Jack's first zoo trip!

Last week on Good Friday we took Jack to the Louisville zoo. They had a baby elephant that I loved. Those of you that know me well know that I love any zoo, so I was very excited to take Jack to share my love for the zoo.



Here I am with baby Jack in his stroller



Here is a Nene, we showed Jack the bird from the state where he is from :)

Here are Daddy and Jack

Mommy and Jack looking at the white alligator.

Jack looking at the fish.

We had a good time and Jack did really well. We kept him in his stroller most of the time to keep him out of the sun, but we took him out in the buildings where he could look at the animals. Overall, a very successful first zoo trip.

Surprise!

I went in one morning to get baby Jack and he was just talking to himself and his seahorse. He smiled really big when I came into view and I reached down to pick him up, as I lifted him out of the crib I noticed....

Blowout....on him, the bed, and almost on me. But Jack was quickly stripped and bathed, then mommy just had some laundry to take care of. To this point I haven't had to change his sheets very often, but I would say between wetting through, now that he is sleeping longer and blowouts its about twice a week...

Ahh the joys of motherhood :)

Let's just say thank goodness for Shout and washing machines.

Happy Easter

Since this is Jack's first Easter, I was very excited to take family pictures. It was a beautiful day to remember what Christ did for us.

We went to church in the morning and attended a Baptism for some friend's little boy, then went to their house for a lunch. It was really neat to be invited, Jake and Brian were in Iraq together and it was really special to see his little boy being baptized.

This is Jack in his outfit. You may notice it is the same outfit as his dedication, but he fills it out remarkably better :)

Here is our family shot, first Easter

Mommy and Jack in our backyard

Daddy and Jack, matching :)

Jack's Easter ears, bunny, and chick, no candy this year.

On Saturday we were able to have our friends the Watson's over along with some of her family to celebrate Easter, I was able to enjoy cooking and entertaining, and we had lots of leftovers which of course we enjoyed. It was a great time to relax, talk, and enjoy good friends and food. We are so blessed and thankful to the Lord for his provision and guidance in this past year.

We hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Eating Cereal!

Jack had his first cereal experience yesterday and it went better than I expected honestly...
He didn't spit it out or cry, he just seemed a little perplexed, but he did actually eat a few bites. First bite, he's not so sure.



Well, I guess it's not so bad.

Where's the Milk, Mommy?



Here is Jack in his bouncer, he loves it! He likes the lights and music and has started talking to the animals.

Love it!

4 months old

This is a family shot from my cousins wedding, Jack had a long day, but he was really good all day long. The wedding was beautiful and we are so happy for Lizz and Nate.

That trip was our last before we leave Fort Knox. We are excited about the transition, but sad to be leaving family. It has been wonderful to live within driving distance to everyone.

So this Monday the 29th was Jack's 4 month birthday. He is so wonderful, such a joy. He is doing really well with his developmental milestones and his growth. He was 17 lbs 3 oz. and 25 inches long at his appt. which is the 95th and 78th percentile.



This past week he started rolling over. At first he would get really mad about being on his stomach, but then he started to roll and now he has been actually doing it with purpose. If he tries and can't get all the way over he will rest and try again, usually :)



He is also really talking and babbling. He likes to hear himself and will laugh when he succeeds in making a really loud noise.

Here is a picture of jack making daddy laugh. We try to read each night before bed. Dr. Seuss is our favorite currently.


Mommy and Jack on Sunday, in his cute corduroy overalls, they are 6 month overalls and are almost too small already....he is growing soo fast.

Up close, Jack is not terribly excited about picture time.

On his 4 month birthday, standing is his favorite way to be, because he can see the most.

In other milestones he has started scooting, where we will find him in a different spot in the crib, but today he also scooted on his belly by getting up on his knees and then pushing...maybe an early crawler, we'll see.

We also broke the swaddle 2 weekends ago. With the warm weather and Jack's love for his hands the swaddle had to go.

Well that is our 4 month update, Jake and I decided that this age is the most fun so far. Jack is so interactive and fun. He is also sleeping much better, more consistently now he is going down well between 8-9 and he will sleep till 2-3am then eat once and then sleep till 7. And some days he will go back down again till almost 9. So I have been getting more sleep, which has been amazing.

The other thing we do every day is take a walk or run, Jack loves the stroller and falls asleep very hard in it an will usually take a 3 hour nap. His other naps are still usually short anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. But overall it is getting much easier and his awake time is now up to 1.5 hours at a time up to almost 3 happy hours at night, which is fun for Jake. Jack loves his bouncer/jumper, thanks Grandma Christi, and now toys are starting to become a real distraction for him. He loves his ball that makes noises and has lots of holes for his fingers. He can get it to his mouth, but usually he just licks it :)

I am going to try to post again this week with pics of Jack's first cereal feeding, it went pretty well....thanks for reading.

love,

hillary, jake and jack

Jacks dedication weekend

We had Jack dedicated to the Lord this Sunday in Winona Lake, it was really special because Grandpa got to do the dedication and we had lots of family there. We are so thankful that we live in a country where you can openly declare your belief in the Lord and your desire to raise you children to know HIM.

We had a nice lunch at the Boathouse and got to take some great walks since it has been warming up.
Here is Jack in his dedication outfit, its a little sweater vest from my favorite kids store and was the first outfit Jake and I bought when we found out we were having a baby. He is eating his hands his new favorite thing.


Here I think he looks like he's talking.

Family shot, you can tell who the focus of the picture is

On Saturday we got to go to Dayton for Allison's shower, she was my college roommate and it was great to see her and Kara and Abby, we had a great time catching up. All of us all grown up....crazy.

Here is Jack next to the moose, there is a picture of me at about this age next to the same moose :)

With Grandma and Grandpa

Great Grandma and Grandpa Snyder

What a great weekend at home. Thanks to all who helped make it special.

3 months old

Happy 3 month birthday baby Jack

Jack is really becoming a little person. So far we can tell he has a sweet disposition and is generally agreeable unless tired or hungry...kind of like his mommy. He is developing into a good sleeper and is still a champion eater. He is also becoming more independent,which is great and a little sad at the same time. Here is a picture of his great smile for kisses from daddy.




Bath time (if this isn't a jake face, i don't know what is)

Family shot from Jake's graduation

Jack's first overalls

Grandpa came to visit this past Monday and he and Jack had some quality time, here they are reading Dr. Seuss

3 month picture....he looks so big to me, and soooo much like jake

here he is showing off his newest skill, using both hands at once...one in the mouth, one with a toy

He is really fun to be with when he is awake, he is starting to take better naps and our days with the schedule are really going well. We have had some good firsts lately like..

the usage of both hands to grab things

our first big diaper blowouts

first laugh

first real sounds where he tries to imitate us

first time sleeping through the night (from 9pm to 5:30 am, it was amazing)

first mornings waking up without crying

standing on our laps

We are also excited for Jack's dedication this weekend, it should be a really special time and we are looking forward to it.

he is so much fun and we can't believe how fast he is growing. people tell you it goes fast, but WOW.

In other news. I passed my NP boards and i am officially nationally board certified now, which was great closure to my masters experience and helps me to feel confident looking for my first job in NC.

Jake graduated from the career course and we are staying here until April when jake goes to run the Boston marathon, it will be our first real family trip so that will be exciting.

Then around the 20th of April we will be moving down to Fort Bragg, NC. We are excited about the move, but sad that we will be so far from family again.

Hope you enjoyed the update and pics.