four months

Posted on 9.13.2015 by sarah

Month four was full of family fun! Meredith went on her very first road trip and loved every minute! She loved being entertained by Jack, loved the open road… and slept a lot! Jack was a little freaked out about having “TV” in the car.

Mind. Blown.

Meredith met her new cousins for the first time and agreed with Jack’s assessment on just how cool they really are!

We headed out to grandpa and grandma’s new farmland. Jack was so in love with every aspect of this new heaven that Papa will forever be synonymous with tractor!

Believe me, these two had so much fun. Jack loved getting rides in the Polaris ,and after a couple of rounds he figured he could venture out on his own.

With all that wonderful fresh air and activity, some of us didn’t make it through dinner.

I took a stroll around the property, taking in all the scenery. It’s a wonderful peaceful landscape and I cannot wait to see this beautiful space in the fall!

We said goodbye to Grammie and Papa and headed back to Texas.

The rest of the month was spent staying cool. In our backyard and at our neighborhood pool! Boston always loves join in the fun.

We found our inner Picasso this summer, too! Painting a Kaboom! for July 4th.

Meredith decided to rollover for the first time on 7/2/2015, and five days later she rolled over and pushed herself up. We all know Otis has been working with her for weeks. He’s such a great trainer for tummy time and meal time!

On Meredith’s four month birthday weekend, some of our Missouri family came down for a visit. They had a wonderful time exploring all the great attractions Dallas has to offer and let Jack tag along, too.

Our doctor’s visit was for both Jack and Meredith this month, 2 whole years and 4 months! I tried to hold back the tears, but they are both so perfect. Or at least that’s what I heard!

But mostly, I try to capture my little ones doing what they do best, enjoying each others presence and getting annoyed at mom wanting a picture or five hundred!

Month four has been wonderful! This is the age I so dearly love! They start interacting with the world around them, and they start laughing and smiling so much more. It’s just wonderful!

Happy Four Months, Lady!

10 months

Posted on 6.14.2014 by sarah

I love when we travel and go out.

Considering it’s a little more involved with a baby, I appreciate the time we have both as a couple and as a family exploring new sites in our area and around the states.

I absolutely love when we are there, but my extreme love for exploring ends up nearly driving everyone insane from the time we start planning right up to the minute we step foot outside.

Like a worried old man, I become anxious about what we could do with our time or money instead of traveling or going out. Flights are how much? And the closer we get to the travel plans, the more I am plagued by what troubles might ensue, like the clothes I did not think to pack. I end up having trouble actually enjoying the idea of traveling because all I can think about is what I’d forgotten, what I should be wearing, and how everyone else will surely be better prepared.

It’s draining. And my evil powers morphs the mood around the whole house.

The husband hates the days before traveling with me or the hours before we go somewhere because I spend the time erratically scanning the closet or suitcase… Of course, there will be nothing in my closet to wear, or something I had forgotten to purchase for our travels, and then, there is the not-so-profound announcement that I don’t want to go! Then, everyone is depressed that the notion of our travel or going out plans will be ruined.

If mom’s not happy, no one is happy.

BUT everytime the husband manages to talk me off the ledge, and (yep) we have a blast. My anxiety is transformed to complete bliss that we decided to go, to travel, and nothing we “forgot” ever even really affects us; what I’m wearing is usually appropriate, and we manage our finances well enough that we can travel when we want. And I declare next time I won’t do that. Sigh.

This form of pessimism is NOT one of my better traits. And unfortunately, it is not confined to just traveling or going out.

As of late, this misplaced uncertainty has transferred into caring for Jack. Are we prepared enough for his next steps at any given stage? When he was in the hospital, did we prepare the nursery enough? When Jack was nursing, when do we start pureeing foods for him? Then Jack starting crawling, is the house prepared enough for his newfound mobility? And the list goes on.

With every new milestone, there is anxiety, but as it happens, there’s wonderful serenity in those moments. Until the next one.

