We've had a great February! Hanna was baptized and turned 2 months old, I turned 31, Justin turned 31 (at the end of Jan.), Jack has been the best big brother, and we've really been loving our family of four. It feels so good to have each other. We are so lucky!
At the end of January, for Justin's birthday, we went to a Lady Antebellum concert with our friends and went out to dinner at the Chop House. It was such a great night. My mom, Aunt Jeanne, and two cousins came and watched the kids. Justin and I got to sleep at a hotel and sleep in a bit! We did have them bring Jack to come 'simmin' though. He LOVES to swim! Hanna and I went back to Waterloo a couple days and helped my mom find a new condo! Jack is excited for 'Gramma new house!' We also got to have a 'cousin night' where we all went out to eat at Sakura and to the Screamin' Eagle for some drinks. It was a great time spending time with cousins!! Last weekend we went to Sarah and Ryan's house in town, and Jack loved playing with the kids. He stayed up way past his bed time, but he slept in a little Saturday which was great! Then Saturday night we went to Joe and Tory's to play. I have never seen Emery and Jack play so well together! They were laughing and laughing and even though it was passed Jack's bedtime, we couldn't make them stop. They were in a play house in the dark looking at the turtle that lights the ceiling. We were making a joke about if we needed to check on them, and before we knew it, they were upstairs in Emery's room! Emery was changing into new pajamas to match Jack's with feet, and Jack was playing with Barbies. Jack went to sleep at 10:00! He didn't even crash on the drive home. He's usually in bed at 7:30 so this was a long night. It's going to be fun to watch them grow and play together! We really had a great month and it was nice to get out and about after all the sleepless nights a newborn brings.
First tubby together! Hanna smiled the entire time just watching Jack. Jack was such a nice big brother and didn't splash at all!
Jack loves to see what Baby Hanna is doin! Here is is trying to entertain her by moving the lamb back and forth. Sometimes he gets a little wild smacking the lamb, but overall he is so gentle with her!
Hanna: "Moooom, are you sure this is safe? I'm worried." Jack: "Come ear Baby Hanna! Come ear!"
This kid LOVES his baby sister. He even thinks she's cute when she cries and laughs about it. Very rarely does he say he 'can't hear' or 'too loud' and we plug our ears!
Still obsessed with baby oranges
She's got some red hair!
This little girl loves to nap on her tummy!
Great-Grandma Betty! She made another beautiful ABC quilt for Hanna just like she did for Jack.
Jack's thinking, "Who's this guy? He looks important!"
Hanna's godfather Uncle Mike!
Hanna's godparents: Aunt Laura and Uncle Mike
Godmother Aunt Laura
Grandma Mary
Papa Mick
Nicole and Mike!
Uncle Mike
Jack's buddy
Jack's other buddy
And other buddy! He LOVES his uncles and aunt!
Jack with his buddies Elmo and Ducky!
And his new buddy Doggy from Mommy and Daddy for Valentine's Day.
Hanna's napping spot of choice during my maternity leave. She sleeps in the sunroom like a cat. The sun hits her just perfect and keeps her warm. I love it!
Jack sitting on his favorite step at Grandma Joyce's house! She moves in a few days into her new condo and we can't wait! We'll always remember this step and how he loved going up and down through the kitchen.
Jack stories: February '12, 26 months
“Too Bwight!”: Jack says this every morning. He’s happy as can be standing in his crib until we come get him! Then the second we turn on the lights, he’s sleepy again and hides his eyes while saying this.
“Be eccused?”: Jack said this a few weeks ago and we figured out he must say this at daycare when he’s finished eating! It is so sweet.
The camera monitor has been spotted. One day, Justin forgot to give Jack his medicine he was taking at the time so I pushed the button ‘talk’ on the monitor and said real quick “medicine”. They were downstairs in Jack’s room, and Jack said, “Mommy Mommy!” He kept pointing at the camera. We still don’t want Jack to know we can see him because he’s quite the entertainer and we are worried he’ll mess around trying to be funny for the camera.
