It is the little things

Tonight Jack was having a hard time getting to sleep so we got him out of bed; maybe not the best idea but when you hear your kid coughing and screaming and crying of course you are going to get him. Pete and I were in the midst of playing Yahtzee when we got him and brought him out. He watched us shake the cup and roll the dice once; then he grabbed it from me and shook the cup and actually rolled the dice. Yes, we have the smartest child in the world!!

Today we went to visit our friends Elsie and Tamri-- Jack was so so so super excited to see Elsie today! I have never seen him get so excited over anything. He saw her and he squealed, pointed, touched, shook, clapped, and smiled. It was the cutest thing ever. He is really starting to love other kids and wanting to play with and be near other kids.

He is hating cups with no handles. Does anyone have any advice?! We put juice or shakes in his handled cups and give him a taste and he loves it- we pour it in the non- handled cup and he won't even try it. We give him a taste with the lid off and he drinks-- we put the lid on and he wants nothing to do with that cup because it has no handles!!

Jack is super excited about flap books and books that have various textures. He loves to read them and participate in reading them. He is also a fan of this book called Hattie and the Fox. He loves reading it and he loves the various voices that I use. He keeps asking for me to read it again and again.

We have started to really watch the Signing Times videos that we own. Jack will watch them for a couple minutes and loves the kids in them. I really am learning a lot and actually want to learn a whole lot more. I am using these signs with Jack all the time. We are learning thank you, my turn, your turn, car, more, please, share, and so many more. It is really cool. Right now he only knows one sign and that is ceiling fan. He uses it every time that he sees one. He gets so so excited. I am eager to see him learn more signs so he can become excited about those signs as well.

He is obsessed with turning lights on and off. He wants to do it all the time. He sees a light switch in any room, and he points to it and wants to flip it on and off. I stand him on the garbage can in the kitchen, and he just stands there for minutes on end switching the lights on and off over and over gain.

Things here are going very well. This kid has brought so much joy and happiness to our lives. I can't even remember our lives before Jack. I have no idea what we did with our days or talked about with our friends. I guess that is the way it goes. Jack just makes us smile. We are truly truly blessed.

our busy month

Well the past month or two has been pretty busy for us. Sickness has been following us around like a heavy fog. Jack started things off with some lovely eye mucus, in both eyes, then of course there was coughing and a runny nose, then a double ear infection, and sinus infection. He got put on one antibiotic and that didn't work at all, so they put him on another that worked for about a week and then, well, it didn't. So now he is on his third antibiotic. He seems to be doing better but the doctor says there is still fluid in his ears. We go back in three weeks to get them rechecked, and if there is still a problem we have to go see a specialist. It seems that every time we think he is better his fever comes creeping back. Poor kid.

Pete and I were also sick for awhile. It is really no fun when everyone in the house is sick and there is no one to take care of you. There was a lot of sleeping, lying in bed, and more medicine than you have ever dreamed of. Our counter looks like a pharmacy. Pete ended up having to take some medicine to help him get over his illness- mine went away after about 2 weeks. I felt like there were little sick germs attached to everything in the house. I opened the windows and used bleach wipes on most everything.

This month Jack turned 1! We had originally planned to have friends over to help Jack eat his cheesecake with cherry pie filling. However, since he was sick this did not work out. Pete and I gave him his presents and sang him happy birthday all by ourselves. Jack loved his cheesecake and cried when daddy took a bite of it. I don't blame him-- I did a great job- it tasted delicious. He played with his new dinosaurs and dump truck with leggos, but this was short lived because he mostly wanted to be held since he was still sick.

Over Pete's spring break we went to Morehead. Pete and I were able to leave Jack, for the first time ever, all night with his grandparents while we went to Lexington. We ate at Malone's and did a little shopping. It was nice. Then we went to Louisville to visit my aunt and uncle, they thought Jack was super cute - we agree. We also visited with a few other people that we don't get to see all too often. Walking down Bardstown Rd. on a nice sunny day feels like home- it made us both miss Louisville terribly. As is KY weather, while it was nice and sunny for part of the week it snowed the other half. We were able to find a small hill and take Jack sledding. He didn't really seem to like or dislike sledding- his face never really changed expression. I think he was just too cold. He also did a little finger painting. His Uncle Joe got him a couple really cool books, and we thought the best way to say thanks would be through Jack's first masterpiece. It turned out pretty well, although, I don't think Jack was overly excited to be out on a windy day with no clothes on, putting his hands into wet gooey paint.

Other things we did over spring break- we celebrated Jack's birthday with his grandparents. Jack got another cherry cheesecake and some great presents. He got a cool basketball goal, but wasn't able to bring it home because there just wasn't enough room in the car. That is ok-- it will be something to look forward to later.

We also were able to visit with some of my friends, and Jack was able to play with his friend, Rebecca. There was a ton of picture taking going on- I think we may have blinded the poor children.

Jack has gotten all his shots, and we have learned that he is in the 50-60th percentiles in everything. I am very glad to hear that he is starting to balance out. It used to be that his head was always in the 75th percentile while his weight and height were in the 10-25th percentile.

We finally moved Jack out of our bedroom. Yes this is night number 2 with Jack in his own room. He is still in a play pen but the play pen has been moved. I figured after being gone for so long this was probably the best time. He has done pretty well. Usually it take Jack no time at all and absolutely no crying to get to sleep, but the past two nights it has taken him crying for about an hour and a half before he falls asleep. It is very hard on me because I hate 1. that he is crying 2. that at night I can't just listen to him breath and know that he is alright. I know that it had to happen at some point because really you don't want your 15 yr. old sleeping in your room- but still I miss him being so close.

So we've been busy, and even though this was a very long posting it was just a brief snapshot. I hope things start calming down a bit.