Can You Name This Tooshie???

And no, I am not talking about Jack's head. . .

We're, er, I'm in Trouble

Jack is a daredevil. Standing in the bath. . . already.

but at least he wants to help me with the dishes.

He had such a fun bath date with Miriam he passed out during his bedtime snack.

Well Hello There

Yeah, so we've been kind of . . . absent. But - we're back - at least for the time being. Not sure how long it will last :)

Biggest news? Jack is pulling up.



So - Friday consisted in a hefty bill for baby gates . . . there is no stopping him now.

Jack loves his lemons!

. . . he just sucks away. Take the seeds out and he'll be occupied for the night.

Birthdays, School, Elections, Oh my!

What a busy could of weeks.

Georgia Southern started back in ... which means - I started my classes for the Fall. Between getting myself ready for school, getting the department ready for students and keeping track of Jack - it's been quite an exhausting couple of weeks.

TGIF.

So - there is my excuse for my lack of posts.

Happy Birthday to my husband today. With the Afghanistan elections going on - I hadn't heard from him until today. He called to tell me he was safe. He had a rough week but he was safe and back in his neck of the woods. I told him - I knew you'd call today ... 'Happy Birthday!'

...Pause...

He questioned me back, "Is that today?"

6 Month Pics

What I FORGOT to include yesterday was his 6 month pictures! Although Jack was a little tired while taking them, he humored me and sat patiently for ... oh ... 2 minutes. (As always, I couldn't decide which to post - so I posted them all :) Please also note Jack's new dimensions - 18lbs, 4oz & 27" long - 17.5" head.

6 Months Old ...

I CAN NOT believe that our little man is 6 months old. I say 'man' because it's true. He just doesn't look like a baby anymore. He looks like a little boy now. As much as I love watching him grow and develop, my heart breaks. I know, I know. I better get used to it.

newbie

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months ...

I think the biggest physical change is Jack's hair! Boy has it come in ... he might have pulled a recessive gene and actually lucked out with thick, manageable hair ... knock on wood. I don't think he'll be so lucky. Good luck to Jack and his shots today!! :(

Playtime

HBD!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!!!
To Kim & Jack!

(Don't worry Kim, I won't tell anyone how old you are ...)

Ms. Kimmie Stanton turns the BIG 30 today!!!

AND Mr. Jack turns 6 months old today ...

Kim & Jack @ 1.5 months old

Isn't it fabulous that Jster shares his half birthday with his auntie Kimmie's birthday?
We [J&I] think so.

Jack Lost His Alligator

He didn't believe me when I told him he still had it ...


Zooming in: I spy something(s) white!

Jack's 1st Week of School

Jack's 1st week of school (& his half birthday) was celebrated with a cook-out at the house. All of Jack's local aunties and uncles came over and we played with Jack. After he went to bed we played the Left Right Center Dice game ... it's pretty impressive how competitive people can get with a game of chance and their quarters. I am pretty sure Josh & Brandi won every game.

Josh & Brandi also bought Jack a 'Going to School' gift. Jack opened the gift himself. Please note - he loves paper - thanks to his summer at work & Trish. Jack got two new Dr. Seuss books; which he has been playing with all morning.

Jack loves his books.

A Great Way to Start a Weekend...

At the end of my journey this morning at the grocery store, I veered out of the way a guy stocking shelves only to run into a display of velveeta cheese.

(I slammed into it with the cart.)

I stopped.

I covered my mouth.

And stared as the boxes slowly tumbled onto the poor guy below stocking shelves.

I think I might have apologized 20 times before the pretty much told me to get on my with my day. One of the perks of shopping with a sleeping baby in a car seat: You don't have good visibility of what's in front of your cart.

My Beautiful Garden

Well - seeing as my amazing BFF and my talented cousin posted impressive pictures of their gardens and flowers ... I decided to show them up by showing off my crop.

Isn't it gorgeous?




Sad Day.
My Lime & Banana Trees (and herbs) survived my absence though. :)

I have about 6 months left of summer ... so I am going to try it again. Maybe this time I can find time to water them.

UPDATE on Melissa's Garden....! She read this blog entry, posted a new one about her garden; she must have thought it would make me feel better about my successes... (wink, wink) This means war. :)

First Day ... Over.

Ugh.

Well - it wasn't as bad as I thought - it was worse. Not only was dropping Jack off gut-wrenching, but the events that followed for the next 60 minutes definitely made my Monday 5 stars of suckiness.

As expected, Jack was great. I put him on the play mat and he immediately forgot about me, scooted over to the bookshelf and starting yanking toys off of the shelves. So, I took it as my queue and left.



(I'll then leave out the rest of my 60 minutes of drama)

When I picked him up he was smiling. (awesome) He came home in his 'emergency' outfit. Go figure. I guess he gave the student helper a nice 'greeting' and 'getting to know you' gift and peed all over her while she was changing him. Minus one friend for Jack. I was the last person to pick their baby up; it was 5:07. I looked at the check out sheet ... all the other babies went home between 3 and 4. Minus ten points for mom.

But they did an art project! They made their footprints in green paint. Jacks looked more like big green buildings ... no toes visible at all. Maybe next time.

Now I am anxiously awaiting the new episode of John & Kate + 8 ... to boost my self esteem.

Jack's First Day of 'School'

Ugh. Today is the day. Jack's bottles are labeled and ready for the day, his paperwork ready to go, and his bag packed for his first day of school. I feel horrible about it. My heart is breaking. So many people are lucky enough to stay home with their little ones and watch them grow. Me? Not so lucky. I now have an inkling of how Bryan must feel. Inkling. I am sure it is nothing compared to how he feels.

Will his miss his toys?
Will he cry all day?
Will they understand my notes on how to comfort him?
Will they give him the attention he needs?
Will he miss me?

(Did you hear that? Yes, my heart just shattered on the floor)

But then my voice of reason chimes in ...

He'll make friends his own age.
His caretakers know what they are doing.
He loves people.
It'll be a good experience for him.
He'll do things I could have never thought of.
He's a happy boy; he'll be better than fine.

But - my voice of reason is quiet and timid compared to my obnoxious stubborn voice and I can't hear it very often. So then I start questioning myself all over again; and then sarcastically thank the Army and the Georgia Board of Regents for their shitty salaries that don't allow me to stay home and be the best mom ever! (*Throwing fists of fury into the air*) Argh!

Jack's 'school' is probably less than 50 yards away from my office and they have an open door policy. So, when I miss my baby, I can see my baby. (Trish is going to have to lock me in my office...) (I tried getting myself through this last night by a glass of wine ... didn't work - but a sleeve of oreos and a glass of milk definitely made me feel somewhat better...)

But anyway - enough insight to the bantering inside of my head... Here is Jack's First Day of School picture. No, he can't wear a backpack yet, nor does he have anything to put inside of one.

(yes Jack has N's on his socks so he doesn't mix them up with the other kiddos)

Well, wish me luck ... we're off to do this thing.

It's Back!

Jack's raspberry trick went into hiding for awhile. It made me sad. I tried and tried to get it to come back out. Today it did. On it's own. Point taken, Jack. You'll do things when you want.

Happy Jack

Jack still loves the Jumper his daddy bought him. He'll only want out if he's hungry.