The season's firsts...

Jack and Dan's first Bomb Pops

Jack's first outside bath! Kind of trashy, but he LOVED IT!!!
There will be many more "firsts" to report... this is only the beginning!

Jack's First...

Let me preface this video- Dan has a friend, let's call him Joe (who does not read our blog, but may start if Dan tells him about this post...) who moved away to a more "liberal" area of the country. After a few short months Joe called Dan and told him that he participated in the worlds (?) largest naked bikeride.

So when I saw Jack doing this, I can officially call this Jack's First (and should be only) naked bikeride.

You can't see anything- for all you need to know he has a diaper on... And I PROMISE I washed the seat of his toy after his little ride. So no friends need to worry about those kinds of germs.

Jack and I went to Dan's ultimate frisbee game. After showing Dan the pictures, he said "You know you could have taken a picture of the game." I hate to disappoint you Dan, but Jack is a little cuter than you all sweaty running around. (And he requires a little more attention.)

After the game- He loves his "Eating the Alphabet" book.
A very tired baby... 11:15 AM, lunchtime. Apparently nap time couldn't come soon enough! This was the case both Friday and Saturday.
By the way, Jack started saying "mom" 2 days before Mother's Day (AKA the day mom let me fall into the piano.) He says "dad" also, but really only once Dad leaves the room. And his latest word "yack." we're assuming that he is saying Jack, so it is very cute. He seems to say it when I would usually say it. For example. He pulls the plug out of the tub- I gasp and he says "Yack!" It is ADORABLE! He also just yells it when he is very excited, or when he should be sleeping in bed but is still up causing trouble. You've got to love the little ball of energy!

I took some awesome pictures tonight, so I am sure I will post again soon! Have a great week!

I jinxed myself...

Great ER experience, great Monday baseball game, busy and very FUN WEEK! Friday we got Jack's stitches out- Dan was able to go with us too!-and things were "looking good." I was being very good about neosporin, wearing a hat, sunscreen etc.

A ditsy moment... Our pictures have been very bright (with a flash)/kind of fuzzy. I didn't know what was wrong. I tried to take pictures of Jack's stitches, and they were really fuzzy so I tried some different settings. Nothing was wrong with the settings, there was some smudge on the camera lens. he he...

Dan left town on Saturday. I slept at my parents house on Saturday night and Sunday morning we were loading the car to run home for a moment and run out to Brookfield before church. Something happened-I don't know what exactly, but Jack started crying and I turned around. He wasn't near the car, and didn't fall, but his head was dripping blood and his whole wound had reopened. BUMMER!

I called my parents- they were both at different church meetings so they couldn't really help, so I was totally alone. THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ME, EVER! So, I walked up to my parent's neighbor (my pediatrician) and he took a look. Called in a favor to the on-call Dr. and Jack was taped up in no time! (We just had to go to the office, not the ER! Thank goodness!)

What an excellent start to a long weekend without Dan.

A couple of highlights-
Papa Russ made Jack pancakes for breakfast!
Grandma Cindy's Chili (that Jack LOVES, but as soon as I turned on the camera he started to play! STINKER!)


Papa Russ's new shop opened in January, and they had a big celebration/Open House that we got to help with and then attend (yummy food!)


And the best highlight of all... Dan was coming home on Wednesday, but Tuesday night (Wed morning 4 AM) I got a phonecall from Dan. He was 10 minutes away from home! I was so excited! (I guess I had 10 minutes to move Jack back to his crib.)

Pressing our luck...

Jack takes a tumble, and the next night we take him to the Brewers Game? We were going to have a relaxing night at home, considering our Sunday day and Sunday night puking incident... (I guess the "incident" is to be expected after a head injury- still doesn't make it fun)

But we just couldn't pass up a Brewer's Game with our out of town company, especially when it would be Jack's first Brewer's Game.

Dan taught me baseball game etiquette. Apparently you can only take pictures between innings. "People come to watch the game, not watch you take pictures."

We actually crashed our friends date. The Hawkes' were visiting from Utah! They said they didn't mind.
It was good to go with someone, because then Dan had someone to sit with while Jack and I walked the halls for 1/3 of the game. Check out his "moves" that he stopped to perform EVERY TIME they played a players music. On our last walk, I heard someone say "That's the little boy that was dancing in the halls earlier too!" It made me smile- he is pretty cute. :)



And of course- Jack had to sit in his own chair. I PROMISE! I did not take my hands off of him!
This is obviously VERY LATE.





