McKenley.

A couple weekends ago, a fraternity brother of John's, his wife, Emily, and their sweet daughter McKenley were in town for some family pictures. It worked out that we could all have lunch together on Sunday and finally our little ones could meet!

Emily announced she was pregnant about a month before me and due in April. However, McKenley had other ideas. Five weeks before her due date, McKenley made her debut. She's a precious 7 month old who, I think, taught Jack to "blow raspberries".

It was great to finally meet the newest little Boyd and, there's no question, in about 18 years, these two will be friends at OU!

Already trying to put the moves on. McKenley is not impressed. PS - Jack's hair is out of control!

5 years.

Five years ago today I married JDM. He's my best friend and the one person I can spend hours on end with and, even though we might not have much to say, I'm having fun.

Our relationship started with a blind date set up, thanks to both of our roommates (who were dating at the time). Though we had a rocky beginning (John says he "played" me ... but that's another post entirely), we've been together for almost nine years, and, now, married for five.

In the past nine years we've definitely had our ups and downs, and fair share of fights and disagreements, but there's not a single other person I'd choose to spend my life with. And now we have the most amazing little boy who brings us so much joy!

Below is a Party Pic from our first date, Chi Omega Hooties & Harleys. It was a biker themed date party, and I have to tell you, John so looked the part, I swore people were going to think I'd actually picked up a biker to be my date! Ha!

So funny how young we look!

Here's to the rest of forever with my love!

sleep positions.

I've mentioned before how roly poly Jack is these days, and in his crib, at bedtime, is no exception.

We do our usual bedtime routine, and then put him in his crib and he usually thrashes around for a little while before finally falling asleep. And, each night, his final sleeping position cracks us up!

Below are a few pictures of our favorites.

Nothing unusual here, he just preferes to sleep on his side. 

This isn't the worst ... he's definitely been farther under the bumpers. And, now that bumper is gone.

This is his usual position these days.

OU/Texas

Wow... long time, no blog, huh? No excuses, I've just been lazy!

So, for OU/Texas, we had planned to take Jack to Dallas on Thursday to meet John's grandparents and then to my aunt and uncle's house to stay the night on Friday and during the game on Saturday. However, as we got closer to the weekend, things didn't really work out and I ended up in Oklahoma with the babe and JDM hit the road for Dallas.

I like to tell people that instead of going, I was sharpening my Mom Skills.

Anyway. Thursday night was quiet for us -- business as usual.

On Friday night, we had a dinner date with Sarah and Luke. They, too, had been abandoned stayed home, so it was fun to have a girls (and son) night out! We ate dinner at Cha Cha's and had good girl talk. Sarah is super fun, so you're sure to have a good time when you're with her. And, we're really strengthening the bond of friendship between our boys since they're destined to be BFFs.

Saturday we had big plans. I did Jack's morning bottle as usual, but then I loaded up the car and we hit the road for OKC. We had plans to watch the game and spend the afternoon my BFF and her husband. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of our side by side car seats, but I'm sure you can just imagine the cuteness.

I was super worried that Jack would fall asleep on the 45 minute car ride, thus negating a morning nap, and potentially setting us up for a fussy baby. He did end up falling asleep for the last 15 minutes of the drive and didn't take a very good morning nap. But, he was a perfect little angel ... until, I accidentally got overexcited on the first play of the game and my shrill cheer may have upset him. Whoops! Luckily we were, again, close to nap time. Jack went down pretty easily and took a great afternoon nap!

just chewin' on Sophie, post-bottle

Just before good Baby Jack turned into fussy Baby Jack.

B loves to "prop" babies, and this was our attempt to put her glasses on him. Hilarious!

Oh, and here's a funny little anecdote. So, after I scared Jack with my cheering, for the next 40 minutes or so until his nap, every time something good happened for the Sooners he started crying. The big joke was that he was a Longhorn fan. At one point, I was taking him back to his nap and the Sooners scored or something, and I had to hide his eyes so as to not upset him again. Funny? Maybe not to you, but hilarious at the time.

