Jack
Quick little update
by Steven on Apr.15, 2008, under Jack
Hey all, I know it’s been awhile since I have posted an update. Sorry for that, but things have been very busy or should I say crazy. Jack is doing just fine. In fact, I have posted some more pictures in the gallery. He had his cousin Astrid over last weekend to enjoy the nice weather in his non heated pool! They had a lot of fun splashing and getting wet. Aunt Sara also took them on a safari adventure in Jack’s new safari wagon. They looked so cute sitting in the wagon together. Jack is getting a new bottom tooth. It doesn’t seem to bother him as he is sleeping through the night without any issues. Phew!! Mom and dad have changed the process to get Jack down to sleep. Once he is finished with his bottle (6oz at night), we put him in his crib. He has been able to put himself to sleep without intervention. This has been a consistent method for I would say a month now. Jack is also really into climbing on things. If there is a hill, (Daddy’s tummy!) Jack will climb it. He is very sure on his feet and is very careful. He will ask for help when needed.
Anyways, gotta run for now. I am really tired and am going to go to bed now.
New Pictures in Gallery
by Steven on Apr.06, 2008, under FYI, Uncategorized
Believe it or not, but there are new pictures in the gallery. I have made the following changes
Created new album for Astrid (Location in Family Album), Moved Nathan and Sophie’s Albums into the Family album, then combined Lizzy, Annie, and Bailey’s albums into the Animals
Enjoy,
Steven
Funny little guy!
by Steven on Feb.27, 2008, under Jack
I captured this picture the other day and just couldn’t stop laughing. Enjoy!
Jack’s been doing really well now that he is not sick anymore!! We think Jack is starting to say some words like cat, dog, ball, dadda
, and what’s this. It’s hard to know for sure, but that’s what they sound like.

Our Son “Spot”
by Steven on Feb.16, 2008, under Jack
Back dated Post -
Well, this week has been pretty frustrating. Jack has had a fever ranging from 100° – 104°. A couple days later, he has come down with Roseola. Jack developed these spots all over his body. So we took him to see Dr. Fowler and she confirmed that is was Roseola which is in the same family of chicken pox. So, he’s not contagious as long as his fever is gone, which it is! Poor little guy. Below is a picture of his back.

1 Year Check Up
by Steven on Feb.04, 2008, under Growth Chart, Jack
This is a back dated post so I can catch up on my blogging!..
Today, Jack had his 1 year check up. We met with Dr. Fowler for the first time since we changed from Dr. Cisco. She is a really friendly doctor and Jack seems to like her too! he couldn’t hold himself back, but wanted to walk all over the examining room without any clothes on. It was really funny to see. Jack was well behaved when Dr. Fowler listened to his heart & lungs, checked out the ears, and examined his body. Dr. Fowler gave Jack the thumbs up and said that he is doing excellent! On our next visit (18 mo), she wants Jack to be pointing and saying 6 words. She also said that we should start Jack on Whole milk either cold turkey or eased in. Yipee!!! No more Similac…well almost! We are going to do a gradual approach. Jack will receive three shots today and another 3 in a month. For the record, I have included Jack’s measurements below
Age: 12 months
Weight: 23.9 50 – 75%
Height: 31 1/2 90 – 95%
Head: 48 90%
Thanks for your patience waiting for me to document this. I will be posting again soon.
Happy Birthday Jack! 1 year old
by Steven on Jan.30, 2008, under Jack
Today, Jack is 1 years old!
Wow how time flies. Today, he is sick with a cold
, but is handling it rather well. He is watching Mickey Mouse, and removing letters from his play pad!
We have Jack’s 1 year check up on Monday, so expect another post then. Have a great day!
Jack Unplugged
by Steven on Jan.19, 2008, under Jack
A lot of you didn’t know this, but Jack came with his own power plug!
Yes, it’s true! The one thing we didn’ t realize was when he unplugged himself from the wall, he is still keeps on ticking! Just like the Energizer Bunny. Oh my what are we to do? On top of that, he also enjoys eating mommy’s pizza with her.
