gg and kapuna.

My parents came in town last weekend for the OU vs. Mizzou game and, more importantly, to see Jack.

They had been in Hawaii for two weeks (lucky dogs!) before coming to Oklahoma and, even though traveling the week after such a long vacation makes for a stressful situation, they weren't going to postpone this trip!

They got in town on Friday evening and since I had a wedding and John was working the high school football game, they were on Jack duty. My aunt and uncle were in town too, so they all congregated at our house to watch Jack and eat pizza!

Saturday we hung out at home all day. They got some really good Jack time in when he wasn't eating or napping. Then they loaded up and went to the OU game while we waited on the babysitter.

The game was great, but the company was even better.

The weekends are always too short, but I'm so glad that my parents were able to make it up here. And, we'll see them in less than a week in Dallas for OU/Texas!

Before my parents left in the morning (and just after Jack's morning bottle) we had a short photo shoot. I plan to print these pics out to show Jack so he'll know exactly who my parents are whenever he sees them!

Jack and Kapuna (grandfather in Hawaiian -- my dad loves Hawaii)

Jack and gg!

roly poly.

Jack rolled from back to tummy about a month and a half ago. He would occasionally "practice" this new skill when he was in his crib. But he's started rolling over in his crib with more frequency. And, this has caused a little bit of craziness in our house.

Jack loves to roll over, but he didn't understand that he could fall asleep on his belly. We've been leaving him on his belly and putting his paci back in (and maybe rotating his little head a little so he's not face down in his crib) in order to help him realize it's ok to sleep on your belly. We've had a few random nights of waking up (but this could also be due to the teething we think is starting to heat up), but I think he's starting to get it. Knock on wood.

Anyway, below is a pic of him during his morning nap (in his crib!). I put him down on his back and he immediately rolled over to his belly.

And, tonight when putting him to bed, I tried putting him in his crib on his belly. What did he do? Immediately rolled over to his back. Stinker!

rice cereal.

Last Thursday, after the word from Dr. S., we started Jack on some rice cereal.

Though more runny than he probably liked, the first foray into solid foods went pretty well. Some of it actually made it in Jack's mouth, and some of it even made it down the pipe. Yay!

(John really wanted to buy sweet potatoes the other day, so we already have Jack's first baby food for whenever we think he's ready!)

As we've continued with the rice cereal, it's becoming more evident that Jack doesn't like it so much. After a couple bites, he turns his head away, purses his lips, or, if some of it actually makes it in, he makes he worst face! So, I'm going to get him some oatmeal and see how that fares.

He loved it ... can't you tell?

Love that smile!

Even though rice cereal hasn't been that messy (so far), it was bath night. And, how can you resist styling Jack's hair? You cant ... so we took a pic!

bill.

Last Friday, we had a very good Montgomery family friend come in town. He has been best friends with John's dad since forever (I don't know the actual time frame, so forever sounds about right ...). If you are at all in tune with college football you might recognize the face. If not, just know he's a really great guy and a true Sooner fan.

Bill is from the same small town in western Oklahoma that John D. is from and that's how they know each other and where their friendship flourished.

When we made it over to John's parent's house, Bill was beyond excited to meet the newest Montgomery. He took him from my arms and really didn't want to let him go! They liked each other from the get go!

I wish Bill's wife Nicki could have made it to see Jack, but definitely next time!

And, here's some photographic evidence.

Jack and his newest friend, Bill

Friday night the Dragons hosted Lexington (their rival) and before the game a civic organization in town hosted a pancake supper. We all went and enjoyed pancakes and bacon. I remember going to the same pancake supper last year knowing I was pregnant, but no one knew! Ha ... what a difference a year makes!

Jack and I didn't make it out to the football game. He was pretty tired and getting a little fussy, so we went home to bed. 

But, I'm so glad Bill was able to meet Jack and I look forward to many more pictures like this in the future!

4 month checkup.

We visited Dr. Stacy this morning for Jack's 4 month check up.

Our appointment was for 10:50. Jack usually gets a 10:30 bottle, so that sorta messed with our schedule. I tried giving him the bottle when we got to the Dr.'s office, but Jack wanted nothing to do with it ... so 2 ounces later, we met with Dr. S.

Her nurse measured and weighed our little guy.

Official 4 month stats:

•weight: 15 lbs. 15 oz. (had he taken a normal bottle, he would have been over 16 lbs.)