A few weeks ago we had to move the floor of Jack’s crib to its lowest level because our nanny walked in to find him standing up with his little chest against the edge of the crib. Laughing hysterically, of course. With the crib lowered, we lost my crib skirt. It seems like decades ago that I sewed that little piece of fabric. (tear.)

We also decided to get out the real high chair because the Bumbo freaked me out when we sat it on the table, or anywhere for that matter. Jack would flail about for his feedings, and nothing was safe.

And he has outgrown his infant carrier. His little toes hit the back of the car seat, so we knew it was time. Of course, we read all the reviews and Consumer Reports for every car seat from here to Egypt and finally settled on one.

I also continue to put away his outgrown clothes in the “0-6 bin” with a tearful hug to each and every one of them. Yes, I hug his clothes. Especially his little footed pajamas that seem too small for even Turk to have worn. Labels found here.

Every time I look at him, I keep thinking how vital this time is. That one day he will be asking us to cross the street, sleepover at a friend’s house, then use the car, graduation, and going off to college. After that I will be presented with a girl he will ask to marry. Yes, I think of this often.

This also makes me aware of what a crazy mother-in-law this will make me. That poor, poor girl. Ha.

So, perhaps with these changes, I will resolve to try to be more mindful about staying in the moment. I want to be prepared, but I also want to enjoy all these moments and not let my anxiety take over. I called about Jack’s kindergarten the other day. Yes, I need to stop.

Or maybe I’ll become a hermit and never leave the house with Jack, ever. Options.

Happy 10 months, Jack!*

* no elephants were harmed in the making of this post.

9 months

Posted on 5.12.2014 by sarah

I have realized 3 things since last month:

I haven’t blogged since Jack’s 8 month post. I know, I’m trying my best not to be upset about it, but I have a feeling this month will be the same. I write this blog because it makes me happy, not to fill some quota, but it still feels empty without writing. I have some fun posts ahead, so bare with me!
My little baby has only three more months until he’s ONE. Stop. Time. Please Stop… or at least slow down!
My whole thought of using the notion “nine months up, nine months down” will be tucked away with “I’m only gaining 25 pounds” in my pregnancy dream book. Maybe for baby number two… there is always next time!

Any-who, on to my Turk monster. He’s just the best little guy. We have a great routine of feeding, playing, and sleeping. Only when another tooth presents itself (he got one more this month) or when we travel, does that routine get broken.

That routine was broken with Jack’s first flight last month. But it went SO smoothly! He even got a picture with the pilots! Thanks American Airlines for playing along.

Jack’s first flight was to see his family in Wisconsin for Easter weekend. Below are Jack’s twin cousins, Ellie and Ben. They are such sweet cousins to Jack and loved showing him the world around him, singing to him… and telling him what toys are not for babies. Ha.

Jack was entertained all weekend. He went on his first Easter egg hunt with his cousins and even met the Easter bunny. His other cousin, Thomas, was not a fan of the Easter bunny… I hear you buddy, he is kinda creepy.

Jack also got to meet some real bunnies back in Dallas. North Park, our local mall, set up a photographer with real bunnies, that pulls on your heart-strings while charging an outrageous amount for their pictures. Genius. Hence, the picture of a picture… one digital copy was 120.00. Bam!

But, lets back up; before we left Wisconsin, Jack became a cheesehead. He tried his first pieces of cheese in Wisconsin, loving every minute (and morsel), and enjoyed wearing some, too.

Jack’s really enjoying “do it myself” foods. Though he does like his oatmeal in the morning (like his mama), lunch and dinner have now become finger food items with one or two purees or yogurt on the side. Luckily, I have a plethora of options on Pinterest to choose from!! Here and here are some of my favorites. Plus, the pediatrician gave us the go ahead on just about anything besides nuts, peanut butter, honey, and shellfish! It’s been fun having Jack try so many different foods! I cannot wait to share a great smoothie recipe with you, too!

