More Cutie Jack

Here are some adorable pictures of Jack's new toothless smile! He smiles a lot after he eats and is playing with us. He loves to kick his little legs, it looks like he's running. And he waves his arms around too. He is still "talking" so much!--we've continued our deep conversations. He is just getting more and more fun every day.

He had a growth spurt or frequency days the last couple days and wanted to eat every two hours which was pretty challenging, but we got through it and he's back on his regular schedule now. His arms and legs are starting to fill out and get chubby and it's sooo cute! We were sure that size 1 diapers would fit him now, but we tried them again and they are still way too big; so he's still in newborn ones.

I've been slowly but surely getting Jack's room in order. I finally got through all of his clothes today and have them ready to go in the attic. He has one HUGE tub full of sizes 3 months thru 12 months and then a medium tub full of 18 to 24 month sizes. He will not go naked Praise the Lord! And the clothes are so cute! We have been so blessed by all of the generous gifts we've received. Jack definitely has more clothing that Brian and I combined! :)

This past week was really good, though it was busy and hectic at first. The house is pretty much in order. Jack's room and the guest room have lots of stuff in them, but the rest of the house and even the garage are relatively organized.

Today is our first full Saturday here and we are getting to see what our street is like with all of the families home. It's really great! There are about 6 or 7 kids outside riding bikes and throwing around a ball right now. Plus the family across the street brought home a new baby girl today, I think that she was born Thursday--exactly 6 weeks after Jack! This is going to be a great place for raising a family! I'm excited. And we go to church for the first time tomorrow which I am excited about. The teaching and the fellowship are going to be awesome to have again!

Another HUGE blessing God has granted us is that Brian hasn't had to go to work full time yet, and he probably won't have to for a while yet. It's been great having him home so much to help me with the house and with Jack. We've been playing with Jack a lot and it's been really fun! One downside to him being home is that he is a person that likes to always be busy and so all this downtime has him pretty stir crazy already! He's been working on organizing the house and garage some, but that only goes so far. Today he started building a headboard for our bed and he's excited about that. I'll have to give him a honey-do list. :)

It's weird being in Arkansas and not Mississippi, but we'll get used to it. So far we like it a lot, and we're doing great!

A few cute Jack pics

Brian's sister, Amanda, was such a huge help to us these last few weeks as we got used to our new schedule and ready to move!

Brian and Jack fell asleep together the other morning. It was soooo sweet! I had to take a picture! My two men--I love them so much!

My parents and I gave Jack a bath yesterday and the last two pictures are from that. Is he not the cutest thing ever! But check out his hand in the second one! HAHAHAHAHAHA! We didn't even notice it until we uploaded it from our camera. We laughed soooooooooo hard! He really is sweet, I promise! Hahahahahahahaha!

From Mississippi to Arkansas

We are finally in Rison and getting settled! Praise God! The moving process was very eventful for us, but only by the grace of God are we now here safely and doing so well. The first moving day the horse trailer was broken and so we couldn't use it, of course we didn't discover that until it was completely full. But the guys that helped were so awesome, and they just moved everything to another trailer and Brian was able to take a load that weekend with Kane and Hayden. On the second moving day when we packed up everything else in the house and left for good we haad quite an adventure! First we had trouble finding room for everything and left a few things in Starkville, but that wasn't too bad. We got on the road and when we stopped in Mathiston (30 minutes west of S'ville) for gas, Brian discovered that his truck--which was pulling a packed U-haul trailer--was leaking oil like crazy so we couldn't go any farther in it. So after a few tense minutes we got to a service station that was right next to the gas station. Then Brian and his mom took her car to West Point and got the last remaining U-haul truck while his dad, Jack and I waited. Then we took everything out of the broken truck and put it in the U-haul. Finally we got on the road and after stopping twice to feed Jack we arrived in Rison at around 8:00, only 10 or so hours after we left Starkville--it should have taken 4! But we are here and we LOVE LOVE LOVE our house. Jack really likes his room and can't wait to play football and baseball in our big yard. We've had a few visitors and have met most of our neighbors. Be praying for us as we adjust to all of this change, and that we'd get Brian's truck back soon. We already miss all of our Mississippi friends, we love ya'll!

To Grandmamma's House We Go

This was a few weeks ago when we went to Brian's Grandmamma's house in Yazoo City. It was a great day and we had a really good time. There were four generations there! Grandmamma held Jack all day long and was enthralled with him. We had a great time and were so glad that we got to go before the big move.

