Travelin' Man & Uncle David visits

We had a short and sweet visit from Uncle David this week. Jack LOVED him...he pretty much spent the whole evening playing with him!

This is what I get when I point a camera in Jack's direction...

Lovin' his Uncle David

my sweet baby...and his crazy hair that everyone wants me to cut....I can't do it!

Jack is officially walking. He started with a few steps here and there...then he starting walking more, but he'd hold his ball to keep himself stable...now he just walks everywhere he goes! Here's a video from the other day...although he's already gotten better at walking since then!

put your happy face on....

updates

It's been awhile since I've posted about all things new with Jack. So here you go...

-Jack took his first step on his 1st birthday! Since then he's been taking anywhere from 3-10 steps on his own here and there. He's not walking as his main form of transportation yet though, and to be honest I'm okay with that :)

-He says "all done" sometimes, "ba" for ball, "bye bye", "uh oh" all the time which he learned from Braylon, & he does sign language for milk. He also understands what it means to "sit."

-When he's doing something he's not supposed to he'll shake his head "no" while he's doing it, then eventually he'll correct the behavior. Sometimes when we are being stern with him about whatever he's doing(his most common offenses:throwing food or his milk cup on the floor, standing in the bathtub, etc.) he'll start shaking his head "no" and we'll have to turn our heads so he doesn't see us laugh. It's painfully funny.

-He has been sleeping through the night for about a month or maybe longer! He wakes up early though(5:30, 6am), but every once in awhile when I've about had enough he'll sleep until 8am which is A M A Z I N G!

-He's starting to climb on things and down from the couch.

-He does a lot of playing...he'll play for very long periods of time with his toys, which gives me sometime to get things done! His favorite toys are: his guitar, a huge Tonka dumptruck, his Laugh & Learn kitchen, and currently a paintbrush....or ANYTHING that is something he probably shouldn't have!

-It's a super accomplishment to get his diaper changed these days...it takes giving him something very interesting everytime OR tag teaming it with Brad!

-He loves to play hide and go seek! If you walk around saying, "where's Jack?" he'll go "hide" and wait for you to find him while laughing hysterically...I guess one day he'll learn that you are supposed to be quiet during hide and go seek!

-He's in the 5th percentile for weight...YES you read correctly. We went for his 1yr. well baby and I was shocked when they told me he weighed 18 POUNDS! I thoughtwe'd been doing better, but obviousely not! They decided to do some blood work, and it turns out Jack is pretty anemic. We started him on an iron supplement, Pediasure, and Next Step formula in his whole milk. I'm also keeping a food journal. We are going to follow up in 3 weeks to do more blood work to see how he's doing! Hopefully the iron supplements have taken care of the anemia, and we don't have to worry about anything more serious. Most of the time anemia is due to being iron deficient so it should all be getting better pretty soon!

A Sacrifice

Yesterday I learned what it truly feels like to make a sacrifice...for us it was to give up something we loved more than words can explain for something else we love more than words can explain. I remember when we decided to get Sadie. She would be my companion...someone to keep me company since Brad would be gone so much during med school & residency. Sadie was indeed my companion...she accompanied me everywhere I went and I loved her so much. I grew up with pets and every one I had was a part of my family, and each time I lost one it was like losing a part of my family. Sadie was Brad's first pet...and she stole his heart right away. He spoiled her more than I did! Sadie was our first "baby" and I knew not having her around would be hard-and after giving her up yesterday I'm realizing this is a lot harder than I thought.

Although Sadie had her issues, she was one of kind. She had the funniest personality, and she always amazed us with her smart thought processes...she was too smart for her own good. On Father's Day I remember reading in the paper different advices' fathers had shared with their children. One stood out to me and it read something like this, "there will be many hard decisions to make in your life and usually the right choice is the hardest choice." That quote stuck with me for awhile and it was during those next few days that we decided Sadie would be better off in a home without kids. Making this decision was by far the hardest so far in our lives..., but in our minds we know it was the right one.

Now its figuring out how to move on...I miss her terribly right now. It hurts really bad. I'm angry and trying to find peace in it all but its HARD and IT SUCKS. I just want my dog back...I want my friend who kept me company, who followed me around from room to room, who knew when I didn't feel well, who greeted me every morning and waited for me before going to bed every night.

Grieving is wierd because you know eventually you'll start to feel better, but it seems so far away.

One year of life...

(I'm still waiting to get his good 1st birthday pics)

11 mths

10 mths

9 mths

8 mths

7 mths

5mths

4 mths

3 months 2 months

1 month

Newborn

Toledo Bend

When I was a little girl my Dad used to take my sister and I camping all the time. I remember gathering wood to make the fire at night, feeding ducks, taking walks at night with our flash lights and looking for deer, and cooking on the Coleman gas grill. We'd have hotdogs with chili for dinner...and roast marshmellows for dessert. Camping with my Dad and sister is one of my favorite memories from when I was younger.

While we were home for Jack's 1st Birthday, we took a trip with my family to Toledo Bend State Park and went camping. We stayed in cabins on the water. We went fishing, tubing & kayaking. We also did some swimming in the lake. The water was suprisingly clear and it was really fun. Kayaking was my favorite event b/c I'd never done it before and I loved it! The trip was really nice...mostly b/c we got to spend time with my family...especially my Dad who hasn't been doing very well lately.

Here are a few pics from the trip.

Jennifer, John Scott & Ben fishing from the Pontoon boat.
My Mom & Dad with Jack

Jack was very interested in all the buttons!

Jack's 1st Birthday (Part 1)

We were very fortunate to be able to go home to celebrate Jack's 1st birthday! We had lots of family and friends that were able to make it, which made it really special. We were definitely reminded of how lucky we are to have such a wonderful family and group of friends. The party was a blast and went really well despite the heat. It is so hot right now in the South! Luckily we were able to keep cool inside...I'm really glad I didn't plan a party at the park or somewhere outside. The party was at 4 pm b/c Jack still takes a morning and afternoon nap, so I wanted to make sure he'd be rested and happy for the event. We had hotdogs with all the toppings, chips & ofcourse the cake. I did end up making the cake myself which was really fun, and I have to say I was really proud of myself. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. Jack got tons of gifts, and he loves them all! We definitely won't have to buy any toys for quite awhile!

Here are a few pictures. I have more coming from my mom's camera and my cousin's camera. When it was time to sing happy birthday I couldn't find my camera. Luckily there were plenty of people willing to takes pics for us. I will get them up as soon as I get them!
Trying out his new lawn mower with Uncle Braden(*Brad's nephew...we're having Jack call him uncle b/c of the huge age difference). Thank you Aunt Jenny for the mower...Jack loves it!

Birthday cake time!

The birthday cake.
Everyone should know that Brad was in charge of doing the top piece for Jack to eat! He did a very good job and Jack loved eating it!