A blog about a blog book

Quite the confusing title I know! I am so excited to have finally ordered a book with all the blog entries I've made so far. It turned out really cute I think :) I even got to write a dedication in the front and it has an index of all the blog titles in the book. I can't believe the book is over 62 pages!

Thanks to my sweet friends who encouraged me to order this book! :)

My day off

As most of you know I am off on Thursdays and Friday afternoons from work. I truly treasure this time with Jack, and I try my best to have quality time with him instead of running errands and cleaning the house. That is hard to do sometimes because the house gets so quickly dirty... so it is a balancing act between the two. This post is about what Jack and I did last Thursday afternoon (a more fun than average Thursday).

The morning started off at 6am- Jack woke up, ate and wanted to play. Steve was feeling sick so he stayed in bed a little extra that morning. We went in the back of the house and played together as quietly as possible to let him sleep.

8am- Jack went down for a nap. I took a shower and got ready for the day. Managed to squeeze in a couple of loads of laundry and clean the kitchen. Got all of Jack's stuff packed up in the car- stroller, diaper bag, solids, breastmilk, purse, etc. Just waiting for Jack to wake up! It's amazing how much I can get done when he is napping.

9:40- He woke up, quickly changed his diaper and off the zoo we went. We met our friends Lela and Whitney and their little boys. Both dear friends that I treasure spending time with. There was a total of 5 little boys in this trip.

This was Jack's very first trip to the zoo. When we got there I was so glad to find a Starbucks there- the first thing I did was get a cup of coffee!





We had a fun and relaxing morning. I enjoyed getting to catch up with these ladies on life and raising little boys. Jack was not as excited about the animals as I thought he'd be, but he was definitely very good and laid back.

Jack slept from 1:30 to 3:30 which gave me time to clean up around the house. I really wanted to take a nap, but couldn't fall asleep!

At 4pm we headed off to music class at a church close by. It is another fun way for us to bond and I am learning songs to sing to him. This was our first 'official' class and I was a little nervous about how he would like it.

We were warmly greeted by the instructor (who does not talk in a regular voice, but sings everything she says). There were children of all ages from 6 weeks old to 5 yrs old.


Mrs. Alli singing to the class

We sang a couple of songs, made hand motions, and danced around the room. Jack's jaw was dropped the entire time and he never took his eyes off the instructor. He seemed like he was in a trance. Ummm, does he love it or hate it? Finally I sat him next to me, and he quickly let me know his opinion about the class...


Are you kidding me??

I bursted out laughing. He held this look long enough for me to pick up the camera and snap a picture!

Next Mrs. Alli brought out instruments for the children to play with. Jack put his instrument straight into his mouth and I was assured it was very clean. He still had not given me a smile, while the rest of the kids were having a blast.

Towards the end of the class we did this exercise where I sat Jack in front of me, and by holding his hands out I pushed him back and forth while we sang. I have no idea why Jack found this so fun, but he bursted out laughing!






By the time the class was over he did not want to leave. Pheww... at least he liked it! let's just hope he starts enjoying it earlier next time. I had such a fun time at music class and I'm glad I found a new 'trick' that makes him laugh.

We got home at 5:30 with enough time to get dinner ready and clean up some more. Steve got home around 6pm that night. We then played, gave him a bath, and he went down for the night at 7:30. He was a tired little boy and so was I.

So grateful I got to spend a fun day with my sweet boy. He is such a blessing to my heart!

March of Dimes 5k

This past Saturday we walked in the 5K March of Dimes in memory of Andrew. I had been wanting to do a walk in his memory for quite some time (ever since he passed away), but I was not emotionally able to do it when I was pregnant with Jack. I am really glad that we were able to walk this year, and we even got to bring our baby boy Jack along with us!



We were blessed by having a cool morning, a nice breeze, and a beautiful view of bayshore as we walked along.


Walking along bayshore


Jack had a great time!


