The Best Sound in the World

Nothing in Particular...

This post is about nothing in particular.

Just a quick update on how Jack is doing!
Jack has decided to start waving and saying, "Hi!".
He is obsessed with dogs. It doesn't matter if they are real dogs, photos of dogs, pictures of dogs in books, etc. He points to them and signs dog.
Still no desire to walk.
Will play with anything.
Has the biggest cheese ball smile ever. It's so cute!
Loves going for walks/runs in the stroller

Is not a fan of life jackets.

Loves sleeping in awkward positions. (see pics below)

Wants to be outside all the time. The rain the past couple of days has been hard on him, but he is a fan of the rain puddles.
Loves bathtime.
Still a dancing king.
Drives his trucks while making a "vrooom" noise.
Appetite has increased this past week. Growth spurt?!?!?

One Year Stats

On Thursday, we took Jack in for his 1 year check up. Jack had to get 3 shots and blood drawn. SOOO NOT cool! But it's all over now, until we go back at 15 months.

Here are Jack's current stats:
Height: 28 1/2 inches (10%)
Weight: 19 lbs. 12 oz. (10%)
Head Circumference: 18 1/4 (50%)

So we won't be turning Jack's carseat around for another couple of weeks. How long do you think it would take for Jack to gain 4 oz? :)

I thought I would post some pics of Jack playing with some of his new birthday presents!

Here is a new tractor he got from cousins Scott and Krista! He has carried the cow that came with it around all day today.

Sunglasses from Grandmommy. He's not sure what to think about them right now. I'm surprised I was able to take a picture of him with them on his head at all.

Loves his new fire truck.

For his bday, he ended up getting 3 swimming pools. We turned this one into a ball pit! Thank you Aunt Holly!! I think it's safe to say, Jack is a fan!

Outside with his wagon.

In other news... (or things I forgot to mention in his 12 month post)

• Jack cut his 7th tooth; another bottom one. He's been drooling like crazy and trying to chew on everything. We knew it was just a matter of time.
• Jack has dropped the bottle completely. He actually did several weeks before his bday. Smooth transition for him.
  
• Jack is signing a few things ... "more", "up", "eat" He's funny, because when he wants something, he just signs, "more". We are trying to get to sign, "please" instead. We'll see how it goes. He also recognizes signs such as, "milk". He gets excited when you sign/say it.
  

Happy 1st Birthday Jack Attack!!

I cannot believe that it has been a year since Jack was born. It went by WAY faster that I thought it would. It's crazy how fast he has grown and how much he has learned in just a year. It is such a blessing to be his parents and to watch him everyday as he continues to grow and develop. Here are LOTS of pictures from Jack's 1st birthday weekend!!

Friday morning before work and before breakfast, I attempted the Sock Monkey pics.

Do you like Jack's birthday shirt? I ordered it from cafepress.com.

This is the best I could get. We were pressed for time.

After breakfast we tried the Sock Monkey pics in his new Radio Flyer wagon that we gave him for his birthday.

He didn't want anything to do with him this morning.

These pics are actually from the night before when John and I gave Jack his wagon. Since John had to work on Friday, we gave it to him early.

Jack LOVES his Daddy and his wagon!

Friday after work, we met Grandaddy, Nana, Aunt Holly, and Tyler at the house. We went to dinner, then came back home, where Jack got his birthday gift from his Grandaddy and Nana. That's right! Jack got his first Harley! He LOVES it!!

No worries! He does have a helmet too! (Notice Jack pointing-- that's what he is doing most of the time these days)

After his present, we decided it was time for Jack to have his cake!

There is no doubt about it... Jack is our child!! He LOVES cake!!

He did not hesitate one bit! He dove right in and started chowing down.

Time to wash it down!

The end product. FYI-he did not eat all of it. He played with most of it.

Saturday morning, we woke up and started getting the house ready for Jack's birthday party. As you can see, we went with a Dr. Seuss theme.

Jack with his Great Aunt Sara

Jack and his cousin Joshua

Jack's loot.

Getting ready to open presents.

Jack's gift from his GREAT GREAT Grandmother, Gam.

Jack and Daddy opening presents.

This is my favorite pic from the whole weekend. Isn't he just the cutest thing?!?!?

Playing with his new fire truck.

Jack's cake

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Cake #2

"I know exactly what to do!"

Notice: he only uses his left hand to eat his cake. (He still goes back and forth most of the time-- not sure what he will be)

The end product

Jack and Grandaddy having a chat.

Thank you to our family who came to share the memories of Jack's first birthday! Everyone was so helpful! We are truly blessed and loved.

What Jack is up to these days:

• Pointing at everything still (even more than before)
• Talking more and more
• Still cruising-- he will walk as long as he is holding on to something or someone.
  
• We believe he can walk independently... but he just doesn't have the desire. He has taken a couple of steps, but after that he just squats down and starts to crawl.
• Speaking of crawling... he is FAST!
• When crawling, he loves to drive his toys (whether they have wheels or not, he is scooting them across the floor in one hand)
  
• Loves being outside... another sign he is our kiddo. :) We are excited about all of Jack's new "outside" toys!!
• Trying to climb on things... John discovered that Jack can climb on the fireplace. DAREDEVIL!!
  
• Likes stacking objects or putting his toys inside other toys, buckets, Rubbermaid containers, etc.
• Plays independently (however, this weekend, he had LOTS of playmates)
• Still sucks on his two fingers (middle and ring) on his left hand (mostly when he is sleepy/tired/upset) Not sure HOW we break him of that or WHEN we should try.
• Eating like a CHAMP! He can be pretty picky... but here are some of the things he will eat on a regular basis... grilled cheese, turkey and cheese sandwiches, pancakes, blueberry muffins, grilled chicken, green beans, baked beans, avocados, cheese, watermelon, cantelope, strawberries, bananas, yogurt, graham crackers, nutri-grain bars, dried fruit, crunchies... (I'm sure there is more, but this is all that comes to mind at the moment).
  
• Jack has been drinking whole milk for about a week now. He made the switch with no problems. (just a little constipation after a few days-- nothing a little bit of prunes can't take care of :) )

Now we get to experience the life of parenthood with a toddler!!

On the Hunt for Bluebonnets

It's the time of the year here in Texas when the Bluebonnets bloom. John was working yesterday, so I recruited GG to come with us to find some Bluebonnets. Several people told me just to drive up Hwy 290 and I'll find some, but I'm just not comfortable stopping on the side of the highway and putting my child out on the side of the road to take some pics. So I googled some place where Bluebonnets had been sighted. Of course 290 popped up, but so did Washington on the Brazos State Park. So we headed that way. It really isn't far from us at all. Jack napped on the way there, so he was good to go when we got there.

Of course Jack sees a beautiful blue flower and wants to grab it.

PLEEEEASE can I have one?

How about this yellow flower?

No thanks! I want the blue one?

Here we are on the trail. It really is a neat little park.

We let Jack play in the dirt. He was LOVING it!

We will definitely be going back there. I can't wait til Jack can actually run around and enjoy it more!