Dance on Vaseline

Another winter week in the books. Lily had a busy week at school and Jack is sleeping, eating and growing like a weed. Lily is busy with ballet and gymnastics and Jack is ... well not really busy.

On Friday, Lily and Jack and Marcy visited with Michelle and Hayley. They had a fun lunch and then they were off to the swimming pool. (Jack did not swim so much.) Saturday was a visit at friends Erin and Rob's house with other friends Holly and Rick and Mark and Kristen along with Brooke and Anderson. Lily and Jack had a good time playing around with Brooke and Anderson.

On Sunday, Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom came over with family friend Annie. Lily had a good time showing off her toys and her room to Annie. We finished the day off with some errands and Lil and Jack collapsed exhausted into bed - LIly slept (with one interruption) until 8:30 this morning and Jack slept from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. We are cautiously optimistic for tonight!


The kids. One with a giant smile.


Swimming with Hayley.


Chatting with Brooke.


Jack agreed to pose with a pacy here so he and Anderson could be twins.


Talking with Rob.


Lily with a little Sunday night dancing.

Bed of Lies

Well, Jack has worked to make fools of us this week. After bragging last week about what a good sleeper the boy is, he has regressed and decided again that he likes to wake up in the middle of the night. It has been about five days since he slept the night and we are ready to go back to when he was five weeks old!

Other than that, things continue to move along. Lily had week 2 of ballet last week and continues to love it. She keeps coming home with tons of art projects and stories and seems to love school and Ms. Linda. It is hard to believe how fast she is growing up. Today, Marcy took her to her first movie in the theatre - Alvin and the Chipmunks - upon the recommendation of Hayley. She seemed to have a good time but Marcy reports that it was a bit long for her.

Other than that, it was a lazy three day weekend here. We met our friends Purnima and Selvin for dinner on Saturday night - Jack was a gentlemen despite being awake for the whole meal and Lily was on her best behavior. Sunday was a lazy day around the house and today it was bitter cold so it was the movies for the girls and quality time for the boys.

That is all for now. Check out the pics and see you next week.


Horsing around with Grandpa Maurice.


All lovey with Jack.


Walking her baby.


A smile from Jack while watching tv with Lily and Baby Annie.


Getting comfy with a fancy new handmade Afghan from Bubbie.


Lily sharing a spot in bed with Clancy the Bear.

The Three Sunrises

3 nights in a row at 5 weeks - we'll take it! Jack slept from 11pm-6am Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, we will see what the rest of the week holds but we are crossing our fingers. Lily slept the night initially around 8 weeks, so we'll take it 3 weeks early! When not sleeping, Jack has been very alert and smiley, and still eating every 3 to 4 hours. Needless to say, he is enormous.

We don't have much to report in daily happenings, it was a pretty quiet week and weekend. We enjoyed a visit by Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom on Saturday. Lily then got into her princess garb and headed to a classmate's birthday party for some fun with all of her classmates who were dressed as princesses and knights. This was actually Lily's first "drop-off" birthday party - i.e. Mom dropped her off and came back an hour and a half later - and she had tons of fun getting her nails painted, and getting some temporary ink - a yellow flower and a dragon. We suspect Lily may have some pretty specific requests come September...

Have a good week! Enjoy the pics below!

P.S. - On the left now you can keep up with what Lily and Jack are reading. Also, a percentage of any purchases at Amazon go straight to the rug rats college fund. We have gone commercial!


Lily horsing around. She looks like such a big girl here.


Telling Jack the ways of the world.


3/4ths of the family.


Lily checking out her tattoos from the birthday party.


Ready for ballet this morning.


Prepared for the cold.

Physical

The morning began with Mom and Jack working the mind, body and spirit at yoga this morning - actually Jack feasted thru about a quarter of yoga, and periodically had to be held thru the rest of it but there were also lots of smiles and cooing today. We then headed to the pediatrician, where Jack weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds 4 ounces (75th percentile) and was 21.5 inches long (50th percentile). For comparison purposes, Lily was 10.68 ounces at her 8 week appointment, so we have a big boy on our hands! In addition, he got a clean bill of health, and we will head back in another 4 weeks. Mom and Jack went for a long walk and enjoyed the 70 degree January weather, and then headed to school to pick up Lily. Needless to say, Lily's classmates were thrilled to meet Jack...

