Birthday at the Guins

Yesterday we headed up to my parents house for a birthday lunch! My b'day was last Tuesday and Mamaw's was on Saturday!

It may have been our birthdays, but Mr. Jack was the center of attention. :)

AHHHHH!! He's so stinkin' cute! :)

Who me?

Nessa & Poppy

Oh Poppy, you're so funny!

Thanks to Vanessa for all these pictures!

Sleepy on Uncle Sam

I love this kid. 

We had a wonderful day!

My 25th Birthday!

Tuesday was my 25th birthday! What a wonderful, crazy busy time in life!! Loving on a newborn, celebrating 2 wonderful years of marriage, and turning 25 - all within about 6 weeks! 

Mr. Jack and I met up with Alex and went out to Hamilton Place to do a little shopping. It was Jack's first time to go to the mall! We hit up a few stores then Jackson started getting fussy and Alex suggested going to Motherhood Maternity because they will let you nurse in the dressing rooms AND they have their own bathroom. Haha! Perfect for our new mommy and pregnant girl combo! :) After that we went to Forever 21!! LOVE accessory shopping there! 

Later on I headed over to Emily & David's for their big REVEAL party!!! And it's a... well, I'll let Emily tell you!

Before we left, Becca & Em put candles in a cupcake for me for my bday! It was great to be able to celebrate Baby Geyer AND my bday with such sweet friends!

 

What a fabulous birthday!!

Smiley Boy

Last Thursday, Jackson smiled FOR REAL for the very first time! (He's been sleepy smiling for a while, but he was wide awake this time.) He had had kind of a rough day (meaning, so had I) and I passed him off to Daddy when he came home so I could finish up dinner. Next thing I know, he's smiling at his Daddy!!

Now, for the sake of honesty, I was a tiny bit heart-broken that he smiled at Daddy first and not Mommy, but I got over it... for a little while. Later on that evening, the combination of little sleep, a rough day, and not being cool enough to smile at got to me and I cried about it. I know, I know - it wasn't a big deal! But everything is more dramatic in the moment than when you're looking back at it.

So Friday rolls around and I had just set Jack in his snugabunny (aka the bouncy seat) and he grinned the biggest grin at me!! Ahhhhh!! My heart completely melted! Luckily my video camera was close and I was able to get a few quick smiles on film! (Can you say "on film" if you're not using film?)

We have only seen a handful of smiles out of this little guy since Thursday, but I am so excited that we get to watch him smile for the rest of his life!!

Just Hangin' In My Crib

For the first 3 weeks of his life, Jack slept in the "newborn napper" on the pack 'n play in our bedroom. It worked for us because we were able to check on him whenever he made a peep.

Then we realized that "every peep" didn't need our attention. :)

On Sunday, July 24th after talking to Evelyn about the BabyWise methods, we decided to put Jackson in his crib for his afternoon nap. He was NOT happy about it. He cried on and off (like cry for 10 minutes, be fine for 10 minutes, cry, fine, cry fine...) for almost 50 minutes! We had the video monitor on him so we knew he was fine, and every 15-20 minutes I would go check on him, hold him, love on him, and then put him back down. He never actually slept that first time.

Then we tried again for his evening nap and he cried on and off for 30 minutes and then slept for about 30 minutes. PROGRESS! :)

Around 1am, I put him down and he only cried for 10 minutes and then GET THIS - he slept for FOUR AMAZING BLISSFUL HOURS!!! It was truly fabulous. When he woke up around 5am, I fed him and then put him back down and he didn't cry at all, and pretty much went straight to sleep.

That was when we knew that this could work for us. 

He has been sleeping in his crib every night with little to no fussing (less than 15 minutes) and we have been sleeping fairly well in our OWN bed! We typically get 3-3.5 hours at a time, and as much as 4 or 5 hours a few times!!

So right now this works for us. If it stops working... then we'll try something else!

Anniversary Dinner

Last night, Mimi came down to watch Jackson so Jason and I could go out for an Anniversary dinner!

We went to Hennen's and celebrated two fabulous years. 

Then we came home by like 8:30 because we missed our little booger. :)

"Bad Mommy" Moments

Okay, so I've had a few "bad mommy" moments lately.

Jack and I both had colds last week (booooooo) so his nose was pretty snotty. Well, you know you gotta use the nose bulber thing, and he HATES it! So I was trying to be quick about it (since he was crying) and instead of sucking boogers out... I accidentally BLEW and pushed air in his poor little nose!! Oh my goodness, talk about worst mom of the year! Of course he screamed bloody murder - how would you like it if someone shot air up your nose? ...And we were done with the bulber.

Sunday we were at my parents house, and as I was about to walk down to the pool with Jack, he put his hand over his nose and mouth and it was so cute! So we (me, mom, and Vanessa) tried to capture this adorable moment before he moved his hand, and spent 3-4 minutes taking photos (we're nothing if not thorough).

Once he did move his hand, I realized that his fingernail had CUT his face - like bleeding cut!! What in the world?! I'm over here snapping photos and he's maiming his face. Yeesh.

And finally, not so much a bad mommy moment, just a TIRED mommy moment. :) Last Friday Jackson was crying and wasn't calming down, so I decided to take him outside. He LOVES the outside and almost immediately gets quiet when we go outside. So we go for a mini walk just down the street and back, and I realize about a minute and a half into our walk that my right tank top strap is down and my bra is completely exposed!! (bra, not boob, thank goodness) SOMEONE is obviously tired around here.. :)

(P.S. I don't really think I'm a bad mommy, and I know these little anecdotes are no big deal. I'm just being dramatic. What? You didn't know I was dramatic?!)

Best 2 Years of My Life

Happy 2nd Anniversary to the most amazing husband I could ever ask for and the sweetest daddy in the world to our precious son! 

Thank you for making these the best 2 years ever... 

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!

"Love is a Gift"

by Bonnie Jensen

Love is a gift received by humble hearts

and cared for with kindness and respect.

~

Its beauty isn't faded by time,

but enriched through deepening trust,

unbending hope, and growing faith.

~

It is restored by forgiveness,

enhanced by friendship,

and protected by truth.

~

Love is a gift... and God is the giver.

I love you more today than yesterday - but not as much as tomorrow.

(Check out the Our Wedding page for a little nostalgic walk down memory lane.)