Jack is NINE Months Old!

Well last Saturday, Jack was NINE months old! I cannot believe how fast this time with him has gone! I thought that time passed fast with Berk but I now feel like I can barely blink an eye without missing something! At his nine month appointment on Monday he weighed 23 lbs. 14 oz. and is 29 1/2 in. long. To say the least, he is a monster!!! He is in the 95th percentile for his height and 92nd percentile for his weight;she said that when their height percentile is more than their weight percentile that they usually wind up being BIG kids! (I can't say that disappoints me!) We keep saying that by this time next year, Jack will probably be bigger than Berk! But he is a healthy boy for sure and everything checked out good. He did have some places on his face and she said those were beta-caratine spots from all the baby food fruits and veggies and that when he got off of baby food that it would clear up. Well, good news, it has since he is now eating table foods! I think the last few weeks of baby food and pure formula bottles wore him out; he wasn't eating as much and he just didn't have that voracious appetite that he is known for! Well the appetite is back since he trying all new things and last night he ate from 6:45-7:35 NONSTOP! Everything I put on his tray he devoured including a whole piece of bread, cheese, tomatoes and half and can of the fruit cocktail stuff! Needless to say, he is a good eater like his sis! He is also getting whole milk in his bottle now; half formula and half whole milk. I can't say that I am happy that he is still on the formula, but at least it is cut in half now; and he only gets 2 bottles a day so it isn't too bad.

He has four teeth now, is cruising furniture, will let go and stand for about 5 seconds (Berk was walking at 10 months so I don't think he will be far behind that), is getting into Berk's things left and right, is very independent except when mom is around, says "da-da," "ma-ma," and the other night said "ba" when he saw his ball, loves petting the cat, loves figuring things out, can stick his tongue out mimicking you, plays patty cake, plays peek-a-boo, sleeps through the night, loves Berk, is very strong (especially when he doesn't want to do something), loves bathtime with Berk, will crack up at Berk acting silly, has the bluest eyes like his sis, is completely smitten with Berk, carries things around in his mouth like dog, gets jealous if you are holding someone else and not him, understands the word "NO," is very laid back like his dad and has just about everyone he meets wrapped around his finger! Needless to say, we are so happy this little (big) boy is so darn lovable, but are really wishing time would SLOW DOWN so we could take it all in a little more!

Miss Thang (a.k.a. Berkley) is still just the life of the party! She is the sweetest girl and has such a sweet heart except when she gets on one of her tacky tangents! Her vocabulary is out of this world and I can't believe how fast she is changing too! The other day we were coming home from my parents and she saw the star at the top of the "mountain" in Borden County and she said "That's AMAZING!" It was the most sincere thing that I have ever heard come out of her mouth! She is the best big sister to Jack and will do anything to make him laugh; we were coming home from getting dinner last night and Jack was NOT happy that he hadn't eaten yet and was fussing and she said, "Jack's it's OK!" Berkley is also very commonly mistaken to be a THREE year old; I love it but sometimes I just stop and think "WOW that IS just right around the corner, isn't it?!" The girl also has one of the BEST memories I have ever seen; you can NOT pull the wool over her eyes for one minute! For a couple of months now we have been talking about Santa and what she wants him to bring her and she will ALWAYS respond "A computer" to whereas some kids will change their selections periodically, NOT HER!

Well this might be one of the last posts I do before the Christmas holiday but I just wanted everyone to know that Jack is healthy and happy and we are all enjoying this holiday season! I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and wonderful New Year!

Meadows

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (a finished projects)!

Well I got the kids' pictures with Santa made this year at Holiday Happenings just like I did last year with Berk! Well this year's was not MUCH better, I just think this old man totally freaks her out! (though she will talk about Santa non-stop when he is not present)

11/21/10...In both pictures she has that same worried look on her face so I just think I am not going to expect much from Santa pictures year to year!

11/21/10...Jack on the other hand, didn't have a care in the world! (this is his normal look)




On to the crafting we go....Here are my finished Santa hats atop the refrigerator! I love the way they turned out along with the tray that I covered in scrapbook paper! (notice his reindeer on the corners)
And my latest creation began with this....A $1 wreath fixture from Dollar Tree and a $1 package of coffee filters from there also. Add my glue gun, a few glue sticks, a $1 ornament from Wal-Mart, some ribbon from Dollar General and some balls out of two different $2 packages of ornaments from Dollar General and you get this....

Voila! I LOVE THIS THING! It is the perfect wreath and was SO EASY to make! I found it on The Nester's blog and am so pleased with how it turned out. So, if you have some extra time and want a CHEAP ($10) and EASY Christmas present, here ya' go!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! We are off to the parents again this weekend to see my sister and my best friend from high school graduate from MSU! I have another project I am going to work on while there and we are planning on going to the Fantasy of Lights for the first time with the kids. Jack has his 9-month check up on Monday so I will be sure to post after all the fun this weekend and Monday!

Meadows

It's That Time of the Year Again

Well it is that time of the year again when I (actually Thad) gets down all our Christmas decor and I start to transform our house into a holiday showcase! Last year (our first year in our new house), I didn't really decorate a lot for Christmas, but this year I have got the BUG and I want to do a lot of inside decorating. (The outside is Thad's dept. but I have BIG plans for it too!) So far, I have the tree up and decorated, my village of houses in my hutch (I did have a picture but it was "corrupted?), our stockings hung with care, wreaths on the kids' doors and the big door, a few other decorations and still a few more to go. We have NO presents under the tree yet, but that is nothing out of the ordinary (we procrastinate). I love having a lot of space to decorate but hate the money spent to get started. I know that once I get started then I can put up and reuse every year, but it is the "getting started" par that has been most difficult. (Plus I don't know EXACTLY what i want so I kind of overindulge!) But I have lots still to do to get it where I want it and the calendar is staring at me hardcore! (I think we might leave up Christmas decorations until February!) Anyway here is just is just a little bit of what's been going on at our house and I will post FINALIZED pictures hopefully next week!

