tummy time....

yeah right mom, i think i'll just lie here nice and comfy; blow a few bubbles and suck my fingers?! i'm pretty sure that was what he was thinking when it was tummy time yesterday;)



another quick aside...we were on his play mat and i couldn't figure out what he was looking at, because he was looking to the right of mr. smiley face, well he was all smiles looking at himself in the mirror! it cracked me up, you know he was thinking he was the "cat's pajamas!"

he really cracks me up these days. his personality is definitely starting to come out. for instance, when he's hungry and i'm not moving fast enough for him, he makes this desperate eh, eh, eh sound like "mom, come on!"

he makes the lack of sleep and challenge to get him to sleep seem so minuscule in the grand scheme of things...i mean he'll sleep eventually, but all the cute little things he learns and does won't be around forever. so with that said, albeit a bit sappy, i wouldn't change him for a second!

jack's big weekend...

so after a lot of resistance on my part, we tried rice cereal on saturday evening. i was trying to hold off until 6 months, but after a little research i learned that they don't consider rice one of the solids that could potentially lead to heightened food allergies. so we tried it, and like the little piggy that jack is, he ate it right up! here is a video & some pictures...let's just say he loved it and couldn't keep his hands out of his mouth either!?






we also went to brunch today with my friend nicole...jack was very un-jack like and on his best behavior! i joke but you never know what jack you're going to get out in public...he drove all the ladies wild;)



and to further prove my point that jack refuses to go to bed prior to 10pm..here it is 9:42pm on sunday night and he's raring to go!? excuse the sideways view and grainy appearance--we were trying to keep the lights dim as not to over-stimulate him--haha!

one of these things is not like the other...

one of these things just doesn't belong?!



i'm pretty sure you can guess what/who that is...needless to say jack loves to be up high. i think he likes feeling like he's on our level-ha:) mike had him up on the counter the other day while doing the dishes and he loved it! i know you might be thinking he could potentially fall, but he really is secure and well-supervised (mom, i know you're thinking that;)...

oh and regarding jack's lack of sleeping, i actually have hit an all-time low...i literally got into the car to drive around just to get him to fall asleep. i'm one of "those" parents--yikes?! i guess this will be yet another phase, and to think it wasn't long ago i was annoyed that he would only sleep in his swing, man was i an idiot...i think i'd pay him right now to sleep in his swing!

anywho...happy friday!

pardon the interruption...

but jack has something to say!!


we have had a rough time getting jack to sleep at night, which i think i've mentioned before. i stick to his bedtime routine every night; bath, books, nurse & then bed...without fail if i start this at 7pm we are still trying to get to sleep at 10pm which then means he's hungry again!? anywho, last night was of course no different...this child certainly bucks convention! i believe dr. ferber is in our future, let's just hope i can stay strong enough to complete the process:(

we had some fun yesterday taken random pics...here are a few. i love the natural light shots, it casts such great shadows;

oh the irony...

so it would be an understatement for me to say that jack isn't the greatest of sleepers. each day i wake up with optimism that today will be the day that he will nap for at least a couple hours and go to bed no later than 8pm...of course 8pm comes and goes and jack is still wide awake and has maybe napped for a total of 1 1/2 hours throughout the entire day. so last night mike and i were at a loss because the game is over and the giants are headed to the superbowl...and wouldn't you know it, jack is still up?! finally i gave in after trying to get him to sleep for 3 hours and plopped him in the swing...guess who doesn't wake up until 6am!?!?!? of course i've been up since 4am...

on a fun note i have a video of jack's love of his fingers...without fail i would say they're in his mouth 3/4 of the day these days! my original purpose of the video was to try to get him to talk and blow bubbles, but oh well...


jack also visited 3 states this weekend; Rhode Island, Connecticut & Massachusetts. we went to uncle timmy's hockey games and below are some fun pics...as you can see jack has his fingers in his mouth in many of them!?

heading out...


a much needed bath...although it looks like fat guy in a little tub!


just hangin with uncle greg...



so in our room we had the enormous oversized chair, which obviously makes for a fun pic...




finally more fun jumper shots from yesterday...mike took these:)



what you lookin at;)

bubbles anyone?

