The Larsen Family

Sunday Night at Home

2012-01-15T21:38:00.000-08:00

Cute Boy

I showed Jack how to use his Potato Head box as a helmet. He thought it was pretty funny.
The box is usually empty because, according to Jack, Potato Head's stuff belongs spread out on the floor.

Jack always wants Mama to play with him and do what he's doing.
I was amazed both our heads fit in the box.

Jack thought it was funny when we squished our faces against the plastic.

I love playing with my goofy boy!

I also got great news tonight...I have a nephew! Little William was born at 5:08 tonight and weighed 7 lbs. I can't wait to meet him!

William Clinton Davis VI

Cute Cheeks

2012-01-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Jack discovered when he squishes his cheeks, he makes a funny face. It was so cute, I had to video it. Of course he had stopped by the time I got the camera, so it took some time to get him to do it again.

Christmas Present

2012-01-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Mom Larsen got me a medicine cabinet and a new towel rack for my bathroom. In exchange for letting her take Jack for two nights (I really missed my little man), she came up and installed them for me. I am excited to have more storage space in my little bathroom!

New medicine cabinet over the toilet.
The mirror helps add light to the room and makes it seem more open.

New towel rack. It's so nice to be able to hang up Jack's bath toys.

She also put in a new toilet paper roll holder. (We can't leave the toilet paper on the holder in that bathroom because Jack likes to unroll it. This one doesn't have a spring to lose.) She also installed the paper towel holder in the kitchen and put in a new light switch. (I accidentally broke the switch several months ago turning it off with my foot. The dining area light hasn't been working and we've been eating using only the main kitchen light.)

It is really nice to have all that stuff done. Plus, it was fun to visit with Mom and Lauren for a few hours.

Choo-Choo!

2011-12-31T17:12:00.000-08:00

On our way to see Jenni and Rob, Jack started making train noises.

Last night, Jenni and Rob took Jack to the zoo while Mike and I went on a date. We ate at Joe's Crab Shack. My chicken was really good and Mike enjoyed his coconut shrimp. We had an awesome S'more dessert. Mike doesn't get to eat sea food very often because I don't like it, so this was a special treat. Then we went to see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Recording

2011-12-30T10:27:00.000-08:00

For the past two days, Mike has been recording music with his dad. They are making an album. Most of the songs are songs Dad wrote, but Mike wrote one. I'm really proud of him.

They got the scratch tracks done this week. Next month, they will do the real recordings in a studio. How exciting!

18/19 Months Old

2011-12-30T09:22:00.000-08:00

I never got around to writing down everything for Jack's 18 month post. He has developed a lot in the last two months and I can't remember what happened when. This post will just have to be for both 18 and 19 months.We also didn't get to the doctor until the 19th, so his weight and height will be from that date.

Jack weighs 28 lbs. and is 33 inches tall. That puts him at the 83rd percentile for weight, but only the 65th for height. So, he's still a little short and chubby, but he seems tall to me and he has thinned out a lot. He's wearing both 18- and 24-month size clothes. He still wears size 4 diapers.
We stopped counting how many words Jack knows. He has well over 100. He can copy and remember pretty much anything we say to him. He is getting more and more clear when he speaks. He's getting the ending sounds on most words now. For example, Buzz is not longer just "Bu," but "Busz;" and ice is no longer "I," but "ice." Lauren's favorite was when he said, "diaper."
Jack is starting to say more two-word phrases. He has said, "No. Done." When we asked if he wanted more. He has also said, "No go, mama," and "Mama. Eat. Bread." "More please" is a favorite.
He will say, "I," then we say, "love," and he will say, "you!" He called and left me that message one day while I was at work.
His favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, cheese, tomatoes, peas, pizza, peaches, popcorn, popsicles, and candy.
He loves Toy Story. His favorite character is Buzz. He loves to wear his Buzz pajamas and takes Buzz all over the place. He also likes Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh characters.
He loves Hulk, Spider Man, and Iron Man.
He has learned who Jack Skelington is.
He likes trains.
He knows several colors. He doesn't always match the right name to the right color, but he's working on it. He knows blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, red, white, and black.
He can count to three.
He likes to dance and sing. He's just starting to copy singing and pitch-matching.
He still likes to take me everywhere he goes and show me things.
He is really good at sharing. He shared with everybody and everything. He was just barely sharing popcorn with his sippy cup. A couple of days ago, he had to share is cereal with Buzz before he would eat any.
The doctor told us some things to help him sleep through the night. He now sleeps with a teddy bear. He has been doing a better job. He still has some nights when he wakes up, cries, and won't go back to sleep without us sitting in the room with him. Early this morning it took and hour and a half for him to fall back asleep.
His eczema has been bad on his knees, legs, elbows, and back. We are using prescription strength hydrocortisone cream to help.
He loves pretending to shoot people. He loves it when we fall over "dead". He's pretty good at playing dead, too. One day he had Buzz shoot him and he grunted and fell out of the ball pit.
He still loves the treadmill.
He likes to draw.
He likes the iPad and Daddy's iPhone. He has really good control with the technology.
He has been enjoying going to nursery with me. He looks forward to getting to play with the toys.

