Lazy Sunday

Stu and I had a busy weekend - including two weddings.  So Gigi and G-pa took the Jack man for the night on Friday night.  Jack had so much fun with them - they went on several walks in Gigi's stroller, which he loves and on Saturday he got to hang out with G-pa ALL DAY! 

Saturday Morning Stroll

Jack and G-pa's Serious Faces

Happy Boy loves his Gigi and G-pa!!

We picked up the little man Saturday night after our second wedding.  I was so excited to see him.  It's funny how much you miss your children when they're gone!  After such a busy couple of days, we were ready for a lazy Sunday.  We didn't plan anything - other than watching the Texans beat the Steelers!  Jack woke up bright and early, but it's so easy to wake up to this little guy!

Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Kissing Daddy after the Texans win!

Aggieland Weekend

As you may know, I went to Texas A&M University (the best university) and Stu went to Oklahoma State University.  From the first year we were dating, we've always gone to the A&M/OSU game.  I'm quite disappointed that Aggies have now joined the SEC because I was so pumped about sharing that tradition with Jack.  Boo.  Anyway, Stu and I headed to Aggieland to attend the final(??) game between these two top ten teams.  Jack was too little this year to take with us, so his Lovie came to Houston to stay with him for the weekend.  I think they had so much fun, and Jack LOVED her. 

Sweet Lovie sent us these pictures before the game.  I personally think he looks the cutest in maroon ;)

And I think it's important to note that we had tickets on the TOP row of the TOP tier.  Literally we stood against the back of the stadium.  You can see it was packed - sold out game.  And look at that view!!  If you can tell, my pictures act crazy and stay sideways - sorry!

While we were at the game, Lovie and Jack went on a walk - and I got this amazing picture during halftime.  What a great surprise!

Thanks Lovie - we love you and we can't wait to see you again really soon!!

Sick Baby = Sad Mommy

It's official.  Jack is sick.  Not like kind of sick (like a few blogs back), but the kind of sick where he's throwing up, completely congested and absolutely miserable.  He hasn't slept well in days and I'm sure he's frustrated (I know I am!) that this mess has not gone away!  I took him to the doctor this morning because I couldn't handle any more nights of this:



Sorry he's sideways, but you get it.  Not happy.

 Turns out - there's absolutely nothing you can give sick little babies.  It's breaking my heart because we just have to listen to him cry and fuss all night long.  There are a few things you can do to try to make them more comfortable.  Most of which Stu and I have been doing for the past week already.  The most interesting thing the doctor told me was that I should buy this:

That's right, people.  A Nosefrida - "The Snotsucker."  You use your mouth to suck the snot out of your child's nose.  Gross.  I'm told you won't get any in your mouth.  As disgusting as I find this contraption, I'm buying it.  Because at this point, I will do ANYTHING to make the little man feel better.  How bad could it really be?  This lady looks happy doing it!

YUMMY!

Since Jack will be four months old in exactly three days (not to mention he has teeth!), it is time to start with some solid food.  Rice Cereal time!!  Stu went out of town this morning and won't be back until after bed time on Saturday, so last night was the night.  (Because of course, Stu could NOT miss his first big boy feeding).  When Jack got hungry after day care, around 7:00, we gave him some yummy solid food! 



First bite!!

After the first bite, he started chowing down.  He would bend over the spoon instead of opening his mouth to eat.  Very cute.  Very messy. 

Chewing.

Hmm....

He likes it!!

After we enjoyed playing eating, we got all washed up.  I think his first feeding was a success!

we have a toof!

For the past two weeks, I've been telling Stu and my mom that I think Jack is teething.  Of course, this seems impossible since he is so young, but being an inexperienced mommy I had read (through every baby book we own) that babies can teeth anywhere from 4-7 months.  Jack was 3.5 months when I really started noticing this unusual fussiness and swollen gums.  But I thought I had more time!  Last night, my sweet little baby boy threw the biggest scream fest that Stu and I had ever seen.  He arched his back, he kicked his legs, he'd spit out the pacifier we tried to give him.  He wasn't hungry, he wasn't dirty, what could it be?  Ahh.  "I bet he really is teething," I thought.  So in the middle of his scream, I reached in and felt his gums.  I was surprised SHOCKED to not only feel swollen gums, but an actual tooth!!  It's already broken through! 


it's hard to see, but it's the left middle tooth.