so jack's newest habit is blowing bubbles. he started trying to babble and make noise without opening his mouth and the result is bubbles. it's pretty funny, although i could do without the resulting drool!

we also set-up a jumper in the kitchen doorway...he hasn't quite figured out how to jump and if you look at the some of the pics, one of his hands always seems to end up hanging out of the leg hole!?




and last but not least, we're still enjoying mr. smiley face:) of course now he interacts a bit more and actually grabs at the hanging toys. it really is so fun to watch him learn new things. it is like i get to experience things all over again through his eyes.

more firsts...

so i'm kind of sad today because jack officially outgrew the bassinet part of his stroller. since he has become so alert, he began to cry and get mad when we'd put him in it because he couldn't see anything! so now he's in the big boy stroller...kind of bittersweet for me.

we also set up his jumperoo. it looks as mike would say "like a laser light show...!?" his feet are no where near the ground, but it was funny to watch his eyes get bug-eyed as he looked around at everything. i'm sure he'll be jumping and bouncing soon enough!




finally i just couldn't resist posting this picture of jack all snuggled up on mike...when you catch him in the right mood he can be awfully snuggly!

good luck uncle timmy!!!

go thoroughbreds...beat the panthers!

where oh where is that 3 hour nap....

so i have been spoiled the last 3 days because jack has been napping for about 3 hours each morning. this was a huge change given the fact that up until that point he had taken up the catnap for the last month or so...i'm not kidding you when i say it was 30 minutes exactly!?

unfortunately i must have missed his cue this morning because the morning has come and gone and there was no 3 hour nap to speak of. so of course i did what anyone would do...i walked him in the stroller up and down our hallway?! for those of you that don't know, we have an absurdly long hallway given the size of our apartment...you would think he would have caught on, but he didn't and is now currently sleeping! we'll see how long it lasts especially because i have to go put the laundry in the dryer, which means he has to come with me...fingers crossed he stays asleep!

being trapped in the apartment due to rain means that i get a bit stir crazy...i decided to have fun with jack and take lots of pictures. below are a bunch...i'm waiting to install photoshop onto the computer so i can silhouette the background out.

jack's first laugh!!

ok, well it was actually his second one, but we caught it on the camera--it was so awesome. i was getting him ready for his bath; making the usual funny faces at him and he just did it!? each day is so much fun with him. it is amazing to watch him grow and learn new things...he is intrigued by everything around him, you can just see his eyes get wide and you know he is taking it all in!


i also got some great shots of him during tummy time yesterday...he has such good head control and no longer seems to get frustrated when on his tummy. he is still camera shy, but i was able to get a half smile...



i was also finally able to catch him sucking his thumb, which is so cute! he usually finds it, but then decides that his whole hand is so much better!?

he really wants to sit up....

but he just isn't there yet!? he tries so hard to get himself upright when leaning back, but he just can't do it. he gets frustrated and starts to grunt--it's pretty
funny!

here are some pictures showing his attempt...





we've also had a lot of fun lately reading stories...he seems to be genuinely interested in them or at least the pictures! good thing there's no shortage of books at our house thanks to grandma:)

happy new year...

so i'm a bit late in my new year post, but in my defense we just got a new computer and i was therefore computer-less for a week and a half.

we've had a bit of a rough patch with jack's sleeping the past week...or should i say lack of sleeping!? i'm chalking it up to his 3 month growth spurt, shots & his poor infected toes:( poor jack inherited mike's ingrown toe issue...they were bright red the other day--i felt so bad for him!? they're on the mend and hopefully so is his sleeping!

he had his 3 month check-up on friday, which i cannot believe he's 3 months already...time really does fly by! so here are his stats; weight: 13 1/2 pounds, height: 24 inches. he falls exactly in the 50th percentile for both. that seems to be his trend, and i'm just happy to hear he is thriving and toes aside, healthy!

we went to visit my aunt and uncle on my mom's side in brooklyn today. jack was good and pretty happy, or as i like to say he brought his "a" game! it has gotten a lot easier to travel with him because he actually seems to enjoy his car seat and the rides. did i mention he always seems to fall asleep as well...a nice bonus:)

here are a bunch of pictures...some from christmas, today and random cute ones!