Light Flicker

Jack's new trick is standing up in the crib and flicking the closet light on and off. In fact right now he's refusing to sleep. I'll be heading up there soon to check his progress. Hopefully he won't be waking up at 10:30 again... with a big #2.

Umm... is my baby normal?

So I'm changing Jack today and he spots his stuffed puppy that sings songs... that he got from Grandma Sheep. He's staring intently at it so of course I give it to him. He immediately rolls over on top of the puppy and... get this... starts humping him! He kept doing it and doing it and biting Puppy's nose at the same time. He was pretty intent on humping the heck out of him.
So I ran downstairs to ask Aunt Donna and Grammy if this was normal or was my kid acting unusually? They assured me this was normal and that is was part of his learning how to crawl and walk??? Then at dinner he started doing it to Stephen. I just hope he doesn't go back to school and start humping the teachers... that could be a problem.
So I just looked it up on the internet. Other parents have asked the same question and the experts say it's just a new "move" he's learned... phew.

"Seriously, I'm supposed to brush his 2 teeth?"

Last night I brushed Jack's 2 tiny teeth for the first time. I read that as soon as the little teeth burst through the gums you should start brushing twice a day. Since I'm up for anything with Jack lately I thought I'd give it a try. So I went to CVS (amazingly got out without spending more than $50) got one of those finger brush/gum massagers.
After his bath it was time for our first foray into dental care. I sat him on my lap and started rubbing that plastic thingy all over his gums (made sure to get the molars and his tongue). Jack loved it. He was mesmerized by the whole thing. I bet it felt good since he's obviously still teething. The only issue was that he kept biting down on my finger... really hard. I think I could lose my fingernail if he keeps chomping on my pointer finger.
So now after Jack has breakfast this morning we'll try it again. We certainly don't want him to have stinky breath when he goes to visit people later today.
By the way, Stephen is starting a petition that all babies should be born with a full set of teeth... surmising that popping them through one at a time is cruel and unusual punishment.

Jack's very own Christmas Tree

Grammy put together Jack's very own Christmas tree. We got up to Glens Falls yesterday afternoon and he finally got to see the fruit of Grammy's hard work and creativity. Check out the tree:
Here is Jack reaching out to touch his tree... and you know how much he loves trees! Grammy researched all the different kinds of Jacks there are... like Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack Sprat, Jack and Jill, Jack-a-roo (a cowboy), Jack in the pulpit... and it's covered in Jack-in-the-boxes (or is it Jacks-in-the-box?). Very cute. What you can't make out in this picture are the little "jacks" all over the tree... actually I'll go right now and take a close-up:

Merry Christmas!

Jack's first Christmas is in the books. He started with a bright and early 6am wake-up call:
Then we started opening gifts:
Then we left the house just before noon an traveled... to Grandpa Tractor and Grandma Rose's house... Jack was awesome... he slept the whole way.


Nan came down to visit... Jack gave her a lot of really good smiles. And Nan made him laugh beeping his nose... he seemed to really like that.
Uncle Karl came over too... In case you were wondering, Jack was not afraid of the bushy beard!
I got a lot of great presents... I must have been really good this year. More details to come tomorrow. I'm exhausted.

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and Jack is soooooo excited... Well at least I like to think so. He still gets excited when he sees the tree all lit up. So tomorrow is the big day. I'm sure I'll blog about the results... and probably post a bunch of pictures.
Gotta run... I think I hear reindeer on the roof.

Jumping Jack

Stephen just had to lower Baby Man's crib mattress. He was concerned that Jack would jump out, fall our... or somehow just get out. I'm just not sure how I'm going to transfer him from my arms to the crib... if he falls asleep while I'm rocking him.
Mom and Ron are here visiting. We took them to Bass Pro... 2 floors of nothing but fishing, hunting and camping equipment. The place is actually pretty neat: it has an aquarium, shooting game and will soon have a bar. Great combination you're thinking: guns and beer... good plan. After spending about 90 minutes at the store we headed out to dinner. Jack fell asleep on the way to the restaurant, stayed asleep while we ordered... continued to snooze while we waiting for our dinners. And voila! He woke up as soon as my burger was put in front of me. Naturally I forgot to bring him a toy to play with so the top to his bottle had to suffice. It never fails: Jack will always wake up just as you're about to eat.

This is how you find Jack after a nap...

Sorry it's a little blue... I didn't white balance... Stephen will not be proud.

