Beach Bub

After our fabulous trip to D.C., Jack and I headed to the beach on Tuesday. Since Frank was unable to join us due to work, Gail tagged along for our overnight stay in Wildwood Crest. We stayed with some friends from Delran, Kim, Sammie and Mike, and had a fantastic time at their lovely beach house. We thoroughly enjoyed the beach (thank goodness for the baby beach cabana and jogging stroller to allow for a comfy napping spot!) and I was able to trouble shoot taking an infant to the beach on my own, so that next time we go - with daddy - there should be no stress. We spent an evening walking the boardwalk and really enjoying the company! Sammie and Mike were awesome with Jack and we so look forward to going back before the end of summer!!!

July Flies By

I can not believe how quickly July is flying by us! We have been so busy lately that I have not had time to blog and already we are halfway through July. With traveling, and play dates, and visiting family and friends, we have been on the go, go, go! 4th of July weekend we went up to the lake to spend time with our families and to have a shower/4th of July BBQ for A.J. and Maggie's upcoming wedding. Although the weather was a little strange (rain then sun every half hour the first day, followed by warm days and very chilly nights) we had a blast. My Aunt Donna and cousin Seanne and her family come from Lancaster and stayed for the entire weekend, and it was great to have time to catch up and spend time with them. At the barbecue we had a huge feast and then some fireworks to finish off the evening (well at least for me...some were still up partying until 5 am...about the time I was waking up with Jack). It was great to see family that we don't often see and A.J. and Maggie got some great gifts....a very successful weekend!

The following weekend Frank, Jackson and I traveled to Washington D.C. for Aunt Lauren's baby shower. This was another weekend packed to the gills with visiting as many friends as we could squeeze in! On our way to Virginia to stay with Frank's buddies from WVU we stopped for a visit with Lauren, Andrew, Milo (who had gotten so big!!!) and newbaby (name pending and birth pending). Lauren made a wonderful vegetarian lunch seasoned with my new favorite spice, Spike, and a cantaloupe soup which, much to my surprise, Frank actually admitted to enjoying. It was wonderful to see Lauren and her huge baby belly, and family and to meet their good friends, who were also visiting for the day!

After our visit with Lauren and Andrew we headed to Reston to stay with Patrick, Bobby and Heather. Frank was very excited to spend time with his West Virginia boys, and we were both excited to eat the delicious dinner prepared by Bobby and Heather! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and Jackson really seemed to enjoy the toys especially the piano bouncer seat (he loved it!!!) courtesy of Heather and Bobby's 3 year old son Bobby Jr. We definitely picked the right people to stay with (or Patrick did) because anything we needed for Jack seemed to magically appear! It is so nice to stay with other's who have children too! All in all we had a fabulous time! It was then time for Jack and I to head over to Aunt Lauren's Virginia baby shower while daddy spent a day poolside with Patrick.

I made the quick commute to Arlington (thank goodness for GPS) and was able to enjoy an afternoon with Lauren and friends, and Babci too! Although Jackson was a bit cranky, Maryanne's (host of the shower) husband Frank seemed to have the magic touch with him. Soon he was fast asleep and I was able to enjoy myself! The shower was beautiful and the food was great and of course I was thrilled to see my awesome sister-in-law, whom I dearly love. And...I can not wait to meet this new little (big) baby!

To make my blogging easier to read (not so long and runony)...I will continue with a new blog....look for beach bub...coming soon!

Laughin' Jack

I took this video at baby gap, right after Jack woke up from his nap! He must have loved the $.97 sale as much as Mommy! Ahhhh....I love a happy baby! This is the cutest video ever!

Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo...

Last Thursday was Jack's first trip to the Philadelphia Zoo and any zoo for that matter! I, myself, had not been there since an 8th grade class trip. We headed to the Zoo with Trisha and Colleen and all 5 of their kids (combined). Let me just say that watching 2 moms manage 5 kids, all under the age of 5, at the zoo was a learning experience all on it's own! To sum it all up: the company was good, the day was hot, lunch time was messy, the animals were neat, the carousel and ice cream was expensive, Frank was EXTREMELY patient and, although I am not sure what Jack got out of it, all in all it was a really nice day!

Milestones!

I know that lately I have been a delinquent blogger, it's just that things around here have been so busy with showers and parties and picnics we have had very little down time! It is amazing though that in that small amount of down time that we have had at home recently, Jack seems to be taking leaps and bounds in terms of what he is able to accomplish and do! He is now sitting up in his highchair every morning with a huge grin on his face watching mommy make coffee and gradually wake up! Last weekend he was just beginning to "notice" his feet. Just looking. In a few short days he has gone from looking to practically eating his toes. Although I'm sure Daddy is thoroughly grossed out by this, I think it is adorable and exciting! Ah, the life of a mom.

Jack is also learning "cause and effect". It is so neat to watch him spin, press or grab at a toy and the laugh and smile at the sound or lights that it presents and then do it all over again! By the way, our big boy can now put his feet flat in the exersaucer.....they grow so fast.

One thing I have not been loving so much is the amount of drool that we have been experiencing. Well, I guess it really isn't the drool that bothers me, but the fact that every adorable out fit is either covered up with an ugly/enormous bib or soaked from neck to waist in less than 10 minutes. He also seems to love to have a bib to grab onto and chew on at any given moment throughout the day.

Lately we have also been working on rolling over. Nothing normal here though....since Jackson seems to loathe being placed on his belly, he is rolling from back to belly and then quickly trying to roll back again. With a little assistance he is able to do all of this rather well. He looks so proud of himself when he has accomplished this feat!

I think our favorite thing of all is when Jack starts laughing! It is the best sound in the whole world and music to our ears!

Jackson's Christening

This weekend was an EXTREMELY busy one! On Saturday we had a baby shower for Aunt Lauren and Jackson's soon to be baby cousin! It was a wonderful day (and Mommy and baby --and Daddy too) got lots of great stuff! It was great to see friends and family and it was great to spend time reconnecting!

Sunday was a very special day for Jack. We celebrated his Christening at St. Peter's Church in Merchantville and then lunch at the Collins House, a really neat restaurant that Frank and I love! It was wonderful to have family and friends join us for his entry into our faith! God truly has blessed us with such a wonderful baby boy!

Father Anthony was also impressed! Jack gave him some big grins during the beginning of the ceremony. It wasn't until he poured ice cold water over Jack's head that he started screaming--and since he was the first one to go, all of the other babies followed suit! Our favorite though was how much oil he poured on his head....we can still smell the chrisim almost a week later (no joke).

Jack's God Parents Tommy & Tara

Twelve Week Screech

Along with Jack turning 12 weeks old this week he also learned about his "high voice" (that would be VERY high voice). He seems to enjoy the fact that he is now able to make this new sound, because he has done so, pretty much non-stop, for the past couple of days! This video doesn't even do it justice. Oh yeah....and if you listen very closely at the end you will hear an extra little treat!