Our First Christmas

Here are a few pictures from our first Christmas as a family. They are in reverse order so you may want to scroll to the bottom and work your way back up.

Well I'm a-gonna raise a fuss an' I'm a-gonna raise a holler...

Hello, friends. As Chelsea's last entry so pertinently pointed out, this has indeed become more of a media sharing site re: Jack than any kind of blog. I think it's time that changed as well, so let me tell you a few of the things we've been experiencing and THEN you can watch the video that's linked at the bottom of this log.

Jack has been evincing many of the signs of teething without too much to show for it. He got his two bottom teeth within about two weeks of each other, and nothing since then. HOWEVER, he has been drooling pools, fussing and crying (hence the 50s song title) and waking up three times a night without any other obvious reason. I'm hoping that means he's going to sprout some Bugs Bunny-esque incisors before terribly long, but maybe he's just trying to keep us on our toes.

He has also decisively identified us with our appellations; namely (ha!) he knows that if he wants our attention, to call "Mom" or "Dad" as loud as he can. We, of course, always respond; I mean, it could be URGENT! There are two funny examples here.

One: He had finished his dinner and was sitting in the high chair while Chelsea and I got lost in a discussion while doing some housework. He bubbled along by himself for a few minutes until he realized that we weren't paying attention to him, so he looked across the room and screamed, "DAD!" Chelsea and I both stopped dead, realizing this was a conscious act by him and not just babbling. Crazy.

Secondly--and more sweetly--Jack wakes up in the morning desperate for a bottle; he doesn't even know you're there until after he's had one. So I picked him up one morning at around 5:30 and gave it to him; he inhaled the entire thing in less than 2 minutes. I put him on the floor to monkey around while I tried to close my eyes for a second. When placed on the floor, he turned around, pulled himself to a standing position with the couch, and put his hand on my leg until I looked at him. He looked in my eyes, smiled, and said, "Dad." That's the best good-morning I've gotten for a while.

The video below contains quite a few cute pictures that include all the lovely folks at Memommy's party. Hope you enjoy it. Note on the song: it doesn't have anything to do with family or Christmas, but sounds lovely and I'm rereading Moby-Dick right now so a sea-shanty seemed appropriate.

Click HERE to watch the video.

8 Months

Well it seems that this blog has turned more into a picture/video book than a true blog. Sorry about that for any of you that enjoy reading more about his activities than viewing pictures. I for one always like looking at pictures more so I guess that is why I do not type much. ANYWAYS!

I am amazed at this little boy of ours, he is doing different things everyday and will be 8 months tomorrow already. I have a hard time keeping track of everything. He was crawling around the floor and pulled himself up to me on the couch just to stand there and smile at me. It just about melted me to the floor, then he tried to grab the computer and I realized his true motivation was the computer not me. teehee! He does have two teeth now and it seems like he is working on some more by the amount of drool that is dripping onto our rugs. He also is self feeding anything you give him, so far he loves Puffs, scrambled eggs, baby mum-mum crackers, and tofu. He will bang on the highchair until you give him something that he can feed himself while he eats the rest of his normal meal. This whole routine is funny to me to watch happen at least 3 times a day but he gets rather serious about it if I am not fast enough for his liking.
I am currently working a lot due to the holiday and Jack is faring well with having what almost seems like single parenting. He gets super excited if we are all on the rug together or go for a trip, it is like he cannot believe that he is so lucky to have to grown up toys that amuse him and bend to his every need. This was very evident when the cashier at walmart made the comment " I would pass out too after 2 bottles"- Jack had just polished off the 2nd a few moment prior.
This year the holidays seem extra special even with the crazy schedules and not being able to travel because it marks the first time I get to share all the experiences with him. I am sure we will take more pictures than necessary in the next month but this will be our way of sending all the fun here in Baltimore out to anyone who checks this blog. I will write more soon but probably after another milestone or two! XO!!!

But Those People Keep A-Movin'...

So...Jack is now crawling. He kind of figured it out on a Monday and by the following Friday he was screaming across the carpet getting into EVERYTHING. He loves being able to move; it's practically balancing out how much he hates having new teeth coming in. Very busy week for this guy.

Click HERE to see Jack in action!

October 2010

Hello, friends! It seems like fall has come and gone already, my favorite morbid holiday and the sharp tang of autumn leaves already departing on a too-brisk wind. Work, life, and play have been parading by in cycles, and our young man has been busier than all of us trying to squeeze the most out of every moment. Jack is so...involved that it's hard to realize he's not even a year old yet. It's hard to remember life before this guy.

