Leaving on a jet plane...

Jack and I are heading out in just a few hours.  Whoa, am I nervous!  I don't particularly like flying; I feel like it's a necessary evil.  And flying by myself with an almost 9 month old?  Hm, not on my list of favorite things. 

But I know it will be fine.  Jack is such a sweetheart and will (hopefully!) be wonderful on the flights.  If y'all think of it, please say a prayer tomorrow for me.  I have a day long interview (which includes teaching two Latin classes!).

Here are a few pictures I took yesterday.  Bech is the master at getting Jack to laugh!

I just love him!

Jack's latest trick is blowing raspberries...he is quite proud of himself!

The many faces of Baby Jack!

Whenever I wake Jack up from a nap, he needs about 5 or 10 minutes to stretch until he's ready to eat. And he makes the cutest faces while stretching! It might be Bech's favorite thing Jack does, and it's definitely up there on my list, too.

Today, the camera was right beside me, so I decided to attempt to catch some of his fun faces.

I love when he lifts his head off of his body, because you can see his sweet little face. He has Bech's chin. Usually, it's hidden by his massive double chin!

He looks like an old man in this picture!

I love my little smiler!

We went to the doctor today for a 4 week check up, and Jack now weighs 11 lbs (well 10 lbs, 15 oz). What a chunk! He has also grown an inch since he was born. We are able to get his shots the week before we leave for Mississippi, which is wonderful.

Plus he peed on Bech at the visit. Which is actually good, because last time he peed on the doctor. I would much rather it be on us than on our pediatrician!

Jack is such a good night sleeper. Last night, he slept for 5 hours, woke up to eat, then slept for 3 more hours. He is amazing. Seriously, he is a really easy baby. He has never cried inconsolably...every time he cries, it's because he's hungry or tired or naked (he hates his diaper being changed for some reason, although he loves baths--go figure). I doubt the rest of our kids are going to be this easy. We are going to be in for a rude awakening! But that is no time soon, so I will just enjoy my easy baby for now!

Also, I wanted to give an update on Baby James. He passed away this weekend. The funeral will be this Wednesday. Please continue to pray for this family. This is only the beginning for them--I am sure that they will be grieving for weeks, months, and years to come.

Um, I am kind of in love with this little guy...

Doesn't he look like he's going to be a redhead/strawberry blonde baby?

I am so thankful that I agreed with Bech that we should get a DSLR. Bech has taken the coolest pictures. Although we haven't taken any in the past few days. We did have a newborn photo shoot on Thursday night. I am excited to see the pictures. Of course, Jack was wide awake through the whole shoot, so we didn't get any of those cute naked sleeping ones.

We switched to clothe diapers this week. So far, so good. He is a chunk, so the diapers fit (we are using one size bumgenius and fuzzibunz). I actually like the bumgenius just a little better, but mostly cause they are easier to snap. The fuzzibunz have a tighter fit. His little booty looks so cute in the diapers, plus we've only had two semi leaks (which is a LOT better than the newborn disposables).

We also have started using the crib this week. The past few days, we have been using it for naps, and that has worked really well. Last night, we moved him into the crib for the nighttime, too. I was really nervous, even though his room is seriously like 6 feet from ours. And we kept both doors open. But it seemed to work really well. I slept a lot better (his little noises were keeping me up all night...I'm a really light sleeper), and he seemed to sleep really well (4 hour stretch, then two 2 1/2 hour stretches).

Plus, I feel like we are finally getting into the babywise routine. We haven't even had to let him cry it out much. He seems to associate his crib with sleep really well, and falls asleep quickly! Which is good, because the few "cry it out" times we have had have been tough! I hate to hear him cry! We still have trouble during that last stretch of time from about 5:30 pm onward. He fights sleep so hard and gets fussy. But as long as he's sleeping at night, I am a happy camper!

On a totally different note, we are going home in 3 weeks from today! Oh my lanta...I am so excited! I cannot wait to be back in Mississippi! First things first (besides seeing and hugging all of our family!), I want a snow cone. We arrive on a Saturday, though, and my favorite snow cone place is closed (it's owned by 7th day adventists), so I will have to settle for a snow cone from another place in Brookhaven. I also plan on taking Jack for his first meal at Little Tokyo. Plus I want to lay out some...I am pale!

Again, on a different (and serious) note, please continue to pray for Baby James and his parents. The blog is linked in my post below. I would encourage you to read it, if you can handle it. James' dad writes most of the posts, and he is an incredible writer. I have a lot of time nowadays (during night feedings) to pray, so I have been spending a lot of time praying for James and his family. Please do the same! There are few things we can do as Christians (if you are a Christian) that are more meaningful than prayer!

Baby James

Hey y'all...

Some of you may have already heard about James, but please go to his blog and read his story!

James' mom is a friend of my sisters from Kamp and Baylor, and James is an 8 and a half month old who has a brain tumor. The doctors removed 95% of it two weeks ago, and the family was going to be able to start chemo this week. But yesterday, they found out that the tumor has come back in full force.

Please pray for them. Pray that God will perform a miracle and heal James completely. Pray that if He doesn't, that He would give James' parents peace on which route to go (you can read about their two options on the blog). Pray that God would give James relief of pain.

My heart is just broken for this sweet baby boy. Please pray.