans, here's a few not-so-great ones of Jack...








































If only the bad ones of us were this cute...:)!
Hope your day was great!

The Great Pumpkin

Yesterday the boys took me to the Pumpkin Patch as part of my birthday celebration. It was a perfect day and we had a great time!!

Here's Jack on a very bumpy pumpkin!


















And trying to spot the very best pumpkin in the patch...























He's still smaller than some pumpkins!


















What about this one Momma?
























Oh, or maybe this one??



















Einy, meiny miney moe...


















So glad that tough job is behind us!!


















But then...we needed a few little Jack-size pumpkins too. He picked those out all by himself!



















Who needs pie??























And here we all are with the lion scarecrow!

















Kenny and I first went to the pumpkin patch in 2006 and posed with the same lion scarecrow...


















Now we just have to figure out what to carve to make a JACK-o-lantern out of our pumpkin!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS PAT!!