Uncle Ted visited, we visited the clan in North Carolina, good times were had. Enjoy the video.

Click Here to watch!

Delicious Baby!

Jack tastes so darn good, I just can't help it. His laugh doesn't hurt either.

Click HERE to go to the video!

The Copying Game

Jack showing off his various skills in imitating and/or making his own sounds. It's amazing, a lot of the noises he makes are ones he can't do anymore. Shows how much societal conditioning can limit our abilities. Anyway, cute baby.

Click HERE to go to the video!

Tyrannosaurus Jack

Jack discovered his shadow the same week that we tried out the Johnny Jumper. I don't know if he's roaring just to amuse himself or if it's actually at the shadow, but it's pretty hilarious to watch. He was really enjoying himself.

Click HERE to go to the video!

And I Like You

So, it finally worked! The link below should lead you to Vimeo, a video hosting site that provides MUCH better quality for our slideshows than the native feature on blogger. So open the link below and push Play to enjoy the newest pictures of Jack, even at full-screen!


http://vimeo.com/14971708

The Bug Returns

So I know it's been a while; sorry, there's been a lot going on! But finally I have found the time (right before school kicks back in, no less) to put together a new slideshow for your Jack fix. If you want any of the pictures individually, I might start posting albums on Facebook as well; let me know and I can start posting them. Until then, here you go. If you dig the tunes, it's Bobby Darin; and if you're wondering about the title of this post, Jack's nickname is "Bug" or "Buggy." Enjoy.

Do you have anything besides Mexican food?

So, Jack has reached two big steps this week: he slept all the way through the night, AND he began eating real food! On Wednesday we had him try rice cereal with a little milk mixed in, and after about three bites he totally had it. As you'll see in the video below, he turns into a lizard at meal time now; with all that tongue-flicking, I wouldn't be surprised if his pediatrician found a Jacobsen's organ in his head somewhere.

J3

Jack in June & July!

The slide show below includes some pictures from the past 2 months. It includes many "first times" and his love of taste testing items. Jack experienced a pool, fireworks and a park walk in the baby carrier in these 2 months. He was unsure about the pool, dazzled by the fireworks and loved the park walk. The trees were his favorite it seemed as he did not stop looking at them the whole time we were wandering. This little guy also has figured out rolling over, if you have not viewed the video just look down the blog. Now every time it is floor time he goes for a record of how many times he can do this new trick. The only problem is he cannot get back over but I do not think it will be too much longer until he gets that too. We will be moving in 2 weeks so I will post some new nursery pictures as soon as it is set up. Jack will be getting his own whole room, no more splitting it with mom!

Like...well, like a rolling stone.

So, through some serendipitous happenstance of circumstantiality, I was actually present, aware, and with my camera-phone the very first time Jack ever rolled over all by himself. Mommy was at work, I was doing dishes and watching Futurama, and Jack was amusing himself on his butterfly mat. He'd been working himself into a sweat for days trying to do it, and I looked over and just somehow knew this was the time. I hit "Record," and sure enough there he went. Enjoy.

This is the first draft of his speech.

So Jack is absolutely determined to make himself understood. He is such a verbal baby, and some days are just crazy as he talks to get attention, makes noises to let us know if he's happy or need something, or just engages in conversation with his doting parents. On the 5th of July we went over to Aunt Lynn's and Uncle Paul's house for a party, and I've never heard Jack talking so much. It continued later that day, as we went home and he blabbed at Mom for half an hour. Below is the video we nabbed.

A few choice moments.

I made a quick slide show with some of the fun moments we had in New York with Dad, Mom, Matthew, Jazz, Sally, and Mary Grace. We had a nice, long break and Jack has been crabby since we got home because he doesn't have as many friends to play with! So for those of you who were around--know that you are certainly loved!

Everybody's Talkin' At Me

Jack is trying SO HARD to talk. He stares intently at your mouth as you form words, waits until you're done, and then either imitates you or tries out some of his own words. The funniest part about it is that he apparently hasn't separated talking and body motion, because whenever he's "having a conversation" his arms and legs are motoring like he's about to lift off. Below are a few examples. Sorry about the camera angle on the close ones; I forget which corner of my phone has the camera lens on it. Enjoy!