Look who's 1 already!

His first piece of birthday cake ever, and he holds it like a pro!

A very neat eater for a 1 year old.....

Still pretty tidy....

Getting a little messier....

And messier.....

What a mess!

Slipping into a sugar coma already?

Ah... chocolate birthday cake happiness.....

We had a great time! Lots of cake, lots of presents and lots of people to pass Jack around.

what I did on my summer vacation

Learned to drink from a sippy cup......

Went to a lavender farm....

















Got squirted by a hose.....

















Played with my cousins.....

















Went to my first baseball game-- Go Yankees!!!

Sad news and some firsts

The sad news-- Jack's Grandma Doris died a few weeks ago. She had a very happy time here in Oregon, and Jack loved to crawl into her room. The last thing she did was wave to him! We'll all miss her--there aren't enough words to express how much.

But we've had more firsts! Jack is getting 3 teeth on the top in addition to the 3 teeth on the bottom he already has. So far the 2 pointy eye teeth are the most visible. If they come out just a little more, he's going to make a great vampire for Halloween!

And another first--the zoo! We've been twice now, and we liked it so much we bought a membership. Jack loves anything in the water--fish, turtles, the sea lion. And he is terrified of birds and bats! It doesn't matter if they are flying freely past us (we walked through the lorikeet cage) or behind glass (the little parakeets and bats). The poor little guy would shake and reach for us out of his stroller. On the other hand, show him a sea lion swimming by, and he laughs and laughs! What will he think of penguins--birds that swim? We'll have to see what he thinks next time. Oh, and what did he like looking at the most? Pretty little toddler girls!

Another first- his first Yankee game! We drove to Seattle friday after work, and Jack was really good on the 3 hour trip. I stayed in the back seat with him, to hand him toys, but he mostly entertained himself. We went to the game Saturday night and Jack had a great time! He sat on our laps for the first hour, and then we walked around in his stroller. He was happy the whole time! After the game on Sunday, as a matter of fact, he waved at everyone as we walked out. Sadly the Yankees only won one game out of the 3 games they played agaist the Mariners, but out of respect for his Dad's feelings, we won't dwell on that......

And Jack had a check up today--he weighs 27 pounds, and he's 30.5 inches, and 11 months old. Officially more than half my height! And the doctor said if his eyes haven't turned brown by now, they're not going to. So Jack is a blue eyed boy, just like his Dad. (His birthmom's eyes were hazel, so I was sure his eyes would be some shade of brown--like mine!)

Now to search for some pictures to post.....

Jack's room!

I can't believe I never posted these!

Jack in hats

Noisy Baby!

Pictures--he's almost 10 months old!

So much news!

Ok, it's August and I should've updated sooner. But we've had a new turn of events--Sean's Mom Doris, moved here from New York! She moved in with my Mom and she's really happy to get a chance to see Jack everyday. Jack is thrilled to have both grandma's in one place!

But here's the Jack update--he's crawling! He just started this week! And not only that, but he can pull himself up really easily AND he didn't realize it, but he stood by himself for about 20 seconds today. He had pulled himself up on the coffee table, and then just let go. Grandma Claudia was right behind him, so we just let him stand there. I bet he'll be walking in no time!

In addition to that, he has 3 bottom teeth! He's chewing on his fingers a lot, so I think we'll see more pretty soon. And he waves hello and goodbye--when he wants to!-- and he's learned to shake his head no. Luckily it's just in response to food so far. But he's going to be an opinionated little boy! And not just because he can shake his head, but now he's growling too!

Oh, and new favorite foods (the only real people food he will eat, actually):

1-Watermelon

2-Fig Newtons

Food that he seems to like, but makes him throw up after:

Bananas

Food that gives him hives:

Strawberries (what were we thinking?!?)

Food that he prefers to feed to the dogs, because apparently it's funny:

Anything he can hold in his sticky little fingers.

Now, if I can just figure out where Mom keeps her pictures on this laptop, I'll post some pictures!

How Exciting!

Ok, this will be a short post, no pictures or anything, but I felt a tooth today! One little bottom tooth is peeking through! The only sign from the Perfect Baby was some drooling. He's not cranky at all. As a matter of fact, he was sitting in his highchair while I was getting his dinner a little while ago, and laughing and laughing at me. I wasn't doing anything particularly funny, just grabbing a spoon and mixing a bottle. Things he's seen a hundred times before. He's a giggley baby.

