merry christmas!

so jack's first christmas was certainly a busy one...we had christmas brunch at mike's parents' house on christmas eve and then a christmas cocktail gathering at my parents' house christmas eve night. jack is still young enough that he gets overstimulated easily, but he seemed to handle the commotion pretty well. actually he handled it so well that he slept right through the gift opening yesterday morning! he of course made out like a bandit with lots of toys & clothes:) below are a couple pics from the past couple days, and i thought i'd end one of him last night pre-bath wearing uncle greg's glasses just cause it's pretty hilarious! enjoy...



jack sleeping through presents...


jack wearing uncle greg's glasses!

holiday rejects!?

so we were supposed to take jack to get his photo taken, but the photographer never got back to us in time as i wanted to use one of them for our holiday card...which btw are going to go out barely before xmas as i am still waiting for them to get here--yikes!?

anyway, long story short there were some really cute & funny pics to choose from and since i only needed one for the card i thought i'd post the rejects...too bad i couldn't get him to smile on cue, but he was only about 7 weeks when these were taken...

snowed or iced in rather....

so we've had a super relaxing weekend...we took a long walk into bronxville yesterday and it was the first time that the surroundings kept jack's interest. i think it helped because he was up high in the bjorn so he got to see things from a different perspective. of course it didn't take long for him to fall asleep--the bjorn works every time! jack was of course the talk of the town and he really had all the women in the nail salon swooning when he and mike came to pick me up:)

i'm glad we got to get outside for a while yesterday because we have been housebound since!? the storm was pretty gross, but didn't seem to wreak as much havoc as they predicted thankfully.

we've spent the day baking, reading the times, and watching the jets blow it once again! uncle greg is here for the night so jack has been highly entertained, and kept us entertained with his babbling and smiles:)

here are a couple pics from the day...as you can see jack started out sitting up and then gravity gradually took over...poor santa claus got the worst of it!

the love affair continues...

jack is still enamored by mr. smiley face (as i've dubbed him) on his playmat. for a couple days mr. smiley face wasn't feeling the love as jack began to notice mr. duck & ms. pig, but it was short lived as you will see in the video!

btw...i couldn't get the video to upload yesterday, so we'll go with this one instead! notice how gets the hiccups at the end...he gets them a lot!

i've got feet!

so it occurred to me yesterday as i watched jack stare intently at his feet that he just realized that they're his!? he could not stop staring at them and he kept trying to lean over towards them as far as possible, all the while grunting and drooling--it was hilarious!

i'd also like to report that while he has taken up the cat nap (napping no more than 30-45 minutes at a time), he has become quite a happy baby...he babbles constantly. ironically he seems to coo the most when on his changing table getting his diaper changed (he used to scream his head off), guess he finally realized how much better life is with clean pants!

we just got back from a walk in the bjorn--it works like magic every time and so far he has been asleep for almost 2 hours! tht being said it gave me some time to write a post and make an attempt at posting some video of jack earlier this morning babbling away in his favorite place--his swing! hope it works!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

so this past weekend mike, my parents, greg, jack & i headed out to the middle of nowhere a.k.a. greenwich (ny, not ct!) to get our christmas tree--it's a daley family tradition. it was about 15 degrees out and flurrying so it definitely felt like the holiday season! it was a bargain at $35, as opposed to our $150 tree last year...only in manhattan are people crazy enough to pay that! here are a couple pics...

2 month shots:(

so we took jack to the dr. for his 2-month check-up and his first round of vaccines. i have to admit i had been dreading it all week--i made mike hold him while they administered them! he seems to be doing ok...he has been all smiles this morning and doesn't seem to be running a fever. i was thankful to learn that the vaccines were both mercury & thimerosal free...with all the autism hype, it was nice to know that we've made some effort to eliminate possible causes.

so onto the stats...jack weighed in at 11 1/2 pounds & 23 inches! he is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight--perfect if i do say so myself!

