Ready to Read

We have had a few fun deliveries from the UPS guy.  My Aunt Pat, Uncle Randy, and their kids sent Jack this adorable reading chair...

And just in time, my cousin Janean and her husband send Jack a set of Mini Masters board books.  Here he is reading In the Garden with Van Gogh.  Janean works for the St. Louis Museum of Art and Jack was the lucky boy to get these fun books from her!

Jack says a BIG thank you!

First trip to the Boj!

Andy and I were excited to bring Jack up to Okoboji to show him off to my grandparents this past weekend.  We had a nice time and loved hearing all of the "He's just precious", "What a perfect baby", etc. etc.  And Andy and I agree!

With his Great Nana Scheppmann

(this smile makes me laugh!)

And chatting with his Great Grandpa Scheppmann

And hanging out his his Great Grandpa Bayerkohler

And with his Great Grandma Bayerkohler

And snuggling!  Jack gives great hugs.

Andy also really wanted to drive out on Lake Okoboji.  I told him "No way!" but let him walk out about 20 feet for a picture. 

I think Jack needed sunglasses too!

And Jack snuggled up inside of Andy's coat.  Andy loves to walk to the wrestling meets, to church, etc. with Jack in his coat.  I am the one always disrupting their coziness making sure he can breath!

2 months stats

(playing catch-up)

At Jack's 2 month appointment:

11 lbs., 10 oz. (55th %)

24 inches (90th %)

For comparison, at birth he was:

6 lbs., 15 oz.

20 1/4 inches

That's a lot of growing in two months!  Jack is continuing to be a great sleeper at night.  We've been putting him down about 6:45pm he sleeps until about 4 or 5am, I feed him, put him back down, and he sleeps until about 7am.  Not bad at all!  His daytime naps were less than stellar.  I have now given up my morning cup of coffee and he seems to be doing a lot better.  (Prior to this, there were days where he would only take one 45 minute nap!)  He loves laying down with Andy or I for naps.  This is great snuggle time when we're able to, but we need to get him sleeping on his own, too!  Jack is very conversational.  He loves "talking" back and forth with us and gives us lots and lots of wide open, gummy smiles!  He will lay in his crib watching his mobile with amazement and kicks his arms and legs like crazy.  I don't think he knows that his crib is a place for sleeping.  He thinks it's an activity like his playmat or swing.  He's also just starting to bat his hands and grab at toys which is really fun to watch.  He's getting so big!    

In his stroller with his Icelandic gear from Auntie Binna.  We bundle him up and take him on lots of walks.

And his sad face :)

Talking with Daddy.

Jack's Baptism

Yesterday evening Jack was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church here in Iowa City.  It was a beautiful ceremony and Jack was a sweet, angelic baby as he was blessed and welcomed into the church family.    Afterwards, Andy and I had our families over for a lasagna dinner.  It was a special day here in the Litton household.  Here are a few pictures from the day...
(My mom made his baptism outfit and shoes.  It is absolutely beatiful.  Great job, Mom!)

8 Weeks

Why do babies grow so fast?  It makes me sad!  I feel like after 8 weeks you just announce your baby's age in months, not weeks.  Does that mean he's already passed the newborn stage?  Probably...as he is just starting to wear his 3-6 month clothes.  Even though I'm sad to have the floppy little newborn stage behind, I am enjoying all of the new things he's doing each day...8-10 hour stretches of sleeping at night, smiles, coos, and giggles.  Here are a few bath pictures from yesterday.  We are trying to get him good and used to the water so that he'll be ready for pool season this summer! 

(those are Andy's hairy legs, not mine:)

    A happy, clean baby!

More smiles

Frozen Mint Pie

I was searching for a frozen dessert to bring to someone along with a frozen casserole, did a quick search online, and found a recipe that inspired this one.  I completely changed more than half of the ingredients, so I think it's fair that I share it with all of you.  The filling is enough for 2 pies, so keep them in the freezer and pull one out for the next special occasion.  Pretty darn good!

Frozen Mint Pie
about 3/4 bag of York peppermint patties, chopped
1 package of Andes Mints, chopped
8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 tub of frozen Cool Whip, thawed
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 Oreo pie crusts

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Continue beating slowly adding the sweetened condensed milk.  I also added about 8 drops of green food coloring for the mint effect.  Fold in Cool Whip and chopped peppermint patties.  Pour filling into the two pie crusts and sprinkle the chopped Andes mints on top.  Put in freezer and serve frozen. 

Note: I tasted the filling before adding any mint candies and I think it's safe to say that it would be great with any candy bar.  I think next time I will add a few tablespoons of peanut butter and chopped snickers to the filling, omitting any mint.  Let me know if you try this and how it turns out.

A sweet smile.

And some sweet slumber.