18 Month Checkup

Jack had his 18 month pictures a couple of weeks ago. Of course, he was full of bumps and bruises! He is a little tough guy, that is for sure. He definitely gets banged around between the dogs and trying to run to fast for his little feet. He loves to get on the trike and attempt to get on Jace's bike, too, which is also cause for more falls. At Jack's 18 month appointment, Dr. Amir said that Jack was absolutely perfect. I made the mistake of not taking Nick (he was at work) and Jack had to get one shot. Unfortunately, the visit was compounded by the fact that Jace had to get three shots. :) Jack weighed in at over 27 lbs and over 33 inches tall. He is in the 75% percentile for height and weight. Jack is starting to say even more words. Jace tells him to say words all the time and sometimes they come out as words and sometimes they come out as jibber-jabber. Yesterday he said "school bus". He also has been saying the dogs' names and says Grandma and Grandpa. He has also been doing well with taking commands and using/watching sign language. We have him "say" all done in sign language when he is done eating. We also tell him "no no" with sign language and sometimes he listens...usually we are telling him to quit squealing, which is his new favorite hobby. We even now started putting him in timeout if he squeals too much. (It is one of those really high pitched obnoxious excited screams.) He goes straight to time out when we tell him to. I am not real sure he understands yet that it is "punishment" because he doesn't cry or get upset, but at least he quiets down! Our little baby is getting so big. He is so adorable with his soft skin and blonde hair. He likes to show us his belly and give hugs and kisses. He likes to have his back rubbed and loves to cuddle with blankets. Jack will lay in the chair (we have one designated as "his") or roll around on the floor with his blankets and just chill. Jack is finally getting better at restaurants and in public. He listens a little more and doesn't try to dump every ounce of liquid on himself. I can see that next year will be a whole new ballgame with taking him places. Last week we had a baby shower for my cousin, Theresa. Jack has always had pooping problems, and still does. Well, approximately three adults were watching the little kids while I wrote down Theresa's gifts. Jack had a massive blowout and Jessie, my mom, and my aunt Sara were all trying to wash him off. Sara herself got wet in the shower! There was poop all over his clothes and he had to run around in just a diaper after being consoled by Mommy because he was so distraught about the situation. Poor baby! I hope he grows out of this, even though it might make for interesting stories later. Jack is such a joy. The last 18 months have been so wonderful and we are very sad that our little baby is not a walking, talking mirror of his big brother. However, that is just fine, because he is growing normally and happily. We are so very blessed to have Jack be our baby - and he will always be our baby!

Family vacation with Baby Jack

Baby Jack is almost 18 months old and decidedly not a baby anymore. Right now we are on family vacation at King's Pointe in Storm Lake, Iowa. It is going pretty well. Jack liked to splash in the water once he got used to it - he wasn't fond of it at first. He is also very tired. Jack has still been having troubles with going to the bathroom. I didn't give him miralax for a couple of days, so the first couple of days of vacation was rough on that front. Now he is doing much better. Daddy has him laughing in the bathtub right now because he had a blowout! Jack liked to hold onto the balls during mini-golf. He also loves the slides a the park. We might go back to the park shortly because the weather is unseasonably cold and we cannot go to the outdoor water park. We love little Jack so much, and so does his big brother. We are so impressed with how they get along. Once in awhile, Jack will now start to get upset because Jace has something that he can't have (for example, Gatorade). Jace is pretty good about sharing, but Jack knows that he wants a piece of the big boy action. Jack loves to get into kitchen cupboards, drawers, closets, anything he can tear apart. He will sometimes throw all of his toys and blankets right out of his crib. Luckily he has big brown eyes and cute blonde hair so we quickly excuse his new found behaviors. :) He also loves the dogs, loves his brother, loves to run and loves his Mom and Dad, Nancy, his grandparents, and everyone else he knows. One good thing is that Jack is starting to understand us a little better. He can "somewhat" understand the word "No!", which he hears a lot. Jack loves to try to say new words, too, but his favorite word right now is "Jace!" He will go around the house yelling for his brother and then if you ask him to say "Jace" he usually says it and smiles proudly. Asking him to say other words (he knows quite a few, "yeah", "mom", "dad", "dog", "more", "no") is hit-or-miss. Nick and I are terribly sad that he is not a baby any more. However, we are looking forward to the next year where he grows up and can understand us a little more. The time between when they start walking and they start comprehending is pretty difficult as far as taking the baby out in public, or anywhere, and we worry about his safety and the safety of others around him. :)

