Jack ON the Box

Jack Dances (Theme to Futurama)

Xmas 2007

Thanks Grannie Annie!

Jack Goes Under the Bridge

The Shit-Storm

Sorry for the vulgar post title, but that is the only way to describe today.

I went to give Jack is bath and noticed there was a clog in the tub. Jack was in his baby tub, but I wanted to make sure the drain was working. I reached my finger in to see if it was hair or something, but there was nothing in there. But, little particles of what looked like rust were floating around.

Then, I noticed water at the base of the toilet. I tried flushing it, and it just filled the bowl, and more particles came shooting out of the shower drain. Taylor grabbed Jack and I did damage control.

I ran to Jewel, grabbed some drain cleaner, and when that had no effect, called Roto Rooter.

6 hours and 500 bucks later, the tub and toilet work. The plumber had to remove the toilet and snake the drain. Apparently, our pipe beneath the toilet was lined with lead, and it began to break off which left heavy metal blockages in the pipe. He got as much as he could, but he couldn't tell how many pieces, if any, could be further down the line.

Needless to say, what a nice way to start Christmas week.

Jack Loves Pong (Rice Crackers)

Jack's New Guitar

Here is another Hannukah gift from Grannie Annie! Jack is going to be making lots of noise....I mean beautiful music!

 

Sippy Cups

Jack has eliminated drinking from his bottles! Just over the last two days he has managed to move exclusively to his sippy cups at daycare. We will start doing the same at home. It is very exciting how much he is growing up!

Also, check out the piano he got for Hannukah from Grannie Annie! He loves it!

Meeting Santa

Hannukah 2007

Jack's Holiday Wish List

Musical toys. Things that are starting to be more realistic and not so much the baby style instruments.













Character toys. Jack likes Higglytown Heroes, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Little Einsteins. Make sure the toys are 12-24 month appropriate.









A wire style toy like this. It doesn't have to be this exact one, but something along these lines.















Giant foam blocks. Enough said.









Besides that, Jack can always use clothes. So, gift cards work just as well as anything.

Jack Says His Name (Sort of!)

Wintertime Jack

The Tree

Jack has not really messed with the Christmas tree since it has gone up. He will feel the texture of the "leaves" but then doesn't try and grab ornaments. He does like the lights though. We did intentionally keep all of the ornaments higher to avoid temptation.

We shall see what happens.

Love and Hate

Jack loves the microwave....
Jack hates the microwave....

The microwave takes too long....25 seconds too long I'm sure in his opinion. 25 seconds is how long it takes to warm up the 'ba-ba'.

Alex and I don't even bother saying the word any longer as the Fudge understands what it is. So we spell it out if the Fudge is within hearing distance...."can you get his b-a-b-a?"

But it's no use, as soon as Jack hears the microwave door slam shut, and the farmiliar 'beep-beep-beep' of the microwave buttons it's over. He immediately enters into some kind of histarics - his head flops back in the typical toddler tantrum fashion, his face crinkles up in a cry and his hand goes straight to his mouth. The Fudge acts like he's never been fed before, like we'd be starving him for weeks on end while making him a part of some child labor workforce in Asia.

Even when those torturous 25 seconds are up and Alex or I start walking over to the couch (yes, this is where we feed the Fudge his bottles) he cries even harder. He thinks we're stealing his bottle and walking away with it to have for ourselves.

He eventually makes it over to the couch and we sit him on our lap. He's still crying. Why? Because the bottle has not touched his lips yet. He does not yet understand that the bottle cap must come off the bottle first (1 second) and then we must move the bottle to his mouth (1 more arduous, grueling, painful, suffering miserable second).

Jack is patient with all other things in life, but man.....the food never comes fast enough! Jeesh!

Jack vs The Shatner

Jackson for Governor!

Jack Feeds Himself

Jack is becoming more and more autonomous every day. His new thing is he wants to try and feed himself. So, this past Friday night, we let him try. It was messy and he got more on him than in his mouth, but he did very well for a first try! Looks like we need to double the supply of bath soap!

Fear

Taylor brought home a toy rat with light up eyes to scare me (it worked). Too bad it freaked out Jack as well!

Peanut

We finally found an outfit for Jack's prenatal nickname. Too bad he isn't so little anymore!

Twins!

Blocked!

Sorry for the delay in updates, but Blogger has now been added to the websites blocked at my office. I can no longer update during my lunch break. Stupid, I know, but what can I do. So, enjoy the updates for the past week!

Jack's Glass Faces

Jack recently discovered how to make faces on glass. Check it out. I almost couldn't contain my laughter. Jack has developed such a personality. It is very cool to watch him act and interact.

Formal Photos

Jack's daycare had a professional photographer come in to take portraits and class photos. Below are the results of Jack's attempt. I am not sure if the worried expression is because Mom and Dad were not there or if he was just being Jack. But, we are definitely buying some copies as these scans don't show the colors of the originals.

