Lazy Sunday

This morning, we headed to early church, and got to spend the rest of the day at home together.  Bech made us an amazing brunch.  We spent lots of time cuddling and playing with Jack and watched an episode of a new tv show that we both like (it's hard to find one we both agree on!), "The Finder." I took a nap and worked on homework.  And tonight, I made some more yummy hummus!

A productive and calm day!

While Bech made brunch, Jack and I had a mini photo shoot in his room.

He is so serious sometimes!

love love LOVE those little feet!

And then he gets goofy...just like his dad.  Serious then goofy!

Sweet baby

And since I haven't put food pictures up lately, I thought I would today!  Bech made bacon (oven cooked, which is SO good!), eggs, and French toast (with blackberries and hand whipped cream).  I am a lucky girl!

7 Months!

Jack is 7 months old!  Doesn't that seem so old?!?

This past month is the start of Jack's first (and last) Vermont winter...it has been COLD!  But Jack has mostly been snuggled up warm indoors.

Except for getting sick, this has been a really calm month for Jack.  Mostly we have just cuddled and played.  

Jack is still sleeping from about 7:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.  We had a few nights when he was sick that were awful, but he's back on track.  Thank goodness...I need my sleep!

Jack got his first ear infection this month, but he has already been acting much more like his normal self.

Jack is doing great eating solids.  He eats green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, pears, bananas, and rice cereal.  I thought he just liked food in general, but he absolutely hates peaches!  I personally think its the texture.  Whatever the reason, he never wants to eat them.

Jack started waving toward the end of this month, which is pretty darn cute.  He doesn't seem to be that close to crawling.  Sometimes at night, he'll pull his knees up under him in a crawling position, but that's about it.

Jack also started dancing this month.  He loves to listen to music and he'll move his little body and head back and forth to the music.  

(how sweet are his cheeks?)

One thing that's fun: Jack has started making "boy noises," vrooming and whatnot.  I love all of his little noises!

Jack weighs about 20 lbs (he lost some weight being sick), and is 27 3/4 inches tall.  He is in between sizes right now--he still wears some 6 to 9 month clothes (and even some smocked 6 month outfits), but is starting to wear his 12 month clothes.  He still doesn't have much hair, but the little he has looks like it's going to be blonde (I thought he might be a redhead for a while there).  And those eyes are blue blue blue!

Likes:  cuddling, eating, bath time, chewing on any and everything, dancing, music

Dislikes: getting his diaper changed, peaches

(For comparison)

Happy 7 months, sweet baby Jack!

Sick Jack :(

So apparently I am awful at posting.  But it has been a rough past couple of days!

Last Wednesday night, Jack started to get a little cough.  By Friday morning, he had a fever.  We went to the doctor, and they said it was just a cold.  The fever lasted until Monday night/Tuesday morning.  Sunday night, he slept maybe half of the night.  So we took him in again Monday.  And he has his first ear infection.  It's so sad.  

But he's doing so much better already.  Today he was almost all the way back to his smiley, happy, sweet personality.  And I am so thankful that he has made it to 7 months old before getting sick.  And even then, all he has is an ear infection...what a blessing!

Jack turned 7 months old on Saturday, but I was not about to make a fussy baby take pictures.  So his monthly update will have to be late, again!

Midweek Randoms...

1.  It is COLD here.  Very, very cold.  Like the low tonight is 0 degrees.

2.  We had a good amount of snow last week.  Then it got warm yesterday, and a lot of snow melted.  Then it got cold again.  Can you do the math?  That means ICE.  Ugh.  I fell twice today (luckily, I was not holding Jack!), and now I have lovely bruises on my hands and knees.

Bech took these pictures of the snow.  It may feel miserable outside, but it really is pretty.

3.  School has started back up again!  Yay for my last semester of masters work!

4.  I already have homework :(

5.  We took more bath pics.  I know, I know.  But he's just so darn cute naked!  Bech took these, so they are more "arty."

