The many celebrations of Jack...

Two disclaimers:  I'm really behind on the blog, and this post is pretty picture heavy.

We spent about three weeks stretching out Jack's birthday celebration this month (and last month too, if we're being honest).  Keeping with his May Queen mother's habit of stretching out her birthday, next year we're expecting to hear the phrase "It's my birthday month!" being used for all sorts of shenanigans.  Hey, life is meant to be celebrated.  And celebrate we did.

Grandma and Grandpa Stevenson visited Colorado for a few weeks in September.  On their last visit with us, we had a birthday dinner for him (Qdoba quesadilla for the birthday boy, his fave) and enjoyed cupcakes.  He knew exactly what to do!

We came home to Indianapolis the weekend of his birthday to celebrate with our friends and their kids.  Our buckaroo was Sheriff for the day at the Sinders' Corral and we had a doggone good time hanging out with some special friends who we don't see nearly enough.

The Birthday Buckaroo with his favorites - Binky and Blue Dog

A tug on the sleeve in passing.  Livi's a good sport, I tell ya.

Monthly birthday banner above the cake table

A little snack for the trail (puppy chow)...

The birthday boy checks on his curls before the guests arrive.

Grab a hat and bandana, ya'll!

A HUGE THANKS to Rachel and Justin for opening up their home to us and hosting Jack's party.  Rachel and I had a lot of fun planning this party!  Owen and Livi are having their own Western party next weekend!  

Justin rocks.  

Rascia's Creative Cakes in Carmel made this masterpiece.  I hated cutting into it, and it tasted even better than it looked!

Exactly as I pictured it!

Love this picture, these boys, and these pretty ladies.

Our buddy, Jack!  Dressed for the occasion!  

Emily and her sweetie Kara.  I think that Kara and Jack are matched in their spirit.  Funny story - Jack was walking by Kara at the party and plucked her pacifier out of her mouth and directly into his, then kept right on walking.  She was.not.happy!  Brent saw it, took it out of Jack's mouth and put it right back into hers.  Then Jack was.not.happy!  I asked Brent if he didn't think to wash it off or anything before giving it back to Kara, and nah.  He said he was just trying to manage the chaos.  Haha!     

Emily, Bridget, and Scott's lower half.  

Thank you, Justin, for wearing the cowboy hat even when no one else was.  You're a real trooper!

The Steinbergs, minus Peyton who was probably helping with the cake.  She's a helper!  

I really don't know why I didn't take his shirt off for the cake smash.  Just wanted to get that out there, since you're probably wondering why I didn't.  I can't answer that, but I do know all the frosting came out of those clothes, so whatever.

And here's the part of the evening when he walked around clutching one of Owen's diapers.  I'm so glad Liam and Peyton could help with presents, because Jack was no help at all!

Yeah, yeah, go ahead and open my gifts.  I've gotta figure out how this dvd player works, Mom!  

We finished out the trip with a birthday celebration in Kendallville with Grandpa Bob, Granny Lou, and Uncle Rob.  He had another awesome cake and had the theatrics of the "cake smash" down at this point.  What a lucky boy!!

Cake, for little ol' me?

Don't mind if I do!

  

12 Months. One Year.

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow 

They'll learn much more than I'll never know 

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world 

One awesome year with my favorite little guy.  It's gone so.darn.fast.  I've said it before and I'll never, ever stop saying it as long as I live...I'm so lucky to get to be your mom, Jack!  Your dad and I are patting ourselves on the backs right now for keeping you alive, and thriving, to your first birthday.  In reality, you made it pretty easy on us.  You're a great sleeper, a great eater, and have a sweet disposition (if not a little boisterous).  Thank you, sweet boy!  


And a few stats for the record books:
Clothing Size - 12-18m are getting snug, 18m fits best, and I've also broken out the 18-24m.  18m isn't really so long anymore - funny how that happens overnight. Moved you up to a size 5 diaper last week.

Sleeping - No big changes here:  9:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. and two naps during the day.  The morning nap is 2 hours right now, and the afternoon nap is 1.5 hours.  Seems like a lot of sleep to me, but you play pretty hard when you're up so that must be why!

