Jack's 1 year birthday week was so much fun! On his actual day (Wed) we had birthday pancakes and took our usual photo in the glider. Gramma and Grandpa arrived on Thursday and Gigi and Papa on Saturday morning. We ended up having 68 people show up for his party on Sat afternoon which ended up working out great since the weather was lovely and we had a few corn hole sets from friends. Jack has been fighting a cold (and teeth cutting through?) for the past week, but seemed to rally for his party. There were tons of little folks (25 under the age of 10) to distract him and attend to his every need. He was mostly interested in the baby pool filled with ice and drinks. Gigi reported that he spent at least 10 minutes picking up ice, dropping through the slats on the deck into the yard, and saying "uh-oh!". I had been really looking forward to giving him his birthday cupcake (pumpkin ginger) and he definitely played that up for the crowd by doing the classic face-in-cake-no-hands thing. It was heart warming (cheesy but true) to look out at our friends crowded around his chair in a semi-circle singing happy birthday to our boy. We are so blessed. Thanks to everyone who made Jack's first birthday so special and memorable.

10 months

a tooth poking through, fingers that feed himself, legs that stand alone, a tongue that loves to exercise and make new sounds, lips that say dada and mama, eyes that recognize his dog, hands that clap "yay" and say "so big", ears that perk up to music... we are smitten and overwhelmed to know this boy and have him entrusted to our care. thanks, heavenly father, for such a great gift.

Old Friends

Isn't it precious how old friendships can endure and even grow despite time and distance? Kim is a dear friend from college and has become even dearer since then. We see each other every Christmas in Richmond and every summer at VA beach. She is such a loyal, consistent friend and teaches me much about earnest faith and perseverance. What a treasure!

New Office!

Finally. After two years of being crammed in our temporary office, the new building is DONE. We moved in June 9th and it feels so good having the space we need. This is my office below. It's still a bit bare.. Need a lamp or something.
Murals are so beautiful!


These pictures are all from move-in day and they are kinda lame.. I wasn't paying much attention at the time, but wanted to document this big milestone!

9 months

To me, Jack has such a different look this month.. What do you think? This big boy is getting into everything these days. He can pull up and cruise now, eats just about anything (loves hummus, avocado, strawberries, bananas, broccoli, green beans, chicken, and CHEERIOS) despite having no teeth. He's got the sippy cup mechanics down and is able to sign for more and all done. He realizes it's bathtime when I walk him into the bathroom all stripped down and gives a wriggle and squeal of delight. Favorite bathtime activity: pulling up to stand and putting mouth around faucet. He lights up for his Daddy and is the typical pesky little brother to Champ who takes it, well.. like a champ.

try to watch this without smiling.

Belly Laugh Video

Tree Down

This past spring has been one of the worst I can remember for storms. On May 22nd, during a bad storm, we had a large tree fall parallel to the back of our house. We woke up at 3am to a ear splitting crack and rushed to the back of the house to see that we had been spared. What could have crushed through the middle of our home only hit about 13 of our deck. We have marveled at the mercy of God in making the wind blow in such a favorable direction in that moment. Paul has spent many hours taking all the limbs down and fixing the deck, but I think he enjoys the projects!

GROWING BOY

At 7 months, we were on our way to PA for Emily and Ephraim's wedding, which was spectacular by the way. They were married in an old church on a cold rainy day.. As Emily walked into the church and down the aisle, a gust of wind blew her veil across her face and I heard people gasping around me. She was so poetic and beautiful. Congrats E&E! We love you guys!
8 months was celebrated at Margot and Jon Basses' new house in Fredericksburg, VA. We had another Shiloh reunion and included a little baby shower for all the expecting Moms-to-be! What a joy to reconnect with these dear old friends. Please note that Jack's jeans are unbuttoned at the top to allow more room for his gut to flow.

6 months!

Jack is 6 months old today! He is such a fun kid. The most grabby little fella ever! He grabs anything remotely in reach. He is also enjoying his first tastes of solid food (video of that coming). We continue to be amazed at how quickly he is growing (wearing 12 month clothing) and how much he learns everyday (sitting up now!). He loves music which we really discovered this weekend when he was melting down in the car and Uncle Robbie had the brilliant idea of giving Jack his phone playing songs. He was entranced and lasted another hour in the car! He continues to be really easy going but can let out a deafening screech out of nowhere. Still hates baths. We are overwhelmed with how delighted we are to know him and be his parents.

Jack and his bouncer

This boy loves to jump! Not that I'm surprised since his namesake was an All-American long jumper at Penn State. Sometimes he gets so much air in this thing, we're afraid it might break.

Jeans

My boy is growing every day! Whoever thinks dressing little boys isn't fun is crazy! What is more adorable than Jack in jeans? Absolutely nothing. He is still in the smallest pair of jeans, but we're all set for the next few years. It makes me tremble to think that he will be fitting into those 2 year jeans before too long. I don't care if it's a cliche... I wish i could freeze time.

Father & Son

Jack and Paul are major buddies these days. Sometimes if Jack is already sleeping by the time Paul gets home around 630, he will just HAVE to look in at him. I love that.

pure sunshine

4 month stats: 99th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference, rolling both ways, laughing tons and responding to peek a boo. Jack loves to chew on anything, especially his toes. and lately he has been pulling off his socks and chewing on them.