"Oh the Places You'll Go!"

Jack is ONE!! Time really does go by so fast but I have loved every minute of it and I don't have any regrets! It has been such a fun year. I have learned so much about myself and being a mom. It has definitely made me a better person.
    But enough about me, this is about our little Jack Stetson Carbonneau! I get to take this time to brag about him because he's my baby and this is my blog :) He has been the most perfect little baby since day 1...literally. My pregnancy was very enjoyable, labor/delivery was more than I could have asked for, breastfeeding was great, he's a great little sleeper, definitely not a cry-er, etc. I could seriously go on and on about how great of a baby he is. Now I know I don't have anyone to compare him to but when other people who watch him are always commenting on his good nature and even random strangers, then I KNOW he's a good baby :)
          I titled this post "Oh the Places You'll Go" because I absolutely love Dr. Seuss and I LOVE that book. If you haven't read it, read it. It's such a cute book and Dr. Seuss does a pretty good job summing up life :o) It's fun to think of Jack's life and all the places he really will go and how open and bright his future is.
        Anyway, here are a few fun facts about our little guy!

• Weighed a whopping 5lbs 9 oz at birth and up until his 9 month check-up, he was in the 3rd percentile for his weight...I'll find out where he is next week! 
• He LOVES balloons. Now, every time we see one he tries reaching up for it and just stares up at it until it's out of sight. Those things can keep him entertained for a while...
• He is the best little sleeper. He gives me a solid 12-13 hours every night. He goes down around 6:45 p.m and wakes up around 7:15-7:30.
• He is so adaptable to wherever we are. I never worry about taking him to a restaurant, grocery shopping, doctor's office, friend's house, etc. because he loves to be out and about! If I ever have to wake him up from his naps, he always greets me with a smile, never a cry.
• He LOVES food. That is definitely an understatement. The kid can't get enough food. He flaps his arms and kicks his legs whenever he sees food. No, I do not starve the child :) He will eat anything I put in front of him. It has made my life so. easy. I hope he continues his love for food and isn't a picky eater but we'll see!
• He isn't walking yet but crawls very fast. He crawls on one knee and keeps the other leg bent (pushing off with his foot instead of his knee). 
• He loves dogs. A little too much sometimes. We're still working on "soft" :o)
• He is definitely a momma's boy right now, naturally, since I'm home a lot more than Steven. However, he has no trouble going to other people and loves smiling at strangers!
• He has the bluest eyes but his right eye has a little bit of brown in it. It's been there since he was born. It just makes him unique!
• He is very ticklish
• He is in that stage where he gets in to EVERYTHING but I actually don't mind it as much as I thought I would because it keeps him busy. He is not interested in toys at all which is fine with me since I refuse to buy them anyway! At least new toys that is. Everything we own minus 2 items have been bought used or are hand-me-downs (except for clothes...I like new clothes :)
• He loves to play the piano. Those little hands start reaching for it as soon as I pick him up on my lap. Now he can reach it when he's standing so he'll reach those little arms up and tink around starting at the high notes and working his way down.
• Whenever I'm combing the little hair he has, he sits and smiles at himself in the mirror the entire time.  A little vain? ;o)
• He also loves to brush his teeth. It keeps him distracted when I'm lotion-ing and putting his jammies on at night or when I'm changing his diaper in the mornings

Overall, Jack is just a happy baby. There are no other words to describe him. Sure, he has his moments but they are few and far between. We sure do love him! I am definitely my mother's daughter with all the crazy songs and rhymes and stuff I do with him but we have fun. I'm so happy he's part of our family and I look forward to all the years to come. I will cherish each one!

A Quick Update

I figured I should do a quick blog update although not much is new! Life is good!
--Steven is in a not-so-fun chemistry class right now and that keeps him busy...well, pretty much all of the time! On Wednesdays he leaves for work at 5:30 a.m. and I don't seem him until 10:30 that night! I don't know how he does it!
--Wednesday nights are our "Beagley nights for me and Jack. We go over to their house and play and Jack gets spoiled rotten! It helps break up that long day we have.
--Jack and I hang out at home a lot, but we also like to venture out to the park and have picnics, go for walks, go to the gym (he LOVES the childcare center there and they love him!), read LOTS of books and play with the dogs. I thought being a stay-at-home mom would mean really long days but each day I'm amazed at how fast the day goes by!
 -- Steven and I celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary on January 26th! We had the Beagley's take Jack overnight--his first sleepover! He did great and it was a nice little "break".
--We've made a few trips to Benson lately so Jack can see his Fenn grandparents and his other cousins. It's always a nice little weekend getaway and a time to let the grandparents spoil the grandbaby!

