Another blog post with a heavy heart. Lily and Jack's great grandfather Poppa Syd passed away this past Saturday. Sydney, who will be missed greatly, was almost 96 and lived a tremendously full life. He loved Lily and Jack and we will be sure to pass on the lessons he taught us to the two of them.
Other than the sad news of this past weekend, it was a normal week around here. Jack continues to eat and sleep well.
Lily is also doing well. She is very busy at school and getting more and more independent.
This past weekend we saw Hayley and Cole. Lily had a great time playing Hayley and is looking forward to sleeping over at her house this week! On Sunday, Grandpa Tom and Grandma Gail came for a visit with Ivan. We are dog sitting for a few days and Lily likes have a pooch around again - even if Ivan wants nothing to do with her (or any of us).
Lily is happy to report that her teeth have been given a clean bill of health. She ventured to the dentist for the first time, and was on her best behavior, allowing the dental hygienist to check each of her teeth and clean them with orange toothpaste. We were a little concerned about this first visit but it helped that we read a book about going to the dentist in advance, Lily saw Mom getting a check-up, and also promises of twizzlers and lollipops afterwards - I'm sure the dentist appreciates that last one. Actually we are not even sure that we needed to make such promises as Lily has begun to take visits to the pediatrician and dentist very seriously, and is so proud of herself and talks for days about how she was a good girl. While Lily and Mom were at the dentist, Jack enjoyed some time with Grandma Gail. On Friday, Lily went to school and loved participating in karate - she has been showing us her karate chops. She also does yoga on a regular basis and was showing us some moves the other day - downward dog maybe??
We kept busy over the weekend by taking a trip to the Baltimore aquarium, Jack's first visit. Every time we visit Lily notices new creatures and can stand for long periods of time just staring into the tanks - she especially likes the sharks, and of course the dolphin show. On Sunday, we visited with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom, and a slew of relatives including Great Yellow Grandma, Great Uncle Chris in from KY, Great Aunt Jenny, Great Uncle Carlton, and cousins Alex, Valerie, Bill, and baby Liam who is only 9 days older than Jack - we suspect they will become pals in the coming months, for now no real interest. Jack is babbling quite a bit these days, and continues to be very smiley and happy. He continues to eat between 6-7 ounces every three hours. Mom is working on getting him on a nap schedule, he is consistently taking about an hour nap each morning in his crib about an hour and a half or two after he wakes up, but he has yet to nap in the afternoon at a consistent time, he just dozes off and on. Tonight he went to bed around 8:30, and hopefully will sleep until around 8:00 tomorrow - if only we could get Lily to sleep that late! :)
Lily and Jack want to send out birthday hugs and kisses to Uncle Stan who is celebrating his birthday tomorrow!!
Prior to going to Florida, Lily had her Valentine's Day party at school where she handed out Dora Valentine's, and the highlight was pink milk, as she did not like the cookies with icing that Mom made for her classroom - fortunately the other kids liked them!
On Friday, we left for a weeklong visit to Florida. The plane trip down began relatively well, but towards the end of the flight, Jack spit up all over himself and Mom, and Lily was crying because her ears hurt - needless to say, we were happy to reach the ground.
We saw a variety of family while in Florida. The bulk of our trip was spent with Bubbie, Donna, Stephen, Emilie, and Stephanie. Lily enjoyed playing with lots of toys, riding her new bike, swimming, and going to the playground. Jack, on the other hand, just loved being held and was very smiley all week. Both Lily and Jack were champion sleepers! Lily woke up between 7-8am each morning and then headed to Bubbie's room for some early morning cartoons, while Jack woke up between 8-9am every morning - thus Mom and Dad got some great sleep!
It has been several weeks since Jack woke up during the night, he is averaging about 10-11 hours each night so we are happy about that. Our only issue is that a few evenings each week, he has a fussy, crying period for about an hour or so, but he calms eventually (Dad is currently holding Jack while he works through his issues :)). He has moved on to Level 2 nipples and is averaging about 6 ounces every 3-4 hours. We noticed considerable strength in his neck during our week in Florida, and he is staying awake for longer periods of time during the day and is experimenting with many different sounds. Unlike Lily who tended to sleep through most dinners out until about four months, Jack usually wakes up once the car stops moving, but generally just chills and takes in his surroundings. Lily is just a regular chatterbox, and constantly asks questions and makes funny observations. She loved jumping in the pool and hanging out in her Little Mermaid tube. She was also very good at making friends on the playground. We definitely has a social child on our hands.
