Two Months!!

Wow, Jack Jack...you are getting so big!

These last two months with you have gone so fast,

I'm sure we will always feel this way about watching you grow.

What have you been up to the last month?

Well, a lot has changed!

You no longer have a big bald spot on the top of your head, you have finally sprouted some very fine brown hair~its too cute.

And when we look at you, I swear you grow before our eyes.

Last month your head was kind of slender,

but now your face and cheeks have filled out

and your little head is perfectly round like a Cabbage Patch Kid.

Speaking of filling out, you now have rolls everywhere!

Your ankles, wrists and arms are all so chubby.

Packing on all that weight must tire you out,

but we don't mind since you have started sleeping between 4-6 hours through the night.

YAY!!

Mom has gained some sanity back:)

You are wearing 3-6 month clothes, but not for long...

some of your outfits are now 6-12 months.

You have started to sit up in your bumbo chair and swing,

mommy loves these things too because it gives her arms a nice break.

Tummy time is either fun or torture, depending on the day

but when you have had "enough" of anything or are about to flip out,

you like to warn us by kicking your legs really fast back and forth, especially the right one.

The other day we had your 2 month checkup,

the doctor walked in, took one look at you and stopped in his tracks.

"Wow," he said, "That is what a 4 months looks like, not a two month old!"

And sure enough, you weighed in at 14.5 pounds which is in the 95% percentile...

your carseat is getting heavy!

We wish we could freeze time and enjoy these days more.

Daddy comes home and you read a book together.

I know it won't be too long before you are able to really follow along.

I'm enjoying each day as it comes with you because these days are just going so quickly...

Soon enough you'll be sitting up and then moving...

I am not ready for that yet!

The end of summer...

At Grand Haven with Dad
Great Grandpa isn't used to crying babies!

So big in the bumbo chair & smiling as Sophie nudges his toes...

In just a few days, Jack will be two months old.
Everyone says that time goes so quickly with a baby,

and truly it does.

There are the days that drag by as we get used to our new routine,

and Jack cries enough where I sometimes join him.

But mostly we have settled into our new sense of normal,

and I can hardly believe that summer has come to an end.

Since my last blog, Jack has started to smile and laugh...

we take trips in the car and he stays asleep in his car seat. For this I am so grateful~he travels well.

We even made a trip to the east side of the state to shop at Sommerset & see Aunt Heidi and also to Muskegon to meet Great Grandpa.

And summer would not be complete without a trip to Grand Haven. Although, Jack wasn't too impressed with the beautiful view I'm sure next summer we'll have to drag him home!

I waited forever for this summer to arrive. Now we get to watch the leaves fall and visit apple orchards and watch football, all with our newest addition.

Sigh.

I am not ready for it to get cold,

this is where I really begin to miss California and the constant sun with temps in the 70's...not to mention that out there I wouldn't have to guess at what size winter clothes to buy for our little chunky monkey:)

Who happens to have his two month doctor visit in just a week,

we might have to have a contest to see what he weighs in at!

One Month Old!

Jack Jack...

You are one month old today. Time has gone so quickly since you arrived. Our time is measured in holding you, feedings and diaper changes.

So what are you up to these days?

You are growing so fast and changing every single day. Just when we think we have something figured out about you...you go and change!

You LOVE to eat and when that isn't an option you almost always require a paci...and if it happens to fall out of your mouth you make a serious of strange grunts or a high pitched scream, which I hate to say it, but you really do sound like a girl.

And then there is swaddling~it is a must. Once you are swaddled nice and tight you will drift off to sleep, but only if someone is holding you. And no matter how tightly we bundle you up, you always manage to get your left arm out.

You HATE to have your diaper changed. We have learned to go as quickly as possible since you scream as if we putting you through a torture session.

Just in the last week or so you have begun to really look at us. It is so much fun to watch your different facial expressions. And we've even been lucky to get a few smiles from you...an event that brought tears to my eyes. You are such a cutie.

Each day is an adventure with you and as tired as we have been this last month we are enjoying each moment with you...because we have waited so long for this.

Now just take some longer naps so mommy can blog about you more!!

Picture Dump...

