Jack is Four Months!

Baby Gym Pro

My Sweet Son,

You are four months old today and each day with you just gets better! In the past couple days you've definitely become more vocal. I think that sometimes you just talk & yell because you love the sound of your own voice, but that's fine with me for now because I love your little voice, too.

You've totally perfected your baby gym such that you do not let one song finish before you're pulling the ladybug for the next song. Unfortunately, you're not nearly as impressed with the baby gym anymore, which makes me a little sad because it means that you always want to be held you are getting bigger and I still want you to be my little baby boy.

Photo Credit: Lindsy Read

One of my favorite parts of the day is rocking you to sleep at night. We turn on a little music and discuss all the fun we had over the day and plan adventures for the following day. You're a very sweet listener and let me do all the talking. I'm so thankful that you still love to snuggle your mama and I love the sweet, contented sounds you make when you sleep. And as much as I LOVE sleeping with you I have to force myself to limit our snuggling naps. Partially because you sleep like your daddy (very loudly and wiggly), which doesn't allow for very good rest for mama, but also because it would be way too easy to fall into a pattern.

Our friend, Lindsy Read of LMR Photography, came to take pictures of you today, which I planned to do months ago. She did a wonderful job and I'm excited to get them printed up. I cannot wait to get pics with you, your brother & sister. I can tell you love them already. It's been awhile since you've seen Therin so I'm glad he's coming soon, and nobody gets you giggling like your Kylie. Oftentimes, you're content to just stare at her. It's kinda creepy sweet.

Happy (Four Month) Birthday, Jack!

The Fixer-Upper

I have a confession that I probably should have told my husband prior to marriage. Instead, it was sorta like he got sucker-punched. Twice. You see... I love fixing up houses. You may have thought the title of this post was in reference to the house, but it's actually about me. You see, growing up, my step-dad worked in construction. Our home in Seattle was under perma-remodel. My poor mother spent a whole summer with a kitchen under remodel, doing dishes in the bathtub. When we moved to Sequim, Lane began work on our home there. Perhaps, I can blame the constant construction on my house-fixing expectations.

At any rate, we have lived in our current house since September 2008 and thus far we have removed popcorn ceilings, painted 6 rooms, ripped out carpet & replaced it with hand-carved (fake) wood floors, installed shelves & cabinets, swapped out 5 light fixtures, installed a woodstove, new carpet in 3 rooms, (almost finished) crown molding, and some new trim. Not to mention the necessary improvements - new roof, stove, and fridge. I wish I had before and after pictures for all the rooms because they would be amazing.

Here's an update on the downstairs. Without the "Before" picture, just imagine nasty, outdated carpet. Oddly placed, cinder-block fireplace with random space on either side. And, now we have this...

My handy husband tiled the floor & fireplace. Then, our new friend, Bryan Jacobson of Tacoma Woodworks, built the awesome cabinetry and mantle to help provide storage (cus you can never have enough of that) and to add clean lines to the room, rather than weird, spider-inviting nooks. The odd string that you may faintly see at the top is to draw cable cords through to the cabinets. Eventually, there will be a TV mounted above the mantle.

Next, I just need to decide on a paint swatch. So far I've ruled out the three colors below, but we're getting there!

Woodlawn Blue, Sea Glass, & Embellished Blue

Our downstairs ceiling is currently very classy, school ceiling tiles and I'm hoping for an upgrade. Please vote via comments. Should the ceiling be remodeled with wainscoting or drywall? Help us decide!

I love the PNW

West Coast Sea Glass (aka MB & Lins) took a trek to some PNW islands to track down new wholesale stores, and Jack tagged along for the food. Here are a few pictures from our couple day adventure.

Mama & Jack

Deception Pass is another one of mama's favorite places.
This picture doesn't do the view any justice.

Langley, WA

An old bridge near the Coupeville ferry.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

"Irish You Would Kiss Me"

Jack Loves Church

Laughing Jack

Jack loves going to church for several reasons. First of all, his mommy loves he loves to get all dressed up in his cute outfits. Also, nothing puts Jack to sleep like a sermon coupled with the warm & toasty Cry Room. More importantly however, Jack loves seeing all his lady friends. As soon as service lets out, Jack wakes right up and is quickly surrounded by a gaggle of girls (young & older). Like, his darling Kayla who has promised to always babysit for free.  However, I think Miss Melissa has his heart most of all. Jack almost looks bashful for his less-than-subtle giggles, wiggles & smiles directed at Melissa. Oh, I think we're in trouble, folks!

P.S. Jack says, "thank you for the cool hat, Kim & Doug!"

Funny Things Our 17yo says...

Jack & Kylie watching t.v.

Since we are horrible parents and poor service attendees, Kylie had to ask what people do at an Ash Wednesday service. After explaining the meaning and what happens, she seemed momentarily confused about receiving an ash cross on the forhead... Her face quickly brightened and she exclaimed, "oh, like Simba!" Yes, Kylie, the sign of repentance is very similar to being annointed by Rafiki.

Then tonight we were talking about prayers and Kylie said that she wouldn't know what to pray except, "Dear God, Thanks for the food. Amen." I told her that was close, but usually people do more. "They pray for more food?!"

Jack is 3 months old

Jack is 3 months old today, and even more fun than last month. He has perfected his rolling over, which I finally captured on video today (see below). Although Jack isn't an early riser (praise Jesus!), he is very bubbly when he wakes up in the morning. It's my favorite time of day to play with Jack because he is so quick to smile and coo. 

We recently bought him a baby "gym" - basically an expensive blanket with toys hanging above him. Jack is building his dexterous skills and enjoys reaching out to grab his toys. He still clasps his little hands together and will suck on his fist if you're not quick enough to give him his binky.

We're hoping the tonsure begins to fill in soon.