Here is Jack at 35 weeks/8 months old…
(September 27th, 2012)

As you can see, we’ve gotten back on track with our weekly photo project, but I’ve made one change. Last week and this I decided to coordinate Jack’s outfit with the fabric background. This way I can capture some of his cute clothes.

And speaking of clothes, Jack is now fully into 9 month size. He can also wear clothes labeled 6-12 months, but trying to get his yummy thighs and arms into pure 6 monthers is no longer an option. What’s fun is that my cousin, Jen, sent a ton of super-cute 9 month hand-me-down clothes which we are enjoying fully! The frog onesie in this week’s photo is one such item.

Jack is now crawling on hands and knees, however, he has yet to take off quickly. He has mastered the technique, but hasn’t found his speed. This is a blessing and I am not in a rush for him to go zooming. He likes to crawl straight toward me whenever I take his picture…

This week, Jack booked a second print job for The Children’s Place! I took him to the audition, at which he was so well behaved. Once he booked it we had to go back for his fitting. Here he is waiting patiently for his turn to get styled…

On shoot day Jack did amazingly well. When they got around to shooting him it was nearing his nap time, so he was a little clingy to me and a bit impatient, but they snapped some cute, cute photos of him in a bunny hat and some baby geek glasses. The ad campaign will be used in the Spring, so I’ll be stalking it to see if they use any of his photos. I took a video of him on set, but I have a heck of a time uploading videos to wordpress. If anyone know how to do it, please let me know as I have many cute videos to share!

We’ve been working hard on getting Jack’s sleep in order – working on breaking the bad habit we got into of him eating to sleep. We also cut out the night feedings, which was hard, but so worth it. We added a dream feed at 10:30 or 11pm and then he only wakes up 1 or 2 more times before morning. We’ve been doing some sleep training, which is stressful. We started to make progress, but then Jack caught his second cold and that all fell apart. At first I wasn’t sure why he regressed, but then figured it out when he would wake with a crusty little nose, poor bugger. He is getting better at falling asleep on his own, usually fussing for 3-10 minutes. We’re hoping that when his cold gets better, the fruits of our labor will show.

Speaking of fruit, Jack is still a huge fan of eating fruit, but would prefer to skip the vegetables. His absolute favorite food is bananas, so if you sneak some peas or mixed veggies underneath those, he’ll sometimes tolerate it. He also enjoys apples, prunes, pears and sweet potatoes mixed with various meats, like chicken or turkey. He absolutely despises carrots, which cause him to make a very dramatic ‘yuck’ face, followed by a slight gagging cough, which is pure comedy. He also enjoys frozen mangos in a suckable mesh teether.

Jack continues to be so curious about everything! He loves to examine things closely and always looks as if he’s trying to figure out exactly how things work. He loves discovering new things, so keeping him occupied can be exhausting, but fun.

Here, Jack plays the bongo drum before bed…

And here is Jack resting on our bed…

Sometimes a baby just has to chillax.
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Here is Jack at 33 & 34 weeks old…
(September 13 & 20, 2012)

During his 33rd week, Jack booked his first print job, which was for Target.com! What we learned was that they double book babies on jobs, so while he still got paid, they didn’t use Jack during the shoot. So, sadly, you can’t log on to Target.com and see him. I have to admit I was slightly disappointed, but it was fun to meet other moms and babies on set.

Also in his 33rd week Jack cut his first tooth (bottom front)! He was super fussy on Sunday, September 9th, so I put his down for a nap and when he woke up, the little white dot of a tooth had appeared. He loves to roll his tongue over it.

One weekend morning during Jack’s 34th week I woke up and decided we needed to go to brunch. Jack charmed everyone in the restaurant with his animated eating. He still opens his mouth super-wide like a baby bird when the spoon nears his face. It’s super cute. Because a second tooth joined his first he now spends a lot of time with his tongue out, which I find adorable…

Jack has been trying so hard to crawl for a couple of weeks now. First, he started scooting on his belly, army style, to get from point A to point B, which often frustrates him because it is so slow moving. He is now figuring out how to pull his knees underneath him, but still can’t figure out the coordination to make it all go. He will rock back and forth on hands and knees and then bury his face in the floor out of frustration. Now that he is so intent on getting places, the weekly photos have become a challenge…

There’s no keeping this boy still for long!
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Here is Jack at 31 and 32 weeks old…
(August 30 & September 6, 2012)

During our first week in our new house, we did not have a washer/dryer, so Jack accompanied me to the laundromat. Here he is guarding the suitcase and our change purse…

On Jack’s 31 week birthday he experienced his first cross-country airplane ride! We went to Rochester, NY, complete with a layover in Chicago. If you remember, Jack had his first airplane ride at 13 weeks, but it was a short ride back and forth in one day and he slept through most of it. This time Jack did very, very well on the way there.

When we arrived, the first thing we did was visit Great Grandma Dorothy! As you can see in the photo above, she was so delighted to finally meet her 5th great grandchild, Jack Lawrence. And Jack was happy to be able to wish her a happy 100th birthday in person. Yes, my Grandma turned 100 years old on September 1st and we had a fun celebration over Labor Day weekend! Here are some photo highlights…

At the birthday party, Jack was a party animal…

He discovered his first balloon, chatted with Great Grandma, played with everyone and kept trying to crawl…

The next day we decided that the 3 of us would take a day trip to visit Niagra Falls!

Looking back on the photos, it’s clear that Jack wasn’t himself, but at the time we did not know he was about to get his first cold. This cold made the return airplane flight much more difficult. Here we are in our seats on the plane – look at those sad, sick eyes. Poor peanut…

A baby with a cold may just be one of the saddest things since they don’t understand it and there’s not a lot you can do for them except comfort and aspirate. And the progress we were making on Jack’s night sleep regressed. Boo.

However…

I still think he is the sweetest boy ever.
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Because I am so behind in my blogging, I am posting two weeks at a time to catch up. Get excited.

Here is Jack at 29 and 30 weeks old…
(August 16 & 23, 2012)

In week 29 we were still living with my parents and having a great time swimming regularly…

Jack also discovered that he loves to play with kitchen tools…

One day, while passing the watermelons in the grocery store, I was reminded of pregnancy…

I hear some women miss pregnancy when it’s over, but I can’t say that I do. Good thing there’s a juicy baby to kiss on the other side of it all.

Then, in Jack’s 30th week, we finally moved into our house! This is the main reason I’ve gotten so behind in blogging. It’s a long, exahausting process to get settled when you have an infant.

Jack’s first nap in his bedroom was on the floor with no curtains. I think he did pretty well, considering…

I promise he had his crib to sleep in and sheets over the windows by the time evening rolled around. Jack took to his new crib very well!
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