Thanksgiving 2011

Wow--so many things to be thankful for this year!! We have a healthy, loud, loving, funny little boy who doesn't sit still. I have a wonderful husband who is a fantastic father and role model to Jack. I have family who is supportive and helpful whenever I need them. We have friends who are so much fun to be around. Gabe and I are truly lucky and have lots to be thankful for.
We spent Thanksgiving this year with Scott who came in town from California. It's always nice to have him stay with us. Our day wasn't as lovely as I would have liked...Jack has a cold and he is getting a molar on the left side of his mouth. Between him being stuffy and being in pain from his mouth he wasn't very pleasant to be around. Throw a short morning nap on top of that and we knew we were in trouble. As soon as Jack woke up we went over to my mom's house so we could socialize with them for a while and then dropped in to see my sister and her family. Then we raced home to put Jack down again.
Ceci continued our tradition with Thanksgiving at our house when Jack woke up from his nap. Ceci does all the cooking and then brings it over for all of us to devour! It's the best of both worlds. I don't have to cook and I get to eat great food. I will clean the kitchen for days as long as I don't have to cook! It was really low key at our house this year. We had dinner with Scott, and Joe and that's it! Gabe's brother and his wife were out of town this year so our house felt more empty than normal.

Jack helping his Nana cook

The boys watching football. (Note the open computer...had to keep up on the fantasy scores!)

The crew sitting down to eat

All Jack wanted to do was squeeze his food. I don't think he was hungry enough for dinner. yet. (We ate about an hour earlier than normal)

Jack's newest accomplishment is feeding himself his own snacks. He finally figured out how to grab the goldfish and bring them out of the cup.

Note how close Roxy is...she knows the goldfish don't always make it into Jack's mouth!

He loves his snacks!!!

Michigan

Gabe and I went on our first vacation since Jack was born. We went with our friends the Putz' and Bauer's to Michigan to re-visit our college years. Kelsey and JJ both went to Michigan and played sports so we were treated to some VIP tours of the campus and athletic department.
We arrived Thursday night (actually Friday morning) at 1am and after a few hours of sleep we were up and ready to tour Ann Arbor. We walked around the campus, stopping at a few bars, and then went to the hockey game Friday night. I've never been a hockey fan but this environment was really cool. We were playing Ohio State and it was so entertaining to watch the student section get into the game! After the game we went to JJ's old college hangout, Ricks. We all had a great time closing out the night there (some of us had a little more fun than others...).
Saturday was full of football!! We left the hotel at 9 am to tailgate for the 12:30 game. I haven't ever been to a sporting event this big. The people in Michigan love their football and know how to tailgate! We had a few rally drinks at the tailgate and then walked through the tunnel the players walk through and got to hang out on the sideline. The band coming on to the field was so fun and we had the best view of the four F-16's that flew over the stadium after the anthem. The game was won in impressive fashion by Michigan and we found ourselves back at Rick's to close the night out again.
It was so much fun to hang out with our friends and not have to worry about nap times or Jack turning into a time bomb. He was in great hands with my mom all weekend and came home much more spoiled than he was when he left. We loved being on vacation, but we loved coming back to our little family just as much. Being away for a short amount of time makes you appreciate what you have at home. :)

Cari, Kelsey and I walking around campus

Our first stop of the day

Gabe and I walking around campus

Cari and I always have to do a silly sunglasses picture

At the hockey game

Tailgating with the stadium behind us

Walking through the tunnel

Pre-game sideline passes

Dan, JJ, Gabe and Craig are the old guys posing with the cheerleaders. :)

Packed house! Playing against Nebraska

JJ, Dan, and Gabe doing a "shotski" after the game. Four shot glasses attached to a ski.

Kelsey, Amy, Cari, and I after the game. No shotski's for us! 

Jack-1 year old!

Jack,
I cannot believe we have already celebrated your first birthday. It seems like just yesterday we were getting your room ready to bring you home from the hospital! This year has been a big learning curve for your Dad and I...learning how to survive on little sleep, learning how we can drive ourselves crazy worrying about you, learning that our house is not babyproofed enough for you, and most importantly, learning how amazing it is to love someone more than we ever thought possible.
I have never known a baby to be as vocal as you have been. You still love to hear yourself talk. Your favorite words of choice are still, "da da" but you do say, "Jack" and are making this "ooooohhhh" noise now that you seem to be enamored with. You like to give big, slobbery open mouth kisses and even though you have never been a snuggler you love sitting in my lap as we read books at night. In fact, my favorite time of the day is when you bring a book over to me and plop down in my lap for me to read. (You only stay that cute and cuddly for a couple of pages and then you are gone again but I love it.) You don't like to sit still, you are the busiest kid I know. You play hard and you sleep hard!
You are such a good eater and you love your snacks just like I do. You aren't afraid to try anything (with your 9 teeth) but your food of choice is still avocados and pears. You crack me up because you love to feed yourself but you are always looking out for the well-being of the dogs. Your dad and I have to stop you from feeding the dogs as you are eating...
You love to play and have the perfect play mate in your Dad. I love the way your face lights up when you see him and the way you squeal as you laugh when you are playing.
Happy Birthday to my sweet boy. I love you more than you will ever know and I look forward to each day I get to spend with you!