Here are some pictures from the past couple months!

At one of our favorite restaurants, Lucille's, Jack grabbed the menu and knew just what he wanted...

 One of the many reasons we love Lucille's--drinking lemonade out of a mason jar!

 This picture cracks us up--I was telling Jack to wish Dad good luck on his test. This was the face he gave me. He wasn't too sure...

 Loving the nice weather outside!!

 I used to try and stop the dogs from licking Jack but it's a hopeless cause. He's always getting licked!

 My little cool dude. I'm trying to get him used to wearing a hat and sunglasses early!

 My brother's cake--a mix of his love for hunting and ASU (he knows what's right :o)

 Happy 26th b-day brother!!

 Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Fenn in Benson

 First time on the swing...

 A neat picture Steven got of a Vermillion Flycatcher. Apparently a lot of people come to Southeastern AZ to see this bird. You can always see them at my parents!

My little man finally has enough hair to comb...just barely!

Thoughts

People say they're emotional when they're pregnant but no one talks about how emotional they are AFTER they have the baby. I was not emotional at all during my pregnancy but now it seems like I cry at the stupidest things (i.e. watching a lady win a Disney cruise on Who Wants to be a Millionaire--really? Yes).
    Anyway, I had some thoughts as I was sitting here that I wanted to jot down really quick. The majority of people I talked to said you would feel an instantaneous love when your child was born so I was thinking Jack was going to be born and BAM. But...it wasn't that way so much with me. Sure, I knew I loved him but I didn't feel love so much as I did a protection for the little guy (little little guy). I didn't really know who he was or what it was like to have a baby.
     Now, it's so different. Now I know him and he knows me. I was watching the movie 17 Miracles yesterday and started crying when I saw a woman burying her infant. I knew I would never be strong enough to do something like that (hence I was born in 1987...) and hopefully I never will.
    I love having my little baby, my friend, my at-home buddy. His smiles are so contagious and I know every parent feels the same way about their child, I'm just excited that I get to experience it now with my own!

    I have been blessed with such a good baby. Heavenly Father was truly watching out for me when he placed Jack in our family. He knew after years of struggling with wanting kids, I would need a good first one :o)

The Power of Nothing

I just read an interesting article from my Lifetime Fitness magazine. First, I've never really thought about the name of the magazine. It's called "Experience Life." It hit me all of a sudden that I (we) need to experience life! There is so much it has to offer and I was thinking how much more enjoyable it is when I'm feeling healthy and my body is strong. I hear people say "I'm just fine eating McDonalds every day" or "I want to die happy eating my steak and potatoes" and to some extent, that's OKAY. We hear it all the time "everything in moderation" but at the same time, I don't think those people have really experienced life either. I don't know about you but I don't want my health or weight to ever hold me back. If I want to go hiking, I want to be able to. If I want to hop in a kayak and go kayak around a lake, I want to be able to. If my son says "Mom, let's go play at the park", I don't want to be too winded or tired to do it!

Anyway, there was an article in the magazine called "A Meditation on Nothing". The Editor in Chief wrote it and I thought it was really good. She talks about taking time to do NOTHING. Here are just a few things I liked from her article:

-"It's not until your brain stops its infernal spinning that you realize how accustomed you've grown to its constant hum and vibration. It's not until you agree to simply observe your thoughts passing across the screen of your mind that you realize how utterly ridiculous, grapsing and  repetitive some of those thoughts are."

--"...I realized how refreshing the simple experience of 'just being' could be." (referring to her meditation session)

--"At the same time, though, if there's one wish I have for you this fall, it's that for at least a few moments, you get a chance to experience the rare pleasure of doing nothing at all, and discover firsthand just how satisfying that can be."


I thought this really appropriate this time of year because it's unbelievable how busy October, November, and December get! It's like all of our weekends fill up like crazy and there's so many different things to do but I really want to stop occasionally to just do nothing and know that it's okay :o)

Jack's Dad

I do write in a journal regularly but I do like using my blog for journaling purposes as well. I wanted to take a minute to write about Jack's dad--Steven!

Steven has been the most amazing father to our little boy. Of course I don't know any different but I still think he's great. He said in the beginning we needed to have 2 kids because he wanted to hold him too! Needless to say, he gets his share of holding Jack now days.

Steven was always to paranoid holding other people's little babies because they were so little but once our own came along, there was no hesitation. He loves snuggling Jack and I can already tell they're going to be great buddies!

