The new and improved bathroom!

It's done - nearly. We still haven't put in our light fixture because of some wiring that needs to be done but other than that... it's finished!!! This was my project and I'm so super excited about it. Everything was pretty easy to do and went off without a hitch - mostly, til the fire department had to come over yesterday to turn off our water because it was shooting out of the wall... that's neither here nor there. Here are the after pics!

It's an amazing thing...

... a full night's sleep, that is. Jack slept pretty well from about 2 months til about 8 months and then, not so much. He'd have a battery of complaints (at least I think he'd complain if he could talk) including reflux, teething, illness, illness, illness - we've been sick a lot this season. It seemed that if one thing wasn't waking him up in the night it was another and the easiest way for me to get him back to sleep quickly was to trudge into his room and nurse him. Now mind you, Jack is a power nurser so he never nursed for more than five or ten minutes before he fell back asleep. Then I could just put him back in his crib and return to my nice cozy bed. The catch... I was up usually two, sometimes three, and sometimes FOUR times a night! I'd been without an uninterrupted nights sleep for months and it was starting to wear on me. Don't even get me started on naps - Jack was still napping in his swing mostly (I know, I know... terrible habit). So, this past Thursday, I decided to do something about the situation.

I started the Sleep Sense program. It's a way of sleep training your baby and it's completely logical - which is probably why I didn't do this sooner! The main premise is to get rid of all "sleep props". Well, I figured I'd already done that when I got rid of Jack's paci several months ago but, apparrently, I became Jack's sleep prop... a human pacifier if you will. He didn't know how to get to sleep without me when he would wake briefly in the middle of the night. I also moved Jack's bedtime up from 8:00 to between 7:00 and 7:30. What a difference that makes as well!

We started on Thursday night - it was no picnic. He woke up several times crying for me. I'd go in and tell him it was "night-night time" and pat him on the back or stroke his hair til he calmed down. Then, I'd leave the room. Which, of course, started another crying jag but it had to be done. Friday night was better; I only had to go into Jack's room once to calm him down and then he slept til 8 am! Saturday night Jack went to bed at 7:30, woke briefly at 3:45 but didn't need me to calm down, and then slept til 7 am! That brings me to last night... Jack went to bed at 7:30 and slept all the way through til 6 am! Soooo exciting. I feel like a new woman! I forgot how good it feels to get that much uninterrupted sleep. It's dreamy! (pun very much intended)

Nothin' sweeter...

Mama's project

We bought this house with the intention of changing lots of things to make it our home. We've been in a constant state of renovation since about August and becuase of that, several rooms are turned upside down. Well, I decided to bring another one in on the action. Several weeks ago I'd had enough of plaid wall paper in the hall bath - it made me dizzy one to many times so I took it down. I've put up some texture on the walls finally and am getting ready to do some painting once we take care of a little electrical "issue". Here are some before pics - I'll post the afters when the bathroom is finished. We're getting there!

The dizzying wallpaper! Blech!
The texture before the joint compound dried - it dries white!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,
Jack... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

At the end of the day...

Daddy arrived home last night just in time to read Little Man a story. He was pretty interested in something in the area of the changing table. Oh well... at least Daddy enjoyed Jack and the Beanstalk.

Rub a dub dub!

Bathtime is the best time of the day in our house. It can turn a fussy grumpy-pants into the happiest baby in the world. It's amazing what a little water, a few toys, and some bubbles are capable of!

Smile for the camera!

I love to take pictures of Jack. As soon as he hears the click of the shutter and sees the flash he turns it on. Here are a few of my favorites from the last day or so.

Mmmm...

Jack LOVES big boy food! He'd much rather feed himself little morsels than have Jason or I spoon feed him. Here he's dining on a delightful menu of chicken, macaroni and green peas. Delish!

Some sweet hair...

I'm pretty sure every parent is required to give their child a bath-time mohawk at least once.

10 months old!

Jack turned 10 months old on Thursday. We travelled to Corinth to visit my old roomie Michelle and her new little one Brody Nelson. Jack had soooo much fun playing with Ranger, Michelle's Great Dane - he absolutely adores dogs!

