Jack’s 1st Snow! February 1, 2010

Dear Jack,

It snowed! Technically, this storm was the third time you’d seen it snow, but it was the first time the snow ever amounted to anything. We dressed you in mulitiple layers of clothing and took walks yesterday and the day before. On Friday, during our walk, the snow was still falling and it got stuck in your eyelashes!

We’ve spent a lot of time at Grandma and Grandpa Phy’s house these past few days. Grandma bought sleds for Colton and Charlie. You’re still too little to sled, but you liked sitting with Grandma and Aunt Amy on the porch watching Daddy and I play with your cousins.

You keep growing and changing every day. You’re almost able to sit up without being propped up by something. I have to keep you distracted when I try to get you to sit though, since you’d almost always prefer that I help you stand. If I don’t keep you distracted, you try to straighten your legs to stand and you fall backwards. You laugh a lot more now and you’ve started squealing sometimes. I can’t always tell if the squeals mean you’re happy or you’re angry, but it’s so cute!

I love being your mommy. I hope someday you’ll get to do or be something that makes you as happy as you make me.

Love, Mommy

4 Months and counting… January 17, 2010

Dear Jack,

Things have been so busy the past couple of months, and you turned four months old on the 9th of January! When we went for your check up, you weighed 13lbs 10 oz and were 25 1/4 inches tall. It was a good doctor’s visit, but there have been some unexpected changes with you lately. Mommy and Daddy had to switch you from the cloth diapers to disposables because you’ve developed what we thought was a really bad diaper rash. As it turned out you have really sensitive skin and eczema, which is a skin problem that Daddy and several members of Daddy’s family have. It’s not that bad, it just means that during the dry cold months your skin is extra sensitive. So we have to be careful when bathing and changing you to keep your exposure to moisture, detergents and other skin irritants to a minimum. It was disappointing to be told to use disposables for a bit, but we’re confident we can do the things to correct the situation, and that we’ll be able to switch back soon.

You’re also beginning to get your first teeth! Your gums are hard, you’re drooling (a lot!), and we can even see a little white dot peaking through. This change has affected your moods a bit more, you get really interested in chewing on things, especially yours and others’ hands, and you express yourself a lot more with lots of cooing, moaning, and funny faces.

Your vision and attention have improved so much. You can grab toys now, though you still don’t manipulate them very well, and you really enjoy watching “Sesame Street”, ”Dinosaur Train”, and the football games with Daddy. But the most exciting thing is that you’ll sit and look at a book while we read it to you. Right now you’ve just woken up from a nap in Mommy’s lap. While you were sleeping Mommy clipped all of your nails, on all your fingers and toes. It was really cute. Now she’s reading you a new book about dinosaurs.

In the next few weeks we’re going to start letting you eat some solid foods. Nothing too fancy at first, vegetables and fruits to start with. Mommy and Daddy are excited about this, but also a little nervous. We want you to develop a good diet and not get introduced to unhealthy sweets and things too soon.

Today Mommy and Daddy are celebrating our sixth Wedding Anniversary. That means we’ve been married for six years. That’s 72 months! 18 times longer than you’ve been with us! I suppose that should seem like a really long time, but I don’t really feel like it’s been that long. I do feel like you’ve been with us forever, so that’s an interesting paradox of emotions.

Love,
Daddy

So long, 2009! January 4, 2010

Dear Jack,

Oh boy, oh boy, have we been busy! Daddy started a new quarter at school at the beginning of December and is teaching 5 classes now. He’s teaching classes he’s never taught before, too, so he’s been quite the buzzing worker bee, making lesson plans and organizing projects for his students. The holiday shopping season kept me very busy, trying to keep the book store well-stocked and helping customers find the books they needed. You come to work with me every day and have started smiling and cooing at my customers.

Your first Christmas was super exciting! We had a nice morning at home, just the three of us. It snowed just the tiniest bit while you and I looked at the books Daddy and I gave you (The Other Side by Istvan Banyai and Emmet and Song of the Swallows both by Leo Politi). For lunch, we went to Gus and Grandma Mickey’s house and you got to meet three cousins that we didn’t see at Thanksgiving! You loved watching the other kids, especially Jackson and Miles. When we left there, we came home so I could make the green bean casserole for the dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Phy’s house. We got to their house around 4 o’clock. After dinner, we opened presents and you spent a lot of time staring at the large, old-fashioned lights on Grandma and Grandpa’s Christmas tree.

The next day, we went to Water Valley, KY, to see Great Grandma Doris and the rest of Grandma Mickey’s family. Aunt Misty rode with us and we had lots of fun seeing all Daddy’s cousins. The next day after that, we went to Camden for our 4th and final Christmas celebration with Papa Hill and his family. You got to meet lots of new people there!

