Noodles

Jack was a part of our church's Vacation Bible School this year! He missed the end because he got a cold, but he had fun while he was there! Each night he brought home a little craft he "made" including a paper surf board with his little footprints on it. He also brought home an ornament with sand inside & stickers of the nativity scene on the outside. Our sweet children's director even specially made him a shirt since the official shirt didn't come in his size. It was so sweet & really warmed my heart that she went above & beyond to include little Jack. The whole experience reminded me how blessed we are to belong to a church who believes even the youngest ones can learn about Jesus' love. I didn't get a great picture of him, but here's one that shows off his cute shirt! (I had to hold on to him since he was standing on a chair!) Thanks again to Lesa & the whole children's council, our church family, & all Jack's sweet teachers & helpers!

Jack's First Mission Trip

Howdy! Jack here, reporting on my first mission trip. First of all, I have to say mission trips pretty much rock. I spent the week being adored by 80 people or so & I was pretty much the center of attention at all times. Notice the ring of teenage girls admiring my awesomeness. Other than that, I spent the week travelling to different worksites bringing plenty of smiles & popsicles to the workteams while Mom and Dad took pictures and videos. I saw the big kids do everything from building wheelchair ramps and a roof, to cleaning and painting houses. It was pretty impressive, but boy was it hot outside! Good thing I had my trusty carseat in the nice, cool car! When I wasn't out traveling around, I manned my command station back at the church, helped plan the worship stations, or spent time resting & playing at Etta's house. I loved Miss Etta, but I really loved the GIANT dog they have there named Gabe! I guess mom forgot to get a picture of him...but trust me, he's HUGE! Other than that, I got to go to my first baseball game (which I'm sure my mom will blog about soon), & I made my video debut. You can check the church's YouTube page for my amazing performances!

I guess that's it for now. I've gotta get back to my busy schedule of entertaining/terrorizing Lucy (my big red dog), exploring the living room, & emptying out all my toy boxes.

Later.

-Jack

10 months

This is late coming seeing as how he will soon be 11 months, but better late than never, I guess. This month has been crazy! Jack is learning and changing so fast, I can't even believe it!

• I just looked back at the 9 month post...at that point I said "No crawling yet." That almost makes me laugh now! He went from scooting, creeping, & rolling, to crawling, pulling up, standing, & cruising in the blink of an eye. His current focus is trying to stand with no hands. He also likes to stand (while holding on to the couch) & trying to lean down to pick up toys without falling.
• He loves playing and exploring, putting toys in buckets, pushing buttons, etc.
• We made him a book of pictures of family members so we can practice names & he loves it. He will sit & flip through it over & over with a big smile on his face. :)
• He loves clapping, cheering, sticking his tongue out, & playing peek-a-boo.
• Favorite song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Favorite Book: Barnyard Dance (by Sandra Boyton)
• Jack is very social & LOVES people. He smiles, babbles, & displays his cuteness to anyone who will pay attention.
• Jack is working on tooth number 4 at moment & it's been a rough week or so, as he's also been dealing with a cold. :(
• Baby signs he knows: more, all done, milk
• Favorite words: dada = daddy, dahd = dog, nana = nana, mama = mommy, dat = Jack
• Latest foods: pasta, corn, peas, chicken, potato, muffins, & bread
• Jack is super active all the time! He is so much fun & we're having a blast. :)

Faces

Jack & Daddy

I love my boys.

9 months old!

On Monday Jack was officially 9 months old! So... that means bullet points!

• weight: 19 pounds
• length/height: 29 inches
• Jack is working on perfecting different words. It's cool to see him watch your mouth as you say words & try to imitate the movement/sound. Mama & Dada are still his favorites. He has also started saying 'hi' & we're trying to figure out if he means 'hi' when he says it because we recently taught him 'high five', which has confused the waving thing. So, for the past couple days he has been saying hi & raising his hand up like a wave - or high five. Who knows? He also repeated "Nana" today when I told him we were calling Nana on the phone. It was pretty cute. :)
• Jack is quite the mover. However, he does so by rolling, turning, and scooting - no crawling yet! I was cleaning his room the other day & he made his way all around the floor chasing different toys around. I was impressed (& reminded to vacuum). Today he made it across the middle of the living room until he was under the coffee table.
• We took Jack for his first swim! He loved it & enjoyed kicking & splashing the whole time.
• We are starting to add "real" food to his diet & he's not sure what to do with it. He likes playing with puffs until he loses them (usually they are stuck to one of his hands somewhere). We tried some tiny pieces of squash last night & after he rejected that, I decided to just give him a big piece of broccoli to play with. He immediately tried to feed it to Lucy. After that, anything we handed him, he would just hold out to Lucy. She was really good & didn't take any food out of his hand. Once it hit the floor, however...oh well, baby steps, right?
• We're having so much fun this summer!!! I love our little family!