Happy Spring!

As I took these most recent pictures and videos off our camera, I realized we hardly took any pictures this month. Probably because we spent a good part of the month sick again! Jack got the flu in mid-April, and Grandma Jane came to the rescue to help us out. Luckily Jeff and I stayed well, and Jack recovered pretty quickly. Grandma Jane got to see plenty of happy and healthy Jack before she went home. (Of course I didn't get any good pictures, so the pictures below are just pictures of us hanging out.)

For Easter, Grandma Janet, Grandpa Steve, and Uncle James came to visit. We didn't let Jack have any of our candy for Easter, but as you'll see in the video below, he loved the plastic eggs he could use as rattles.

Jack is signing "all done," and now he can say it too. He uses sign language for "more," and not only uses it when he wants more food, but also for other things that he wants. Today he wanted to be picked up, and he used "more." It's so much fun to watch him try to find ways to communicate what he wants.

This other video is Jack with a sippy cup. Day care wants us to transition him away from the bottle, so all of last weekend, we kept putting it in front of him, and he wanted nothing to do with it. Then when Jeff and I were in the other room later at night, Jack got in the drawer with all of his dishes and pulled a sippy cup out. We looked over and he was putting it up to his mouth. We quickly put some juice in one cup and some water in another, and he spent the rest of the night carrying around his two sippy cups! It was a good reminder to Jeff and I that sometimes we need to let him do things at his own pace.



A couple more videos

I had trouble getting the last couple of "B" roll videos to upload on that last post, so here goes again. Enjoy!

Jack's walking!

Jack is walking! The two videos below show what Jack looked like last weekend. He was taking one or two steps between Jeff and I, but that was about it. The first video also shows Jack "dancing." Grandma Jane bought Jack a "Wheels on the Bus" book, and although he knows the motions, he prefers to just dance when he hears the music in the book.

This next video shows Jack this weekend--quite a difference, huh? When we picked him up at day care on Tuesday, his teacher said, "he's walking," and sure enough, he was. We think a couple days with his walking friends at day care was enough to give him the courage to do it on his own.

The rest of these videos are just Jack hanging out with us. Nothing too exciting, but we thought the diehard Jack fans out there would appreciate some "B" roll.

Jack is 1 (two weeks ago)!

So I know that it's actually been two weeks since Jack turned 1, but close enough. Since Jack's birthday was on a Tuesday, we didn't do much. I left work early, and Jeff and I ran with the jogging stroller to day care to pick him up. On the way home, we stopped at the park by our house for a quick ride on the swings and slide. Then we finished the day with ravioli for dinner--one of Jack's favorites. Here are a few pictures I took on Jack's birthday morning while he helped me unload the dishwasher.

In case you're wondering, Jack at one year old is about the same as Jack at other stages: happy! He is such a happy baby. He is great at entertaining himself and playing by himself. He pulls himself up to standing on everything and cruises by moving up and down the couch and between pieces of furniture. We think he's ready to walk, but doesn't know that he can do it yet. He's taken a step or two at a time, but then sits himself down. It's just a confidence issue at this point. His babbling is starting to sound more like real words now and sometimes we can even get him to copy what we're saying. He uses sign language to say "all done," "bottle," and "more." And he loves to cuddle and give hugs, both to us and his stuffed animals.

A few other notes . . .

We celebrated Jack's birthday a week early when Grandma Jane and Grandpa Randy came to town in late February. They bought Jack a red wagon, which he loves! Since we keep it on the front porch, not a day goes by when Jack doesn't try to get us to take him outside and go for a walk or take him in the wagon.

Grandma Janet also came to vist last weekend. No new pictures, but we had a great time just playing all weekend.

Two new videos below. The first is of Jack eating an apple, which is kind of long, but we thought it was so funny. Jeff was putting apples away in the fridge after going to the store, and Jack picked one up and just started going to town. It was the first time he had ever done that, and we got a kick out of it.

The next video I took this morning while we were reading the Sunday paper. Jack decided to help out with the ads.

Snow day

How is it February already? We've been busy around here, but Jack and I have an unexpected break today. The high in Denver today is -2 (with wind chills in the negative 20s and 30s), so day care is closed. But since it's Denver, it'll be back in the 40s tomorrow. Thank goodness!


We had a busy couple of weeks around here. Another round of colds and sinus infections made its way through our house. Jack has been off and on with a runny nose, cough, and fever for the past week or two, and Jeff and I are both on antibiotics for sinus infections. Two weekends ago I spent a few days in Manitou Springs, Colorado for a leadership training program through the Colorado Bar Association. It was a great honor to be selected, and after our first retreat, I'm excited for the months to come.


When I got back from my retreat on Saturday, we took Jack to the National Western Stock Show. He was pretty unimpressed, but it'll be fun to take him when he's old enough to look at the cows and horses.

Last weekend was our 5th wedding anniversary! What a wonderful 5 years it's been too--moving to Colorado, finding great jobs, buying our first house, and having Jack. We are very blessed! Grandpa Steve and Grandma Janet came out to watch Jack so Jeff and I could take a mini-vacation to the mountains. I skied for the first time in two years and survived! My legs came back pretty quickly, and we had a great time. We went on a sleigh ride (cheesy, but fun) and had a fancy dinner at the Ski Tip Lodge in Keystone. Best dinner we've ever had, hands down. We're not foodies, but after that dinner, we sort of understand the obsession.


Jack was sick while we were away, but perked up by the time we came home so Grandma and Grandpa could enjoy his normal happy self before they left.

Moving and exploring

It was a pretty uneventful weekend around here. Jack is moving and exploring all over the place. He is standing all the time against the couch, against the footstool, with his walker, but not making any moves beyond that yet. His top two front teeth are really coming in now, so his smile looks so different. He's also starting to talk more--his babbling is starting to sound more like he's trying to make words. With all of this exploring, it also seems to mean he's less interested in sleep. We think Jack may be on the verge of giving up his morning nap, but his afternoon nap hasn't gotten any longer, and he's staying up later than usual. We're hoping it's just a phase while he's busy learning instead of transitioning to less sleep. We're not ready for that! All in all, we couldn't be having more fun watching our little guy grow and learn.

Happy New Year!

Jeff and I welcomed 2011 as I'm sure many other first-year parents did: in bed. We managed to stay awake until about 10, and then we just couldn't make it any longer. Jack has been teething the past few days, which means his sleep schedule was completely unpredictable. One of Jack's top front teeth has come in, and the other one should be poking through any time now. His side top ones are also about to break through. Today he seemed to be back to normal, and we're hoping that going back to day care tomorrow will also help him get back in a routine. As much as we've loved having so many visitors (and taking so much time off!) the past couple of weeks, it'll be good for all of us to settle into a routine again. Here's to a happy, healthy, and productive new year!

This video is from yesterday. Jeff found Jack trying to climb onto his piano to get to the other push toy behind it, and then also to get toys that were on top of the radiator. It was pretty funny.