Dancing Baby!

As promised here is the video of Jack dancing...it is enough to make anyone's day better! Sorry that it is sideways I cannot figure out how to turn them...sorry!

With Love
Lisa

It has been forever since I have updated our blog. Actually since his first birthday. To be honest that next week school started back and things have been a little crazy! Our routine was all goofed up and the time I do get with Jack is precious and I would rather be with him than on the computer. I have actually been working on this post for a week, spending about 5 minutes on it each morning before leaving for work.

Being away from Jack is difficult, but I know he is in great hands while we are away. The Mom of a child that I taught comes to our house in the mornings, because Jack is still sound asleep when we leave. Then when he gets up and has breakfast they go back to her house. She has a 16 month little girl so Jack has someone to play with, which he really seems to be enjoying.

Hope you enjoy the pictures he is growing so fast it is unreal. He has really gotten into the I will di it myself attitude. He thinks he is grown, and in some of these pictures you can "see" this attitude. He is so precious though, he waves and blows kisses to everyone and Loves to dance (i have a video of this and will try to upload it soon)

Until then please enjoy the pictures and I will leave you with this:

Dear Jack,

May God grant you peace in the midst of a storm, May God give you strength even when you’re forlorn, May you answer the door when Jesus comes knocking, May wisdom guide when your mouth is talkin, May discretion protect you and keep you pure, May you never stumble or fall for a lure, May your heart remain humble to the very end, May uprightness and truth be what you defend, May the world not ensnare or change who you are, May the light that's within you shine like the stars, May angels surround you body, spirit, mind, May favor and peace be yours to find, May rejection and pain never reach you, May your spirit grow bold for what you’re called to . I love you Jack!

Jack Turns One!

A whole year...where did it go? It honestly feels like I brought my sweet boy home just yesterday. What a blessing he has been to our lives. I couldn't ask for a more precious, perfect child. It is amazing how someone so small can change your life for the better, and make you strive to be a better person each and everyday. As his Big Day was approaching I found myself thinking back to last year, and the anticipation, excitement, worry and fear that filled me, and then the day finally came, and I found out just why it is called labor, and then the long awaited moment of his birth and the instant love that overcame me. I was ever changed the moment I laid eyes on my son. So to my sweet baby boy, Thank you! Thank you for making me a better person, for helping me to slow down and appreciate every second of life, for helping me to realize what truly is important, and for helping me to once again embrace that innocent sense of wonder that you so gracefully share. You are perfect in every way and I know the Lord has a special plan for your life. Always remember, even when you no longer want mommy to rock and cuddle you that I will always love you...all the way to the "moon and back".

There was a whole couch of presents from mommy and daddy when I woke up...I love my puzzles!

Can I really do this??
Squishy!

Ewww...

11 Months Old

Jack is now 11 months old! Hard to believe in 4 weeks he will be a year old! I am sure loving spending the summer with him I have seen him change and grow so much the past month. We went on our first summer vacation as a family to the coast, and Jack LOVED the beach! He also came back having aquired a new skill, WALKING! Before we went to the coast he was taking a few steps but while we were there he decided that walking was his prefered mode of transportation and there is no stopping him now, within a week he was running!

He also has so much to say these days. He points to everything and just jabbers away about it, he is learning to use new signs everyday which has made life so much more calm. It has taken away a lot of the guessing game for us, and a lot of his frustration. He is signing the following words: more, ball, dog, bird, juice(drink), dada, eat, fan, all done and light. We are working on: stop, outside, help, go, home and sleep. He has also started shaking his head "no" which is way more cute than it should be, can we say rotten?!

He loves to dance! Anytime he hears music he stops in his tracks and dances! He moves his hands in an indescribable way...(I will try to get a video) it is almost like interpretive dance, it is precious! At church he will stand next to us and dance and clap while he "sings" as loud as he can.

His schedule has changed a lot over the past week or two. He is sleeping almost 12 hours at night, thus he is phasing out his morning nap. He wakes up about 9 in the morning and then goes down for a 2.5 hour nap around noon, sometimes he still needs a short nap in the evening though! He is also weaning himself off the bottle. He started refusing his naptime bottle and is now down to 2 bottles a day. He is still super attached to his paci. and to Buddy (his taggies blanket)...we will cross that bridge when we get there...

