Jack Scratch Fever!

I swear, I clip his nails. Religiously! And yet, today, he managed to make a considerable gash in his face. And that's only the most noticeable scratch. He has scabs on his fingers, nose and forehead. Grandma Chris assures me that this is typical. I hope it's a short phase!

Smiles!

Trying to capture Jack's smiles on film is not unlike trying to snap a picture of the Loch Ness monster. Or maybe Hogwarts castle (c'mon, you KNOW it exists!). It's nearly impossible.

That's not because Jack is an unhappy guy; he smiles all the time! But the moment you take out a camera -- or phone -- to snatch a quick photo, his smile disappears. For some reason, he finds both objects completely fascinating. In a matter of seconds, his smile is replaced by a furrowed brow and a look of extreme concentration. You can almost hear the wheels turning.

Luckily, I managed to capture a cute, crooked smile on film the other day. Enjoy!

Working Like a Dog

During the past month, many of you have heard me complain about my work schedule, which has been -- to say the very least -- a little nuts. Thankfully, I had a chance to take a day off this week to enjoy some face time with Jack.

A typical day for Jack almost always includes the following activities:

- Rolling over. All. The. Time. But there's just one problem. He can roll onto his belly, but he can't flip over to his back. And, unfortunately, he has settled into a pattern: 1) roll over, 2) enjoy tummy time for 90 seconds, 3) begin squawking and flailing limbs, 4) squawk even louder, 5) get flipped over by Grandma/Mom/Dad, 6) repeat.

- Standing up (while supported). Doing so opens up a variety of new activities, including lunging for and sucking on my nose; holding his arms out like Frankenstein; shouting at any graphics on my t-shirt; grabbing my hair; grabbing Ozzie's fur.

- Putting his fist in his mouth. And drooling (this boy can saturate a onesie in less than one minute). And sucking on his feet.

- Staring at his reflection -- also known as Baby Zach, his evil twin. Perhaps nothing gets Jack more riled up than catching a glipse of Zach. If he's in the right mood, he can shout at Zach for a half hour.

- Squealing and laughing. As you saw in the video we recently posted, Jack loves to make noise. He squeals all day long. He is a little less generous with laughs; right now, the only sure way to elicit a giggle is to pretend to sneeze on him. For some reason, hearing someone say "AH-CHOO!" tickles his funny bone. To each his own, I guess!

- Snuggling and sleeping with his stuffed animal friends. A new favorite is the little dog pictured above. I wish it were acceptable for adults to snooze at the office!

Swing Dancing (and Singing)

Jack Speaks the Truth!

More Time on the Ranch Than George W. Bush!

Jack still loves spending time on his favorite playmat, dubbed 'the ranch', due to its farm theme. I can already see him happily clearing brush (read - the shrubs and trees his father painstakingly installed on the less than 6,000 square foot lot we have in Arlington) to escape from the horrors of school!

Already Frugal!

Jack's favorite place to shop, by far, is Costco. He's been there at least ten times, fully appreciates the power of buying in bulk, and quickly learned that most, but not all, items are less expensive when purchased by the pallet.

He consumes with relish the Costco house brand formula every day, at $0.35 per ounce, compared to $0.85 for Emphamil. I truly think he enjoys it more, knowing that it has all of the same vital ingredients at less than half the price of the name brand brew.

Home Alone!

I took the day off from work because Grandma Chris had to take a quick trip north, and this picture captures well Jack's and my day. Lots of tears and bad daytime TV...

After Hosing Crab Shells off of Jack, a Nap Was In Order

Jack loves his little tiger stuffed animal.

Crab Shower for Peter's 30th

For my birthday, we ventured to Annapolis for a quick walk around town, fell into a tourist trap - a 45 minute boat trip, and ended the day at a crab shack. I use that term loosely, because no dining establishment that charges $65 for a dozen crabs can really be described as a 'shack'. Paying that much for ten ounces of meat, you can bet your ass that I ate every morsel, resulting in a crab-parts shower for my dining companions, as I dissected each decapod crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura (thanks Wikipedia) with the precision of a surgeon.

Besties

Jack and Lionel the Lion are best buds. If Jack is fussy, one look at Lionel can prevent a meltdown. Lionel's (Peter's) singing seems to have a very calming effect on Jack, even though his music catalogue is not especially diverse (for some reason, Lionel only sings Lionel Richie songs).

Lionel was a gift from Jack's great-grandma. Something tells me that he could become THAT toy. You know, the one that you literally love to pieces as a child (for me, it was a Care Bear, for Peter, Rocky Raccoon made the trip to college).

As you can see, Jack loves to hug and kiss Lionel. His mane already is getting scruffy from all the affection. These two are pretty cute together.

Funny Hat

One of the many benefits of being the parent of a newborn is that you can dress him in ridiculous outfits, and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it. Funny hats are hilariously unnecessary; why on earth would Jack need to wear a straw hat? Indoors? I don't know... but that doesn't stop me from putting one on him. And snapping a photo for posterity.

In a few months, Jack will be able to tear hats off his head (and socks off his feet, and clothes off his body), so I have enjoy this while I can!

Meet Bubbles Babb

Hi, my name is Bubbles Babb!

Blowing spit bubbles and drooling rank among my all-time favorite activities. I blow bubbles all day long -- when I eat, take walks and hang out on my activity mat. I even blow bubbles in my sleep. Every outfit I wear is soaked in saliva 10 minutes after I first put it on. What can say? I love spit bubbles.

I also thoroughly enjoy rolling over. To date, I have only managed this feat three times (and only on the couch), but I am just getting started. What prompted this milestone achievement? When trying to suck on my hand -- so that I also can drench my arm and face in saliva (why stop at my outfit?) -- I sometimes flip over.

My other hobbies include waking up at 3 a.m., grabbing shiny objects that hang from my mom's neck, and shouting at my evil twin in the mirror (Baby Zach -- more on him later).

Cousins!

We know. And we're sorry.

It has been WAY too long since we last published a new post. We promise not to make it a habit.

Last weekend was among the busiest since Jack's arrival. But it was a good sort of busy. It was a family extravaganza!

Jack was lucky enough to meet his two cousins -- Aimee and Angie -- as well as his second cousin Jackie (AKA -- aunt Jackie:-), his great-aunt Barb, his great-uncle John, and his great-grandma Leaf. He also spent some time with a few old favorites -- great-aunt Pat, aunt Katie, aunt Marge, grandpa Steve and grandma Chris.

Watching Aimee and Angie interact with Jack was really entertaining. Aimee was very nurturing -- always giving him hugs and surrounding him with toys. Angie, on the other hand, was a little jealous. Jack took a few smacks to the face. But, we consider it good practice -- a day care primer of sorts. Since day care begins in four short weeks, Jack has to toughen up!