so now our biggest challenge is getting him onto a routine...i'm trying my best to get him to be able to put himself to sleep without rocking, shushing or nursing...our first attempt this morning was a success--he fell asleep on his own in his crib! keep your fingers crossed we're on the cusp of a breakthrough!!

here's a cute pic from yesterday morning...it really has nothing to do with the post, but it was too cute not to post...

back in bronxville

so jack and i spent the week following thanksgiving up in saratoga at my parent's house. It was a lot of fun to hang with the fam, and jack was the center of attention for sure! having my mom around to help was awesome...there's no one like a grandma who's eager to change a dirty diaper and calm a screaming baby:)

within the last 2 weeks jack is a totally different baby...he is so alert and active. i swear his arms and legs never stop moving! he's still not the best sleeper, but we're working on it. i always wake up optimistic the morning after a loooong sleepless night--we have no where to go but up!

here are a few pics from the week...check out those cheeks!

fun weekend home & jack's new buddy!

so we headed to saratoga this weekend for uncle timmy's first hockey games of the season...another first for jack! hopefully he'll be on skates in a year or two--i think he's very advanced for his age and will pick it up in no time;)

the great thing about staying at grandma's is that i get to catch up on sleep, and who other than grandma wants to change dirty diapers and give jack a bath--two things he hates! here are a couple post bath pics, the bath obviously tired him out!



today we went to macklin boyd's baptism. macklin is the son of our good friends dan and meg. he was born a week after jack. it was so nice to see everyone and it was too cute to see macklin and jack next to one another...hopefully they'll become good buddies!

growing and changing

it amazes me how much jack has changed in a matter of weeks...he is no longer awake to just eat. we now spend our awake time occupied by a myriad of baby gear! of course he has really taken to the swing, but he now focuses on everything around him...he is mesmerized by the smiley star that plays music and lights up on his playmat. i would say that tummy time is his least favorite, and more often than not he ends up sucking on the boppy or his hand, but he'll tolerate it! i think the best part is that he found his voice--he is making the cutest cooing noises and seems content just to hang out and look around. i'm trying to catch it on camera, but have yet to do so, but he's also discovered his tongue!? it's quite hilarious...he'll just sit there and stick it in and out like a lizard. all of these "new" developments really make us excited to watch him grow with each new day.

we're boycotting the crib...

or at least jack is apparently!? since friday he will not go to sleep unless he's lying on mike or my chest or in his swing. which would be fine except for the fact that we end up with no sleep!?



on a more fun note we got to spend the day in the city visting with ed and tippi...jack experienced many new things; one of which being his first visit to a bar?! mike and ed were alone with jack for 10 minutes and they managed to find the closest bar! the funny thing about the whole scenario was that all the ladies swooned--too bad everyone thought mike and ed were a couple b/c jack sure is a chick magnet;)

today we decided to lay low...for one thing mike and i are working on about 3 hours of sleep and i think jack was overstimulated yesterday and that was what led to a horrible night's sleep--at least that's what i'm hoping:)

here are a couple of pics from our walk...we started out in the stroller, but jack decided he didn't like it, so into the bjorn he went--long gone are the days when we can just get up and go, we travel with a ridiculous amount of gear these days!?



and my favorite, which is reminiscent of "a christmas story"... "i can't put my arms down!"

ugh for whatever reason i can't get the picture to change orientation!?

thanks uncle tommy:)

so the ups man and i have become fast friends...he knows i'm home with a new baby so when he can't get into the building he rings me! well much to my surprise when he rang yesterday the package was in fact for us--well actually jack, but you get the point. i'm not sure who will get more enjoyment out of this super fun and adorable gift-as you can see from below, but on behalf of the taylor's...thanks tommy!!

fussy baby:(

jack has been sleeping for longer stretches at night, but when he wakes up in the morning he tends to be really fussy for most of the morning. as you can see from the pictures below:) i wish i knew how to remedy it...on a brighter note he is sleeping so peacefully in his swing right now that i was actually able to eat breakfast/lunch at noon! depending on his demeaner when he wakes up i think we'll take a walk. i would imagine he is as sick of the apartment as i am!