Grampa Herb, getting some much needed R&R

Red Hat

The top picture shows how Jack says hello when he walks into a room. The bottom picture shows why he's delicious.

(The hat, by the way, was one dollar. Did I mention the benefits of consignment shopping?)

Ballerina?

Here's Jack after he pulled himself up. Notice the tip-toes.

All This (Except the Kid) for $76

Once you go consignment you never go back. Little does Jack know that (unless it's from a grandparent) he will never again receive another brand new item. When you can get all that for 76 bucks without him knowing the difference, why would you do otherwise? I realize the point of shopping consignment is probably to save money, not to spend a lot of money just to get a lot. But I couldn't help myself. Another shirt for 2 dollars? Sure! An old-school telephone with a smily face for $3? Throw that in the bag too! Look at the picture, even Jack doesn't quite know what to do with himself. But I had to let everyone out there know that I'm not too proud to give my son your sloppy seconds. And if there's one thing I've learned so far as a mother, it's that the more stuff you buy your kid, the more he'll love you back.

And that's one to grow on.

Dark and Grainy, but Too Cute Not to Post

Middle of the Night Ramblings

Well, I see on the oven clock that it is currently 2:21 in the morning. I am sitting here at the computer with a kleenex sticking out of my right nostril feeling a bit woozy (compliments of the Benadryl I just took) and extremely sorry for myself. This has been a tough week. Midmorning Monday I felt a wave of warmth and weakness come over me during third period geometry and a couple hours later I was in bed and stayed there until basically Wednesday night. I did manage to fit in an unhelpful doctor's visit where she told me that I had a virus. Thanks. What brought me in was a toothache, which led me to my sinus infection self-diagnosis. Which brings me to where I am now. I CAN'T SLEEP DUE TO A THROBBING PAIN IN MY TEETH. And it's driving me nuts. I just googled "tooth pain at night", which brought up articles on sinusitus (which, again, is what I diagnosed myself with, only to have the doctor tell me that my sinuses didn't look all that bad). Anyway, I tried this numbing canker sore stuff on the top right part of my mouth and now I have a numb top right side. Except for the tooth pain, which was apparently immune to the numbing effect. So basically I probably have drool slowly trickling out the right side of my mouth without my knowledge, but luckily I have that Kleenex sticking out of my nostril to catch it. I'd post a picture if I had one. I realize I am rambling, but it is now 2:25 in the morning and I am on Benadryl, remember? And I suppose you're all thinking that this blog is supposed to be about Jack, Mr. "Oh, I'm so cute, I'm 10 months old and I can crawl and smile and laugh and everyone loves me", but Mama's in pain, on drugs, and needed a place to post this fascinating story for all the world to see. So here we are. (Was that a run-on, Kimmy?) I have to get up in a few hours because Jack and I are getting on an airplane and heading to Wisconsin to visit the folks. I'm very excited about the trip, not so excited about the plane ride (aforementioned sinuses, aforementioned tooth pain, and aforementioned 10-month old who wants to crawl everywhere). Does anyone feel sorry for me yet?

Now that I've gotten that off my chest and have stuck a fresh kleenex in my right nostril, I suppose I'll post some recent pictures. And don't worry, they are pictures of Jack, not his drama queen mama. Whose teeth still hurt, by the way, if anyone is interested.

Jack's Wheels

That Boy's Got Skillz

The other morning I captured a video of Jack doing all of his latest tricks: crawling, talking, and clapping. Click here to watch.

Crawling=Access to Power Cords

Jack & His Buds

Hair

Success!

It's official. Tonight Jack crawled all over the (clean) kitchen floor on all fours. No inch-worming about it. I don't have a picture to accompany this news, I just felt that I had to report it.

The Case of the Missing Sock

9 Months: On the Move

Happy nine months, Little Man. A lot of changes have happened this month; namely, your desire to MOVE. You haven't quite figured out the full-on crawl yet, but just today you did something I will refer to as the Inchworm. Quite impressive, at least to your dad and I. It's amazing how getting from point A to point B is such a big deal. I've been doing it for years. But the other day when we were playing in the bedroom and it looked like you were about to crawl, I yelled, "Get the camera!" like some kind of crazy lady.

It's also funny when, as a parent, you find yourself doing things in public you used to make fun of other people for doing. For instance, on our walk tonight, your dad and I both started talking (using our outside voices, no less) in funny voices just to hear you laugh as many times as possible. It didn't matter if anyone heard us or not, you were (and are) our primary focus. And I have yet to hear a sweeter sound than your laugh.

Another thing you did tonight was pull yourself to standing while in the bathtub. A bit slippery and scary, but nice work.

You also seem to have formed quite an opinion lately. You know what you want, and you want it sooner rather than later. I suppose you get that from me.