I'm so amazed everyday how much Jack develops. And yet, he's still my baby boy. He's such a smart, silly, fun boy. We all love him so much!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was a lot of fun with Jack. He is now old enough to really enjoy toys and he is able to categorize "Christmas things". Whenever he sees something that has to do with Christmas such as Santa, a decoration, or reindeer he says, "Ho, ho, ho." It is so cute and fun. I think next year he will really be able to understand Santa and his magic. I look forward to that.

On Christmas Eve we went to Ephraim to spend Christmas with the Larsens. After dinner and presents from Grandma Doris at Aunt Sharon's house, we went back to Mom and Dad's to open sibling gifts and our presents from Mom and Dad. Lauren gave Jack a Toy Story blanket and a Cars ball pit, which he immediately loved. She was thrilled. Jenni gave Jack Freight Train. It's the perfect book for him because he loved trains and colors. Jack got two "Little David" shirts and two Toy Story Potato Heads that can be turned into Buzz, Woody, Jessie, or Mr. Potato Head from Grandma and Grandpa. He also got to open his Christmas Eve present: Buzz Lightyear pajamas.

We got a Fisher-Price nativity set from Grandma and Grandpa Pat and Reg.

Mike got his dad's old record player and a stack of old records. He has been soooo excited about it. Rob gave him a gift card to Amazon music.

I got a medicine cabinet and towel hanger for the bathroom, snow boots (my first pair ever), and lots of clothes from Mom and Dad. Lauren gave me some cute slippers and good smelling bath and body spray stuff.

Poor Lauren was on pain killers because she had hip surgery the day before. She was so sad she couldn't run around and play with Jack. Jenni was happy to get a lot of aunt time with him, though.

I will put pictures here of Christmas Eve when I get them from Mike's phone.

On Chrismas morning, I woke up at 5:30 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I cleaned the kitchen and played a video game. (Mike thought that we should tell our kids if they get up too early on Christmas morning they have to clean until it's time for Mom and Dad to wake up.) Jack finally woke up at about 7:00. We woke up Daddy and went into the front room to see what Santa had brought. At first, Jack just wanted to play with his ball pit from Aunt Lauren. Then I helped him see his huge monkey from Santa. He really liked him and immediately named him George.

Jack giving George loves

We all opened some wonderful presents from Santa and from each other. Mike got two seasons of Two and a Half Men, a PS3 game, a guitar stand, a Mickey Mouse hoodie, The A Team, and a sound system. I got a stand mixer, Harry Potter #8, a Dooney and Bourke purse, and tickets to see WICKED next August! Jack got six Cars pull-back and go cars, a bag to put them in, giant George, classic Winnie the Pooh books, My Book About Jesus, socks, a Toy Story shirt (that's probably the last time he'll be excited to get clothes for Christmas), Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Justice League and Superman cartoons, a new toothbrush, and a Jack mug.

The last present to be opened was for Jack from Mike and me. I was excited about this one. Jack was so cute when he opened it and saw what it was. He said, "Buzz!" It's so cute when he says it. It sounds more like "Buzsh".

Buzz has been Jack's favorite and goes almost everywhere with him.

Here's all of Jack's presents before we visited Grandma and Grandpa Davis:

Jack dumped out the Potato Head things before I could take the picture. The bin is for Potato Head pieces.

After we opened presents and played for awhile, we had to get ready for church. Jack was tired, so Mike and I had to take turns going out in the hall with him. When we got home, we had a nice Christmas morning breakfast of blueberry muffins, sausage, bacon, eggs, and hot chocolate. David and Kim came by so we got to see them for a little while. Mike was very excited about the present he gave to David. He got him bacon-flavored gum balls, a book about using everyday things in extraordinary ways, a spy remote, and a real hand buzzer (Kim took it away almost immediately). Then we all got a nice nap before going to Grandma and Grandpa Davis' house.
We spent the rest of the day at Grandma and Grandpa's. Jack got a new church sweater and pants, a Curious George hoodie, soft pajamas, a Magna Doodle, and a Toy Story hide-and-seek tent from Grandma and Grandpa. Mom and Dad gave us two full place settings of our Christmas China, an etched glass casserole dish, a movie popcorn and M&M bucket, and A Christmas Carol. I also got a necklace and Mike got a new Sunday shirt. Mandy and Spencer gave us a collection of Curious George books and a gift card to the movie theater. We went with them to see Sherlock Holmes the next day.
Grandma got a train her grandkids can ride on. It took a little while, but Jack learned how to push his foot down and make it go. He loved playing on it. It was fun to get to see the whole Davis family on Christmas day.

Sharing...Again

2011-12-18T07:05:00.001-08:00

Jack and I were on the treadmill and he was eating something. All of a-sudden he said, "share," and put some in my mouth.

Disneyland Nov. 2011---Day 3, Nov. 29th

2011-12-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

This was our last day of our trip to Disneyland. That morning Mike, Dad, Lauren, and I walked right on to Space Mountain. Then we went on Star Tours, which also had a very short line.

While we did that, Mom stayed with Jack who was asleep and then bought him some Toy Story toys.