Uncle Brett and Jack

I wish there were more special ways to remember Andrew besides on his birthday (If anyone has any suggestions please let me know). This 5k was just a wonderful way to remember him and help other babies who are not well and in the NICU.

I don't want to forget that Andrew was in my womb for 9 months and alive for 10 days. Each day he seems farther and farther away from me. He was dearly loved, prayed for by many, and his life used for mighty purposes beyond my comprehension. And I say that because I still can't make sense of this tragedy and I don't think I ever will. I have tried speculating on many different theories (and believe me I have many!) but in this life I will never truly know as God knows...

"For your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" Isaiah 55: 8-9

And so I cling on to God's word in the bible and His promise to me that he is trustworthy and He loves Steve, Andrew, Jack, and me. My emotions often tell me otherwise and it is a struggle between the two (although it has been much easier since having Jack). I have certainly not walked the journey of grief perfectly as I would've liked.


This is the verse we chose for the back of the shirt.. I wish we could've included the entire verse but it was too long to fit in the shirt.

Thank you to those that came out to walk with us. And thank you to everyone who kindly made a donation in Andrew's memory. My prayer is that by having this walk every year it will be a time of fellowship with our family and friends. That it will be a time of praise and conversations that will bring glory to the Lord.

Motherhood

I just realized I have not posted any updates on Jack in a while, so here it goes...

Our little boy turned 7 months last Thursday and he is growing like a weed! I can't believe how big and strong he is by now. We have not had him weighed since he was 5 months old and I think he was 17 1/2 lbs back then. I would estimate he is 19 lbs now? I just look at his little feet and can't believe how big they are! and thankfully the chunky rolls on his thighs are still there (I was afraid they would go away when he started scooting, but thankfully they haven't).

About 2 weeks ago Jack really picked up on the crawling thing. He is able to get on all fours, rock back and forth, and he's even able to do the 'Downward Dog' yoga pose every now and then. If he wants to get somewhere he will crawl forward once and the plop down on the floor- he picks himself up right away and does that over and over until he gets to where he wants to go. He is quite the determined little fella!


Jack scooting around


His yoga pose

Jack loves to put anything he comes across into his mouth. And when there is nothing to put into his mouth, he will literally open his mouth and try to lick the floor! We have a big colorful mat we got at Sam's club which we've laid out in our green room. But now he is able to scoot on out of there and he quickly gets himself onto the hard floor which he loves to lick for some reason.

He has been eating solids for about a month and a half now. He loves sweet potatoes, carrots, and bananas. However the homemade organic squash that I lovingly made for him at home, he wants nothing to do with. He will close his mouth, grunt, or make a funny face and turn away from his food! He is at a point now where he lets us know when he likes or doesn't like something. His favorite thing to do is to grunt when he wants to be picked up or is bored of being in one place.


Eating his solids

He absolutely loves being outside and around people. I think he is quite the social little butterfly! Whenever we go grocery shopping he smiles at all the ladies that make a cute face at him. He also really flirts with the chinese people at the nail place close to our house! I don't go very often, but every other month or so to get a pedicure as a treat. This last Saturday we went and he could not stop smiling!

Jack also loves to play peekabo, hang by his feet (his favorite), and to be rolled around in his high chair around the kitchen. All these things get him to crack up which is the sweetest sound to my ears. He seems to have an adventurer spirit, which is going to be a challenge for me as a mom since I am all about safety.

Not everything is perfect in our lives though- there are times when we get frustrated, tired, and just don't understand what is going on with him. For example he stopped sleeping through the night when he turned 6 months and we're not sure why. We think its his teething (at least that is the only theory we've come up with). There are times when he gets very fussy and we have no idea what else we can do to make it better. He is also at a stage where he will wail if we step out of his sight even for a second... which I find endearing and annoying at the same time.

We are really enjoying this season of being Jack's parents. We dedicated him at our home church yesterday and it was such a wonderful day we've looked forward to for a long time! Here are some pictures from Sunday


During the baby dedication


A family picture... too bad my hair was doing a funky thing in the left side!


Posing in a picture with grandma