Meet the Fullers

Week 25 update

Well, we did it again; we fell behind in posting. I blame the fact that we now seem to spend all day every day feeding Jack, what with nursing and solids feeding. At least it sometimes feels that way...

We'll upload some pics from weeks 25, 26, and 27 here, and try to stay more on top of things.

Week 26 Update

Jack went to Grandma and Grandpa Fuller's house in Peoria for his first Thanksgiving...and we managed to hardly take any pictures of it!

My dad and Bobbi came in to visit for Thanksgiving and babysat for us so we could go to Dennis' party. They sort of laughed at our first time parent instructions, being that between them they have four children and we have one, but they were very indulgent, and apparently Jack did his part and slept peacefully without waking up once. Yay, Jacky! Way to convince people to babysit!

Ladie's Man from The Fullers on Vimeo.

Jack is very fortunate to be on the receiving end of an awesome supply of baby gear from Liam and Karthik; this particular shirt is a Liam special. He wore it to Liam's first birthday party, in honor of the original Ladie's Man, Mr. Liam T. himself.

We had a great time celebrating Liam's first birthday with him...hard to believe it has been a year already (or that Jack is six months old...he's almost exactly six months younger than Liam). Here's to many more happy birthdays together! Best wishes, Liam!

Liam's First Birthday from The Fullers on Vimeo.

Liam had the coolest birthday hat ever-it has removable letters from 1-6. We were joking about buying several and then using it forever. Or just keep the one, and use it at birthdays made up of numbers 1-6 (you know, 16, 21, 32, 41, etc.) You could basically never have a double digit birthday, like 33. Oh well, small price to pay!

Week 27 Update

We did a little photoshoot this weekend for our Christmas cards (yes, we probably should have set something up professional-like; remember how we didn't post for a month? Planning is a bit lax here at the moment). The results came out pretty well for it being an amateur job; at least we tried to get some natural light. That was a bit challenging as a snowstorm was brewing (Jack got to see his first snow later in the day on 12/1).

(Supercute baby photo blatantly stolen from ourplusone.vox.com)

We owe a belated congratulations to Chris and Anne, whose new baby daughter Emma Parker was born on 11/23. She was born at 8:12am and weighed 9 lbs. 1oz.--Anne said "it was not a c-section". She seems to have enjoyed the epidural as much as I did...but I'd say with a baby that weighed 3 lbs. more than the one I had, she probably deserved it more. Way to go, Anne!!! Hope you all are home snuggling baby in this cold weather and enjoying your time with Emma. We hope to get to meet her soon, and to introduce her to Jack. Great job--we needed some girls to go with all these boys!

Nothing to see here...just some notes about what Jack has tried already.

Jack got an early christmas present in a Mini Boden snowsuit from Linda and Chris in Colorado. It's super warm and puffy. Hey Mom, let's go snowmobiling!

We put him in it to go get our Christmas tree, but neglected to take any pictures of the event. However, it kept him so warm and cozy that he fell asleep while we got the tree in the snow!

Jack Sitting Up from The Fullers on Vimeo.

Jack's been practicing sitting up at school and surprised us by how long he can sit upright by himself wthout any help. As for the sippy cup... we're still working on that one.

Jack's hair is growing back out again, and we gave him a little bathtub mohawk.

Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung on the piano with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
Jack was all nestled very snug in his bed,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in his head;
And Becky in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

...but an old rusty awning which had blown itself clear.
The house on the inside had been fixed up so nice,
With fresh paint and new trim and the glow of tree lights.
The front of the house was no longer a fit,
The house had to do something, this just wasn't it!
"My new people love me, I need you no more.
Get off my front porch, you ugly eyesore!"

(Or, some very large icicles fell on the awning and knocked it off in the middle of the night. Your pick as to the true story; we prefer the poem. Now if Santa would just bring us some new siding, the outside would reflect the lovely indoors finally).

Jack's First Swimming Lesson from The Fullers on Vimeo.

We signed Jack up for some swimming lessons at the Y. He had to wait until he was 6 months old, but now he's signed up for a three week session on Saturday mornings. He took right to the water without any screaming or crying. He seems to be a natural!

We traditionally went to both Rockford and Peoria for Christmas; it was a lot of packing and hauling and travel, but it was fun and we did it knowing that we'd eventually want to have Christmas eve and morning at our own house when we had children. That time is here! We have tentatively set up a plan where we spend Thanksgiving with either John's parents or mine, and then the parents who hosted Thanksgiving are invited to join us at our house for Christmas eve and morning. Then we travel to the other parents' house either later in the day on Christmas or the next day. This year, we hosted John's parents and his aunt and uncle. It was a great success, and we had a lot of fun!

Grandma and Grandpa Fuller and Great Uncle/Aunt Kline returned for brunch on Christmas morning, having slept well, we trust. They were ready for Mimosas, anyways! We opened stockings and then had brunch, and opened gifts. Jack scored big, as expected, as did John and I. The highlight was, of course, the Radio Flyer Little Red Roadster for John, uh I mean Jack. It was fun, too, to open gifts for Jacky, who fell asleep on Marge and missed most of the opening of presents. Opening gifts is hard, especially if it's during naptime.

Christmas Owl from The Fullers on Vimeo.

Well, he's not really a legend so much, but he has been a mysterious presence for quite a while, and as we don't really live out in the wilderness anywhere, it's kind of exciting to have an owl that lives in (or at least frequently visits) our yard.

Lots more info and pictures after the jump...

After Christmas morning with John's parents and Aunt and Uncle, we did a bit of cleanup, fed the cats, and then packed up and headed out for Christmas round 2 with my parents in Rockford. We arrived about 4 pm...

On the afternoon of the 26th we stopped over to see my Dad. He was supposed to come in and visit us on 12/23, but he was ill and couldn't make it, so we got together in Rockford instead. He was impressed with how much Jack has grown (he weighed 15 pounds, 4 ounces at the Doctor on 12/27! Way to go, Peanut!) and how active he is. John and I joke now that it's less like having a baby and more like having a baby badger. He's very active and twisty-a fact my Dad found out first hand trying to hold him.

We exchanged gifts, and also tried to help my Dad set up his Tivo we gave him-there have been some technical difficulties, but hopefully he's on the path to getting it set up and joining the "tivolution".