We all went on Astro-Blasters. Jack actually got a pretty good score for a baby who doesn't aim.

Jack sitting next to Daddy on Buzz Lightyear's Astro-Blasters.

Jack and Aunt Lauren in line for the Jungle Cruise.

Jack loved his new toys.

Grandpa, Grandma, Jack, and Lauren on the Jungle Cruise.

Jack was really fun when we got to the lions he started growling. We had some really funny tour guides this time. I love it when you get to hear new jokes.

Aunt Lauren wanted to take Jack to Tarzan's Tree House. I think Jack liked climbing up and down the stairs. He didn't want to leave.

Helping Buzz climb the tree.

Playing "drums"

Walking across the bridge on Pirate Island.

We learned a fun fact about the water around Pirate Island: they put green stuff in it that stays suspended in the water so you can't see the bottom.

Jack got to meet Jack. He was not sure about this guy. He was a little scared.

Jack Skelington really sounded like Jack does on the movie. It was fun. He said we were from "Utah Town."

Jack started getting really kissy and huggy. It was so cute. He would just grab your face and kiss you.

After "one last time" on Haunted Mansion Mike, Dad, Lauren, and I went on Splash Mountain a couple of times. We got drenched. I had to go in the bathroom and wring out my shorts.

After going on Matterhorn and Alice in Wonderland, we all went on the Carousel a couple times.

To end the trip, we had dinner at the Blue Bayou. It was delicious. Jack did a good job and played with his Toy Story toys during dinner. When we were almost done, he was starting to get restless in his high chair. I took him out and he fell asleep almost immediately in my lap.

When we were done, Dad and Lauren went on Haunted Mansion one more time. When Mike and I got out of the restaurant, it was just in time for the end of the nighttime firework show and it was "snowing." It was pretty magical. It was a good way to end the trip.

Disneyland Nov. 2011---Day 2, Nov. 28th

2011-12-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

On our second day in Disneyland, we got to have breakfast with Mickey Mouse! We were all excited to see how Jack would react since he loves Mickey Mouse, but some kids are afraid of the characters.

That morning, we got ready and walked to the Paradise Pier hotel.

The woman with whom we checked in was from Romania, so Mike got to talk to her a little in Romanian. Lauren was really excited to hear him speak to someone in another language.

Jack and Mommy waiting for breakfast with Mickey Mouse.

Grandpa took Jack in the breakfast room before our table was ready. Mickey Mouse was on his way to take a break and we walked right passed Jack and Grandpa. When Jack saw Mickey Mouse, his face lit up and he said, "Mi Mou". Then he tried to follow Mickey into the break room.

After we were seated, we saw Stitch and Pluto. Jack didn't know what to think of Stitch, but he liked Pluto. We all dished up some breakfast while we waited for Mickey Mouse to come back out.

When he did, Aunt Lauren took Jack to see him. Jack walked around Mickey while another little boy visited him. Then, when the other boy was done, Jack got closer. Mickey tried to give Jack a hug. At first Jack wouldn't, but with some help from Mommy he hugged Mickey. After that we got a family picture with Mickey. (We didn't buy it because Mike's eyes were closed.)

Jack and Mickey

When we finally got Jack to eat some breakfast, he ate spoonfuls of syrup.

After eating, Jack was curious about the stage where the older kids had learned how to surf and hula with Stitch, Minnie, and Mickey. We walked over to climb on it and check it out.

Jack checking out the carpet surf boards the older kids used to learn how to surf.

After awhile, Mickey came back out. Jack and I got our picture with him.

Nobody else came to visit with Mickey, so Mickey followed Jack to the stage where they played "jump off the step." First Mickey jumped off.

Then Jack tried, and fell on his face. Mickey felt bad, but Jack was fine and wanted to try again. So Mickey and Jack tried again.

For awhile Jack used my hand to practice stepping off the step. Then he started to do it on his own. Mickey was very supportive and cheered for him.

Mickey and Jack jumping off the step together.

Jack got to play with Mickey for about 5 minutes all by himself. Mickey started to walk away once, but Jack called him back. Since no one else was there to get a picture, Mickey came back to play.

I thought the experience was pretty neat. How many kids can say Mickey Mouse taught them how to jump down a step?

After breakfast, Santa Clause was in the hotel lobby. We took Jack to see Santa. He was more afraid of Santa than he was of Mickey.

Jack is signing "mama". He seemed to be thinking, "Mama, who is this strange man?"

After that, we walked to Disneyland for another fun-filled day.

Jack and Lauren feeding the ducks.

One of our favorite rides is Haunted Mansion. Lauren has a tradition of sneaking popcorn onto the ride. Jack liked this tradition.

Grandma Mine, Jack, Aunt Lauren, and Daddy waiting in line.

Jack and two of his favorite things: popcorn and Aunt Lauren.

Lauren and Jack were roommates during our trip. Lauren was really excited for this. She was an angel and got up with him in the middle of the night. Even though he usually woke me up, I was able to go back to sleep because I knew Lauren was taking care of Jack. She also watched him one afternoon so Mike and I could have a nap. It was wonderful.

While Mike and Grandpa went on Splash Mountain, Lauren and I waited in line to see Winnie the Pooh.

