Adorable Newborn Pics

When Jack was just 8 days old we had his newborn photos taken and they turned out adorable.  These are images that we will have forever and be able to look back on at how cute little man Jack was just after he was born.  Newborn pics were high on my priority list to plan while I was pregnant and luckily I found a great photographer in San Antonio that did an amazing job.  My mom and I took Jack to her house where she had a studio room and she spent about 5 hours with him taking pics.  It takes lots of time to get the babies in just the right positions and keep them happy and asleep.  Here are a few of our favorites.  He looks so cute in all of them...Enjoy!

Recognize these boots?  This is how I told ty I was pregnant and how we told our parents, also!

Ty's favorite

One of my faves

Another one of my faves

With dad's boots

With mom's boot

My little Longhorn!

Shots...and not the fun kind

Today Jack got his 2 month shots (well, technically 7 week shots).  We were ready to head back to the pediatrician because the list of questions was getting long...but we weren't quite ready for those shots!  There are alot of things that Tyler and I aren't sure if they are normal or not.  Noises, grunts, congestion, a protruding belly button (yep...jack's got a herniated belly button), and baby bumps on the face.  Most of it is normal...even the belly which should go away by 6 months, but being our first baby we just don't know!

Jack did great!  I always heard it was harder on the mom than the baby.  The nurse gave the shots real fast and he cried for about a minute, but I was able to calm him down and he was good to go by the time we left the office.  And he got blue camo band aids, which were super cute!

Today, we were really interested to check on his height and weight.  He went down to 5lbs 14oz after he was born and was already small to begin with since he was a few weeks early.  He is growing on pace but just doesn't weigh as much as the normal 7 weeker.  Right now he weighs 8lbs, 12oz which puts him in the 5th percentile and he is below on height.   He has a ways to go, but the doctor says he's proportionate and he'll catch up eventually!

We've spent most of today cuddling with him on the couch.  Whenever he wakes up he's pretty fussy so we're trying to keep him comfortable...the kid had rough morning...we'll see how tonight goes!

Lake Baby - Round 2

We headed out to the Bloomer lakehouse for another great 4th of July and one we'll never forget since it was Jack's 1st (It's a little different with a baby around and having to feed every 3 hours).  We packed up and headed out Thursday night, which put us to the lakehouse pretty late (that was interesting trying to put Jack to sleep after he had been sleeping in the car for 5 hours).  It was so great to wake up early Friday morning and rock Jack on the porch.  Ty even babysat while he was studying so I could go on my first real run since being cleared by the doctor.  Can you believe it's been 6 weeks?!?

Jack was once again surrounded by all his family.  Jack's gotten fussier these last few weeks and the grandmas got to see it first hand.  I'm learning all the tricks to calm him down and am getting better at it!

Grandad rocking jack to calm him down

The Griffin family headed over from Tyler and met Jack!  Baby girl Griffin is coming soon!

Jack's morning entertainment

Watching dad and Jake do this...

Jack got to meet Lauren, Sue, & Danny, too!

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

My Lake Baby

Jack had his first trip of many to the lakehouse at Cedar Creek this past weekend! Tyler officially finished his 3rd year of medical school last Friday and wanted to get away.  It was a relaxing weekend and Jack was great in the car there and back.  We're getting him used to long car rides early...he'll have lots of trips to Dallas to see his grandparents! 

Jack got to see all of his grandparents, Aunt Taylor, Uncle Layne, and Uncle Jeff.  Also, his great aunt Peggy and great grandma Palmer stopped by on Sunday.  Needless to say he was held pretty much the entire weekend and got very spoiled! 

The lake is very low right now so it is more like a beach!  We are lucky because unlike most people on the lake, we are still able to get the boat out (although it's very tricky getting in and out of the boat when it's SO far below the dock).  We took it for a spin Saturday afternoon and Tyler and Jeff slalomed.  Majority of the weekend we did alot of this....




This is the life!

 It was a great first weekend for Jack and we're headed back this weekend to celebrate the July 4th! 



One Month!

One month ago today Jack was born!  It is so hard to remember what life was like before he was here.  He is our everything and we love seeing him grow and change.  Each month I'm going to try and do an update on his life and how is progressing.

Sleep: You are slowly becoming a better sleeper.  During the day, you take naps for about an hour between almost every feeding.  Every once in a while you will stay awake the whole time, but you normally make up for it later!  We had alot of trouble the first few weeks getting you down at night.  You would sleep all day and then decide you wanted to be wide awake from about 9pm to 2/3am.  Now you are doing much better and will usually go to sleep after your late night feeding around 11 or 12.  From then on you wake up every 2-3 hours for a diaper change and to eat so I'm normally up with you about 2 or 3 times before we wake up for the day in the morning around 8.  You are sleeping in the family bassinet in our room.  I love knowing that your grandmother, uncle, and I all slept in that exact same bassinet (in addition to extended familiy, too).  We are even using the same linens that your grandmother used for Uncle Layne! 

