Weekend fun

It was a fun-filled weekend for us!

Friday was Daddy's birthday so when he got home from work, Jack had a little present for him to open...



Since Daddy's favorite soccer team is Liverpool and we weren't supposed to spend any money, Jack and I made him a little Liverpool jersey. Saturday, when Liverpool played, Jack was sleeping in his room, in his jersey. Liverpool wasn't doing so well but as soon as Jack woke up and came down to watch the game with Daddy, they won the match!! It's a lucky jersey for sure!



Later we got to see the Weavers!





We had a great dinner and a great time with everyone, as usual. Jack got to slide across the table between Gramps and Daddy which he thought was lots of fun!




Saturday, after the Liverpool match and a lazy morning, we went back to Grams and Gramps for more time with the Weavers! They whipped up a big batch of gumbo and we hope Jack was paying enough attention that he can tell us how to make it. They lived in Louisiana for some time and make the BEST gumbo we've ever had!



If he forgets though before he starts talking, we think Patti might be smitten enough with him that she'll share it with him again...



It was a gorgeous day so we went out to play in the sun for a while. Jack loved romping through the leaves and exploring the terrain.









He's not entirely sure what to make of the pups but most of the time he really likes them!



He ran across a duck he was pretty fond of too...



The sound of the few leaves left in the trees rustling in the wind kept catching his attention. I think he and Grams were pretending to be the wind...





Gramps always gets a big smile...





The boys played a round of ladder golf.



And then there was a rousing game of shuffleboard. Jack is the only one with a straight face! We always have such a good time with the Weavers - thanks for coming to visit!



Saturday we went to see Grandma! She has lots of toys to play with...





and furniture to bang on!



Then it was time to help Daddy with opening more presents!



But Grandma got Jack a present too!



Look at him go!



He had the best time playing outside yesterday afternoon with it!







But crawling in the grass was a lot of fun too...



We hope to soak up all of this warm weather that we can...hope it's pretty where you are too!

Our Tiny Dancer

Jack stops whatever he's doing and dances when a song comes on, whether it be a song on the radio, a tv jingle or one of the many songs his toys "sing." It makes us smile each and every time he does it. We aren't sure where he got his rhythm...it surely wasn't from either of us!

Happy Birthday to Daddy & Auntie Stephanie!

Hope you guys have great birthdays!

*Note to self - do not try and get child to cooperate for picture while Jack's Big Music Show is on TV. And do not kid yourself that turning the TV off will help. It won't. (The clapping in the last picture is not for me. He's clapping to the music and I'm just below the TV.)

On one of the coldest days of the year...

Jack figured out how to take his pants off, all by himself!



I'm not at all sure what the motivation was, but it certainly wasn't the heat!

Happy snack time!

For all of my talk about not sleeping, Jack took a 3.5 hour nap today and woke up so happy! Yah for long naps and snack time!

11 months old

We're getting really close to the one year mark! Just one more (short) month! He's growing so fast, although, so far, we're still pretty close to on-track with the clothes sizes. Some of his 6-12 month pants and overalls are too short but some are still a little long and many are just right. His little feet are still too small for all of his great new 12-18 month shoes he got for Christmas!



He got 4 more teeth this month and didn't enjoy the process one bit! And neither did we! :)! He has no interest in teething rings but will chew on anything else he can find!



He looks so much older with a mouth full of teeth (don't mind the banana!)...



And just in case you can't see them...the 4 on top are new! The bottom ones are quite crooked...we hope the top ones won't be as bad!



Teeth meant more adventurous eating and the preference for everything to be in stick form so that he could bite off what he wanted. Banana sticks and waffle sticks for breakfast...YUM!



The other big story this month has been sleep...or the lack thereof. He used to be such a great sleeper but this month that all seemed to change. I assume most of it is related to teething and being sick. It's hard for him to suck his thumb when he can't breathe well through his nose, so he can't self-soothe very well. He's very good (and quick) at standing so if he wakes up or isn't asleep when you put him down, he just stands up and screams and beats on the crib railing. It's not all that conducive to him falling back to sleep without some intervention! My wish for him to want to be rocked came true, but now it seems like he can't get to sleep unless I rock him for a very long time which, while enjoyable, isn't always ideal. Sometimes the only option is to snuggle up on the couch with him. And don't get me wrong, when there's time for that, I LOVE IT...



He is fascinated by the computer, despite all efforts to steer him away from it. We are trying to teach some boundaries and he seems to understand the word "no" in that he stops what he's doing and looks at you, and sometimes will even shake his head "no." But it usually doesn't last long and he's right back to doing whatever it was he was told not to do.



He's really into playing at this stage. Such a busy body. Our living room looks like this all day...



His love for books continues as well. If left to play in his room, he goes straight for the books. He never tires of turning the pages and pointing at the pictures.






His language seems to be developing in addition to his expressions.





He copies our verbal tones and patterns. We even heard him say "ah-choo" a few times the other day in response to all of the sneezing Kenny and I have been doing! He waves goodbye and gets so excited when Daddy gets home from work or Gramps stops by to say hi during the day!

Despite the lack of sleep and cold and ear infections and everything else, he had plenty of giggles and smiles to go around this month...



I so am thankful to be home at the moment and able to hold on to this last month of baby time before we move into the big toddler world...it's all going way too fast!!

Super Bowl Sunday

We had a great time watching the Super Bowl with the Pearsons! We were pulling for Arizona and hated that they lost it in the last seconds.

Jack had a lot of fun playing in the big spinny chair!





He helped himself to the amazing food spread...and who could blame him? It was all so yummy!



He ate dinner in his own seat right in front of the tv...



and had such a good time (as usual) playing with Aunt Audrey!




He had so much fun in fact that he refused to go to bed, so we had to leave early and watch the end here at home by ourselves. Our apologies to all the other guests that had to listen to him cry at the end, but thanks for having us Eddie and Audrey!!