18 Month Checkup

Jack just had his 18 month checkup and I am always anxious to see how he measures up against other kids his age. (I find myself looking forward to these doctor visits for this reason!) After waiting a looooong time for the doctor to finally make an appearance I got my answers...Jack is still a big kid! He weighs 30.8 lbs (98%), height is 34.5 inches (97%) and head circumference is 50.5 cm (99%).
Jack's vocabulary is growing every day. He tries to say everything you say...this could come back to bite Gabe and I. You can tell he is Gabe's son because he now recognizes Ironman on tv. He is also starting to put together short sentences.
Jack is still running and being as crazy as ever. He doesn't care if he falls...he just bulldozes everything. When this kid is awake he is moving. We are trying to get him to watch shows to give us a little break but he won't sit longer than the length of a commercial. He does like to watch the Sesame Street theme song but he has no interest in watching the show. Believe me...you can only take hearing that song so many times.
I love all the wild and crazy things Jack does. He makes me laugh every day and gives me more love than I ever thought possible.

Waiting patiently for the dr. Thank goodness for snacks and the iphone!

Sitting on his "seat". 

The difference 6 months makes! He is growing into such a big boy!

Splash Pad

Gabe and I recently took Jack to a splash pad at Kierland. Ironically, Gabe wanted to go at 9 am on a Sunday morning when the shops weren't open...thanks for that... :(   Regardless, we had a blast! Jack was obsessed with the water and was soaked in no time at all. (Next time we are bringing his swimming suit!) We weren't too sure how he was going to like the water but he was having the time of his life running into the water and then screaming and running out. He would run up a small grassy hill and then run straight back into the water. I could have stayed out there all day long watching him! I have a feeling this is going to be a regular summer event...except next time I will go when the stores are open! :)

We pretty much had the place to ourselves. Jack is soaked!

Pat's Run

Jack and I completed our first race together! We raced in Pat's Run which is in honor of Pat Tillman who was a former Sun Devil and Arizona Cardinal who was killed in the war. I have always wanted to run in this race but I have been a snob because it is only 4.2 miles (in honor of the number 42 he wore as a Sun Devil). This year I thought it would be a great distance for Jack and I to complete.
It was weird being in a race without my wing-man Gabe...he always drops me off and meets me along the course and at the finish line. This race was on a Saturday and Gabe had to work so I was lucky enough to have Ceci come along and help me out. She helped keep me sane when I stressed about parking and finding the starting line.
After a long wait for the race to start Jack and I were on our way. After the mile 2 checkpoint I noticed my racing partner had fallen asleep. I knew this would happen and I was ok with it as long as he woke up at the end to come through the tunnel and finish on the 42 yard line of the football field. As I was running up the stadium I tried coaxing Jack up and he wasn't having it. I noticed a guy spraying a hose for all the runners to go through so I knew this would do the trick. Jack was startled awake by the cool water and instantly began pointing out the stadium and balloons. I was so happy he was awake for our first finish together!
After we crossed the finish line we camped out on the field and waited for Ceci to find us. Jack got to run around and have his picture taken with some football players. It was so cool to have Jack with me during this race. I know he won't ever remember this day but I will never forget it.

Pre-race

Post-race

Jack wasn't a fan of having his picture taken with the football players. (They got a laugh out of this picture!)

Jack and Nana. I'm sure Jack is pointing out an airplane!

I love this picture. It looks like he is practicing his 3 point stance. Future Sun Devil!

Funny Faces

Jack has become quite the personality lately. He is learning how to make different facial expressions and experimenting with the volume of his voice...the screaming is ear piercing but it is hard not to laugh because he is just trying to get a reaction.
My favorite new thing is the look of confusion/excitement that he gets when he hears Gabe come home from work or sees something that he likes. His mouth forms a small circle and his eyes get big. (You will see from the pictures below...)
He is starting to talk more and more everyday. His newest word is "meow" and that means cat. He is very definite when he says it and knows it's a cat but just calls is a meow. It cracks me up. He is also starting to say "milk" which is nice because all food and drinks are no longer in the "nana" category.
His favorite thing in the world right now (besides his bat and ball) are balloons. He will scream in the car if he sees them or go crazy at the grocery store. It cracks me up. He also tells me when I have to stop at red lights and "no-no" at motorcycles. (He got this from a book with a picture of a motorcycle and I would always say no-no motorcycles.) He even says "no-no" to bicyclists...he hasn't figured out that that's ok yet. :)
It amazes me how quickly Jack picks up on things!

