The big ONE (month) :)

Happy 4 weeks to our sweet, sweet Jacky! We survived our first month as a family, and it wasn't even that challenging. Sure, it took some adjusting, but we def. didn't live the horror story that people warned us about. Daddy is still getting 8hours of sleep a night, and Mommy's dark circles aren't even that bad. Luke is going to want to build a small Army of babies if they all behave this way..yikes! Maybe I should start telling him Jack acts up during the day! ;)

4 weeks: 

• Jack is now sleeping 3.5-5 hours at a time at night... you never know! I had to wake him up after 5 hours the other night, just to make sure he was breathing!
• We have a little routine/schedule established. His most awake time (usually 3 straight hours) is first thing in the morning. He wears himself out and then naps on and off for the rest of the day! We have been walking the hills of Bellefonte in the morning, too.
• Only my baby would fall asleep to the vacuum cleaner! ;)
• Bailee has finally come out of his depression, and "checks" on Jack regularly.
• Fitting nicely into his cute little 0-3 month summer outfits.
• Jack is losing his hair in the front (sad face)..he has a major receding hairline now. Hopefully it comes back quickly! 
• Every day Luke says "He is looking more and more like me...he looks just like me!"  I told him it was the hairline (haha). But, really, he is starting to look a little like Luke.

Being this cute is so exhausting...

Jackson also had his very first trip home to good ol' Sayre, PA this past weekend. We decided to go home for Father's Day, which was a nice treat for EVERYONE. It was nice to see family..and OUR arms sure got the weekend off, as Jack wasn't put down by his Grandma's, Grandpa's and Aunts and Uncles!!

Jack also got to meet his cousin Dominick for the first time.... I am sure they will be trouble together in a couple of years...

I'm not sure, but I think his Grandparents were happy to see him ;) Jack went for a walk every morning with Gram and Gramp Guinane..I think he missed them when we woke up Monday morning. Like always, no time at home is quite enough time. Good news, though...we'll be back in a few short weeks!!

I kind of missed him when the weekend was over...

Three weeks and counting..

Ah--can't believe that in a few short days the baby will be a whole month old (sad face). Where has the time gone? Well, I actually know where it has gone...


..it has gone to lots of moments that have caused Luke and I to look at one another and ask "how did we create such a sweet, sweet baby?"
..it has gone to us trying to tame Jack's "mop" (as Luke calls his awful hair).. we have tried every hairstyle possible, and nothing works - it's a disaster!
...it has gone to lots of walks through town and the park. We have found so many neat places in State College and Bellefonte that we would have never found before.
...it has gone to learning to clean the bathroom with a baby in one hand and a Clorox wipe in the other.
...it has gone to 2 loads of laundry a day! Who knew someone so little made SO much laundry.
..it has gone to us considering digging out Luke's combat attire in the attic to help protect us during diaper changings. We get peed and pooped on at least 2 times a day!


Here are some three week updates:


-Last Friday, Jack was up to 9lbs3oz.. woah!
-He is more alert now, tracking things with his eyes!
-He accidentally smiles, which is SO cute.
-Jack has developed baby reflux, which caused us to have a rough weekend! We finally got to know his baby cry this past weekend. That was a trial run of what its like to have a truly fussy baby. I was crying, he was crying..it was a disaster. He was not a happy camper. I think it was a mix of reflux, trapped gas and a growth spurt. Yikes! I think Luke was probably ready to go back to work on Monday..but, Jack returned to his sweet self right after he left! Phew! Everyone kept saying "Uh-oh..he must have colic". Every time I heard the word colic I wanted to scream! NO, people...colic is defined as "crying for no reason". There was def. a reason he was crying. He would scream out in pain from a gas bubble..I knew exactly what was wrong with him, but just couldn't do anything to help him. If I hear the word colic one more time..haha!
-Sleeping 3 hour intervals at night, he is like a ticking clock!


Here are some pictures from the last week:

Look at his little hands..uh, to die for!

Loves time at night with his pops!

Not a fan of hair and makeup before his photoshoot...

Catching up on the bear!

Ready to die from cuteness???

How in the world do you pick a favorite?

Newborn Photo Session..Sneak Peek

A few days before my due date, as I was walking up and down the street ---trying to make myself go into laborn, I met a neighbor, who is also a stay at home mom AND photographer! It worked out perfectly because L and I really wanted the baby to have a newborn photo session, but couldn't find anyone in the State College area that was even somewhat reasonably priced. My new friend, Rebecca, saved the day...as she has an on the side photography business and lived just up the hill! It worked out perfectly, because she was able to come down on a whim, right after the baby fed and was sleepy and content. She was AMAZING with him. We had SO much fun on Saturday. I referred to him as a pipe cleaner..you could move/bend him in any direction and he STAYED! She said she had never had such a cooperative, peaceful newborn photo session quite like Jack's. These pictures truly are priceless, and these are just the few we have seen!!! Enjoy...

