Sunday, August 14

Meeting 2nd cousin Brooks

When we were in Plano Jack had the chance to meet his newest and only 2nd cousin, Brooks Mark Bloomer. Tyler's cousin Josh and his wife Jessica welcomed baby Brooks on July 14 so when we met him he was a little bit over a week old. It was wild how different Jack and Brooks were and they are only 2 months apart! They change so fast!

 Baby Brooks

Jack and Brooks

The proud Grandads!

Monday, August 1

Going Back to His Roots - Part 2

During our trip back home, we were able to head to Duncanville one day to meet Great Grandma Marshall (Mima) & to Wichita Falls to meet Great Grandma Makins (Nina).  Jack luckily does great in the car so roadtrips are pretty easy.  I was so happy that everyone was able to meet him while he's still so small.  He's growing fast!  San Antonio is just too far away from everyone.

On Sunday we picked up lunch and headed to Duncanville to visit my dad's mom, Mima.  I have so many memories visiting my grandparent's house when I was growing up that it was a great feeling to have Jack there.  I have baby pictures of me on their living room floor and on the couches that I've always looked at and to have my own child there was a bit surreal.  I took Jack and showed him where I had eaten so many holiday meals surrounded by family.  I loved it!  I also loved seeing Mima meet and interact with him.







On Monday we headed to go old Wichita Falls to visity my mom's mom, Nina.  My mom grew up in Wichita Falls and I've been anxious to get Jack there to meet Nina.  We had a wonderful day and Jack was on his best behavior.  After we got in town, we went out to lunch and then picked Jack up a few goodies at Storkland, a children's store that I remember going to each time I visited Wichita Falls when I was little.  I was pretty excited to visit it again now that I'm a mom (is that dorky?).  Nina just loved Jack and the way he interacted with us.  She is one proud great grandma and wanted to meet him so much for the last 2 months.  It was such a wonderful day that I will never forget!








On the days we weren't travelling, we stayed busy taking Jack shopping and to lunches & dinners with the Bloomer and Marshall clan.  Holly had just gotten back her Europe excursion so we were also able to meet up with her one afternoon.



Uncle Layne had been in San Antonio for a wedding but got to see us before we left town.

Meeting Holly!


This was Jack's happy spot during the trip.  Outside, rocking with grandad, listening to the waterfall.

We had a great week that we will never forget (well, Jack won't remember it, but he'll always see the pictures!).  It went by way too fast, but I know we'll see everyone again soon.

Going Back to His Roots - Part 1

Jack and I took a week long trip back to Plano while tyler studied & took his Step 2 test.  We missed Tyler alot, but we had a blast!  We were very busy the entire time and Jack was able to meet all his great grandparents and many, many friends. He went on shopping trips with mom and grandma, hung out with grandad outside by the pool (his favorite spot), and went on several roadtrips. 

Jack's grandmas hosted a Sip 'n See on Saturday so anyone that was around could stop in and meet the little guy.  We had a great time!  I was a bit nervous about if Jack would have a good day or fussy day.  That morning I had a very hard time getting him to take a nap at all!  Needless to say he was pretty fussy and we even had grandad drive him around for a few minutes to try and get him settled.  All that would get him to relax was going outside by the pool...he loves the heat & sound of the waterfall.  He eventually fell asleep right when people started arriving and was pretty good the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, I fell behind on my photographer duties and didn't get pictures of everyone, but here are a few of the highlights.

Katherine, Carlye, Mrs. Duncan, and I

So glad you girls were able to meet Jack!

Ashley & Mrs. Rogers

Meeting Great Grandad & Greatma Bloomer

Meeting Great Uncle Mark & Aunt Debbie Bloomer

Hanging out with Great Grandma Palmer

Love him!
Thank you mom & Janie so much for such a great day!  Jack and I appreciate it so much!  Also, thanks to everyone that was able to stop by and meet Mr. Jack!

Sunday, July 31

Showering Baby Kate

Jack has been very busy these last few weeks!  He's been to Austin twice, Plano, Duncanville, Wichita Falls, and Lake LBJ!  I have lots to catch up on so here we go.

A couple of weekends ago I helped host a baby shower in Austin for one of my very best friends, Ellen.  Ellen is due with Baby Kate exactly 4 months after Jack was originally due.  I loved being pregnant at the same time and I am going to love having babies 4 months apart!  So much to talk about!


Mrs. Tate opened her beautiful home on Lake Austin for the shower



The momma-to-be

Hostesses with Ellen

This was also a great day because Jack go to meet so many of my best friends for the first time!  My mom drove in from Plano to help take care of Jack during the shower and he did very good.  He enjoyed being surrounded by so many pretty ladies.

We cannot wait for Baby Kate to arrive and to meet her! 

Wednesday, July 20

Two Months

Tyler and I were having a conversation in the car the other day about something having to do with age when he blurted out “well, you’re 29!” to me. This is how the rest of the conversation went.

Me (confused look): Actually I’m 28 and it’s pretty sad that you don’t know how old I am.