Oh and speaking of dinner, he's getting a little better at chunky food. Now instead of gagging, he says "ahh."And he loooves strawberry yogurt.

And another exciting thing-- he can crawl backwards! Well, not exactly crawling, he's sort of inching, like an inchworm. But he's moving! So I guess we need to get on the babyproofing...

Happy 8 month birthday Jack!

Jack is 8 months old today! I can't beleive how fast this happened. It seems like yesterday we were driving him home from the hospital, going about 20 mph on the highway. He's sitting right next to me at the moment, in his jumpy seat, jumping away. He does his fake cough every once in a while to make me look at him, and then when I do, he tilts his head to the side and pretends to be shy. I should get some video of this, becasue it's the cutest thing ever!

He just went to the doctor last week for shots and a check up, and everything is just fine! He of course, continues to grow like a weed-- 24 pounds, 29 inches!. One more inch and he will be half as tall as me! His height and weight are at 95% and his head size it off the charts! All other babies look oddly tiny-headed to me now.

Let's see--what other odds and ends? He likes eating zweiback toast, but he likes feeding it to Seamus more. He really like orange wedges. He's not crazy about apple juice. He's in a full size crib! But he still won't roll over.

Ok, he's dropped the charming act, and he's growling at me now. That can only mean one thing--time for dinner!

We like to dress Jack up

He looks good in a top hat.....










And very smart in glasses......

No props, but the dreamiest picture yet!.....

Bath video

Jack in the bath at 7 months old! Look at that belly!!!

baptism suit

These are from a few days after his baptism. (He was baptised February 23rd in Glen Head, New York.)We wanted to get some good shots of his snazzy suit!
That's Fergus our littlest dog!

Back again!

Ok, I'm long over due for an update. But we just right now, this minute got a broadband connection at our house! I had been trying to post and download pictures with dial up, and as everyone knows--and now I do too-- that is impossible on dial up. Unless you have a million years to wait.

So--update on Jack:

Jack is 7 months old! And he weighs almost 22 pounds. 21 pounds, 5 ounces at his last doctors visit. So time for a new car seat. Most babies don't hit that weight until they are a year old. So we got a 'convertible' carseat --not as fun as it sounds, it just means it can be rear-facing for front-facing--- that will work til he is 35 pounds. Hopefully that milestone is a few months off.

Becasue we have a giant , growing-like-a-weed baby, he's wearing 12 to 18 months sized clothes now. Just in case anyone was curious.

His eyes are still blue, and green beans are still his favorite. I did try mashed up canned pears yesterday to see if he was ready for chunkier food yet. He is not. Do you know how I know? He gagged and choked and threw up all over his high chair. So I won't be trying that again any time soon....

Hmmm.. what else? Oh, he still refuses to turn over.

!!!!Pictures coming soon!!!!!

Excuses, excuses

Is it really April 1st already? And I haven't posted since Jack was 4 months old? He'll be 6 months old next week!

So here are my excuses: our computer is still dead, so we have no pictures. We sold our little house, bought a new one, went to New York, and had to be out of our old house 2 days after we got back! Then we moved in with Mom for 3 weeks until we could move into our new house. Doesn't that sounds like alot for the last month and a half? Aren't you wondering how I handle the stress so well?

Well handling the stress is easy since I have an easy, happy baby, a nice husband, and a palatial new house! But if you're reading this, you're really probably looking for news about Jack. so until I can get something together to post (Grandma has baptism and Easter pictures I can post if she will only email them to me!) here is a little update:

Jacks favorite foods: green beans and sweet potatoes. Oh and pears. He laughs when he eats food he really likes. And he learned how to spit the green bean in a fine spray all over. Funny! (I know, we shouldn't have laughed.)

He loves to jump. He has a little horse in a frame attached with springs, and when he learned how to jump in it, he laughed and laughed. Pretty much all afternoon!

His offical weight at his last doctors appointment was 19 pounds, 10 ounces. He's 27 inches long.

Jack is sitting up pretty well! He's wobbley from side to side, but if he leans forward, he's pretty steady.

Alright, I hear the little man starting to whine for a bottle. Next time actual pictures!

He rolled over from front to back while we were in New York, but he refuses to do it again.

Changes!

Alright Sean still hasn't downloaded any video for me to post! And I have no pictures either. But I have a good reason-- our main computer died, and all our pictures are on it. Hopefully we can recover them. You can do it Uncle Johnnie! (My brother, our family Tech Support.)



