loving the cereal

a little mischievous

we have a step that goes from our bathroom to bedroom... jack climbed off the step and into the laundry basket. he smiled for a picture, the little stinker!

are you missing something leslie?

cake balls for hh open house

bake cake

crumble in processor

mix with frosting

dip and decorate!

he's crawling!

jack's spent quite a while doing the 'worm' around our house. lunge, up on all fours, lunge again. but, last week, he crawled on all fours! we were lucky to have the camera near by to catch our little dude:

jack's adventure in the kitchen

jack loves water, so we aren't surprised he was splashing in pepper and bailey's water bowl!

from our garden...

bath time

we got jack a nifty little contraption that helps him sit up in the tub. we've been passing on the bath, opting for showers for a while because jack didn't like to lay down. he'd shower with daddy, getting water all in his face and loved it. we were waiting for him to sit by himself before attempting baths again. he loved it! we filled up the tub more than suggested, use 'minimal water - babies have drown using this seat'. but jack loved splashing and there wasn't a nano-second that my eyes and hands weren't ready for a rescue. enjoy a video:

cantaloupe!

jack has this nifty (but difficult to clean) contraption that allows him to eat a variety of fresh foods without teeth and the fear of choking. he's had banana and cantaloupe, messy but fresh and fun! yummy :)

jack's new highchair

here's jack enjoying his high chair. he likes to watch his reflection in the plastic tray cover :) it is a lot easier to feed him now that he is locked in good and at proper table height!

jack's learning to drive...

practicing his look for his license pic
look! no hands!
beep, beep! out of the way doggies!
pepper giving a little push

happy grandparents' day!

today is grandparents' day! jack would like to wish his grandparents a great day and to thank them for being such great grandparents!

the big 7

jack is now 7 months old and as he naps, i am going to try to blog-update you on our experiences the last few months!

jack has had an exciting month! we went to pennsylvania on the 26th of august to visit super pop pop and gang in millersburg. jack was great on the flight home (slept the whole way!) and very good (about 20 minutes or so of screaming) on our way there. we were super happy with our choice to fly direct (we had debated about needing a 'break' in our travel day but thought we'd just get it over with) and our carrier: jetblue. i've loved this airline since they started flying cross-country because they are nice, not too relaxed or too snobby, they provide entire diet coke cans (i hate the deflatedness of ones that are opened and you only get a cupful), a choice of yummy snacks, and tvs at every seat! jack-jack's plan was to watch cartoons the entire way (again, we don't promote television time in our house, but jack does all he can to catch a show when he sees a tv... in some cases, like a 5 hour flight, he's fully allowed to watch as much as he wants!). we had a great visit, spent tons of time with pop pop and even took jack's very first trip to an amusement park! pop pop showed us around williamstown (where he was born and raised) the day before we left - it was really nice to have that whole day with him. we had a great time with family and plan to return next summer, too!

on to jack's other accomplishments this month... jack's been scooting around, more of lunging around but whatev., for a while now. he sees something and goes for it - fast! we've enjoyed watching him improve his scooting ways and were admiring his ability to worm his way around pop pop's porch when he sat up! he was on the floor, then up like a big kid in a split second! it was so cool pete and i were there at the same time - i feel like jack knows to show off new skills when we're both there. like he practices in his crib until he's got it, then waits until pete gets home to surprise us! we had a mini-celebration adn jack thought it was funny. i have to say i had a moment... i've been watching and loving him, playing with him, learning with him all this time - almost seven whole months - and he's been this cute little bean pod. then the bean moved. but always on the floor - ground level. now you can turn around and he's sitting up looking at you like he's 10 waiting for a hamburger or something. it's amazing, and another reminder that he's growing fast. so fast. but it's fun and it happens, so we're taking it all in, every single minute, every single new skill. we celebrate, take pictures, and watch the new skill fade as it is mastered and a new one makes it's way into his repertoire.

another, much anticipated moment occurred on our vacation, too. baby jack-attack (and now he can really attack) got his first tooth! the bottom right tooth was discovered on sunday morning. i have been obsessive about checking his mouth since he was three months old. a day doesn't go by that someone asks 'is he teething?'. maybe it's just me and the way jack is, but i never knew. there were no signs i can thing of...(just read the 6th month blog and i guess i saw signs!) he wasn't extra drooly or chewing more than he's been for the last 4 months. he wasn't cranky or not sleeping. he didn't get a temperature or tug at his ears, but alas! a tooth. now i know that when someone asks that question, the answer (with confidence) is 'yes, he is!'

jack has also moved along in his food - tyring oatmeal and bananas! he loves food, so we're super thankful, every new food has been welcomed into his little tummy. we're going to try cantaloupe and avocado this coming week (well in the next 10 days, can't expose them to more than one new thing every 5 days, in case of reaction, you can determine the source!).

here are some pics:

baby jack celebrate's his half-birthday today!

a couple weeks ago, sporting his 'rush theta chi' onesie from ryan smith

jack-attack, our little scooter-mctooter, is 6 months old today! i had the moms at stroller strides sing him 'happy half-birthday' to celebrate :) i don't have any photo's of his big day, and he's sleeping right now, but look out for them coming up. and if you're a little anxious, check out les' experience with him last week!

we have completely skipped out on blogging because jack is soooo much fun! we've always loved playing with him, from day one, but those days entailed a bit more napping than playing. now, look out! jack is scooting around the house (kind of army crawling, but not really, we're actually not so sure how he moves so fast), grabbing toys, flipping over, chewing, laughing, eating tons, and attacking bailey every chance he gets! he's not quite crawling yet, but he gets on all fours and lunges forward, falling face-first with his arms at his sides (he gets pretty far), then he's up on his hands again preparing for the next lunge. it is sooooo cute! pete and i really have to get that 'baby-proofing' going A-sap! he's started on solids, which most of you probaby learned from leslie, again. man is she a great aunt! he is enjoying rice cereal (weird, that stuff is gross), carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and coming soon...PEAS! he loves his food, i tell ya. AND, he might be teething - this process takes a while, i'm told, but he hasn't been 'himself' lately = crying more (not a cryer), making a sideways popeye faces, and smacking his gums together. finger chewing, thumb chewing, and chewing on ANYTHING he can put in his mouth has increased, also. i don't want the little guy to be in pain long, so i hope those teeth pop out soon (and we're ready for our same ol' jack-attack to come back = no crying!).



all in all, jack is a complete joy! 3-6 months has been the ultimate in new babyness! they smile, learn something new every day, have a routine, and are just plain old happy :) i am sure we'll say this about every age, but we don't know any better now, every day of the last 6 months has been fabulous. we love you jack (at any age, we promise, it's just so fun having you grow up before our eyes)!

table refinishing by l & j

sand away, leslie!

in house, ready for paint - way too hot outside!

roll it out!

mixing in floetrol, the best additive on earth! it makes strokes smooth, so there are little-to-no lines when dry!

these are the pics i have from my table refinishing adventure with leslie. i will post a picture of the finished product soon.