Lauren and Jack playing in a tree by the candy shop while we waited in line.

Cute boy waiting for Winnie the Pooh.

Grandma bought Jack Mickey Mouse fish crackers. The rest of us got toffee. YUM!

We first got to see Rabbit. Jack wasn't so sure of him.

He tried to walk right passed Rabbit to go see Winnie the Pooh.

I stopped him and we got a picture. Then Jack discovered Rabbit is soft. He liked him after that.

Jack waved good-bye...

...and even gave Rabbit a fist bump.

Jack was pretty excited to see Winnie the Pooh.

Apparently nobody can resist Jack's charm. Even though there was a line of kids waiting to see Pooh, when Jack wanted to show him the Christmas tree, Pooh followed.

Jack showed Pooh several ornaments on the tree.

I LOVE this picture! Jack and Pooh Bear looking right at each other in front of the Christmas tree.
If we did Christmas cards, this would be the picture I'd use.

One of Jack's favorite rides was Winnie the Pooh. Every time it was over, he'd say, "More, more, more." Today, though, we couldn't just stay on the ride; we had to get back in line.

We went to California Adventure. Lauren took Jack to Little Mermaid while the rest of us went on Soarin' Over California.

Then we all went on the Ferris Wheel. Jack wasn't very happy that Mommy couldn't hold him because I was too busy holding on the the cage while we swung. Jack thought it was funny how scared Mommy and Aunt Lauren were.

We all rode The Little Mermaid ride next. When Mike and I rode this in June the line wrapped all around and even down the road. This trip, we walked right on.

On the ride you go down "under the sea" and there are bubbles. Jack made bubble noises with his tongue when we were at that part. Then, during "Kiss the Girl" he blew kisses. It was so cute.

We had to go on Toy Story Mania. Jack loves Toy Story. We saw Potato Head and Woody while we were in line.

Jack playing with his 3-D glasses.

The glasses were too big and didn't stay on Jack's face, but he had fun on the ride anyway.

It was hard for him to score on this ride because he was too small to reach the gun.

Mike got the highest score out of all of us.

Jack putting his glasses on Aunt Lauren.

We had a fun day seeing lots of Jack's favorite Disney characters.

Disneyland Nov. 2011---Day 1, Nov. 27th

2011-11-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

Mike, Jack, and I went to Disneyland with Mike's parents and sister, Lauren. Lauren rode with us to keep Jack entertained on the long ride to Anaheim. Mike and I were very grateful. Thirteen hours is a long time to be cooped up in a car, especially when you're only 18 months old.
We stayed at the Desert Palms hotel, just South of Disneyland. It was nice. Jack and Lauren even got their own area with bunk beds and she even took care of him when he woke up in the middle of the night and at 5:00 in the morning.

Ready to go to Disneyland!

The first day, we walked down to the park at about 10:00. By the time we got there, Jack was ready to fall asleep, so Grandma walked around with sleeping Jack while the rest of us rode "Indiana Jones," got stuck on "Pirates of the Caribbean," and rode "The Haunted Mansion" all decorated like Nightmare Before Christmas. We met in front of the castle for lunch when Jack woke up.

Jack enjoying being able to walk around with Aunt Lauren while we ate lunch.

Me, Mike, Jack, Lauren, and Dad in front of the castle.
Everything was all decorated for Christmas.

After lunch, we were ready to go on some rides with Jack. Jack's first ride this trip was "Peter Pan." He liked the lights and flying on a ship. He also liked saying, "bye-bye" to people who were getting on the ride while we waited in line.

Jack with "Pa" and "Ma Mine" while we waited to ride "Peter Pan."

We rode other Fantasy Land rides. Jack got scared on "Snow White" at the part with all the trees. I covered his ears during the scarier parts of "Pinocchio" and he did fine on that one.
We were going to ride the "Storybook Boats" next, but they were closed for the parade, so we went to "It's a Small World." It was all changed for Christmas. Instead of just singing the usual, "It's a Small World," they had that mixed with "Jingle Bells" and the with "Deck the Halls" at the end. Jack really liked that ride. He liked it better every time he went on it. By the last day of our trip he was standing in the boat, dancing, pointing, and talking through the whole ride.

Water always tastes better from Grandma's water bottle.
You can see his cute Mickey Mouse harness. It was so nice to have this!

Jack doesn't look too happy, but he really did enjoy the ride.

At the end of the day we rode "Winnie the Pooh" several times. Each time, Jack said, "More, more, more," while signing "more." It wasn't busy at all, so the cast members let us just stay in the bee hive and go around and around. Jack was just starting to really understand what a ride is and how it works. He was very sad when we made him get off, but he quickly forgot about it when Grandma let him pick out a toy to take home.

Sleepy Jack with his new Tigger.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T22:36:00.000-08:00

We went to Ephraim for Thanksgiving dinner this year it was really fun. It was fun to think back and remember at this time last year, Jack was just eating his first vegetable: carrots. This year he got to eat all the good stuff.

Jack and Aunt Lauren.

Playing pool after Thanksgiving dinner.

