This and That

Random post about some "Jack things" going on here this past week:

Jack cracking himself up during his 6 month "photo shoot"

Showing off his hospital bracelet after he had his hip x-rays last week
(which turned out perfectly normal, praise God!)

Chilling with his buddies in the cradle
(he thinks it's great fun to hang out in the cradle now it's not his bed anymore)

We had lunch out with Pip and Dave today and it was Jack's
first time in a high-chair...what a big boy!

For the Grandparents

Warning: this will only be interesting to Jack's Nana and Grandma, who asked for it!!

Jack eating cereal mixed with apple-sauce...LOVED it!

Peter and Waddles

We love having people come to stay with us. We designed Jack's nursery around the guest room furniture, making sure that we would still be able to accommodate friends and family who needed a place to spend the night. Now, when we have visitors, Jack's Pac 'N Play gets moved into our bathroom for the night and we have space for everybody (and so far, Jack doesn't appear to mind sleeping between the toilet and the shower!)

This past week, we had a special visitor stay over on Thursday. Peter is my friend Victoria's dad and we love him and his wife Ann, who live in Chattanooga. They are from England originally and so always feel like special family and we love spending time with them when we can.

Jack meeting Peter for the first time

Peter was attending a wood working conference here and we were thrilled to have him for the night. And he brought along a very special present, a hand carved duck, which he made especially for Jack! When you pull the string the duck moves just like a real one, so we've named him Waddles :)

Jack enjoying Waddles

Thank you for staying with us Peter, and for the beautiful present...we will always treasure it!

Last Beach Post!

Here are the last few tidbits from our beach trip...and I promise not to put any more photos of the beach up EVER AGAIN!! Well, maybe not until next year :) But really, we had a wonderful, restful time last week and enjoyed every minute. Thanks Mum and Dad for hosting us all!

Jack loved having his lunch out on the beach

We tried sweet potatoes (his first vegetable ever) and he didn't do too badly

Michaela loved building sand castles with her bucket and spade

We put Jack's Pack 'N Play in our bathroom because there wasn't an extra bedroom for him, so he had to have his baths in the kitchen sink :)

Playing with Alexis (whenever Alexis and Jack see each other now, they grin happily!)

Sunbathing

A New Love

Disclaimer in previous post!

Well, our little boy has a new love in his life: the beach! He has always loved his bath and the swimming pool, but the ocean has taken his love of all things water to a whole new level. He adores it all, the sand, the waves, the wind, the paddling, the playing...everything! And he greets it all with smiles and squeals. Needless to say, he thoroughly enjoyed his week in Florida.

One morning Dad, Andre and I took him out before it got too hot, for a paddle and ended with a dip in the pool:

Round Two

Disclaimer Again: the posts that follow are really only going to be interesting to family and friends far away who have asked for photos of our trip. I know it will be thrilling for you locals who see us everyday to scroll through a hundred million pictures but I don't know how to do PhotoBucket and would prefer not to get sucked into online storage... so feel free to skip visiting us Russians for a few days if you'd rather!

Early last week we attempted a photo shoot on the beach with the kiddos, which, due to extreme humidity, poor lighting and bad tempers, didn't go so well. So on Friday night, that being our last opportunity, we headed out once again for Round Two. And, thankfully, met with success!

Nana and Grandpa with their Grands

Mum and Dad

Cousins

Sweet Alexis

Miss Michaela

The Cousin Twins showing off their standing skills

Sisters

Sean and Ness with their girls

Mum and Jack

Me and Dad

Jack Goes To the Beach

Bare naked baby loving the ocean air!

Enjoying time with Nana and Cousin Michaela

Hanging out with Daddy

An early morning stroll with Mummy

Cowboy Jack

Saying good-bye to Uncle Steve
(my brother was just down for 4 days and had to leave today)

Baby Days

Cleaning and cooking can wait 'till tomorrow
For babies grow up, as we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.