Tasty flip flop?

So happy to be standing up!

Jack's pretty much mastered the art of pulling himself up and standing with support now. He can even cruise from one object to another. And he's really revved up the crawling - it's almost a sprint. It's safe to say that our little man is very mobile and he is showing no signs of slowing down. So at this point, there is no leaving Jack alone, EVER! That kid gets into EVERYTHING. His new nickname is Mr. Getinta.

So, life in the house has definitely gotten busy because we're constantly chasing him around. It's funny, I thought I was busy before, but Jack requires 24/7 eye contact now. Everything is interesting to him and everything is fair game to eat....I caught him licking the bottom of my flip-flop this morning. I know, it's disgusting. But hold the judgement....are you going to tell me your kid has never eaten anything gross? I've come to accept that kids will do these things. Truth be told, I wasn't even that freaked out - I'm sure he will eat worse things in his life. But it did make me wonder what was on the bottom of that thong to make him want to lick it. I will never know.

I guess that's a sign that it's time to baby proof the house. We should have done this weeks ago but now it's really time. Our hard wood staircase is looking pretty scary these days...and between Christian and I we have about 20 pairs of flip flops that we need to hide! So as soon as we get back from Chicago we'll buy more stock in Babies R Us and grab some much needed locks, gates and pads. Lord help us when this child starts walking.

Happy Easter!

Now that he can balance we got Jack his first "bike." He absolutely loves riding on it.

Jack's new favorite toy is his Fisher Price music table. It plays fun songs, teaches him Spanish and, most importantly, keeps him busy for minutes at a time :)

Jack playing with his favorite person!

Cousins!

Jack & Marseille together again! Ok, so I forgot to take pictures all weekend - what kind of mommy am I? This is the best one we got of them together.

Last week my sister and her family came in from California and it was so great to have the two families together again - especially the babies! At first they were a little timid but after a few minutes they were all all over each other. And by the end of the week they were acting like siblings - fighting over toys, pushing, pulling hair. But they were also really sweet with each other. Jack would get a huge smile when he saw M in the morning and M would always go in for a big kiss. It was precious. I hate to admit that Jen and I were so bad about taking pictures so we only got a few. But we're headed out to San Diego for Marseille's 1st birthday in a few weeks so we'll make sure to get a lot more. I can't believe our little bunny is already 1 year old!!

Daddy's Boy?

How often do you hear the phrase "Daddy's Boy?" Well, we have been saying it a lot around the David house for the last month or so. It seems that baby Jack prefers his daddy over his mommy these days. I mean, it's not so extreme that he cries when I hold him, but if his dad is in the room, in his arms is where Jack wants to be. It was so cute at first because what mom doesn't want her husband to be an amazing and loving dad. But after a few weeks it actually started to hurt me a bit when Jack would grab for his dad when I held him. I have to admit, I was a little...ok, a lot...jealous.

Last week it reached the sad level for me and I actually broke down crying...at work...in the middle of the day. I started asking myself why I was so upset. Wasn't I the one who wanted a totally hands-on-dad, a 50-50 parenting partner, someone who would be in the trenches with me at 3am? Christian is all those things and more. But by getting my wish did I somehow shift the delicate balance of human nature - that babies are supposed to gravitate to their mommies?

Then, like a sign from God, I got an email from babycenter.com about this exact topic. All this time I thought I was the lone mom who's kid shunned her on a daily basis. But alas, the message boards were filled with women who had the same complaint..."I carried this kid for 9 months and he only wants to be with his dad!" Not to delight in their dismay, but I suddenly felt relieved that I wasn't the only one. The expert weighing in on the topic wrote that this is a totally normal process and soon enough the tide will turn in my direction and I will be wishing Jack would go to his dad once in a while. Ahhh...I suddenly felt lighter.

So this weekend Jack was really sick and kept us up 3 nights in a row. Can I just tell you how thankful I was that Jack would go to his dad for comfort and that Christian could sooth our baby as much as I could. And as I sat there at 3am watching Christian rock Jack to sleep I felt silly for making such a fuss. Jack loves us both, it doesn't matter who holds him the most. The important thing is that he's happy and loved. Chalk another one up to the insecurities of a new mommy!

I'm 8 Months Old Today!

I can't believe I'm already 8 months old!! I'm gearing up for spring with my bright-colored poncho and sailboat pictures.

I can honestly say that this has been the biggest month of changes for our little man. In one month he's learned to sit up, feed himself, crawl, stand on his own and begin to pull himself up. Once he discovered how great it was to be mobile, there was no stopping him. The kid is literally all over the place now. He loves to explore...and by explore, I mean get into EVERYTHING! So we spent Sunday afternoon putting away all of his infant stuff...it was bittersweet. Happy he's developing so well but sad that it's all happening so fast.

But besides the physical stuff, he's also changed so much emotionally. Captain Serious has been replaced by Mr. Happy. Jack smiles all the time - at us, strangers, his teachers and little friends at school. He dances to music and loves to laugh. As hard as it was to take him to school, it has made a world of difference in just a few weeks. The social aspect of it has really opened him up. He is always happy when I drop him off at school which makes us very happy!

He's just the perfect little boy....NOT! GAG! While we are so proud of him achieving all his milestones, we must admit that this month he has also become quite the stinker. He throws little tantrums when he doesn't like something and is the master at arching his back and flipping over when we try to change his diaper. He's a very strong-willed child and I have a feeling we are in for some TERRIBLE two's.