•height: 251/2" 

•head circumference: 16 3/4"

After weighing the man, we put him on the table, where he proceeded to roll over and tear up the paper. But, he looked extra cute doing it!

Unfortunately, we didn't escape without more vaccines: one oral and two shots. The man did great with the oral and first shot, but after that second shot, he lost it! Poor guy cried so hard and it was much tougher to calm him down this time. Shot days are tough on all of us ...

We got the go ahead from Dr. S to start rice cereal. I have to say, I've been thinking about this day for a while now, and I'm totally intimidated by starting solids. I have so many questions (many I asked): When will be the best time to feed him the cereal? When will I know to take away one bottle? Is he going to take to the cereal? When will we go to 3 meals of solids a day? Ahh...so many more I can't even think of right now. 

But, as I've mentioned before, I'll just need to relax and find my confidence. Once we've figured out what works for us, I'm sure Jack will hit the ground running, and I'll will wonder why I worried about it so much.

Anyway, we had a great check up with the doctor. Jack is right on track and we go back at the end of December.

little monster.

If you've been reading my blog with any frequency, you may have noticed that I call Jack the Little Monster. And, let me first assure you that I call him that out of love. But, the nickname didn't exactly come from anything fun. 

In fact, when I was changing Jack from a 3 hour schedule to a 3.5 hour one, it took about 3 days for him to adjust. We started on a Friday and Saturday and Sunday were a bit challenging. Naps didn't really work out. Instead of sleep, we had a fussy, crying baby on our hands. Thus ... the little monster. But, now he's our little monster and we love him dearly, fussy days and all. 

Anyway, I mentioned that Halloween will be here before we know it and last night I was searching online for a costume for the little guy. And, what better costume than a monster??  

And, how cute is this monster costume?

Houston, we have a problem. The smallest size is 6-12 months! And, by Halloween he won't even technically be 6 months yet, therefore the costume would probably swallow him up! 

So, I'm sorta back to the drawing board. I'm still searching for a cute monster costume, but maybe I can find something equally as cute and funny that actually fits!

thursday randoms.

You guys. I have been really wanting to blog and I have several things I'd like to post about, but this week has been crazier than expected and I just haven't had it in me to sit down and put together a decent post. So, in lieu of those posts (for now), here is a list of what's been on my mind.

• We all know the madness that was Missoni for Target. I had to take our next issue to the press on Tuesday morning, so it was a perfect opportunity to pop over to Target and check it out.

Uhh...the scene when I got in there, though not as crazy as other places I heard about, was not what I expected. Sure, there'd been tons of buzz all over the blogosphere, but I didn't expect ladies to have carts full of zig zagged clothing, etc., nor did I expect that the poor Target workers trying to get the merchandise displayed would be thwarted. Needless to say, you really had to get to the store prior to 8:45 in most places, and even then there was no guarantee you would get a little piece of this phenomenon. I didn't get any, and although there were a few cute things, I'm not too upset over it. I think those people that loaded their carts down only to turn around and sell the stuff on eBay are the worst.

• Last weekend, while John was playing in a golf tournament, Jack and I met my good friend Sarah's little boy, Luke. He was born September 3 at 10:30pm (during the first OU football game) and we've been chomping at the bit to meet him! Sarah was quite the trooper, and after 17 hour of not so fun labor, she got to meet her perfect little man. John and I are anxious for our boys to become the best of friends. We all see lots of play dates and maybe even a family vacation or two in our future.

And, after meeting Luke, it makes me even more excited for the Twinnies to get here in January to join in on the fun! Luke and Jack will have another bestie and a girl friend to fight over :)

• The weather has cooled down so much lately, and I'm loving it. Fall is by far my favorite season, which is why John and I got married in October, and I'm so pumped about pulling out boots, leggings and sweaters. We're supposed to be getting rain from now until the middle of next week, but who really knows. Anyway, I'm embracing these new temperatures and loving every minute. Jack even wore his very first long sleeved onesie today! I should take a picture...

• Jack has been pretty social recently. Like I said, we met Luke on Sunday, which was way fun. And, even though Luke was snoozing the whole time and I missed out on holding him, he was so adorable. I loved his little black peach fuzz hair. Monday night, Jack and I met Beth and Tiffany for dinner at Victoria's. He did great most of the time, but started melting down toward the end because it was kinda warm in the restaurant. And then last night we went to dinner with John's family. Friday night, Jack will most likely make his second appearance at a high school football (save for the weather). We went last Friday and stayed for the first quarter. I know Jack loved it ... he was looking around and watching everything.