Throughout all the celebrating, you behaved beautifully! Everyone commented on what a good, happy baby you are. Lots of people fussed over you and you didn’t disappoint! We’re so blessed to have such an easy-going little guy! And you’re getting so big, too! You’re up to 14 lbs now! Cuddling you is more fun all the time. You’re starting to understand your hands, and you sometimes you grip my hand while we nurse. (Unfortunately, you’re also very good at gripping my hair!)

We spent New Year’s Eve playing games at Grandma and Grandpa Phy’s house with them and Aunt Amy and Colton and Charlie. You and Charlie fell asleep less than 20 minutes before midnight.

By this point in 2009, we still didn’t know about you yet. Now, here we are in 2010, and you’re days away from being 4 months old. Just think of all the great things you’ll experience this year! So many firsts await you–your first bite of solid food, your first time sitting up on your own, rolling over, starting to walk, and more and more. For right now though, I’m content to cuddle my little baby.

I love you so much and I know 2010 is going to be a great year!

Love, Mommy

We traced your hand while you were sleeping. November 29, 2009

Dear Jack,

I wanted to tell you about something else. Your mommy made you an incredibly cute shirt for your first Thanksgiving!

Look! It’s your hand as a turkey! You have the smartest, most creative, beautiful mommy ever. She loves you so much, and does such a great job taking care of you and Daddy. I don’t want you to ever forget all that she does for you, and to help Daddy always remember to be thankful for her.

Love, Daddy

November to Remember. November 29, 2009

Dear Jack,

Wow! What an intense month! It feels like you just had your 2 month check up, and now you’re just a couple short weeks from turning 3 months old! That check up went great. You weighed 12lbs, and 24″ long! You are growing so fast! We’re pretty sure you’ve started teething in the past two weeks as well.

This past week was Thanksgiving, and we have done a lot of traveling! We divided Thanksgiving Day between two different houses. First at Grandma Mickey’s house we were celebrating with Aunt Misty and all of step-Granddad Gus’s children. You got to see your cousin Jackson, who also visited you at the hospital after you were born!
His mother, Christy, kept taking photos of you with her cell phone and commenting on how photogenic you are.

After that we went to Aunt Amy’s house, where we celebrated with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Charles, your cousins Colton and Charlie, Uncle Eric, and Aunt Amy’s in-laws, the Jernigans. There was a lot of good food and football on the tv, and you were definitely the star of the show.

Everyone is so happy to share this first Thanksgiving with you!

The next day was a big important shopping day at Mommy’s bookstore. After work we met up with our friends Tony and Coty who were visiting from Chicago. Tony was in Daddy and Mommy’s wedding, and Daddy was in Tony and Coty’s.
 
We all went up to Uncle Jason’s house after that for a party. You had a great time. Daddy carried you around in your papoose, and you were talking and smiling and cooing at everyone. You really enjoyed watching all of the adults talking, and they all loved seeing how cute you were! We spent the night at Uncle Jason’s and then the next morning we got up early and headed to Kentucky for Thanksgiving with Grandma Mickey’s family.

We all gathered to eat at Great Uncle Jamie’s house, and this was the first time a lot of Daddy’s cousins had gotten to meet you. You got to meet all of their kids, like cousins Coop, Brynn, and Trey.
You also got to meet your great Grandfather Jimmy, who your dad hadn’t seen in almost 12 years.
It was a great time, and you are so loved!

This Sunday was the big Christmas parade in downtown Dickson. Grandma Mary, Aunt Amy, and Colton and Charlie were all there to help in the store and watch the parade.

 
Papa Hill came to visit and see you at your very first parade. It was a blast. We got so many great photos of you with everyone over the past week, some are here! Others here!

I can only hope that your first Christmas is as exciting and wonderful as this Thanksgiving has been. We are so thankful for you, Jack, and we love you more and more every day.

Love, Daddy

A Great Weekend with Family and Friends November 10, 2009

Dear Jack,

Here’s a little message I wrote to you on Sunday morning:
“I’ve been looking forward to today for as long as I’ve known we were going to have you. Today is the day of your baptism. This is a very important day for everyone in our family. You’re already part of the family of God, because God already loves you, and today is a celebration of that. During the service, Daddy and I will promise to raise you to know that you will always be loved because you aren’t just our child, you’re God’s child. Grandpa Charles and Grandma Mary made the same promise about me when I was a baby–and in the same church, too. In addition to what we’ll promise in church today, I promise to raise you in a house that believes in the love of Christ. Everyone is equal. I promise to always try to be open with you and for you.”

