It's Been Awhile, But...

Here is a video compilation that Justin made of Jack and I coming home from the hospital after 5 very long days! It was exactly 4 months ago today. It is amazing how much bigger he is, and how far we have come. He was a tiny little thing - just 5lb 14oz when we left the hospital! It is nice to relive these memories because it all has passed in such a fuzzy blur. We are so lucky to have such a sweet little baby boy. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We had a great time hanging out with Nonny Sue and Mr. Farrell (Pop Pop!!!) for Thanksgiving. We all ate lots... the food was great! Even Jack liked it!

"Nom Nom Nom, I love sweet potatoes!"

"These are so good, I even want to hold my own spoon!"

Jack joined us at the table for 1/2 of dinner... then he decided that he was tired and needed a nap. It was a good first solid food outing!

Once his grandparents went home on Saturday, we ventured out to the stores for a little Christmas shopping. Most of it turned out to be Santa presents for Jack (it's *much* more fun to buy for him than to buy for each other!) We did get him one present that we gave him early: a fresh-food teether. It's a little mesh bag on a handle, and we put pieces of frozen apple and frozen pear in it. He loooooooved it so much! It kept him entertained for hours. I think this is definitely evidence that he is indeed teething.

"Mom, those sweet potatoes were awesome, but these apples...they are sooooo much better!!"

We are enjoying him more and more every day, even though he is getting fussy more often now that he is teething, which the doctor confirmed. He had his four-month checkup on Wednesday, November 25. His stats were the following:

• Length: 24.5 inches
• Weight: 15 lb 3 oz
• Head Circumference: 40 cm

He also had the joy of the following immunizations:

• DPT (diptheria, pertussis, tetanus)
• Hib (Haemophilus influenza type B)
• Polio
• PCV7 (Pneumococcal)

He was sore and cranky for a day, but recovered nicely again. His next appointment will be in two months, when he will be 6 MONTHS old!!! I cannot believe it. He is growing up so fast!

We had a great weekend overall, without mentioning of course the two painful losses incurred by both Georgia Tech and Florida State. I don't think anyone will claim that Jack has been good luck for either team!!

More to come soon. Lots of love from cold New England.

Jack & Food

Lately we have been trying a few bites of new foods with Jack. I wouldn't necessarily claim that he has officially started solids, because a) none of it actually makes it in his tummy (see below), and b) we only give him a few spoonfuls at most of whatever it is.

So far, we discovered that he loves popsicles. I plan to try pureed sweet potatoes over Thanksgiving. This past week, however, we tried organic baby oatmeal mixed with breastmilk. He was totally NOT a fan! We decided that trying this newfangled spoon concept in the bath was a good idea, and you can see why...

We will be persistent and continue our quest soon! We don't want to rush anything and he is still getting all of his nutrition from breastmilk. It is a fun experience, though, to see his super funny faces when he tastes something he does or doesn't like. He's turning into a big boy before our very eyes!!

Thanks to great recommendations from Sam, I will be making all of Jack's food, at least for the forseeable future, from recipes contained in this book:

Top 100 Baby Purees

While I feel that, like formula, other babies do absolutely fine on store-bought baby food, I am going to try and give him a fresh, organic start by making our own. With his dairy allergy, I think it's safer, and it may inspire Justin and I to eat much healthier too!

Much love, more soon!

Jack Rolled Over!!

This morning, Jack and I were playing on the floor. I kept manually rolling him from front to back and back to front, saying, "look! This is how you roll over! Look how fun it is!" He just kept looking at me like, "Mom, seriously, you are more than a little disturbed..."

At around noon we decided to take a walk outside. I had left him doing tummy time on a blanket with all his toys surrounding him, while I quickly went to grab a pair of socks from his room. I came back and VIOLA!! He was on his back! He looked at me with the funniest expression, as in, "Hey! What just happened?!?"

He hasn't done it again yet, but it's a big accomplishment and for now we are so proud of him. We thought he was just a lazy bum. Apparently he isn't :)

Love,
Kelly & Justin

Fall Fun

We took Jack out to play in the leaves on Sunday afternoon. Justin set up a bonfire to burn some of the debris and in the meantime, Jack had a great time playing! He giggled up a storm when we buried him - it's kind of like "Where's Waldo?" - except it's "Where's Jack??"

It was about 45 degrees and sunny out, and he got to venture out in his super cuddly bear suit for the first time. He loved it! We went for a short walk and all of us enjoyed the brisk fall air. Soon enough it will be snowing and too cold for wonderful days like this.

A Few Videos

Jack can hold up his head really steady now, and for a very long time. He also looks about 20 pounds lighter when he doesn't have three chins :)

Jack found his tongue!! Just in the past two days, he has been very fascinated with sticking his tongue out all the time. We thought it was hilarious!