7 Months Old!

I've got some serious catching up to do, seeing as how it's been weeks since I've bothered blogging and much has been happening or will be happening soon, but in the meantime, let's start with an obvious one: Jack turned seven months old!

We spent this past Saturday - his seven-month birthday - at a company BBQ for David's new job (well, job he started in February, but still pretty new!), and had a great time! Good food, drinks, volleyball, salsa competition, trampoline time - you name it!

At seven months old, Jack:

- weighs roughly 17ish pounds, and is nearing 28" long (done by super official guesswork based on his last height/weight a month ago....)

- is finishing up the remainder of the size 2 diapers, and then will be in size 3's.

- though he eats solids, he's still mainly breastfed, and he likes it from the tap. No bottles to wash around here!

- enjoys pears, chicken noodle, turkey rice, avocado, mixed veggies, applesauce, sweet potato, bananas (sometimes) and cinnamon oatmeal baby food. Not a huge fan of green beans, but we'll continue to introduce them to see if he changes his mind.

- is grabbing ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! If it isn't nailed down, expect Jack to find a way to get it in his hands.

- isn't officially crawling, but looks poised to launch anyway now. Until then, he's happy to turn himself in circles - whatever direction mommy is - and roll around. He is also pretty proficient at scooting himself backwards.

- says "mama" very clearly and constantly. He also makes the "ba", "ga", and "da" sounds occasionally, though mama he seems to understand the meaning of, and yells it my direction when anyone else is holding him, or if - God forbid - I set him down.

- still sleeps next to me, and wakes up to eat once or twice a night.

- wants to be held at all times, though will agree to play on the floor with someone if he's in the right mindset.

- enjoys his jumper, the Lion King exersaucer, any toys that make music, esp. the piano table, and anything he can stand up and hold onto. He can't stand up on his own for the most part, but if helped into a standing position, he can sustain it for a while, and he LOVES it. I feel like we're going to have a much happier baby when he can walk. And I feel like that won't be too long at this rate!

- is a total mama's boy, but seems to like women in general. Probably because he's surrounded by them constantly! He really adores Ava, too, of course!

Jackson, we love you so, so much, and these past seven months have been so wonderful being your mother. Happy seven months, baby boy!

Swingin' Through Spring!

Jack loves to swing! And I love to have my arms free for a few minutes - LOL! Here's my adorable little man, swinging his way around town. Clearly, nothing newsworthy is going on around here these days :)

His first time swinging, a week or so short of five months :)

 And here, just shy of six months. Little man was obviously tired!

Jack's First Easter!

Easter is by far my favorite holiday, and I'm finding it more and more exciting each year to spend it with my children. Between Ava anticipating the many Easter egg hunts we do around town each year, to my husband joining us for church on Easter Sunday, to Jack's first Easter (and the many outfits that accompanied it!), I just love all the happenings surrounding the holiday. More importantly, however, is the general feeling of joyful revelry, with the celebration of Christ being risen. Alleluia!

This year, in an effort to make the most of it for Ava, who was old enough to participate, and for Jack to at least be exposed to the general merriment and good spirits, we participated in FIVE Easter egg hunts, went to a playgroup party, and joined in the fun on Easter Sunday at our church. I'm already looking forward to next year when Jack is old enough to hunt eggs! This year, I would have just looked like a greedy mommy, and since I can't have dairy in the first place, well, the less chocolate hanging around my shelves, the better!

First, there was our annual playgroup Easter party and egg hunt at the park:

Then, a celebration for alumni at the Theta house, complete with petting zoo and cookie decorating:

Friday brought our favorite egg hunt, the Pemberton Heights Easter Egg Hunt. Mainly, they have Starbucks and donuts. I couldn't have the donuts, but Starbucks, yes, thank you!

In preparation for the big day, we dyed Easter eggs and decorated them with funny faces and hair with grandpa and grandma. Definitely an Easter highlight for Ava!

And then, it was Easter morning. Our Easter bunny went easy on the kiddos this year and didn't hide their baskets in too tricky of a place :) 

Jack was quite excited!

After the sugar coma ensued, we headed off to church (sounds like a great combo, right?), and Ava helped the other kids to flower the cross - an annual favorite - and hunted for eggs.

  

And last, but certainly not least in the South, the cascarones!

Happy belated Easter, everyone! 

Jack Meets the Easter Bunny, and Doesn't Hate Him.

Well, that turned out better than expected...

Babywearing Love!

Can I just say, Thank God for Babywearing! It's the only way I could have survived the past six months! And I am so, so thankful for having stumbled across the Babywearing International Group in greater Austin. So many of those lovely women have been so kind and informative and helpful, and without them, I wouldn't have known where to start. So happy to know them and be a baby wearer :)

Jack's First Foods!

Now that Jack's six months, we're starting solids. I could bore you with a list of stuff he's eating and how he feels about it, or I could show you these cutie pie pics of him stuffing his face :)

Clearly, he's kind of on the fence about it. The spoon? Oh yeah, gimme gimme. The food? Eh, it's kind of a "What the heck is this in my mouth?" type reaction. The best, though, was watching him look at his hand underneath the plastic bib, being able to see his fingers clearly, but not being able to get them into his mouth because of the bib. He was SO confused. Babies are so dang cute!