Yum, Yum!

So I mentioned that Dr. Berkun had given us the OK to try to give Jack 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal each day.  Tommy got home from his business trip on Friday night, so we decided to give it a try on Saturday evening.  I'm not sure if more food ended up in his mouth, or on his face, clothes, etc., but he did pretty well for his first time.  He wasn't quite sure what to make of it all, but he seemed to think it was fun to put the spoon in his mouth, even if most of the cereal came right back out :)

Ready to go...

The first bite...

 

Not so sure about this...

After Jack's first attempt at rice cereal, a bath was definitely in order!

All clean!

4 Months Old!

Last week, Jack celebrated his 4 month birthday.  His pediatrician appointment  wasn't until this Tuesday, so I waited to post until I had his newest stats.  Four months ago, I could never imagined how different my life would be today, how much I could love someone who has only been in my life such a short time, and how much I can't imagine our lives without him now.

This appointment was our first pediatrician appointment since I started back to work.  It was also the first appointment without Daddy in attendance.  I have been playing single Mommy this week while Tommy is working in Dallas and have a newfound appreciation for all those single working moms out there - it's hard work!  Jack had 4 more shots this time, and Mommy behaved much better than last time (Jack did great, too, but that isn't a change :) ).  Dr. Berkun says Jack looks just perfect, but Mommy could have told him that already ;)  Here are his stats:

Length: 25.5 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 15 pounds 14 ounces (75th percentile)
Head: 42cm (50th percentile)

So he is still on the tall side, but his weight is catching up - my little Chunky Monkey!

Here he is on his 4 month birthday:

Look how much he's grown!

A couple of milestones in the recent weeks:

• He rolled over!!  On his 4 month birthday in front of both Daddy and Mommy!  If he'd already done it at daycare, they didn't tell me, so I like to think we both witnessed his first roll.  He hasn't been rolling with any consistency yet, but he's done it a few more times.  Maybe soon, I can catch it on video!
• He's starting to play with toys.  Just recently, he's been able to keep himself amused by grabbing a hold of a stuffed animal, teether, or pretty much anything he can grab onto.  Every once in a while, he'll take a few minutes to examine the item, but most of the time they go straight in his mouth.
• He's talking up a storm!  The women at daycare say he cracks everyone up because he'll just sit in the room in the boppy and babble constantly to himself.  We have conversations every day in the care on the way to daycare.  His favorite new noise is a high-pitched, excited scream.  A little obnoxious, but so cute!
• Dr. Berkun gave us the OK to start giving Jack 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal each day.  I'm waiting to try it for the first time until Tommy gets back from his business trip this weekend, but stay tuned...

Jack's First Trip to the Big Apple

We had several really great reasons to head into New York City this past Saturday:

1. Jack has never been to NYC.  Even though he won't remember it, I've really wanted to bring him to the City before we move back to Dallas, and my time is running out!
2. The weather was amazing!!  While they were getting snow once again in Dallas, it was unseasonably warm in the Northeast for this time of year - almost 75 and not a cloud in the sky.  It doesn't get much better than that for a city stroll
3. Our friends, Catherine and Jeff from Houston were here for the weekend while Catherine worked on a client near NYC

So we packed up the diaper bag, dressed Jack up in his cargo pants and sun hat, and headed to the train station.  When we arrived at Grand Central, I think Jack was a little awed by the hustle and bustle around him:

I love this one of Jack and I outside the MetLife building:

We walked down 5th Avenue to the stop that every kid must make when they come to New York City, FAO Schwartz.  The soldier at the door was very taken with Jack - I think he could've held him all day long!

"These stuffed penguins are bigger than I am!"

After getting Jack his very own FAO teddy bear, we headed over to Columbus Circle to meet Catherine and Jeff.  It was so good to see them!  We found a cute group of restaurants on Broadway between 63rd and 64th.  We decided on Bar Boulud.  We had no idea where we were headed, yet somehow, we managed to find a French restaurant with our French friends! :)  The food was delicious.  We started with a pastry tray for the table (pain au chocolat for me, of course!) and I had a croque monsieur.  Jack was great for most of the meal, even though he doesn't look too happy in this photo!

This was the first time Catherine and Jeff had met Jack, and I asked them whether seeing us with Jack made them want their own baby more, or less.  I was surprised when they the said "more" because we made it look so much easier than they thought it would be.  Can it be that Tommy and I are starting to look like parents who actually know what they are doing?! :)

I think they're ready to be parents, don't you?

We parted ways with Catherine and Jeff after lunch and headed over to Central Park to enjoy the beautiful day.  We even got a great picture of Daddy and his son in the park:

From there, we headed back to Grand Central and on to Stamford.  Jack was pooped after such an exciting day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm a few days late, but Jack wanted me to be sure I wished everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day!  To celebrate the occasion, Jack created his first artwork in daycare - the first of many that will grace Mommy's walls and refrigerator, I'm sure.

As you can imagine, painting with your feet is hard work, so Jack definitely needed a nap when he got home from daycare. 

Hope everyone had a fantastic St. Patrick's Day!

Under the Weather

Everyone around the Mhire household has been a little under the weather this past week.  Tommy came down with a horrible stomach bug last Sunday and Jack and I have both been battling colds.  It's the first time Jack has been sick and every time I hear his poor little cough, it makes me sad.  He, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be too bothered.  He doesn't have a fever, and is as smiley and happy as ever, so for now, we are just letting it run its course.  I'm just thankful he hasn't caught the pink eye that made its way around daycare last week (I know, knock on wood!).  Everyone seems to be doing better this weekend, so hopefully our little household is on the mend!

Because we haven't been feeling that great, we haven't done anything too exciting lately.  Also, the weather seems to be great on the weekdays and awful on the weekends - boo!  I'm ready for Spring already! This weekend was cloudy, rainy and WINDY.  Apparently, the winds were up to category 1 hurricane strength yesterday - fences and power lines are down and power is still out all around town and the big tree in our front yard lost a really large limb or 2.  Lucky for us, they fell away from the house and our cars!

Never fear, though, we've still managed to take a few pictures of Jack to share:

Playing in the play yard is hard work!

I love my Pooh Bear!

Here, I'm wearing on of the outfits my Daddy wore when he was my age, way back in the 1970's.  You can tell by the bellbottoms!

I'll close with a bit of exciting news - it looks like we'll be moving back to Texas this coming June.  Yes, only 2 1/2 months away!  Mommy is freaking out a little thinking of all the things we need to do before then, and all the places in the Northeast that we wanted to see, but haven't quite made it yet.  We have to plan a house hunting trip, organize movers and be sure we take Jack to visit New York before we leave (even though I'm sure he won't remember).  I also really wanted to make a trip to visit the Clark's cabin in Maine and to Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard.  Oh well.  One thing at a time.  It should be an interesting few months.  Stay tuned...