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!

Jack Loves The Daily Show

Jack loves The Daily Show! Watch his reaction as the opening music of the show plays on the TV. Hilarious!

Jack Claps

Jack has learned how to clap his hands. He is very serious when he tries to do it.

I Love Mom

Poo and Pools

We took Jack to the Elgin Centre to use the pool. He, at first, was confused by where he was, but this kid loves the water. He had his trusty alligator bath toy that he gnawed on while watching the big kids splash and run and play. He liked watching Taylor and I go down the big slide as well.

We decided to have his birthday party there. It will be fun for parents and kids. I can't wait to take this kid back for more!

Pictures from the past weekend coming soon.

The Bird

Jack Pillow Talk

Here is Jack laughing uncontrollably at a pillow. Yeah, this is from the same day that he didn't have a nap over 20 minutes. Crazy kid!

Hangin' Out

Jack had a very busy day today. He did not total a nap over 20 minutes the entire day, but barely complained!

So, as a reward for being such a good boy, we let him hang out before bed in just his diaper. He had a great time just being Jack.

Taylor was not pleased with his haircut, however. She had to remain at home and I was there with the Fudge for his trim. She has alternated between saying it is a "crew cut" to a "mental patient cut" to a "underwater helmet cut." I don't think it looks bad at all. But. then again, I have had my fair share of horrible hair experiences.

Make Up Posts

July was a sad month for Fudge blog posting...sigh.
Please enjoy the following (in no particular order).

6:00am

'Nuff Said

Why Is This Kid So Happy?

We LOVE Jack smiles, and Jack loves to be wrapped up like a burrito and then try to 'unwrap' himself.

Jack and the Foam Blocks

Jack in DC

China town

Hanging out with Gramps at Potbelly's.

Ate a pork bun (yes, they gave him some which explains the look on this face in his picture).

DC was HOT! So humid....Jack cools off with a nice cool bottle of water against his Fudgy cheeks.

Frequent Flyer

Jack is officially the greatest baby in the world.

Well, ok, that was official the day he was born....

He is now officially the best infant traveller of all-time!

Both the trip to DC and back, he slept like a champ and didn't cry at all. That makes a total of 4 plane trips that he has not had any issue. On 2 of those flights, other passengers told us how every child should be like that on a plane.

Taylor and I are still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It will probably happen with the next one.

Big Kid Now

Jack is just about to be 10 months old and he has grown leaps and bounds recently.

He can now stand on his own for 30 seconds.

He can now take small steps forward without help.

He is eating food like a champion.

We are so proud of this little guy. To think that 8 months ago he had surgery is just amazing. The scar has already practically disappeared.

I look at this kid and I don't see a baby anymore. He has grown into a child. It is very weird to see something that you watched grow from literally nothing to a living, breathing person. It changes your outlook on the world and the things we choose to believe in. It makes me want to change things in this world for Jack so that he can live a life as good as the one I have been privileged to have.

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Jack makes some amazing faces. Nothing groundbreaking or anything like that, just faces. His eyes are bright and light up and his little grins just amaze me every time I see them. The best thing is that you can never catch one in a photograph. They are split-second looks that just connect him and me and I know how much he loves me. He doesn't give these looks to everyone. Sometimes I see him give them to Taylor and it just makes me happy to see. When Jack makes those faces, I know he is happy. And that makes me happy.

How I Found Jack In His Cribs This Morning (Part 2)

Taylor went out of town yesterday, so it is just Father and Son for the longest period of time ever. For the next week, there will be no Mommy to rescue Daddy when Jack wakes up crying at night. There will be no Mommy to get Jack in the morning when he wakes up while Daddy is in the shower. And, most importantly of all, there is no Mommy to put Jack to bed at night.

I have always had difficulty putting Jack down for the night. I think he knows I am for playing and Taylor is for serious business. But, this week I have to do it. I just got him down for the second night in a row. Lets see if he stays down for the count.

As you can see, this kid is a violent sleeper. I found him like this, completely asleep at 6AM. I don't even want to get into the fact he won't crawl. If he can do this, he better start moving across the floor when we want him too!

A Star Is Born!

I completely forgot to post this when it happened, but Jack made the cover of Wired magazine!

Wired had an insert in the magazine that the first 3000 people to login to a provided website would be able to upload a photograph to be featured on a single copy of the magazine mailed in June. The instructions said no photos of babies or pets, but I sent one of Jack anyway.

It arrived in the mail last week. Fudge is a star!

If you think the image at left is computer generated, take a look below at Jack holding his likeness! Look how proud he is!