When Uncle Mike babysat for a few hours, we came home and he told us that he watched Jack in the monitor after he woke up and he was goofing around, and took off his shirt. He then played a little longer and then looked at the camera because Mike was moving it to the side to get a better view. He actually saw it slowly moving, got very scared, and just stared at it for about 5 minutes. Then he slithered down in the crib and laid back down. We thought this was so funny but it hasn’t seemed to be a distraction since!
A few weeks ago, Jack went on a weird streak where he wanted Justin to take his shirt off while he was giving Jack a bath. He also would request this if he was rocking him and reading books. We are thinking he was getting jealous of Hanna and me but thank goodness, the weird request is over.
“Happy Birthday-Times Day!” (His response after we said Happy Valenetine’s Day to him)
After I gave Jack a little puppy from us for V-day, Jack went and grabbed the sack it came in. It was like he felt bad that he didn’t find time to go buy me a gift! He grabbed it and handed me the sack. “Present, for you Mommy!”
“I texted”: Jack has been requesting this if he sees us on our phone ‘texting’. He asks if he can borrow our phone to texted. He actually looks like he is texting people. We’ve tried to just put our phones down more when he’s home.
The other day we were at a stop light and slowing down. We came side by side with another car and Jack got all excited and pointed and said, “Race cars Mommy!”
Daycare was close for two days this month and Jack stayed home with Hanna and me. I was feeding Hanna, and kept telling him he had to entertain himself so he took out a puzzle book (Thanks Aunt Laura) full of 5 puzzles and dumped them out all over the floor. He then made a path and ran back and forth across the living room through all theses pieces. It was so funny watching him enjoy such a silly thing!
"What's the magic word Jack?" (In the sweetest most innocent voice ever....."Cuuuuuuuzzzz."
"Guess who's coming tomorrow Jack?" "What?" He responds what to questions we ask. Soon enough he'll be responding, "Who?"
Kindermusic: Jack still has a little love at music named Eva. He gets so excited to see her. She plays hard to get though. He just acts more goofy around her. He was so bummed last week when she was gone, but…in walked another girl. This little girl was 18 months and new and had long dark hair and big brown eyes. They looked like siblings. He walked right up to her and they just stared at each other. No moving, no talking, no smiling. It was so cute! I was so proud of Jack though because he finally will run under the parachute and will sit on it as the adults spin it around. He was usually the kid doing what the adults did because he thought it was too risky! He also was singing right along with the songs like Wheels on the Bus! Jack was a brave boy and finally went up to the carpet for story time. I love seeing him get more comfortable. We still are waiting for him to sing in the microphone! That scares him to death. He acts like he will do it, then she brings it over saying, “Ba ba ba!” He just sits frozen until she leaves. Geesh!
Laundry: The other day Jack was helping me with laundry. He would hand me it from the basket. He’d pick up one item at a time…..”Mommy’s, Daddy’s, Baby Hanna’s, Mize, Mommy’s, Mommy’s, Mize, Mize”…etc. I love his tenses for words.
Jack was saying, “My bet day” real loud in bed the other night. And he was saying, “Thank-a-youuuuuuuuu! Thank-a-youuuuuuu!”
Church. Jack LOVES church! The other weekend he was asking to go to ‘chuch with evabody!’. He had so much fun at Hanna’s Baptism with everybody that he wants them to go with us all the time! This weekend we went and walked in right when Father Ray was welcoming everyone. We sat way in the back and the kids all started going downstairs for their class. I asked Jack if he wanted to go and I couldn’t believe he said yes! So Justin took him and he loved it. I can’t wait until he can go alone because I spent about 15 minutes outside with Hanna as she cried putting her to sleep! It was a beautiful day and there was nowhere to go. The new church….much bigger will be ready this summer!
“My best fwend.” Justin has been his lately, but last night Jack said, “My best fwend Mommy.” “I am?” “Ya!” He then said, “My favwite!” Awwwwww
The other night I was feeding Hanna and Jack came over and watched and said, “Haff some?” Ummmmmm…..nooooooo!!!! I had to remind him that he has a sippy cup and moved him along.
