buh bye mullet.

It's no secret that Jack was born with a full head of dark hair. 

Lots of people told us it might fall out. Nope. Jack's hair just grew and grew and grew and got much lighter. His hair almost looks like he has either lowlights or ombre coloring (so en vogue!).

those curls!

notice the ombre effect?

Anyway, his hair continued to grow and so did my love for it! Though Jack was rockin' a pretty sweet mullet, he also had these adorable little wings by his ears. Cutting it was not an option!

On occasion, someone would call Jack "she" and we'd have to correct them and J would get more anxious to cut his hair. I was able to put him off until at least after Thanksgiving so my SIL and niece and nephew could see the mullet in all its glory.

After Thanksgiving, more and more people were calling Jack "she".

(Please note that Jack he looks nothing like a girl and he's almost always wearing blue or something with a truck or dinosaur or something just as manly on his onesies.)

His hair was so much longer than I realized!

The weekend before Christmas, while at church, Jack was once again called "she". We of course corrected them and went about our business. Later, I took Jack to the grocery store and I had to correct no less than 5 people. FIVE! And, he was wearing a black and gray polo and black corduroys. Seriously?? If I  had a little girl she certainly wouldn't wear such manly clothing.

The last straw was Monday night when we were out to dinner with some friends. I had just been telling them about correcting several people the day before at the grocery store. Just then, a couple was leaving the restaurant, saw Jack and said, "Ooooh, she's so cute!"

My friend looked at me and said, "DID SHE JUST SAY SHE??!!"

Yes. She said she. Nice.

At that point, I'd had enough.

Tuesday morning I took Jack to a salon before his nap and they snipped off the mullet and super cute wings. Don't worry, we have tons of pictures, video and you better believe I kept some of his little baby hair from his first haircut.

no more wings (sadface...)

It's taken me some time to get used to his short hair, but he's just as adorable as he was with the mullet and wings, but now he's (I guess) more identifiable as a boy.

first christmas.

Everyone was so excited for Jack's first Christmas, and it didn't disappoint.

But, I have to say, having Christmas on a Sunday is not my favorite. We had Friday off, which we used to run some errands and finish up some last minute Christmas things. Saturday was full ... lunch with John's great-grandmother and grandmother and his family, come-and-go party at some friends' house, church at 6:00 and dinner at John's parents house. We got home around 9:30 and I was exhausted!

Jack's new tobogan from Nanny

Nanny (who is 101 ... possibly 102 ... and strong as can be) with Jack.

Sunday was just as busy but so fun!

The morning started with stockings and presents from us to Jack. This was short and sweet (and sans pictures) since we only got him some clothes and a play mat for the living room. Then it was naptime, and J and I opened our presents to each other and from my parents. 

Then, around 10:30, it was off to J's parents' house for presents and stockings.

so proud

It's hard to get much for a 7.5 month old, but Jack had a great time! He opened some of his presents and played with some of his new toys and books. And, at the end of the morning of presents, his final gift was revealed -- a rocking horse!

This is not your standard rocking horse. It makes noise, the head bobs and the tail "wags"! So fun ... except Jack will have to warm up to it a little. He sat on there for pictures, but wasn't quite sure it was for him. 

Then, it was off to J's aunt and uncle's house. Jack only got a power nap on the drive, which made me a little nervous, but he did great! He was awake from 1:15ish until he went to bed at 7 ... that's a LONG time for our little monster. He was pooped.

Our adorable Christmas monster!

All in all, Jack's first Christmas was so fun.

goodbye gummy smile.

Last Monday I did a routine check of Jack's mouth for teeth. I didn't think I'd find anything at all. He's been drooling like crazy and putting everything in his mouth for months with no sign of a tooth.

When I ran my finger along his gums, I finally felt something! He's not very cooperative with opening his mouth to show off his first tooth, but sometimes when he smiles really big, you can see it.

Then yesterday, while buckling him into his carseat, I noticed another tooth about to pop through!

As soon as the monster will allow it, I'll post some pics of his emerging two-tooth smile.

On the one hand I'm sad to see that adorable gummy smile go, but I'm excited for these teeth to finally pop through; and he already looks so cute with two little white teeth coming up!

On a related note, have you heard that some babies are born with teeth? How weird and kind of creepy would that be?

santa.

Last week we finally got to meet Santa!

I'd heard that Bass Pro was the best place to get a picture with Santa, so last Thursday we made the trek to OKC during lunch to meet the big man.

As it turns out, lunchtime on a Thursday is the perfect time to go! There was no one else in line and we just walked right up to Santa.

Jack didn't disappoint, either. When he got in Santa's lap he really took him in. Then we tried to get him to smile. They would snap the picture, then he would smile. That happened twice, but still, the picture is one we'll always cherish and remember.

After the picture, I tried to get Jack from Santa, but he wouldn't let him go! So, they "chatted" for a few minutes. It was really cute.

giftsgiving 2011.

Considering we're a week from Christmas, it's time I posted about our Thanksgiving.

