Jack is 9 months old!!!

Wow, the little man is getting SO big, SO fast!! He is 9 months old today! He is babbling like crazy - he even said "nuh nuh nuh" today when Drew took something away from him - I think he was trying to say "No"!!!!! Not the first time we'll hear that, I'm sure! He is not crawling yet, but has completely mastered the army crawl and the skill of rolling every which way to get to whatever he wants! Turn your back on him and he'll be across the room. Usually to get to one of Drew's toys. The tractors are his favorites!! He is a very happy baby and loves to giggle with his big brother. He gets so excited when Drew starts acting silly - you can tell he just can't wait to be in on the fun!! One of his new favorite games is dropping EVERYTHING on the floor a million times - just to hear the noise and see how many times he can get you to pick it up. Too funny! He is a little jumping bean, too - if you tell him to jump, he'll start bouncing up and down on your lap! He also goes crazy jumping in the johnny jump up and his exersaucer. Poor little guy STILL doesn't have any teeth - but he's chewing on everything so it probably won't be long. He has started trying some big people food recently - he loves Nilla wafers but isn't too fond of Cheerios or puffs yet. One of his newest skills is finding his own binky and putting it in his mouth. I've waited so long for him to be able to do that! :) Now if only the binky had a light on it so he could find it in the middle of the night.....! Happy 9 months, Jackers!!

This last picture is Drew at about 9 1/2 months in the exact same outfit as Jack - they look a lot alike except Jack's hair is so much lighter than Drew's was!

Cutting down the Christmas Tree!

It has been a tradition in our family since I was a baby to go to a Christmas tree farm and cut down a tree on Thanksgiving weekend. It has been really fun to carry on this tradition now with my boys and my brother and sister-in-law and soon to be niece or nephew! Mimi and Papa always come along to help us pick out the perfect tree. Drew really got into it this year - he couldn't wait to help cut it down!

Here are the boys riding in the sled down the hill to the trees!


Trees for as far as you can see! Which one will it be, Drew?


Sweet little Jack!

Not quite sure what all the fuss is about - it's just a tree, guys!

This is the one!!

Drew has his gloves on, all ready to cut it down!

This old man toothless look is Jack's new favorite face to make!

Helping Daddy cut down the tree!

TIM-BERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack and Mimi

The boys working hard!

Santa was at the Christmas tree farm! Drew told him he wants a four wheeler for Christmas. All Jack could do was stare at him! So Drew told Santa that Jack wants a tractor for babies, since he is always trying to get his big tractors. :)

Helping Mommy decorate the tree!

Drew really got into it this year! He stuck with it until every single ornament was on the tree! (Mommy only had to move a FEW of them......) He is so proud!

Can't quite reach to put the star on!

All done!

Fireman Drew

Last Friday, Drew, Jack and I took a little trip down to the firestation where Uncle Ryan works. Drew had a blast - he got to hook up the hoses, open all the compartments on the firetruck, sit in the driver's seat, and even climb up onto the top of the ladder truck! Ryan showed him how to roll up the hoses and how to turn them on! While we were there, the firemen got a call for a car fire on I-35. So we stood back and watched Ryan jump into the driver's seat, turn on the sirens, and take off to the fire! Drew was sooooo excited about that! He did NOT want to leave. So we waited around for a little while, and heard the dispatcher say they needed the pumper truck as well - so we got to see more firemen jump into their gear and another fire truck take off! I finally convinced Drew after that that Ryan probably wasn't coming back soon so we had to go! His favorite part, though, was when we left, and got onto I-35, we actually saw the car (fire was out by this time) and drove right past Ryan and his firetruck on the highway! That was the most excitement we'd had all week. Ever since, Drew has been telling everyone the story of the car fire, and has been pretending at home that he is working at the firestation and he gets a call to go to a car fire! Then he acts like he's Ryan and goes, "Uh, we ran out of water. Send the pumper truck up here right now." So hilarious!


Hooking up the hoses


Drew had to check everything out


On top of the truck!

The boys sitting on the front of Uncle Ryan's firetruck!

Trying to turn on the water!

Rolling up the hoses

Can't quite see over the wheel!

Here is Ryan taking off for the fire!

Swimming Lessons

Drew has started taking swimming lessons - he's had 2 lessons so far. He was a little hesitant at first, but is really liking it now! Except for when they have to swim on their back. We're still working on that. :) They use kickboards and kick back and forth across the pool, then stand on a step and practice "superman" arms - putting their arms out in front of them and sort of diving into the water. Here are a few pics - they don't turn out very good in the pool area for some reason. He is excited to go back again tonight!

What a beautiful day!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! The boys and I got outside and enjoyed the great weather. Jack is so content to just watch Drew play! You can tell though that he's ready to join in the fun, too! We played in the front for awhile, then went in the back and played on the swingset - it was Jack's first time up on the big swingset with Drew! He loved it! He even went down the slide a couple of times - it was a little fast for him, though. We went for a walk, too - Jack in the stroller and Drew on his bike. I am so thankful that I am working part time this year so I can have days like this to just hang out and play with my boys!

Jack is not so sure about this grass stuff....he looks like such a little man!

Trying to grab a leaf!

They love each other so much!

Drew let Jack play with his mower while he did the other yard work. :) Jack thought that was just great!!

Smiley boy!

Wheeeee!!!

Drew loves to swing, too.

"I'm going higher than the house!" he says!

Up on the swingset with Drew - thought he was pretty cool!

Just taking it all in!