2 weeks and changing every day!

When people say that babies grow like weeds, they aren't kidding. Where is the pause button? I mean, on the bright side, he is getting cuter every time I look at him, but I want him to stay this little for-ever! I could just eat his chubby cheeks up! Luke and I are sure that he is growing a new chin every 2-3 days! It's getting hard to get under there with a washcloth :) 

Here are some 2 week updates:

• At his doctors appointment on Friday ( 6 days after his first appointment ), he weighed a whopping 8lbs 5oz ( almost a WHOLE pound more) and 21.5 inches (1 inch longer)! We won't go back until his 6 week appointment, which is in July...
• Jackson is finally fitting into 0-3 month clothing! No more droopy drawers...well, they are rolled 3 or 4 times, but at least they stay on.
• He is on a pretty good schedule of eating every 3 hours... in between those three hours is pretty routine, too...sleep and poop! :) We do get a good 20 minutes in of "playtime" on his little jungle gym mat. They recommend that you do "tummy time" with newborns to help increase their neck strength.. Sometimes Jack loves it, sometimes he hates it!
• Still very content..we have had a couple of "bad" nights (aka-staying up 20 minutes or so after a feeding), but certainly nothing to complain about! He is a dream!
• His eyes are looking bluer and bluer every day. For awhile we were thinking he was going to be green eyed, as they had a hue of green around the outside...but lately I am thinking blue.
• Jack is starting to love his baths. I think now that he can actually be in a tub of water, rather than just using a warm washcloth (have to wait until the cord falls off), makes it more enjoyable!
• I see a lot of my own dad in him...not quite sure what it is, but I catch myself thinking that A LOT.
• Daddy went back to work on Thursday..we miss him terribly! :( Luke and I caught ourselves, more than once, saying that we wished we could BOTH be at home with him every day. Then, reality set in and we realized someone needed to bring home the bacon!

 Here I am at 2 weeks..looking uncomfortable as ever!

 Tummy time turned into "Relaxin' Jackson" (one of Luke's 4,000 nicknames for him)

 ...not so bad

 Jack's first REAL bath!

So fresh and clean!

So, all in all, things are going well at home! I am feeling more and more like myself, which is fantastic. I catch myself standing far away from the sink still, thinking that I have a huge stomach that isn't going to allow me to reach the faucet! It's nice to hug Luke and get my arms around him!  I feel like I am shrinking every day, which is pleasant! At my appointment on Thursday, I had already lost 20lbs! I have 12 more to go, but with this busyness, it's going to be too easy to take off! 

Jack and I had our first successful trip to Target yesterday, too! It was quite the adventure and took a lot of preparedness on my part.  I refuse to give up my "extreme couponing" at Target  just because I have a baby. So, in the morning I cut and prepared all of my coupons, organized them by section, made a list and we were out the door. It was one of those trips where you need EVERYTHING because the last roll of toilet paper happened to run out at the same time as the shampoo and toothpaste and laundry detergent..and on and on. Well, the trip was a huge success..the only minor bump was when we went to the car ..and I realized that I LEFT THE CAR DOOR OPEN THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS IN THE STORE! hahahaha! Once I realized that no one stole the stroller/camera/CAR...I couldn't help but laugh out loud! I guess I was just so focused on my mission... I must say that Target isn't nearly as fun with a newborn that is on a ticking clock. I wouldn't trade Jack for a leisurely trip to Target in a million years, though.

Finally looking like a BOY! :)

Well, Luke and I decided that we would spend our Saturday night trying to find Jackson some male attire. Poor thing has been wearing ducks for 2 weeks now, and he was def. ready for a change up from the yellow! Let's just say that BabyGap is a dangerous, dangerous place when you finally know the sex of your baby. I am determined that Luke didn't want to find out Jack's gender in order to save our bank account! :) It was so fun to go straight for an actual section, rather than the typical "well, let me wander around the boy section and see if I can find something, anything that is gender neutral, and then I'll peruse the girls section and do the same"..always leaving with NOTHING! Anywho, I thought that I would post a picture of Jack in his new digs! He could totally be a Gap model..don't you think??

I'll post more later--his little 2 week update, but the monster is waking up from his 3rd nap of the day and needs some TLC!! :)