Last night, Jack woke up at 3:45 screaming at the top of his lungs.  Oh goody.  This is going to be fun - please pray for us!!

I don't care what my teachers say, I'm gonna be a supermodel....

Jack is the perfect picture baby!  We had originally scheduled pictures for last week, but then Jack woke up looking like this:

And if you can't see it good enough, here's a close up!

The sweet boy had scratched himself (BAD!!) right on his forehead in his sleep.  Not too great for family photos.  So we moved them to this week.  I was concerned because he has a bad habit of not going to sleep even though he's really really tired.  After fighting sleep all day long, we fed him on the way to meet the photographer and he slept until we got there.  Thank goodness.  When he woke up - he was a happy happy boy.  He smiled the whole time and would look where we needed him to in order to get the best shots.  He could really be a model - loved the photo shoot.  I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures because if they are as good as these two, I will be buying all of them!! Enjoy.

This is the best picture I've ever seen of Stu!  LOVE IT!



How can this boy not be a model?



Bedtime Routine

Here's a look at our typical bedtime routine:

8:20 - Getting cranky.  "mom - i'm ready for a bath!"

8:30 - Jack LOVES bath time!!

8:40 - Eating the towel.  Sure.

8:45 - All dressed for bed.

8:45 - Reading a book.  Tonight's choice was I Love You More Than Rainbows (thanks Mimi!!)

8:50 - Yummy.

9:20 - Goodnight.

This is what sick looks like....

It's the FIRST week of day care.  The FIRST.  I expected illness after several weeks or perhaps even months.  Nope.  The first week.  Jack came home yesterday sneezing with watery eyes and snot.  Gross.  Stu picked him up from day care and said his mood was fine - although he didn't get a "happy" emotions report card.  I got home late, at 6:30 and he was happy.  He even laughed for me a bit.  (which by the way has got to be the best sound on earth.  hands down.)  Since he was in good spirits and wasn't running a fever AND it was after hours, I didn't call the doctor's office because only a crazy person would call the doctor's office after hours for a happy kid with some snot.  He was happy all evening, but started getting hungry and tired pretty early.  He was bathed, read to, fed and down for the night at 9:00, when we usually finish this process around 9:30.  So I could tell he wasn't feeling great.  He woke up early this morning, but went right back to sleep after his bottle.  When it was time to wake up for the day, he did not want to.  It took about fifteen minutes of coaxing to get him to fully wake up.  Again in good spirits, but I could tell he did not feel 100%.  I sent him to school with some nasal spray and a bulb.  I also gave into my inner crazy and called the doctor.  I will be purchasing a cold mist humidifier on my way home, making sure he sleeps elevated and giving him nasal spray to keep him comfortable!  Here's the picture I snapped when I got home yesterday. 



Poor little guy!


 

We still bee-lieve. Sorta.

Remember all the hype about the Astros back in 2005?  "We bee-lieve" and all that?  There were tons of players that started with a 'B.'  Bagwell, Berkman, Biggio, Brad Lidge, Brandon Backe, etc.  They were amazing.  Unstoppable.  Granted they got swept in the World Series, but they made it to the World Series!  The Houston Astro's 5-6 short years later are the worst team in baseball.  The WORST.  That being said, you can get great tickets for cheap or even better...free!  Stu got some tickets at work and we thought it would be perfect for Jack's first Astro's game. 

We got him all Astros'd out and he was adorable.  He loved the big screen and likes a new game that mommy made up.  I would say "jaaaccckkk...." and he would look around for me and when he saw me, he would smile and turn his head to do it again.  **this continued until Stu informed me that I was probably annoying everyone around me even though I don't think so because who is actually watching the game?  please refer to paragraph 1.**  Back to Jack - he was happy the whole time and even fell asleep at one point!  I think he's going to love baseball - even if it's hard to 'bee-lieve' right now.

Jack and Daddy in their Astro's gear.  I have no idea why this picture is sideways.  I can't figure out how to fix it. :(

Smiling at Mommy during our new game!  I really don't understand why these pictures look like this.  Sorry!!