And, Jack, we had a beautiful day! The service was wonderful and you woke up just before it was time for us to go to the altar with you. Pastor Ken performed your baptism with water he got in the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized. You cried out a bit when he put the water on your head, but then you calmed down. Colton and Charlie lit a candle on the altar that we can light every year to remember your place in God’s family.

After church, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Phy’s house for a party. So many people were there to show how much they love you and our family.

Remember how I mentioned that I was baptized in the same church? Look at these pictures:

Then

Now

The next day, we went to the Carnton Plantation in Franklin with your great uncle Fred and great aunt Patricia, who are visiting from Montana. Daddy carried you around in your papoose all day!

Grandma Mickey knows a lot about the Civil War, so maybe someday we can go back with her when you’re old enough to do more than just look cute in hats.

We’ve had a great couple of days–times I know I’ll always remember.

Love, Mommy

(More pictures of the baptism and party are here. More pictures at Carnton Plantation are here.)

First Halloween! November 6, 2009

Dear Jack,

You’ve officially celebrated your first holiday and it was Daddy’s favorite–Halloween! For part of the day, we dressed you as a skeleton and you were a jack-o-lantern the rest of the day. Since it was a Saturday, my bookstore was open, so you, Daddy and I all spent the day there. Lots of people oohed and ahhed over you in your cute costumes!

The next day, you got to meet our good friends Anna, Adam, and Henry, who have just moved to Tennessee! Mommy and Daddy are very excited to have them so close.

Henry kept calling you “cute baby.” We hadn’t seen Henry since just after he was born and he’s grown so much. Next to him, you looked even smaller! I can’t wait for you two to get to know each other.

Every day I wake up loving you more and every day it feels like you wake up cuter! This week, you’ve started to coo A LOT. Daddy and I just sit and listen to you, like you’re telling us a story, and I think you are.

Love you,
Mommy

A tale of two Mondays… October 26, 2009

Dear Baby Jack,

I had intended on writing you about all the excitement of last Monday, a lot closer to the actual day. Now another Monday has come and gone, also very exciting as well, and now I am forced to talk about both!

Last Monday we took you to see your first Zombie movie! That’s right, at 4:15 Monday evening, we all went and saw Zombieland at the Great Escape theatre in Clarksville. We were three of the six people in the audience, so it was a great time to see it with a baby. It was actually the second time we have taken you to the movie theatre. Mommy read that it was a good idea to get out to a movie or two while you were still a very young infant. You wouldn’t be able to really see or remember anything about it, and you’d be too young to really talk or fuss much during the film. In fact, you slept right through it. The movie theatre was still very loud, so Mommy and Daddy held our hands over your ears, just in case. We all had a great time.

This Monday, we were visited by Daddy’s father, Papa Hill. This is the first time he has gotten to see you in person since you were born!

You are almost a totally changed baby since then! Mommy and Daddy were taking advantage of a rare day off with no freelance work or other obligations to clean the house, so it was a nice treat to have someone to sit and hold you for a few hours. You were awake when he first arrived, and so you guys had some good play time, and then you fell asleep in his lap for a long time.

Papa Hill’s name is Wessley, just like your middle name! While you were sleeping he would tickle your chin and rub your cheeks and you would crack a big smile!

Love, Daddy

Snuggle time! October 18, 2009

Dear Jack,

Well, little dude, I think we’re all finally getting used to each other. Either we’re getting more sleep or I’m getting used to having less than before. I’ve stopped feeling like you’re a fragile china doll and started enjoying how cuddly you are. Oh, how we snuggle! It’s the best!

When you’re upset and cranky, I just hold you close and you calm right down…sometimes. Other times, you must just feel like screaming because nothing I do gets you to stop. You never stay fussy too long and you’re mostly super sweet, so I’m okay with that.

I know you won’t remember these times we’re having, so I want to remember them twice as well.

Love, Mommy

A big night out. October 11, 2009

Dear Baby Jack,

Today we all slept in and hung out around the house. It was a good time, and you got to hang out in the bed with Mommy and Daddy and play. In the evening Mommy’s family and us all went to see your cousin Colton play football. The seasons are changing and the weather was pretty chilly, so we got you all bundled up before we left!

To make sure you were warm, Mommy helped put you in your papoose and Daddy carried you around under his coat.

There were some people in the crowd who were wondering why Daddy’s belly looked so big and funny, and why he kept walking around rubbing it!

At the ball game we were joined by Grandma Mary, Grandpa Charles, cousin Charlie, cousin Charlie and Colton’s grandfather Malcolm, and of course Aunt Amy and Colton!

Colton’s team didn’t win, but they played a good game and he got to start every offensive series. It was your first football game and it was a lot of fun.

This is a drawng cousin Colton made for you a few days ago:

You are so lucky to be in such a big loving family!

Love, Daddy