It was such a nice day, when we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we played in the leaves. Jack had a great time throwing, crunching, and jumping in them.

Jack loved playing in the leaves.

Aunt Lauren helping Jack jump into the pile of leaves.

Helping Aunt Jenni throw leaves at Aunt Lauren.

It's raining leaves!

Jack in the tree with Uncle David. Jack wasn't too sure about being up in the tree.

Rolling in the leaves with Aunt Lauren.

Sharing

2011-11-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago, Jack wanted a cookie. I tried to give him just one, but he wanted to take the whole bowl of cookies downstairs. When we got downstairs, he reached for a cookie. Then he said, "Momma" and reached for a different one. I told him to only touch one, and picked up the first one he touched to get him to eat it. He ignored me and picked up the second one. Then he said, "Momma", and fed a bite to me before taking the one he had originally touched and eating that one himself.
I was so proud of my thoughtful little boy!

Just Like Daddy

2011-11-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

Jack and I were playing in the closet when he said, "clothes." He wanted to put on Daddy's clothes. Here he is wearing one of Daddy's shirts and a tie.

Thankful

2011-11-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

As Thanksgiving nears, I have been thinking a lot about what I am thankful for. I have been so blessed.
I have an amazing husband who likes nothing more than spending time with me.
I have the cutest, smartest, silliest little boy I've ever met and he adores me.
Those are the two greatest blessings, and I am grateful for so many more things, too:

We live close enough to our families that we get to see them often.
We have our own house.
We are all healthy.
David is home safe.
Mike and I have jobs we really enjoy.
I have aids to help in my huge classes.
Great insurance
Mountains
Comfy pants
Saturdays at home
Disneyland annual passes
Digital cameras so I take lots of pictures without worrying about wasting film
Movies
Movie popcorn, especially in Ephraim
Seasons
My flat iron
We have "modern" conveniences such as a dishwasher, laptops, cell phones, a washing machine and dryer, a microwave, my new vacuum, a food processor, indoor plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and an oven.
Treadmill
Slides and swings
I have a great relationship with my in-laws. How many people can say that?
Lysol spray
Good books
Hot chocolate
My mom can watch Jack, so I don't have to send him to a babysitter.
Prayer
Good food
Our cars usually work, and when they don't we have had the money to fix them.
Blocks, cars, trains, balls, and other toys that make Jack happy
Medicine, from Tylenol to epidural
Clothes and shoes
My calling is to be in the nurser, so I get to be with Jack while he plays those last two hours of church.
My bed
Big, snuggly blankets
Hairspray and ponytail holders
Trees, grass, and flowers
Clouds
Plays
Wal-Mart (I have a love-hate relationship)
Disposable diapers

I could probably go on and on. I have been truly blessed. On days when I'm feeling down, it helps to count my blessings and realize the good outweighs the bad. Heavenly Father loves us and is watching out for us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Funny Face

2011-11-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

Jack is such a ham.

David

2011-11-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

It's a Veteran's Day miracle: Mike's brother David got back to the United States from Iraq last Sunday. He will be home tomorrow. We are so excited and relieved to have him home safe and sound.

Helping With the Pumpkin

2011-11-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

I decided since I inherited a pumpkin after our Halloween party at school I would make pumpkin mush out of it. I thought Jack would enjoy playing with the insides of the pumpkin while I cleaned it out. He didn't really care for it. He moved some seeds from the half I gave him to the half I had already cleaned out, and then he was done.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween, we all dressed up as jack-o-lanterns. The best part was buying everything for Mike and my costumes. Lauren and I went shopping together. We had a blast going to Target, the Dollar Store, and Ross to get all the pieces. Then I used my amazing sewing skills to safety-pin the faces on the shirts. They turned out pretty cute.

The cutest Jack-o-lantern of all.

Jack and his first cousin, Mercedes. He wasn't quite sure about her.

New Hat

2011-11-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

As Mike and I were about to walk out the door to go to work, Jack came out of the library wearing this:

He thinks he's so cool in his new "hat".

SNOW!!!

2011-11-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Jack was excited about the snow outside...

...until he got out in it.

Horse Bites

2011-11-04T22:46:00.000-07:00

I just remembered a funny thing I haven't written about yet. A couple weeks ago I took Jack running with me. Toward the end of my route, when we were walking, we passes a horse in a field. I thought it would be fun to stop and say hi to the horse. While we were stopped, the horse leaned his neck way over the fence, smelled the tray on Jack's stroller, and bit it! I couldn't believe it!
I moved the stroller back so he couldn't reach it anymore. I guess his tray must smell like Cheerios or Goldfish and the horse was hungry. It didn't do anything to the stroller tray except make it slobbery.
After that, Jack said "bye-bye" to the horse and we left. When we got home I washed the stroller tray really well with Lysol wipes.