Here are all the pictures I promised to post...
and thanks to blogger, they are in no particular order
so I will gladly explain just what you are looking at:

Jack swaddled and hanging out in his swing (the best baby invention ever...)

Sporting mommy's favorite outfit and moving like crazy...this is going to be one busy little boy.

Leaving the hospital. YAY!!

Waiting for our nurse to let us leave on Friday. We couldn't wait to get home!

Such a cute face! Hanging out in his "going home" outfit...


This first week with Jack has FLOWN by. We are delirious and tired and giddy and always taking pictures that somehow never seem to turn out. Probably because we are so tired we don't realize that drinking Red Bull and Diet Coke is making us shake (don't worry~ I'm not the one drinking Red Bull) and then our pictures look all fuzzy.

We'll get it together soon.

Actually, even better, we had our favorite photographer over yesterday to take some newborn photos and CAN'T WAIT to see them.

They are going to be awesome...

and we will share them as soon as we get them.

In the meantime, these few pictures will have to do:)

Thanks again to everyone for your well wishes and prayers and overwhelming support~we are truly blessed and so incredibly happy to be home...

and to finally be a family.

Home

We are home at last...

Its hard to believe our little man is 3 days old already.

He is such a good baby,

and hardly ever cries...

as long as you don't take off his clothes,

or change his diaper:)

He is healthy.

He is perfect...

and we are loving him to pieces.

This week has been a whirlwind and there is much to tell,

many things to share...

and I don't want to forget any of it.

But right now our life is dictated by feedings and diaper changes and when I am allowed to take my next pain pill:)

And although my feet are swollen so much that I think they might pop if I actually walk on them...

I have never been happier.

We feel so blessed...

More to come soon as things settle down and I can think clearly after some much needed rest.

And I also promise more pictures to come soon....

Lots more:)

Jack Liam is here!!!

Suddenly our world is in color again- Introducing Jack Liam- 8lbs 6oz 20.5" long- both Julie & Jack are safe and sound- More to come soon---

Almost there...

In less than 24 hours, Jack will be here.

All the months of waiting,

the weeks of shots and doctor's visits...

well, I get to see just how much it was all worth the wait.

My phone and email has been busy all day with exclamations from friends and family of

"Aren't you SO EXCITED?!"

I have to confess that I am not.

I am scared...and anxious...

in many ways I am just scared to get excited.

The hospital and operating room and recovery room...

they hold very bad memories for me.

Nothing pleasant,

nothing comforting.

Tomorrow, when I walk through the doors of the ER to go to the birthing center,

I will be facing those ghosts head on.

Memories are triggered by strange things:

smells, sights and feelings.

That hospital holds them all.

I will not be excited until I see him with my own eyes and hear his cry pierce the air.

Until then, I am going to be a wreck...

especially waiting in that cold room they put you in before heading for surgery.

It is quiet, cold and I know that I will be shaking.

Praying and shaking.

The shaking will continue until they numb me

and I physically am unable to do it anymore...

Tim feels the same way.

I guess we have been trained that way.

Days before Tim would return from Iraq,

people would ask the same thing:

"Aren't you so excited for him to come home?!"

No, not until he was in my arms.

Too many things can happen.

I saw the things that could happen...days, even hours, before a Marine was supposed to come home...

Not many people see those bad things.

Unfortunately, we lost that luxury years ago.

We saw things that I am glad most people don't have to think about

don't have to see.

Ignorance is bliss.

I am not ignorant about tomorrow,

and its not that I think anything bad will happen.

I just want to see this baby come into the world healthy and screaming...

and I want everything to go as it should.

I want that happy ending that so many people have been able to have...

the one that we were hoping for with Will.

I have faith that things will go well,

that I will be wheeled into recovery with a baby tomorrow.

It will be such a blessing to be surrounded by family and friends

as welcome happiness into our lives again.

And in a few days, we'll walk through the door of our house

as a family.

Finally, a family...

so bittersweet.

And for all those that have asked, I finally managed to get pics of the finished nursery up. As you can see the elephant gray is no more:)

Thank you for all your love, support and prayers...

we're almost there...