New Pictures of Jack

Here are a few new pictures of Jack, seems like he has changed so much already. Jack is such a good baby boy. Dan & I are so blessed to have such good, healthy, happy, beautiful children. Jack is growing like a weed, he grew 1/2 an inch in 2 weeks. I guess for me, I will always be the shortest one in my family - even with my children. :) Jack is a good sleeper. He sleeps pretty good through the night. He will give us a 5-7 hour stretch, which is nice. But during the day he is ready to eat every 2 hours! He is going to be a big boy. His hands are pretty big, very long fingers. Jack also has big feet, his foot is as big as the palm of my hand. I am afraid to say that I think he has Meisenzahl feet, sorry Dad - no offense, but he has very long toes too. Sometimes he will curl his toes around my pinkie finger - pretty funny. Jack is trying to hold his head up, he wants to see everything, of course in our house - there is a lot to see with his two big sisters running around. He really responds to both of his sisters, when he hears their voices, he will turn his head in their direction. And of course, both girls are OVER THE MOON about their baby brother. They both want to hold him and see him all the time. I am pretty sure he is going to be one spoiled little dude. Jack is a little sweet baby though, he loves to cuddle. He can't wait to meet the rest of his family! Love to you all.

This is a picture of Jack on November 22, 2009, Bailey decided she wanted to cuddle with Jack.

Here is Jack on Thanksgiving morning helping Mommy in the kitchen, what a good helper boy!

These pictures were taken of Jack today - November 29th, 2009, just a few minutes ago!!

Yelow Belt Test

November 14th, 2009
Today Ryann tested for her YELLOW belt in TaeKwonDo. She passed & is now officially a YELLOW belt. She did an excellent job. We are so proud of her. It won't be long before she is considered a "lethal weapon". :) Here are a couple of pictures and two short videos, one of her breaking a board to earn her yellow belt and then the other of her receiving her yellow belt. Way to go Ryann!

Here He Is.....

Finally the day came... November 4th, 2009 we welcomed our BEAUTIFUL SWEET baby boy John "Jack" Burke Ely to our family. He weighed 8lbs 8 oz, was 21 inches long. We are so blessed he is a happy healthy baby. We are adjusting very well. Jack is a good baby, he is such a cuddler. His big sisters are over the moon that their baby brother is here. They both have to start their day 1st thing by seeing their brother. The girls have decided to nickname him - BUBBA or BUBBY! Which is ironic, since that is what Uncle Corey was called when he was younger. Not sure how they came up with the nickname, but living in East Texas - Bubba Jack fits well. Here are a couple of pictures from the beginning. We will post more when we have them. All Our Love, Dan, Steph, Ryann, Morgaine & now JACK!!!

Halloween 2009

This year for Halloween Ryann was Padme Amidala (from the "newer" Star Wars movies) and Morgaine was Cinderella. We had a block party out in front of our house again this year. It was so crazy getting ready for party and trying to get both girls in their costumes, I was unable to get a picture of the girls together in their costume. I was only able to get this one shot of 1/2 of the kids who were at the block party. Sorry!!!

Ms. Smarty Pants

Today Ryann received her 1st report card for the school year. She received STRAIGHT A's!! She did not have a grade below 95. We are so proud of her. This is different than last year, they just gave a E for Excellent, S for Satisfactory, NI for Needs Improvement and U for Unsatisfactory. She is being graded on her homework done at home, her reading and all projects she does at school. We are so incredibly proud of Ms. Ryann!!

The Karate Kid

Ryann has been begging me to sign her up for a karate class for almost 2 years now. We were able to find a class that was flexible and reasonably priced. So this year starting the 1st of September Ryann has been taking a TaeKwonDo class once a week. She LOVES it and seems to really excel at this too. She does better push-ups than most of the little boys in her class. :) She is in a class for children who are between the ages of 5-9 years. They all are at different levels (different belt colors). There are a couple of children in her class that are 1 belt away from being a black belt! One little boy looks like he is just barely 5 years old. Ryann may have her black belt before we know it! Watch out! :) Here are a couple of pictures from one of her classes. They move so fast, it is hard to get some good pics, but I will keep on trying. Love to you all!

She's Got A Cannon

Saturday was Ryann's very 1st softball game. She did FANTASTIC!!! She is a true natural - she must take after her Uncle's or something. :) The rules are a little different for this league, since all of the girls are 1st time players. The coaches throw 3 pitches to the batter, if they do not hit one of those pitches, then they bring out the tee for the girls to hit off of. They also do 2 outs instead of 3 - otherwise the game could go on forever. :) And if one team goes through their entire batting order, then they switch, so everyone has a fair turn. They also do not keep score. So, Ryann's 1st time at bat, she used the tee but hit a DOUBLE! She really hit the ball well, it was a line drive between 1st & 2nd base! She is also doing a wonderful job throwing the ball. When she 1st started she did not step when she threw the ball, now she is stepping and throwing. She can throw quite a way too. But she also needs to work on not throwing it so hard & far if her teammate she is throwing to is close to her. :) Ryann played 3rd base for the rest of the game - she did a great job. Her 2nd time at bat, she hit the 1st pitch thrown to her, line drive between short stop & 3rd base! BUT, the coach thought she heard the umpire call PLAY BALL, but he didn't so Ryann had to go again, she needed the tee to hit, but still had a nice hit right by 2nd base and made a single. Ryann is loving softball and her coaches are wonderful. They really are helping the girls to develop their basic skills of the game. My guess is that by the end of her season (Oct. 31) Ryann will look like a pro! Here are some pics from Saturday's game. Enjoy!