Things I love about being a Mom

~ The look on Jack’s face when he is excited to see me
~ Watching Jack as he does new things every day
~ Knowing that someone loves me as much as I love my Mom
~ Watching Jack and Brian play, sit, sleep, pretty much do anything together
~ Thinking about the future and all of the amazing times ahead
~ What it means to be someone’s MOM
~ That I’m considered the expert on Jack, even if I’m not always
~ Watching Jack sleep
~ Having an excuse to organize and reorganize things, and to make tons of lists and
binders of baby stuff
~ Being eager to see who Jack is going to look like
~ Watching Brian be a Dad
~ Watching our parents be Grandparents and our siblings be Aunts and Uncles
~ That everyone wants to see Jack, and it doesn’t matter if he’s dirty or
rumpled, he’s still adorable
~ Saying the words, “my son”
~ Knowing that I went through pregnancy childbirth and came out OK (and so did Brian)
~ That it really is true that you don’t remember the pain
~ Knowing that when I mess up, Jack will still love me, plus at this age
he won’t remember it anyway :)
~ Being able to see, touch, smell, hear, and take care of a blessing from God
~ And sooooo much more that I can’t even put into words……..

Just Another Day in Paradise!

I've always wanted a family, and as I've thought about having a family those "perfect family moments" would always come to mind. Of course, though family life is incredible, we all know that those "perfect moments" are not a 24/7 thing. More often than not everyone is a little frazzled, a little tired, or a little cranky.

But last night we had an abundance of those allusive blessed moments and I am so thankful!!!!! Jack had just eaten and was wide awake and ready to play, so we laid him on the floor and Brian laid on one side of him, while I laid on the other. We laid there watching him and talking to him as he kicked and squirmed and laughed and talked! He was the cutest thing ever! Every now and then Jack would get really excited and just start kicking like crazy, really really fast, and swinging his arms around and squealing. We just cheered and cheered for him and loved and kissed on him. We had such a good time and laughed so hard! It was definitely a memorable night! I love spending time like that with my two men!!!! Praise God for the blessed life he has given us!

A New First!!!!

Jack rolled over for the first time today!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Little man!!!!! I'm so excited and proud. I put him on his stomach for a few minutes and he was holding his head up really well, better than usual, and then all of a sudden he rolled over! I was ecstatic!!!!!! I tried to get him to do it again, but it didn't work, maybe later! And this time I'll have the video camera and the camera ready to go! After he did it I quickly called Brian, my dad, and my mom! They were excited too! I love my little man!!!! Hopefully I'll get some pics and/or video so I can put it on here. I'll keep ya'll posted! :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

I <3 BLOGS!!!

I don't know what it is, but lately I have been Blog Obsessed! It seems like I get on here 3 or 4 times a day. And I have been looking at other people's blogs too! They are all so much fun! I now deeply believe that everyone should set up a blog, just so I can go look at them. :) And those of you that have them, please keep updating! I love hearing and seeing what's going on!!!! I thought this teething ring was WAY too big for Jack to play with now, but once he gets it in his hands he loves it! I looks HUGE when he's playing with it.
I've started putting Jack's chest up on the boppy for tummy time. He holds his head up really well like that. When he's just flat on his tummy he just lays there, sometimes with his face planted right in the blanket, so I'm trying other strategies. I'm getting a little anxious about his head control and rolling over and all that. He can't sit in his Bumbo yet and he can't roll over yet. I'm sure it's fine though--how many times have I read that "each baby develops a little bit differently at different rates"--I've got to cool down my Mommy worries sometimes. :)
Jack has been playing with his rattle a lot too. Today he started moving his arms around while holding it. He seems to do something new every day! And there's Mr. Dog Rattle, his friend, next to Jack. hahaha. I'm odd, I know.

Jack's New Friend

Just in the last couple of days Jack has started reaching for toys that are held in front of him, which is SO exciting!!! This morning while were playing I held this little dog wrist rattle up in front of his face and he'd move his little hands toward it and try to get it, but miss. He did that a few times before he finally got it and then put it straight into his mouth, of course. After holding it for a few minutes it would fall and we start over again. He really seems to like doing that. And he really likes his new friend, Mr. Dog Rattle. I guess I need to come up with a better name for him. :) Our baby boy is growing and changing like crazy! I love watching him do new things for the first time! Holding Mr. Dog Rattle.
He loves his new friend!
This is what he does when he starts getting tired--puts his hands over his face. How sweet!

Bath Time!

I usually give Jack his baths, but Brian got to this weekend, and it was so cute! I love taking pictures of the two of them, no matter what they're doing. Jack is so funny when it's bath time. He isn't really enjoying himself yet, but he doesn't hate it either. He just sits there and looks at us, trying to figure out what the warm wet stuff is. We talk and sing to him, and tell him what part of the body we're washing. And he just looks at us. :) He's so cute all wrapped up in his towel. SO PRECIOUS!!!