Formula Shortage

Nestle might deny it, but there's a formula shortage. The only stuff that Jack will drink, Nestle Good Start ARA/DHA, is in such short supply that the grocery stores are storing behind the customer service desk. I have to go up there and ask for it... and it's like they are rationing it. They almost question your need for the formula before handing it over. I've already written to the company asking what was up. They've denied any shortage exists... but if you go into any store in the area you'll see what I mean. There will be rows upon rows of of Enfamil, Similac... but no Nestle. I'm going to find out what's up...

Nose Picker-Haters Unite...

http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/18/magazines/fortune/stanleybing/broadcast_askbing.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007121814

Shhh... don't tell Jack

Take a look at one of Jack's Christmas presents...

I can't stand it. They're so cute. I don't think I can wait until Tuesday to try them on his tiny little feet. I think he'll really like wearing them... they will be really comfy and warm.
He still has that cough from Thanksgiving. Hopefully it will go away soon. I've laid off the Benadryl at night, thought he might start to get hooked. Don't need a baby-junkie on my hands.

Heavy Wet Snow

Over the last four days we've probably gotten about 15 inches of snow. And now that it's raining, it's wicked heavy.
Of course our snowblower wouldn't start the other night... (as discussed in an earlier blog entry) so Stephen was contemplating shoveling... again. Then... our doorbell rang. I was joking that it was going to be a neighborhood kid willing to do our driveway for 50 cents the way my Mom used to when she was just a wee-one. But it was our neighbor Tom who was concerned that Stephen was away and I was going to be house-bound. I explained that Stephen was home, but our snowblower was on the fritz. So he and our other neighbor Tim rolled their machinery over to the house and started working away at the huge pile of snow. Stephen headed out as well and entertained the troops as well as shovel a ton of snow. Now the driveway is clean... and Stephen didn't have a heart attack (as his mother fears) shoveling. Here are the three amigos working away at the snow...


Sometimes I'm so happy to be a girl. I would hate to go out and shovel. When Stephen travels I'll have to make sure I play the "helpless female" role to get a little help with the driveway. I have a feeling this is going to be a long winter!

Just Jack... in pictures

Jack has very ticklish feet...

If I pull his ear... he still sticks around.

But what about the neck?

What a profile.

Lots O' Snow

Boy did we get a lot of snow. Probably about 10 inches. So we got home last night around 9 after attempting to make it to my office Holiday party... but we didn't because of gridlock on the highways. So Stephen was all set to snowblow the driveway... and yes, it would not start! We bought this new snow blower last year (a Craftsman) never used it because it didn't really snow last year... and it won't start! Are you kidding me? So Sears tells us to bring it in to a repair shop. Easier said than done. Our Suburban is in the shop getting fixed from last week's rear-ending. But fortunately my Mom is here (came into town to watch Jack so I could go to the party) with her Suburban. So we load the thing into the car this morning and what do you know... yes... I locked her keys in the car. So then we had to call AAA to get us in. That took them 3 hours to get here. Now they just popped the lock for us and we're back in business. In the meantime, Mom took Jack out into the snow to let him play...
Here's a picture of the two of them:

Right after this picture was taken, Jack rolled off the snow pile and into the snow itself. He got snow all over his face and boy did he not like that! So now they are inside warming up, I'm working and I think Jack will be napping soon... yeah.

Trish is Mean

Yankee Swaps stink. My $25 gift card to Starbucks was stolen right out from under me. I would like the world to know that Trish is mean. Thank you.

One Giant Crawl for Baby-kind

Yes... that is Baby Man scooting along trying to get to his father, who was trying to catch the memorable moment on video (the flash is that beacon of light you see).
He only crawls for things he really wants, like a tablecloth, plant, dirty shoe, bottle of water, Chatiemac... he's very particular as you can see.
When we dropped him off at school this morning they didn't believe he could crawl. By the afternoon they were believers.
This crawling is really tiring him out too. He was full of energy after his dinner of mixed veggies and applesauce. I thought he might actually make it to 8pm tonight. I was wrong again. I put him on the floor to go through some crawling exercises and he was pooped by 7:15.