Jack's 1st Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated Jack's first birthday. I can't believe a year has already gone by. We had about 50 people over to celebrate Jack's big day and amid all the chaos it was a good party! We had a bounce house for all the kids to wear themselves out in and enough food to feel 150 people...I was packing food up and forcing people to take it home. :)  Jack got WAY too many presents and was a trooper the whole day. He loves being outside so I'm thankful the day turned out to be nice (a little bit warm but better than rain). We had a blast and are so thankful everyone could be here to celebrate with us. We are so lucky to have Jack in our lives and we love showing him off to everyone. :)

Jack loves balloons--I like how they were making his hair full of static!

Jack watching all the big kids play in the bounce house

Jack's turn!

Such a mess!

This kid could not get cake in his mouth fast enough! I had to take the rest of his piece away from him because I didn't want him to get sick. 

I love this picture because Jack is so upset that Ethan has his new toy.

Aiden and Jack sharing the toy

Birthday boy!

After everyone left we broke out a few more toys...

He loves his cell phones!

No More Formula!!

I never thought this day would come...The day where Gabe and I don't have to mix up formula and give Jack a bottle. He is a week away from turning 1 so Gabe and I decided to bite the bullet and switch Jack to whole milk. Since Gabe and I have no idea what we are doing this was a very stressful decision.We were full of so many questions: how much do we give him? what if he doesn't like it? how can we keep his night time routine somewhat normal without a bottle????? After alot of internet searching (by Gabe) we decided to cut Jack off of formula cold turkey and switch to milk. He didn't like it at first, but after a couple of days he is starting to come around. In fact, he had 2 cups of milk with his breakfast this morning!
Now if we can just get him potty trained....  :)

Halloween

I have been a huge slacker when it comes to updating my blog! I feel like the month of October has been a blur of volleyball and I haven't had any family time! We had 2 big volleyball tournaments and the season is winding down with the girls playing in the state tournament this week. I must take a quick detour and brag about my team before I move on with this blog--This has been the first year we have played up in Division 1 with the really big schools and my team ranked 5th out of the top 16 teams that qualified for state. I am super proud of the girls and I am excited to see how far they will go in the state tournament. Ok--back to my blog now.... :)
This is the last official holiday of Jack's "firsts"! He was still cooking last year at this time. I remember sitting outside with Gabe handing out Halloween candy dreading having to dress someone up and take them trick or treating! ha ha! Luckily for us we just dressed Jack up in his costume, took a few pictures, and then let him run around outside.
We spent the evening at the Bauer's house where we joined the Putz crew along with Bea, Tom, Pat, and Al. It was fun to see the Putz girls get excited about dressing up and watching Ethan have a meltdown when it came time to put his costume on. Jack was a monkey (bought for him by his Nana Ceci) and he handled the costume pretty well. He didn't mind putting the outfit on (which was very thick and hot) but he kept wanting to take the head piece off. Eventually we just let him take the head off and run around in the monkey suit. He loved chasing after all the kids and spending the evening outside. It was a great night!! :)

Jack with Lauren and Kaelyn

The crew...notice Ethan having a meltdown

Round 2 of putting the costume on---look at Jack's face!

Taking a stroll with his Nana

While the kids were trick or treating Jack wanted to go on a Ranger ride. He wants to drive. :)

11 months old!

Yep, you guessed it right, I can't believe Jack is 11 months old! Ha ha! Time definitely isn't slowing down the older he gets. From the moment he wakes up in the morning (around 6:15 am) he is non-stop action. He is crawling and into everything. One of his favorite games is to have you chase him around the house or to sit in a room and shut and open the door on you. He loves opening cabinets and taking whatever is in them out. Gabe had to babyproof the cabinets in the kitchen today because Jack kept pulling out the glass bowls. He did leave Jack the tupperware cabinet to play in. One of the worst places Jack gets into is our bathroom cabinets. Nothing like having Jack play with razors and nail polish remover...these cabinets will get babyproofed asap! :)
Jack is holding steady at 8 teeth although I feel like he has something in the works coming in. He is sooooooooooo drooly! This kid goes through at least 3 shirts a day. He loves to hear his own voice. Jack can't sneak up on anyone because he is so loud. He still loves saying "da da da da" the most and he will say it at different volumes just so you understand him.
Jack is getting better and better at walking. He takes a few steps on his own but isn't confident enough to cover much distance. If Gabe and I sit apart from each other on the floor then he will go back and forth between us but he will only take a few steps if he is coming from the couch to one of us. The easiest way to get him to walk is to give him something to hold on to. It's almost as if he forgets he is walking when he holds something.
Jack's newest food to date is chicken nuggets. I made them for him for lunch today and he couldn't eat them fast enough! I had to try to get him slow down so he wouldn't choke. He still loves his avocados and pears in the morning too! Lets face it...the kid likes to eat! :)
Everyday Jack does something new that makes me laugh. I look forward to what this month will bring us. :)
On a side note, I did get to see my new niece today. Brooke Laurel Morgan was born last night at 11:41 pm weighing 6 lbs 7 oz and 20.5 inches long. Congrats to Ryan and Katie. It will be nice to have a girl in the mix with all the boys! :)

Jack decided to go for a little swim in his bath the other night. Kept putting his head under water.

He was trying to eat the bubbles on the water!

Such a happy boy when he is in the cabinets

Had to add this picture. His shirt says, "I'm faster than you and I crawl", and the shirt is 100% right!

Not only does he empty the cabinets, he eats what he takes out. 

Eating his chicken nuggets today

 I tried to trick him and put banana pieces down too and he would only eat the chicken. Smart little guy!

These are the only kind of pictures I can get of him most of the time. He is always on the go!

Notice how wet his chest is!!