Attempting a Father's Day Picture

It didn't go so well.



Ok. Not terrible. Kate's got some 80's hair going on there, and Jack... oh, poor Jack. He was woken up for these pictures. And he has no pants on. ha!

Ok... that one's not too bad.

Watch the downward spiral here, though.

Eh, that's life, right??

What a Difference a Year Makes!

As I was looking through pictures, I came across some of the Memorial Day parade last year. I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized how much Kate has grown up in a year.

No more chubby arms. No more short curly hair. No more diaper hanging out of her shorts.

She's tall and trim now. She's had her first hair cut. She wears big girl "unna-ware". And, she tells me she's "a big girl, not a baby".

I miss my baby girl, but I love her to pieces at two and a half.

In my head, I know she's gotta get big, but in my heart I'm begging to keep her little.

The Many Faces of Jack

Little Miss Mama

She's a good helper.

A good big sister.

A little mama.

She puts things away where she got them, likes to clean, and can fold towels with the best of 'em.

And, she's my favorite girl in the whole world.

I Can FEEL the Relaxation

We have decided to go to the Smoky Mountains this summer. We needed something fairly easy since we have two kids now, and since Jack is still so little. AND he hates the car, so we couldn't go too incredibly far (it will still be a ten hour drive, though... pray for us. ha!).


We've been to the beaches of Mexico and Florida, we've been to Disneyworld, we've been to big cities, but something always draws us back to the mountains...


So, in early July, we will be here:



There are rocking chairs on the front porch where I plan to drink my coffee every morning,nice little creeks throughout the resort that I plan to stroll by each evening, a pool I want to lay out by, and a hot tub on our deck that I plan to sit in every night. Ahhhh, vacation. I can't get enough.

Now, throw a two and a half year old and a five month old in the mix and the relaxation factor may go down just a bit, but I can't wait anyway!!

Eating Cereal

Jack has been eating rice cereal for the past couple of weeks. He's a natural!

These are pictures of his first time eating cereal. Messy, messy!!!

First Swim of the Summer

Last week, we had our first swim of the summer in Mimi and Papa's pool.

Kate loved to swim last year, but would never want to float in her little swim ring. Wow, how that has changed!!

Ignore her silly Dora hat. We were at Wal-Mart and it said SPF 50 on it. I am being a complete freak this year about my kids getting sunburned, so into our cart it went.

Can you tell she kinda likes it???

Now, on to this little guy.



He didn't have quite as much fun.

We got him all suited up.



And, s-l-o-w-l-y put him in the water.



Yeah, not liking it so much.



So, out he went. After a bottle and a little time warming up in the sun, we tried again. This time, he sat in his little floaty and enjoyed being in the water.













Here's to many, many more lazy days at the pool!!

Jack Ryan

Jack,

You are SOOO laid back. Everyone comments on what a great baby you are.

You have gorgeous big, blue eyes, just like your sister.

You are getting a chubby little belly and I love it!

You love, love, love, your thumb. It's so cute. Sometimes, I lay you on my bed so I can help Kate with something. You'll pop that thumb in your mouth and I'll come back to find that you have put yourself to sleep. Sweet boy.

You can roll over from your belly to your back.

You graduated to size 2 diapers and size 3-6 month clothes.

You have started eating cereal once a day. You seem to really be liking it! I'll be posting more pictures of that later.

You went for your first swim. It took you a little while to like it at first, but I have the feeling you are going to be a little fish just like your sister. More pictures to come later on that, too!

You can hold your head up so well and love to sit in your Bumbo seat. You are a part of the action that way.

Your sister LOVES you!! She wakes up and says, "I want to see Jack." She is always touching you, squeezing you, and sticking her hair in your face. But, you showed HER the other day by grabbing a handful of her blonde locks. I heard her yelling, "Help! Help! Jack, let go!" Ha!

You are the smiley-est (is that a word??) baby I know!! You are bashful. It's so cute.

You are such a glorious addition to our family. We love you, little man.

Love,
Mommy