Eating: We are working on feeding you lots and packing on those pounds! Your weight fell pretty fast after you were born.  You went from 6lbs 11oz at birth to 5lbs 14oz five days later.  We took you into the pediatrician a few days ago for a weight check to make sure you are gaining like you should and you are!  On June 18th you were 7lbs 2oz.  It was quite the challenge to feed you to first few days after you were born, but you slowly got the hang of it and are doing great now!  You eat every 2.5-3 hours like clockwork. 

Sizes:  You are still a tiny little baby!  Most of your clothes are too big for you, but you will be fitting in them soon.  You are wearing a few of your 0-3 month onsies that are on the smaller side.  At night we always have you in your Gerber wrap shirts with mittens that Grandma Marshall bought you after we brought you home from the hospital. Some of these are Newborn size (5-8lbs) and I have since picked up some 0-3 month ones that fit you well. You still tend to reach for your eyes when you don't have gloves on so these are perfect at night and sometimes during the day.  It also makes it very easy for mommy to change you in the middle of the night. 

Things you love: You are living the life of a newborn right now and pretty much eat, sleep, cry, pee, and poop!  In the last week you have been more alert and will have periods of time when you are just wide eyed and looking around.  Dad and I like to say this is your "thinking" time and that you are quite the thinker.  During this time I try to stimulate you and will sing & talk to you, give you a bath, or put you under your mobile gym or swing. You really love your swing and it pretty much always calms you down!  You love it when Dad or I just rock you in your big comfy chair.  Also, you love to snuggle up to my chest after you eat and often like to fall asleep there!

Activities:  Not too many activities, yet.  Just hanging out in your newborn lounger, swing, or under the mobile gym. 

New things you do:  Everything is new and we love it!  Whether it be a sound or face you make, you are always entertaining us and we love just watching you. 

Routine: We normally wake up for the day around your 8am feeding and hang out in bed for a bit.  Our routine pretty much runs on a 3 hour schedule.  After you eat, I try to keep you active and alert for about an hour and then you take a nap for about an hour before you eat again.  You have been very good at running errands with me these last couple of weeks.  We normally get out of the house once a day whether it be to run to HEB, Target, Babies 'r Us, or to meet dad for lunch/dinner.  You stay in your carseat and we cover you up whenever we're in public.  The car puts your right to sleep.  Every couple of days I'll give you a bath in the afternoon or evening.  We try to put you to sleep right after your late night feeding anytime between 10 and 12 depending on how active you've been so far that night. 

Happy Father's Day

Today was our first big holiday with Jack!  We had a great time celebrating Tyler's first father's day by relaxing around the house and visiting with Aunt Taylor & Uncle Jeff.  Tyler has a test Friday (his last day of 3rd year!) so he spent some time at the library but was able to be home most the day to hang out with us.  I can say he used the father's day excuse to get out of any diaper changing duties!  One of his father's day gifts is still on it's way but today he got a personalized photo book that documented the pregnancy and Jack's birth!

We love you Tyler and you are the best dad!  It has been so fun seeing you with Jack these last few weeks and how great you are with him.  I can't wait for all the years and memories to come! 

Happy Father's day to our dads!  We love you so much and missed being with you today.  We have had wonderful role models to learn how to be the best parents possible and we can never thank you enough.  Love you!

There's a first time for everything...

I can't believe Jack is almost a month old!  Time is already flying by and I keep telling myself to enjoy every minute I get to spend with him while I'm on maternity leave.  I know that he'll only be this size for so long so I love holding him and cuddling with him!  We have lots of fun during the day and he has had lots of firsts over the last month including first bath, first time out to eat, first trip to Plano, first walk around the neighborhood, and first trip to the pediatrician. I know over the next few months and years the list of firsts will grow and grow.

Tyler and I gave him his first bath soon after we got home from the hospital.  Jack does not like being naked.  Every time we change his diaper he cries and cries and cries.  Well, same goes for bath.  There will be a second or two he seems to calm down, but majority of the time he's not very happy with us.

My favorite part of bath time is afterwards when we get to wrap him in his cute towels and he just relaxes.  I call it the calm after the storm, but he's always so alert and just looks around like "what just happened to me."  My favorite thing after his bath is his blonde hair.  It is so fluffy and smells so good.  Thank goodness we got a baby brush at one of the showers because I didn't think we needed one, but I love to brush his hair afterwards.  He's such a cutie!