Back on the wagon

I'm so hesitant to take pictures now! I'm still in shock about the hard drive and clinging to 2 small hopes. 1st, Jonathan is going to try and recover some of the pictures off of the cards from the cameras. We'll see what happens. 2nd, I have a friend if Portland who has a guy who might be able to do something with it. We've had 3 professionals tell us that it is toast and there is no way we can get anything off of it, but I haven't quite given up yet.

So, I was debating about taking Jack to see Santa this year. Mostly because I didn't want to pay the $20 to do it. However my mom went on vacation and left me her credit card! It's fun spending someone elses money.

Last week we were at the mall and we rode the train. Lakeline Mall now has a little train that goes around. It's crazy expensive, $5 a person, but Jack LOVED it. He was running after it saying "choo choo tain". At one point he ran through the area where Santa was and no one was there visiting Santa so Jack stopped to tell Santa about the train. It was very cute and after that little encounter I figured he would do pretty well with him. Which of course he did.

One of the things we've been doing is getting Jack to drop a nap. It's been rough. He still wants the other nap. Either that or he goes to bed at night and sleeps for 2 hours and then wakes up wanting to play because he thinks that he just took his 2nd nap. So then he's up until midnight. I'm hoping we all survive this transition. He does fine with 2 naps, but then he sleeps for 4 hours during the day and wakes up early and we can't do anything socially. If he only takes 1 nap we can go to story time at the library, or swimming at the gym, or meet up with our playgroup. It needs to happen, but it's tough on all of us.

So in the mornings we need something to do. We have to get out of the house around 10 or he's laying on the floor with his blanket sucking his thumb. It's pathetic. Today was a trip to the mall to see Santa and it went well. We were the first ones there so we didn't have to wait and Jack had quite a bit to say to him. I have no idea what he was telling him, but he sure did chat a lot. Santa was very entertained. And he was a good Santa too. He had a real beard and let Jack tug on it. He was very friendly and just like what you think Santa should be.

Anyways, here are the pictures I took with my camera.


The one that I bought was goofy. He has one eye almost closed and he's sitting funny. But I'm not sure which of the 3 is the best. They are all a bit goofy.


He didn't sit still for long. Really it was about 2 seconds. This kid is a busy boy and is on the move. Constantly. All. The. Time.


This would have been cute had he actually been looking anywhere near the camera.


This was just cute. It was taken in the play area after our visit with Santa.

Video's

I don't have time to do a big post here, I'm too tired and need to go to bed, but everything is fine.

Here is Jack seeing a dog smaller than him for the first time.



And her is Jonathan and his mom at Christmas. We just got together with his side of the family over the weekend. A good time was had by all and as always, a little silliness went down.

More pictures

Here are a few more from my mom's house, in no particular order.

It's so cute, Shawn & Kelly (my brother and sister-in-law) have taught Grace where her organs are so Shawn would ask her to listen to her intestines and she would put it on her tummy. She would put it on her esophagus, kidneys, heart, and a few others.

Both Grace and Jack were highly entertained by the train.

Christmas!

I love Christmas. I especially love Christmas when I get all of my shopping done early and I can actually enjoy the holiday season. This year I managed to not go to the mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I actually got most of my shopping done early and what I didn't, I ordered on line.

But did I mention the tree fiasco? The dead tree fiasco? Yeah, the first tree we got died. Like really dead. Luckily I managed to get it replaced at no cost without a recipe, but it was a lot of work... twice.


Jack met Santa at my grandmother's soon-to-be retirement home. And the nice part was it was free and included lunch. Did you know they want $25 for a picture with Santa at the mall? That seems nuts.


And Jack was fine with Santa, he actually really liked the beard. But I think the Elf freaked him out a little bit.


Christmas morning was great. Jack slept until almost 7 and then we all got up and found what Santa left.

Then the family came over and it was the Jack and Grace show. We had brunch, mimosas and bloody Mary's, and you know - brunch food. Jack did okay with opening presents, okay for a baby that is. Grace of course had a blast. And I must admit that I'm a little overwhelmed by all the toys and where to put them.

I am super excited that Jack got swimming lessons. They last for 20 weeks and will take us right into summer.


And I got a new camera lens! I go pick it up tomorrow but it will allow me to take good inside pictures in low light. I can't wait.


This year Christmas was all about Jack, which means that this year it was all about the baby love and that's the best.

Jack vs. Santa

A few weeks ago I took some pictures of my brother's family at the UT golf club. We got a few pictures of Jack and Grace too.


And this series cracks me up. His reaction when that toy was set next to him was priceless.

"What the *^&%* are you?

"I have a weapon, and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Maybe you're okay, here have a lick"

We met a live Santa earlier in the week. I'll try and post those pictures soon...

Here comes Santa Claus here comes Santa Claus...

People have been asking us what Jack wants for Christmas. What he really wants is an iphone, a cup of coffee, and a pair of glasses. He's constantly going after those things and if he got all of them in one day, he'd be in heaven.

Really, he doesn't need anything and he'd be happy if you handed him a measuring cup but if you're looking for ideas, here you go. We're not big on toys that have a ton of "extra" stimulation like flashy lights and electronic music. Basically anything that doesn't require batteries is great. Musical instruments like this are wonderful.


There is a store in Round Rock called Baby Earth that I love. They have lots of Haba toys which are lovely. There's another good toy store near 183 & Mopac next to the Container Store... I don't remember the name of it though.

So he'll be almost 9 months old at Christmas and pulling up on things so a pushing toy would be great. I really like this one and it has great reviews.


Or one of these would work too.

I think something like this would be hysterical:

And we could use one of these although this looks good too.

He could use some bath toys too.

And I'm just going to post a few links to some things that would be good.
water blocks
chunky toy
stacking blocks
zoo blocks
bath toys

Personally, I would just like a full nights sleep. Just one night, that is all.

EDITED TO ADD A FEW THINGS:

I'm always looking for a hair brush for this kid and I really like this.

And we always need this diaper cream.