We took Jack to his Dr’s appointment for the follow-up on his ear infection. Everything looks good. The infection is gone, but there is still some water in the ear. The Dr said that will take about 4 – 6 wks to drain. The Dr also checked his other ear, breathing, and mouth. Everything according to her looked good.
Anyway, our fence is getting repaired on Monday. I am working on getting an appointment to have our roof fixed from the wind damage. So far, we haven’t lost the avocado tree!! We are crossing our fingers for that tree.
Well, daddy is tired and falling asleep. Mommy is flicking him (ME) to decide whether I want to finish this post, or sleep. I think I will choose sleeeeeeeeep!!! Goodnight all!
Weathering the storm & a haircut
by Steven on Jan.13, 2008, under Jack
Hope all of you had a great new years. We sure did! You can read about our holiday in the previous post. Boy did we ever have a horrible storm. We lost a portion of our fence, our potato plant tree in the front, possibly have lost our avocado tree (propped it up with ropes), a few tiles from our roof, and a huge limb from a tree in the front court.
Above: Back fence and Bent over Avocado Tree
Below: Front tree and Branch in court
It looked like a tornado had just passed through. We lost our power for 24 hours which was really tough since it was 53 degrees that night and sleeping wasn’t very comfortable. Jack slept with us that night so we could keep him warm. I want to give thanks to Will, he helped
me put up a temporary boundary for the girls and my neighbors dog Sandy. This has kept the girls from crossing the border into Betty’s yard, and the yard next to hers since that fence went down also. Although, yesterday, Sandy got risky and decided to go under it and see what our yard was like!! Everyone really got excited then. Annie didn’t know what to do with herself and the new playmate in her yard!! After all of that excitement, we took Jack to get his first official hair cut! He did so great!
I was so proud of him. He wasn’t yelling and screaming like some of the other children there!! Ha!!! We took him to Kinder Cuts off Blossom Hill. It was a pretty good place for kids since they have cars and things for kids to sit in and be pre-occupied while getting their haircut. They also have a big screen TV playing the latest kids movie. The lady cutting Jack’s hair was so quick with the scissors. I now understand why!! She has to be quick, although from what I saw, most of the kids were getting shaved cuts with the razor. They also gave him a certificate for his first Haircut!! Now we have a cute little man! ![]()
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Here is the before and after pictures!!
Big transformation if you ask me!!
Well, I guess that’s all I have for now. Jack has finished his medication for his ear infection and has a Dr’s visit this next Friday 1/18/08. He has his one year check up in February. Jack’s birthday is approaching quickly. I can’t believe that he will be one year old on January 30th. He has brought so much joy to us. He cracks us up everyday because he is so busy walking around the house to see what he can get into! He likes to say mommy and daddy and haye. He also has his own vocabulary that only he can understand, but he likes to talk as much as possible. He is a very curious boy who watches everything you do.
Well, I hope you all have a great week. Signing off for now.
Oh, by the way.. there are new pictures in the photo gallery
Happy Holidays
by Steven on Jan.03, 2008, under Jack
Wow so much has happened since my last post. We made it through going to great grandma’s house. Our next trip was to Lake Tahoe with Jeff, Mia, Nathan, and Grandma Kay. This was Jack’s first trip to the snow. We had such a great time. Jack did very well while he was there. I hoped he would since we packed the kitchen sink and all!!! We stayed at The Marriott Timber Lodge which was very nice. It was very convenient also since the Gondola was right out the side door. Each room had a full kitchen, Laundry, and separate bedroom. Jack did pretty good, although, Jack evidently asked Santa for his two front teeth for Christmas and that’s what he got! Yes, he cut his two front teeth while we were there. It made him a little grumpy at night nothing that Tylenol couldn’t tackle! Jack really enjoyed being able to play with his cousin Nathan!!! He didn’t waste any time learning how to share and play. Jack brought his cell phone which Nathan really liked also. Jeff, Amy and I took Jack and Nathan to Heavenly to get some play time and skiing lessons in for Nathan. Jack really liked being in and playing in the snow with mommy and daddy. Daddy bought a bright orange saucer that Jack could sit on. Nathan did great with his first time skiing. We are so proud of both of the boys. While we were there, we opened some gifts and mom (Grandma) brought a small Christmas tree to celebrate with. So, finished up with that trip which we felt was successful. We held a Christmas eve party with roughly 25 people at the house! Boy what a crowd. We all had a good time though. So what was next on Jack’s agenda you ask?…Walking!! Yes Jack has found a new level of independence and is walking on his own around the house @ 11 months old. This boy is full of surprises! Jack has very good balance and is very cautious, but is willing to take a chance. He still needs something to get him to his feet, but once he is there, he just lets go and goes. He really doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything. So to continue the saga, it is the new year and true to his goo goo gaga..he has come down with a cold and ear infection. Another round of sleepless nights for mommy and daddy
We visited the doctor and she gave us Amoxicillin to help battle the infection. We’ll see how it goes. Well, that’s it for now. Sorry for not posting more frequent, but I only get a little time in the evening to do anything.