You're eating like a champ and are down to three bottles. Bottles are for eight-month-olds anyway. I gave you your first graham cracker this weekend in the grocery store and you loved it. Now I see why Parker's mom used to steal graham crackers from Jason's Deli. Certain misdemeanors can be overlooked in some cases, I guess, if a satisifed and occupied baby is the result.

Every day I look forward to your next genius discovery. Keep it up.

I love you.
Mama

Hop on Pop

Sweet Sleeper

Surrounded by Stuff

The Sun's Back In Austin

The photo we're sending to the Gerber modeling agency

That poor water bottle didn't have a chance

Family Photo: Casual Dress

Kay and Ava come to Austin over MLK weekend to help Jack celebrate his African American heritage

Jack with Grampy and Gimpy

Nekked Boy

Media Card Corrupted

Above you'll see the pictures I took this weekend when Kay, Ava, and G&G Becker were in town. Oh wait. Actually you'll see the message left on my camera after they left. Imagine cute pictures of Jack with everyone. And one video of my dad scraping--and then licking--every last bit of chocolate frosting off the cake plate. With a knife.

Eight Months Old

Well, Little Man, you started your eighth month out with a bang. Literally. This morning, after a Code Brown, you were on the changing table, in a fresh diaper--BUCKLED IN--and I went to wash my hands. When I came back you were on the floor. And the strap was STILL BUCKLED. You were crying, but as soon as I picked you up you calmed right down. Then a few minutes later you were your flailing, happy self. I took you to the doctor and she said you were just fine; babies are resilient. The irony of this is amazing, considering yesterday's post. Regardless, DON'T DO IT AGAIN, PLEASE. And please don't tell anyone about this incident, as I don't want to be disqualified from the Mom of the Year Competition. I suppose I could run for Most Improved later on, but that's not as highly sought after. In any case, I'm so sorry I wasn't in there to catch your fall.

You had quite a month. You officially have 2 teeth, which makes for a very cute smile. You went on your first long road trip--fourteen hours to Omaha for Christmas. You were a champ, only crying for about 25 minutes total each way. You had quite a time in Nebraska, and met about 450 relatives (slight exaggeration). At one point on the way home, we were stopped in a parking lot enjoying a McRib sandwich, and you sat on your dad's lap and played with the steering wheel. You seemed to enjoy that quite a bit. Or maybe you were just sick of being strapped into your car seat for hours at a time. Either way, you were happy.

Soon after we returned from Omaha, you got a nasty case of croup. Three nights in our bed and two days of steroids later, you cleared it out of your system. Just so you know what kind of parents we are, we sold our New Years Eve tickets to a Rockin Rollerskating Party with an Awesome 80s Cover Band. But you're worth it. I will, however, not hesitate to bring this monumental sacrifice up later in life if and when I need to.

Skillwise, you didn't do much this month. No offense. You're not really close to crawling, although I wouldn't want to crawl around here either with all the dog hair on the floor. Perhaps you'll just go straight to walking. Doesn't matter to me. You've attempted a sippy cup, and although the picture above seems to show otherwise, click here to see a video of your actual sippy cup skills.

You are "talking" a lot more and smiling more than ever, as usual. Keep it up, kid.

I look forward to seeing what next month will bring. I've enjoyed being home with you these past couple weeks. I love you eight times more than I did when you were born. If that's possible.

xoxo Mama

Freshly Showered (Jack is too)

The reason for the straps on the changing table:

La-Z-Boy

Christmas in Omaha

Jack Meets Uncle Jeff, Aunt Erika, and Nana

Sweet Potatoes AGAIN?

Storytime

Sweet Little Man

Christmas Nostalgia

Daily Walk

7 Months of Jack

Happy seven months, Little Man. This month I thought I'd be creative and write a bulleted list of seven new things you can do since last month (get it? SEVEN new things...SEVEN months old):

• -You now have 1.5 teeth
• -You're down to two naps a day (I'm bittersweet about that, no offense)
• -You take baths in your very own blue big boy bath
• -You now take walks in an umbrella stroller like a big kid, making it easier for you to observe your surroundings
• -You sit up completely unaided
• -You're eating solid foods (your menu has so far included sweet potatoes, squash, peas, bananas, cereal, applesauce, chicken, corn, prunes, pears, and bit of dog hair every now and then) and you're down to four big bottles a day
• -You're much more hip-able (now that your neck is so strong I can carry you more on my hip without worrying about your bobblehead)

Wow. What's next???? Driver's license? Girls? College?

It's strange-- in a way I want you to slow down, but at the same time I can't wait to see you crawl and walk and talk. All in due time, I suppose.

I love you, buddy.

xoxo Mama

Did anyone order some cheeks with an extra roll of thighs?