We're ready for Christmas

Today we decorated our tree and the rest of the house (even the shed). Again today Jack was just so happy that there is a real live tree IN his house.
Take a look:


Jack is no longer allowed to chew on my chin. It was cute when he had only gums, but now that he's become a Baby Shark... it's not fun nor pain-free anymore. But he has stopped grabbing Stephen's ear... now he bites it and he calls him Mike Tyson.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We got our Christmas tree today. We went to the place we went last year, where you can cut your own down. I thought it would be fun so I even invited some friends to come along. Well we got there and the pickings were more than slim... and the trees were $45. Then the place had some "freshly cut this morning trees" from Maine... but the price for those ranged for $65 to $150. A bit ridic if you ask me. So we left without getting one. We headed a kind of farm-supply store near our house because we knew they had trees for sale. Wow what a selection. Way better than the first place and way better prices. We only paid $34 and the tree is about 7 feet tall and as fat as me.

So we got home and Stephen put the tree in the tree stand and then brought it in. You had to see Jack's face when he saw a real live tree in his house. You know how he loves trees... this had to be a great day for him. He would just look at it and shiver. He loves it. Thankfully his crawling has not progressed much otherwise that tree (and the tree skirt with fringe) would be in serious danger. Tomorrow we are going to decorate the tree... and then I'll post a picture.

Jack's First Chair... oh yeah, and he's crawling.

So today Jack was sitting in his own little chair... I wish he could hold a book at the same time... would make for a funny picture. Even still... it's still pretty cute. Thanks Tory for the chair! It says "Jack" on the part that is being covered by his body...

Oh yeah... he also started to crawl forward today! He kind of leads with his right leg... and drags the other. Sort of like he was wounded in war and is trying to get himself out of the line of fire. Now he doesn't have to roll around the house like a crazy log anymore... though he still does. I guess we have to get a gate now. Don't need Baby Man falling down those stairs onto the hard ceramic tile. We'll keep practicing until we're really good at getting from one place to the other. I'll keep you posted on his progress.

A Painful Day

So we're on our way to the YMCA to drop Baby Man off, when the car in front of us pulled off to the side of the road. We couldn't get around him because there was a car coming from the other direction. So we had to stop. But the car behind us didn't. Yep... the lady slammed right into the back of our SUV at about 35 miles per hour. Boy was that jarring. Baby Man started to cry, I clawed my way back to him and Stephen got out of the car to find out what was going on. All in all, we're very lucky. If we had been in some smaller type of vehicle I'm sure we'd have been hurt. Fortunately no one involved was injured. The lady's car... didn't look too good. It actually looked like she slammed into a brick wall. Our car's bumper is mangled, but the car otherwise is just fine. Meanwhile Stephen and I are quite sore this evening and Baby Man wasn't phased at all. He bounces back from adversity quite quickly. Kind of like child birth. He came out all fine... it was me that took some time to recover.
Here's a picture of my little family from Thanksgiving. Note Jack's sharp duds.:
Yep, that's Burberry on my Baby Man. The shirt was a little big, but he'll fit into it soon... hopefully. Now if only he didn't have his hand in front of his face this might be a good picture of us all.
Now here's Jack hanging onto his Dad's ear. Whenever Stephen picks him up, Jack automatically grabs on. But he doesn't just hold on nicely... he twists, and pulls and it actually hurts!

Jack's First Snow!

Jack may be sick... but the snow really perked him up! He was so happy sitting out there in his too-big snowsuit. He was mesmerized by the snow flakes...

Don't worry. I let Chatiemac out after I took this picture... he loves the snow too!

Jack's First Birthday Party

Jack attended his first birthday party yesterday. It was for his friend Alyssa from school... she was turning 1 year old. Her parents threw her a party at Chuck E. Cheese's. I had to ask myself why you would have a 1 year old's party there... they can't even play any of the games. But anyway, Jack and I went to see what it was all about. First of all, I was the only non-family member there. Apparently the other families from daycare opted out. So there I was with Alyssa's family, at Chuck E. Cheese wondering how I got myself into this mess. The mother, whom I had never met before, was probably a little overwhelmed and neglected to introduce me to anyone there. So I put on my game face and started trying to make idle chit chat with strangers who had zero interest in talking with me. But then I had to remember, I wasn't there for me, I was there for Jack. He had a good time watching those animated animals dance and sing and truly loved trying to rip the table cloth off. He did grab for a slice of pizza which I denied him as any rotten mom would. Here's a picture of Jack and the birthday girl:


Yes, that is Jack reaching desperately for the table cloth. I think Alyssa has a little rosacea, but she's a good kid.... she's about the same weight as Jack and she is 5 months older! She did enjoy smashing the cake between her hands, but she ate none of it. Jack's first birthday party is now in the books.