How'd my boy turn 18 months old already??

It's already been 6 months since my last post... whoops!  We've been really busy!  Yesterday, my precious baby boy turned a year and a half... I suppose he's not a baby anymore, but he'll always be my baby (Remember that book?  Talk about a tear jerker).  He is the absolute most wonderful blessing that has ever happened to Dan and I, even on the rougher days.  Jack is a very sweet little boy and can pick up on how people are feeling very quickly.  Yesterday, Jack and I were wrestling around laughing hard when he stops, messes up my hair, grabs my cheeks, and kisses my nose just because.  What a sweet boy he is! 

 Here's his 12 month stats:                               Here's his birthday stats:
Weight- 28 pounds                                             Weight- 9lbs 1 oz
Length- 31 inches?  (He was moving)          Length- 20.5 inches
Head Circumference- 19ish inches              Head Circumference- 14 inches

 
Recent Accomplishments:
*Jack now has 16 teeth and I believe is starting to work on his 2nd year molars. 
*Can throw AND catch a ball
*Loves the water again (we went through a solid month or so of him being terrified of it)
*Loves to "give a pound" to anyone (knuckles)
*Blows kisses to anyone when we leave
*This kid is tough.  He'll fall and hit his head on the ground and only cry for a second. Tough as nails!
*Enjoys cuddling again!  Yahoo!!
*Will let me trim his nails
*Loves playing with other kids
*Is a great helper! Especially loves to throw things away, help in with groceries, and water the garden
*Is starting to talk, and it is so awesome.  He can say ball, baseball, football, banana (pronounces it like "lalalaba), baby, duck, dog, kitty, apple, yeah!, no, water, etc.
*On the words he can't quite pronounce, he'll at least get the correct amount of syllables  
*He can also understand pretty much anything when we are talking to him
*Sleeps from 730pm to 8 or 830am.  Boo yah!!!
*Loves to feed himself using a fork or spoon and is getting the hang of it!
*He's also getting pretty good at drinking from a cup

Less than favorites:
*Throws a pretty good fit
*Pretty shy with adults within the last month or so.  I mean, pretty darn shy.  He hides his face when unfamiliar people talk to him
*Lives on air and water.  Jack is so so so picky now! 
*Can be pretty stubborn... a trait I wish he didn't get from me

I've recently decided to stop coaching at the gym on a consistent basis.  I'll go in and sub, but I feel really strongly that I should be spending that time with my family.  They mean everything to me and I want to be the absolute best mom possible.  I feel good about my decision, though I will really miss the gym.  I'm thankful for all the experience I've had there- it was a very hard decision, but a decision that had to be made.  With the time I have now, we are able to go on more "adventures", which is my favorite thing to do with my little best friend.  We love exploring, going to throw rocks in the river, the splash parks, pools, parks, the science center, and walks.  It's amazing to watch Jack grow and learn, and is the most rewarding thing I've experienced.  I absolutely adore being Jack's Mama.  I know I was meant to be his Mama and take pride in who he is becoming. 

Landies and gents, we have a ONE YEAR OLD!

Jack turned one on November 29th!  I know I say this every month, but  I absolutely can't believe it.  It seems like yesterday when we welcomed our little buddy in the world.  It has been a whirlwind of a year.  We have learned more about life and ourselves in the last year than our lives leading up to the birth of Jack.  It's amazing what a life changing experience it is to have a baby- life will never be the same.  Parenting is no joke, it can be really tough sometimes.  Lucky for me, I have an extremely loving husband and Jack has the best dad.  Dan and I both have awesome examples of what parents are. I have a whole new respect for my parents and all they have done for my family.  I am so so happy Jack joined our family- it is by far the biggest blessing in my life.  We have so much fun every day.

Here's his 12 month stats:                                        Here's his birthday stats:
Weight- Just under 26 lbs                                        Weight- 9lbs 1 oz
Length- 29.5 inches                                                    Length- 20.5 inches
Head Circumference- 18 3/4 inches                   Head Circumference- 14 inches


Jack is officially a walker!  What a big guy!

Jack is happy as always (most of the time).  He is such a curious little guy- always getting into things.  He can climb up our stairs so fast now!  I don't know where the time went, but Jack is turning into a toddler... it's crazy.  He's starting to play like a little boy now.  He's still obsessed with any ball.. he freaks out saying "baaaallll!!!" every time.  It's hilarious!

We gave Jack his very own delicious chocolate cake for his birthday thinking he'd freak out and love it.  He eats pretty much anything we give him, but turns out he doesn't like chocolate!  He actually really didn't like it at all.  Normally Jack is a brute and loves throwing things and whatnot, but he wasn't very interested in the cake at all. 

We love Jack so much and have had so much fun with him this past year.  I'm excited to see what life brings us.

Jack is 11 months (and 7 days)!

We have been oh so busy lately, hence the late post, but we have been doing great!  Jack is starting to really burst with personality.  He is still one of the happiest little guys I've ever seen.