Love him.

I would like to interrupt to say that there were so many more that I didn't upload.  Does that make this any better?

Alright, bath pictures are done now.

6.  I am one chapter away from finishing my French book.  My goal was to finish it before school started and I got pretty darn close!   I am reading Le Petite Prince right now and am enjoying it.  I will take my test on French in two weeks.

7.  Friday night we are celebrating Chinese New Year at AFH...I am super excited!  We are doing a joint event with the Chinese group, so it's going to be legit.

8.  Bech is at the pottery studio working late tonight, Jack is asleep, I have done all the homework that is due tomorrow (and some for Friday)--so I am going to curl up in bed and watch some Murder, She Wrote.

Goodnight!

Religion vs. Jesus

I am sure most of y'all have seen this video by now. It has been all over facebook. If you haven't, take a few minutes to check it out.

I think Jefferson (the guy from the video) has a lot of great things to say.  And I think that if I were to sit down and talk about this video with him, we would agree on most everything.

But I worry a lot with this video becoming so popular.  Because, the reality is that Jesus doesn't hate religion and didn't come to abolish it.  Matthew 5:17 says, " Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."  And I think Jefferson is using the word "religion" to mean self-righteousness and hypocrites.  But that's not religion means.

I worry that this video is going to be a catalyst against the Church, which some viewers might find synonymous with religion.  And, as Christians, we are supposed to be actively a part of the Church.  Derek Webb said, "If you divorce local community from the Gospel, then it ceases to be the Gospel.  There is no other context for your faith as a Christian than to be in community with other people."  As Christians we are called to love and invest in the Church!

Also, while faith is not based on works, faith produces works.  This is such a fine line, one that churches, denominations, theologians, and, well, every Christian out there struggles with all of the time!  We don't need to stress works too much, but, at the same time, the Bible is clear that faith without works is dead.  I don't think Jefferson believes that you can be a Christian and not produce works, but I think viewers might take it that way.

I would encourage you all to read this article.  Kevin DeYoung addresses this video stanza by stanza, and I love what he has to say about it.

Have y'all seen the video?  Any thoughts?

*Edit:  Check out this follow up to Kevin's article!*

Bath Time

Jack absolutely loves baths!  His KK (my sister Katy)got him this cute duck, and he loves to play with it in the bath.  He's not as crazy with getting out of the warm bath into the cold air, but neither am I!

So fun to chew on!

(as a side note, isn't the color of the tub just gorgeous?  ugh...that's what you get in graduate housing!)

I love this look...slightly crazed and very serious.

Not Jack's finest hour, but I love how the water looks captured on film (well it's digital, so figuratively speaking, that is...)

So cute!

We went to the pediatricians office Tuesday afternoon for a check up (and shots!).  Jack now weighs 20 lbs and is 27 3/4 inches--79th%.  He's now not the fattest baby out there!  I think it's because he only eats 4 times a day and he's moving around more.  But he still has tons of fat and rolls!

Midweek Confessions

Today I'm liking up with "E, Myself, and I" for Midweek Confessions.

So here are my confessions for the week:

* On Sunday, Jack spit up on me.  Some got in my hair.  Instead of washing it out, I let it dry, then proceeded to straighten it.  Because straightened spit up hair isn't gross or anything, right?

* I just reread "Catching Fire."  Even though I have tons of other stuff to do and tons of other books to read, I chose to reread "Catching Fire."  I am going to blame this on how good the book is.  And I would have reread the first and third books in the series, but they are checked out of the library right now.

*  I just ate chips for lunch.  Gross, right?  But I'm at work and I didn't have any thing to bring for lunch.  So chips it is!

That's all for this week!

