a typical afternoon

Jack a Roo,

Late afternoon around our house means play time! Even on your changing table you’re ready to play! {Don’t worry grandparents, Mark was right next to him, I promise!} You’ve become quite a squirmy little guy up there, so we’re learning to be really quick with diaper changes. We play on the floor, sit up, roll around, and practice crawling! Each new toy we show you goes, of course, straight to your mouth! You’re still not really a drooler, but I’m sure that will come when your little teeth decide to pop in. And after all that playing, you’re usually ready for a little nap before dinner. We love that you’re on such a great schedule-I think that keeps you happy!We love you, little guy, and we LOVE playtime with you!

Ready, Set, Crawl?!

Pardon the poor quality, but look at what our little boy is doing!  Really?!    He likes to push up with his legs, pull them under, and then push up with his arms.  He’s moving forward a bit, but he doesn’t have the crawling motion down.  It looks like any time now though!

Lucy Loo

Mark, Jack, and I headed to Fort Mill today to meet little Miss Lucy Rabb and to visit with the rest of the family.  Grace and Sarah are already super big sisters, and Lauren and Bryan are doing beautifully as the proud parents of three beautiful girls!

We like to think that we have an arranged marriage already in place, so please meet Jack’s future wife!  Lucy Loo and Jack a Roo-cute, huh! :)

Our Saturday

Jack practiced with his new sippy cup today! We had one cup that he has been playing with, so we went to Target today and bought some new ones with handles to try. No actual drinking happened, just a lot of chewing and leaking!

I’m still going through my photography DVD lessons, and I wanted to try a silhouette and a sunburst {sunflare?}. I’m so glad I have such a willing little model!

And what’s a Saturday without play time with daddy! My boys are so silly!

Jack’s new book

We’ve been reading to Jack for a while, but he’s really started to enjoy the books lately.  It’s so fun to watch him because it really looks like he’s reading!He got a new book, “My Very First Book of Words” by Eric Carle {thanks La!}, and he loves it!  It has simple words on the top and pictures of the words on the bottom.  The idea being to match the word to the object.  As we were reading it, Jack got tickled at the word fish! We tried other words ending with –ish, and he loved it!!

You are so funny, baby Jack!!  Thanks for always making us laugh!

Sneak Peak

Take a look at a few of the pictures Ashley took of our boy on Sunday! We're totally biased, but I think they're SUPER cute! And don't forget to leave a comment on her site so we can get a free 5x7!

Oh how HAPPY!

We sing that song to Jack all the time, and oh, how true, how true!! We wear a constant smile on our faces because of the pure joy this little guy brings us! He seems to grow and change each day, and we don’t want to forget a minute of it! I love all the fun faces and sounds he’s making and his super soft, fair baby skin.We had some pictures taken of him on the Horseshoe on Sunday, and I can’t wait to see how they turned out! In an effort to take advantage of the digital age and provide a bit of instant gratification, Jack and I had our own little photo shoot today! I know once I see Ashley’s beautiful work, I’ll realize how much I have to learn!He’s using his hands a lot to reach for toys, our faces, anything that catches his eye really, and he pats a lot! My favorite is when he pats my hands! He’s pushing up with his arms so much right now and really wants to get moving! He does this fun thing where he puts his face down and pushes up with his legs. Then he looks up to see if he’s made any progress! Almost there, little guy! Oh how happy you have made me,Oh how happy you have made me!! We love you more than words can say, sweet boy! I pray that you will always keep your happy, positive attitude-everything is so much better that way!

Six Month Well Check

We went to see Dr. Trey today, and I am pleased to report another clean bill of health! We were able to answer ‘yes’ to all the milestone questions, and everything checked out perfectly!

I’ve been taking a picture of him on the scale at each visit-I guess we’ll have to sit him up next time! Look at my long boy-this cracks me up!

Weight: 16 pounds, 14 ounces-50th percentile
Height: 29 inches-off the charts!
Head Circumference: 17 inches-50th percentile

Nostalgia

I’ve been really trying to learn as much as I can about photography, and in my internet searches, I found I ♥ Faces-GREAT website! They frequently host photo challenges, so I decided to enter this week! The theme was Nostalgia.

I could just daydream about his sweet little baby hands and toes thinking about how little they were, how much they've already grown, and what this is still to come! I hope we can show him that those hands and feet will take him anywhere he wants to go!!

