49 Days

So it's been 49 days since our last post. We've been busy. Honestly. When we got back from Idaho we then went to New Jersey. My dad's cousin has a cottage on Brigantine Island. We had a lot of fun going to the beach almost everyday, shopping at the outlets in Atlantic City and walking the boardwalk in Atlantic city. Jack wasn't too thrilled with the water or the sand but he played on a beach towel and was quite content. When I was little, we would go to New Jersey every summer with my cousins. I would always go swimming in the ocean. For some reason most little kids don't mind that the water is freezing. I don't remember the water being cold when I was little but as I got older I decided that there was no way I was going in that freezing water again. Well this year was Justin's first time swimming in the Atlantic Ocean so I tortured myself as I slowly made my way into the water. It was fun swimming in the ocean but I couldn't last as long as Justin and had to get out and wrap a towel around myself to stop my shivering. As we sat on the beach, or played Frisbee in the sand we got to see several dolphins swimming. I didn't get any pictures but my sister Rebecca has some that I'll get from her. My brother, Matthew and brother-in-law Ryan also caught a bunch of fish that we enjoyed for dinner one night. It was a fun week in New Jersey and luckily it didn't rain until we were headed home!!



After our week in New Jersey, we were home for a little bit until we headed to the family lodge in Vermont. We went up with my sister Rebecca, brother Matthew, my mom and dad, my dad's mother and we met my uncle and aunt up there. We had a good couple of days enjoying each other's company, walking to a little river, going to some small towns and a farm. On our way back down to Connecticut, we stopped for my cousin's christening. My cousin Christian and his wife Sandra had a baby boy on June 1st named Leland. He's a very cute baby and when I held him he felt so light compared to our big boy Jack!!

On August 14th Jack turned one!! We actually had his party the week before on the the 9th. He got to have a pig roast (you are forewarned that there is a picture of the pig below!) for his first birthday! Grandma made him a very cool cake that was a train and since it was actually Justin's birthday that day he had a cake too. Jack is very thankful for all the people who came to wish him a happy birthday and for all the presents he got that he loves to wear and play with!

Jack eating the roast pig with his cousin Abby

Jack had his one year appointment and gained a whopping 10 ounces! Actually we were somewhat surprised he didn't gain more weight than that but he has grown taller and is now 31 1/4 inches tall. The doctor says he looks great but he's still a little anemic so we have to get his blood drawn again. :( Jack's getting ready to walk. He has taken a few steps between the coffee table and the couch. He's a little hesitant to try walking further. Jack can say a lot of words including dada, mama, wawa for water, bye, hi, and sign milk, water, finished, eat, doggy, more, Cheerios, and wave bye. I am so happy that we taught him a few signs because it makes it so much easier for Jack to tell us what he wants and he doesn't get frustrated with us for not knowing what he wants. Although, he's starting to get a real temper on him occasionally when we don't give into him. This past year has flown by and I can't believe that I had Jack a year ago. Sometimes it seems like so long ago and other times it seems like just yesterday. Justin and I are so grateful that Jack is so healthy and strong.

I know this is a long post but if you read until this point don't stop reading. Justin and I bought a house!! We are officially homeowners! We just had the closing on Friday and started moving stuff yesterday. We are going to paint and rip up the ugly pink carpet in the bathroom before moving all the furniture and officially moving in. We would like to do some other changes like getting rid of all the pink tiles in the bathroom and all the wood paneling in the living room but we don't have the money right now so those things will have to wait but we can live with them for now. It has been great living with my parents for the last year, especially since we could save a lot of money and have babysitters right at our fingertips but we are looking forward to having a place we call ours and raising Jack and any future children there. The pictures below are from before the previous owner moved out so I'll post more pictures when we move in.



That should be it for this long post so I'll try not to take 49 days to write the next post. My sister Rebecca kept bugging me to write a new post so I'm sure I'll hear it from her again if I take to long for the next one!! But first some random cute pictures of Jack!