Jack, Four Months

So, our little guy is four months old today! It's so hard to believe we've had him for a 1/3 of a year already! Why is it that pregnancy time drags on, but baby time flies by? Jack is such a sweetie and he is developing such a cute little personality! I know every parent says this, but he really is such a joy to be around. I think he is probably the sweetest, most mellow baby on the planet.

Here are his stats from his 4 month checkup:

Head: 43cm... 75th percentile

Height: 25in... 50th percentile

Weight: 12lbs 6oz... 10th percentile

A comment or two about his stats. Yes, his head is on the larger end of the spectrum, but that's only because he is so brainy! The doc said Jack is a month and a half ahead of his age developmentally, so that puts him at a 5.5 month old level. That's really saying something when you are only 4 months old! Point number two: yes, it is rather shocking that Jack is measuring at an average height, especially considering who his parents are.... Point number three: yes, despite being in the 10th percentile for weight I am still feeding him. He actually is still eating every two hours during the day! His little heart just pumps harder to keep up, so he burns more calories than most babies do. The doctor said his weight should sky rocket after his surgery.

Speaking of surgery, we finally got a date on the books for Jack's heart surgery, May 12th.

Some fun things about Jack this month:

1. His favorite toy is his yellow giraffe stuffed animal that plays twinkle twinkle little star. His face lights up when you give it to him. Then he kind of yells at you if the music stops playing. He likes to fall asleep snuggling the giraffe's neck.

2. His favorite book is My Cuddly Cloth Dinosaur. The colorful pictures captivate him every time. Since it's made of cloth he also likes to snuggle with it.

3. Aside from his mom and dad, Mitchell is his most favorite person. It doesn't matter how tired, how hungry, or how bad of a mood Jack is in, Mitchell can always get a smile or a laugh out of Jack.

4. Surprisingly, Jack loves tummy time. Yes, he grunts and makes funny noises when he is on his tummy, but if I roll him back onto his back he immediately tries to flip back on his tummy. He can roll from tummy to back and back to tummy.

5. His collar bone is ticklish.

6. He is starting to try to go up on his knees during tummy time, so I don't think it will be too much longer before he is scooting around.

7. He can grasp objects intentionally. I love to watch him follow his hand to his toy, slowly unclench his fist, and then wrap his little fingers around things. He is particularly interested in grabbing the top of Gordy's head and my lips.

8. Jack loves to look at himself in the mirror. He thinks he is the greatest thing, and I happen to agree.

9. He loves to talk, except his talking is usually in high pitched squeals of delight and motor boat lips. Sometimes, Jack tries to imitate us by cooing when we sing or talk to him. This is my favorite thing he does.

10. Jack is working on being able to sit up for a few seconds at a time on his own.

Gordy's Birthday

What a week! We started the week off with a dessert social for Gordy's PGA group (that's a law school thing not a golf thing). It took me two days to shop, bake, and clean for the event that only lasted an hour and a half... such is life I guess. We had a good time having all of Gordy's group over. It was especially fun for me to meet the people Gordy is always talking about, and it was especially fun for them because they all got to meet and play with Jack.

Wednesday was Gordy's 25th birthday. I keep reminding Gordy that when Jack is his age, Gordy will be 50. I think that's pretty cool. To celebrate we went to Chili's as a family so Gordy could get his most favorite meal, a cheeseburger. We decided to let Jack in on the fun. This is him tasting a teensy teensy bit of ice cream. He was not a fan.

Surprisingly, however, he did enjoy sucking on this piece of celery. I mean he REALLY liked it. Where did this kid come from?!

Family portrait

Our friends Erin and Mitchell made this cute onesie for Jack. Birthdays are special occasions and one should dress for the occasion don't you think? This is the front view.

Back view. It says "I'm classy, but I like to party." Classic line from Talladega Nights, one of Gordy's favorite movies.

Since we had a dessert social on Tuesday and Gordy's birthday was on Wednesday, we were a little dessert-ed out. So we decided to wait until Saturday to make these little beauties. These cinnamon rolls come as a special request from Gordy on his birthday every year. I only make them on that one special day a year because of the extraordinary amount of butter and sugar in them AND because they take like all day long to make. Even when we do make them it is a necessity to give most of them away.... If you don't you could easily cause death by cinnamon roll. Not a bad way to go, but 23 and 25 is too young to die, so we just share.

My handsome birthday boy.

Erin and Mitchell are the BEST. Seriously. They always help with the dishes and they always play with Jack when they come over. We love>

This picture was taken the next day at a Cafe Rio dinner at the Castellano's. Mitchell's birthday is this week and he LOVED the cinnamon rolls the night before, so we re-purposed the second pan and celebrated his 25th birthday too. Thank HEAVENS we got rid of the second pan!

And on top of all that craziness, Jack had TWO doctor's appointments. Both were no bueno. At the second one he had to get a shot. Poor little guy has to get more shots than any other baby. Golly, we really hate shot day. BUT they help keep him healthy, so we just suck it up and get through it. Our little guy really is a trooper.

