Just the beginning

Happy Summer! We have been extra busy enjoying the nice weather and spending time with friends and family.
A couple of highlights...

We had SEVERE weather on Monday night- we decided to head down to the basement. We made a nice bed on the floor, and TRIED to move Jack downstairs without disturbing his sleep. That lasted 3 minutes and then he was one PARTY ANIMAL! The great thing about it all-we went back upstairs at 10:20 and he was drowsy and went right back in his crib without a peep.
We are all safe- so is our house. We are THANKFUL!



Our cousins came to visit from Illinois. Jack and Cade relaxing in the recliner at Grandma & Papas. The big boys went fishing, and the girls and these two went out to dinner at Red Robin- very good food but Jack is not so fun at restaurants.

Just a silly picture.
And- how can I forget that I am playing in an Ultimate Frisbee league with Dan this summer. What was I thinking??? It is a lot of running, good thing I am there to be a girl body and only play just as much as the other girls ABSOLUTELY NEED ME. The first point or two is VERY painful, but after that it is A LOT of fun. Last week we had to take Jack with us so Dan I never got to play on the field together. It just just nice being out as a family!

And that is just the beginning of our summer. We are looking forward to sneaking in a lot more fun in between the necessities of life- eat, sleep, and of course work.

A rainy day...

a perfect day to play in puddles. :)






The ball pit was the activity for the weekend- card day with a friend on Friday, friends coming over Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon play (a distraction for our overtired child.)
Also- you could say we have started piano lessons. I have been practicing a song for church and Jack sits next to me and turns his pages in the book. He is very cute. Now he goes up to the piano and says "na, na, na." I'm pretty sure that is what he says as he reaches for anything he wants, but maybe it is his way of saying "piano."
And one of the best parts of his seat being forward facing- watching scenes like this unfold. :)

A couple of funny ones...

We pulled out the play food after school on Monday. Jack found a piece of pizza, put it in his mouth and then preceded to throw it in the garbage. I guess it didn't taste as good as homemade. :)

Also- Jack has been a monster going to sleep at night. Last night I took away his blanket that was in his crib, and gave him a different one. He went right to sleep. I think his blue & brown striped blanket scared him.

We did it!

We finally turned Jack's carseat around! The new recommendation is 2 years old, but Jack was getting a little too tall AND the cold air just wasn't getting to him fast enough. VERY LAME REASONS when we're talking about safety, but I am sure he is very safe!

Last weekend we went to Reclaiming Our Heritage at the VA medical center grounds. We only spent about 1 hour there (most of the time seeing my friend from work sing) but Jack wanted to walk EVERYWHERE and see EVERYTHING!


Jack loved to dance to the music! Every once in a while he would get a big idea and dart towards the stage- I WAS ON MY TOES (or behind the camera)!!!

Betsy singing- It was a GREAT show! I really enjoyed the patriotic music at the end- it reminds me of how grateful I am to live in the Land of the Free!

A weekend without Dan...

Dan went to Utah for the Holiday weekend- a friend was getting married and we like to check in on all of our friends.
Yes it seems strange we vacation separate, but how much fun would Jack and I have frisbee golfing every day, eating at Tucanos (I would enjoy this, not Jack so much) and the wedding was in Logan Utah- Jack and I spend most of our time in Provo. It seems like we would have vacationed alone, even if were in the same state.

Jack and I had a lot of fun at home!

Saturday morning, Jack slept until 9:10 AM!!! I woke him up- I don't really plan on him sleeping that long and I didn't want him to wake up during my 9:30 piano lesson. He was ready to go- first stop, a little morning read.

Then we hit up a neighborhood rummage sale. I found Jack a rocking chair- and it's RED! I LOVE RED!


We played at Grandma & Papa's house.

And when Dad made it home- we went on a festive walk for Memorial Day (Thank you Auntie Katie for the festive shirt and of course a Bomb Pop to go!)

AND enjoyed Pizza together, at the table. (Thanks to the new booster seat that I found at the rummage as well!)

Yes, Jack is a happy baby! He has been a lot of fun, going to bed without a peep and napping great! We are very lucky!

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.)