Sad Baby Jack

Jack had his first real illness over the holiday season.  It was so sad.  Right before Thanksgiving Jack had been a little crabby and not his happy smiley self.  He had his first two bottom teeth and two top teeth all coming in at the same time, so I thought his mouth was just making him uncomfortable.  Kate had a cold so I took the kids to the pediatrican and while we were there I mentioned that Jack had been a little fussy.  Well sure enough he had an ear infection.  I felt terrible, I had no idea.  So he had to take an antibiotic for the first time.  This made me a little nervous because Ellie has never had to take one and the one time we tried with Kate she broke out in hives and we found out she was allergic.  Luckily Jack did not have a reaction and we thought it cleared up.  We were wrong.  2 to 3 weeks later he had double ear infections and roseola at the same time.  This was one sad baby!  He was so pathetic.  He wouldn't eat at all and only nursed for almost 3 weeks.  He woke up 3 to 4 times every night and took several short naps through out the day.  He just wanted to be held and cuddled all day, which I would have been happy to do if I didn't have two other kids to care for.  It took 4 trips to the doctor and 3 different medicines before we got everything cleared up and our sweet baby was back to himself.  Lets hope we can steer clear of ear infections from now on!

Preschool Christmas Party

The girls had a Happy Birthday Jesus party at school before the Christmas break.  Todd, Jack and I got to come to their class and see a little bit of what they do in school.  It was fun to see the girls in a different environment.  Kate did really well and sang the songs and danced and did the motions.  Ellie was a little more shy with so many adults in the room.  She just sat in Daddy's lap and watched. 

Then we made a craft and a special snack with the girls.  They put green frosting on a triangle shaped brownie and then decorated it like a Christmas tree.  Kate didn't really care about decorating and just wanted to eat all the yummy things.  Ellie, on the other hand, decorated hers very carefully and then requested a bag to save it in.  She would probably still be carrying it around today if I let her.  I was so glad that Todd was able to leave work for a bit to come.  Kate and Ellie were thrilled that Mommy and Daddy and Baby Jack all came to school :)  Here are some pictures of the fun we had!

Thanksgiving in San Antonio

We decided to travel to San Antonio for Thanksgiving this year.  It was quite the road trip.  We left Dallas around 11 am and arrived at my parents house shortly before 8pm.  It was one LONG day.  There were lots of snacks, toys, games, DVDs, crying, and stops along the way.  But once we arrived everyone settled down and went to bed by 10.  It was the girls first time to sleep in pack n plays, and we were a little worried about how they would react and if they would try to climb out, but they did just fine.  Over all the trip was great!  We had so much fun with Grammie and Papa and their little dog Bella.  The girls were fascinated with such a small dog and gave her more attention than I think she wanted.  While we were in town we went to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, did some shopping, visited family and just hung out.  My mom and I also went to see the newest Twlight movie, which was a treat because I don't often get to the movies.

On Thanksgiving day my mom prepared a wonderful meal.  My aunts, cousin and grandmother came over and we had a nice afternoon.  Unfortunately the yummy meal conflicted with nap time, so the girls missed out on some of the fun.  But it was nice to see everyone.  My Aunt had not met the kids yet because she had been living in Italy and my Grandma had not seen the girls since they were babies.

She held out as long as she could.

Shortly after, the other two crashed.

Jack with Great Grandma Shepherd

Our attempt at a family photo

Overall it was a great trip and everyone enjoyed all the quality family time.  I think we may wait a little while before making the drive again though.  Here are a few more pictures from our time at Grammie and Papa's house.

Someone had a hard time sleeping in his crib.

Showing off her new 'shiny shoes', hat, and mittens

Jr. fire fighter Jack with fire fighter Papa

snuggling

Daddy's nap time

9 Month Stats

This baby just keeps getting older.  I cannot believe I am already starting to think about his first birthday.  He is the sweetest, happiest, baby I know.  I just love him to pieces!!!  So on Thanksgiving day Jack turned 9 months old.  Here are his stats:

Weight: 17lb 12oz (15%)
Height: 29in (50%)
Head: 17 3/4 (30%)

So he is a little on the skinny side.  Partly becuase he eats very little baby food/table food and partly because he is scooting all around and loves jumping in the jumperoo and partly just because we make long and lean babies :)

What Jack's Up to
-scooting around on his belly.  He gets on all fours a lot, but hasn't mastered the actual crawl yet.
-nurses 6 times a day and still wakes up once a night for a feeding
-takes one short cat nap in the morning and a two hour nap in the afternoon
-starting to get better about eating.  eats about 2-4 ounces of purees a day
-still loves watching his sisters and smiles and laughs at them all day
-says mama and dada
-not into sippy/staw cups unless they are Ellie or Kate's
-loves splashing in the bath
-is finally getting some teeth.  The top two started coming first and now two on the bottom as well.
-had his first sick visit to the doctor.  Double ear infections :(
-like to 'sway' side to side.  He does this in the jumperoo and when people are holding him.

Here is a picture of his first two teeth.

Halloween

This year we had a busy Halloween day.  We took the kids to the arboretum to see the pumpkin village and petting zoo and then in the evening we went to a halloween carnival.  The girls loved getting dressed up in their costumes, I am not sure how much Jack liked his, but he sure looked cute!  Here are some pictures from our morning at the arboretum.

Ellie and Kate also had their faces painted for the first time.  Kate was ok with it and pretty excited about how it turned out.  She got sparkley pink and purple butterfly wings.  Ellie was a little hesitant.  First she allowed him to paint a tiny heart on mommy hand, then her hand, and finally a few hearts on her cheek.

And now for some costume pictures.  Kate was a cat, which kind of looked like a skunk :)  Ellie was a pig, per her request.  She loves Peppa Pig and was so excited to put the costume on.  And I just had too much fun collecting costumes on sale for Jack.  He was a spider, duck, monkey, and tiger.