Jack was watching his kite fly away

Jack being silly. He is a ham for the camera.

Easter 2012

Another Easter is in the books! This year was MUCH different than last year. Last year we had brunch with my side of the family and then met up with Gabe's side of the family in the afternoon. Jack was only about 5 months old so he had no clue what was going on around him.
This year we scaled back a little. We had breakfast here and played and then had our first Easter egg hunt in the backyard. I wasn't sure how Jack would respond to the Easter egg hunt...part of me thought he would be too distracted by everything else in the backyard to care about finding the eggs. I was completely wrong! (It did help that the Easter eggs were painted like footballs, baseballs, basketballs and soccer balls.) Jack ran all over the backyard picking up his eggs and once he realized there was treats inside the eggs then he slowed down a little to snack along the way.  :)  He successfully found all 16 eggs and then he played with his Easter present his Nana Ceci brought over. She bought him a lawnmower that blows out bubbles. (Jack is obsessed with bubbles right now.)  Jack loved the lawnmower...was anyone really surprised about that??? This is Gabe's kid we are talking about! :)
After Jack had his nap Nana Ceci came back over and we finished the day with a delicious dinner. It was the perfect way to end a beautiful day!

Jack opening up his Easter basket from his Nana

He got a bat that looks like a carrot...it took him 30 seconds to put the ball on the tee and hit it.

Easter egg hunt!

He found the goodies!

This is where we paused the hunt so he could eat his teddy grahams 

Jack even shared his jelly beans with Nana

Gabe showing him how to use the mower.

Jack got distracted by the bubbles. He was trying to pop them as they came out of the mower.

Gabe, Jack and Nana

Finally got some family shots! Of course Jack wasn't looking...

Jack is either fist pumping Jersey Shore style or showing his muscles!

Batting Practice

Without a doubt, Jack's favorite toys are a bat and ball. He has gotten pretty good at bouncing the ball off the tile and hitting it so Gabe and I decided to go out and get him a tee so he can practice hitting the ball the right way. Needless to say, Jack loved it! He still wants to chop the ball but he is learning how to swing at the ball. He even gets the ball and puts it back on the tee. It is so fun to watch!

I don't know why he was squatting down, but he has the concept down!

Putting his ball back on the tee.

I have a feeling we are going to have to replace some windows soon...

Spring Break 2012

Spring break has come to an end...so sad. :(  Jack and I didn't really do anything too exciting, just hung out got some stuff done around the house. I finally got around to putting pictures up from Jack's 12 month photo shoot!! Nothing like getting to that about 4 months later!! At least it is done and I love the way it looks.
My college girlfriends came down the first weekend of spring break. It was so much fun to hang out with the girls again. We had lots of laughs and watched the videos we took in college. (Why we felt like we needed to videotape ourselves at parties I don't know...) All the girls were in town for a mini reunion and major surgeries. Alyson donated a kidney to her dad on Tuesday and Tammy had brain surgery on Wednesday. I would like to get together next time without any major surgeries looming in the future.
Jack and I took advantage of the nice weather and visited Gabe at a spring training game. The big league games are fun but Jack likes to be close to the action so we chose to go to a minor league game. It's not like Jack knows the difference anyways...he just likes to watch the bat and balls.
Jack has really started to talk (or maybe I'm just around to hear him during the day). He really tries to mimic everything you say...which means Gabe and I are going to have to start watching what we say! His first sentence would have to be, "I want that". He says it all the time. He constantly wants what we have whether it is our phones or food. Speaking of phones, Jack has become obsessed with my iphone. In fact, he calls all phones "mommy" because he knows he has mommy's phone. He can unlock the phone on his own which also means he calls people without me knowing! Great...He loves to watch videos of himself on my phone. In fact, this is the only way he will sit still for any period of time. He laughs at himself and loves to point out "daddy" and "baby". I love it.
Spring break has been awesome and I am hoping the next 9 weeks go by quickly so I have more time to spend with my little guy.

Getting some use out of our slide

He can go down all by himself now!

He was dying to get through that fence

We took a walk almost every day. By the end of the week he had to take his bat along.

Nothing better than a nap!