Eating - We've been transitioning you over to whole milk for the last month or so and we finished up with formula last week.  We packed up the bottles this weekend too, and you're doing okay with the sippies.  Well, now that Megan sent you the Toy Story sippies - those finally seem to be acceptable to you.  We have many, many brands of cups in our cabinets, folks.

Teeth - A fourth (a top incisor) popped through right after the last monthly post - so 11m, 2days-ish (for those of us -ME - keeping track for his baby book).  A fifth tooth popped through on the top about a week before your birthday. 

Movement - You took your first steps right after your last post, too, at 11m 1 day.  You walked three-four steps at a time for about a week, and by the weekend of 9/14 you started walking across the room in one pass.  Now, you pretty much refuse to crawl anywhere.  This new freedom has brought you a lot of satisfaction, and a lot of head injuries.

Words - you now say 'Mom' and 'Dad' in context, and 'bath' when prompted.  You've also picked up on the 'more' sign and 'all done' this month!  

Silly/Funny Things You Do: Tilt your head to the left when you're eating in your high chair and give us a silly look; beat on your chest with one hand - a form of clapping, it seems to us; wrinkle your nose at us and do a sniffing thing, which we do right back; carry around a mini contact solution bottle - whenever you see it, you just have to have it.

I'm Walkin'

Oh yes indeed! Hot off the press...we have a little walker in our house!  Jack took his first few steps last Thursday, but just  yesterday started walking across rooms (with some incentive, usually).  We think it's really cute, of course.  Here he is!

11 Months.

How many monkeys are jumping on the bed?  

Well Baby Jack, you're 11 months old today. Pretty hard to believe that you'll be celebrating one year of life just a month from today.

Weight - the scale this weekend said 24 pounds
Length - ?
Head Circumference - ?

Clothing Size - 12m are on the way out, and the 12-18m and 18m size fits best, although a little long. Still a size 4 diaper and the large setting of your BGs.

Sleeping - Still great, once you're down. We've gotten into the bad routine of getting you out of your crib and taking "one more spin" through the house if you can't settle down in the first few minutes after we shut your door. Hey, you keep pointing towards the door, so I figure that's what you want? Sometimes this final house walk-through includes some Baby Einstein if you're really upset, like you were tonight. When I put you back in your crib, not a single tear.

Teeth - A third popped through this month, on the top! You're working on that fourth one and I think it bothers you from time to time.

Eating - No big changes here since you went to three meals at 9 months. You love to eat! Your formula intake continues to decrease and we're going to start weaning over to whole milk soon, or at least try if your tummy will let us.

Movement - You're everywhere. Your walking behind the walker has turned into almost running behind your walker, and you use it to get you to stationary objects like the couch, chair, etc. and then transfer over. You walk up and down the length of the furniture and stand by yourself for short periods. You try to dive off couches, chairs, the bed, the changing table, etc. You're a maniac!

Words - You say Mama in context now and you can meow like a cat. A new development this month has been lots of pointing with intention and grunting. You're getting closer! You point at Bonnie whenever we see a dog in a book, and point at Brown Bear when we see a bear.

Milestones - Taking your first long vacation in Pagosa Springs, saying goodbye to Katie when she went to college (we miss her!), and having your first of hopefully many play dates with your friend Jack!

Favorite toys/activities - You're obsessed with taking things out of containers and sorting through the pile. Books (yours and ours), laundry (again, yours and ours), toys from your baskets, spices in the cabinet, my purse, your diaper bag, etc. You like to point the remote at the TV and make grunting sounds, and you hold your stacking cups up to your ears. You love to swing at the park and we take you many evenings a week. I don't know if you'd ever tire of it if we didn't make you stop so we can eat dinner.

 Dislikes - Having your diaper changed and getting dressed, not getting your food fast enough in the high chair, having your fingernails trimmed.

What we love - Your sweet face. Momma (secretly) loves how you want her to carry you around all the time.

 What we're looking forward to - enjoying your last month as an infant! Sniff.