**UPDATE**

Next time I enter a photo challenge on a blog about faces, maybe a should include a FACE in my picture!! HA! What was I thinking?!?! :)

Lucy Carolyn is here!

Baby Lucy arrived this morning at 7:47 weighing 7 pounds, and everyone is doing great!  Congratulations Lauren and Bryan and new big sisters Grace and Sarah!

Welcome to the world, Lucy Loo!  We cant wait to  meet you!

Love,
Mark, Michelle, and Jack

Crazy Baby!

This is how I found Jack this morning-I love that crazy baby!!

(taken from my phone-ignore the quality and focus on the cute baby!)

26 weeks, 2 days

Baby Christian

Jack and I made a trip to Fort Mill today to meet baby Christian-what a treat!  He is so sweet and cuddly, and if Laurie wasn’t looking, I may just have taken him home! We tried to get a picture of our boys, but I didn’t get a very good one.  I’d pick up the camera and no sooner put it right back down to go take Jack’s hands off Christian.  I’m telling you, EVERYTHING goes straight to his mouth, and I don’t think that sweet baby is quite ready for six month old drool!  And my little monkey!  He likes his paci when it’s nap time, but any other time it’s the paci strap that he loves!Thanks for letting us come visit, Laurie!  We love you all and look forward to watching that little man grow!

It's a girl! It's a girl!

We just found out that we'll have a little NIECE in December! Lindsey and Ryan had a doctor's appointment this morning, and all is well! What a blessing! Congratulations mommy and daddy to be!

Six Months Old

Half a year old already!?!? Unbelievable but true! Everything you’re doing now is my favorite, but I say that all the time! The truth is, being your mommy is my favorite! You are still the happiest and sweetest boy I know, and I’m so thankful that you’re mine!

This past month you’ve really mastered sitting up. You can’t yet get to sitting by yourself, but you’re doing a great job at sitting up straight and staying that way for a good while.

You talk to us quite a bit, and we love it! You’re also very generous with your laughs, and that is quite possibly the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard!

You've started eating solid foods on a regular basis. So far you’ve had sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, and carrots, and you liked them all! You still nurse five times a day, but I think with the addition of food we’ll stretch your feedings to every four hours or so, so you’ll drop a feeding.

The minute you can get your hand on something, anything, it goes straight to your mouth, but we don’t see any teeth just yet. You also like to pat. My favorite is when you’re nursing and you pat my chest and play with my hands. That is such a special time for us!

You still sleep great through the night, and the swaddle is all but gone! We did the one arm thing for a bit, but right now we loosely wrap you while you’re falling asleep, and before we know it, the blanket is completely off. You love to sleep on your side, and we often find you that way or on your tummy. No more sleeping on your back for you! It’s been a magical half year, sweet thing! We love, love, LOVE you-more than words can say!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Play Group

Jack and I went to his first play group today, and we had so much fun! It was great to be with other mommies of babies Jack’s age and for them to ‘play’ with each other!

We met Marni and Elizabeth (6 months-she and Jack share a birthday!!), and got the spend time with Brittany and Reese (5 months), Mary Lane and Emmaline (7 months), and Clark and Katherine (10 weeks). We were missing a few friends with boys, but for this week, Jack enjoyed being the only boy with all the pretty girls!I missed getting a picture of all the girls, but I did get some of sweet Emmaline! She does this precious head tilt-model in the making! They were playing nicely on the floor, and Jack went in for a hug-and it looks like a kiss! At first Emmaline was less than impressed, but then she gave him a sweet smile! Thanks for having us, Brittany! We can’t wait till next time!

Outside

I’ve been wanting to take some pictures of Jack outside but wanted to wait until he could sit up.  He has that figured out, so we headed outside after dinner to snap away, and it was a quick few pictures because he wasn’t too sure about the grass!

Daddy to the rescue!!

Baby Dupree #2 is set!

Erin and I had a great time hosting a diaper shower for Amy yesterday! Baby Dupree is due in three and a half short weeks, so Amy is working on her to-do list. She can cross "Buy Diapers" off that list for a long time to come! Visit Amy's post for some cute pictures!

We can't wait to find out if Emory will have a little brother or a little sister--she says it's a boy! We'll see if she's right!

Yep, he’s a keeper!

I don’t think I can love him any more, and then I look at him again and I do!You’re my heart, little one, and I love you!