mother's day

it was my first mother's day and it was fantastic! pete and i spent the morning together with jack. jack got me a beautiful necklace and adorable card. i cried. pete's parents & sara came by for brunch and my parents & sibs came for dinner. how fun to share the day with our moms, too. thanks to the friends who texted/called/sent cards, that was so thoughtful to think of me!

stambaugh/wadekamper wedding

family photo and dance

at the table during the reception
meeting everyone
i had pete take a picture of jack and i during the mother/son dance so i have it to show him when he gets married. i cried a little when i thought of it!

pete and i took jack to sarah & mike's wedding on saturday. he slept peacefully during the ceremony and was a perfect little baby during the reception. many guests took a turn holding jack, and he handled it so well! our tired little baby fell asleep on the way home and took extra naps on mother's day to recover. what a little party animal!!

big boy shorts

snoozing with daddy

thank you, devon!

we LOVE jack's new onsie:

cherry blossom festival

today, millersburg celebrated it's 19th annual cherry blossom festival. i was super excited about a street fair with yummy foods and plenty of people watching for jack jack. that's exactly what i got! jack strolled around collecting compliments from the locals while the rest of us checked out each food booth deciding on lunch!

the weather wasn't great, but it wasn't raining, so that was good. i thought it was FREEZING at around 62, but some millersburg natives dressed in shorts! there was even a dunk tank to raise money for the very popular football league (brrr + gross - the water was brown).

another big attraction was the 'baby parade'. i was encouraged by some relatives (who won last year) to make something up, but i decided against it. good thing, because the whole parade looked pretty embarassing. it's one thing to stand with your school cheer squad or band or whatever you fancy, but it is totally another to walk with your tiny baby in front of an entire town! jack liked watching the poor little ones getting pulled around by their parents, though.

all bundled up, it was a cold day
couldn't resist these shots

with great aunt connie

sink baths stink

thank goodness for the new bathtubs for babies! it was way too difficult to bathe jack in pop pop's sink in pa. cute pics, though!! we used to call this 'beauty parlor' when laura was little. laura was very particular, so 'beauty parlor' was a great way to get her to get her hair washed!! aunt laura helped me with the old-school bath... thanks, laura!!

i tried way too many times to get this one the right direction. sorry.

phillies game

today we went to the philadelphia phillies v. san francisco giants baseball game. jack was phantastic while we watched the giants lose in the 9th inning. great game, excellent weather, and we had a ton of phun!

you're 3 months old, jack!

dear jack,

we can't believe how fast time has gone by! you are already three months old and have learned so much! we revel at your ability to hold your head upright, how you track so many objects, you turn to us when we talk to you, you giggle, smile, and want to play all the time. you won't let us lay you down, you prefer to sit like the rest of us. your arms and legs fly around trying to explore the world around you and you definitely pull everything to your mouth (and if it isn't moving, you move your head to it with your mouth open and ready!). you've been sleeping through the night for about 4 weeks now, i just didn't mention it for fear that you'd revert back to a middle-of-the-night feeding. we are so rested, we can enjoy everything you like to share with us!

in addition to your developments, you've had a big month of other experiences. you flew across the country to visit your super pop pop -- you slept the whole time, both ways!! you also went to your first wedding and had a great time. i am having so much fun with you, i don't know where the days go. and if we have company, or a busy day, i miss you so much even though you were with me the whole time. your daddy and you do all sorts of activities together, too! you've got cute little songs you sing and special tummy-time routines you do when mommy is getting in a few extra winks.

we love you so much and look forward to every new thing you do! you're growing up so fast, we can't believe it. you keep up the great work and we'll keep enjoying every minute!!

love,
mommy and daddy

stuffed.

super pop pop

here are some pictures of jack with his super pop pop (my pop pop, he became 'super' during our trip and it stuck. my cousins' kids call him 'old' pop pop, but we opted out of that one. see, their dad is called pop pop also, so it can get tricky. since my dad chose grandpa, old pop pop didn't make much sense...):

stroller strides in PA

i totally kicked laura's butt today - i took her on a stroller strides work-out down by the susquehanna river. ever since i can remember we walked down to the shores during our visits to my grandparents' home. there is a great ferry that'll take you (and your car!) to the other side. my mom tells of a candy store we used to visit over there, but it has long since shut it's doors. too bad, jack likes candy :) anyway, laura got to experience all the squats, lunges, and whole-body activities jack and i do every day back home. and she will feel it tomorrow, believe me! jack thought the whole thing was funny, smiling at laura through his plastic window as she did tricep dips on a park bench - jack's got a great personality ;).

by the way, we still totally miss daddy. the purpose of stroller strides was tri-fold:
1. kick laura's butt (stroller striding is not as easy as you'd think)
2. kick my butt
3.(and most motivating) get jack back to a similar schedule as home... he's been a little cranky without the regular outtings!

pop pop's doing well!

when my family planned a visit to pop pop in PA, we didn't know he'd be going into surgery while we were flying the friendly skies. he came out of surgery and was home the next day! we have all been visiting him, talking, and encouraging movement (as perscribed by dr.). he's been home two days now and is doing very well.