An Omelet and a Booty

I am trying to become a more creative mom when it comes to Jack's meals.  The boy is happy eating just about anything, but he is beginning to turn his nose up at some of his babyfood since I have introduced table foods (my mom warned me that this would happen).  Because he only has his 1 little tooth, he isn't quite ready for most of the foods I cook for our dinner, but poor baby just looks at my plate with a sad look on his face, then gives his best Tarzan yell (meaning, please give me a bite mom).  Anyway, after spending some time on wholesomebabyfood.com yesterday, Jack had a very creative, protein and vitamin filled supper last night....A scrambled egg yolk omelet filled with peas and sweet potatoes.  It didn't look nearly as appetizing as Mom and Dad's blackened chicken pasta, but he thought it was real food and he ate it up!  I didn't take a picture of his omelet, but here is Jack at lunch yesterday eating spinach ravioli (a new favorite) and oranges!  When did my baby grow up???!!!

ALSO, Jack had his first kids meal earlier this week thanks to his CC and Big Daddy.  We meet them at Zaxby's in Batesville and Jack got his very own grilled cheese which he ate every bite of!  Now that Jack is feeding himself at least part of each meal, mealtimes are incredibly messy!  Most of the time, I strip him down to his birthday suit in the kitchen as soon as he is finished then we head to the bathtub.  Jack LOVES bathtime and is always so patient while we wait for the water to warm up and the tub to fill.

The cutest naked booty ever!  Now you see where all those calories go....straight to the legs. Ha :)

Business in the Front, Party in the Back

Jack's hair has always been comical.  Starting at 3 months, it all stuck straight up, around 6 months it began to resemble Kramer's hair with a little curl at the top, and now at 9 months we have an official mullet.

Every morning when he wakes up, it seems his hair grew longer and thicker in the back overnight, but nothing seems to be happening up top.  All I can say is, he has the cutest mullet I've ever seen :)

Jack's First Tooth!

At 9 months old, Jack finally got his first tooth!  It just broke through his gums yesterday so you have to look very closely to catch a glimpse :)

9 Months Old!!!

Hi, my name is Jack Cravens and I am 9 months old today (well, on the 31st....Mama was a little late with this post).  Here are some facts about my life right now as a busy 9 month old.

• I am a BUSY BUSY BUSY boy.  Mama tell me she can't turn her back for 2 seconds without me getting into something I shouldn't be into.
• I am also a big boy and wear size 12 month clothes and some 18 months and wear a size 3 diaper.
• Mama thinks I weigh about 21 pounds, but we will know for sure after my well baby checkup tomorrow.
• I FINALLY have a tooth!!!!  My bottom front right tooth just broke through and Mama is SO excited.  I am excited too because when she brushes my teeth (well, gums) she spends a little extra time on my new tooth and I LOVE having my tooth and gums brushed!!!
• Daddy is my best buddy.  When he comes home we play and play and play.  I still won't say his name though and he says it hurts his feelings a little.  Maybe I will work on saying "Dada" in the next few weeks.
• I am becoming quite the Mama's boy.  Most of the time I love all people and will reach for whoever wants to play with me, but when Mama walks out of the room, watch out because the water works come on!
• I love Cuba and I throw the ball to him, play tug of war with him, and pull his hair.  Mama says it is a good thing Cuba loves me so much or he would get upset with having his hair pulled all the time.  
• I am a speed crawler, a pro puller upper, and a new cruiser.  I just started walking while holding onto toys and furniture in the past 2 weeks, but I get better (and faster) at it everyday.  Just today Mama looked over and saw me standing by my toy bucket not holding onto anything...she said "You better not start walking yet Jack Cravens!"  I know she is serious when she calls me "Jack Cravens".
• I still sleep great every night going to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 and waking up around 6:30 in the morning.  Daddy always gets me out of the bed in the morning and its out special "guy time".  
• Naps aren't my favorite thing to do, but Mama tells me I have to rest 2 times a days because I'm so busy when I'm awake (and she says nap time is her break time).  I nap 8:00 -9:30 in the morning and 1:00-3:00 in the afternoon.
• I LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat real food!  Mama and Daddy have been feeding me off their plates for about a month now.  I still eat some babyfood, but always have some fingerfoods or some mashed up foods from Mama's plate during all meals.  
• I drink juice and water from a sippy cup and Mama just started putting my afternoon milk in a cup too.  I drink a bottle when I wake up, before my afternoon nap, and at bedtime.
• I have starting yelling at the top of my lungs during mealtime when Mama takes too long to give me a bite.  Mama says I have terrible table manners.  I did get lots of looks last night at Abners when she wouldn't give me a sweet potato fry fast enough so I gave my best Tarzan yell.  Mama is trying to get me to sign "more" instead of yelling, but why would I do that when I can just yell. 
• I have found my voice and LOVE to hear it.  I babble, yell, and squeal with excitement while playing.  I am saying "Mama" and also use p,b,n and w's, but no D's for Dada yet.
• Sometimes Daddy and Mama let me spend the night with Nana & Pops or CC & Big Daddy.  I love to spend the night away from home and come back the next day very spoiled :)
• Mama and Daddy tell me all the time that even though I hear the word "No" from them 842 times a day, they love me very much and they are proud of what a good boy I am!  Mama says she has loved watching me learn how to do new things this month and Daddy says the older I get, the more fun I get!
 

Jack was "dancing" to my singing during this photo shoot :)

Jack's "signature look". Biting on bottom lip, looking sweet.

