Jack is 8 months old

Jack is 8 months old today which makes me realize that we are now 2/3 of the way to 1 and in 4 months I will be the mother of a 1 year old and a 3 year old!! Amazing how time flies! Jack is standing well on his own while holding on. He is just starting to realize that if he lets go he falls. He only really wants to stand but does play fairly well on his own sitting with a basket of toys. He isn't crawling yet, but he does move backwards if you lay him on his belly, so I hope crawling is going to follow fairly soon. Of course, it is probably a blessing that he hasn't started yet because there are all sorts of things to get in to at Nonna & Pop-pop's house. It has been nice that Isabella is past baby proofing for the most part and Jack isn't quite there yet.

Jack is growing like a weed though. We were in the doctors office 10 days ago for an ear infection and he weighed in at 23 lbs 14 oz...so exactly 16 lbs more than at birth! He is already wearing 12-18 months size or 18 months depending on who makes them, for those of you who were wondering. It is a good thing it is summer or we would be rolling a lot of pants!

Sleep is still going beautifully. I hope that never changes. He sleeps from 8 to 7:30 or so in the morning and takes about an hour nap in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon (when Isabella takes her nap...woo hoo!!) I love the predictability of this age. I mean he has been sleeping like that at night since about 4 months, but it is just nice to know that it hasn't changed in a while. The wonderful thing is that this time around we didn't have to "sleep train" so to speak, it all just came a little easier than with Isabella.

Anyway, so both kids are a joy. I still love my job more than anything in the world. There is no job I would enjoy more and no job that I think would give me the same satisfaction as spending my days with these two little blessings. A special thank you to Nick for working so hard to support our family and support me in what I believe is my calling...to be a mom. I love you Nick!

Well Jack is pooping again...so doody calls! :) Here are some cute pictures of little Jack.

Spring has sprung!

Lots has been going on lately. I have been terrible about blogging as my wonderful brother-in-law Doug pointed out to me, so I decided to update.

We recently took a trip down to NC to visit my parents. We took a little trip out to the beach and had lunch and then played. After a little play time we went to the NC aquarium. It was a lot of fun. Julia and Josephine were also in from TX so we got to spend the week with them. Josephine is 11 months in in these pics and Jack is 7.

Grandpa and Jack




Aquarium:


Julia's pregnant 13week belly
We also went to an Easter Eggstravaganza at the base. There were pony rides, face painting, bouncy houses, a petting zoo and more. She loved it!

Then we went back up to VA for Easter. Isabella colored eggs with Nonna.

The Easter bunny brought Jack and Isabella some great stuffAnd after church we did an Easter egg hunt with Gianna and Isabella. Isabella insisted on putting on her tutu under her Easter dress that is why she looks like she is wearing a hoop skirt.


Jack in his soaking wet Easter outfit (from his drool).

Isabella wanted to feed her brother.
Giving him kisses.
Here is a funny picture from a little while ago. I came across it and thought I would share.
And that is about that.

Trip to New Jersey

Me and the kids drove up to New Jersey to Katie and Doug's house on Sunday night so we could be there for Meghan, Riley and Piper's visit. They live in NY and we became friends when our husbands were all attending business school. We hadn't seen Meghan or Riley since we moved to GA almost 2 years ago, but it didn't feel like that long since we get to watch picture and video updates on Facebook and blog. It is so nice that today's technology can allow us to be so much more connected than we were once able. I think the girls enjoyed, as Meghan put, "having their virtual friends come to life."



This was also the first time Katie, Meghan and I got to meet each other's newest addition. Piper and Jack were born two days apart. Piper on August 12th and Jack on August 14th. They are both 7 months now. Mark is just about to turn 4 months. Piper and Jack sat and played a bit with each other, it was very cute.
Jack was very determined to get the cow that Piper was playing with.



Piper was definitely living up to the stereotype that girls talk more than boys. Here she is chattering away, and even seems to be using the cow as a telephone. Meghan and Riley are teaching her well. :)



We even managed to get a picture of the 6 of them together. Ok, we did have to bribe the older ones with M&Ms. :) This picture cracks me up. Isabella and Jack both have something in their mouth, Riley and Piper are all smiles, and Gianna and Mark are both similarly unimpressed with the show that is being put on for them. :)

Washington DC and the Circus!

So our first week in Northern VA was definitely a challenge as we all adjusted to our new arrangement. Nick is in Scranton, PA Monday through Thursday and then he drives down here on Thursday evening and then he works from his dad's office on Friday and then drives back to PA on Sunday night. It works for now.

On Wednesday of last week I decided we all needed to get out of the house and have a little adventure. We drove in to D.C. and went to the Museum of Natural History. I hadn't been in there in quite sometime and so it felt like a brand new experience to me. I know I have been there but I honestly didn't remember anything except the Hope Diamond. Isabella loved all the animals and the dinosaur bones and she loved the giant whale suspended from the ceiling. It was a freezing cold day, so cold I actually turned in my flip flops for shoes before getting out of the car (I know, it must have been really cold). We stayed there for about 2 hours or so before heading back to be home for afternoon nap. It was a good day.

We did spend a lot of time hanging around the house last week too though. Isabella was sticking stickers all over herself and then decided Jack should join in the fun!





On Friday we went to the mall just to get out of the house. Isabella had a little breakdown in the parking lot saying she needed to "go to the white mall" and then describing all these things about our mall in GA. I admit, I got a little upset too, because of course I was missing our old home too. We mustered up the courage to head in to the new mall :) and we had a lot of fun. We rode this little train that they have that runs through the mall. Then we went up to the food court and got some lunch and then Isabella rode the carousel up there. She loved that and it was only 1.50 for a ride. I think she found she liked the new mall just fine.
On Sunday we went to the Big Apple Circus. It a non-profit organization and they put on a great circus and do special programs for children as well. It was the perfect size circus for Isabella and Bello the clown was really good. He was the star of their show. Apparently his family has been in the circus business for 7 generations, over 200 years!! Wow! They use dogs in their show as well and all the dogs the use are rescue dogs from shelters all over the country. Very cool I thought!










As you can see we tried to keep busy and all in all it was a good week. We have had great weather so far this week so we spent yesterday at the park and hope to do so again today!

Georgia on my mind... (oh and Jack is sitting!!)

Well we are officially settled in Virginia and living with Nick's parents. They are so kind to take us in and make room for us here. Nick has started his new job so he has been gone since Monday. We miss him but we know it is going to be temporary. I miss Georgia. I miss my friends and my house. Here is some more of our last bit in Georgia.

We went to the zoo in Atlanta one last time before we left. Isabella enjoyed the petting zoo. She watched a goat poop and seemed very interested in that part of it. :)





We also went to The Varsity, an Atlanta institution, for burgers, chili dogs and onion rings. It was delicious and fun!Our last weekend we spent with our friends Brad and Bridget. This was from Sunday at their house. They had a kick toy that Jack just loved.

Here are a few others of Isabella and Nathan
Me and Bridget

Last bath in our old house
Savoring the last days in GA

Now here we are in VA. Jack is officially sitting up on his own now. He does pretty well and can maintain the sitting position for a while before giving up and wanting to relax. So we set up some pillows to catch him if he fell.

Aunt Jenn came over and braided Isabella's hair on Saturday. It looked really cute.
Isabella had olive hands at Sunday night dinner thanks to her daddy who remembers eating olives off his fingers as a favorite pastime from his childhood.

She tried to eat them but, much like mommy, she doesn't think black olives taste very good. :P