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and safe New Year. Jack’s first birthday is right around the corner – January 30th. I can’t believe how fast this year has gone. But, I look forward to this upcoming year as we watch Jack grow. He is such a bright and curious little boy that doesn’t miss a beat. Will post again soon.
To Great Grandmothers House We Go
by Steven on Nov.28, 2007, under Jack
First and foremost, we want to thank Tracy, Greg, & Sophia for giving up their master suite and letting us stay at their house during our time in the AZ. You guys have such a warm and comfortable home! Now I know how Tracy and Greg keep their floor so clean!!! eh eh eh (Sorry private joke!) It was great to see both Sophia and Jack together again. It’s like they just picked up where they left off. They had so much fun being with each other. I could tell that whenever they saw each other, they were like magnets and had to be together. Over all, I think the trip was successful. There are a few things we would have done differently, but we learn as we go. Jack did great on the flight both ways. We tried to time it around his nap time. The security lines at San Jose were outrageously long, but it only took about 20 minutes to get through. We didn’t have too much of a hassle, but the lame TSA agents still had to look through everything including Jack’s diaper bag, my bag, and my camera gear. Good thing we showed up early. Southwest decided to change their boarding process, so parents with children don’t get to board first to get things ready. How dumb is that? They claim that boarding is faster, but I disagree. As long as we can help it, we will most likely never fly Southwest again. I would have to say, the best travel item we had was the gogo Kidz Travel Mate. I would highly recommend this for anyone traveling with a small infant bringing on a car seat. Speaking of car seats, installing the car seat was very challenging for the first time. I scraped my hand pretty badly trying to get the seat belt through the back of the seat. Once that was in, we were able to prepare Jack’s bottle and give it to him. He fell asleep as we were taking off. Thankfully, he didn’t have any problems with his ears or anything. I held him most of the way and put him in his seat when he woke and for the landing.
I was so glad that Jack was able to be with both of his cousins at the same time. Nathan was such a good boy around both of the younger kids. I couldn’t believe how much Nathan has grown. He is becoming such a big boy and will be a great role model to both Jack and Sophia. As they grow, I really hope they will all be come very close like Jeff, Tracy, and I. I was especially glad that Jack was able to finally meet his Great Grandmother!! That was very important that she meet him. I have wanted that ever since he was born. I think having all of the kids there at one time was a little overwhelming for her, but Grams held up just fine. I applaud her for giving it a shot! I know it wasn’t easy.
The one thing we did try is to take all the kids to the zoo. Nathan was so kind to let Jack use his stroller. Thanks Nathan!! The zoo thing probably wasn’t the best plan for Jack and Sophia as there was so much stimulation going on. They didn’t want to miss anything which caused them to miss their naps. Threw them off schedule a bit but they survived. Well, you learn as you go. It will be a sure bet that we won’t be doing those kinds of things until Jack is older. We got him back on schedule the next day just to find out that his two front teeth are starting to break through. Just in time for Christmas!
I think that pretty much catches you up to speed. Jack’s teeth are coming in, and as you hopefully have read below, he is starting to take his first steps. There is one last item that I would like to mention. Congratulations go to my brother and his wife Mia. They are expecting!! We are all very excited to have another baby in the family. I know Nathan is very excited to have either a brother or sister. We will know when he/she arrives.
Going to sign off for now. I think I have written enough for now. Love you all and hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We all have a lot to be grateful for this year.