 

Merry Christmas!

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas full of family and food :)  It was a perfect 1st Christmas for Jack....a WHITE Christmas.  He must have been a really good boy to get that for his very first Christmas!  Allen and I decided to do Santa at our house a couple of days before Christmas.  I wasn't sure if he would even notice his toys, but when Allen sat him down in front of his Santa pile, he broke out in the biggest grin and crawled around inspecting each toy.  Of course of all the toys, his favorite gift was his Elmo toothbrush...

BUT, his dump truck did come in a close second.

The actual Christmas weekend was full of family and Jack is so blessed to have been able to spend time with his 4 Grandparents, 2 Uncles, 1 Aunt, 1 Aunt-To-Be, 5 Great-Grandparents, 7 Great-Aunts, 5 Great-Uncles, 21 Cousins, 2 Great-Great-Aunts, and 2 Great-Great-Uncles....That's A LOT of family :)  We hope your family had a great Christmas also!

I Love Everything About This

Last weekend while in Grenada, Allen came in from hunting to find a fussy little boy refusing to nap.  Allen took over and when it got quiet upstairs (in seconds) I went up to check on them and found this...He just needed his Daddy :)

Do YOU Wake Up This Happy?

Baby Drool

I don't even need words for that picture :)

This little monkey still doesn't have any teeth, but with the excess of baby drool we have been seeing lately, I don't think it will be too long before one pops through.  Jack has the best time making faces at himself in the china cabinet glass :)

P.S. Please notice the good hair day Jack was having here....not even 1 little hair standing up :)



Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Things have been busy around the Cravens household with a very mobile little boy, therefore blogging has been set aside a little bit.  I was sad that I missed doing a Thanksgiving "thankful" post, then I realized, shouldn't we be thankful 365 days a year, not just 1... AND thankful for the little things just as much the big? SO, I am going to share with you 10 things that I am thankful for right now...this very moment.

1.  I am thankful for a precious little angel who actually went down for an afternoon nap with VERY LITTLE crying and is STILL asleep 1 hour later!

2.  I am thankful for a wonderful, handsome husband who is at work right now so that I can be at home with our little angel.

3.  I am thankful for internet!

4.  I am thankful for satellite radio on my tv and channel 826 (The Message) which plays all day long at our house (unless Sesame Street or Barney is on).

5.  I am thankful for Pinesol... I mopped this morning and now at 2:30, the house still smells "lemon fresh".

6.  I am thankful that I am able to get 90% of my Christmas shopping done via the internet...that means  more days of Jack and I playing all day instead of driving to Memphis to shop.

7.  I am thankful for opposite oreos (golden cookie, chocolate stuffing).  I am eating my 3rd as I type this very word :)

8.  I am thankful for Cellular South...one of the only cell phone providers that works "way out in Taylor".

9.  I am thankful for coffee with peppermint mocha cream (thank you Kristine Munselle for telling me about this!).

10.  Ten things were not enough.....Looking back  over the past year (not just this very moment) I am overwhelmed with the things I have been blessed with!  A new baby....a new house..... I am thankful for Jack's WONDERFUL grandparents who spoil us by helping out so much, for a husband who provides for us then comes home and does the dishes, and for a healthy and happy little boy!  I have truly been blessed this year and I thank God for ALL!

Even though this little boy now keeps bruises and bumps all over, I am extremely thankful he is healthy and we have not even had to deal with a case of sniffles ...yet :)

Thankful that I was able to almost finished this blog post before the little angel woke up....  hear him talking over the moniter now.... off to chase the little guy around the house the rest of the afternoon :)  Stay Warm!

A Full Weekend With Friends.

Last weekend was FULL and wonderful!  We were in Grenada all weekend and while Allen hunted, I hosted :)  I helped host a Sip & See for Meredith's twins, Silas and Avery on Saturday morning.  The twins are 3 months old and SO precious!!!

I am holding laid back Silas, Grace Sturdivant and Meredith Warf have busy Jack, and Meagan is holding diva Avery :)

We had a blast and got to visit with so many "Grenada Folks" that I don't get to see often.  The Warf babies were little angels the entire party...little Silas even fell asleep in my arms :)  Of course Jack was ALL OVER the place during the party...I looked over at one point and saw him eating cookie crumbs under the dining room table.  At least Nana won't have to vacuum :)

Saturday afternoon I took Jack over to see the Nolen boys who are in town from Minneapolis, MN.  Let me just tell you, it is impossible to get a good picture of 3 boys all under 3!  I took at least 15 and this was the ONLY one showing all 3 faces....Of course Baby Cooper was being a doll just sitting in his little seat posing for the picture.

Cooper - 2 months, Parker - almost 3 years old, and Jack - 8 months

Saturday night a few girls from Grenada got together over at my parents house for some girl talk.  We had so much fun just sitting around talking.  I miss these girls SO much and wish we could get together more often!

Bottom Left: Meagan, Me with Cooper, Mindy
Top Left: Carrie, Grace

Then on Sunday we got to celebrate little Cooper and his mama, Carrie at a Sip & See.  He is such a doll!

Cooper Bennet Nolen born October 11, 2010

Jack enjoyed entertaining everyone at all the events of the weekend.  He is pretty fond of attention....I wonder why?! :)  Aunt Mea Mea taught him how to play the piano....

And Uncle Cade taught him all of his cotillion moves....

I wish I could spend ALL my weekends with these friends!