Jack and I are so lucky to have Gordy as the man of the house. He is a wonderful father, husband, example, and provider. Honestly, one day is not enough to honor all that he does for our family and for others. Happy Birthday Gordy! We sure appreciate and love you!

Rodney and Kylee Get Their Bloom On

Rodney and Kylee made their way down to visit us! We always have so much fun when we get together, and people don't often visit the Mid-West, so we were especially looking forward to their visit. One of the best parts about getting together with the Dials - aside from our feeding frenzy - is the laughter. You honestly never know what is going to come out of Gordy or Rodney's mouth or what silly stunt they might pull next. Gordy and Rodney have such a similar sense of humor. Kylee and I never have to explain away our husband's goofy behavior when we visit. Kylee just knows that's how Gordy is, and I just know that's how Rodney is... When these two guys get together they will keep you laughing for sure.

This little gem of a photo was Rodney's idea. Rodney's glasses + baby = genius idea. Thanks Rodney!

... After church, after Gord's traditional gourmet Sunday tacos, after homemade brownies with ice cream and ganache. Is it any wonder why everyone but Rodney has their stretchy pants on?

Rodney and Kylee arrived bearing delicious gifts from Chicago - man they really know how to treat their friends! Of course we took them to a few of Bloomington's famous hot spots as soon as they arrived: Village Deli for Paxton Potatoes and some of the BIGGEST pancakes I have ever seen, we showed them Dunn Woods and Gordy's school, and we went to Bub's Burger for the BIG UGLY. Rodney and Kylee were such a huge help with Jack all weekend and were so sweet to him. Jack thought Rodney was hilarious. So far Rodney has come the closest to getting a full out laugh from Jack.

We hope they can come again soon. It's so nice to have friends close by when you are far away from your families...

Happy Valentine's Day

Where to begin.... Valentine's Day was absolutely crazy. I started the day off by making five dozen sugar cookies. Yes, that's right, five dozen. What possessed me to do that you might ask? well on any normal day, Gordy usually leaves for school at 7:30 AM and then returns home some time between 5-6:30PM. On this particular day (V-day) Gordy had to stay at school until 9 PM to do mandatory mock interviews... In order to make the best of the situation, I decided to make cookies and bring them to Gordy while he was at school. It turned out to be quite the chore, but I'm glad we did it.

We made some hilarious cookies (bras and thongs) in honor of Valentine's Day (special shout out to my cute friend Heather for the idea).

My other cute friend Erin came over and helped me decorate and deliver the cookies. Her hubby is a 1L too.... I'm so glad she came over because she made decorating so much more fun.

The cookies were a hit at school. Members of Gordy's study group are asking for more "dirty desserts".

This is how we both felt by the end of the day. It was quite exhausting to make, decorate, and deliver the cookies all while taking care of a baby, but it was totally worth it. After the cookie escapade was over, Jack and I came home. I made a delicious dinner for one- Mediterranean chicken, and cuddled with Jack while we watched the Bachelor. It's so nice to have TWO valentines!

.... BUT that was just February 14th. Gordy and I actually celebrated on Saturday. My sweetheart of a husband planned ahead and treated me to such a wonderful day.

We started off by exchanging gifts. I got Gordy a non-stick skillet for cooking eggs and I wrote him a list of 100 reasons why I LOVE him. He got me flowers and a journal. The purpose of the journal is so that we can write notes to each other and they all stay in one place. Isn't he so cute for thinking of that?!?

Then we headed out for an adventure. Since the weather warmed up to the mid 40's we decided it was a perfect opportunity to go explore Nashville, IN.

These were taken at the Hobb Knobb Cafe. It's a cute little restaurant that's been around for ages and ages...

Interesting side note - NOTHING in Nashville is stroller accessible. I didn't care though. I was absolutely craving outdoors time.

I like the saying on this bench... So, so true.

Nashville is like the Park City of the Mid-West. The entire town is composed of little antique shops, art galleries, candy stores, boutiques, and cafes. Nashville is actually called the "Artist Colony of the Mid-West".

We had such a wonderful day exploring Nashville as a family.

Jack's Blessing

I took some pictures of Jack in his blessing outfit (finally... it only took me a month to do).

This is just us on our way out of the door to church.

This is an award winning smile. He is usually just this happy. We're lucky to have such an easy-going kid.

3 months

So, we take pictures of Jack every month on his birthday. Corny, I know, but it's so fun for us to do. This way we can look back when he's a year old and see how he's changed. It's already so incredible how much he has grown in just three months. We started taking his pics with his jackalope so we can compare him to an object

Since I didn't do a post for the first two months, I'll just put up some of my favorite pictures of him from that time period.

Here he is as a brand new baby in the hospital. Don't you just want to smush his little face?!

One Month Old at Gramma and Grandpa's house for Christmas

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

S