17 Months Old

2011-11-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 17 months old this week. I don't feel like a lot has changed until I go back and read what he was like a month ago. Here are some things about Jack this month:

He has been getting new teeth, so the last couple of weeks nobody has been getting sleep at our house. He often wakes up at 2:30-ish and can't go back to sleep on his own. He then either has to sleep in our bed, on the couch with me, or stays awake for a couple of hours. I think they might be past the painful part because he hasn't been as ornery the last couple of days.
He is getting taller. I haven't measured him, but I know he is because he can reach more of the things he isn't supposed to play with.
He is still in 18 month-size clothes and wears size 4 diapers. I think I will start putting him in 24 month-size clothes soon because his torso is too long. (I'll have to roll up the 24 month pants several inches because he has his daddy's short legs.)
He loves to play on the iPad and calls it Tayo.
His favorite movie is still Curious George and he asks to watch it at least once a day.
He loves Uncle Dallas' action figures. He can say Hulk, Spider-Man, and Iron Man. He also likes cars, balls, and drawing.
He really loves Toy Story lately. Toy Story 2 is his favorite book. We have to go through the pages and find Buzz and Woody. He likes to say, "Yee-haw" when he sees Jessie or Woody.
He has added more words to his speaking vocabulary and has gotten several words to sound more like the real word. He now says "Daddy" instead of "Dada". He can say pizza, Coke (thanks Grandma and Lauren), cuckoo (instead of clock), green, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, yee-haw (he says this when he wants to walk on the treadmill), Woody, Buzz (Bu), Tigger (Ti), potato (ato), Incredibles (ble), snow, run, set...go, drive, draw, bell, popsicle (popple), baby, and trick-or-treat.
He doesn't sign as much as he used to; he's replaced most of it with saying the words.
He has a good memory and understands a lot. One Sunday I got out his church clothes, but we had some time before he had to get dresses so I just set them down. Jack took his pants and I didn't see where he took them. When it was time to get dressed, I asked him where he put his pants. I started looking around for them but couldn't find them, so I asked him again. He walked right into our bedroom, opened up the curio, and pulled out his pants. Silly boy.
He's still a Mommy's boy, but loves to please his daddy by making funny faces.
He likes to conduct. He'll stand up on a stool or the dishwasher door and wave his arms around like he is conducting the band.
He loves drums and percussion instruments. He's happy if he has a mallet in his hand.
He's been a trouper going to all the marching band competitions this month.
He doesn't like being in his stroller very long. It's getting harder to take him running with me because he cries and wants to get out.
He doesn't throw his food and dishes on the floor as often as he used to. The novelty is finally wearing off. Now he gives me a warning by saying "done" before he holds his plate over the edge and prepares to drop it.
It's a trial to get him to sit in his highchair. He wants to sit on my lap or eat downstairs.
Jack asks to go downstairs and turn on the t.v. first thing when he wakes up in the middle of the night. I guess it's time to watch less t.v.
He enjoys showing me things. As soon as I get to Grandma's house to pick him up, he takes my hand and shows me what he has been playing with.
He is going to nursery! He really likes playing with the toys. Last time he went, though, 20 minutes into nursery he asked me to pick him up and then started saying, "bye-bye" and waving to the other kids.
He's starting to match things that are the same, but not very often. He still tries several spots before he gets the puzzle piece in the right hole.
He calls all letters 'R'. But, it's pretty cool that he has a sense of what a letter is.
He is ticklish. He giggles and giggles when I tickle him under his arm.
His eczema is coming back. :( It's so hard to keep it under control in the winter.
He can walk backwards and in circles and is trying to stand on his tip-toes without help.
He still wants to drive the car. He has figured out that he need to the keys, but doesn't complain too long when I don't give them to him.
We've been letting him go up and down the stairs without us watching more often. It still scares me even though he's been good at it for several months.
He can sometimes follow simple directions like, "Put this in the garbage." or "Go get Daddy."
He likes the dishwasher. I have to make sure I keep it closed or he will get dishes out or put new things in. I found his toothbrush and toothpaste in it a few days ago.

Marching Season is Over

2011-10-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

The Salem Hills High School Marching Band had an excellent season. Here are some highlights:

Cold boy doing his favorite thing: sitting in the driver's seat of the Suburban.

Drum Major: Adam Cardoza entering the Twilight Zone

Holly did an awesome job and caught most of the high tosses.

Miranda flew through the door out of the Twilight Zone...or did she?

Seniors and Staff

Staff 2011 and the Band Baby

It was a great season full of many trophies, but I am so glad it's over. Mike, Jack, and I will be able to spend more than two hours together on weekdays. We will also get to sleep in and relax on Saturdays. It's going to be great.

I'm an Aunt

2011-10-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce that I became an aunt today! My brother, Spencer, and his wife, Mandy, had a beautiful baby girl this morning. Her name is Mercedes Ruth Davis. (We have the same middle name!) She is three weeks early, but healthy. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz and was 20 inches long. Spencer said Mandy is doing well, but is tired. I understand that.
I'm so excited to get to hold this new little person. I'm also very excited for Spencer and Mandy to be parents; being a parent is awesome.
Congratulations little brother and sister!

Mercedes and Me and proud Grandpa Davis

Family Photo

2011-10-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

I saw this photo while I was looking through iPhoto to find pictures to print. I absolutely love it.
It's a perfect snapshot of our personalities: Mike's being a goof-ball, I'm trying to look cute, and Jack is ignoring us.