• Halloween is quickly approaching. I'm on the lookout for a cute costume for the Little Monster and I'm (not surprisingly) excited about taking Jack to the pumpin patch for a photo op. What soon-to-be mom doesn't count that as one of the things they look forward to for when their babe is born? Ok, maybe fewer than I think, but I certainly did.

Ok, have a fabulous Thursday and hopefully I'll be back very soon with exciting posts with lots of pictures.

never forget.

Ten years ago, I was a freshman at OU. I was sleeping in because my first class (French) on Tuesdays didn't start until 10:30. One of my best friends (Kelly) came down to my room and woke up me and my roommate (Stephanie) to tell us that something big was happening. A plane had flown into the World Trade Center. We turned on the tv just in time to see that a second plane had flown into Tower 2. At 10:30, I made my way to my class and my professor cancelled saying he knew many people who worked there and hadn't been able to get a hold of any of them.

That is a day I'll never forget.

Thank you to all the men and women risking their lives to protect our freedoms. And, a prayer goes out to all of the families who lost loved ones.

Jack: 4 months.

Once again, I'm amazed at how fast a month flies by. Our little man is 4 months old and everday we see more of this little personality as he grows and develops.

This month, Jack has become more mobile. Just about a week after his 3 month birthday, he surprised me one morning by rolling from his back to his belly. After that day, he's been a rolling machine. So much so, that a couple times he rolled over in his crib and would end up crying and I'd have to roll him back over to we could all go back to sleep. But, I think he's forgotten how to roll from his tummy to his back and sometimes gets frustrated that he's doing "extended tummytime."

Even a bit scarier than rolling over, one afternoon, during his nap, while we attempted to let him cry it out some, John's dad went back to check on Jack and he wasn't in his swing. Uhh...this kid can't get out on his own, so where was he?? He had flipped himself out of the dang swing and was on the ground under it! Luckily this was our little portable swing so he didn't fall too far ... but still. Not ok. Since that day, we've forgone swaddling during nap time and he's now safely buckled in. Talk about feeling like a terrible parent!

And, since we got rid of the swaddle for naps, we've completely abandoned the swaddle. Jack now sleeps at all times sans swaddle! He's such a big boy!

Jack has definitely continued drooling (no teeth yet) and has started chewing on his Sophie the Giraffe and other little teething toys. Don't be mistaken, though, his favorite things to chew on are still his hands and forearm.

Like last month, Jack has been pretty social! He met his almost birthday buddy, Addison and went to a bridal shower for a cousin of his! Once again, as the only boy in attendance, he stole the show.

Our Little Monster has definitely found his voice. When laying on his activity mat, he often squeals and coos and grunts and yells! I love hearing his little voice and "opinions."

As I mentioned in his 3 month post, Jack is super strong. (Probably the strongest baby I know, but I'm not biased or anything...) He still loves "standing" on us and any surface we'll put him on. And, he's trying to sit up now. Of course he can't sit up on his own, but he really enjoys trying, especially when he's in his bouncy chair (which he likes a lot more, now).

Every morning after his first bottle, I get the dogs out to feed them and then Jack and I take them outside. He loves looking around at everything around him. And, when the weather turned nice over this past weekend, I took him on a walk in his stroller. He was silent the entire time, just looking around and soaking it all in. When we got back to the house, the poor guy was a bit windblown and wide-eyed, but I know he enjoyed our short walk.

I can't even begin to describe how much I love this little boy and how much my love for him continues to grow. He really is the best thing that's happened to us and I'm trying to enjoy each stage without looking forward to the next one too much.

4 month stats:

•16 lbs.*

•25 1/4"*

•30-32 oz. a day (mostly 7 oz. bottles with the occasional 5 or 6 oz. one)

•wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes and still some 3 months items

•size 2 diapers

*We have a doctor's appointment in about 2 weeks for his 4 month check up, so the weight and length are unofficial. I'll update after our appointment.

Also, John wasn't home with our Nikon, so these are taken with the point and shoot. The only issues I really had were that the battery was going dead and the red-eye reduction light was distracting Jack so he didn't smile as much. Oh well!