Little Brody

Jack and Ranger

True, true...

The shirt says it all...

Hip, hip, HOORAY!!!

Normally, as a woman, I wouldn't think of divulging my pants size to anyone but I'm definitely making an exception for this... Just after I gave birth to Jack I was size 16 (eeesh!). I joined Weight Watchers in mid-October and have been on the way to my goal weight since then. I've still got a ways to go but I'm excited to say that I bought some new clothes today. Check out the size!!!!! (Can you tell I'm excited?)

Welcome Brody!

Some dear friends of ours welcomed their first child, Brody Nelson Vaughn, last Thursday. Michelle was a trooper with a difficult labor and delivery and gave birth naturally (though not by choice) to 10 lb, 1 oz Brody! Way to go Michelle! Congratulations to Michelle and Justin on your precious baby boy. This parenthood thing is a trip!
(This was the best pic of Brody we could get because he was in the nursery the whole time we were there!)

Too long!

Again, it's been forever since I've posted. Jack's finally on the winning end of an illness that began on New Year's Eve! He got a high fever that night that persisted for about 5 days. When we went to the doctor he just had a runny nose and a little cough so the doc wasn't concerned and chalked it up to a virus. Well, Jack had his 9 month check-up about 10 days later and was still sick when we went in. Dr. Raine was a bit more concerned about his little cold which had now turned into bronchiolitis - severe chest congestion with wheezing and a cough - NOT FUN. Turns out the little virus that caused it was RSV - which can be pretty dangerous. Fortunately, we were able to put Jack on some liquid albuterol and get the congestion cleared up in about a week and a half. He's doing much better now and is finally getting some good sleep - something we were missing for several weeks!

At Jack's 9 month appointment he weighed in at 20 lbs, 10 oz and was 29 inches long! He's grown so much. It's hard to believe he's more than doubled his birth weight and has grown over 8 inches since April. Dr. Raine was pleased with how he's doing (other than his illness) and gave us a good report.

All bundled up on a snowy day!

I wasn't taking money from your purse Mama.
Jack on his first visit to IHOP... with his buddies Jude and Riley.
Helping Daddy work...
Playing with his new toy!

Our other "baby"

Since Jack's come along I have to admit I've neglected our other "baby". Lil' Gabby has always been so sweet and Jack gets such a kick out of her. You should hear him giggle when she kisses his little hands. Gabs was so cute sitting in the sun this morning I just had to snap some shots.

9 months old!

Another month has flown by and Jack still amazes me every day. He's crawling like a pro nowadays. I've got to be very careful where I set him down and for how long - he'll be into something or right on my heels if I don't come back fast enough. Little Man's also cruising around everything - the couch, coffee table, fireplace hearth, his swing. He loves to just stand up at the coffee table and enjoy his perspective on things. He'll be walking before we know it! He's really into eating "table food" now. He enjoys picking up and eating peas and carrots along with little bits of meat. Jason's so proud, he had is first bit of beef the other day. He's a true Texan now! Jack also clapped his hands for the first time on Sunday. We were so excited and he just looked at us as if to say "What's the big deal?" Too cute. He says "Mama" more and says"Dada" lots and lots. I can't wait to hear what other words he's got in store for us. It's such a blessing to watch him grow and thrive.

Waaaaay too long!

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've posted last. Woah. That's entirely too long! I don't have a good excuse other than being super busy over the holidays. That, and the den/office/playroom is currently construction central and I try to avoid coming in here at all costs.

So, since my last post sooo many things have happened I'm sure I'll leave some things out from sheer oversight. Let's see, we went to see Santa; got a new (to us) car; had Jack's first Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day; we've been sick a couple of times - right now being one of them; and tax season's begun which means we'll see less and less of Daddy between now and April 15. WHEW! Ok, now for the many, many pictures!

Christmas DayChecking that cute kid out in the mirror...

He's got a fever but he's still smiling!

Jack playing piano and hanging out with his buddy, Riley.

Dear Daddy,

We miss you bunches! See you soon!
Love,
Mama and Jack