Salem Hills Marching Band

2011-10-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is Mike's band performing the "Twilight Zone" show he and his staff wrote this year. It is awesome! They were awarded 1st place and 3 out of 4 captions for this performance. (They were less than 1 point away from getting the 4th caption, too.) They got to do an exhibition performance that night after all the 5A bands competed. They had a blast! The audience loved Jack pushing the vibraphone off the field after the performance. :)

Cute Potato

2011-10-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Jack loves his Mr. Potato Head. I love his goofy face.

Einstein

2011-10-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

Jack and I played a fun game tonight and I just had to post about it. Jack was in his jumper and just a jumping to the music. Then he would stop, point to the picture of Einstein on the wall, and say "Nine". I would point to the picture and say, "Einstein!". Then he would start jumping like crazy again. We did this over and over again. It was so funny!

Band Competition

2011-10-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

Salem Hills had their second band competition yesterday. I figured, since marching band is such a major part of our lives right now, I should write about it.
The show this year is "The Twilight Zone". Mike put the concept together with the help of his drumline and colorguard instructors. The show has an intro, three movements, and an outro. Mike purchased one of the movements (from Psycho), arranged one ("Nature Boy" from Mulin Rouge), and wrote one with Karl Hartman (the drumline instructor). I think the best piece is the one he wrote. I'm so proud of him. Mike also wrote all the drill for the show.
The basic concept is a guard girl gets sucked into the Twilight Zone. At first she is panicked to find herself in a new place. Then, she tries to interact with the other people in the Zone (the band), but they don't see her. Finally they see her but are not friendly, they chase her as she tries to escape. In the end (the outro) she goes through the door and seems to be out of the Twilight Zone until the very end when the music changes and she is sucked back through the door. It's really cool.

This is from the Payson parade. I still have to upload the pictures from the show.

The competition yesterday was in Herriman. The band performed better than they did last week at the Nebo Tournament where they were awarded drumline caption and fourth place overall. Yesterday, they were awarded second place. What a great way to start the season! I'm so proud of them, and especially Mike.

16 Months Old

2011-10-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 16 months old today. I can't believe how old he is getting. The time really does go too fast. He thinks he is so big and can do things by himself, but I think he should be a tiny baby who needs his parents for everything. Here are some things about Jack at 16 months old:

He has learned several more words since last month. In addition to the 40+ words he knew last month, he has added these to his vocabulary: stuck, bed, bye-bye (it sounds completely clear now), cereal, Dallas, David, Mickey Mouse (Mi Mou), Pooh, Tayo, George (because of Curious George), music, candy, M & M's (mam), on, bear, slide, outside (side), play, fan, drink, water (/a/), blueberries (blue), ice (He says ice and points to his eye.), computer (pu), tv (vee), elbow (bow), again, more, done, cookie (/k/, /k/), clock, cute, chair, star, yellow, dark, and do. There might be more. These are just what I thought of today.
He can sign a couple more phrases. He is getting better at saying, "more candy please." Sometimes it's just "candy please" and sometimes it's "more please" or "more candy".
He can climb. He climbs on the chairs in the kitchen all be himself.
Lately, he likes to get things out. Then, while Grandma is cleaning them up, he goes and gets something else out.
He likes to tease. I guess he's pretty much always liked to do this. I wonder, whose son is he?
He just dumped a bunch of Cheetos on the floor trying to fill his bowl.
He likes to toast bread.
He loves to play. His favorite toys are still mostly things that are not toys like pans, lids, the treadmill, clothes, and pretty much anything that can be pulled or dumped out of something else. He likes blocks, his sand, box, balls, his slide, and his piano.
He likes to take my hand and make me do things for him like turn on the music or flip on the light.
He can flush the toilet.
He loves candy. Every time I give him a piece of candy, he giggles.
He still likes to take me with him everywhere he goes to play.
He likes to play peek-a-boo.
He can pretend to be a ghost.
He makes animal sounds for elephant, dog, cat, cow, and monkey. The monkey is the best.
He likes to sing. He sings the bath time song, which is really the Batman song, but we sing "bath time" instead of "Batman".
It takes awhile for him to warm up to people. He usually just stares at them when they talk to him and try to make him smile. When we Skyped with David, he stared at him for awhile, but after he warmed up, he gave him fist bumps.

My baby is just too big and smart too fast, but I love him and love every moment I get to spend with him. I look forward to the many adventures we will share this next month.

Curious George

2011-09-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jack loves Curious George. Every time we turn on Netflix, he signs monkey and makes an "Eeee" sound. We have started watching Curious George 2 quite frequently. He actually watches it, too. Not all of it, but about 5 minutes.
For Mike's birthday we went out and stopped by F.Y.E. We ended up buying Curious George for Jack. He was so excited when we gave him to DVD.

Our Individual Worth

2011-09-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

I have been preparing a lesson to give to the young women tomorrow on recognizing our individual worth. I've been really excited about it because what young woman (or woman of any age) doesn't need a lesson on that?
While I was studying, I came across a great talk by Elder Holland. It's one I remember him giving that really spoke to me. It was great to reread this talk. It gave me a real self-esteem boost, so I thought I'd post about it with a link to the talk in case anyone wants to read it. Here's a link to the article/talk: To Young Women
One of my favorite things Elder Holland says is, "Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you." I hope my young women can take this to heart and believe it.
Reading this talk really helped remind me of what is important and that I am a valued daughter of God. What could be greater than that?

