Our sweet little love is officially two months old now. I don't remember what life was like before he came into our world. I'm sure it was much less chaotic but I wouldn't trade this life for anything. In his short two months of life, he has already been on 10 different plane rides...to Denver and back and then to Montana and back. I wish he could start building frequent flyer miles but apparently lap babies don't warrant such a privilege. He was an absolute angel on all flights except for one. Soon enough, he will be wanting to get out of our laps, down onto the dirty plane floor, but for now, I will welcome his constant snuggles while traveling.
Montana was such a whirlwind. We were there for 2 whole weeks and saw SO many people that we love and miss. We kicked off our trip with Gannett wedding festivities and ended the trip with Waller wedding festivities. At 6 weeks old, we left Jack for the very first time for a night on the town. His first official babysitter was my mom when she was here and let me run errands by myself but we left him with Matt's parents as we went to the bachelor/ette parties for an entire night. This was both sad and fun! I handled it far better than I thought I was going to and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my girlfriends baby (and husband) free! Thanks Steve & Julie for taking care of sweet boy! After this initial night of leaving him with the grandparents, we left him several times with both sets of parents to tend to all of our wedding duties. My mom was such an amazing help when we were there...it was so nice to be able to share the parenting duty with her for a few weeks since we don't have that luxury here in SC. Jack loved spending time with all his grandparents as well as his great grandparents...so fun to think he has 4 great grandmas and 1 great grandpa!
I think we sat down on the couch to rest for about 2.5 seconds the entire time we were there so coming home to Charleston is always a welcomed relief as well. I love my friends and family but there is just always so much we want to do when we are in MT and it is impossible to fit it all in no matter how long we are there. It was so great seeing all of you though!
Here are some highlights below (impossible to post all the pics!)...
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| Baby angel slept the entire way to Montana on the plane |
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| We flew from Denver to Billings with the Gannetts! You can see how travel changes with children :) |
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| Meeting Auntie Jen at the airport! |
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| Me and my Bass before the wedding. |
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| Baby J meets Auntie V and Uncle Jeff |
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| Jack's future mother-in-law & Baby Girl Ridgeway |
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| The Bennetts came to visit! Don't worry, Jack and Lillian (5 months) weigh the same! |
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| Uncle Joe! |
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| Now Sisters! |
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| Auntie Brenna |
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| Uncle Mark! |
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| Grandma Dede |
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| Great Grandma with all her great grandchildren! |
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| Tucker and Kristin during wedding decorating! |
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| Sweet Addi & J. |
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| Auntie Nicole! |
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| My sweet boy is 2 months old! |
As you can see, Jack met LOTS of aunties and uncles! There were many more that he met but I either don't have photos or have already posted them to facebook so I'll spare you of all the rest :) He is a loved baby!
And of course a letter to my sweet boy...
Dear Baby J,
We continue to fall more in love with you every single day. Your constant smiles and giggles bring daddy and I such joy. At 2 months of age, you are already so curious and observant. You watch our every move, studying what we do with such intent. Some of your favorite daily activities include swinging in your swing staring at the birds that hang above. You LOVE these birds, you are always smiling and laughing at them. It's hysterical. Other favorite activities include playing on your play gym, reading books, and chewing on your hands. The biggest change within the last month has been your ability to express your joy. You laugh and giggle all the time. You continue to also laugh in your sleep as well. Grandma Julie says she thinks you just have a happy heart. I agree with her which makes my heart happy! You are growing like CRAZY. You now weigh almost 15 pounds which is two times your birth weight...such a healthy boy. This also gives mommy a pretty great arm workout. So thanks for that! You are noticing your Raleigh Belle more and more. She rarely leaves your side and in true big-sister fashion, she is clearly annoyed by you when you cry. She just stares at you and walks away if you have been crying for a while. She used to be very concerned by your cries but now she just looks and you like "please be quiet". Your sleeping habits are getting much better. You struggled in Montana to find your "routine" but at home, you continue to sleep very well. You usually only wake up once a night around 3:00am. We are working on getting rid of this feeding time though...I know you can do it! I've decided that you will be one of those kiddos who loves to join their families for mealtime because it never fails that you ALWAYS wake up from your evening nap right when we sit down to eat dinner. That's ok though, we like it when our entire family is eating together (Raleigh included as she begs for scraps under the table...how charming :)).
Daddy and I are so proud of you! Keep growing strong and learning new things everyday...we love you and are so grateful to be living this life with you.