Here's his 11 month stats:                                        Here's his birthday stats:
Weight- 25 lbs                                                               Weight- 9lbs 1 oz
Length- 29.5 inches                                                    Length- 20.5 inches
Head Circumference- 18 3/4 inches                  Head Circumference- 14 inches

We just got back from Colorado hanging out with my beautiful sister, Hannah and her sweet kiddos for the week.  Brittney and Eve even came for a few days.  We had an absolute blast and it was so good to see everyone.  Jack had so much fun getting to know his cousins and Eve.

I don't know where the time went in Colorado.  It went by way to fast- it's hard to live so far away!  Lucy (Hannah's little girl) was so brave the whole time and was hardly even shy! Harrison (Hannah's little guy) is seriously the most low key, best baby out there.  He's so cute!

Check out Jack's new P.J's from Brit!

We went trick or treating (I'm lame and forgot to take pictures pretty much the entire time we were there).  It was so cute to watch Lucy's face light up.  Her adorable high pitch voice would squeak "Trick or or treat!" then "Thank you!".  She dressed up as a clown, and Harrison and Jack both dressed up as Pooh.  Thanks for the absolutely fantastic time guys!  Love you!

In other news, Jack is awesome.  We have so much fun everyday.  He has 6 teeth now (4 upper, 2 lower) and a few on the way.  He is constantly moving, loves to dance now (he started in Colorado), read books, swing at the park, throw balls, eat, and WALK!  Yes, you read it right.  He's starting to walk!  Yesterday, he took 4 or 5 steps multiple times through out the day.  It is craaaazy.  Jack gets so excited when he sees a ball, and when he does, he shouts "BALLLL!!"  He takes about 2 hour and a half to two naps a day and sleeps 10-12 hours a night.  He's nursing when he wakes up and before he goes to bed still and is a total Mama's boy, though, he adores his Dad too.
Dan and I are doing great.  We're getting ready to go to Idaho for Christmas, which will be awesome.  Dan is doing great in school, mainly working on patients in the clinic.  His leg is healing nicely and doesn't have to wear the boot anymore.  He's even back to riding his bike to school, which he loves.  I am still working at Ohio Fit Club and loving it.  I work around a great bunch of people.  I bring Jack in with me on most days, which is definitely fun.   I'm still working out like crazy and loving it.  We can't believe Jack is almost one year old! 
 

Jack is TEN MONTHS (and 2 days)!

I can hardly believe my baby boy turned 10 months on Saturday, it is insaaaane.  He is an absolute stud and I can't get over how much I love him!  It's so fun to watch him explore and discover new things he can do, you can just see the wheels turning in his little head (actually, his head is pretty big, haha). 

Here's his 10 month stats:                                        Here's his birthday stats:
Weight- 25 lbs                                                             Weight- 9lbs 1 oz
Length- 29 inches                                                       Length- 20.5 inches
Head Circumference- 18 1/2 inches                  Head Circumference- 14 inches

They're exactly the same!  He hasn't grown this month, which is really surprising because he seems so much bigger.  

Goodness, where to start.  Jack and I have so much fun every day.  He loves going to the park and swinging then playing in the grass- we try to go every day.  His cute wispy hair blows back and forth in the wind while he's swinging and he has a huge grin the whole time.  He really loves doing anything outside, its like he can't get enough "explorin' " in. 

His new thing is pointing at everything.  He used to wave at everybody, now it's pointing.
His favorite things to play with are balls and books.  He loves them!  He'll throw a ball all day long. He's a definite lefty by the way.  I'll put a ball on his right side and he'll pick it up with his left hand.  If he picks it up with his right hand, which is a rare occasion, he'll switch it to his left hand.  He has a pretty darn good arm too!  He loves crawling over to his bucket of books and flipping through the pages all by himself.  He loves when we read to him, especially Daddy.  Which brings me to his new trick, he can say "Dada" now!

Jack has started this new "wine".  It's like this total fake cry.  It's... awesome... not quite.  But it is pretty funny because it is soooo fake.  Here's the face that goes with it:

We love going to all the Ohio State games we can (any sport), especially volleyball, especially because its free for students.  Here's Jack with Brutus (Ohio State's mascot).  He was so enthralled by him, it was hilarious.  All the fan's in front of us were cracking up!

Jackers has started to share his food.  When he's eating and you open your mouth near him, he'll put whatever he's eating in and smile like he's proud!  His all time favorite food is mandarin oranges.  He'll shake and squeal until he gets another bite.  He hasn't had baby food in probably 2 months, he's just not interested.  He loves cheese, cheerios, any fruit, tomatoes, any meat, etc... clearly not a picky eater. 
He walks around the furniture like a boss.  He's super fast!
He loves hanging out on his knees. 
He sleeps 11 hours a night.  Hallelujah!
Jack has such a sweet personality.  He loves to be tickled and cracks up now.  He is constantly smiling at everyone.  I hope he has cheered up a few people by now, I know he has for me.

He can what?

Jack and throw and catch (when we roll it to him) a ball!  I seriously can't get over how much I love this little chunk. 

Jack now smiles or "shows off" every time he sees the camera haha

My heart seriously does flip flops when I see these two

In other news, we're doing good.  Dan's leg is slowly getting better.  He's such a trooper.  He's been working on patients in the dental clinic for a few months now and is loving it!  Its really fun to see him so excited about what he does everyday.  He is seriously the best husband and daddy ever.  I am so so blessed to be with these guys forever.