Halloween @ Daycare!

This morning, Justin and I visited Jack's daycare to watch the Halloween parade of the infants! Unfortunately it was too cold for them to go outside, but their teachers dressed them all up anyway and we had a fun party in their room. Jack was fast asleep when I arrived at about 10:30am, but he was a happy boy once I woke him up and put him in his horse costume! All of the babies were adorable all dressed up!

Miss Ashley (Jack's teacher, whom has has a very large crush on, was a baby herself!) Here she is holding Jack's friend Gavin (left.)

On the picture at the right, you will see Jack (a horse), Aiden (a pumpkin), and Tucker (a doctor in scrubs) in their favorite bouncy seats, behind Jovie (a mouse). She was just visiting their class today and is not normally with them, as she is a big girl and can crawl and do things that the little babies can't quite do!

Here is Jack in his outfit. Everyone loved that it made real horse noises when you pressed his hoof!! The babies got a kick out of it.

Finally, here is Jack's whole class. From left to right, Ansley (Gavin's big sister who was just visiting!), Miss Ashley, Gavin (in her lap), Jack, Aiden, Tucker (in blue), Jovie (in grey), Miss Cara (holding Stella), and in front of her, Alexandra.

They were too cute and I know that all of them are looking forward to trick-or-treating on their very first Halloween!

Here is a real live shot of the noise, confusion, and most importantly all of the cute babies on Halloween!!!

Our New Schedule

I posted awhile ago about Jack's daily schedule while I was home on maternity leave. Well as you can probably guess, that has changed drastically since he has gone to daycare! Here is an updated daily (weekday) schedule:

3am: Feeding (around this time, sometimes a little earlier or a little later.)
6:30am: I wake him up to feed him.
7am: I leave for work.
7:45am: Justin wakes Jack back up and takes him to daycare.
There he eats every 2-3 hours, about 2-3 oz at every feeding. To save myself a lot of hassle, I let them reheat and refrigerate the same bottle if he doesn’t finish it in one sitting.
At work I pump at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm on the dot.
I leave work at 4:30 to pick him up at 5, and then Justin can work as late as he needs.
We (Justin & I) usually eat dinner around 6 - 6:30pm.
At night at home before bed and then during the night I feed on demand. If he looks hungry, he is offered a breast. I want him to make sure he knows I’m still available even if he doesn’t see me all day. Sometimes this means I am up often at night, but to me it’s worth it, because it’s my bonding time with him.
As always, he gets a bath at 730pm and goes to bed at 8pm.

It makes for long days around our house, but it's so worth it! He's doing beautifully, except for his stuffy nose. Hopefully that will go away soon.

I will be posting pictures soon from his Halloween parade at daycare!

Kelly :)

Uncle Colin and Aunt Ashley Visit

Colin and Ashley came up for a quick weekend visit to meet their new nephew Jack. Lucky for them, it was the earliest snowfall in 80 years in Boston (see picture, taken on Sunday October 18, 2009)! The crazy kids took a run through our neighborhood in the snow ... let me tell you, the hills plus the snow = no fun for Kelly, so I definitely admire them for that!




We spent a lot of quality time with our little guy, which included trips to Babies R Us, the grocery store, Chipoltle, and our favorite hibatchi grill, which definitely scared Jack! However, both of them were naturals with him, and I know that Jack cannot wait to see them again soon!

Uncle Colin


Aunt Ashley

Look at the cuties (all three of them!!) Jack especially loved it when Colin played with him like he plays with Doak ... except when Jack got scared for a minute and started screaming! Colin quickly calmed him down. Also, we discovered Colin's love of baby powder - we may have to buy stock in Johnson & Johnson when he comes to visit again :)

All in all it was a great trip! Thanks for coming up!

Jack Holding Up His Head!

"Mommy, look what a big big boy I am!"

Taken on Jack's three-month birthday - October 24, 2009!

We've Survived!

It's Friday, and Jack, Justin and I have survived the hardest week yet! On Tuesday Jack had his first full day of daycare, and I spent the day cleaning, pacing, and waiting anxiously by the phone for the call that never came. He did fantastic! His only issue is sleeping there, which he is still adjusting to, but other than that everything is working out fine.

I am also adjusting to being back at work. Everyone in my office has been incredibly supportive and understanding, especially because I am having to pump breastmilk every 3 hours or so. I am on a schedule of working from 7:30am - 4:30pm and then picking Jack up at 5. Justin takes him into daycare around 8am every morning and visits him most days at lunchtime. We are slowly morphing into our own little family with our own little routines, and I love my two boys more than anything!

I will post pictures of his first week at daycare soon. They let him "paint" a pumpkin picture, and next week they will be having a parade for Halloween, so stay tuned!

I cannot believe I forgot!!

It's been THREE MONTHS and I had totally forgotten, but as I went back through the blog, I remembered!