Daylight Suffering Time

Jack has gotten up at 4:30 in the morning the past two days. No, he isn't sick. It is because of Daylight Savings Time.

The kid's internal clock won't reset. DST never really bothered me before he was born. I found it stupid, but lived with it. Now, it is a Pet Peeve.

I cannot wait for him to adjust to the time change. It probably will only be an issue for the next year or so and then he should be used to it. Until then, expect yawns.

GAP Casting Call

We entered Jack in the 2007 Gap Casting Call for the chance to be one of their models! I know, I know. We aren't going to be those parents that go all JonBenet on their kids, but I thought this would be a fun thing to do. We think Jack is supercute, lets see if America does!

Visit the link below on November 20th to see if Jack made the Top 20!

http://kodak.eprize.net/gapcastingcall/

Trick or Treat in Southport

Jack had a good time trick or treating with the Buzzards in Southport. There were tons of kids in costume going around to all the Chicago stores and restaurants getting candy. Of course, Jack can't eat any of it, but he sure made his mother happy with plenty of chocolate!

Jack's Friend, Tigger

Jack Night

Alex is out with his friends tonight so it was just me and the Fudge.

Here are some things Jack did tonight:
Sang 'Wheels on the Bus...' he loves it when I make up moves to go with the song
Ate pizza (Jack is not a big fan of mushrooms)
Stacked boxes (Tot Tower)
Stacked his foam blocks on Tot Tower
Stacked water bottle on Tot Tower
Made the 'O' face when Tot Tower toppled over (then he laughed)
Fed Mommy Cheerios
Followed Mommy around kitchen
Said "Mama" while looking at me, right before falling asleep

I love the Fudge.

Adventures at the Pumpkin Patch

Jack went hunting for his first pumpkin today. Last year, he was in the hospital recovering from surgery at Halloween time. We went to Goebbert's Farm with the Buzzard and Lim families. Jack had a great time. Just take a look at these photos!

Peek a Boo

Jack plays his new version of peek a boo.

Jack Chat

Jack has gotten much, much better at walking. He also has a lot to say!

Jack's Favorite Song

Jack is a very musical kid. He will be uninterested in something on TV or a toy until it starts playing music and then he will become absolutely enthralled. Lately, he has started really dancing to the music: shaking his hips, bouncing, and occassionally "singing" along.

I try to play happy, upbeat music in the car with him. Not necessarily kids music but normal songs that I listen too. Sometimes I play The Beatles or some jazz or even The White Stripes. Nothing headbanging or profane, but definitely music we can both share.

The video below is for a song from the album "The Reminder" by Feist. I have had the album on my iPod of almost a year, and the song "1 2 3 4" was one I played for Jack sometimes. They recently included it in the new iPod Nano commercials, and every time it comes on TV, Jack stops what he is doing and watches it. He loves this song.

ENT Visit

Jack had his two week follow up to his ear surgery today.

It was just Fudgy and Mom today, I had a blast following him around Dr. Pollack's office all afternoon. I even broke a sweat (this is what happens when you wear a winter sweater turtleneck because your office is at a constant 68 degrees)!

He flirted with everyone! The receptionist, the nurse, the ear lab tech. and all of the other parents who were in with their kids. I made one observation - only 1 out of 10 patients are girls. The majority of ear infection sufferers tend to be boys.

Anyway, Jack remembered the huge salt water fish tank in the waiting room and made a bee line to it. When he got bored with that, he decided to show off and walk around the office and peak into every exam room that had it's door open. Then back to the play area where he found a kind of jack in the box except this one was a puppy popping out the top of it's doghouse. I only needed to show Jack how to make the puppy come out once and in the next turn he was doing it himself. He moved throughout the entire toy area and played and played and played.

Nothing could have made this visit better other than Dr. Pollack telling me Jack's ears were perfectly healthy, and he passed all the ear/hearing tests. In fact, his results were so conclusively normal/healthy, the lab tech told us we didn't need to wait for the doctor to tell us this and that we could go home.

I really loved being in the waiting room with him, just playing and watching him interact with toys, other children...I just loved that my time was only devoted to Jack and nothing else (no laundry, errands, work, driving....etc.).

Trick or Treat: Test Run

Jack practices his trick or treating tactics.

The Long Walk

Jack is now able to walk a good 30-40 steps without falling. He still stumbles when he gets excited, but he is pretty much solo at this point!

Spider-Jack

Jack tried on his Halloween costume. The mask didn't fit over his big ol' noggin, but he looks pretty cute anyway!

Jack & Newt

Jack likes to play with Newt. Newt likes to play with Jack. Both get bored fairly easily with each other.

A Film By Jackson Maidy

Filmed, directed, and written by Fudge.

Pasta!

There is a very similar photo of a young Alex in this exact same situation. I bet side by side the two pictures would look kind of eerie.

Just like Dad, Jack loves his pasta!