 

12 in 12

I saw this idea on some other blogs, and thought I would do my own!  I am not big on New Year's resolutions--you always feel bad when you break them.  But I do like the idea of setting goals for the year.  So here are my 12 goals for 2012:

1.  Learn French

I have a reading comprehensive test in French that I have to take this semester.  I actually started this goal right when we got back from Mississippi, so I'm getting close!  I hope to take the test maybe in 2 or so weeks.

2.  Pass my comprehensive tests

 Definitely nervous about this one.  I have three comprehensive tests (sight translation, philology, and history) that I have to pass in order to graduate.

3.  Have consistent quiet times

Why is this one always so hard?  I am considering going through another Beth Moore Bible study as well.  Any suggestions?  I have done "Breaking Free" and "Daniel."

4.  Learn how to use my camera!

We have a really nice DSLR, and Bech got a new shallow depth (who knows if I even said that right!) lens for Christmas.  I want to learn how to use it correctly.  I would love to be able to take good photos of Baby Jack.

5.  Lose 20 to 25 pounds.

I am already a little less than I was when I first got pregnant (yay for breastfeeding!), so I want to use that extra metabolic kick to lose even more.

6.  Plan a first birthday party for Jack Attack

 I'm pretty excited about this one.  I was thinking a "Very Hungry Catepillar" themed party, but I'm not sure.

7. Move

Okay, so this one isn't just a resolution.  It's something that has to happen.  But it's still a big deal, so I'm putting it on my checklist of things to get done this year.

8.  Clean our apartment/Get rid of tons of stuff!

I am trying to simplify our lives.  Bech and I just have so much stuff!  We already got rid of tons of books last fall, but now we are moving on to clothes and house items.  If we aren't using it, we don't need it (with the exception of some wedding gifts, like silver trays, that I know we will use someday).  We already have cleared out a ton of clothes, and I want to continue doing so for the rest of the year.  It will make moving so much easier!

9.  Memorize scripture

I should be doing this a lot more!  I memorize things pretty easily, and I used to be pretty good about memorizing scripture.  But not lately.  I would love to blame it all on school, but honestly, I can quote parts of the Office.  What a waste of brain space!  I love to memorize chunks instead of random verses, so maybe I will work on a small New Testament book.

10.  Spend more time with Bech
We have not done anything just us since before Jack was born.  We have several families who have offered to watch Jack, so I think we are going to take them up on it soon!  We need a date night!  If we are close to home next year, then we can also use our parents for free babysitting.  Perhaps our 5th wedding anniversary can be celebrated in New Orleans?

11.  Keep up on academics while out of school/Present a paper at a conference

If I want to get a PhD (which I do), I have to keep my languages up to date while Bech's in school.  I need to be regularly reading Greek and Latin, keeping up with Classics Journals, and maybe start working on another language (I really want to read Hebrew, so that's probably where I'll start).

I am already going to be presenting one paper at a conference this spring.  I am hoping to be at another one, but haven't heard yet.  But I want to turn in abstracts for more this fall.

12.  Sit by the pool/beach and RELAX!

Is that a weird goal?  Probably.  I just feel like Bech and I have been so busy this past year.  Actually, I know we have been.  Bech is working two part time jobs, plus teaching in the pottery co-op and making his own work.  I am doing grad school and working three part time jobs.  Plus we have Jack.  So this summer, I want to just veg for a week or two!

My stinker bug...

Jack has a multitude of nicknames, stinker bug just being one of the many.  He gets called:  Jack Attack, Jack Jack, Baby Jack (my favorite!), Jackie Wackie (Bech's favorite), Bud, Buddy, Little Man, and Stinker Bug.  He rarely gets called just Jack!

Here are a few pictures I took today of Jack playing...

He gets so serious about his toys!

Feeling his little teeth!

If you click on the picture, you can actually see his teeth.

Love his little hugs!

Check out all the snow in the background.  It's not a lot for Vermont this time of year, but it's a lot compared to the South.

I think at this point he got a little annoyed at the camera...

Yup.

I am so thankful everyday for my sweet boy!