Weekend in the Woods...

Picture Overload

Our little Thumb-Sucker

Jack always wants to accompany us to the bathroom.

If you don't let him in, he will bang on the door, yell for you, and attempt to let himself in...

...the entire time.

Gotta love this pose....


Grabbing a quick snack...

Splashing in the water...

It took an act of God to get him to stop.

He was a little eager to get bathtime started...

He's always finding new uses for his toys.

This little table is a new riding toy.

He will sit on it...and say, 'weeeeee'...as he rocks from side to side.

Oh the faces he makes...

Now that I finally got my anniversary present--I am taking pictures non-stop.

I'm so excited to have such a wonderful new camera at my disposal all the time.

First Dentist Appointment

Jack had his very first dentist appointment today. Our family doctor recommended him...and I have to say that he was GREAT!!! The office, staff, and dentist himself were SO kid-friendly. Jack got an adorable little toothbrush to add to his collection, and then had his teeth examined and counted. Everything is right on track. His teeth are in perfect condition, and there is no need to worry in the least about the thumb-sucking (for now--I'd like it to stop for a multitude of reasons). He'll go back in 6 months to get his first cleaning! Jack did great--let them look in his mouth without an ounce of protest. Maybe once I see how brave Jack can be at the dentist (I tried to really pump him up to be excited)...then I'll brave it myself. Ha ha!!!

I never get tired of looking at this face....

...even if there are chunks of his dinner still on it!!!

This weekend...

We just got home from a weekend at Bob's Mom's house. We got to see Aunt Linda, who was in town for the weekend. Jack got a chance to play with his cousin, Jason--they are so fun to watch; they play well together; share well; and they would hug each other out of the blue without prompting (as seen above). Jack had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grampa. I've got a few pictures and videos that I'll get up in the next few days.

He learned a few new words this weekend.....and has picked up quite a few others in the past week or so. (I like to write these down so I can remember them.)

• No, no, no (thanks, Granny lol)
• Ga-ma (Grandma aka Granny--to the older grandkids--who now calls herself Grandma)
• a Ninna (Aunt Linda--who goes by Aunt Ninna)
• Der-u-go (There you go)
• Ga-pa (Grampa--I swear I heard him say this once to Ed)
• Heer-u-go (Here you go)
• Un, too, tree (One, Two Three)
• Outside (this is one of my favorites)
• Sit
• Sit down
• Comon (Come on--this might mean come here, feed me, give that to me, hurry up)
• Got Me (means hold me or you got me)
• Door
• Sorry
• Tanku (Thank you)

We tried to teach him to say "touchdown" when we watched the Colts game today, but lets face it...there weren't many chances to do so. Ahh...I guess barely a win is still a win.

Will get more posted soon.

18 Months

Just got back from Jack's 18 month appointment...

Here are his current stats:

Weight: 27lbs 12oz (50th percentile)
Length: 31.5 inches (25th percentile)
OFC (Head Circumference): 18 inches (10th percentile)

Everything seemed to be right on track with no concerns (other than my own, which I'll get to momentarily). My next mission is to get him that darn H1N1 vaccine...if it ever becomes available. And then to make an appointment with a pediatric dentist just so he can start getting used to going.

On the homefront....
We're battling with illness again...it already seems like its neverending this season. Cold after cold. Now Jack has some virus (cough, diarrhea, runny nose, but no fever). Bob is sick with what I can only imagine is a flu of some sort--the doctor said to make him come in tomorrow if he's still running fevers (I'm sure he will be). And while I've had the stuffy nose and cough that never leaves, I'm now waiting to catch what Bob has. I'm praying I don't, but realistic enough to think that my chances aren't looking good. I'm not sure who will take care of Jack if I get sick (Bob has been in seclusion in the bedroom since he woke up yesterday morning).

I'm going a little nutty doing it all by myself. Kudos to single parents! I'm not even 48 hours in, and I want a break. No one to talk to...except Jack (who I find is trying the very little patience I have left on a much more frequent basis). Its boring, tiring, tedious, and there's the ever present worry about Jack (and I) getting sick. Ugh!

Thanks for listening to the rants and worries of this crazy mommy! :)

"Buvoo"

Jack is saying a ton of new things. Repeating all kinds of things (we better start editing ourselves REALLY well). My favorite new phrase...

... "Buvoo" ....

Any guesses?

Its Jack talk for "I Love You".

And, yes, I do, too, little man...more than you will ever imagine.

In the Early Days...

In the early days, Jack fell asleep anywhere, anytime. In fact, until he was about a month old, we thought we had one of those laid back, easy babies.

However, Jack proved to quickly be the spirited child that we thought him to be when we used to feel his crazy moves while I was pregnant with him. And the times like those pictured above....are but a vague vague memory.

Thankfully, its now bedtime in our house. The madman is no longer roaming the living room like a crazy person. There's quiet throughout the house. And there's a little boy peacefully sleeping in his bed. Ahhhh, bliss! (Although, I kind of miss him....its the happiest and the saddest time of day!)