Oh and Jack now has BOTH top teeth!!!

Have a great week and weekend!

This is the first ornament I bought when Thad and I started dating in '06. It says "To the world you are just one person, but to one person you could mean the world." I never knew until he proposed (on the 17th of December of '06) and then I married him (a mere 7 months later) that this would ring truer than true.
A red, black and silver tree would never be complete without one of these!

Berk's first Christmas ornament. Look at that wee little baby!!

And her first Christmas footprint!

Her addition to the tree this year: Elmo of course!

Proud of her selection!

My mom had this made last year for us: it is an ostrich egg!

Our first Christmas as husband and wife: my mom also found this one for us!

And my mom got this one made for us too for Berk's first Christmas.

Berk's wreath for her door to her room; she helped make it!

Jack's wreath for his door to his room; Berk helped make it also!

I LOVE these; my four Santa hats (two of which I need finish tonight!)

A vase on our mantle!

Ornaments on some candle holders that Thad and I got on our honeymoon

Stockings hung with care (each has our initials on them)

A candle holder with ornaments that still needs a little work to spruce it up!

And my tree (bad pic with the chairs pulled out, but you get the idea!) I made the topper this year because I wanted something BIG!

Sesame Street Live and Thanksgiving!

Well like I mentioned in my last post, we went to "Sesame Street Live" on the 19th and it was AWESOME! Berkley loved it and it was fun to see her face when she realized what we were seeing besides Sara! It was great entertainment and I highly recomment it for kids of any age. I think Jack would have even enjoyed it because of the colors and music! We sat on the second row and it was great! The characters all come down off the stage and Berk was highly entertained at seeing all of them up close; she even got to give Grover a high five!

11/19/10...On our way to San Angelo!

11/19/10...SO excited about Aunt Sara AND Sesame Street!

11/19/10...When she saw this Elmo she DARTED inside the coliseum!

11/19/10...Relaxing before the show!
11/19/10...It initially scared her, but didn't take her long to settle in!

11/19/10...ABBY CADABBY!

11/19/10...View from our seats

11/19/10...Prairie Dawn

11/19/10..."Grouchy" as Berk refers to him, and his girlfriend (who knew that monsters that live in trash cans can get girlfriends?!)

11/19/10...Right after she gave Grover a high five!

11/19/10...Pure elation!

11/19/10...Just watching

11/19/10...$10 balloons that they sold at intermission; we got Berk one of these and out of EVERYONE in the entire coliseum, guess who let go of hers even when it was tied around her wrist?! Yep, that would be Berk! So Elmo got to watch us from the ceiling and she surprisingly was OK with that!

11/19/10...Berk and dad

11/19/10...Me and Berk

11/19/10...Bert

I had to take Jack to the doctor on the 18th because he had a barky cough the night before and come to find out, he had croup. So they gave him a steroid and some decongestant and he is fine. When they weighed him at the appoitment he weighed 23.1. He is also teething, getting his top two teeth, which has not been fun for any of us. The things are MONSTERS and his poor gums are so swollen. But hopefully they will pop through any day and he will back to his happy, normal self! The next few are some snapshots of the last few weeks!

First taste of bubbles!

Hanging out after bath time in the laundry basket!

Sweet girl!

11/23/10...Hanging out on the air mattress before getting ready in the morning. Thad redid our bedroom with hardwood floors and new paint, so we got to spend a couple of nights on the air mattress.

Thanksgiving 2010....Well we spent Thanksgiving Day at the Meadows and then went to my parents on Friday. We had a great Thanksgiving and there is so much for us to be thankful for. It was fun with all the kids together at both places. I can see LOTS of fun holidays in the future. Berk loves being the "chief" of all of the kids and I don't think the boys mind at all. (at least not right now!) Jack loved eating the sweet potatoes, pie and stuffing and Berk had plenty of it all! So, here are some snapshots of our two Thanksgivings!

11/25/10...First Thanksgiving!

11/25/10..."You want me to eat what?!"

11/25/10...Two boys; remember they are only SIX weeks apart!

11/25/10...The newest Meadows member: Cohen Blaine. (And his look alike daddy!)

11/25/10...Sweetest babies!

11/25/10...BIG HUG!

11/25/10...Berk and Wesson are big buds too!

11/25/10...All of the babies! (Please excuse the panties, we are working on her appropriateness!)

11/25/10...Corey and Wesson Rhyder

11/25/10...our little fam!

11/25/10...Newest little family!

11/25/10...A frequent occurence when Aunt Sara is around!

11/25/10...One of the last singles with the matriarch and patriarch of the fam!

11/26/10...On the way to Nana and Papa's! (with M & Ms of course!)

11/27/10...Just hanging out!

11/27/10...Berk and Jayden playing

11/27/10...Jayden and Jack; please take into account that Jayden is 7 months older than Jack and Jack weighs two pounds MORE and is the same height! Can you see MAMMOTH?!

11/27/10...Jack and Papa

11/27/10...Jack and dad

11/27/10...He loved this!

11/27/10...Jayden pushing him!

11/27/10...Silly boys!