Spring Break

Well, Friday was my last day of maternity leave, but at least this week is spring break :)  Another week with my baby!  Sunday we headed down to Gulf Shores for a softball tournament, my first tournament back coaching.  It is about a 4-5 hour drive and over all Jack did pretty well.  We only had to feed him once during the drive and he otherwise slept the whole time.  It was pretty exhausting having to pack for all of us, especially all the extra stuff you need to bring for a baby!  I mean his clothes bag was pretty small, but between diapers, the pack and play and a stroller, his stuff took up the most room!  Usually our Explorer is packed to the brim for the beach when it was just the two of us!  We did have a good time in Gulf Shores, it is absolutely beautiful down there!  Tuesday morning I got to wake up to the sweetest sound, Jack giggling!  He has been smiling and giggling a lot recently and has also become very vocal cooing more and more each day!  Monday night was great, we sat in the room with Jack and he put on a show for us!  Giggling and smiling non stop!  We came home yesterday, the girls went 6-1-1 over the 3 days we played.

Sadly he seems to be losing his hair; which looks funny because it is visibly thinning in certain areas on his head.  Today was his 2 month check up.  He now weighs 12 pounds and 4 ounces and is 23 inches long.  He unfortunately had to have 3 shots today.  He did not seem happy about being stuck with the needles but I think it was just the icing on the hungry/cranky cake!  He was already not happy because it was time to eat.  Fortunately after his shots, they let me stay in the exam room and feed him before we left.  After eating he seemed fine.  Today we bought him a mirror for his crib and he loves it!  He loves looking at it and cooing.  I recorded a video of him on my phone and Mom and Dad couldn't believe how much he was cooing.  He has come pretty close to rolling over but is just not quite there yet.  He can roll over his bottom half but can't get past his shoulder to get the top half over as well.  We are excited for Gammy to come visit us this weekend.  She is staying for the week to take care of Jack my first week back at work.  I am excited to see her but a little sad because that means I am going back to work.  Only 5 weeks left of school though, hopefully it won't be too bad.  I took Jack around school Friday to visit a few people and I ran into one of my students who told me she couldn't wait for me to come back.  Those are the ones who make me LOVE my job :) 
Here are a few pictures from Gulf Shores, nothing too fun, just Jack being super cute!

Happy Easter!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter!  Jack had a great first Easter :)  First we went to church with Gingersnap and Pop, after the service our church held an Easter lunch.  It was such a nice day we were able to eat outside.  After church we came home and took a couple pictures as a family while Jack was all dressed up in his Easter outfit.  After pictures I finished making dinner; we had deviled eggs, pork loin, mac and cheese, green beans, rolls and for dessert lemonade pie.  For Jack's first Easter dinner we were joined not only by Gingersnap and Pop, but our friends Bradley, Lea and their son Bennett from our small group at church.  We also got to use the beautiful china Grandpa gave us for Christmas that once belonged to Bryce's grandmother.  Jack's Easter basket was full of all kinds of goodies-books, clothes, and toys.  Jack and I also got to talk to my family via webcam today.  I am glad they got to see him and I can't wait for them all to meet him this summer!  This time of year reminds us of how blessed we are to have such a wonderful God and Savior who loves us very much!  We pray that Jack will never go a day that he doesn't know Jesus and the price He paid for him and we also pray that Jack has been chosen as one of God's children.  He is risen!  Here are a few pictures from the day.

This next picture is from Saturday, but it is a good one because I was able to capture Jack's smile on camera, which is a rare occasion!

Several people have recently asked me for my macaroni and cheese recipe. I honestly probably don't make this dish the same way twice.  Sometimes I just open up my cheese drawer and add in whatever we have on hand, but here goes the basic key you can follow.
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of milk
1 can of cheddar cheese soup (you could also use velveeta or cheese whiz, whatever you have on hand)
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and hot sauce to taste
8 oz of a gooey cheese shredded (Swiss, mozzarella or muenster cheese are good choices)
8 oz of an extra sharp cheddar cheese (I like to do half of a white cheddar and half yellow)
4 oz of Parmesan or ramano cheese (really any hard tangy/salty Italian cheese)
1 pound of macaroni noodles

Preheat oven to 350
Cook macaroni noodles as directed on the package, I under cook them slightly because they will finish cooking in the oven
Melt butter
Add flour and cook together for a few minutes
Slowly add in milk with wisk
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and hot sauce to taste (I just add enough cayenne and hot sauce to make the sauce have a warm feeling, not to make it spicy)
Wisk in cheeses
Stir in noodles
Pour into baking dish

Depending on how thick or runny you like your sauce, you could add more or less milk.  2 cups was just an estimate by me, I just eyeball how much I think I need.  Same with the cheeses, if you like a really sharp taste you could add even more cheddar cheese.

Optional Topping
fresh bread crumbs-take old bread (I prefer white bread for this and I trim the crust off) and blend in blender or food processor until finely ground.
Lightly toast bread crumbs in butter then spread evenly on top of Mac and cheese before putting in the oven.
Bake at 350 until bubbly and top has slightly browned, usually about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!






   

Jack Jack meets the Easter Bunny

Just wanted to post a picture of Jack and the Easter bunny!  Everyone have a blessed Easter!

Aunt Mandie and Aunt Gina

Jack got to meet Aunt Mandie and Aunt Gina this week :)  Mandie is my cousin and Gina is my best friend/cousin-in-law (she is married to Mandie's brother, Drew).  Mandie and Gina drove down from Maryland to meet Jack!  It has been a good visit and I will be sad to see them leave in the morning.  While they were here Mandie helped me make an Easter basket for Jack.  Lately, Jack has been able to sleep for 6 or more hours a night, which has been great!  Saturday night Jack went to his first prom and I think he was the hit of the night :)  Lise said Monday at work she got tons of compliments on Jack! 
 