Tyler: Wait…we’re not 29.

Me: No, Tyler. You’re NOT about to be 30 next month, you are currently 28.

Tyler: Oh, I really thought we were 29.

Is it sad when you don’t even know how old you are, anymore? I think Tyler has just been studying for this big test a tad too much and has lost his marbles a bit.

Luckily, we would never forget our lil munchkin’s 2 month birthday! As everyone says, time if flying. Our newborn baby is turning into quite the little infant and he constantly entertains us.


Sleep:
We have been working hard on your sleep patterns, because for a few weeks you had a large lack of sleep. Around weeks 6-8 you stopped napping much during the day. You were very, very fussy and we think it was because of the lack of sleep, but every time we tried to coax you to take nap you just did not want to. I like to think it’s because you wanted to be social and not miss out on hanging out with mom.

Just this last week you have started to get into more of a routine. I am trying my hardest to have activity time right after you eat and get you down for a nap soon after. This has been working, but you often must be cuddled, put into the car, or put in your swing to nap.

You have officially transitioned from the bassinet to the crib. This was a little bit earlier than I wanted, but we needed to so Dad could get a good night’s sleep while he’s studying for his Step 2 test he has next week. You just make lots of grunts & straining noises while you are asleep! I put you in your crib after your late evening bath and feeding, which is normally around 9:30. You then wake up at 1, 4, and 7 almost like clockwork to eat. I’m looking forward to you sleeping longer stretches eventually!


Waking up this morning in his CRIB

Eating:
You are still eating every 2.5-3.5 hours, day and night. You love to eat and have become quite the pro. You are gaining weight like you should (1/2oz to 1oz per day). At your 7 week appointment you weighted 8lbs 12oz.

Sizes:
As of today you have begun to wear size 1 diapers. I didn’t mean to time it this way, but we have officially used the last newborn size diaper in the house. You are fitting much better into your 3 month clothes and you wear a lot of Little Me and Carter onesies because those seem to be the smallest. A lot of your “fancy” outfits are still too big on you, but I dress you in them anyways!



Things you love:
You love to be cuddled, especially after you eat. If I put you down right after I burp you, you are not very happy! You also like to look at yourself in the mirror and love to look out the window at the bright sunshine.

Activities:
Running errands with mom, playing under your mobile gym, watching the mobile in your crib, looking at yourself in your play mirror, and having tummy time on mom and dad’s chest (we are working on your tummy time flat on the ground/bed…you get very fussy every time, but we are trying to add on time each day)



New things:
You are now smiling and cooing! We love to try and make you smile as much as possible. You are also getting to be a pro at lifting your head up and are gaining neck control. You will look up from mom or dad’s chest and just look around.

In the past month you have been to the lake house at Cedar Creek twice and celebrated your first 4th of July. You met many of mom’s friends at Ellen’s shower for baby Kate in Austin…speaking of you made your first trip to Austin and you loved it (I can see you going to college there one day )!

Something new that’s not so pretty is that you have an umbilical hernia. Your belly button is sticking out and it looks like you have a big grape in it (or as dad says, a golf ball)!


Look at that smile!

Routine:
Right now you wake up about 7 every morning. I’ll feed you and then sometimes you go back to sleep for an hour or so and sometimes you don’t. We normally hang out in bed for a bit and mom catches up on laundry, emails, and starts to get ready for the day. You just chill on the newborn lounger in the bathroom while I shower and the sound relaxes you. We usually go run errands after your mid morning feeding. When we get home, you eat and then are always very alert so we have activity time & tummy time. You hang out in the swing while mom starts cooking dinner and we wait for dad to get home. In the evening, Jake, you and I take a walk around 8. Afterwards, I’ll cuddle with you on the couch and give you your evening bath. Then I feed you and put you to bed around 9:45 for the night…until you wake up at 1, 4, and 7 to eat.

Where's baby jack?

Sunday, July 17

Belated Father's Day Gift

The last part of Tyler's father's day gift finally arrived Friday. 

It's something I knew I wanted to do for him even before Jack was born.

The Brad Paisley song "Anything Like Me" came out right around the time we found out I was pregnant.  Everyone who knew Tyler as a child likes to tell me horror (alright, that word might be too severe...or not) stories of when he was little.  Everytime I heard this song I couldn't help but think if we had a little boy Tyler just might get his payback.  I took a few of the lyrics from the song and put them together with a picture. 

He loved it!  Although he did say he hopes Jack doesn't see this when he gets older and think he can skip class and get in fights...I promised Tyler we'd tell him the words are song lyrics and let him listen to it!


Jack's Birth Announcements

I just wanted to share Jack's birth announcments...Yes, announcements plural.

There are two, even though we only sent out one to many friends and family.

Tyler had a favorite and I had a favorite.  We ended up going with Tyler's, but I ordered a few of the one I loved for a keepsake and now I can share it with all of you!

They both turned out great!

J is for Jack - front

J is for Jack - back

front


back
 PS - I'll scan and upload these in better quality.  I do everything in a hurry while Jack is sleeping!