Life Without a Sled

Thanks for the idea, Lauren!

Tennessee Snowstorm

What a Difference a YEAR Makes!

Update: Jack's 12 month doctor's appointment was this morning. Everything is going well. Jack weighed 23 lbs 5 oz, which puts him in the 50th percentile. He is 29.5 inches long, also in the 50th percentile. And, his head is 18.5 in- 75th percentile. Our best news is that Jack's anemia test results came back better this time, so Jack doesn't have to take the iron supplement anymore. Hooray! The nurse did a really neat eye test in which she took a photograph of Jack's eyes. The photo is sent to their pediatric optometrist who will give me a call with the results in the next few days. They are making sure that the muscles in each of Jack's eyes are developing evenly. We talked a bit about Jack's disregard of the word no. She assured me that it is normal and to keep on doing what I have been doing. We talked about diet. Jack has the green light to try anything, including peanut butter. Aunt Kathy will be relieved since peanut butter is the staple of her diet. I was right that Jack has his molars on their way. His gums are swollen, which is an indicator I didn't know about. That's about it from the doctor's visit. I'm glad he's healthy!

Jack is one year old today. Incredible! So, what's Jack been up to this month?

• Jack weighs about 24 pounds. When he goes to the doctor tomorrow, I will post his exact weight. I don't know his height, so we'll have to get that tomorrow. 
• Jack suffered through his first cold in January. It ended up becoming an ear infection that took two antibiotics to clear up. Poor baby! Now that Jack is over his ear infection, he seems to regard his daddy and mommy equally. For awhile he was pulling favorites, which sort of irritated his dad. I kept telling John that I'll only be his favorite until he's old enough to figure out that his dad is a lot more fun! 
• Jack has eight teeth with two more on their way. Getting his teeth brushed is not one of his favorite things. He's been to the dentist because he chipped one of his front teeth last month. The dentist said that his teeth look good and the chip is nothing to worry about.
• Jack has been drinking one bottle at night for this entire month. His LAST bag of breastmilk comes out of the freezer tonight. My hard work (pumping) paid off, and Jack had breastmilk his entire first year. 
• Eating has become a breeze. Jack's primary diet consists of four casseroles that he loves. I supplement with finger foods such as fruits, vegetables, cheese, Cheerios, toast, etc. The only food that Jack truly dislikes is tuna. 
• Jack says Daddy and doggy although they sound like the same word. He also says hi and thank you. Of course he can say lots of sounds and one of those sounds is ma ma, but I don't think he actually knows that is me. 
• Jack has no interest in walking. He cruises around furniture and pushes walking toys, but he hasn't stood on his own or let go to stand unassisted yet. His Army crawl is only used occasionally as Jack prefers a more traditional crawl now. That kid is FAST! I can't look away for a minute or he slips past me.  
• Jack loves to dance, and he tries to snap his fingers to music like mom. He won't clap. Who knows what's up with that.
• He points at everything and says something that sounds like "these" whenever he points. ???
• My absolute favorite times of the day are when Jack wakes up around 6:00 and I bring him back to bed with us. He snuggles close to me and falls back asleep for an hour or two. I also love when Jack wakes up from his nap. We sit in his rocking chair and look out the window together for 10 or 15 minutes. Those cuddling moments are the best. 
• Speaking of naps, Jack seems to have made the transition from two naps to one in the last few days. It never fails that just when I think I know exactly what to expect from my child, he turns things upside down on me. Little stinker. 
• Jack's favorite toys are cars and Little People toys. He continues to love touch and feel books, but Peekaboo Mornings is still his absolute favorite title. 
• Jack has absolutely no regard for the word no. It may be because I haven't developed a stern mommy voice yet, or maybe I am going to have to research the subject a little more. I can hear my dad's voice in my ear as I type this bullet. He's saying, "Just let the kid have fun." Ha! 

As we look towards Jack's second year, we can only hope that it's half as amazing as his first. Daddy and I love you with our whole hearts, Jack! Happy birthday, little man.

You Coming, Mom?

John has always walked about three steps ahead of me. The other day we went walking on the trails at Crockett Park. When I started editing the photos today, I had to laugh when I noticed that there are about 30 photos just like this one. It obviously concerned Jack that Mommy was being left behind. All too soon, Jack will be the one leaving me behind, but for now he wants his mommy along for the ride.

Fisher Price Knows What They're Doing

Jack got lots of great birthday presents on Saturday. I'm going to have to make a trip to Target this week to buy batteries for many of them. I've decided to hold on to some of the toys and give them to Jack gradually, so he'll get a new toy every so often over the next couple of months. Yesterday morning, Jack played with his Fisher Price barn for an hour and ten minutes straight. I've never seen him stay focused on one toy for so long. And that's before I've even put batteries in it! Fisher Price definitely knows what they're doing.

Jack's 1st Birthday Party- A "Dinomite" Time

Jack's first birthday party was yesterday afternoon. The guests were all people who have played huge roles in making our first year as a family of three wonderful. It was my intention as I planned the party, to take Jack's picture with everyone who came. Unfortunately, once the party was in full swing, I forgot all about my intentions! Nevertheless, these are a few of the photos that were taken during the party.

Grandma made this cake with lots of love and talent.

Yummy dinosaur sandwiches

Waiting for his guests with Grandma

Opening presents

Excited about the tissue paper gifts- and boy did he get some great ones! Thanks, everyone!

Jack's cake (Thanks, Erin ;-0)

Eats like his mommy

Mommy's heart

Erin took a great video of Jack eating his cake. I will try to upload it to YouTube and share on the blog soon. It will make you smile. Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate Jack's first year and to everyone who couldn't come who has made this year our best ever!