Visitors and Dreaming

This weekend we had some visitors.  First, Bryce's fraternity brother from LR came down to see us and meet Jack.  Here is a picture of Brad and Jack.

We were glad to have Brad for the weekend and we hope he enjoyed meeting Jack!

We also had another guest, Grandpa Kleven came today to see Jack.  Here is Grandpa and Jack.

Big Jack and Little Jack

Jack is now just over 5 weeks old.  I would guess that he weighs close to 10 pounds.  Bryce and I agree that his hair seems to be getting lighter, but he still has a good amount of hair and so far does not seem to be losing it.  He is awake more during the days, but he does take naps.  My favorite time of day is when Mommy and Jack nap together on the couch.  This usually happens between his 9 o'clock and midnight feeding.  He usually falls asleep before I do and I can't help but stare at him.  Besides that he is stinking cute, I like to look at the faces he makes.  He is obviously dreaming and it just makes me wonder, what do babies possibly dream about?!  Sometimes he smiles in his sleep but other times he looks scared.  I can only imagine what is going on in that head of his :) 

 

 

Happy One Month Jack Jack!

Jack Jack is one month old today!  It has been amazing to watch him develop over this past month.  Last night we measured him and he is 22.5 inches long, so he has grown about an inch!  We don't have a baby scale to get his exact weight but I would guess he is between 9 and 10 pounds.  He is long and narrow.  He has grown to need bigger clothes in length but is still in newborn diapers because he is narrow and because his umbilical cord stump is still attached and newborn diapers have a nice little cut out so the stump can dry out.  He has recently started to focus on things.  Yesterday when he was in his swing, he stared at the colorful fish that hangs above.  He even tried to reach for it at one point!  He is also starting to grip on to things.  He likes to grip the collar of my shirt when I am holding him.  Another development he has made is to put his arm around me.  When I hold him with his head on in the crook of my elbow and his body across my torso he will reach back and put his arm around my back.  Jack has also started to coo and it is super cute :) 
Even within a month's time he already has some likes and dislikes.  For example he likes his paci.  Sometimes he will suck on his thumb or another random finger, but he seems to prefer his paci if it is available for someone to put in his mouth.  Just so happens that Koter's likes his pacis as well, stinker!  Sometimes it is funny when he is sleeping and it falls out he will continue to make the sucking motions not realizing the paci isn't there anymore.  He also likes his swing and his bouncer.  We keep the swing downstairs so it is nice when I need to get things done downstairs.  For example I can set him up in the swing and wash dishes and he is still in eyesight.  Same with the bouncer except that is upstairs.  I can fold laundry and he is happy as can be in the bouncer.  He also likes being in his carrier and car rides.  They most often put him to sleep and he usually stays asleep as we run our errands.  He also likes kisses and talking to his Gammy and PopPop via webcam :)
Jack Jack has quite a few dislikes as well.  Probably number one on that list is baths.  He hates them!  One reason I think he hates them is that he dislikes being naked and to take a bath, well you get the picture!  He also dislikes getting dressed.  Which is frustrating because remember he hates being naked too!  I think part of the dislike of being naked is that he gets cold.  I have to bundle him up after a bath because his little bottom lip will quiver otherwise.
We can't wait to see what month number two will bring!  We would also like to wish Grandpa Jack a Happy Birthday and MomMom and PopPop Rhinehart a Happy 59th wedding anniversary!

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15

 

Jack is now three weeks old today.  Hard to believe, you spend so much time anticipating and preparing and especially near the end, the pregnancy seems to drag on, but now that he is here, I want a button to press to slow time down!  Earlier this week we had to buy some more newborn diapers, which I was hesitant about since he will be out of them soon, but for now he still needs the newborn size.  Bryce was figuring out about how long the new pack of diapers would last, and he figured about 10 days.  And I said to him "Do you realize that Jack will be a month old in 10 days?"  Needless to say Bryce couldn't believe it either!  

So far, we have been blessed with a wonderful baby.  He is a good sleeper and has been letting me sleep at night for 5 hours at a time.  I am enjoying this as much as I can now because I know at any moment this could change!  During the day he is still eating every 3 hours and I feel like he is growing before my eyes!  This morning I dressed him in one of his newborn outfits and his feet were trying to poke out of the feet at the bottom and he had to ball up his hands to fit in the mitten cuffs!  

He had another bath today.  Even though he still hated it, there was less crying than normal.  Hopefully they will go a little smoother still once his umbilical cord falls off.  While I was in the bathroom bathing Jack, Dakota took it upon himself to steal Jack's swaddle and mittens.  I found one mitten but the other is missing, so I am not sure if he ate it or if it just got moved somewhere and will turn up later...

Jack has met a lot of people in his short little life.  Yesterday he met Chris (the other Spanish teacher at school) and Ann Fry (health teacher at school).  Last year Chris was my mentor and Ann was Bryce's mentor.  Today he met just about everyone in the office at school and Mrs. Heller and Ms. Fisher from the Media Center.  Everyone just loves him!  They were all surprised at how alert he is for only being 3 weeks old.  He also got lots of compliments on how beautiful he is!

Jack has brought so much joy to our lives and we just love sharing him with everyone else!  We have been able to talk to Gammy and PopPop (my mom and dad) via web cam a few times and that has been nice.  Hopefully they can see us again in person soon!  

Bryce wants everyone to know that Jack is a stud ;)