4 Months

Jack is 4 months old and I know I say this all the time but I really can't believe how much he's growing and changing every day!  He brings so much joy to us and his little smile just makes my heart melt.

At 4 months old he is smiling, giggling a little, rolling over, grabbing toys (and my hair), making lots of noises, and interested in everything.  He loves to stand and is learning how to use his Johnny Jump Up, he plays in his exersaucer and loves anything that lights up.  The songs that always make him smile are The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Noble Duke of York, and Open Shut.

One of my favorite things is listening to him wake up in the morning.  He's been "talking" to the animals on his mobile for the last week or so and it's such a heart-warming noise to wake up to.  We are so very blessed.

Snow day!

What did we do on Jack's first snow day?  We walked to Starbucks of course!  I was so concerned about him being too cold that he was sweating from all the layers of clothes and blankets when we got home.  :-) 

Jack's BFF

Cameron Christian Gacayan was born on December 31, 2011.  7 pounds, 20 inches of perfectness! 

 I have known Laura for almost 15 years, she is my best friend, and I am thrilled that we are beginning this crazy new stage of our life - motherhood - together.

Jack slept through meeting Cameron in the hospital but they hung out and bonded a week later...definitely BFFs, definitely. 

What we find entertaining

I can't help but laugh every time we do this!

New Year's Eve

Four years ago on New Year's Eve we were in Paris and Paul got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  How life has changed in four short years.  So what are we doing to celebrate this year?  A crazy party?  Loud music and dancing?  Nope, we're taking pictures of our smiling boy.  Couldn't think of anything else I'd rather be doing than spending it with my family.

Our first family Christmas

It was very important to me that we establish our family Christmas traditions right away with Jack, which meant that we stayed at home ALL DAY!  No running around to different family members houses to see everyone in one day.  Don't get me wrong I love seeing family but I don't enjoy trying to see everyone in multiple houses within 12 hours...with a newborn.  Our door was open to anyone who wanted to come see us but we were going to stay home and you know what?  It was GREAT!  We had a relaxing morning, took a walk to the park, and opened stockings and gifts.  Then Paul's mom and sister came over and spent the rest of the day at our place.  My mom and Norm stopped by and we finished the evening by putting Jack to bed and had a nice glass of wine.  Perfect Christmas!

Christmas #3

Christmas eve afternoon/evening was the Ratliff family Christmas (my mom's side of the family).  All the aunts, uncles, grandkids and great grandkids were in town and actually in the same room - it was great!

 Jack got to have some quality YaYa time