We had a great time! We will go again, but hopefully for an afternoon game.

I should have known...

Happy Mothers Day!

The day started off so well... I woke up at 6:30, and just could not sleep any longer. I got up and took a shower, made a poster for primary at church, wrapped some presents, wrote an email or two. I don't know- I did A LOT only because I had 1 1/2 hours! Jack did not stir until 8 AM!!! That is by far the longest he has slept in! Who could ask for anything more on Mother's Day. (Why couldn't I take advantage of it and sleep in too?

Jack got up- he had breakfast. I made chocolate covered strawberries, played a little. We had company in town so we had a delicious breakfast. Everything was going GREAT!

When I am working in the kitchen, this is Jack's favorite place to sit! Or on the stool in front of the freezer.

Dan went to church (with our company) he had meetings. Jack and I got ready the rest of the way and ran an errand to Brookfield to drop off some work things. Again- we were doing GREAT!

We made it to church on time. Jack was very good during Sacrament Meeting. He just wanted to sit on our friend's laps for most of the meeting.

Then for primary- 2 hours long- and I had to play piano. So Dan kept Jack, and played with him, let him walk the halls, sat with him in Dan's meetings. Dan is wonderful. Really I start to miss him during this time, so when I saw them in the halls with less than 5 minutes to go, and Jack reached for me, I took him. I had only one more song to play.

I let Jack sit in a little kid chair (still too big for him) but HE LOVED IT! he just smiled, swung his legs. I remember looking at him and thinking "This is what being a kid is all about! Just loving life, enjoying the little things. When was the last time I could just sit and swing my legs, without a care in the world?

Then it was time to play- I thought I would bring the chair closer to the piano so I could be there if he decided to get up. There- that was MY MISTAKE. I should have known...

I turn the page in the music book, and "BAM!" Jack falls forward right into the piano leg. I quickly get up, hand him off to Dan so that I can get through the LAST SONG. Jack is bleeding, bad. All over Dan's white shirt, all over himself. I realize what is going on. A nice woman offers to get us ice. Dan runs into the women's bathroom to get paper towel. And the rest is a big blurr... until we got to the car. Papa Russ made it in the car with us, and we were off to the hospital.

If I had just left him where he was! He would have had just a bruise (if he had even moved. He was really enjoying himself.) Instead, the damage... an inch long vertical slice in his forehead! 6 stitches and a popsicle and we were out the door-45 min! That has got to be an ER record.

Lesson learned: "I know you love it, but your mom should know better."
Happy Mothers Day to a Mother who is figuring things out: one day, one situation, one child at a time.

(Papa Russ took some pictures with his phone- so there may be more pictures soon!)

Just one minute...

Sometimes I just need a minute... like to go to the bathroom, to deal with raw meat, or to open the oven and get something out. Really a job that should only take 1 second, but with a baby in my arms or tugging at my legs it becomes nearly impossible!

So with Jack being sick, he has been held a lot. He is feeling better, so we are trying to let him get a grip on reality. Two activities that seem to hold his attention...

My piano lesson family has this in their music room. He hasn't quite figured it out enough to be really loud, but he loves it anyway!

And last night when we got home from piano, we had a special surprise waiting on our doorstep. A ball pit!!! Jack loves to play peek-a-boo around the middle ball spiral thing, and to crawl around in circles. He is very happy just hanging out inside.


And this morning... "Mom, I don't need you to hold me. I don't need a new diaper, or any clothes. I'm just going to sit in here all day." Sadly the fun had to end.

A Picnic in the Park

Wisconsin weather is beautiful! Springtime is my favorite time of year and I LOVE watching the leaves fill in. I am constantly reminded of the song "For the Beauty of the Earth" and sing it in my head as I'm walking to and from the car, mowing the lawn, or playing outside with Jack.

Last weekend we met up with some friends for a Saturday evening picnic. It was so beautiful and we had a great time (even Dan had a good time throwing a frisbee with a friend and of course the delicious food!)


Sadly there isn't much more to celebrate than that- Jack was sick with "roseola" over the weekend (the contagious period is actually 5-10 days before you show signs of it, so right when we are in Utah. Wisconsin friends-you are SAFE!) I took him to see Dr. Dan on Monday because of his rash- luckily that is the last symptom and means that the fever is over-thank goodness!

We are back to school and just enjoying our nights together. We can't wait for another fun weekend ahead! Either fishing with Dad or Jack's first trip to the zoo- we'll see what's in store!