Thursday, September 29, 2011

Jack's Baptism

Jack's baptism was on Sunday, September 25th at Holy Trinity Church. Father Clyde Grogan performed the ceremony. He did a great job- he made it very special. Father Grogan married Courtney and I, 5 years ago and we have felt a close relationship with him since then.  After the baptism, we celebrated with lunch back at our house. Jack's Godparents are his four grandparents- Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer and Grandma and Grandpa Krus.  He is a lucky little boy surrounded by much love and support.

Jack's baptism

Courtney, Jack and Shannon

Courtney, Jack, Father Clyde, Shannon
Our wonderful family and friends
Father Clyde, Courtney and Shannon
Father Clyde, Grandpa and Grandma Schaefer, Courtney, Jack and Shannon, Grandma and Grandpa Krus
Jack and his Great Grandmas- Schaefer and Sullivan
Livia, Kelly, Anna, Jack and Elyse
Courtney, Hayden, and Danielle
Barb, Vicki and Cecile
Elyse, Grandma Schaefer, Jack and Grandma Sullivan
Uncle Mike and Uncle Tony
Anne and Kylie
Great Grandpas- Sullivan and Schaefer

Great Grandpa Sullivan and Jack

The Schaefer Family
with Great Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer
with Great Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan
with Great Aunts Sue and Barb
Jack and Uncle Tony

Light the Night Walk

Each year we participate in the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk in Forest Park. It raises money for research and patient funds for patients dealing with blood related cancers. We walk in memory of Tim Holten, who passed away 10 years ago. He is our own personal guardian angel. When we were preparing for Jack's arrival we felt like we had a special connection and prayed to Tim to help keep Jack safe as he made his arrival into the world.  We have always liked the name Jack but it also has a special meaning to us, as Tim's dad's name is Jack Holten.. so it is also a tribute to Tim as well. 

This year was the 11th walk we have participated in. We walked 2 months after Tim passed away that first year in 2001. Each year I'm continually amazed at the support we have on our team. We average about 50 people on our team each year. It is incredible to have such support from friends and family.  We were excited for Jack to participate in the walk with us for the first time.  This year we also walked in honor of Drew Dacus. He was in my sister Kelly's second grade class last year and at the beginning of last year's school year he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He is in remission now, but continues chemo until next year to prevent a recurrence. He is doing great. Here are some pictures from the special night.

Jack- ready for his first Light the Night walk

Nicholas, Elyse, Doug and Anna Flath


Courtney and Aunt Ginny

Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan
Kelly and Barb
Shawn, Jack and Kelly

Courtney, Shannon, Megan, Jack and Erik
Kathy and Jack

Barb and Rick

Bill and Andrew

Barb, Owen and Luke

Shawn, Kelly and Steve

Jared and Mack
Livia and Ryan
Elyse and Kelly


Laura and Jack

Grandpa and Grandma Schaefer
Courtney, Jack and Shannon


Our group for the walk
meghan, steve, andrew and kathy



Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Jack's 2nd Month

I am way behind in updating Jack's blog and promise to be better from here out.  Jack is an amazing little boy who we fall more in love with every day.  This post is to update you on month 2 and I'll post a few more entries soon.


Jack is a very content baby and is completely up for being on the go with us. He has such a happy personality and so far taking him out and about is easy- and he's always getting looks and compliments.



He went with me to a girls night- along with his cousin Livia - they're going to be best friends just like Suzanne (her mom) and I.  They go to the same babysitter too and Livia is his protector:) She is 3 months older than Jack.



Jack is so blessed to have 4 great grandparents. I am beyond lucky to have all of my grandparents still living and doing well, and I am so excited that Jack has the chance to know him.  Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan went with me in August for a day out to St. Charles to visit Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer with Jack.

Jack on his playmat


meeting Kelli
6 weeks old - you'll see these blocks regularly (i hope). my goal was to take pictures with them every week.. but I have missed a few weeks here and there since he was born. They were a gift from friends in Chicago (liz and mike) and a perfect idea to keep track of what he looks like as he grows.


We took Jack to his second cardinal game with the flath family one night. It was perfect (could have been a little cooler) but he had fun and was happy being passed around. Nicholas and Anna (and one day elyse) are going to be great babysitters!




hanging out


Dinner at Rosalitas-  this is Courtney and I's favorite new Mexican place.. its somewhat of an addiction - we probably go there at least twice a month.. i'm starting to feel like they know us when we go which may not be a good thing:)



  Visiting the poor clares. We prayed to them before Jack was born for a healthy arrival. We went back with Jack to thank them for their prayers and show them to the sisters of the poor clare. One of them came out to meet him and offered more prayers for him. It was a neat visit.

We went to spend an afternoon with barb and jack holten before I went back to work and it was a day when they had Elyse, so we had a fun visit with her too.

love this little yawn

we went to surprise Grandpa Schaefer at work one day and took him ice cream.


We also made a few visits to see Grandma Schaefer at Althoff


Over Labor Day weekend we took Jack on his first trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. My mom and dad rented a condo for the weekend and we went along- as well as Kelly and her friend AJ. We had a great time. Jack loved the pool and we had great weather while we were there.
a trip to the grocery store


jack is so strong and does great with tummy time

this pic is blurry but one of the first smiles i captured - love it. he is really starting to recognize us and smiles so much. he is so happy in the mornings.

i love dressing him up like a little man.. sometimes he probably wishes i didn't but i can't help it!

riley and jack

my dad played in an alumni soccer game for his grade school's 50th anniversary of a school soccer tournament. we decided it would be fun to go watch him play.  great grandma and grandpa schaefer were there too.



watching the u of i game with dad

at the clayton art fair with kara and leslie

This was at the doctors office before his 2 month shots.. He was so happy and had no idea what was coming. He had to get 5 shots (in 3 injections) in his thigh.. I heard the saddest cry I ever heard out of him.. It made me want to start bawling in the doctors office!  It bothered him for about a day and then he was better..

poor guy
he needed lots of cuddle time after his shots.. and we were happy to have 2 days of cuddling with him.

Larry was in town and we got to meet up with him for dinner to catch up- Jack and Larry matched :)

Courtney took a day off on my last day home with Jack before I went back to work. We went out to lunch and had a great day hanging out together


this is my little snuggle bear the morning i went back to work. it was so hard leaving him- harder than i ever imagined.. i cried most of the day the first two days back and still hate leaving him in the morning.. people say it will get easier but we'll see.  4 days a week he goes to the babysitter (those are the hardest days for me- worried he won't get held except to take his bottles) but on Tuesdays Grandma Cel comes to our house to watch him and he gets lots of love and cuddle time, and those days its easier to leave.  Megan came in town and watched him one day which was awesome too- and she's planning to come back again soon to spend a day with him.. He loves days at home when he gets lots of attention!

one of Jack's Tuesdays with Grandma Cel

here are a few pics of his nursery for those of you who haven't seen it. Courtney did a great job putting up the head borad in his room with the help of Jack Holten. The pics that Stephanie took when he was 6 days old are all over the room too.