Though I wasn't in Dallas, at the State Fair drinking beer from a wax paper cup and celebrating a fabulous win with some of my best friends, I was at home with my most favorite little boy, getting some good quality time with some of my other best friends!

It was definitely different than usual, but I wouldn't trade time with my son for anything!

wordless wednesday: i may have the cutest baby ever.

Jack: 5 months.

Five months have passed and we're having so much fun! When people say they can't remember life without their baby, it's so true. Sure, life is quite different, but it's good different.

Jack continues to change at what seems like lightening speed and we're loving all of his milestones. A few weeks ago Jack finally started really laughing. We'd heard a laugh or two before, but not until then was it a more regular occurrence.

One morning, while my parents were in town, one of the dogs jumped up on the couch and Jack thought it was the funniest thing! We just love making him laugh. The belly laughs are the absolute best!

I've mentioned this several times, but Jack has had "playdates" with Luke a couple of times, and I can't wait for them to interact. How cute will that be??

In the last month or so, Jack has found his feet. He loves to pull his leg up and chew on his toes. Sometimes the toe of his footie pajamas is wet from trying to chew on his foot. Not only did he find his feet, but Jack is working hard to sit up on his own. He can pretty much sit up alone in someone's lap, but he kind of refuses to try on the ground. He pretty much just throws himself backward (which freaks me out...). But, while lying down, he tries to pull himself up to sit, which makes me think he's going to have some killer abs.

Jack is reaching for just about anything he can get his hands on. And, once he gets it, it goes straight into his mouth. Hilarious! One of his favorite things to reach for is that other baby he sees in the mirror. I take him to the mirror and, no matter how fussy he is, he perks up and smiles instantly.

Like I mentioned, he's chewing on everything, and the doctor even mentioned she could tell his teeth were coming in. No teeth yet, but we're feeling the effects. He chews on all his toys, hands and even his burp cloths.

And, unfortunately, thanks to teething we've taken a step backwards in the nighttime sleep department. For several nights Jack was waking up once in the middle of the night and then around 5 am. Last night, however, his sleep patterns were much closer to normal. No night wake up, but he stirred around 5:15 and put himself back to sleep. We'll all be happier when those little teeth break through. (Except, I'm really going to miss that adorable gummy smile.)

Speaking of sleep, Jack has turned into quite the roly poly. No matter how you put him in his crib for bed (and sometimes one nap), you're sure to find him in a different position when it's time to get up. It seems like he likes sleeping on his side and stomach.

At our doctor's appointment we got the thumbs up to start solids. I was super nervous and, though the first week was sorta rough, we've turned a corner and I can tell he really likes rice cereal. Right now Jack is getting one tablespoon mixed with about an ounce of formula once a day. John and I have pretty much decided we'll start sweet potatoes sometime next week.

4 month stats:

•18 lbs.*

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

•wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes

•still in size 2 diapers, but only because we have so many, he's definitely ready for 3s

*I think our scale is totally off ... 18 pounds?? He was just under 16 pounds 2.5 weeks ago! But, that's what I got, so I'm going with it.

oatmeal cereal.

We started solids two weeks ago, and it didn't seem as though Jack was too crazy about rice cereal, so we decided to try oatmeal cereal.

we were tricked into thinking he liked oatmeal by this cute face

Though the first go-round went well, it was soon evident that Jack did NOT like oatmeal. Granted, I was pushing a little too hard, and feeding him two times a day, which I dont think he was ready for at all, but oatmeal was definitely not a favorite.

but, in reality, this is his truth face

One evening, while trying to feed him, he refused to open his mouth at all and kept turning away. This attempt at solids ended in tears for Jack and frustration for me. Since then, we've returned to rice cereal only one time a day, and we've had so much more success.

It's become so fun to feed Jack solids. We get big smiles and sometimes some laughs while he's eating. I love it!

luke.

I've mentioned it several times, but a good friend of mine had her precious baby about a month ago. Jack and I (and John) have been over to see them a few times, and I can already tell that Luke and Jack are going to be the bestest of friends!

Not the best pic, but the first of many of these sweet little guys!