Is 2009 really almost over?!

It seems like this year has flown by. I was just looking back at our old posts and we have come so very far in a year. At this time a year ago, I was newly pregnant, still nauseous and sick, and not even out of the danger zone of the first trimester. Now, we get to snuggle every night and every morning with our own little beautiful bundle of joy. We are blessed and lucky in so very many ways.

It took us such a long time to get pregnant with Jack - so many months of hoping, waiting, wishing, and inevitably disappointment, crying, and sadness - that I look at him every day, even when he's fussy or screaming or just trying our patience, and I think of how very lucky we are. Jack is truly a miracle and right now, in the spirit of the season, it makes me so thankful.

Justin and I are both also very lucky to be employed in this economy at companies that are doing well, and appreciate us and are flexible and supportive of our family. We are lucky to have our health, our house, and the freedom to travel to visit those dear to us. We are most especially lucky for such wonderful family. Even though we are far away, we are supported by such loving and caring people on both the Farrell and the Crosby sides, and Jack is lucky to grow up in this environment with grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and extended family and friends who love him very much.

Now that my sentimental mushiness is over, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who is close to us, and who has made a difference in our lives, and has supported us through the best, hardest, and most amazing year of our lives. We love all of you very much! Happy 2010 everyone! Here's to another AWESOME year.

Jack's Christmas Dinner

Prunes! He loved them. He tries new foods all the time and usually is this excited (but thankfully isn't always this messy!!) Lesson learned today by us: don't hold the container of food close enough for him to dip his hands in. Because he will. (Evidence: his right hand. It's totally brown.)

We are loving our little foodie! :)

A Photo Extravaganza....

Our tree, complete with all of Jack's artwork from daycare.

Watching TV in the morning before school. Just like his Mom and Dad!!

Talking to the birds at the Cloister. I have never seen a kid LOVE birds as much as him. I guess eventually we will be getting one...

Jack's finished nursery. I don't think I ever posted this, but it's my favorite room in the house!

The Christmas card that Jack made us at daycare, complete with his handprints and a picture of him playing with all the glitter :)

Jack super excited while opening presents on Christmas morning (sorry for the blurriness, he was being Mr. Squirmy!)



VERY HAPPY with his haul from Santa!!

Learning to sit up like a big boy ... and loving every minute of it!

Getting ready for his first airplane ride! Just hanging out at Logan International Airport waiting to head to Georgia on 12/12/09.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends!! Here are a few pictures from our visit home, to the Cloister on Sea Island, Georgia, where Justin and I spent our wedding night. We went to see all the beautiful decorations and take Jack to relive old memories!

Happy 5-Month Birthday Jack!!

Today Jack is 5 months old! He is such a big boy! What new things can he do? Let's see...

• Grab objects with both hands and pull them into his mouth. This includes anything from toys to blankets to Mom and Dad's fingers to hair to jewelry to my bag of animal crackers on the airplane. We are in trouble. No wonder he's sick every 4 days!



• Get mad when you take a toy away. This is a new development. Two nights ago he was playing with a teething ring and I took it away so that I could get him ready for his bath (his favorite time!) What did he do? Threw a mini temper tantrum! I was shocked! He is too young to have such a strong personality. Again, we are in big trouble.



• Entertain himself at 4am. Last night, he woke up hungry and proceeded to pig out only to throw most of it up all over both himself and his Mommy. So I changed him, his PJ's, and my nightgown, and of course this fully woke him up. I rocked him for a good 15 minutes until he seemed asleep (FAKER.) I put him down in his crib on his tummy and he promptly lifted up his head, gave me the biggest smile in the history of the world, and proceeded to entertain himself by trying to physically grab and pick up the pattern of circles on his crib sheet. I said... "Jack, I am tired and I am going to bed. If you want to play, fine. But I am not supporting your habit." I left him alone and he was totally okay! I have no idea what time he finally fell asleep but it made me feel good that he could put himself to bed. This bodes well for us!



• Eat solid foods. He is a starvin' marvin!!! Breastmilk is no longer enough for our little guy. He loves to chew on orange slices, apples slices, pear slices, and even lemons (eww!) He loves pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, and prunes. Actually, the only thing that he has so far NOT liked is peaches. Weird for a kid from Georgia!! We are having fun trying out new foods with him (although I have to keep telling Justin that NO, he cannot have cookies, or chocolate, or a piece of steak.)



• Celebrate Christmas! We are going to Sam and Tony's tonight for Christmas Eve, and then it will be bedtime for Santa's arrival for the first time to our house. We are thrilled and hope Jack loves his first Christmas. More pictures soon!

Jack's Baptism

We took Jack home to Georgia for a relaxing, fun-filled week with family and friends. Our first order of business was to have him baptised. We did so at Justin's church in Valdosta. They were kind enough to agree to baptize Jack on short notice and it was a beautiful day for all!

Jack and the Flu

So our little guy had his first setback - the flu. I guess it was unavoidable this time of year, but it was still miserable for all of us nonetheless.

His fever spiked at 102 and he was throwing up, coughing, and wheezing. Nothing breaks your heart more to see your little one sick and not be able to help!

While he is back at daycare and I think we are past the worst of it, he still is sleeping a bit more than usual. Hopefully that will return to normal soon so that we can have a successful trip home to Georgia next week. :)

Jack Visits Santa

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!
We took Jack to the Natick Mall to visit Santa. Amazingly enough, Santa was from Conyers, GA ... which I think I may have spilled to the little kids behind me in line. Oops! I need to learn about this being-discreet-while-you-are-around-kids thing. :)

Needless to say, Jack picked the exact time that we wanted him to meet Santa to take the world's longest nap. We walked around the mall and wasted some time, and finally woke him up, fully expecting him to scream and cry through the whole photo shoot.

Boy, we were surprised! He is a little ham! (Not that we didn't know that already.) He was enthralled with all the kids running around and loved Santa. I hope it stays this way for years to come!!


Jack @ 4 and a half months old...lovin' Santa already.

Crazy Hair Day!

Today was "Crazy Hair Day" at daycare. Justin was more excited than Jack, I think, at the prospect of purposefully messing up his hair. Unfortunately we decided last Sunday to give him a haircut (the mullet just wasn't helping the southern stereotyping in New England!) So we didn't have quite as much to work with, and this picture is from Justin's phone, but Jack looks adorable all the same. :)

His newest feat is that he is trying OH SO VERY HARD to sit up on his own! Every time he's even reclining just a little, he will strain and strain to sit up straight. I think it will be no time at all before we have a regular little sitter on our hands!

Happy Tuesday everyone!