Grandpa John and Grandma Susan

I finally downloaded my pictures from the past few weeks, and have these sweet ones I wanted to share with you of the first moments of baby Jack meeting Luke's dad and stepmom. John and Susan were such troopers to travel across the country, and through the night, for a quick trip in order to meet our little one. We will never forget the efforts they made to come and meet our little guy while he was still little. Check out the looks on their faces. Think they like him? :) Thank you so much, Grandpa John and Grandma Susan, for the memories you've made with our little guy from the very beginning!

Welcoming Baby Lucas!

I have such a sweet group of girlfriends from growing up, and what has become one of my favorite things to do with them is to host showers for each other when a wedding or baby comes along. It is such a special time of honoring them and celebrating the event about to take place.

Saturday we have the privilege of celebrating Elisabeth -- and her sweet baby boy who will be here soon! Elisabeth and I went to school together from pre-school all the way through high school. She is one of the happiest, kindest, and most generous people I know. Elisabeth looked so happy, healthy, and beautiful, and got so many special things for little Lucas!

Elisabeth and her hostesses

The spread

Meeting each other's babies!

Mom came to both celebrate Elisabeth -- and help with baby Jack 

Sweet Jack

Baby Jack loves Miss Becca!

Beautiful Abby and sweet Ty.

I love this little guy!

All showered out

Baby showers are fun but exhausting. :)

Sweet friends and children

It was a lovely day of celebrating and spending time with old -- and new -- friends. I am so excited that we will raise boys together so close in age -- and in the same city! We can't wait to meet you, Lucas!

Meeting Granny

Those of you who know me well have probably heard how wonderful my Granny is. She is an amazing woman and the best grandmother we could ask for. My childhood memories of her are of her reading us wonderful books (Katie No Pocket, Cully Cully and the Bear, etc), bouncing us on her lap, and telling us wonderful stories. My a little older memories of her are of road trips with her and Annaliese, swimming until the days ended in her pool, and of her hosting my high school and college friends when we road tripped to her home on Lookout.


This year Granny moved out of the home she moved into as a bride, and into a lovely retirement center. When my parents and three Nashville siblings went to see her on Spring Break, baby Jack and I hopped in for the ride! 

Granny, me, Jack, and Dad

Not only that, but we picked up my (adorable) preggo sister along the way. (Props to Will, Savannah, and Rosie for squeezing in the third row seat so we could all ride together.)

Getting some quality time with Aunt Liese

By the way, you know an awesome way to road trip with an infant? Have your dad drive, your mom sit next to him to entertain him, four of your siblings provide backup entertainment, and you ride shotgun and nap the whole time. :) Thank you, family!

Naked and happy in the Cracker Barrel parking lot

Anyway, it was awesome to get to see Granny, and such a privilege to introduce baby Jack to her. It makes my heart very happy that they know each other -- it has always been a dream of mine that my children would know her. She just loved him. I knew she would, but it was just precious to see. Watching her with him brought back a flood of memories of how she played with us and loved us as children. What a wonderful trip. Thank you, Granny, for the woman you are. And, thank you, family, for letting us tag along!

The whole crew who visited (Mom's taking the picture.) And, we all have our St Paddy's day green on. :)

Liese and Granny

I love the way he's touching her hand...

Granny making Jack laugh

Four Gilman generations!

We Made It!

I am happy to report that we made it through Luke's first two weeks of training! We knew the first two would be tough, and Luke's second week proved to be even more intense than the first. 


There is a typical 20% washout rate, and they are fast approaching that number -- happily Luke's picture is still intact - no red "X" through it! The level of physical intensity he reports each day seriously reminds me of Biggest Loser.


On the positive side, he says they have a really good group and this week they earned the right to wear uniforms rather than their suits. While we are both still surprised by the intensity, we are getting in more of a groove of how to handle the day to day prep work required.


Please pray that Luke's body holds up well under this level of physical training, and that he has the stamina and clarity of mind to study well for his exams.


Luke is doing great, and I am very proud of him for his hard work and dedication to this job and process. We are so very thankful to our parents, Ed and Melda, and our Nashville friends who have cooked dinners for us, opened their homes, held and loved on our baby, and encouraged us this week.


First two down -- just 20 to go!

Baby Jack showing us that week two is history. Thanks for hanging out with him this week, Auntie Rosie!

Baby Jack at Two Months

To my darling baby Jack,

These past two months with you have been some of the sweetest in our memory. Your presence in our family delights us, and we thank God for you every day. We feel so blessed to have you, and every day when we tell you who all loves you, we are so thankful that the list is so long!


You have changed so much in the past month! You have become very verbal and "talk" back and forth with us, or "sing" with us as we sing. You have started lifting your head up to look all around, and find the person who is talking - especially if it's your momma or daddy. One of the most fun things about this month is that you've started smiling in response to us talking to you -- first as little, shy smiles, and now as big, happy grins, where you also kick your legs and wave your arms with excitement.

You have also had a lot of big events this month! You were baptized on February 20th at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, and your Grandpa and Grandma came all the way from California to spend time with you and be there when your daddy named you for your grandfathers. Afterwards, we had a party of family and close friends to celebrate your life, and your hopeful future relationship with Jesus.

The next week, we moved back home to Nashville, the city where your momma and daddy grew up. Here you have most of your grandparents and so many family members and friends who love you dearly. Your daddy started a new job that keeps him very busy, but you just love bathtime, storytime, and weekends with him. Your face lights up when he comes in the room, and the other day when he was kissing your cheeks when he got home after a long day, he said "Baby Jack, your cheeks make me feel better."