 

Who Needs a Housekeeper?

When you have Jack?  Here he is helping me with laundry.  He learned how to sweep the floors a few days ago, and we might move on to cleaning the toilets after he turns 11 months next week.

Visitors!

Earlier this month our friends Jeremy, Ashley, and Jack flew to Colorado for a visit!  They came in on a Friday evening and only had to endure one blown-out diaper on the flight from Indy and trek from the airport to our house in the foothills.  Hey, you're not really a seasoned traveler until you've been covered in poop in the airport, Jeremy.  You earned your wings that day.  

We managed to pull off quite a bit of sightseeing and good eating during the four days they stayed with us before heading up to Estes Park, even when working around the nap schedules of 10 month-old Jack and 13 month-old Jack.

Brent and Jack Warren, rolling around a golf ball on a Saturday morning.  Or preparing for an early afternoon tee time, I'm just not sure.  

A pair of Jacks headed up the stairs.  

Jack Robert, you're never going to guess how this door works!  I think I've figured out the secret, here in this spring.

Can't we come load the car with you?  We're very helpful.  

On Saturday we headed down to Colorado Springs.  We ate lunch in Manitou Springs at Savelli's, then walked around at the Garden of the Gods.  I'll spare you tons of scenery pictures here, since it's only been roughly a year since GoG pics were plastered heavily on this website.  

Balanced Rock

On Sunday we went hiking at Deer Creek Canyon.  Jeremy and Ashley brought a backpack carrier out with them, and we found a steal on Craigslist the week before so we ended up with one, too.  I think the guys were glad they had them...and I think Ashley and I were glad to only have regular packs with a few bottled waters on our backs.  

Before the hoisting onto Dad's back.

The hike wasn't all that thrilling to the Jacks.  One is working on pulling off a Cubs hat, and the other is passed out in his carrier.

Oooo, the camera!

Part two of a great visit coming soon!

Ten Months.

Happy 10 months, Jack Robert!  I may be a broken record when I say this, but I thank God for you every single day.  We love being your parents more than anything in this world.

Weight - between 23 and 24 lbs

Length - ?

Head Circumference - ?

Clothing Size - 12m are on the way out, and the 12-18m and 18m size fits best, although a little long.  Still a size 4 diaper and the large setting of your BGs.  

Sleeping - Still great!  You decided you're done rocking now.  Sad momma.  :(  You are always awake when you lay down and cuddle with Blue Dog and you do great putting yourself to sleep.    

Teeth - Still just the two bottom teeth at 10 months.

Yup, I checked for you, Mom, but still just two in here.

Eating - No big changes here since you went to three meals at 9 months.  You love to eat!  You still take about 20oz of formula a day.  We tried to mix in a little whole milk a few weeks ago, but we stopped because of spit-up issues.  We're going to try to introduce it again in another few weeks and see if you tolerate it better.

Movement - You crawl everywhere, go up the stairs, and walk all over the house with your walker.  

Words - Da-Da, Ma-Ma, ba-ba, ga-ga, na-na...uh, I'll stop now.  Lots of sounds and grunting, no recognizable words yet.  You're very vocal, and I'm excited for the day when you can put things into words because I am eager to see what you've been talking about all this time.  

Milestones - Moving out of your first house, going a whole evening without power (also the same day you moved, as luck would have it), swimming lessons at Lilly Gulch Rec Center.

Favorite toys/activities - Crawling through your tunnel in the middle of the living room (a moving box) and going up the stairs to mess with your sock monkey nightlight, in addition to the usual stuff: singing, going outside, walking, watching Baby Einstein.  Reading to you is a little harder - it takes a lot to hold your attention these days.  If there are lots of animal sounds and few words on each page, you're okay.  You love to turn the pages with authority.

Dislikes - Having your diaper changed and getting dressed, not getting your food fast enough in the high chair.  

What we love - Your silly faces and kisses. 

What we don't love - Nothing big comes to mind.  You're such a good baby.   

What we're looking forward to - Mom being home with you more starting later this fall.  That's right - she finally got a part time schedule approved.  HOORAY!