Jack's First Day at Day Care

No, I didn't forget about this blog.  Yes, I've been much to busy to think about it or even consider posting!!  Let me just tell you though.  Jack is amazing.  I know every mother says this - every child is special, blah blah blah.  But mine is.  We had known that Jack's first day of day care was August 1 from almost the time he was born.  It was the day I dreaded.  But my extremely smart and gifted little boy decided that he would sleep through the night three days before day care started.  See what I mean?  Letting mommy and daddy sleep an entire night just in time for a full schedule or working and day care?  Genius. 

So on Jack's first day, he woke up at 5:20.  He ate and went back to bed for about an hour while mommy got ready and daddy slept.  At 6:40, everything was packed so I turned on his bedroom light and let him wake himself up.  He woke up happy and we got him dressed and ready to go.  We got to day care early because Stu had a meeting at 8:00 that he couldn't miss.  When we arrived, everyone was so nice.  They really put us me at ease.  My genius child was just hanging out, going with the flow.  I gave the teachers some goodies and then Stu and I were off to work.  I checked on him three times throughout the day and he was always doing great.

Jack got a good report card and I'm so elated to say that Jack was happy when Stu picked him up yesterday.  (even though he went through all of his extra outfits!)  I got home about five minutes after them and he was so excited to see his mommy!  We played and played.  He slept well and was happy this morning too.  I am feeling like we picked a wonderful place because when I dropped Jack off this morning - he smiled at his new teacher!  My extremely smart, gifted, genius son loves day care!

 

Little Man Has Arrived!!

We got to the hospital around 10:30 pm, and we got the IV of fluids and potocin started at 11:00.  Dr. McGuirk came in and broke my water around midnight.  Now we wait.  You don't want to get the epidural too early, or it could inhibit the labor so the nurses tell you to endure the pain as long as you can.  Great.  By 4:00 am, I couldn't handle it anymore.  I needed the drugs.  Epidural time.  More waiting. 

At 11:30, I was ready to start pushing.  Jack was born at 1:22 pm.  Our 9 lb 3 oz bundle of joy was perfect.  21 1/4 inches long.  Big boy.  During labor, I ran a 102 degree fever, so the little man had to spend 48 hours in the NICU.  Needless to say, he was the biggest baby in he NICU.

 

I'm happy to report that after 48 hours with antibiotics, all of Jack's tests came back negative.  He's a perfect little man.  We are so lucky - I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful baby.

The day Jack was supposed to be born....

Last Wednesday, I was scheduled to be induced at 6:00 am.  We got up, were getting dressed and the phone rang.  The hospital (which I found out later had been empty all week) got an overload of women in labor the night before and it didn't look like they could squeeze me in until later.  We were told to call back at noon.  Since it was about 5:15, we went back to bed.  While we were waiting, Stu's mom and my parents and grandparents came over so that we could all wait together. 

Can you tell I was ready?

When we called the hospital back at noon, it didn't look like we were going to be able to get a room at all, so we scheduled Thursday morning at 5:30.  In the mean time, we decided to try to be active to potentially go into labor on my own.  It was a beautiful day - why not the zoo? 

I did pretty good - made it halfway around the zoo.  Not too bad.  After the zoo, we enjoyed sno-cones and dinner with Stu's mom.  We got to bed early, around 9:00 to get ready for our early arrival at the hospital.  At 9:30, Dr. McGuirk gave us a call and asked if we could get to the hospital soon.  It was looking like I was going to have to be pushed back again if I didn't....SO off to the hospital we went.....

Nesting much?

Jack is due to arrive in less than 72 hours, so Stu and I enjoyed our time together today.  We woke up late, Stu got his gift - a horseshoe set.  We got dressed and went to brunch at Cafe Adobe.  Yum.  Afterward, we went to see Rio in 3D.  Very cute.  Then it was time for a trip to Lowe's.  We needed to finish painting the tiny portion of the baby's room that we hadn't up to this point.  Why not look at patio cushions?  We found some that we both loved.  Score. 



So cute!

While we were at Lowe's, Stu decided to make our horseshoe game regulation size.  So we got some lumber and he went to work.

I watched my hubby, and enjoyed some of this:



Strawberry Lemonade - YUM!

Stu got done and we enjoyed a few games of horseshoes.  I'm not great - but I have a feeling I will be getting a LOT of practice. :)


Stu's handy work

We also finished painting the baby's room, planted a few trees in the yard and did a lot of laundry.  Detailed deep cleaning on the agenda tomorrow - definitely nesting has set in full force.  But I think it was a very Happy Easter!