I've already mentioned this, but we spent Thanksgiving in Austin this year with (almost) my whole family. The best part was getting to see all the cousins interact. I'm so excited for future holidays together (and my brother and SIL to move closer)!

We drove down on Tuesday and got in in time to meet everyone out for dinner. Of course right when we walked in, everyone wanted to see Jack. He was a little hesitant at first, with so many people he didn't recognize, but he warmed up pretty fast and the kids had a great time!

We had decided before Thanksgiving that we'd do Christmas while everyone was together. So, Thanksgiving morning was like Christmas morning.

We all woke up early and put the presents from Santa out. (Thank goodness Santa was willing to come to parents' house a month early!) And then when everything was ready, the kids got to come in the living room to see what they'd gotten.

Of course, Jack is still way too little to understand what's going on, but he got some super fun toys and had a great time on "Christmas" morning.

Surprise, surprise, Hunter got some Star Wars figurines.

Lookin' good on Giftsgiving morning.

gmail.

Have you guys seen this commercial?



I thought it was such a great idea!

I know I do monthly posts on Jack's birthday, but I'm sure my readers don't want to read my sappy letter to him, so, instead, I've been sending an email!

I'm excited about the future when he reads them! And, what a great idea!

Jack: 7 months.

To say that the last month has flown by is an understatement. We are loving getting to see more and more of Jack's all-boy personality every single day. This little guy keeps us on our toes!

The last month has had its ups and downs as far as feeding Jack solids. At the beginning of the month, he was constantly refusing. As we progressed he got better and better. And, after seeing the doctor last week, we've seen a vast improvement. I switched his solids to before his bottles and Jack seems to really like that. I was worried he might be too impatient, but he loves his food and is a much more pleasant baby to feed (no more pursed lips and turning head)! We're up to a 1/4c of rice + fruit/veggie in the morning, 2 tbsp - 1/4 c rice + fruit or veggie in the middle of the day, and 1/4c rice + fruit/veggie at night. Yay!

The only thing he doesn't like is peas. Everything else has been a hit. I'm thinking we could even try peas again soonish and see what his take is again.

But, as John pointed out, now that he's good with solids, we've seen a bit of a regression with his bottles. He is THE HARDEST baby to feed these days! If he's not rolling around all over, he's turning his head and pursing his lips! Luckily he usually ends up with enough to eat, but it's been touch and go (and frustrating for mom...)!

We've reached a few milestones in the last month: sitting up unassisted and crawling. His crawling is getting better and better and before we know it, he'll be in to everything! In fact, just last night, as I was looking at him on the monitor, he was STANDING in his crib! John is lowering the crib ASAP!

Jack is definitely a babbling baby these days. He never stops talking and sometimes we think he's saying mama or dada or something like that, but no such luck yet. But, randomly, he's started to lay his little head on my chest or shoulder. He's not so much tired, just resting, I think. No matter the reason, I love a snuggle with my little guy!

I tried taking Jack down to 2 naps a day (only for one day), but it was a big old disaster! He was super fussy and his afternoon nap was 45 minutes. So, for now, we're sticking with 2 longs naps and a cat nap in the late afternoon.

Still no teeth. And, with minimal chances to look in Jack's mouth, they don't look like they're on the immediate horizon. Oh well, he gets by just fine with out them. Plus, I'll be sad to see his gummy smile go!

One of my favorite things that happened during Jack's 7th month was when he finally got to meet his Aunt Tara and cousins Hunter and Hannah. I know I posted about it, but they had such a great time, and I cannot wait for them all to be wreaking havoc together!

All in all, we couldn't be having a better time with our little love. He's so sweet and happy! And, I know I'm biased, but he's just the best baby!

7 month stats:

•26ish ounces a day, 1/2c - 3/4c rice + veggies/fruits three times a day

•mostly wearing 6 or 6-9 month onesies, can still fit in 3-6 month pants

•size 3 diapers

recent designs.

Now that we've sold the magazine, I need a creative outlet. And, what better way than helping family and friends (and any other referrals :)) with their design needs? Below is a Save the Date for John's cousin's wedding and a good friend's baby announcement.

I would LOVE to help anyone out with Christmas cards (may be too late this year ... but there's always 2012), announcements, invitations, save the dates, stationary ... whatever!

If you're interested, please email me at 

divinemrsem {at} gmail {dot} com

"6 month" stats.

We finally went to the doctor on Thursday for Jack's 6 month check up. If you're paying attention to this little old blog, you'll notice were just days away from The Man's 7 month birthday. Yep, we got behind with the doctor, but they made sure we're back on track for his 9 month check up.

So, I had Jack at 18 pounds (unofficially) for his 6 month birthday, which was probably about a pound off. Here are his stats:

•18 pounds 10 ounces (60th percentile)

•28 1/4" (90th percentil)

•14ish" head circumference

If I had a dollar for every time the doctor told us Jack was perfect, we'd be doing pretty good. I already knew he was perfect, but when the doctor verified it, how could there be any doubt?