We forgot to mention in last night's post, that in addition to beginning ballet yesterday, Lily also got to nap in the "igloo" because she was the "helper" of the day - according to Ms. Linda, Lily talked nonstop about being able to do so - the class made the "igloo" out of a tent, and it also includes lots of polar bear paraphernalia. She gets to be a "helper" about once a week, and according to her she gets to help call out names, and just generally help the teacher - Lily loves responsibility! For some more Lily pics from the weekend, check out Cole and Hayley's blog. Until Monday...


Not today, just a cute picture from last week.

Short People

Mom is in charge of the text tonight but it is going to be short because Jack has finally decided that when awake he wants to be held so there is only limited time before he again demands my attention...
Lily had a good two days back at school, and today began ballet - we will try to get a pic next week - she said she was "very tired" after her first day but was able to show off her new twirls. On Friday, after a fun time at gymnastics, we headed to Grandma Gail's and Grandpa Tom's. While Grandma took care of Jack, Mom and Lily headed to the pool intending to go swimming but Lily was afraid of the dolphins painted on the bottom of the pool, so she only lasted about 5 minutes. Later, in the afternoon Mom and Lily headed to the playground for some quick running and sliding - we only lasted about 10 minutes as it was a little chilly. We later had dinner with Grandpa Tom, and Aunt Tracy and Uncle Stan, before they headed back to CO. On Sunday, Jack met John, Michelle, Cole and Hayley, and Lily enjoyed playing princess, and running around like usual.

Not much to report in Jack land, he continues to eat around 4-6 ounces every 3 to 4 hours. Although he has gone as long as 5 hours at night, he usually only makes it 3 to 4 hours before demanding food - to date though, he has gone back to sleep after eating which is key during those hours. Mom and Jack start yoga tomorrow, and we also have Jack's 4 week check-up so we are looking forward to finding out his deets. Until next week...


Snoozing in a funny hat.

A series of three in which Jack looks like a little man ...

1.


2.


3.

Lily and Jack ready to root on the Redskins ...

Last Goodbye

It is with a heavy, heavy heart that we post on this week's coming and goings. On Sunday morning we lost our loyal, loving Gypsy. We are not sure exactly what happened but she somehow hurt her back on Friday and what was just a small limp on Saturday evening turned into a full rear paralysis by Sunday morning. By the time the time the problem fully manifested itself and we were able to find a vet that could help us, there was little that could be done for her. Needless to say, the house is a lot emptier and much too quiet. We all miss her terribly, including Lily who suddenly has a lot more room in her bed at night and no one to pick up the food she drops around the house.


Guarding the fort with Lily in September 2006.


Horsing around in November.

On to the happier business of the last week. We had a very enjoyable Christmas at Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's with Aunts Tracy and Kelly and Uncle Stan all in town along with Great Uncle Mike, Great Aunt Jeannie and Cousins Alli and Davis. We also got to see Great Uncle Carlton, Great Aunt Jenny, Cousins Alex, Valerie and Bill, along with Baby Liam.

Lily really cashed in Christmas morning and got more toys than she knows what to do with. Truth be told, Lily never even got to some of the presents we got her so they are stashed away for a later date. A little moderation is in order for next year.

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Lily went back to school on Thursday but spent Friday at home as Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom and the Aunts (Tracy and Kelly) came over for a visit.

We had crazy New Years at Brooke and Anderson's house. Lots of food, dressing up and Muppets. Jack and Anderson had a good time hanging out and comparing pacifiers. Lily had fun with Brooke and friends Annika and Ilsa.

Jack is doing well and adjusting to the crazy family he was born into. It seems like he is growing like a weed. We will get confirmation of that on Friday when he has his one month visit to the doctor. He is eating a lot and sleeping pretty well - usually about three to four hours at a clip. He is starting to become a little more aware of his surroundings and is definitely staying awake and alert for longer stretches of time. So far he is shaping up to be as easy a baby as his sister was (knock on wood). Lily is great big sister as she told us this morning - the exact the conversation went something like this - Me: "Lil, You are such a good big sister." Lily: "I know."

I am sure it will be an interesting year ahead. Stay tuned and Happy New Year.


A very pensive Christmas morning.


Playing with some Little People animals.


Jack doing his thing.


Reading Lil's new book.


If you look closely at the cover you can see that Lily stars with Dora in this adventure.


Jack getting a bath with a little help from big sister.


All dressed up for New Year's Eve.


New Year's Even dinner with Brooke and Annika.


Recovering from a late New Year's Eve - this is also the first picture of 2008.