Jack - Week 12

March 14-20

While Jack was celebrating his 12th week, I was celebrating my 31st birthday.  Last year at my birthday, Jack didn't even exist quite yet.  Crazy to think about!  This year was a very different birthday than ever before, but I loved having my sweet baby to celebrate with.  I was so excited that we FINALLY got some beautiful, sunny weather in Houston for my birthday. Jack and I hung out outside and had a blast.  My mom arrived on the afternoon of my birthday for another visit. She retired just in time- we are so glad to be seeing her so often!  And on my birthday night, David and I even got to go out for a quick dinner while my mom babysat.  Later that week, my mom made me a delicious birthday dinner and cake.  All in all, a pretty nice birthday!

Enjoying the beautiful weather on my birthday

Birthday selfies

This week, Jack also got to meet my cousin (his second cousin? aunt?), Lee Anne.  She was in Austin for work and drove over to Houston to visit us for a few days.  Jack and Lee Anne loved each other and got along great!  It was so fun to see her!

On St. Patrick's Day, my mom and Jack dressed up in green and hung out at the park across the street from our house. I hung out with them briefly but then snuck away to give them (and me) some alone time. It's so nice having a second set of hands around to hold and play with Jack. It makes a huge difference since I'm usually on my own the majority of the day!

What Jack Is Up To This Week:

-His neck is getting a lot stronger.  He is still not a fan of tummy time, and he seems to barely hold his head up when laying on his belly, but when he's upright, he holds it up so strong!  I don't always have to hold his head like I did when I carry him around like when he was a newborn.  He still needs some help- especially as he gets tired later in the day, but he's getting so strong!

-Jack loves to blow raspberries and seems pretty proud of himself for figuring out this trick.

-Jack has been laughing for a while now (his first laugh was 3/11/15), but he is laughing a lot more now! It is the cutest sound!

-He does a lot of imitating now. He loves to lay on the bed or changing table and have you make faces and noises above him and then he tries to imitate what you do.  Sometimes he will make a sound or face and then kind of raise his chin like "ok, now you copy that one."  It's pretty cute.

-Jack is definitely noticing his feet now. I don't think he understands that they are his and that they are attached to his body, but he definitely stares at them a lot now and tries to reach them with his hands.

I'm too tired to flip this around, but I get a kick out of a baby in shorts and socks. 

Jack's excessively large Easter basket. 

Baby in shorts and socks strikes again

Morning snuggles with Mimi

Baby TOMS! 

He looks about 16 here... and he also looks embarrassed to be in a picture with me (already?!)

Jack - Week 11

March 7-13

This was a pretty uneventful week. We were a little sad to be by ourselves again after the fun of having my brother and sister visit the week before, but the good news is that my mom is coming into town for my birthday March 15!

11 Week Highlights:

-Jack is still loving having his hands in his mouth. Sometimes he just sucks or gnaws on his fist, but more and more he is figuring out how to actually get his fingers in there. He won't take a pacifier, so I'd love if he figured out how to suck his thumb so he can have some way to self-soothe that doesn't involve me. 

Tasty fingers

-For several weeks, Jack had been going to bed between 9:30 and 10. This week, he randomly had two nights in a row where he was asleep for the night by 8:30. I was excited because it seems like what the books say is true- that earlier bedtimes result in more sleep. Well, on the third night of going to bed by 8:30, he woke up to eat at some awful hour but then stayed awake for close to two and a half hours. It was as it fun as it sounds. He wasn't crying or anything, just wide awake and ready to play. I kept the lights off in the nursery and was a mean mom and refused to engage with him. I put him in his crib and he just kind of entertained himself while I dozed in the rocker until he was ready to go back to sleep. It was the strangest thing, because he was perfectly happy just playing by himself in there, then he finally started fussing so I picked him up and he fell immediately asleep on my shoulder. Whatever, crazy baby.  

-Jack's grandparents came to visit for the day on Sunday.  It was so nice of them to drive all the way from Austin to see us.  They also brought tons of food to stock our freezer, which I SO appreciated!  

Jack with David's dad.  He is like, "what the heck is going on? This is not how you put me to sleep!" 

Other Random Jack Photos From the Week:

Nap time

"Haha, that's cute mom. You think if I play in my crib sometimes, I will get used to being in here and eventually sleep here. Ha!"

Chubby baby fingers

LOVES sucking on his bottom lip

Trying to roll over!

I didn't think he was ready for his Bumbo, but apparently he is!  He kind of just crumbled over after a couple seconds, but we will keep practicing!

Newborn Photos

Jack only has a couple more weeks before he is out of that range where he is considered a newborn/infant (I think that is three months), so I figured I better hurry up and share his Newborn Photos before they are too totally irrelevant!  

Jack was actually 3 weeks old when we had these taken, but especially looking back on them now, he still looks so teeny tiny!  He's not as squishy and sleepy as those first few newborn days, but I still love the way the photos turned out.  

Our photographer Rieza of Mona Risa Smile Photography did a wonderful job. She is a baby whisperer!

Now THIS is the face we were used to seeing much of the time at this point in his life

...aaaaannnndddd.. he's done with pictures! :-)