Jack the Bear

Jack was excited to wear his Bears gear on Sunday. Too bad he had to take it off for his nap at halftime. I think he was the lucky charm! Sigh, at least he had Cubs stuff to wear!

Jack in the Box 2007

Jack enjoys the box that Grandma had at her house. Of course, he was not a fan of trying to get out of the box. But, he did spend a good amount of time looking cute!

Jack's 1st Birthday: Party 2 (Illinois)

Here are the photos from Jack's swimming party at Adventure Island in Elgin. The theme for this party was Curious George. Jack got some amazing gifts and we want to thank everyone who made it such a great day!

Jack's 1st Birthday: Party 1 (Florida)

Sorry for the delay in posting these, but it has been a crazy week! Here are photos from Jack's Pirate themed birthday party in Florida on September 15!

Jack's 1 Year Checkup

Stats:

Length: 30 inches (75th Percentile)
Weight: 24 pounds (60th Percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 inches (50th Percentile)

Jack is doing very well with all of his development. His surgery for his tubes is Tuesday and all is good to go. He did not get any shots this time, but we did get the OK to feed him any foods! We also will begin transitioning him from formula to whole milk as well as getting rid of bottles and moving to sippy cups!

What a crazy switch!

Tot Rod

Jack's birthday present from Emo & Boo (Wany and Jae for the whitefolk) was a Tot Rod. It is a battery operated car that Jack can drive himself! I wanted one as a kid and Jack already has it! So, despite playing with it last night in the house, we just had to take it out for a test drive this morning! Check out Jack in his leather duds!

Birthday Hanbok

In accordance with Korean tradition, we dressed Jack in his hanbok and took family photos. Jack lasted much longer wearing it than a lot of kids (it isn't exactly the most comfortable outfit).

Jack also had three objects put in front of his for the toljabee, which is like a fortune reading. Depending on which objects he chooses, his future will be determined. Jack chose the pen first (scholarship), and then the coins (prosperity) and left the thread (longevity) for last.

The Crawl

Somehow, in the span of 4 days, Jack learned to crawl.

He went from barely moving himself in a crawling position to the video below. This kid looks like he was crawling for ages before this was taped.

We are very, very excited (and very, very afraid) of his potential to get around now.

The 39 Steps

Portrait of a Milkaholic

Less Than 3 Weeks Away

Jack is going to be a year old in less than a month. It is a frightening thought to think that that blur of time was only a year. It was simultaneously the most exciting and nervewracking year of my life. But, I can say that Taylor and I made it through with not just flying colors, but an amazing little guy to show for it.

We have been a little lax on updating his blog these past few weeks due to work, illness, and other inane excuses. But, with Year 2 coming up for Jack, expect lots and lots of new photos of his adventures to come!

Cousins

Jack Jazz

Foodies!

Jack has been out to 3 restaurants in the past 3 days. He is an excellent baby to travel with as he is very calm, rarely cries, and loves people.

We had a followup visit with the doctor. Jack's ear infection is gone, but because it was the 3rd in 3 months, we get to go see the Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist. Yay! The antibiotics also got rid of Jack's constant runny nose, which leads us to believe it may not be allergies but some kind of chronic sinus infection.

We tried to buy birthday gifts for upcoming events and still ended up walking out with stuff for Jack. He got bath toys: dogs whose dirt spots come off with a warm washcloth in the tub and a play kitchen sink for Jack to wash dishes in while splashing in the tub.

Jack's 2 front upper teeth are just a milimeter from breaking the gums. I cannot wait to see him with a big toothy smile!

Thomas & Rice

Jack had a very busy weekend. He got to enjoy his cousin's 4th birthday at a bowling alley and then spent some time at Grandma's on Sunday. I snapped this first picture after catching Jack grabbing a baby spoon full of rice (meant for Kate) and proceeding to place it in his mouth. What you see here are the stragglers that didn't make it into his tummy.







We also took Jack to Toys R Us and bought him his first Thomas trains. They have larger, plastic ones now for under 2 year olds. Jack likes to drag the Thomas by the string while it plays the show's theme song or choo-choo sounds.

Jack's front upper teeth are ready to come out. You can now see the tip of one of the teeth poking out. Only a matter of time before both of them are out and about.

The Smile

Jack has one of those faces that makes anyone smile. Whenever we go out in public, people always check him out and grin at him. It is hard to tell sometimes if it is because people think he is odd looking or very cute. Of course we think he is the most gorgeous baby in the world. Every parent's child is that way to them. But, the number of people who vocally tell us he is handsome or good looking puts us at ease.

Jack's secret trick is not just his cuteness. It is the fact that he is beginning to know he is this cute. At bedtime, he uses smiles and giggles to try and keep us from putting him to bed. He knows we cannot resist. But, when we trudge through the attack of baby beauty, he cries in defeat. It just makes it that much harder when you see the fake tears roll down his pudgy cheeks.

So, the moral of this post is: when you see Jack, be careful! One smile may be your downfall!