Perfectly timed...

I have to say I could not have been happier with the timing of my pregnancy. Having Jack in the beginning of May and then having 16 weeks maternity leave made for the best summer ever! Made even better when your husband and virtually all of your friends are teachers and you all have the summer off together. Because of this we got to do a bunch of fun stuff we most likely would not have been able to do:

 

We spent lots of time with Grandma

 

We had some backyard BBQ's 

We spent lots of quality time with Harper

and Auntie Megan

and even Sienna a couple times

We got to visit our cousins

and have extra cuddles with daddy

We spent some time at the pool with the McCann's...

And with the Hare's

Uncle Terry came and played a few times and taught Jack about world cup soccer

We went to our first Spokane Indians game...

Jack was not impressed

We had an impromptu garage sale and made some extra money

We spent time with Uncle Simpson and learned about Michael Jackson and PYT

We had fun game nights with friends

And lots of shopping trips with mom

All that plus 4 uninterrupted months getting used to our new normal as a family of 3! I could not have asked for a more memorable, perfectly timed, maternity leave. We truly are blessed beyond belief.

Lake life...

The last week of July, Jack and I had the pleasure to spend the week at my Aunt and Uncle's cabin on Lake Coeur d'Alene. The timing could not have been better since Jim had to be out of town for a conference in Boston. While I love spending as much time as possible with Jack a whole week as a single mom did not sound too appealing so I jumped at the chance to spend the week with my family at the lake.

 

It was the perfect vacation and Jack became a whole new baby! Gone was the colicky baby who screamed and fussed and never slept. Instead we were blessed with the calmest, sweetest, happiest babe you ever did see. He only cried when he was hungry. He took 2 2-3 hour naps consistently and slept from about 8 or 9pm till 5am every day. It was amazing! I have never seen anything like it. Apparently all the kid needed was a beach vacation to relax and chill out.

 

Besides Jack's personality shift it was great to just be around my family. We got to spend good quality time with: Aunt Pat and Ev, Ben and his girlfriend Bridget and her son Gus, Aunt Mary T, Connal, and Fiona, Uncle Frank and Kathleen, Terry and Amy, and of course my mom. It was just what this mama needed! Thanks to all for all the help with Jack, I would not have survived the week without you!

 

Now on to the pictures!

 

this picture kills me. I think it may have been Tuesday...

Tough guy Tuesday that is :)

what is mom making me wear?

 

beautiful day at the CDA resort. Not a cloud in the sky

 

Jack LOVE LOVE LOVES his Grandma!

She can get the best smiles out of him :)

 

even at 5 am Jack is happy at the lake

 

Jack loved hanging out with Gus all week!

Also I need to just say that Gus is the sweetest, most well mannered, polite, fun, kid I have had the joy to be around in a long time. I hope he can teach Jack a thing or two in the years to come.

 

we learned that the swaddle helps Jack sleep and nap

as an added bonus he doesn't seem to mind it

 

Nakey Baby!

Jack's first time skinny dipping; he was not so much a fan

 

sportin and supporting the Hawks just like his Uncle. Thanks for the hat Terry

 

Ben and Gus checking out the view or maybe deciding where they are going to fish

 

seriously never been happier

our digs for the week. I love this place. Its exactly what a lake cabin should be

 

who wouldn't love this place? Check out the view from the porch

 

the full moon reflecting off the water

 

You can't beat this beach

 

sometimes its just too hot for clothes

 

Jack loved his 2nd cousins, Connal and Fiona

 

I don't know what Jack and I would have done at home alone all week. Having our family around to help us all week was amazing! Its such a blessing to be surrounded by the best grandmas, brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins anyone could ask for. Thank you all for an unforgettable week!

roadtrippin...

About a month after Jack was born we went on our first road trip to Seattle. My mom got all of us kids tickets to the US men's national soccer team qualifier against Panama and we just couldn't pass up the chance to see them play.

 

Unfortunately Jim still had school so he missed it; Terry was able to ride with us and help with Jack along the way.

 

Here's Jack all ready to go

 

As you can see Uncle Terry was a big help :)

 

We drove over the morning of the game and stopped at Sheila's beforehand to hang out with all the kids. Here are all 4 cousins together

 

Anne Marie is just 3 days younger than Jack. It will be great fun watching these two together.

 

Here's grandma with all 4 of her grand kids.

She sure does have her hands full

 

 

I was not too sure how Jack would do at such a loud game so he got to spend some quality time with his Auntie Katie while mom went to the game. Here he is loaded up headed to her house

 

 

At the game watching the warm ups



President Obama sent a message to the team and fans

 

 

SCARF'S UP!

 

Both teams taking the pitch

The Sounder Soccer Fans are intense and so fun to watch a game with

our seats were fantastic!

Seriously such an awesome event to attend! 

It was a quick trip but well worth it and we all had a great time.

 

 

here we are on the way home. Jack struggled a little bit more on the way home so Uncle Terry moved back and kept him company.

 

He really is the best uncle around :)

 

Here we are all loaded up to head back home