No Longer a Newborn

Jack is now an infant. He turned 3 months old on August 27th. It's kind of sad! Although, I have to admit, I am enjoying him more now than I have before. Here's what he's doing at 3 months:

1. He's less fussy. I don't think he was ever colicky, but I was starting to wonder. By weeks 8-10, he started to improve quite a bit! He was actually pleasant to be around!
2. Jack started sleeping 9-10 hours consistently around week 9-10... just before he started daycare and before I had to get back to work. It's been so nice to get a full night's rest these days!
3. He's started to talk, smile, and laugh. My favorite is when he smiles, then buries his head into our shoulder - like he's being shy. It's the sweetest thing ever!
4. Jack's holding his head up really well.
5. He makes eye contact with you and will hold it for a long time.
6. He rolls over from his tummy to back.
7. Every now and then during the night, he'll spin around in his crib... meaning, when we go in to wake him up in the morning, his head is where his feet were when we put him down for bed!
8. He's starting to wake up happy.
9. His baby acne is FINALLY starting to clear up! He still has a few here and there, but I was starting to wonder if he'd have them forever!
10. He's starting to pack on the pounds... my big boy!!

It's kind of starting to hit me that Jack is not going to be a baby for much longer. It's amazing to see his development each day. And more amazing to feel how our love for him grows more and more each day!

Recent Favorite Photos of Jack Attack

This was a mobile photo. Phone's not quite fast enough to catch his moving arms. He's in his rockstar shirt for his Aunt Kristyn.

Another mobile photo - this has to be my absolute favorite.Jack with his famous "scowl". He always does that thing with his eyebrows. He gets it from me...My favorite photo of Jack and Josh... even though he's wearing a cap. I don't like caps. Speaking of caps, the church is taking donations for baseball caps to take on their mission trip to Africa [JOSH, I'M TALKING TO YOU].

Off to Daycare! And Back to Work...

WARNING: This is a long posting....
This was Jack's first week at daycare. I didn't think I'd have a hard time with it, but it was tougher than I thought! We started him on Monday so I could get an idea of what time I needed to get up, when I needed to feed him, how long it'd take to drive to the school, what traffic would be like... you get the point. Even though I wasn't starting back at work until Wednesday, I went ahead and practiced like it was a work day. I didn't get out the door with my teeth brushed or face washed, but I was on the road by 7AM. Pretty good for the first day, I thought. I dropped him off and visited with his teacher for a while before I left, then got in the car and had an emotional breakdown! I don't know what came over me. I came home and asked Maggie (my other baby - the dog) to come give her momma a hug, and let her lick the tears off my face. I pray daily for protection over Jack, and that the Lord would give the teachers wisdom in how to care for Jack and that they would be loving to him, and that he would give me peace that this is where he needs to be right now. I kept myself busy all morning - I had my quiet time, did laundry, picked up around the house a little, made some curtains I'd been meaning to finish for the past year and a half, folded the laundry, and went to the chiropractor to get an adjustment. Crazy morning, but I was eager to see him before long. I didn't have him stay the whole day and ended up picking him up just after lunch. The teachers said he did really well.

Tuesday was a lot easier for me. The Lord covered me with peace and I did not feel uneasy at all. I even got out the door with my teeth brushed! Josh went with me this time to meet the teacher, so we dropped him off extra early - I think we were out the door by 6:30. Jack stayed until 4, and he had another great report.

Wednesday was my first practice day back to work. Let me start off by saying that we've been real lucky because Jack has started sleeping about 9 hours at night. Here's how the day went...

-NIGHT BEFORE - shower, get laptop loaded into car, diaper bag ready, car seat in place, outfits picked out (mine and Jack's - Josh can pick out his own clothes these days...), and anything else I can get done, preferably all before 9:15PM

-5:50AM - get up, brush teeth and pump

-6:15AM - put away milk, feed Maggie, wash face, get in contacts, put on a little bit of makeup so I don't scare anyone

-6:20AM - Josh wakes up Jack and gets him out of his pjs, changes his diaper, and gets him into his outfit for the day while I finish getting dressed

-6:25 to 6:30AM - I feed Jack and say bye to Josh

-6:50 to 7:00AM - grab a quick snack and go

-7:10 to 7:15AM - arrive at daycare and visit with teacher

-7:20AM - off to work!!

