Jack is 1

Its hard to believe how quickly a year has gone by...I really am still in denial that my sweet little boy is 1! Jack was 1 on March 24th and we celebrated his birthday with family a few days later. We all woke Jack up on his birthday and sang to him. Allie was the most excited I think. She couldn't wait for him to have a birthday (secretly I think its b/c her bday is 3 weeks later!). We took a few morning shots of the bday boy and when I picked him up from school, they had given him a birthday Mohawk! Very funny! We had pizza and cupcakes for his birthday dinner. He loved his cupcake as you can tell from the pictures below.

My family came over on Sunday to help celebrate his monkey themed birthday. I tried to keep it pretty low key and I found a cute idea on how to make cupcakes look like monkey faces. My art teacher made the toppers for the other cupcakes. We grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs and opened presents. Jack was not very interested in opening presents and Allie was happy to fill in for him! I wasn't able to get as many pictures as I had hoped to at his party...I was too busy playing hostess! We are so thankful that Jack was able to be surrounded by those that love him so much.

Here are some fun 12 month facts about Jack that I would like to remember:
Weight: 27lbs. (95%)
Height: 32 in. (95%) Yes...Jack is a BIG BOY!
Wears mostly 18-24 month clothes and some 24 month...it depends on the store
Wears size 4 diapers
Has 7 teeth (3 on top and 4 on bottom)
Is officially a walker...he still crawls and is just now starting to push up off the floor, but he walks a lot!
He is a great eater...there are few things that he will not eat!
Only takes two bottles a day (one at nap time and one at bedtime); he drinks milk from a sippy
Has a really funny personality...he loves to make us laugh and looks for ways to constantly entertain us.
Peek a Boo is one of his favorite games to play
Enjoys playing with his toys and likes to make things crash and bang on things (just like a boy)
Gets into everything and does not like being told no...his fits are pretty pitiful!
Has several words-dada, mama, short a sound for Allie, bye bye, hi, tries to bark when he sees a dog, all done (and signs this), more (and signs), signs please and his new favorite word to say is ball. Balls are probably his favorite toys!
He knows that shoes go on his feet, headbands go on your head (thanks Allie) and tries to "talk" when he holds a toy phone or our phone to his ear.
He loves to dance and sing...his favorite songs are Twinkle, Twinkle and This Little Light of Mine
He still takes a while to adjust to a new place and has to "warm up" first
He still likes to snuggle
He only takes one nap-at school we are lucky if it's an hour long. He takes anywhere from 1 1/2-3 hrs. on the weekend
cup during the day. I have a feeling breaking him from his two bottles is going to take us a while!

My sweet birthday boy!

Sweet siblings

Mmmm cake!

This was the only "good" picture I got of Jack in his bday shirt

He wasn't quite sure what to do with his monkey cupcake...but once he had a bite, he loved it!

Happy Birthday my sweet Jack! Daddy, Mommy and Allie love you so much!

11 Months...and Other Updates

Obviously, I'm really behind on Jack's 11 Month happenings, but in all honesty, it was such a crazy month, I'm having a hard time remembering what "new" things happened. I really wish I could have that month back b/c Jack was sick for the entire month. Between the flu and ear infections, he wasn't a very happy little boy. We did manage to get in a few silly times and sweet smiles but for the most part, he did not feel well and was pretty cranky! Once Jack had the flu, he developed double ear infections and we could not get them to go away. He was on 3 different antibiotics, and still nothing helped. We decided to go ahead and get him tubes. It all happened quite fast, but I think it was a great decision. I could immediately tell he could hear better and he was back to babbling a lot and trying to talk. Yay!
Jack is my mischievous child...he gets into everything, opens everything and doesn't really care when we tell him No touch. If he wants something, he is bound and determined to find a way to get it, even if he has to push his way or dive over something to get it. He bangs on everything and the louder he can be, the better! He is constantly trying to get us to laugh and acts very silly most of the time. Allie is his favorite person to play with, but also enjoys playing with his toys and discovering how they work. He loves music and tries to sing. His first word was bye-bye (just at 10 months like his sister) and he can also say dada, "a (short a sound)" for Allie, all done (he also signs this), hi, momma, and he can sign more. Yesterday when he saw a dog, he started making sounds (like barking sounds) and recently when he plays with his phone, he will put it up to his ear and say "hi". He loves playing peek-a-boo and will do it with about anything or anywhere. He still does not like to have his clothes changed or his diaper changed and would rather be naked. He is down to 1 nap a day, eats really well and drinks from a sippy cup. This past week, we have introduced cow's milk and he's tried eggs. He also got his first big boy haircut (will post pictures later). Last Friday, Jack took steps for the first time. He thinks it's lots of fun and likes to practice but still not a full time walker.
It's hard to believe he will be 1 in exactly one week from today...I wish I could stop time for just a little bit.

