Jack's Sip and See

Saturday we hosted Jack's sip and see. I realize a sip and see is not common in our area and I actually don't know of anyone personally that has ever had one. It's simply a southern style event where everyone drops by to meet and hold the new baby. I wanted to have a sip and see for two reasons. One being of course so everyone could meet Jack for the first time or see him again and love on him some more. The other reason is so our friends and family could view our new home. We moved in November and it has taken us this long to furnish and complete our remodeling projects. I was excited about an opportunity to do both at the same time!

We had 54 people at our house which was a great number to entertain. We were honored so many people took time out of their busy weekend to stop by. The sip and see had a casual feel to it so we kept everything simple and just spent time together in conversation, touring our home and of course swooning over baby Jack.

I kept the menu simple-assorted cheeses and crackers, tea cookies from Riley's Bakery (the best party treat ever) and a $12 monogram cake from Walmart! And for the sip portion we had lemonade, sweet tea and coffee.

Precious baby Jack charming all the sip and see attendants. He was passed around so many times and loved every minute of it. He loves to be held and talked to.

Sweet boy wore a white bubble with baby blue rope trim. I lucked up on this outfit on eBay, I've been able to find quite a bit of second hand "Jack" pieces. He looked like a living doll!

I didn't take many pictures but did snap this one of some of our friends and family mingling. I loved seeing our home full of our loved ones.

Jack with Ms. Carolyn Darr, she bought our first home last summer and moved here from Clay, Kentucky. She is the sweetest person and we were so glad she came. Her daughter and family are dear friends of ours.

The Harrison four. Georgia Grace was in charge of giving the tour of her room and playroom :)  I don't think I saw her again until it was over! She's proud of her space and toys.

This was a proud and happy day for our family that I will always remember. Thanks to all of you who came and made it memorable!

A Checkup and Playmates

Tuesday was Jack's two month checkup. I was dreading it but also anxious to see how much he had grown and to get our pediatrician's opinion on his feet. Also, I continue to be amazed at the things I do differently with the second child. I took Jack to his appointment alone (the pediatrician's office is 35 minutes away) and I don't think I've taken Georgia Grace alone one time. I think for me I've just gained confidence as a mom and I feel like I understand my babies a little better.

Our Jack weighs 12 pounds 13 ounces (55th percentile), is 24 1/4 inches long (80th percentile) and his head (42 cm) is in the 97th percentile. He has grown 3 3/4 inches in two months! And we're hoping he continues to grow tall, my dad is 6'3 so that would be an awesome gene to inherit.

Everything checked out fine and his doctor thought his feet seemed more flexible at this appointment. He recommended shoe reversal to help straighten them out along with the exercises so we will probably start that soon. We ended the appointment with three shots and goodness he did not like them one bit. The rest of the day he just wanted to be held and would cry off and on but by Wednesday he was back to his happy self. Bless his sweet heart!

This weekend we are having a sip and see for Jack that has put us in let's-finally-get-the-house-fully-furnished mode. We've drug our feet on a lot of house projects but we've had more important things occupying our time so we didn't sweat it. I have been dreaming of a gallery wall in our upstairs hallway so I started mapping my layout.

Then I replicated it on my wall with wrapping paper, magazine pages and frame boxes. I finished it all up tonight and I'm pretty proud of it. I'll take a finished picture this weekend!

We've had a pretty easy, slow week at home. We recently set up Jack's play gym and it seems someone else is also interested in the new toy. I didn't realize how much she already wants to play with him. I'm so glad she has a built-in playmate and best friend for life.

And who needs baby dolls when you have a baby brother? I have the cutest video of her pretend feeding him, giving him a paci and playing her clarinet for him :) He was eating it up! I pray they always love each other as much as they do right now.

I'm off to bed to get rested for our busy Saturday. Happy weekend friends!

Summer Lovin' and Father's Day 2015

Life is so good right now. We're in a slow summer routine that's filled with spontaneous trips to the pool, strolls after supper and later bedtimes because those things are just fun and that's what summer is all about. I don't know if I've ever enjoyed a summer as much as this one.

 

Speaking of enjoying life, he has been smiling and laughing for a while now. I hope he's always this happy and care-free. 

Sunday was Father's Day. My love for this man grew tenfold when he added daddy to his titles. I have two blessed babies growing up under his roof. We love you, Daddy!

Yes, brother and sister are wearing matching seersucker outfits. You knew matching sibling sets were coming!! :)

My aunt snapped this picture on Sunday. If we didn't need further proof of what a wonderful Daddy he is.

Yesterday we woke up to sunshine and no plans so a morning at the pool is what it became! We've got a brave girl on our hands wanting to do big things and not wear her puddle jumper. I just love this picture!

Like mother, like daughter-both easily distracted. And I hesitated to post this picture because of my post baby marks but I'm proud of what those marks of love gave me. I'll never be ashamed of something that tells such a beautiful story of motherhood. 

Tomorrow is Jack's two month checkup and the rest of the week we will be finishing up some projects for Jack's sip and see Saturday. Marcus told my Mamaw he thought the sip and see was really a ploy to get some of our house projects finished and she said in that case they were going to have one too HA! I'm super excited for this. It's just a great opportunity for our friends and family to see our new house and new baby at the same time. And I must admit putting a deadline on some to-do list items makes me happy too :)

Jack's two month checkup is today so please say a little prayer for me as immunizations will be given. I'm anxious to hear how much he has grown and to check his feet. 

