9 Months!

Jack is 9 months old now... Has been for a few days. So here are some pictures and a little update on our 'sweet little fella'!

He weighs 18.4 lbs and is seriously C.U.T.E.!



Will eat most anything you give him but likes fruit the best.

Is just now starting to scoot and crawl (finally!)


Takes 2 or 3 naps a day. Usually his afternoon nap is a good length, about 2 hours if he is in his swing... If not, 30 min is all he will do. The boy is still just not much of a sleeper.


He usually goes to sleep at about 8 and gets up at 6 or so. Lately he has been crying a little during the night. Usually he will cry for about 3-5 minutes every 2 hours or so. I hate that this is still going on, but I am at a loss as to what I can do about it. I think he just wants me to hold him and nurse him all night long, and that is not really feasible if I am going to function!


He is definitely going through an attachment phase. I'm thinking it's probably due to all of the travel and change lately. He is totally fine as long as he can't see me, but if he sees his mama he wants his mama!


He loves to get out of the house and visit with people. He loves going to church and running errands and is always so well behaved while we are out.


He is still such a sweet natured snuggly baby. He is quick to smile, and if you want him to laugh just give him a tickle! He is SO ticklish!


He absolutely adores his big sister, and she is (for the most part) incredibly patient and sweet and motherly towards him. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens when he can get up and chase after her. I think we have many wonderful times ahead of us with this pair of kiddos!

In Honor of Fathers Day...

My Daddy and Me!

I Love this picture!

And this one too...



Me and my Paw Paw, my Dads Dad!

What Can Grace Do In A Day?

She can make a peanut butter and honey sandwich... All By Herself...

She can put a too small pair of shoes on the wrong feet and wear them through dinner... Without complaining...


She can read brother stories... Cause she "is his teacher and can teach him things today"...


She can find a box... And pack it up...


She can wash her hands... And face... And shirt...


She can go for a 45 minute bike ride... And only fall once...


Grace, you surely can do a lot of things!

Playing in a Box

Firsts

Well, now that Grace is three she has been able to do some 'big girl' things she has been wanting to do for a while.

Example # 1:

This beautiful (and not quite age appropriate) 'aquarium' was put together by yours truly and a certain 3 year old last night in MISSION FRIENDS! That's right, folks! Grace went to mission friends! She has asked me if she can go to choir and mission friends every Wednesday night for nearly a year. And every Wednesday night she has to go to the nursery. But last night we were able to go in with the bigger kids (as long as I stayed with her). So I went in and we had a wonderful time playing the chimes and singing songs and doing our craft and playing games. Grace was beaming when she got home and showed daddy her aquarium!

The other first happened today. We went to Chick-fil-A with Samuel and Karin and I let Grace play on the playground. I know what your thinking... I'm too over protective and she could have gone in there forever ago and been ok. And maybe everybody is right, but I just know my kid... And I just didn't think she was ready. Well, she did ok at first and since Samuel was in there with her I didn't worry too too much. She even went down the tunnel slide several times even though I know she is scared to death of those things and I could see it in her eyes that she was frightened. But before it was all said and done it happened just like I knew it would... The place got filled with big kids and grace got to the top of the play place and couldn't get down and she got scared and stopped moving and all the kids were trying to get past her but she wasn't moving and she started to cry... Big time. But eventually she made it down and we made it home and she calmed down and fell asleep in no time at all! She was SO tired!

Growing up... It's so much fun and so hard... No matter how old you are!

A Favorite

I love this picture. She was so proud of the flowers she cut for Grandmother on this morning, but she just could not get her eyes open for a picture!

I've Got A Full Buggy

I know, I know. It's really not that big of a deal to most people. But to me this WAS a big deal...

(sorry, jack, for the unfortunate picture)

My first trip to walmart with both kids... To actually buy stuff. We didn't buy a ton, but it was a legit trip. No one screamed or fussed. Grace didn't stand up in the back of the cart. All in all it went about as well as I could have hoped.

*And here is a side not for your reading pleasure:
Everyone always stops to look at Jack and talk to him. He is after all, a super cute, super smiley baby. Everyone always comments on how cute and tan he is. Now people stop me because is is SO tan. Today at walmart I talked with a really nice Lady from Mexico (who barely spoke English) for a good 6 minutes about Jack, our Spanish heritage and her granddaughter, Isabella. I really love that my baby boy makes people smile so many times every day!

Super Girl Grace!

I can't tell you how many times I did this as a kid. Paw Paw chasing Super Girl Grace around the house tonight surely brought back memories!

Everybody Look!

When we went to see Grandmother (mom's mom) today and we tried to take a picture. We just could not seem to all look at the camera at the same time!

We have had a wonderful time visiting with Grandmother (now that the kids are feeling better) the past couple of days. It is SO neat to see how she responds to the little ones. Jack practiced walking to her today over and over and they both had such a good time! I showed her where his tickle spot is on his leg, and she tickled him and thought it was the most wonderful thing when he cackled at her! He also loved sitting in her lap and playing with her pearls. Grace brought her T-ball stuff today and showed Grandmother how good she is at hitting the ball. The best thing Grace has done though, is when it is time to leave each day, she always asks to stay longer and says she wants to come back. The first day we were visiting, Nana told her we were going to go get some lunch at Chick-fil-A. Grace said she wanted to stay with Grandmother instead... And Grandmother heard her. You could tell it just made her day! I love that we are getting to spend a bit of time with her each day. I think it does us all good!

The Past Couple of Days

Here are a few more pictures from the past couple of days...

Grace Is Three!

Here are a few instagrams from Grace's third birthday yesterday. All said and done it ended up being a pretty good day. Man, I am just so incredibly thankful for this amazing child the Lord has blessed us with! I absolutely can not imagine life without her!

Lunch Date!

Jonathan and I took advantage of the grandparents and went on a lunch date! This is the second week in a row, and I think I could get used to this fast.

Last week we went to Monjuni's in Shreveport. Boy did that bring back memories. Our very first date was to monjuni's in Ruston. Spaghetti, a meatball, crunchy bread and sweet tea (and back in the day milky way cake!). My goodness things have changed in the nearly TEN YEARS since those two young college kids went to lunch together.

More on that later... Our anniversary is coming up! Today was wonderful! We went to our favorite place in Fort Smith, Rolando's.

If you go at lunch it is about the same price as a burger from Chili's. And this is what you get instead...


Amazing-wonderful-hit-the-spot-right-on-meal-every-single-time. Yum-O, Rachel!

And I must say the company and conversation was not too shabby either. ;-)