My silly boy...making us all laugh!

Loves to smile for the camera

Another silly moment

Yay...no clothes!

This was not the pic I wanted on here and I couldn't get it to delete...bad of both of us!

We managed to squeeze in the Cow Town race to support my brother. He ran his first 1/2 marathon. He's been bitten by the running bug and now plans to train for a marathon! Way to go Scott!

Jack waiting to go back to get ready for his surgery

Now that all is well in our house (at least for now), we've finally been able to get outside and enjoy the spring weather. We love going to the park!

*Other exciting news...we've decided that I'm going to stay at home next year part time. This is very exciting and scary all at the same time. Those of you who know me, know that all I've ever wanted is to stay home with my sweet kids. I feel so blessed that an opportunity has presented itself and would really appreciate prayers. I'm so thankful that I will be able to be at home for Jack and be available to Allie who starts Kinder in the fall! My part time plan is to sub in schools, unless another opportunity presents itself. ---OH, its still not official at work so if you could please not announce it to the world, I would appreciate it!

Jack at 10 Months

Hard to believe that my sweet boy is 10 months old! Jack is so much fun and his personality is really starting to show! Jack is so full of life and everything is fun, new and exciting to him. He loves to explore his surroundings and is determined to get whatever it is that he is after. He keeps us all very busy! He has decided that he does not like the word "no" or when we take something from him that he shouldn't have. He let's us know this by "fake crying" as Jarod calls it or by throwing a nice little fit on the floor. It's really hard for us to not laugh at him when he does this. He is so pitiful and cute!
I love watching him play with his toys. He is really starting to explore them and has learned how to get some of them to come on (the ones with music or other fun tricks). He either giggles at his toys or gets frustrated when they won't do what he wants them to do. He still enjoys banging on his toys or whatever else he can find. He is super fast at crawling and makes a break for the stairs whenever he sees an opening! He cruises around the furniture really well and will let go to get to other things. He can now walk behind his push toy but has yet to practice "standing". He won't keep still long enough to practice:)
He loves songs and music...he has started to "dance" and "move" when music is on, clap his hands and his newest trick is waving his finger when we sing "This Little Light of Mine". He loves pointing at things and giving "high fives". Jack also loves to make us laugh and will do this by funny faces, mimicking noises made or playing peek-a-boo. He started dropping his toys on purpose in the car so Allie will get them and it didn't take long for Allie to tell him that it wasn't a fun game:)
Jack pretty much eats whatever we eat but in smaller bites of course. I think two of his favorite things right now are pancakes and quesadillas, but he really will eat just about anything you give him. He makes a lot of funny and different faces...usually in reaction to something and he has a really "cheesy" smile!
We are all so blessed by our sweet little Jack and just love him so much!
* the first pic of Jack I love b/c it shows his top teeth!

This is Jack and his friend Gorilla...it's actually Allie's but he absolutely loves it! He attacks it all of the time and wrestles with it.

This is my sweet Jack the day after we found out he had the flu...he looks so sad...he is also wearing a hat b/c it was very cold in our house (the power had been off for 2 hrs)

"Hmm...I wonder what these taste like?"