Bible School and Bathing Beauties

This week was our church's vacation bible school and our first year of being involved with it. We have taken Georgia Grace for one day in previous years just to expose her to it but she was too young to go to class so there really wasn't much point.  This year we encouraged her to go to a class (and she did!) and Marcus taught the 4th grade class so Jack and me tagged along most days to be a part of the "nursery class" :)

The theme this year was "Journey Off The Map" and one of our church members created the most amazing set. He started working on this in April and spent countless hours perfecting all the details. It was spectacular!

My bible school babies! I realize GGH is a little overdressed for VBS but we had a rough morning and her first outfit was not wearable by the time we were walking out the door so I grabbed the closest thing hanging in our laundry room. And Jack on the other hand was still in a bedtime gown. Motherhood at its finest!

Our VBS is in the morning from Monday to Friday. We have a lot of teachers/retirees/SAHM in our congregation so daytime works best. Our first day we had 232 there! It was a new first day record.

Taking the annual group picture outside of church

Georgia went to the 4 and up preschool class this week (I actually thought it was 3 and up when we decided to see if she wanted to go to a class). I stayed in the nursery in case she changed her mind or didn't do well in class but she did just fine like I knew she would. Her big cousin Delaney was a preschool helper and she stayed attached to her hip most of the week :) So thankful for her!

The week of bible school is always tiring so we tried not to plan a lot of big activities. One evening we went to the pool to swim when it wasn't hot and sunny.

This was Jack's first time in the pool and he was completely relaxed and loving it! Georgia Grace was more into Jack being in the pool with her than swimming.

I think he's going to be a water baby. He was so sweet just sitting there in the water. He's getting too big too fast!

Everyday I water our ferns, impatiens and rose bush and just recently I have recruited a helper. She loves to feel important and needed.

Even though I feel like she has grown so much since we brought her baby brother home I can still put her in a bubble and pull her hair up and she becomes my little baby again :) I would love to keep her this age forever.

Me-"What's your favorite part of bible school?"

Georgia Grace- "Dancing" HA! I can't wait to put her in a dance class this fall.

Just our little swimmer in her 'mingo suit heading out for another swim! It looks like she's wearing makeup in this picture but I promise it's all natural. She won't wear that stuff until she's 16 if I have my way :)

Tomorrow is our last day of VBS and commencement tomorrow night. I can't believe it's already the middle of June. Summer days seem to move at rocket speed. We're trying our best to make the most of them!

Blog Book 2015

Since I started blogging in 2012 I have printed my blog in a book form so we can have a hard copy of what our year was like. I don't scrapbook or print pictures unless I intend to frame them because my blog takes the place of those things. If the house were to catch on fire I would grab my family and Owen, my wedding ring, my hard drive and my blog books. 

My blog is our story.

Last year I started using lulu.com to print my book. It's easier to personalize and cheaper than the other sites. The downfall is it takes a little longer to format. This year I chose one of our beach pictures for the cover because it's one of my favorite shoots and I wanted to remember this year as our last year being a family of three. From now on our family pictures will also feature baby Jack! 

I like customizing the spine so I know instantly which year the book is about. I store the past years in our entertainment center in numerical order. 

We have our 2014 book on our coffee table and Georgia likes to look at it with me. That's exactly why I wake up early and stay up late documenting our days. It's worth it to me.

This year's book is 533 pages so it's huge! I may have to start breaking it up into two parts. 

And that's a wrap! The day my book is delivered feels like Christmas morning. I hope I can continue to do this for many years to come. 

#foreverfleners

Bucket list, bathtime and beaufort babies

I am behind on my blogging so this post is actually about last week. This week is VBS so my blog lagging could continue a little longer but I know it will be time well spent away from the computer. VBS is the biggest week for our church and I know God has big things in store!

We created our summer bucket list for this year. It's shorter and easier than last year to match the season of life we are in right now but I think it will be just as fun. We've already knocked a few off and this week we should be able to accomplish a few more.

She has a nickname of "Curious Georgia" and this picture should explain the said name. I usually pump in the kitchen near the sink but this night I moved it to the living room and she instantly had to try it out for herself. Won't this be a hoot to show her someday! Also, I was washing her anywhere chair cover and she played with the pieces of the chair all. day. long. She built a fort, turned them into a bed and used it more this way than she does as a chair ha!

Sweet brother has decided that bath time is fun! I think he looks so much like my Papaw Denzel in this picture.

There's nothing sweeter than babies fresh out of the bath. I could just eat him up!

Our Director of Transportation for the school district is retiring at the end of the month and Jack and me attended his retirement celebration. Mr. Reed is someone I have known all my life and always thought highly of. I'm so happy for him and this next chapter of his life.

He loves Jack and Jack loves him too! The Reed family go to church with us so I'm glad we will continue to see him regularly. 

Wednesday was spent poolside. She has become brave in the water and does new things every time we swim. She told her Uncle Eric when they were swimming this weekend, "I'm gonna get out and have the perfect jump. I'm gonna jump over Morgantown!"

 

Production goes out the window when this boy wants his mommy. It all can wait. This sunsuit he is wearing is a 6-9 month. We are outgrowing our clothes quickly!

Jack is baby model! The Beaufort Bonnet Company used a picture taken by Julia Christopher Photography of Jack to promote their newborn bow swaddle. I love that there are beautiful things for baby boys too! Georgia was also a Beaufort baby when she was younger to promote their bonnets. We are honored our babies were chosen!

Crossing "snow cones" off our summer bucket list. Mommy and Daddy got frog in a blender and Georgia got watermelon. It wasn't her favorite so we will have to try something else next time.

This weekend Georgia Grace and I were in our cousin Payton's wedding, I'll post those pictures soon. Let me just say she was one beautiful and hilarious flower girl (or "flower frog" as she called herself). And Payt was the most gorgeous bride! We were honored to have taken part in their happily ever after.