One Month Old!

Jack is now exactly one month and three days old! WOW! It has flown! He is doing really really well. He is still eating well, though he falls asleep and I have to continually keep him awake, and he's doing great going to sleep at night. Mom and Dad are also doing well, we have survived a whole month of sleep deprivation and crazy hormones, so that's a huge Praise! Jack is doing all sorts of amazing things now. He smiled at me yesterday and made me cry it was so sweet! And he can follow objects in an arch 180 degrees, which is cool. He's being very vocal too--cooing and making all sorts of funny sounds, we've had several deep conversations. And he is a thinker like his Dad tha's for sure! The faces he makes as he contemplates everything are precious! We Love him sooooo much!

We are almost to Moving day! Three days to go. Brian, Kane, and hayden took a load of stuff on Sunday and this Saturday we're taking everything else. Brian loved staying in our house and said that he's so excited to be there for good with me and Jack. The guys had a great time and loved Rison--i knew they would. Hopefully they'll get to come visit a ton in the future. We're excited and nervous and ready and not ready and all kinds of other emotions right now. I'm just looking very forward to things slowing down for a little while once we get settled. All in all, things a great and we are soaking it all up trying to really appreciate this time.

More of Jack!!!!

Jack is now three weeks old! I cannot believe that in a week he will be a month old already! Time is flying as everyone said it would.

We are all doing great. Jack is growing and starting to get little fat rolls that are precious! We still think that he is the most perfect baby EVER! He has started trying to roll over a little bit and can make it to his side really well, but he hasn't quite gotten all the way to his tummy yet. He makes the cutest and funniest faces all the time, especially right after he eats! i love it! He continues to surprise us with showers when we change his diaper, we haven't quite figured out how to see that coming yet. :) he is a really good baby, and doesn't cry much unless he's hungry or wet. He's eating like a champ and is very healthy.

Daddy and I are getting more and more used to the getting up every three hours during the night, although I have started sorta sleep walking when it gets near time to get up and feed Jack. I get up and start getting everything ready for feeding and then realize that we have another hour until it's time. Then I get mad because I woke myself and Brian up, but then i get over it and go back to sleep. So that's been interesting and somewhat funny.

This weekend we are on our first little trip. I say little, I made out a HUGE list and started packing for this on Wednesday. Jack has two bags and a few other big items while Brian and I have a tiny bag each! It's hilarious how things change! And it took us major planning this morning to get out of the house. But I love stuff like that, so it was fun! And we only forgot one or two minor things! So yeah us! Right now we're in Madison visiting my parents and sister and tomorrow we're going to Yazoo City to see Brian's grandmamma. My aunt and twin cousins were here this afternoon to see Jack, that is who is in the pics above. He is getting sooo spoiled! He barely slept today with all of the attention! I think he went from one person's arms to another's the entire day. And tomorrow will be no different I'm sure! He is very very very loved, that's for sure! Praise God! We're all excited about tomorrow, but Brian's grandmamma has been counting down the days! She cannot wait to meet her great-grandson! It's going to be wonderful! I'll be taking tons of pictures, and hopefully posting them soon.

Jack Allen Is Here!!!

"But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me."

Psalms 13:5 &6

As the previous post said, Jack was born on Thursday, March 22, at 11:19 a.m. at Oktibbeha County hospital. Everything went really well with the labor and delivery and both he and I had no complications, Praise God! The hospital stay was good, it was hard to get rest there, but other than that the nurses and everybody were great.

We went home on Saturday, the 24th to a house full of excited family. Grandpa and Grandmamma Chisholm, Aunt Amanda, Nana and Papa Bodin, Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Michael were all very excited! Since then, Brian, Jack, and I have all been doing great. My mom stayed with us for a week to help out, and so many people have brought by food and offered to help. We are so blessed to have great friends who love us!

Jack is growing and thriving! He had his 2 week check up on Thursday and he had gained over a pound since going home. He's eating really well and sleeping pretty well. We're all getting adjusted to our new life. It is a BIG change, but it is so great! I am just now realizing that we are a family now and that we are parents, and what that really means! It's amazing and so unbelievable! We love Jack more and more every minute! He is the cutest, most perfect baby ever born! (In our opinion.) Praise God for our son!

Hopefully I'll be able to post again sometime soon. We are so busy, and it's hard to get away long enough to do all this, but we'll see. We still have lots coming up, we're moving in three weeks! Rison here we come!

Pray for us and little Jack as we get ready for another big change.