Summit County Pics

Jack on a crisp morning.  We figured out that he would keep the hat on if he had his mittens on.  We'll see how long that lasts!

Jack in his white button down before dinner one night.  We was so good at every restaurant.  We figured out that he LOVES pickles so we'd give him one of those to chomp on or a wheat teething biscuit to keep his busy.

And Grandpa Jerry might have given him a taste of his turtle sundae.

Andy and I hiked another 14,000+ ft. mountain this year.  Here we are at the summit.  It totally kicked our butt and we were beyond exhausted afterwards.  Thankfully Jack slept like a rockstar that night so we could wake up refreshed.

One of Jack's favorite things to do at the house was to play with everything on the coffee table.  He also got good at cruising between the couch and coffee table.  And then yesterday he finally crawled FORWARD for the first time.  Yeah!  His motivation- the cables and cords behind the TV.  We will have to baby proof ASAP.

Des, how do you like Jack's new hoodie?

Jack's first gondola ride at Breckenridge.

Clinton Gulch hike.

What a sweet face.

A little peek-a-boo behind the old mine ruins.

And hopefully he sleeps just like this on the drive home!

Just a little Monday in the mountains (not for weak stomachs)

The day started off a little rough for Andy.  He left a little after 6am to ride up and down Vail Pass over to Vail.  He was going downhill, came upon a curve, and all of the sudden hit a few inches of sand on the bike path.  He flew off of his bike.  We called me to pick him up.  The bike was totalled, their was blood splattered on his helmet and bike, the jacket he had on was shredded, and his ipod was crushed.  He didn't take off his jacket until we got home because he said he though he might pass out from the blood.  It was a scary deal, but thankfully we were able to get him in pretty good shape with some butterfly tape and gauze. 

Here he's saying "Yeah, we need to take a picture to show Peg!"

(my mom recently cut her finger badly and e-mailed a similar type of pic)

I'm pretty sure some smiles from this little guy made him feel a lot better.

Oh, I love these two.

Rocky Mountain Baby!

Here are a few pictures from Jack's first two days up in the mountains.  We went on a nice long hike this morning and he slept through a good part of it.  We didn't hear a peep out of him except for a few giggles.

Look at that sweet little smile behind the pacifier.  Maybe he thinks he's playing peek-a-boo with me!

Just before a little snooze.

Checking out the wildflowers.

And getting close to tasting it...

Sweet mountain baby.

Cousin Nico let Jack borrow his Patagonia vest and it is too cute!

And Auntie Meghann got Jack this Hawkeye cap.  She said that Uncle Brian always likes to wear his on vacation to see what other Hawkeye fans they run into so she thought he should have one for his vacation too.  He looks like such a little boy with his ball cap on!

And here's Jack with his Grandma Carol enjoying an afternoon on the patio.

Many more pictures to come!

8 months

Shakin his little tush up in the air!

We had his friend Claire over and they played in the ice cold sprinkler for over an hour!

This is why you shouldn't feed a tired baby blueberries!  Of course his hand went right up to rub his eyes.

We took this pictures to announce the arrival of his bottom two teeth.

Here's Jack with his Grandpa Schep...in matching outfits!

What does a mom do when fun new shoes arrive in the mail?  

Why strip him down to his green diaper and plug the green pacifier in the mouth, of course! 

They probably won't fit him until later this fall, but we just had to try them on.

(and look at those tired eyes)

Jack has been so much fun this past month and picks up on new tricks each day.

• His first tooth popped up just after the 7 month mark and the second one popped up exactly one week later.  0.4mL of Tylenol and he was a happy man!  Lets hope the rest of his teeth are this easy.  He has drooled like crazy since he was 2 months old and now that his teeth have poked through, he barely drools.  Also, he is less interested in his pacifier now and has started to suck his thumb.  8 months seems a little late to pick up that habit, but I have to admit that it's pretty cute.
• At 7.5 months Jack and I were driving back from a weekend in Chicago and he was starting to get a little mad in the back seat.  All of the sudden I heard "Mmmmmaaa, mum, mmmmaaaa!" over and over.  Talk about a heart breaker when you're driving and can't pull over right away to respond to your son really calling out for you for the first time.  Long story short, we stopped about 5 times during the 3 hour drive.  Since then, there is lots and lots of 'mum' talk from Jack.  I sure love it!
• Jack is really good about going to anyone, but he's starting to have a preference for Andy and I if we're around.  He'll reach and lean for us to hold him.  And if he's tired, he's a mama's boy.  Or it could just be because he's hungry and tired!
• Speaking of food, in addition to nursing, Jack usually eats baby food about twice a day.  We also started giving him puffs about 2 weeks ago and he really likes them.  He's practicing picking them up and putting them in his mouth on his own.  It's a good thing to keep him busy if we're out to eat! 
• Jack waves about 50% of the time.  If I'm saying goodbye to someone he will open and close his little baby fist without being prompted.  If I tell him to wave, he does it 0% of the time.  We're working on it.
• Jack hasn't quite perfected the forward crawl yet, but will scoot forward, roll side to side, or crawl backwards which pretty much gets him anywhere he wants.  
• One afternoon after laying him down for a nap we just heard talking and talking so we went up there and opened the door to see him sitting up for the first time.  It's like he was just waiting for us to come and see his new accomplishment.  We picked him up, told him that we were really proud, and told him to go back to bed!  There was about a week of this and now he's learned how to lay down again. 
• His hair is slowly coming in and at times you can see some red tints in the blonde.  I have an aunt and uncle with red hair so it's definitely a possibility.  Maybe he'll be strawberry blonde:).
• Jack went from loving to sit to only wanting to stand!  If I'm in the kitchen and I try to sit him down on the floor, he straightens his body out like a board until his head is about 2" off the ground and then just lays down and cries.  He likes to stand and hang on to the couches or our legs.  One night in the bath he even took a few steps left and right while hanging on to the edge.  Yesterday I actually found him up on his knees and hanging on to the crib railing.  He's working on those leg muscles! 
• Oh and yesterday while at the pool I dunked him for the first time and he wasn't even really fazed by it.  I just blew in his face (so that he would hold his breath) and dunked him. 

We are taking Jack hiking later this month and can't wait to show him the mountains, enjoy the fresh cool air, and to spend our afternoons swimming.  Get ready for lots of pictures!  I better find my camera before then!