With all those new foods, he has a lot of energy. Jack is still crawling like crazy this month. He “swim-crawls” in the bath, too, and I’m guessing he is really going to enjoy his swim classes next month! I’m SO excited about that!! He is also able to transfer from sitting to crawling and back again. This was another game changer, because sitting him up was a wonderful way to “pause the action”, if you will, while I was doing something. Now, it just slows him down for a second or two.

He also (but only when you don’t direct him to) waves bye-bye to people. Yes, we are pretty proud parents for a flapping hand from time-to-time… it’s the little things.

I hope this finds you well. Sorry, for the Dear Diary post, but that’s all I have in me today. At least all the cute pictures may make up for the lack of luster.

Happy Spring friends!

8 months

Posted on 4.07.2014 by sarah

This month has been one of the most active and fun months yet! Jack turned 8 months last week, and we’re loving all his new moves. Yep, the kid started crawling mid-March and hasn’t stopped since. He’s now discovered all the rooms of our home. Here’s the first clip of the action. Of course, the motivation to crawl for the first time was none other than Otis’s toy. A green ball just beyond his reach. Ha!

Now, the true baby proofing starts. We definitely have a lot of wires and corners we need to address in these next couple weeks, and I shudder at the thought of all my decor items having to take a back seat to this rambunctious eight-month-old.

Jack’s still loving the process of eating new foods, and (so far) there isn’t much he doesn’t enjoy. From butternut squash and avocado to apples and pears, he loves them all. With the addition of five new teeth, we also purchased infant biscuits for him to practice holding and eating. He really enjoys the process of “doing it himself,” though more ends up on his highchair and lap than in his mouth; the dogs are the ones that benefit from this, and Jack is loving the attention during mealtime.

I finally allow Jack to ride in a shopping cart on our weekly outings to the grocery store. I cannot quite believe he’s old enough to be sitting in a cart, but he loves every minute. He’s always smiling at the other shoppers, grasping items within his reach, and it provides such a better vantage points than his car seat. He loves it, and I don’t think he’ll go back to his car seat.

Besides all of Jack’s new activities, Jack continues to grow like a weed! We visit the doctor next month for the official measurements. Gosh, we love this kid so much… and what a sweet little man we’ve been blessed with.

Happy Week, Friends!

7 months

Posted on 3.03.2014 by sarah

Jack turned 7 months over the weekend. The time between month six and seven went really s l o w. I found myself asking if I had forgotten a month of pictures… and that was awesome. With Jack growing so quickly and changing almost daily, it was wonderful thinking time slowed, if only for a month.

The time with Jack continues to amaze us both. Jack communicates daily with voice and actions, and he’s starting the motions of crawling, more like rolling and shifting with his arms. He looks much like a mermaid out of water. Sorry, merman! Because of his movements, he’s becoming more exploratory and independent. He can play on his mat or in his bouncer for 10 – 20 minutes, which allows us to make dinner or just zone out a bit. But, Jack does take the occasional nose dive which keeps us on our toes. He’ll put anything in his mouth from Otis’s tennis balls (our pug), to pieces of mail, to licking the fireplace. I think he’s just marking his territory in a completely different way. Or he might be watching the dogs too much!?! Food he’s liking lately: carrots, sweet potatoes with cinnamon, oatmeal and rice cereal. He isn’t a fan of zucchini or bananas, thus far. I think the bananas were a fluke because who doesn’t like bananas! Come on, Jack! Next up this week, avocado and pears! Jack’s also holding his own bottle but only when he feels like it.

Here’s our big boy. 7 months, buddy. We love you.

Below, I snapped this picture during Jack’s photo shoot. I had left the room to get something and realized this was a great “behinds the scenes” photo. It definitely takes a village (K9’s and humans, alike) to raise a baby and take monthly photos. What a simply beautiful picture of all my boys, beautiful 70 degree weather with the windows fully open in the background! Sometimes the simplest snapshots convey so much. I’m so blessed.

Happy Day, Friends!

spaghetti on bath night

Tag Archives: monthly photo