Fifteen month checkup

About two weeks ago, Jack had his 15 month check up. He was absolutely perfect, of course! He weighed in at 26.2 pounds and was 31 inches tall. He is in the 80-90% percentile for height, weight and head size. I think he is a little smaller than his brother at the same age, but not too much. We can't believe how far Jack has come in the last year. He is so amazing. He is starting to say lots of words, he points, waves and gives high fives. We notice that he seems more animated than Jace was and he also is a little more emotional (we think). He can turn on the tears in a heartbeat! One night he got so upset he just screamed and screamed. Granted, it only happened once, but we never remember Jace carrying on quite like that. Jack is so adorable, though. He has the best smile and laugh. He loves to feed the dogs, loves to be outside, and loves his big brother. He has cute blonde hair and fairly olive skin, which is good. It already looks like he is getting a tan! Jack is also a big helper. He loves to do things like throw hair ties in the toilet and throw shoes in the trash. Then he looks at you and smiles as if to say "I am so proud of myself!" Jack still goes to bed like a good boy and gets up like a dream. He is a good eater and generally very agreeable. He isn't afraid of anyone yet and loves to give hugs. He runs right up to Mommy and Daddy with a huge smile on his face anytime he sees us. He also loves his big brother so much. Every night since he was born Jace has kissed him goodnight, and he still does...even though Jack is catching up to Jace in size. Jack loves it and so does Jace. They are two wonderful peas in a pod. We are so blessed.

Sweet baby

Our sweet baby is really getting to be a big boy now. He is starting to say words back to you and points to some things and identifies them (dog, bed). It is absolutely adorable. He also is pretty much running through the house (he looks very funny doing so) and will point at anything and bang on anything. Jack's favorite thing to do is to take a spoon and bang on a window...very loud but not the best idea according to Mom and Dad. Jack also loves to lay on the couch or floor with his blankies and cuddle. Sometimes he doesn't even want to be held anymore, he just wants to cuddle by himself. This is something that Jace didn't do. We can already tell that we will have two different personalities on our hands. Jack gives the cutest, most mischievous little smile, especially when he is doing something he shouldn't. Examples would be: unloading the Tupperware drawer, playing in a water faucet or feeding a dog cookies. Last night Jack took a roll off the deck (about three stairs) and he cried for a bit but got back up. He is such a trooper. He loves his big brother more than the world, loves the dogs and loves Mom and Dad. He eats like a good boy, goes to bed like a good boy and wakes up like a good boy. We couldn't be happier or more proud. Jack just turned 15 months and he will go to the doctor for his 15 month checkup later this week. He is hardly a baby anymore. He wears mostly 18-24 month clothes and is now in Size 4 diapers. Time flies when you are having fun!

Walking baby

We have the most amazing kids on the face of this planet. Seriously. They give us love, hope, joy and they just fit so well into our family and our lives.

Jack learned how to walk just within the last week or so. He has been walking about two steps, say three or four feet, for a few weeks. Of course, I went to Miami last week and Inez sent me a video of him full-on walking! He was the most adorable thing you have ever seen, toddling around.  I am so incredibly proud of him. Jace walked right around 14 months so I guess Jack is on par with his brother.

Jack is still an excellent baby. He is most likely to cry when he is hungry or tired. He still loves to lay in Mommy's (or Daddy's) lap before bedtime and have a sippy cup with milk in it. He usually is not too demanding - he just wants to do everything his big brother does. That includes getting onto stools, onto furniture  into cupboards, playing with trucks and all kinds of toys. You name it, Jack does it. The only thing he doesn't do well yet (and he is getting better!) is reading. Just today I found the cover torn off a book. But, last night he was pointing to pictures and (I think) trying to tell me about them.