Today, I'm sad.
Today, I'm amazed.
Today, I'm honored.
Today, I'm humbled.
Today, I'm heartbroken.
Today, I'm grateful.
Today, I don't understand WHY.
But, today, I came home and hugged my baby extra tight.

iphone--Fun for All Ages

I adore my iphone. A lot. It is an amazing little invention. And someone, in their brilliance, has made lots of games that cater to children of all ages. For a whopping $0.99 (most of the time), you can find something to entertain your screaming toddler, your bored child, and even yourself. This summer, our niece Ava took quite an interest in my phone...and we found 2 games perfectly suitable for a princess such as herself (MyNails and MyMakeup). And they literally kept her entertained for hours. She was quite careful and gentle and VERY quickly learned how to navigate the pages. I have a sneaky suspicion that the next time I see her...the first words out of her mouth might be, "Can I play with your phone?".

Gun Etiquette 101

This summer, at Sue and Ed's, some of the guys spent some time shooting clay pigeons.

Everyone who was there remembers what happened here.....lol.

(Side note: All the children and babies were safely tucked far away while the guns were out.)

Dancing....

Jack loves to dance. He's been bouncing to the beat of music since he figured out how. Dancing used to mean bobbing his head and upper body around. He's switched up his routine lately. Now, dancing essentially means running in place. And he breaks out his moves anytime there's music to be heard. And its hilarious and adorable.

In this 'music video', Jack is dancing to a song from the movie 'Babe' (you know, the one with the talking pig who has that tuft of hair on his head who saves himself from being eaten by learning to herd sheep, or, if you're lucky, maybe you DON'T know).

This video will be a little difficult to watch unless you have a laptop (that you can turn sideways) because, not thinking, I filmed it with the camera turned sideways. If you don't have a laptop...its still worth watching; you'll just, uh, have to strain your neck a little.

T-t-t-t-turtle

Since Jack is only at daycare a few days a week, we just send a bag with him on the days he goes with all his 'supplies' (diapers, wipes, spare clothes, etc). I recently down-graded to this little turtle backpack that I bought long before he was born (I thought it was cute). Lately, Jack has been wanting to carry it around when we're at home. Its so fun to watch him want to do new things--he is starting to act like such a big boy!

Granny & Grampa's Deck

Just still catching up on pictures from this past July....here are some of my favorites of us hanging out on the beautiful deck that Grampa(Ed) built.

I'll try to get back on track with the updates now that everything is settling down. I still have several pictures to share from Jen and Chris's visit to Illinois and Indiana. Keep on the watch for 'The many faces of Ava', 'The Tractor Show', 'Gun Safety 101', and quite a few more.

A Lot

So...last month...well, it sucked. A LOT of stuff happened. And it was all bad. Thank goodness for our health. And thank heavens for State Farm--without them, we'd be, well, even further up sh*t creek without a paddle than we are now. A huge thanks to the car dealership that didn't ask us if we wanted GAP insurance when we got our loan--but gave it to us anyway. And a big, big, big thanks to my parents for helping us out in a big way...AGAIN.

But, its now September. So we're moving on. And hoping for the best. After all we DO have new carpet (albeit at the hands of a mini-flood). I do have new (working) brakes on my car. And although we are down a car (with no hope in sight to replace it--it was, unfortunately, totaled), I did get a new fully-covered-by-insurance carseat to replace the one that we didn't like that much anyway (major kudos to it for doing its job right when we needed it); and I love getting new carseats.

Also, there are positive things in our future. Our 3rd anniversary. Jack, who isn't even 17 months yet (lol), will soon be 18 months...and that seems like a big deal. Jack is also on the precipice of being really verbal (I'll get back to that in a minute). Its almost fall (sadly, after fall, comes winter, but...)--and I LOVE fall. A lot. The trees. The smell in the air. The Covered Bridge Festival. Love it. A new season also means a new wardrobe for Jack--which is a wonderful, legitimate reason to buy him new clothes.

So I'm aiming for the positive; the hope of things to come...and trying to de-focus on what is and has been a seemingly difficult situation.

--------------------------------------------

Back to being verbal....our little Jackeroo is seriously kicking up the word skills a notch or two. New words are coming in on nearly a daily basis. And its incredibly fun to watch. The speed with which his brain is learning completely blows me away. A sponge, that's for certain. Here are a few of the words he knows well...and others that he'll repeat if you say it:

• Shoes
• Chair
• Tree
• Dog
• Duck
• What's that?
• That
• Here
• Book
• Please
• Thank You
• Done
• Down
• Sit
• Mama
• Dad
• Ball
• Poppi
• Car
• Truck
• Cow
• Here
• Okay
• Hello
• Hi
• Bye

He also has entire (pretend) phone conversations...which we have yet to understand anything other than hi and bye. But watching him learn, play, and come to understand things is by far one of the most incredible joys of raising a child. They are quite amazing at this age (and quite a handful, but, you know, we're focusing on the positives today). I am very excited to see how he progresses over the next couple months!!