Back in March, I asked everyone to submit their guesses for Jack's birthday / time / weight / length. Here were the responses I got:

CARA: 8/1/09, 4:00pm, 8 lb 6 oz, 21 inches
COLIN: 8/5/09, 7:00am, 7 lb 7 oz, 21 inches
ASHLEY: 7/31/09, 9:00am, 8lb 4oz, 21 inches
COURTNEY: 8/8/09, 8:08am, 8lb, 18 inches
RYAN: 7/30/09, 6:00pm, 7lb 14oz, 20 inches

I didn't see any from the grandparents...maybe I missed them? If not ...

I believe that based on the date, RYAN was the winner with ASHLEY a close second!

Based on the weight, COLIN was the winner with RYAN a close second.

Based on length, I think RYAN was the winner with CARA, COLIN, and ASHLEY tied for second.

I will now have to come up with some kind of good prize, because back then, it seemed like so far away and I didn't even come up with anything...and then I forgot!! Either way, it is fun to look back now. I have to say, if he had stayed in there until August 8 (COURTNEY!!) I would have died. :)

Lots of love,
Kelly

What A Big, Strong Boy!!

Jack's fine motor skills are developing very nicely!! He is a champ at holding his head up now for extended periods of time. He can even sit up (with assistance of course!)

One of his favorite things to do is sit in his Bumbo chair while I type away at the computer. This way he can practice sitting up and look at his beautiful Mommy (ha, ha.)

"Look, Mom, no hands!!"

He also loves to lean over the Boppy pillow, showing off his head coordination. He can do this for up to 1/2 an hour and is perfectly content, if not concentrating really hard at the task at hand. :)

"This is hard work! But man, I'm good at it!"

"Look at me!!!"

Finally, last night we broke out the doorway bouncer. He is still a little too small for it, but he hung out for a few minutes and seemed to enjoy the challenge!

"Phew! Daddy, I'm tiring myself out before bed."

We are so proud of our little fireplug! He is a solid, strong boy and impresses us each day with his new skills. :)

Jack's All-Time Favorite Thing

...BATHTIME!!! He loves it! Every night, no matter how fussy he is, we put him in the water and he just lights up. I take that as a good sign that he will be a little swimmer just like his Mommy! He kicks and squeals, coos and giggles. It is hilarious and it is definitely the highlight of our day. This is Daddy's bonding time with Jack, and Justin has all of his own rituals that he follows every night. It's adorable to watch and it makes for a very happy baby. :) I just thought I would share some of the pictures from this week...of my smiley little boy!

Bubbles!!!

I am sooooo happy!!

Smiley McGee!!!!

Love the 'do!!!

Jack Visits Daycare for the First Time

Jack begins at daycare on Tuesday, October 20, so in preparation I took him this morning for a short visit to meet his teacher and classmates. He will be attending the Mountainside Children's Center in Framingham and be in the Infant One class.

He met a few of his new classmates, and I spent a few hours with his teacher, Ashley. She was really great with him, as is evidenced by the pictures below:

Sleeping on their Boppy Pillow, just like at home.

Sleeping in his personalized, very own crib!

He spent most of his time sleeping, which made me feel much better. I took his extra outfits, blankets, diapers, bibs, winter coat, binky, hat, booties, and all the other things he needed and already stocked his cubby...this makes it less likely that I will forget something on the day he leaves me!

Ashley told me all about the art projects they will do, the outdoor activities that the babies participate in, baby yoga, baby sign language, their schedules, the big playground and gym accessible to all ages, and the HALLOWEEN PARADE that all the parents are invited to! We cannot wait. Jack will love it, and I am glad that he will be in good hands.

Until then, everyone pray for me to have strength ... I will hate to leave my baby boy in just a few short days! *sniff sniff*

October already?!

How is it already October?? Jack is 2.5 months old this week. He is rapidly gaining new skills, such as bracing his legs against anything hard trying to stand up, holding his own head pretty steady most of the time, and pushing himself up to his chest and moving his head from side to side during tummy time. He also sleeps very well; we put him to bed at 8pm and most nights he lasts until 4 - 4:30am before he needs to eat! He is generally very happy in the mornings, and a little more grumpy at night, but that's OK. He's a smart, growing boy and needs lots of attention to keep him stimulated and occupied!

In other news, fall has officially arrived in New England. I cannot believe it; that means snow is right around the corner! However, I am bound and determined to enjoy the fall foliage before that happens.


We took a short overnight trip to the Berkshires in Massachusetts with Justin's parents this past weekend (only about 1.5 hours away; I was scared to go any further with such a little baby!) I was amazed, he did great! Only a few crying spells in the carseat, but other than that, he really enjoyed himself. We even had lunch, dinner, and breakfast out in restaurants and he slept through most of it! What a great little boy we have :)

Enjoy our pictures!

On top of Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts, on the Appalachian Trail. It was about 45 degrees and windy on top of that mountain!

Justin, Jack and I outside our hotel before we left to come home. We stayed at the Cranwell Resort and it was beautiful!

Hanging out waiting for the (older) boys to climb to the top of the monument at Mount Greylock! It was cold, good thing Jack was all bundled up!