Jack and I were caught napping (with our mouths open). I guess this video shows Jack is definitely my son.

Jack had gone 4 months being in this world without going into the pool. We don’t have access to a pool around us in Nashville and so one of things Anne was really looking forward to on this trip was taking him swimming for the first time. And she didn’t waste any time. We arrived at my mom’s cabin at 5:30 pm and Jack and Anne were in the pool by 7 pm. His first experience in the pool could be summed up in the word “curious.” He wasn’t scared but wasn’t overly excited. He just enjoyed playing with mom and dad and there just happened to be a lot of water around. I think his first time in the pool was more exciting for his parents then it was for him. But we hope he grows up to be a lover of the water. Here are some pictures.

Jack quickly learned that being on vacation (even one in which you do nothing) can be exhausting.

My aunt Carol met Jack for the first time on our trip. Her husband Fred took this great shot of them together.

My mom has been a lifelong pianist. Her cabin wouldn’t really be her home without her piano. Anne also loves playing the piano so it was fun for her to spend some time on our vacation playing the piano as the pine trees outside listened in. 

Jack has 12 cousins. That seems amazing to me because I only had 3 cousins. Before our trip to Dallas, Jack had met 10 of them so we were excited that he was going to meet the last two — Andrew and Bree Anna (my sister Heather’s kids). Both of them loved holding their new cousin from Tennessee. One morning Andrew was playing with Jack and Jack was just laughing and laughing.

You can’t really see it but even Jack has a Horch shirt.

One of my favorite parts of my mom’s cabin is the huge back deck. In the mornings we would go out there and just sit, drink coffee or orange juice and read and talk. It is a great place to read the bible and have a quiet time with God. Anne took this picture of me reading Scripture while Jack slept. Now this is what a vacation should look like. Click here to watch a video of this same scene

One of the purposes of the vacation was to let my mom and my family get to spend some time with Jack. Staying at my mom’s house gave Gram plenty of time with her grandson. And she took full advantage of it. Here are some our favorite pictures with them together.

My mom has recently moved from Dallas to East Texas and resides in a wonderful, peaceful wooded community called Holly Lake Ranch. Holly Lake has tons of pine trees and lakes — the perfect environment to get away and relax. And to top it off, she lives in a log cabin. But not just any log cabin but a huge one that literally calls out to you to come in and rest. My picture doesn’t do it justice but gives you a glimpse of the front of her home.

For our week with my mom we didn’t plan a schedule at all. We just wanted to spend some days simply doing nothing…and it was great. We spent our mornings on the huge back deck, took walks, played in the pool and mostly just relaxed. It was wonderful.

We can’t wait for Jack to get older because we know he will love to come to the cabin and play outside, spot the deer and other animals and have great adventures at Gram’s house.

Not only did we take a vacation to Texas but I took a vacation from the blog while we were gone. For those who rely on this site to keep you updated on all things Horch I hope the break wasn’t too devastating. Hopefully you took the opportunity to get outside and take a walk, meet your neighbors, take up a new hobby, read a a book or learn a foreign language. But I am now officially back giving you all the exciting details of a Nashville family raising a young boy. We took a lot of pictures while we were gone so I will post plenty on the blog including video of Jack’s first time in a pool.

I started this blog on August 28, 2008. When I posted my first entry I wasn’t sure if I would keep it up for a few days or a few weeks. But I am excited to know that we have lasted an entire year. It has been fun to chronicle the pregnancy of Jack and now his first four months. I thought that once we had Jack I would stop the blog but it has become a great way to keep our family and friends involved with our lives. I am looking forward to another year of seeing Jack grow and we will do our best to keep the pictures coming.

The Horch family is headed to Texas tomorrow. It is always good to be spending a few days in the homeland. Many of my family members haven’t even met Jack yet so we are excited to be able to introduce him to more of his extended family.

This afternoon Jack received his 4th month shots. Never a fun day for the child or the parent. Jack cried a little bit at the initial injection but then quickly calmed  down. I am not sure who the shots hurt more — son or mom. Anne is doing good but still feeling sad after seeing her son have needles put in him.

Last time Jack got shots he was initially fine and then later in the afternoon he really started feeling the pain. We are hoping this time will not be as difficult.