More Words

Jack's language has been accelerating lately. Just within the past week he now says car, Mommy, yes, and choo choo. He wants so badly to say complete sentences, it frustrates him.

Jack has been eating like a little bottomless pit lately. The switch to food as his primary source of nutrition has been nice. He really loves Korean food.

It was -5 today, so we stayed in the house the whole day. Jack likes watching football and basketball. He claps when they call time out and gets excited when they throw the ball. I hope he likes baseball too!

Jack Says Car

The Shirt Says It All!

I am a big t-shirt fan. Ask anyone. I own all kinds of obnoxious slogan shirts that I wear until they disintegrate on me as I wear them. I can't help it!

Well, Taylor refused to let Jack wear slogan shirts even if the wording was super cute. But, we were shopping recently at Old Navy and saw some cute clothes on clearance. Needless to say, Taylor has seen the light and Jack may get some cuter shirts in the near future.

 

Jack Naked

The Machine

Jack, as of his 15 month checkup, is eating food as his primary source of food. Milk is now the primary beverage and mostly for calcium. Well, Jack is packing it away for a kid only in the 65th percentile for weight. This is a rough list of what Jack ate today:

French toast sticks
Mandarin orange slices
Peach slices
Chow fun noodles
Chicken fried rice
Taco bake
Rice crackers
Cheerios
Hashbrowns
Rice

This kid eats so much, it makes me lose my appetite!

Jack's Words

Jack uses the follow words on a regular basis:

"Da" "DaDa" "Daddy" - Who else?
"MaMa" - Food, Mom, Pretty much everything
"Baww"/"Bawwuh" - Ball
"Oon-Guy" - He says this when he sees an athlete on TV
"Buh-bye" "Bye" - Goodbye.....and Hello
"Ducka" - Not sure

15 Month Checkup

Jack had his 15 month checkup today. He weighs 26 lbs (65th percentile), is 30 inches long (50th percentile) and has an 18 inch head (50th percentile). He is right on track for everything and is now approved to eat anything he wants. He is also completely off bottles.

It is kind of scary how fast he is growing up.

The fact he is only 50th percentile for height made me a little sad. I wanted him to be a giant, like me. Oh well. This doesn't mean he is a midget though, it just means he is taller than 50% of kids his age.

My Dinner With Jackson: A Movie in 5 Parts

In which our cranky hero whines about how hard his day of napping and constant snacking has been.



But, then the offer to have dinner leads to the need to make reservations. Who to invite? When to dine? Oh, the stress of it all!



At the restaurant, decisions must still be made. Can our hero decide on what to eat? (Dun, dun dun!)



The meal arrives, but alas! Our hero can barely eat the slippery noodles!



Success! The noodles can be eaten! Our hero's belly is filling and all is content in his realm! Hooray!



THE END?

The Announcement

As you can probably tell by the blog's new title, there is a 2nd Maidy baby on the way!

Jack will be getting a new brother/sister on June 17th, 2008! Taylor and I are very excited.

We wanted to wait until the end of the 1st trimester before making the big public announcement. Today we got back our Quad Screen Test and the results were A-OK!

So, I redesigned this blog for both kids because I know we would never continually update 2 separate blogs. This way we can talk about Jack and "Brownie" and keep all of our friends and family in the loop!

So, for the time being, Number 2 will be referred to as Brownie. We will be finding out the gender on January 23rd. We will of course let everyone know right away.

Chasing Ellie

Happy New Year 2008!

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