This weekend Mom and Dad get to have an overnight getaway in Sioux Falls for our seven year anniversary. My parents, Grandma Annie and Grandpa Rollie, will be watching both kids for the first time ever overnight. As an added bonus, they will have Rhobia's three boys! They will probably have to sleep for 48 hours once this is done!

One year check up

So Big!

Right after his first bithday, Jack got sick again. He had a fever and wasn't eating well for a week or so. We felt so terrible for him because he has been very sickly all winter. Thinking back, Jace was also very sickly his first winter. He had bronchitis several times, but has never been sick since then with the exception of a cold or the (only one time) flu.

Jack had fevers again, so we waited until our one year check up to address it with Dr. Amir. He said anything under 100.4 was probably caused by teething. And teething he is! Jack has at least 14 teeth and the molars came in very fast in the month of February   Dr. Amir also said that teething causes mild congestion, runny nose and cold-like symptoms. We are glad that Jack is okay but it is still not fun to have a sick baby.

Shortly after his birthday, we took Jack off the bottle and he has been doing great on whole milk and a sippy cup. Of course, he would like to drink out of his brother's cup more than his own. :)

Jack weighed 23 pounds 14 ounces at his one year check up and was 30 inches long. He was in the 50-75 percentile for height, weight and head circumference. That is all very good and right on track with what he has always been. His brother was in a higher percentile but we know Jack is a little smaller than him. I think Jace weighed close to 27 pounds at one year.

Jack is still not walking but he does take one step from a piece of furniture to another. Speaking of furniture, he can get onto/into everything! If he can't get onto something, his big brother comes up behind him and pushes up his bottom so he can get up there! The other night he got onto Jace's bed unassisted and was up there playing while no one else was in the room! If we do not move the ottoman, he also gets on our bed.

Jack after hunting for eggs at the Tyson Easter Egg Hunt.

A lot of words are in Jack's vocabulary, when he feels inclined to spout them off. His favorite thing to say is "Thank you". He hands you toys, food, anything and says "Thank you!" It is adorable! He says "I love you" but half the time he just says "I love" or "Love you". He says "Jace", "Dad", "Mom", "Dog", "Hi", "Bye" and I think even "Grandma" a/o "Grandpa " but it sort of comes out like "Ga!". This morning he was yelling for "Nan" (Nancy). I forgot how smart one year olds are. He gives five, waves, hugs kisses, and loves to cuddle. I call him my little cuddle bug.

Luckily Jack has now been well for a couple of weeks, and we are so thankful for that. I would literally cry when he was sick. No one wants your baby to be sick.

Jack's favorite thing to do is take his socks and shoes off and eat his socks (or sometimes his feet). He also likes to try to cuddle with the dogs, but they are less willing to sustain a rough one year old than we are. They are fairly patient but they have to go outside if they growl at him.

We got to go to the park this week and he loved the swing and wanted to slide badly. He wants to do everything his big brother does. His brother can make him laugh like there is no tomorrow. Our sweet little Jack definitely has a best friend for life!

Here are pictures from Jack's birthday:

Whose birthday is it anyway? Guess who helped open presents?

Jack turns one

Yesterday was Jack's first birthday and we had a wonderful time. The little guy had a wonderful turn out at his first birthday party. All of our immediate family could make it except for Eric, Britnee and Charlee and my brother Zak who had a bad toothache. Loren made the brisket, Aggie's made the sides and I made the cake. The cake was wonderful, by the way, but a lot of work, so it is debatable whether I will make another one or not. :)

Jack received lots of clothes, some college money and a few toys for his birthday. He is so blessed to have so many people that love him. He was the highlight of the party. He tried to put his feet on the table while blowing out candles. Then he made such a big mess with his cake that I had to give him an immediate bath. We found cake behind his ears hours later.

Our baby also had another big milestone yesterday - the stood by himself in the middle of the room for quite awhile. I am sure he will be walking unassisted within the next month or two. He is so much smaller than Jace was, you would think he would be more mobile, but maybe he just thinks he can get around perfectly fine by crawling.

We have two partied out, tired little boys to get to bed, so I better get moving in their direction. I love them so much. We are so proud to now have a one year old and a three year old.