I'm going to be honest and admit that I was not able to get in my quiet time Wednesday, Thursday or Friday - and it's been difficult to be consistent since Jack arrived. Once I started getting back into the routine of things, we had to change it up with going back to work! I just don't see it possible to do it before I leave for work unless I get up earlier, which I'm already struggling to get up at 5:50. I'm going to challenge myself to commit some time to do it at night. Please check in on me and ask me about it so that I've got some accountability!! And if you think about it, please pray for me as I work on this!

Overall the week back to work was great! My team was sure not to put too much pressure on me - there weren't any high expectations for me this week, and I even left early a couple of the days to pick up Jack. My bestest friend Kristyn decorated my desk with printed pictures of Jack, and taped "Jack Loves You" to my computer screen. If I remember, I'll have to get a picture of it! It was nice to see everyone again and to get back into the swing of things. I forgot how much fun I have at work and how much I missed everyone!

My sweet friend Melissa surprised me with a "going back to work" homemade frozen key lime pie - well, it was kind of a surprise. Her husband accidentally told me when he shouldn't have. Nonetheless, it was sweet of her to make my fav dessert - and it was delicious!! I don't know where she found the time to make it with her busy schedule, but I'm so glad she did - it was a nice treat!! I'm sure you're salivating from the photo below. :)

Spa Day!!

So, a while back, Melissa and I planned a relaxing afternoon with lunch and an afternoon by the pool. While the three of us were wrapping up lunch at Panera Bread, I found a flyer at the coffee station for a spa special for $99. At first, I strolled right by it... then I had to go back and grab it to show Melissa. At first, I jokingly mentioned that we should go treat ourselves to this "Pamper Yourself From Head to Toe" special, especially since she had a final project and test coming up and I would soon be going back to work. As I started reading out loud what was included in the package, we both knew we needed to call and book ourselves a session. Here's what the $99 included:

-custom balancing facial

-half hour relaxing body massage

-bright eye zone treatment

-eyebrow design and shaping

-profesional GloMineral makeup application and lesson

-shampoo, design and style or updo

PLUS the first 50 callers would get an additional half hour body massage for FREE!

We rushed back to her place and booked our sessions, and yes, we were one of the first 50 callers. Woohoo!

Our spa day was last Friday. I got Jack a babysitter for the first time ever - of course I was a nervous wreck!! But I had so much fun getting pampered at the spa (even though I'd check my phone every few minutes). I even got my hair cut while I was there. I was so excited about getting back to Jack, though! The sitter said he did well and she was still in one piece when I got home. It's so great to get the "firsts" out of the way - it only gets easier after that, right?

Melissa and Mike offered to babysit that evening so Josh and I could go on our first date as parents. It was so nice to be out together! We went to PF Changs for dinner, did a little shopping, went to Marble Slab for ice cream, and were back to pick up Jack by 9PM that night. It was a short date, but the evening was so much more enjoyable since we didn't have to haul a car seat around and wonder if we were interrupting someone's evening out with our crying baby.

Here's Jack and Mike hanging out watching a movie:

Josh and I picking up Jack... if they'd let us, we would've probably left Jack there! Not really - I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten any sleep because I'd be checking my phone every few minutes!!

Meeting Momma's Friends

This week, Jack got a chance to meet some of my closest, and oldest friends.
Lindsey and her brother Kurt came and visited last Sunday to meet Jack. Lindsey and I grew up together in Amarillo. We went to church together, worked together, and probably got into some trouble together chasing after boys! I haven't seen Kurt in a few years and he surprised me with his beard - AND he's in college now! When did he grow up?!
Here's Kurt and Jack. I had to post the photo because of Jack's pout.And here's Linds with Jack. My college roommate Johanna came on a last minute trip last night to meet Jack. She got to stay over and visit with us before leaving this morning for Austin. I'm sure she thought about how boring Josh and I have become now that we have Jack! We cooked a boring dinner, played a little bit of Wii, then watched the news... 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock news. Sad , huh? Johanna's great with kids - Jack took a liking to her pretty quickly!

Jack and Great Grandpa Langley

Jack got to meet his great-grandfather a week and a half ago. It was neat to see Grandpa holding him. He looked so joyful and proud! We're so glad he was able to make it out to see him!

Playtime with Cason

Cat and I had a play date for Cason and Jack a few weeks ago (Cason's about 8 weeks older than Jack). Nothing too exciting for the boys... just some time on the floor looking at stuffed farm animals. I'm sure Cason had a blast - Jack likes to pull on C's hair and ears. Notice in the first picture, he's going for Cason's ear! Sorry about that Cat! They did pretty good together! I can't wait until they're a little older and can have a little more fun. We're so blessed to have such a great friend for Jack!!