Summer is rapidly coming to an end and it makes my heart hurt to think about not being with him every second of everyday. However, God did send someone to us to take care of him here at our house. Such a blessing! Now he won't have to go to daycare, he will get one-on-one attention and hopefully stay well more than sick this year, unlike last.

I could not ask for a more happy, intelligent, snuggly, loving, beautiful son. He has made my life so much sweeter, I love him so much sometimes it takes my breath. I thank God everyday for Jack and that he chose us to be his parents....we are definately blessed.

We got a seat that attaches to the front of Dustin's bike so Jack rides in front of Dus, nestled comfortably between his arms and legs. Jack LOVES riding on the bike!

As you can see, we didn't need the stroller very much! He was off and running in no time!

10 Months Old..

It is hard to think that it was 10 months ago that Jack entered our lives and changed my heart forever. He is growing so fast it makes my heart hurt sometimes. Already I can look back at pictures and miss him being so small.


Some new things about Jack...


He loves being outside, he could stay out for hours just crawling around, chasing the cats and Loxlee, chewing on sticks and digging in the mulch. When it gets dark outside and we have to come in he usually cries, until we get to his playroom and everything becomes okay :)!


He is pointing now for things he wants us to see and thankfully for things he wants, this new skill cuts down on his frustration level tremendously and mine too.


He is eating just about everything that we eat with the exception of dariy...we are hoping he will grow out of the milk allergy by 12 months.


He loves his Jojie and aunt Rae. Even though he doesn't see them very often he seems to remember them and never has a problem going to them.


He has mastered the sippy cup!


He is all mommas boy! He loves his Daddy, but when it comes to an owie or sleepytime....he only wants Momma.


He really enjoys books, his favorite is CATS it has pictures of real cats doing silly stuff and it has tabs that make some of the cats swat, move their tail or pop up out of boots! He can also turn the pages by himself.


He can brush his hands off...it is so cute. He will be digging in the dirt and his hands will have grass and dirt and mulch all over them and he will start shaking them to get it off, I will say, "brush your hands off Jack" and he starts smiling and will rub them together.

He thinks it is hilarious to feed me or Dustin his food at meal time, and even more hilarious to give it to Loxlee

He can stand up from sitting without support! I am sure in the next couple of days he will be walking. When he stands up you can see the desire to take a step on his face....the progression amazes me.

He can take about 6 steps if we stand him up and let go...after about 6 steps he just lunges for us.

We have been working on sign language with him. He gets so frustrated sometimes and I know it is because I am not understanding what he wants or needs. Although, developmentally he is not yet able to tell us with words what he wants, cognitively he knows what it is he wants. The ability to point has helped tremendously like I said before, so we are working on more signs to help him better communicate with us so we can better respect his wants and needs. Yesterday he began signing "All done", he can sign for, "More", and "Eat", although he is not very consistent at using them. He loves to sign All Done when I get done changing his diaper! We are also working on "ball", "sleep", "change" (for diaper change), "cat", "dog", "drink". He watches so intently when I am signing for him, I hope he catches on soon :)!

Below are some pictures taken on the seventh, the day he turned 10 months!

FOOD!

Jack LOVES to eat! He doesn't really care for baby food anymore, if Dustin and I are eating something Jack must have a taste! His new favorite is watermelon. He is cutting two of his back teeth, he will take a chunk of the cold water melon and gnaw on it right where those teeth are coming through...natures own teething remedy! He also loves canteloupe, and campbells vegetable soup and double noodle soup and BREAD! We were shopping yesterday and when I took the loaf of bread off of the shelf he started grunting at me and squealing until I opened the bag in the store and gave him a slice.

I am so blessed to be able to spend the summer with my little man. He is has so much personality....he is saying Mama, loxlee, bye bye, fish and bird! I brought my fish tank from my classroom home for the summer and his is infatiuated with it. He has also started pointing for things that he wants or things that interest him. It is precious!! Below are some pictures from meal time and a video!

Yesterday was beautiful...so we got out Jack's pool and let him splash around...it was hilarious..and he LOVED it!!