Helping in the Yard

It's never to early for chores...

As much trouble as Jack can get into now that he is walking, I still love it. Now he is more easily entertained.

Sour Baby

Jack wanted some of the lime juice I was using last week. I just had to post the video.

My Shadow

Meet my shadow. He has to be a part of everything I do now. Watch as I attempt to cook dinner.

One Simple Word

Jack has been pretty chatty for months. He talks all the time. Dada, mama, go go go, and other sounds come and go, but none of them seem to have any meaning behind them. He tries out a new sound every week and babels constantly, but that has been it, until yesterday. He finally realized he can communicate to get what he wants, well with one word at least: mom. For the first time, he started saying mom with specific intention to get me. Not mama, but mom. Stuart was bouncing off the ceiling with excitement. (I just love how excited he gets with all the little things involving his children, he is a great dad.) I just cried.

The last 2 weeks have been challenging with teething and changing nap schedules and this just made up for everything.

Putting Things to Good Use

A long time ago, I bought a set of spring-form pans to attempt homemade cheesecake. Well, I never made the attempt, and as a result, the pans are seldom used. Luckily, Jack has found a use for them.

At least it keeps him occupied.

Our First Trip to the Zoo

Today we took Jack on his first trip to the zoo. The weather was cooling off and we thought he was finally getting old enough to appreciate it. Well, I guess we aren't very bright. It was still very HOT out, 99 degrees. I thought we were going to melt. Jack enjoyed the monkeys and some of the birds, but for the most part, he was more interested in watching the other kids that were there. I think we could have gotten the same excitement from him by taking him to a mall, and it would have been much cooler. Oh, well, we will try it again in another month and see how it goes. Here are some highlights:

Jack and Stuart, camouflaged to blend in with the background.

Me and my baby, notice how wet he is with sweat.

Jack, Stuart and some rhino butt. I hope you can tell who is who.

Stuart and the snake charming baby.

Jack and the giraffe; he could care less.

Jack had the most fun on the drive home, playing peek-a-boo with his burp cloth and wearing it as a hat. He thought he was so funny.

Strong Personality

Isn't he just the cutest?

Jack is really starting to develop a very distinct personality. He is extremely strong willed. When he wants something, he is determined to get it. If he wants to figure out how an object works, he keeps at it until he figures it out for himself. If he wants to go somewhere and something is in his way, he won't go around it, he forces himself, even if the item in the way is too heavy for him to move on his own. As a result, we have a lot of screaming in frustration from this kid. He is tenacious. Now, I am glad that he has all of these traits; they will serve him well in life. I can see him as an adult being ambitious and driven. As great as this will be for his adult years, I can see his toddler years are not going to be very easy on us. Karen told us the kid is doomed because his parents are so competitive and stubborn that there was no way Jack was going to escape inheriting those traits. Nice. No wonder I am always exhausted by the time Stuart gets home from work. Jack's current obsession? His diaper. He has decided he doesn't like wearing clothes anymore and the diaper is included. He takes it off all the time. Right now, I have to ensure he is wearing pants because he hasn't yet figured out how to get those off. Sheesh!

A Boy and His Bucket

Notice the many toys in the background, and yet Jack prefers to play with our cleaning bucket.

Mmmm Peanut Butter

Yesterday, Jack went to the pantry, opened the door, found the peanut butter, and brought it to the family room. After a few minutes of trying to get the jar open, he gave up and looked for dad to help him out with his snack.



Now he's happy!

On the Hunt

Jack is a skilled warrior. Here we see him on the hunt. Watch as the cunning baby creeps quietly through the dark, his spear poised and ready.

Rainy Day Baby

Yesterday we got some decent rain in the evening. It was one of those odd storms where the sky was relatively clear and the sun was bright, but the rain still came down pretty hard. Jack was facinated. He hasn't seen much rain in his short life and when he has, I held him under the raindrops so he could experience it. This time, however, he got to stand in the rain by himself. He really liked it.

He liked it so much, he threw a fit when we brought him inside the house. He stood at the door and cried.

Professional Photos

For Jack's first birthday, we decided to get some professional pictures taken. Not that we don't enjoy the monthly photo shoots at home, they were just getting very difficult to do now that he is so mobile. Well, it was still very challenging because he wanted to walk everywhere. (I guess he felt that he needed to show off to everyone at the studio.) He was also fascinated by the backdrop and the props. We didn't get any real pictures of his smile, but that is really ok, since we get plenty of those at home. Instead, we got a few sweet poses from Jack. Here are the results:

This last one is my personal favorite because it really captures the essence of Jack. The photographer was frustrated because she couldn't get Jack to sit up straight in the chair, he just wanted to lean back. He does this all the time at home, even in his highchair; we often can't put the tray on, because he wants to kick back with his feet up in the air. He just looks so relaxed. Can't wait till we take this kid to the beach!

A Year in Review

Day 1:

1 month old:

2 months old:

3 months old:

4 months old:

5 months old:

6 months old:

7 months old:

8 months old:

9 months old:

10 months old:

11 months old:

1 year old:

No longer a baby, he is now such a little boy!