While in Florida, Jack also met his great grandparents, Poppa Syd and Grandma Essie, for the first time! Lily and Jack send hugs and kisses to Poppa Syd hoping that he feels better soon. We also got in some swimming time with Tornoto cousins Lisa, Kevin, Matthew, Adam, and Samara.
The flight home on Saturday was thankfully a lot less eventful! On Sunday Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom, Aunt Tracy, and Uncle Stan came over for a visit and dinner - this was the last time we will see Tracy and Stan before the arrival of their baby girl in less than two months!
Enjoy the pics and video!
Lily and Jack catching up with some Curious George.
Jack ready for a walk.
Jack smiling for Bubbie.
Plotting against the parents.
With Grandma Essie.
With cousins Adam, Matthew and Samara.
A manicure with Donna.
Some quality alone time.
The latest Princess best seller with Stephen.
In the pool.
More pool.
UPDATE: Apparent YouTube problems. We will try and this tonight.
Big week this week. Friday starts our vacation to sunny Florida. We (and by we, I mean Marcy) are getting packed up and ready to go. Lily is excited to go on vacation - school has been a real drag recently and Jack is ready for a change of scenery :) But before the vacation of next week, there was the week that was.
Let's see, for Lily it was a regular week at school. She was busy with art and writing her name and reading books. She is doing really well there and loves her teacher Ms. Linda. Now when we read Knuffle Bunny Too, all the kids in the books are her friends from school and the teacher is Ms. Linda. We had our parent teacher conference this morning and her teachers had great things to say about her and her development.
Jack is doing very well too. He has slept the night each night since our last posting, sleeping until 8 some mornings. He has been eating like a champ and growing at a pretty good pace. At his eight week appointment he weighed 12 lbs., 2 oz. which placed him in the 75th percentile. He measured in at 22 inches and that put him in the 25th percentile. Marcy and I are not sure whether or not that measurement was correct because his clothes just don't seem to fit him anymore.
This past weekend Jack and I had quality time together on Friday and Saturday as Marcy and Lily were off to Aunt Tracy's baby shower. They had a great time and Lily got to spend time with her two aunts as Kelly was in town also. Sunday the kids were off to friend Zachary's birthday party. They had a good time and spent the day relaxing around the house.
No post next week as we will be away but we will see you back in two weeks. Maybe we will try to fit in a bonus post between now and then ... the fam is off to vote tomorrow morning. Lily and Jack can see democracy in action.
Snoozing with elephant.
Helping Aunt Tracy open presents.
Catching some shut eye.
Jack volunteered to help Aunt Tracy get acclimated.
A lot more sleep. That is what is going on here. Not to jinx ourselves again but Jack is up to five nights in a row and he slept from 10:30 (after being put down awake) until about 7:15 this morning. Lily hasn't quite gotten into the action (waking up in the middle of the night a few times) but she is sleeping until 7ish so we really can't complain.
The two of them are keeping us busy. Lily finished up gymnastics this week and had play dates with friends Brendan and Zachary. On Friday, Lily got to visit with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom. On Saturday friends Kristen and Chris came over along with Wyatt. Sunday we stuck around the house as Lily was recovering from a cold. She sees to be recovering pretty quickly - nothing that a lot of sleep and a couple viewings of a Little Mermaid couldn't fix.
Busy week ahead so stick around for next week's update. Until then, enjoy the pictures and video.
Jack lounging on his lambskin blankie.
Lily and Brendan discussing lunch preparations.
Jack and Wyatt playing.
A close-up of the hair line.
Enjoying the bumpo seat.
Marcy and I were in the kitchen and Lily was making some art project. When she finished she showed us that she had spelled her name, by herself, with no assistance. School appears to be paying off!
