Silly Song Spectacular

Avery's preschool put on a spring program where all of the classes went up and sang the silly songs they had been learning all year in music class. Luke was able to come and he took some video of it; Avery spent the whole time looking over at him and giggling while singing her songs. She wasn't nearly as boisterous as I've seen her act in dance class, and by the end of it she was rubbing her eyes and barely able to keep up (she had a late night before, and she hates loud noises, so I think some of this was her trying to not be shy/nervous/scared). She dressed for the occasion, including fancy earrings, and per her teacher's request, her hair was brushed. Let me explain that one: Avery hates getting her hair brushed, and she's recently decided that hair accessories are no longer fun, so by the time she gets to school, her hair is a mess again. I made her pull her hair back for the performance and we sprayed it down.

The super short version of the program:

Easter 2014

Months and months later, all about Easter! I should be caught up soon on this ol' blog.

We spent a quiet morning at home since Jack was just a couple weeks old. The girls hunted for eggs and Mary Jane brought us a wonderful Easter dinner. Thank you, Mary Jane, for caring for us so well, especially on such an important day!

2 Months

At two months old, Mr. Jack:

Weight: 12 lbs 14.6 oz (50-75%)

Height:  23.5" (75%)

Head Circ: 16" (90%)

• rewards us with the biggest smiles for paying even the slightest bit of attention to him
• is cooing
• has very good head control - he can hold it up for a long time and look around
• hates tummy time
• has begun to notice the mirror on his swing
• is mesmerized by the ceiling fan
• adores his big sisters and loves when they shower him with attention
• seems to be feeling better tummy-wise and only has an occasional bad day now
• has completely stopped the projectile vomiting
• is sleeping so.much.better at night - I'm getting 6-7 hour stretches people!!! Generally we are up once in the night since he nurses frequently til 11 pm and then is down for the next 6 hours or so. At 2 months 3 days he went to bed at 7:30 and I didn't see him again til 1:30, which is the same amount of time slept but means I'm up in the night more since he did his long stretch early. However, this is the trend that I want - our girls always went to bed early and then we could enjoy the rest of the evening, and I'm happy to see that Jack is beginning to follow suit. 
• naps pretty well. He is still in that sleepy stage where he dozes throughout the day, but he is developing a routine where he'll wake between 5 and 6 am, eat, go right back to sleep til about 8:30, is up for awhile, naps, etc. He tends to take a long nap in the afternoon while the girls are having their rest time.
• once he hit about 6 weeks, we turned a corner on all of the difficulties we were having with sleeping/eating constantly/tummy troubles and he's been such an easy-going baby since then. 
• still loves to be held, but I can lay him down and he'll put himself to sleep. We snuggle a lot in the evenings just because I like to and don't get to as much during the day when the girls are running around
• is doing better in the carseat and is usually pretty happy unless he's starving
• doesn't like to hang out in the carseat (stroller) unless it's moving
• loves the sling, any sling. He falls asleep almost instantly. 
• refuses the pacifier, which I'm oddly thankful for. Avery took it until three months, Eleanor finally broke the habit a few months ago, and Jack doesn't like it at all. 
• went on his first and second road trips, both to Houston - once for Mother's Day/family get-together, and again on a quick trip to see my grandma who was in the hospital.

We adore our little Jack!

And, from the past month:

yawn

a lot of time spent sleeping on mommy

first grocery shopping trip with all 3 kids

playing the girls' favorite game: night-night

playdate with the Rains. I remember Skyler as a tiny baby, and now he is holding my tiny baby

Nana came back for a day to bring us a loveseat and a piano

Avery's preschool graduation

He's just so happy!!

Jack and cousin Miles

Week 4

Week 4 brought us more time with Nana, a dentist appointment for the girls (Eleanor's first!), our first date night since Jack was born (he came with us) - dinner at Galaxy Cafe and a trip to Lowe's, a tub bath finally because his cord came off in pieces and didn't heal fully, the girls finally getting to wear their Easter dresses, iPad time thanks to Nana, more babywearing, naps with my sweet boy, and surviving the hardest part of a newborn's life: the first month!

Week 3

Nana arrived! I was by myself with all three kids for a couple days before she got here, so we were extra thankful to have more help. This week brought lots more snuggle time with Jack, some good sleep for me, a quiet Easter at home where we were blessed with a full Easter dinner spread by Mary Jane, and Avery's spring program at school (coming in a future post).

Oh, Eleanor. What am I going to do with you?

Yes, she is making butt-prints with the bubble soap.  

He loves to sleep with his head craned waaaaaayyy back. 

fuzzy hair right after a bath

Week 2

Jack's second week started with a visit from Aunt Michelle, Uncle Nick, and the boys. We were so glad to have them here for the day!

Miles and Jack are exactly 3 months apart, almost to the minute, so we of course had to get photos of them side by side.

 For some reason, we never got a full family photo at the hospital, much to my dismay upon realizing that, so we finally attempted to get one while Michelle and Nick were here. Not a single good shot, but it's certainly real life! At least in this first photo we are all looking at the camera. The next shot - these girl children just can't sit still and focus.

 Lots of bouncing and giggling among the older cousins, followed by another photo shoot to get pics of them together. Notice how successful we were at that.

Yes, Avery is putting her finger in Grayson's ear.

The day ended with a bath for Gray and Eleanor. Grayson was getting ready for bed before the long drive home, and Eleanor stripped down and hopped in with him. She also wasn't familiar with *ahem* boy parts, so when he climbed into the tub, she gave him the strangest look and then told him to "sit down!" Hahahaha.

Thank you for coming to visit us!

More from week 2:

just a diaper change, but I love the tiny little foot peeking above the edge of the bassinet

My mom was here for week 2 - hallelujah!

Jack's first trip out, apart from a visit to the doctor. We went to Mighty Fine for lunch.

 

 Nonnie visited Sunday through Friday (Good Friday) and left when Luke got home from work. We absolutely loved having her here for the week and wish she could have stayed longer. I cried when she drove away. It's hard not being in the same town as my mom sometimes. We had the weekend without any visitors at the start of Jack's third week. Week 3 brought us Nana!