Silly Play Time

Father and son time. Awwwwww!!
Camera shy--ooh but sooo cute!
"Mom, stop taking pictures!!!!"
Sideways. Oops! Playing on his favorite quilt. His Great-Aunt Linda made it for him and he lays on it all the time. It's really soft and he likes the bright colors.

Yummy hands!
Oooh they're good!
"Mom, seriously, stop with the camera!"
Sitting around with Daddy.

Ta-daaaaa!

Jack's First Trip to the Coast

This past weekend we finally made it down to the Coast to see our family there. We made it an extended weekend so that we could see everyone, and we did see a ton of people. We got to Brian's parents' house Thursday night and Friday we were able to go see Brian's grandpa, who is in the pictures. It was so good to have him meet Jack and hold him! I know he was really proud and really enjoyed himself! We had a good time visiting with him. That afternoon we went to see my Uncle Steven, Aunt Patty, and their daughters Katie and Emily. They had all met jack before, but they hadn't seen him in a while. Then Saturday we spent the whole day with Brian's family at their house. His parents made boiled shrimp and fried coconut shrimp for us that night. It was deeeelicious! I was glad we were able to spend some time with them because they hadn't seen Jack in 7 weeks! Sunday we went to my grandparents' house and spent all day there. It was their first time to meet Jack too, and they love him!!! Of course! :) And Monday we came back home. Woooo it was a good, but long trip. The drive there and back was challenging with a baby. We had a blast and Jack got to meet lots--though not all--of his crazy family members.

Brian's first Father's Day was good. A few weeks ago he got his first present--a fishing pole that he picked out and bought, I haven't even gotten a good look at it yet. :) Last week I gave him his first surprise gift--a photo album with some professional-looking (my mom's friend took them) pictures of Jack and I in it. He really liked it, and I was able to finally tell him about taking them and everything I did when I was in madison a few weeks ago. It's hard to keep secrets! Then sunday I gave him the other surprise gift--a picture frame that says "DAD" with the pictures inside the D's. My dad made it for him, and it came out great. He has it on our dresser. :) I think he had a pretty good day.

Now we're back home for a little while before we head to Starkville next weekend. I'm excited about going back. I haven't been since we moved. Crystal may go that weekend too so we can all hang out! I can't wait!

The Amazing Ever-changing Jack!

It is truly amazing how much Jack changes from day-to-day! Just in the past two or three days he has found his voice! He usually starts "talking" after he plays for a little while, and if he's a little frustrated about something. He makes all kinds of sounds and he squeals and smiles and laughs, and then he will frown and whine a little. We have been in awe of his little monologes and the last couple nights we'll lay him between us and just watch him. He is amazing!

We've been trying to give him more tummy time lately, even though he HATES it. But it's getting better and he's going for longer stretches now. Today he started bending his knees and getting his booty up some, but his head is still weighing him down. :) I need to be better about putting him on his tummy so he'll get better at lifting his head. He does fine when he's upright, but he's still not too good on his stomach yet.

We have another big travelling weekend ahead. We're going down to the coast (of MS, I have to be more specific now) to see family and I'm so excited! Most of our family down there hasn't even met Jack yet, so they will get to now! Plus, we get to spend some time with Brian's parents and sister who haven't seen Jack since we moved. So he's going to get eaten up!!! It's going to be really fun! I can't wait to see Jack with his great-grandparents!

Good Ole Rison!

I titled this post "Good ole Rison" because, though we're enjoying it here, I'm getting very Starkville (home) sick. I miss the people so much!!! I don't have any friends here yet, which is hard. That's a prayer request for sure! And even that wouldn't be that bad, but there's NOTHING to do here during the day. So be praying for me, that I would find friends, and find places to go and things to do. I've been trying to think of a hobby I might like too, so any suggestions would be nice.

Anyway...enough whining. We really are doing good--Jack is wonderful and cute and changing every day! He smiles all the time now, and he started kind of squealing and laughing some too! It is PRECIOUS!!! He is amazing! I don't know what I did before he came along. :) I've been trying to find new ways to entertain him, b/c we're both getting a little bored sometimes. Any suggestions there would be much appreciated as well. But he's so fun! And I LOVE watching he and Brian together! It is incredible! Brian is a great daddy. Oh, and I cannot wait until Father's Day--Jack and I have two surprise gifts for Brian and I am bursting to tell him about them. But I WON'T!!! He's going to love them! (If any of you know about them, don't comment about it b/c he might read it.) So...the Chisholms are well.