Steven is always willing to help me in the middle of the night. He can't feed him of course because I'm breastfeeding but he always changes his diaper when I ask him to. It saves me a trip into his room and just makes my load a little lighter.

Steven is doing his best to talk to Jack strictly in Spanish so that Jack can be bilingual. So far he's done excellent. I just hope it continues! We both know how important it is for our children to know Spanish living here in Arizona. I remind Steven how blessed Jack will be for knowing 2 languages.

 

Already showing his love by painting Jack's room!

Steven is just great all around. I couldn't ask for a better father for my child. I know Jack is loved by his dad and I feel loved as well. I can't wait for all the small things that Steven will be able to offer Jack: camp-outs, scouting adventures, playing sports, wrestling, teaching him to drive, father's blessings, baptizing him, etc.

Little Updates

I jump on here and really don't know what I want to write about. But, I write. Maybe it's stuff that doesn't make sense...but at least it's there and I am trying.

Sunday mornings are great. Meghan typically wakes up around 6:30 or earlier to feed Jack and then I take him into the front room, fix a mate, and and let Meghan sleep for as long as she needs. I just get to hold my little boy and relax. It's such an awesome experience. And it's true, there's really no way to describe the great feeling that it is to be a dad!

Jack has just been growing like crazy! He actually fits into 0-3 month clothes and he's at 8.5 weeks! He is definitely filling out and getting chunkier legs and arms. He's going to be a fat little baby in no time! He is becoming a lot more responsive to our movements. He will smile at us and move a lot more now. It's amazing just to sit and watch him. I like to compare it to camping and watching a fire. People can sit and stare at a fire for hours and hours (especially when there's peach cobbler and ice cream) and it's the same with a baby. I can sit there and just hold him and watch his facial expressions and it doesn't get boring.

We love parenthood!

Cindy Carroll took some pictures for us. I can't remember whether or not Meghan shared them, so I will.

Jack also took his first vacation to Holbrook, Arizona. Alli and Kyle live up there so we decided to leave the heat for a day and go visit them.

Sorry, Alli, I had to put this one up :o) 

 Alli & Macy watching Baby Jack!

Random Thoughts

Jack is already 4 1/2 weeks old--what?! It seems that he's been here for a lot longer but I guess with all the visitors and busy schedules, our concept of time is just off. Life as a stay-at-home mom has been...interesting. I called my mom the other day and said "what do stay at home moms do all day?? I'm going CRAZY!!" I know those feelings will change as I get into more of a routine and as Jack grows. I know pretty soon he'll be keeping me really busy but at least then we'll be able to somewhat interact with each other and play and do all that fun stuff.

I'm very tired these days but what new mom isn't? Jack WAS doing good with going about 5 hours at night between feedings but now he wants to eat every 3 hours, day or night. Maybe he's in a growth spurt? I know it will only get better with time. I'm trying to change my attitude about waking up at night to nurse. Sometimes I'm just SO tired and I can't keep my eyes open and I get frustrated but from now on I'm making it a goal to enjoy that time I have with Jack because it's a special time for he and I.

Having a baby is SO much different than I thought it would be. I always imagined my life changing and being completely different but it's still very much the same, just with a baby :o) We've just added him in to everything and life has gone in a good way :o)

I love just sitting and watching him look around. He's started keeping eye contact better and following moving objects. I know we're going to be best buds and I'm so excited to stay home with him. I know it'll give me opportunities to learn and grow.

Everything went so well with Jack's pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding that I told Steven I wouldn't mind having another one here soon! Of course it'll probably be polar opposite and will be the worst experience ever but at least it didn't happen with the first. I used to laugh at people who had kids back to back but why not? I'd like to just get all my kids here (however many there may be) and get things started! However, after having a seizure a couple weeks ago, we're both a little nervous for my body to be out of wack again so we'll see.
Below are some pics

 Comparing him to his cousin London (11 months old at the time)

 Looking so tiny next to daddy's hand

 After his first bath in Grammer's towel--it's tradition that my mom makes all the grandkids their first towel. I used mine that she made for me up until I was 12 or so.

 Meeting family--Uncle Jeremy

 Tummy time next to Freckles

 Meeting family--Uncle Travis

 Meeting family--Aunt Brooke and cousin Carson

 Meeting family--Aunt Mimi (Amy). My sister got to come stay with me for a whole week later in August and it was WONDERFUL. We had so much fun and I loved every minute of being with her.

 On Grandma Carbonneau's quilt she made for him!

Anywho, I'll have to do another post later to update even MORE stuff!