"They don't taste like food"

"Maybe I should look for another one"

We went to the park last weekend (when it was over 70 degrees) so I decided to add a few of those pictures in with this post. Hard to believe that 3 days later it felt like negative 3, tons of ice on the ground, no school for 4 days and Jack got the flu! See my next post for snow pictures with my girl!

So serious!

My two favorite boys!

Love this girl!

She loves to "ham it up"

And "strike a pose"

Crazy Texas Weather

This week has been one of the craziest weeks of Texas weather. It's pretty normal for the temps to go up and down, but we have never had this much ice and then beautiful snow! I only had to go to work one day this week...which is pretty unheard of to miss 4 days of school because of ice/snow. We tried to keep ourselves entertained over the last few days. We couldn't do much because Jack decided to get the flu the day before the ice hit (which meant I didn't have to take any sick days to stay home)! We woke up this morning to a beautiful blanket of snow and it was still coming down till about 2:00 this afternoon.

Since I had not been out of my house since Monday, I got Allie and I all bundled up and headed out to go sledding in a laundry basket. It actually worked really well. We have a small field right by our house with a hill and it works great for sledding. Allie and I had a great time sledding and falling together in the snow. I busted hard once and I just laughed and so did Allie! I love make these memories with her. It always brings me back to my own childhood memories in Omaha and sledding with my mom.

She fell over a few times...but still so much fun!

Please excuse my squinting eyes...I had not see natural light in a few days:)

Allie wanted to pose by this sign

Not sure why this picture looks so pink!

Jack at 9 Months

It's hard to believe that my sweet Jack is 9 months old...I know I say this every month, but it really is weird to me how fast his first year of life is going by. I wish I could make time stand still. I love this age so much and I would like for him to stay this age for a little longer. Jack is changing so much every day! I may have a hard time remembering everything I want to at this age.
His stats:
Weight: 23lbs. 10 oz. (our doctor doesn't weigh with his clothes off so I usually round down) 80th %
Height: 30 1/2 inches (97%)
We have one tall boy! I looked at Allie's stats. She was that tall at 1 and 22lbs. He has already passed her by 3 months! Good grief! He may really take after my dad and my brother who are both very tall.
Here are some new things I want to remember about Jack at 9 months:
-claps all of the time; even when others are clapping
-still waves bye bye and will babble something when he waves
-loves to play peek-a-boo and patty cake
-he thinks it's fun to find ways to make us laugh and will do it over and over again!
-loves to chase after Allie and play with her...they are best friends!
-crawls even faster and cruises around furniture pretty quickly...especially if he sees a remote control in his sight
-still takes two naps a day (naps have been difficult lately)
-had his first ear infection
-now has 5 teeth (he got his top 2 right before Christmas)
-can drink from a sippy cup with assistance...he isn't good at tilting it back
-will eat anything you give him...here are some new foods he's had-spaghetti, waffles, pancakes, pinto beans, avocado, cheerios, baby goldfish crackers, turkey, chicken, bread, tortilla, baked potato, baked sweet potato, club crackers. I have not given him anything where I have added an egg and then cooked it (blueberry muffins). So far he has not had an reaction to frozen waffles (Allie did at this age). So, we are hoping he will not be allergic to eggs!
-still wears size 3 diapers and wears a night diaper at bedtime
-he is very tenacious...he wants everything and will find a way to get it!
-he is a mommy's boy
-doesn't like being alone (if we walk into a different room), he either cries or follows you and cries
-bangs on everything
-pushes his push toy, but his feet don't follow yet!
-he babbles a lot and makes lots of funny noises with his mouth
-he makes a lot of different faces
-understands "no" most of the time, but doesn't really care to listen
-will smile when he sees a camera
-loves stuffed animals-he tackles Allie's gorilla all of the time...it's his favorite
-wears 12-18 month clothes

We have been so blessed these past 9 months with our sweet Jack. He brings constant joy and laughter to our lives. We just love this little guy and can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us!

His new favorite place to pull up to is the end table...he stands on his tippy toes to see what he can grab!