We don't know your two month height and weight yet since we have just moved and had to wait for an opening with our new pediatrician, but I can tell you are growing well, and your 3 month footie pjs are getting too snug in the torso and the length.

You love to eat and sleep and generally eat at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7 through the day (sometimes with an extra evening feeding), and then sleep from 7 to about 3 when you eat again, but go back to sleep easily. You usually wake again when your daddy gets up to leave for work, but I can typically talk you into lying back down until 7. I need to start putting you down for naps more consistently in the day, but so far you have just slept on the go with us, either in your car seat or Ergo carrier as we have tended to the business of moving and getting settled.

You are my little sidekick and go everywhere with me. I'm so thankful for your happy, laid-back personality, especially on days where we have lots to do -- like yesterday when we went to the DMV, Sam's, and Wal-Mart. People most frequently comment on your hair - how much you have, and how great of a hairstyle you have. :) We also hear how bright your eyes are, and how alert you are, taking everything in.

 You go well to other people and seem to like seeing new people and places. You play with your hands a great deal, and are reaching out to grab things now, especially things with texture, like my hair, or your fuzzy seatbelt covers. You also like to "stand" when we are holding you, and if Daddy is holding you on his chest, you push up on his hand that is beneath your feet and try to "crawl" up to and over his shoulder. If we put you on your tummy, you scoot and wiggle your way to the other side of the mat.


My sweetest moments with you are feeding you in the wee hours of the morning, and seeing your angelic, peaceful face, and when you wake up from your naps or finish a feeding and just smile, giggle, and "talk" to me. It makes me so happy to see you growing and happy, and I hold this early time with you close to my heart.

You are our treasure, and we love you more even each day. I can't wait to see what this next month holds.

Much love,
Momma

Luke's First Week

Tuesday morning, March 1st, Luke reported for duty at the first day of training for his new job! We quickly found out that this training is no joke; Luke said that day one was pretty much exactly like day one of Marine Corps boot camp -- except maybe a little more intense. :) While I can't share very many details of his experiences there, I can tell you that he gets up at 4:45am, is gone by 5:20am, and gets home 12 hours later, sore and exhausted, and goes straight into a a routine of about 5 hours of prep work for the next day: shaving his head, polishing his shoes, steaming and pressing his suit, and then studying, studying, studying for the next day. I try and help by washing his whites then darks each night, packing his lunch, quizzing him over his material for the next day, etc. Luke is a very hard worker in general, and is used to putting in many hours on the job, but I think this stint is the most stringent and time-consuming that I've ever seen him do. Though he is weary, he is very dedicated to this job and therefore this process -- and is very pleased (long-term) that the job he has has such high standards for their employees. If you think of him, please pray for continued strength and stamina in these first few weeks -- and also in the 20 weeks after that! While there is a joy in the journey, I know there will also be a big sigh of relief the last weekend of July when he graduates. :) We'll let you know how week 2 goes...

Daddy's home! (Yes, all of his training is done in a SUIT!)

Goodbye, Valley Avenue

Friday morning, as Luke left for work, baby Jack and I got ready for our first road trip together -- we headed back to Birmingham to close on our condo! With the busyness of relocating with just 13 days notice -- and with a 7 week old, a quick sell was such a blessing!

We had a good first leg of our trip, and stopped in Huntsville for baby Jack to eat, and to pick up Aunt Liese! (Here's a picture she snapped of him while buckling him in!)

Not only do we LOVE Aunt Liese, but we are especially excited that she and Uncle Chad are expecting baby Jack's first cousin in August!

The three of us headed to Birmingham together and got there just in time for another meal for baby Jack, lunch for us, and to head to the closing. I HIGHLY recommend selling it to a friend -- it was the most pleasant closing ever! Since Luke had to work, I had power of attorney for him, and in just a few signatures, the first home that we bought was now in the ownership of some dear friends. (Thank goodness Aunt Liese was there to take care of the poopie diaper in the middle of the signings!)

We have such wonderful memories at our first place...that's the place we bought when Luke graduated the academy, and it's where we brought our puppy home, found out we were pregnant, hosted my ENTIRE family for Thanksgiving, served 'shift meals' to Luke's buddies working on our side of town, and brought our baby home...1700 Valley Avenue, you were so very good to us! We can only hope it's as good to our friends -- and that we can have a home of our own that special again one day soon!

Morgan's Photographs!

Our sweet new friend and neighbor Morgan so graciously gave her time to us to help capture Jack's baptism -- and what an amazing job she did!!! Having ALL of Jack's grandparents there meant so very much to us, and her work so beautifully captures the sweetness of those relationships. Morgan, you are so very talented, and sharing that talent with us on such a special day is the sweetest gift you could have given us. 

Enjoy!

http://www.morgantrinkerblog.com/2011/03/01/sweet-baby-jack-blessing/

Catching up

Hello friends! The past 7 weeks have been some of the most memorable of my life so far. We have, between the two of us, had the biggest snowstorm in Alabama in 20 years, had a baby during said snowstorm, traveled back and forth from Nashville no less than 11 times for Luke's final job interviews, attended services for Robbie's father's passing, accepted a job offer, packed up our place, baptized baby Jack, had California family visit, said goodbye to Birmingham friends, moved, accepted an offer on our condo, and started our new "jobs" -- Luke at the academy, and me as a stay-at-home mom. For some reason I've had trouble getting two free hands and time with a clear head to sit down to blog, so I've just been making notes for now with plans to get on here soon. I don't want to forget the changes and the overwhelming blessing during this time, so I don't want to neglect blogging, even as things are busy. So, going forward, I am going to pick up from here, while also going back and posting entries from the past seven weeks. Thank you for all of your love and support during this busy time of transition for our little family! Love, Johannah