Snip

I have cut Jack's hair a couple of times, so we won't call tonight's haircut his first. But, it was the first time that he got his hair cut at a barbershop. He kept Rose on her toes with his squirming, but I think she enjoyed it as you might be able to tell in the fifth photo. When she was all done with Jack's hair, she cut John's. My boys look so handsome and ready for the big birthday party tomorrow.

Before

After

Mama's Boy

Airing Frustration

Quite honestly, things have been tough in the Seaton house ever since the new year began. Jack developed the sniffles on New Years Eve, and when they wouldn't go away I took him to the doctor on January 8th. The doctor diagnosed a slight ear infection, gave us a prescription for amoxicillin, and sent us on our way. On Monday, Jack finished the prescription. I could tell that he still wasn't feeling like himself. Yesterday he was whining and throwing little fits over things that would normally not faze him. The only time he was content was when I was holding him. This morning was more of the same, so I decided to take Jack back to the doctor. Sure enough, that ear is still infected and the doctor says it looks a lot worse than it did on his first visit. So, she prescribed a stronger antibiotic and sent us on our way again.

Everyone expects a child to get sick. I expected my child to get sick. What I was not prepared for was how much Jack being sick affects my well-being. I've been sad and moody right along with Jack. It's so frustrating to see him sick and know that there's not a thing in the world that I can do for him.

To top it all off, Jack is extremely attached to me right now. Daddy won't do. If I leave the room, he throws himself on the ground and just sobs. He wants his mommy when he isn't feeling well. Frankly, it's tiring to be wanted all day long.

I never meant to air all of my frustration on the blog tonight. But, I guess this is as good of an outlet as any. It helps when I keep this in mind....

Jack hearts Mom.

And, I heart Jack.

First Year Video

Jack's birthday is just around the corner. In fact, his party is this weekend. To chronicle Jack's first year, I've put together a video. It's sort of long as you can expect from a mother who has taken 6,000 photos since Jack was born. I really enjoyed spending some time in my photo album and choosing the photos that really show the happiness Jack has added to our lives over the last year. Enjoy.

Farm Boy

Ta-da!

For the last couple of months, John and his dad have been working on a big project at our house. It's sort of been consuming all of their free time. Undoubtedly, they've enjoyed the time together. One weekend they convinced our family friend, Gabe, to help out,

and Jack volunteered to help, too. I won't say that he was a big help, but I think they got a kick out of him being out there with them since he was the one who this project was for. You see, John and his dad have been working on Jack's playroom, and today is the big reveal.

Ta-da!

Isn't it beautiful? All of our books finally have a home, and Jack's toys are all neatly organized for him. Since we finished this project, Jack and I have spent all of our time in his playroom. This weekend we're thinking about driving to Atlanta to look for a kids' table and chairs at IKEA. What more could a little boy ask for? Thank you, Grandpa and Daddy!

My Boy

Cooking Up Some Snowy Day Fun

What's Jack Chasing?

What's Jack chasing across the living room floor?

Up on all fours in an effort to catch them?

This kitty, Olaf...

... and this kitty, Sven, the two barn cats we brought home from Minnesota.

In all the time we've lived in our new home out in the country, we've had one mouse in our house, but that was enough for me. I'm irrationally (I know I'm crazy!) afraid of the rodents. We all have our fears, right? So, when we heard that Kevin's sister had some barn kittens, we decided that we would bring one home. Did you count two kittens in the photos? We didn't want one kitten to be lonely out on the farm. And, didn't I say that these were barn kitties? We decided that they would start out in the garage until they get a little bit bigger. Then we'll let them loose on the farm. In the meantime, we're enjoying our two friendly kittens who even seem to like Baby Jack, the tail puller!

Elmer Fudd

It's Official...

... Jack's first word was daddy. Today Jack was sitting in his high chair when John came home from work. Jack smiled and said, "Dada" as though he'd been talking for ages. It was really sweet. For awhile now, we've thought that Jack was saying hi as he waved, but this is the first time he has assigned a word to a person or object. How long do I have to wait until he says mommy?

Some Minnesota Christmas Snapshots

We had such a great time in Minnesota with the Johnsons. Jake and Megan have grown into amazing young adults, which makes their Aunt Ellie very proud. Some may say that the Johnsons are a bit baby Jack crazy. Quite honestly, Jack may be a bit Johnson crazy, too. Here are a few photos to prove my point.

Megan and Jack sharing a laugh.

Jack taking a time out with Jake. (Jake's had plenty of those in his lifetime. Ha!)

Kathy kept saying, "Jack, it's even fun to watch you eat."

Here's why Jack was crazy about Kevin. In every photo I have of the two of them together, Kevin is playing with Jack.

Cold weather Minnesota fun: watching Kevin's fish tank.

Helping Megan take down the Christmas tree.

More Minnesota cold weather fun: a swing hung from the ceiling.

Jack has started pointing at everything. He's showing off in this photograph.

I would have loved it if I could have taken lots of outdoor photographs in the pretty snow, but it was too cold for us to take Jack outside. We saw temperatures as low as -22! Nevertheless, we had an awesome time in Minnesota this Christmas.

Jack and Jackson

Jack and his second cousin, Jackson, had a good time playing together last week. I was amazed by how much difference there is between Jack at 11 months and Jackson at 12 months. Jackson is walking, so within minutes of arriving, my nephews were trying to get Jack to walk. My little man has no interest in the chore, which sort of makes me happy since a crawler is easier to chase than a walker. It was such a delight to meet Jackson and his mom, Andrea. I wish we lived closer so the little boys could know each other better. They would be great friends. Maybe we can convince Mike and Andrea to bring Jackson to Nashville for a visit during Mike's off season from Gopher wrestling.