2 month appointment

Jack had his 2 month appointment this morning. The doctor was very pleased with his progress and said that he's doing great! All of his stats were in the 50th percentile and above! He was very alert and happy until he got his shots. He got 3 shots and an oral vaccine. It took a second for the pain to register, but once it definitely was NOT happy. He screamed until we got to the car where fell asleep as soon as we left. He was a little fussy the rest of the day, so I made sure he got lots of cuddle time :-) Here are his stats:

Weight: 12 lbs. 3 oz. (65%)
Length: 23 3/4" (75%)
Head Circ: 15 3/4" (50%)

Baby Avery

We took dinner over to my friend Allison's family and got to visit with her and their new baby Avery Grace. She was born exactly a month after Jack and was the exact same size as Hannah! She's such a little peanut. It already seems like Jack was never that small :-( She slept the whole time we were there, while Jack was wide eyed and ready to go :-) It was so nice to visit, and we're looking forward to lots of play dates in the future.

2 months old

How is it possible that Jack is already 2 months old??? I don't know where the time is going. I really do try to enjoy each day, but they seem to fly by so quickly. He's already becoming such a big boy and changing so much. We love him more and more every day. Here's what he's up to:

*He is on a pretty good schedule. He gets up between 6:30 - 7:30 and eats approximately every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. He goes down for the night around 7:00. Actually, he and Hannah go to bed about the same time and go to sleep for the night in the same room. Much to my surprise, it's working out pretty well. We do a dream feed around 10:00. I'm not nearly as rigid with the schedule this time around as I was with Hannah, but we do have a pretty good rhythm going.

*He slept through the night last night - a full 8 1/2 hours!! He'd been getting 6-7 hours stretches for the past couple of weeks. Hopefully this will keep up.

*He sleeps best when swaddled, but does like to try to work his hand up to his mouth to suck on his fist.

*He is almost out of his 0-3 month clothes and into some 3-6 month clothes.

*He really likes his bouncer and has figured out that kicking the hanging toys changes the music. He's a big fan of the play mat. He really likes looking at the lights and listening to the music. Of course, big sister has to get right in there to lay with him, too :-) He's starting to really like the swing as well. We don't actually even turn the swing on, but he loves the mobile and lights. Last night, he talked and talked to it as it spinned overhead.

*He loves one-on-one time. When we give him our undivided attention, he gives us the biggest smile and tries to talk back. I could sit and talk with him all day if I had time. It's so cute!

*He laughed for the first time a week or so ago. We were playing patty cake, and he had a huge smile on his face and made this inhaling laugh noise. So funny. Not exactly a full out giggle, but I'm counting it.

*He is definitely a baby full of emotion. When he needs something, he has a fierce cry, and his whole head turns read. Once he gets what he needs and is satisified, he is a happy boy. He can be super tense and then fall asleep and relax within a minute. He is very alert and likes to watch the things around him. We get lots of smiles out of him, too.

As I look back at Hannah's 2 month recap, I'm amazed at the similarities between the two kids. It's sad how quickly you forget. We're trying to savor every moment with our little guy.

Exploring FMG

I have been wanting to get to Frederik Meijer Gardens all summer to walk through the sculpture garden to take in the Dale Chihuly exhibit. We finally got our chance this afternoon. It was a beautiful afternoon to admire all of the beautiful glass sculptures spread throughout the facility, both indoors and out.

One of my favorite spots is the waterfall.

I loved how they incorporated the Chihuly pieces into this spot.

Hannah is not totally crazy about sitting in the stroller for long periods of time, so Jason volunteered to let her ride on his shoulders. That lasted about 2 minutes.

I think Hannah's favorite spot was the farm, or more specifically, the corn crib.

She also spotted the "nay nay" and wanted a ride. We had to explain that he wasn't real.

Jack woke up on our walk, so I thought it would be a good chance to get a picture with both kids. Hoping to lure Hannah into a picture, we posed by the cow. You can see how successful we were with getting a shot.

We tried again on a bench by the corn crib and bribes of treats if Hannah would sit still. While we were doing so, some nice people volunteered to take a family picture. I think it perfectly captures what a nice afternoon we had.