“I love you Jack.” “Love you too Mommy! “ “You’re my best friend!” “You’re my best fwend too.” “Kiss Baby Hanna.” It’s so sweet that he wants to do this all the time. He was so sleepy last night so he just told me to kiss her for him.
My class. I took both kids last week to go meet my students. At one point I was over with Hanna and some other teachers, and I look over to see Jack sitting in the middle of my 29 5th graders! They are laughing at him and he is pushing a car back and forth to each of them. He was a ham the entire time. At one point someone asked him if he could go potty in the big potty and he got all excited, "Ya, I go potty! I go potty in my pants!!" They thought this was hysterical and he had no idea he was funny! He was just answering very matter of fact! He also insisted that he was going to school the night before. I had told him we were going to Mommy's school the next day and he dropped everything and said, "I go to school! My school!" He was so excited that he wanted to bring a backpack. So he rolled his Thomas backpack all around the school for the few hours we were there. He wanted it on his back when we walked in though. He's going to love school in a few years.
**I absolutely love watching Jack grow and change everyday. There's always something new that he says or tells us about. I love you Baby Jack! Thank you for making Mommy and Daddy so happy and laugh so much!! We love you more than you will ever know.
2-28-12
Dear Hanna,
You just turned 2 months old. I’m watching you swing right now so peacefully. Mouth is a little open and you are loving going slow from side to side. You are such a sweetie. I will miss when you are too big to fit in the swing. You are so angelic when you’re asleep in it. You just keep making me happier and happier! I want to cuddle with you and kiss your cheeks all the time. Your smile still is the cutest thing ever. It’s pretty easy to make you smile by just looking at you or talking in a high voice. It’s so sweet when we aren’t looking at you and we look down and you are smiling away. It’s so fun that you recognize us now. I’m obsessed with your beautiful blue eyes and your adorable smile. Your cheekers are so cute and I love to kiss them over and over again! To us, you are perfect and we are so lucky you are ours.
You like to wake up between 7 and 8. You then eat, cuddle with me or swing, or go take a morning nap on your belly in the sunroom. You sometimes like the bouncy seat, but not as much as the swing. You like your changing table a lot and you smile and smile when you are there. You eat again around 10 or 11, and then stay up for a bit before taking a pretty long afternoon nap. You sleep between 2-4 hours then! You then eat again around 4 or 5 and then get a little fussy in the evenings. But not too bad! It seems that the second I make my plate for dinner and sit down, you start to cry.
After supper we usually get Jack ready for bed and then watch the Wiggles. The other night you and Jack got to take your first tubby together and you loved it! You stared at your big brother with such big smiles most of the bath! But most nights I give you a bath for about 30 minutes. You love just laying there in very warm water just looking around. Sometimes you kick your feet or splash your hands. After bath time, you come rock with Mommy and eat again before bed. We put you down at about 8:30 or 9:00. Daddy has the funniest routine with you. After you eat, he dims all the lights, comes to get you, and carries you around through the kitchen, sunroom, then does the same loop in the living room. The water is running in the sink this whole time too! Then once he can tell your asleep (usually two laps), he lays you down. You like to sleep on your side or back. On your 8 week birthday, you slept from about 9-5! Last night, you slept from about 8:30-4:30. We are liking this! But usually you sleep until about 2:30 or 3:00, wake up to eat, and then take quite awhile to put back down, and sleep for another 2 hours or so. Sometimes Daddy just stays up and works or goes into work early! He’s such a good Daddy! He puts you to bed EVERY night, and brings you to me to feed you in the middle of the night, and stays up with you until you fall asleep again. He also comes home most days for lunch so he can spend time with you. You are so lucky to have him! He loves to hold you when you are content and sweet like last night.
You went to the doctor yesterday, and are 22.5 inches long now (46%), and weigh 11.13 lbs. (59%), and your head is 15 ¼ in. (61%). You are healthy as can be! We are trying not to give you your Zantac anymore to see if maybe your reflux issues are gone! We hope so!
We try to have you take a bottle a couple times a week to get you ready for daycare. You eat anywhere from 4-7.5 ounces!
We love you so much Baby Girl! Baby Angel! Mommy and Daddy