Hey, that's just the way it goes. And there's definitely more laughter than tears. Jack is so aware of who we are now and he's happiest when the three of us are together. He's like our little buddy and we're having so much fun with him. We can't get enough of him and can't wait to see what he'll do next! These are the parts of parenthood that we cherish. We just love that kid more and more every day, no matter what he does!

Mommy says she adores this little face!

Look at me...I can stand up all by myself! Now the name on the wall should read TROUBLE, instead of JACK.

Eating...I mean WEARING my breakfast! But I love to feed myself in my new highchair. My favorite finger foods are yogurt melts, cereal bars and cheese!

Am I cute or what?!

My first time on the swings. As you can see, I really liked it!

Boy, getting pushed on a swing set and then carried back home really poops me out!

Laughing at my dad is my new favorite pastime!

Rockin the Mohawk after my bath!

Check me out....I'm crawling on all fours. But don't be fooled - this new toys is no fun and mommy is returning it to Target.

Happy Friday!

Jack definitely loves to laugh! And we love hearing his deep giggles!

Just a warning...this video is 2 minutes of pretty much the same thing. This went on for over 5 minutes and of course we thought it was adorable. But you might be over it in about a minute.

School Days

Jack on his first half-day of school! This was a trial run before the big day. Check out his new school bag.

Jack just finished his first week of school. And I have to tell you, it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. I think I cried more when we made the decision to put him into daycare. Then I bawled my eyes out when I was interviewing them and asking them if they would show Jack affection. Most of my friends have kids in daycare so I got a lot of advice and support from them. I owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Kate, Rianna and Lisa for holding my hand through this process. They all have beautiful, well-adjusted kids so I trusted them when they told me it would all be ok. I love having fellow mommies to turn to. Thanks girls!

So, the big day came and went without too much drama. Christian and I actually took Jack to school a few times the week before his official start date. So by the time we started Jack was pretty familiar with the classroom, the kids and all the teachers. It's a big class - there are 15 babies and 5 teachers.....Ms. Holly, Ms. Dalina, Ms. Jackson, Ms. Shyista and, Jack's favorite, Ms. Savannah! It's a great school! Everyone is so warm and the environment is very colorful and happy.

I think the transition was probably harder on us than it was for Jack. Christian was out of town last week so I had to do it alone. So of course I cried that first day. Jack cried a little too but by the end of the week he was all smiles which made me feel much better. He has fun in school - they listen to music, dance and do crafts. For now he'll be there 3 days a week until he's a little older. We think Jack is going to be very happy at the Primrose School of Peachtree Corners!

Our new morning ritual of grooming! We wash our face, brush our teeth and comb our hair. As you can see Jack LOVES brushing his teeth.

Jack's checking out his new do!

Well, hello handsome!

Jack and Daddy outside Primrose School.

He's not really sure what to think here.

"Don't leave me here!" This was a difficult moment for Jack. But rather than pick him up I chose to take a photo. Nice mom. PS: I did pick him up a minute later.

Jack's first full day of school! Here he is in the morning playing with is friend. He was still a little tentative.

But then he was all smiles!! Mommy and daddy were so proud of him!

Here's Jack grooming for school...

Captain Serious has left the building!

Gotcha! We caught Jack in a smile...or actually a big grin! Looks like he's into something he shouldn't be.

I just realized that I never posted Jack's 7 month photos. They were actually supposed to be his 6 month pics, but he was really sick that weekend. So we had to postpone....and mommy had to learn to let go of her perfect plan....photos at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. Oh well, now I have a new plan for the rest of the kiddos that come :)

It actually worked out great that we waited because Mimi and Papa were in town so they got to see Jack take the pictures - these are things we miss out on because we don't live near family so it was nice to have them there. It was hilarious - my mom and I were falling all over ourselves trying to make him laugh and smile at just the right time. By the end we were sweating.

Also, in the few weeks that we waited, Jack really developed quite the little personality. It's like he hit 7 months and the switch turned on. We're not really sure where it came from but all of a sudden he was smiling for pictures, laughing at strangers and flirting with women! He's such a little ham now. As you can see we captured a few grins. But I still love his serious man face!

Mommy's favorite! So serious. I wonder what he's thinking? "Mom, why do I have a comb over like Donald Trump?"

If he could talk he would probably say..."seriously mom, ANOTHER newsboy cap?!" I just can't get enough of them.

Christian has a 6 month photo just like this so we wanted to take the same pose and compare them. He looks a lot like dad, but we see mom in there too.

Say Cheese! He's practicing his fake camera smile. If you look close, you can see his cute little teeth.

Jack's REALLY crawling!

It's official - Jack crawled on all fours last night and again this morning. Last night it was the door stop he was going for and this morning was the remote. I swear we have one determined little boy - when he wants something, nothing will stop him! But alas, the camera was not charged and we didn't get it on video. So we'll try to post something this weekend. We're off to Babies R Us this afternoon for another car seat for Christian's car, a high chair and of course, baby proofing stuff. I think I need a second job! Happy Friday!

Jack's "crawling!"

As promised, here's a video of baby Jack "crawling." It's actually more of a creep, forearm drag, or army crawl. Whatever you want to call it, it's Jack's current form of transportation. And let me tell you, that boy can move now! He also has his two favorite toys with him....the J&J lotion bottle and his laptop. He was obsessed with mine so I got him his own and he loves it.

I also wanted to show you the video of Jack really starting to sit up for extended lengths of time. This is a few weeks old so he's got more skills now. MOMMY WARNING - this is a bit long and probably only fascinating for the parents and grandparents. My baby voice is also very annoying. So only watch if you are really bored!! He does look ridiculously cute here in his Polo outfit from Auntie Melanie. Love to all...