Church

Every Sunday, Hannah is so excited to go to church. Wait, let me rephrase that - Hannah is so excited to go to nursery. She talks about it the whole way there. This morning, however, we though that we would try taking her into the beginning of the service with us for singing and take her to the nursery afterward. When we first brought her into the sanctuary and sat down, she was totally enthralled. We sit pretty close to the front, so she could see all of the instruments well. She just sat like a little lady, with her kids bulletin, waiting for the service to start.


However, once the music started and we stood up, she wanted to climb all over. She lasted about half of a song when she asked to go to the nursery. I actually was pretty happy with how long she did last.


Unfortunately, our summer church service is right during Jack's morning nap. He was not a happy camper at the beginning of the service, but after Jason rocked him for a few minutes, he fell right to sleep.

Little guy and girl

I know I'm biased, but I think my little guy is just so darn cute!


Hannah is growing up so fast it seems. I'm putting her in little girl clothes for as long as possible, including this adorable little bubble outfit. Initially I thought it might be too baby-ish, but I realize that she won't be able to wear these sort of outfits much longer :-(

Unfortunately, I didn't get a great picture, but you can get the idea.


Whenever I asked Hannah she would pose for her picture, she ran over to the stairs to sit down. She must think that's her picture spot for some reason??


Can I please just keep her this small forever??

Up North

Last weekend we went up to my parents' cottage at Higgins Lake. I love spending time with the grandparents as it gives us a nice break.

Jason and Jack relaxing on the swing.


Hannah loves the swing as well.

On Saturday morning, Jason continued on to Lewiston to spend a guys-only weekend with his dad while the kids and I stayed at the cottage with my parents.


Hannah's friend Jozlyn came over to play on Saturday.

Is our niece Kara not absolutely adorable or what!?!

The girls all playing in the sandbox, which was a huge hit all weekend long.

Grandma and Jack taking it easy on the deck.

Grandpa taught Hannah how to shuck corn.

Being very careful to pull all of the hair away.

One of Jack's favorite spots - in his bouncer seat.

Hannah eating corn on the cob for the first time. She at almost 2 full ears!

After playing in the sand and being out in the sun, Hannah and Kara needed a bath. They had a blast playing in the tub with the toys. Of course, Grandpa makes it fun with all of his character voices, too.

After bath time the girls had to watch Twenty Times on the computer with Grandpa, making sure to brush "twenty times up, twenty times down."

For years, my brother, 3 cousins, and I all had to do a summer "cousin picture" (in fact, we still do if we can ever all get together). This weekend started a new generation of cousin pictures. As you can see, our two children were not making the new tradition an easy one. At least Kara was happy!

A semi-happy picture of all 3 cousins, plus Hannah's baby, with Grandpa.

Both kids (yes, our 8 week old) watching The Hot Dog Song from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Grandpa. Just a disclaimer - no, Jack does not normally watch tv or videos on the computer!

Of course, we couldn't go up north and not go to the beach. Here is our drama queen throwing a fit about something, which she was over a minute later.

Oops - I forgot Jack's hat, so we had to use a burp cloth instead!

He didn't seem to mind :-)

Beach baby.

You can just imagine that we found sand EVERYWHERE when we gave her a bath later that night.

Hannah testing out her very own boat.

We lost power one evening, so what else was there to do but go to Dairy Queen?? Hannah got her own cone, complete with sprinkles!

Not only did she eat it, but she wore a little bit of it, too.

After all of our fun activities, Grandma and Jack were worn right out.

Church Picnic 2010

Last week, we attended our church's annual picnic. I don't think we've missed a year since we started attending. Once again we grabbed a table with our small group and enjoyed great food and company. After cleaning up, we strolled around the grounds where they had a number of games and activities set-up for all ages.


Hannah thought she wanted to go in the moon walk until she got to the entrance. She looked inside, turned to Jason and shook her head as if there were NO WAY she was going in there. Maybe next year.


Hannah enjoyed her very own snow cone this year.


Claire showing Hannah how to use a straw to eat a snow cone, but Hannah preferred to simply eat it directly out of the cone.

Burning off energy before heading home.

Easy Rider

A couple of weeks ago we visited our friends Eric and Jill at their summer home in Grand Haven. While we were there, the guys took the mopeds out for a cruise (Jason's first moped ride EVER!).


Eric giving Jason the run down.


And they're off!


While they were out, Jill and I hung back at the house while the Hannah and Claire splashed in the pool, and Jack took a nap. Have to love summertime in Michigan!