Ryan's Birthday

Happy Birthday Ryan!  My parents volunteered to babysit for us so we actually got to have a date.  We went to dinner and a movie too.  We saw the LEGO movie, because the birthday boy got to choose.  He loved seeing all the retro LEGOs he remembers from his childhood.  Both kids did great for my parents and we enjoyed actually getting to eat our food and talk to each other.  

We don't do much in the way of gifts for each other.  But I did frame this picture for Ryan's desk at work. 

 

Back to Church

We decided to give it a try and go to church this morning.  Even though we were running late, I stopped and took pictures of my handsome little man.  Jackson went to Sunday school with us, I didn't even entertain the thought of leaving him in the nursery.  In other news, he can roll over from front to back now!

Daddy-Daughter Dance

Ryan and Tessa participate in Adventure Guides, a Daddy-Daughter program at the Y.  On Valentine's week end the Adventure Guides had a dance.  Ryan came home with a rose for his princess and they both got all dressed up to go to the dance.   

She is one happy little girl who loves her Daddy.

Jackson and I were headed out to dinner with G&G.  Jackson sweetly slept through the whole meal, how nice. 

Tessa and Daddy had a ball, pun intended. 

Happy Valentine's Day

We are in love with our newest addition.  Tessa helped me cover Jackson in lipstick kisses for Valentine's Day.  The best part was when she said we needed to use Gamma's lipstick.  Apparently she didn't think my usual neutral shades were going to cut it for this project.  She was right but I had a few of my own bright shades. 

Needless to say, Ryan and I didn't have any big plans for the holiday.  We cooked ourselves a nice dinner and sat on the couch listening to Pandora.  Jackson was awake for most of our "date" but it was still sweet. 

More Snow!

I can't believe it, but it's snowing again!  And school is cancelled again!  The kids have missed so many days of school this year thanks to the snow.  Ryan is working from home and I am trying to keep Jackson quiet and Tessa entertained.  We all have a bit of cabin fever.  So, Daddy took some time to play with Tessa outside.  We bought a real sled this year and Tessa was ready to give it a try. 

I bundled Jackson and came outside too.  We didn't actually let him slide down the hill, just took his picture and then he was ready to go back inside.

With Jackson down for one of his mini naps, I get to sled down the hill a few times too.  Woo hoo!

Ryan and Tessa made this snow family.  I raided the playroom for dress up items.  There is Snow Daddy, Snow Momma, Snow Princess, Snow Baby and even a Snow Puppy. 

And now we are back inside warming up with some hot chocolate.  My heart melts when I see Tessa reading to her baby brother. 

4 Weeks Old

Jackson is already four weeks old!  He is really growing.  I thought these fleece lined overalls that I bought in France were so cute. He is positively stuffed into them and they are three month size!  I suspect that we won't be getting much wear out of this outfit.   

At his four week check-up Jackson got a great report.  He's a big healthy boy measuring 24 inches long (>100%) and weighing 10 pounds 6 ounces (70%).  We have moved up from newborn diapers and even six month size clothes are not too big.  The doctor assures me that Jackson will start sleeping through the night eventually.  We are all so very sleep deprived right now that I take comfort in this.  The doctor looks at the rash that cropped up on Jackson last week and tells me it's just baby acne.  Tessa had it too but hers wasn't nearly as bad as Jackson's.  His whole face, neck, chest and shoulders are broken out.  But it doesn't seem to bother him at all. 

 

We went to Tessa's 100 Day Program at school.  Her class combined with another class and they all sang the new songs they had learned.  Music is one of Tessa's passions so it was fun to watch her on stage.  She was excited to have her baby brother in the audience and have a chance to show him off to her friends.

Nanny & Pa Meet Jackson

Nanny & Pa thoughtfully planned to give us a couple of weeks after Jackson's birth before they came to visit.  Unfortunately their flight was cancelled due to all that pesky cold weather I blogged about.  So, they delayed the trip one more week which worked out just fine.  They were thrilled to finally get to meet their newest grandson and see their only granddaughter.  Tessa is obviously excited to see Nanny.

Ryan's sister Heather made the cute little sweater that Jackson is wearing.  He is so big that it already fits!  While we didn't make Pa change any diapers, we did get him to hold Jackson. 

 And, of course, Tessa was happy to crawl up in his lap too. 

We didn't venture out too much.  We spent time around the house and Nanny cooked for us.  She stocked our freezer too which was much appreciated.  Both Nanny & Pa were great making sure that Tessa still felt extra special too.  Nanny would read to Tessa and color with her and Tessa just glowed with the attention. 

While Frank & Paula were visiting, we had a work to attend.  Ryan's work prefers to do their Christmas party in January to avoid the December rush.  Normally, this is great for us but, this year, not so much.  I had nothing to wear since I was in that awkward place of having lost a lot of my baby weight but was not yet back to my pre-preggo size.  My mom came over the day before the party to find me standing in the closet crying.  We went shopping and I was able to pull myself together for the party.  Frank and Paula babysat for us and both kids did great.  Jackson had been nursing exclusively up until this point so I was not excited about leaving him.  For practice, Ryan gave Jackson his first bottle.  He took it like a champ because he feeds like a genius!  While we were gone, Jackson took his bottle from Paula without a problem.  Tessa got to stay up late and watch Barbie movies to her heart's content.



On Sunday, we had all the grandparents together to toast Jackson's arrival.  Tessa loved all the excitement.  She is a fabulous big sister.   

I attempted to take a family shot using the tripod.  It was super sunny and I was having flash issues but, at least we are all together. 

After everyone left, Ryan settled in to watch the Super Bowl with his son for the very first time.  Pretty cool.

 

Snow Day

It has been an unbearably cold winter this year.  Tessa was released early from school because snow was predicted and school was cancelled for the next two days.

Ironically, Ryan went to Michigan for snow testing.  So I was home with two kids in the snow.  We tried to play a little which isn't easy with a newborn that doesn't sleep longer than thirty minutes.  Tessa and I discovered that the snow was too powdery for snowballs or snowmen so she played on the swing set.

I took Jackson out for a few minutes, bundled up of course.  He looks as miserable as I felt.  Winter, snow and cold are none of my favorite things.   

Half Birthday

Ryan thought that with two kids I would drop the whole half birthday idea.  Nope.  Especially not when it is so perfect that they are six months apart.  Tessa's 6 1/2 birthday theme was "Frozen."  The new movie is such a hit that it wasn't easy finding party stuff.  We had cupcakes and presents at G&G's house.   

She got this beautiful Elsa dress from G&G.  We had to order it from England!  She sang the hit song "Let It Go" for us all.  She can really belt it out like a Broadway star.   

As of right now, she is requesting a "Frozen" birthday party when she turns seven this summer.  I could get on board with this idea if she'll let me use Olaf and his popular song "In Summer!"  

So Strong

Jackson amazed us with his ability to hold his head up.  He's not even two weeks old here and he's already showing off his head control.