So here is the biggest change--we sold our house! We have found a new one, nearer to Grandma Claudia, who is the family Day Care Provider. While our house was for sale, and until we move into the new one, we have been staying with Mom during the week so she can watch Jack. We go home on the weekends. This leaves little time for blogging, cleaning the house, cooking a decent dinner, or relaxing of any kind. Mom has been great (except she never has any real milk in the house) but we are tired of being nomads.



The new house is TWICE as big as our current house. Assuming we get this one. Our offer has been accepted, but the home inspection is tomorrow, and as anyone who has ever bought or sold a house knows, it can all fall apart at this point. But Mom always says, "Everything happens for a reason. " So if it does fall apart, I'm sure there is something even better out there! Thank goodness for a buyers market.



But what about Jack you ask? He's doing great as usual! His unoffical weight is 20 pounds. TWENTY POUNDS!!!!! According to Mom's scale anyway. Two more pounds and he'l have grown out of his infant car seat. Which is supposd to be good for a year. A year, and he is FOUR MONTHS OLD!!!



He's still very smiley, and now he laughs a deep laugh in addition to the giggling. We're buying him 9 month clothes now, and I'm afraid they won't be fitting much longer. He loves prunes and rice cereal, and he's getting pretty good at guiding the spoon to his mouth. Oh, and and he's finally in a real crib. The basinette was ridiculously small for him. Now he sleeps with his arms straight out from his sides--he loves the extra space!

We're heading out Saturday to New York--Jack's first trip on a plane! He's going to meet Grandma Doris for the first time. And we're having his baptism out there on the 23rd.

So more pictures then. Wait til you see his christening outfit!!!!

3 Month mile stones

Well Jack just passed his 3 month birthday and he changes everyday! Mostly he is getting bigger--he's already growing out of his 6 month sized clothes! At last count he was 17.5 pounds, and 27 inches. ( As a side note, I am only 60 inches tall, so 3 more inches and he will be half as tall as me!) And he's gone from newborn to size 3 diapers. And all of this is due to his hearty eating-- 8 to 14 ounces at a time! I swear we aren't forcing it down him. But another nice perk from all the eating--aside for the astonishing growth--is that he sleeps through the night! The nicest phrase I have ever heard! And not only does he sleep through the night, but sometimes for 12 hours straight. So it's not unusual to put him to bed at 8 pm, and have him wake up at 8:30 the next morning. Who ever thought I would considered sleeping in until 8:30 a treat?!? But it's heaven!

In addition to growing, eating and sleeping, he's now smiling all the time, and laughing too. He thinks watching the dogs play fetch is very funny. He giggles when you wash his face. He's delighted when we just say hello! What an easy to please baby.

Coming soon... video of Jack eating rice cereal!

More December pictures

Happy Jack Contemplative Jack

With Grandma Claudia on Christmas His bib says "Are these REALLY my relatives?"

With Dad in his Christmas jammies

Happy in his bouncy seat! He's looking at a little forg that moves up and down. Sometimes he gets very mad at the frog and starts to babble angrily, and then cry. We can't imagine what they would be arguing about.

Finalization pictures

It's final!

With our lawyer, Robin

With another family, who had their finalization right before us.

What a busy December

I finally have time to do a December update! The big news is, the adoption finalized on December 20th! We're done! And Jack is now legally John Aidan O'Brien!

On December 20th at 8:30 am, we went to the Multnomah County courthouse for the finalization ceremony. We were all gussied up--except I couldn't find the special outfit I had bought for Jack! It was grey flannel pinstriped knickers. Who could resist? But they were no where to be found, so he wore brown corduroy pants and a Christmas sweater. Probably for the best.

So when 8:30 rolled around, we stepped in the judge's courtroom and she said that this was the happiest part of her job. She spends most of her time splitting fmailies apart, but making new families was what made her job worthwhile. And she asked that we send picutres when Jack graduated college or highschool. "Or when he is drafted by the Yankees?" Sean said. The judge said in that case she expected tickets to a game.

So then we just walked up to the judges chair, signed a papar and we were done! It's all legal!

Five days later was christmas! Jack made out like a bandit of course--although he really slept through most of it. I wonder if next year he'll understand the concept of presents?

Jack continues to grow like a weed! He's grown out of most of his 3-6 month clothes, and is moving into 6-9 month. And yes he's only 3 months old! Oh yes, and now that he is at the magic 3 month mark, he sleeps through the night! I have to go check and make sure he's still breathing if I wake up in the morning before he does. He always is--whew!

Time to post some pictures!