He Slept!

Yesterday was amazing. He went to bed without crying his head off and slept until 8am! Now I know it's possible.

Tiny Milestones

Jack is still rolling and sort-of scooting his way around the house and there haven't been any big milestones this week as he turned 7 months old, but I love the little things too. Yesterday for the first time he found his "binky" on his play mat, went and got it himself, and popped it in his mouth the correct direction. Such a little thing, but it's still surprising every time he does something for the very first time.

He also transitioned to a ring style bath tub so that he can sit up and play in the water more. He loved the change and was all smiles.

 Little Man using the baby bath improperly

 New bath ring, and new hair style for mom

At 7 months he has 0 teeth, will pretty much only eat 1 solid food (apple sauce), but we love the little guy.

Under the chair

Jack is so fun right now and is learning new things each day. Yesterday he learned to scoot backwards and backed himself under our chair. He's also doing a lot of rolling, but no forward crawling yet...

Funnels

 We had a relaxing Thanksgiving and got to see both sides of the family. Dan got an unprecedented 4 days off in a row, which he desperately needed. Black Friday shopping was much much better this year without being pregnant and nauseous and envying the clothes at the "normal" stores while I made all of my birthday and Christmas picks at Motherhood Maternity. My dad and Dan watched Jack while we shopped and they determined that it was indeed a two man operation keeping the baby happy and clean. The highlight for Jack? The funnels of course.

 He also dabbled in the measuring cups and liked the egg separator best

 Crawling practice, maybe?

 Once he's whipped, they hand him back to me.

Favorites

 Just some of my favorite shots as of late.  A lot of them are of Jack eating his first foods, but that has all changed. After he got sick last month, he hasn't been interested in solid foods, but I'm sure he'll catch on again sometime soon. 

  Master of drool, notice the shirt.

He's a pretty sweet kid.

Baby Dedication

We dedicated Jackson to the Lord on Nov 21 with our friends and family gathered around. I made it hectic on myself by trying to rearrange my kitchen and living room, prepare a big lunch, and have the family back at our place after the service. Our duplex isn't huge and we haven't had more than a few couples over at once, so I was nervous about hosting a bigger group on a rainy day, but it went really well and the reception part of it came together as planned.

With prepping the food and house I felt pretty distracted from what we were all there for. Later I thought of how it reminded me of a mini-wedding were you get so wrapped up in planning the after-party that you nearly forget about the vows you're there to make. It didn't help that Jack severely soiled his outfit moments before we were called on stage and Dan and I were tearing around to get him clean and re-clothed in time. Then there were camera malfunctions...all that to say that I was distracted.

We did have a good time together as a family, but after everyone left I skyped with my dad, who missed it all at home with the flu, and he encouraged me to take a moment to reflect on the day, how I felt, and the gravity of the promise that we made. The seriousness of the prayer over Jackson finally hit me and I started to realize the commitment we'd made and how hard it will be to honor it over the next few decades. Only the Lord can give us what we need to raise this child up. I pray that Dan and I can look to Him every step of the way.

 Pastor Alex prays for Jackson

 He falls asleep with Uncle Dubb

 Me with nephew Evan

 Having lunch and opening gifts

 Jack got a kids Bible

 and awesome giraffe shoes

 He LOVED turning the pages by himself

 Evan and Grammie Cheryl

 Grandma and Jack

 Knockout blow

Guitar Lessons

Jackson got his first guitar lesson from Papa Barrett at Thanksgiving. He got to pull on the strings and slap the body of the guitar to make music. I'm not sure which of these two loved it more.

 Playing in the case.

 And getting back out.