15 Months!

2011-09-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

On September 2nd, Jack turned 15 months old.

Jack in Mike's new classroom. He loves computers!

Jack weighs 26 1/2 pounds, is 32 inches tall, wears size 4 diapers, and size 18 month clothes.
Jack can say about 40 words and is learning more every day. He can say mama, dada, Jesus, Ben, grandpa, grandma, Jack (da), book, ball, box, hot, no, up, down, hello, bye, I love you, kitty, open/close (/b/), bread, boo, keys, game, go, bubble, blue, pop, milk, fish, door, shoe, eww, cheese, please (ee), bath (ba), out, oh no, uh oh, see you, nose (no), ear, eye, vroom, eat.
He hasn't learned very many new signs because I haven't learned more to teach him and he is talking so much we don't need sign as much as we used to. Here's a list of all the signs he knows: mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, Uncle Ben (he made up his own), Aunt Lauren, Aunt Jenni, uncle, more, all done/gone, cheese, milk, apple, candy, wash hands, play, car, phone, love you, light off, eat, bath, dog, monkey, music, out, fish, please, thank you, open/close, shoes, popcorn, down, up.
He's trying to run, but still falls a lot when his head gets ahead of his feet.
Jack loves to play in an empty box. I set it up in the laundry room and we crawl through it like a tunnel.
He has one molar on his bottom right, and two more coming in on top.
He is kind of a funny eater. One day he will eat pretty really well and pretty much anything, and the next day he will barely eat anything.
He loves popcorn, popsicles, cheese, apples, peaches, blueberries, fruit snacks, and candy.
Lately, he likes to have his bread toasted.
He still drinks a bottle of milk at night. The doctor told us to get him off the bottle, though. I'll have to buy more sippy cups for his nightly milk.
He is very interested in other kids and likes to play.
He loves going to Grandma's house and playing with his uncles and aunts. Now that Mike has marching band after school 3 times a week, Jack gets to stay at Grandma's house longer. We really miss him, but his aunts and uncles like it.
He went down the big slide at the playground. Mike didn't like it. He is kind of over-protective.
He loves to be outside.
His favorite thing to do lately is drive the car. He likes to push buttons and turn on the lights.

Blueberries

2011-09-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Jack's new favorite food is blueberries. He loves them!

The Face

2011-08-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Jack makes the funniest face lately. It makes me smile.

Aquarium

2011-08-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of summer vacation, so we wanted to have one last fling. Mike, Jack and I went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. It was really neat. I hadn't ever been to an aquarium before.We saw all kinds of animals including: fish, frogs, salamanders, sharks, turtles, sea horses, an octopus, creepy eels, manta rays, and penguins.
You can pet the rays, but I didn't dare. They reminded me of puppies. the swim right up to you and put their rays up to you so you can pet them. They even bring their "noses" up out of the water like when a dog stands on its hind legs. It was amazing.

Jack and Daddy. Jack hadn't quite woken up yet.

Jack and Mommy in front of the penguin tank.

We really liked watching the penguins. They are really fast swimmers. It was fun to watch them jump out of the water.

Mommy and Jack with the penguin.
The penguins would swim right up to us. Jack just stared at them.

They had a touch screen with information by the penguins. Jack loved it. After that he thought every screen was a touch screen and tried to get them to do things.

It was fun to spend the day with my boys!

This is a Jack Larsen original photo. One of his best so far.

10K

2011-08-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last Spring I set a goal to run a 10K this year. Today I did it!!!
It was hard, but I finished. I wasn't even last.
I pushed Jack in the stroller the whole way and he did great. He didn't fall asleep like I thought he would since I pulled him out of bed to go with me. He was just chill as he sat back and ate his Apple-O's. At the finish line they said he was the fastest baby.
We started a little slow and walked the first two blocks because I got there late and hadn't warmed up yet. By the time we separated from the 5K walkers/runners (after two blocks) the last of the 10K runners were at least a block ahead of us. At that point, I thought, "That's okay. We can be last. I just have to finish." By the time we got to 2 miles, we were able to pass a couple of people. We played leap frog with another group of runners, but after the halfway point, they took it up a notch and got way ahead of us.
The second and fourth or fifth miles were the hardest. During the fourth mile my legs and butt were starting to get tired and sore and a few of my toes were numb. I told myself to just push through it, and I did.
I wasn't able to jog the whole thing, but I think I walked less than 1/2 a mile. I'm guessing it was about 1/3 mile total walking.
I felt good when, at one of the turns, a girl who was directing runners told me I was her favorite runner because I was pushing a stroller and my baby was really cute. That helped me keep going the last mile.
Coming to the last two blocks, my mom was there to cheer me on. I really appreciated her being there.
My time was 1 hour 12 minutes. I realized that is exactly twice as long as my time for the 5K I did last month. I came in third in my division (Women 25-29) even though I was third to last overall. I was only 1 minute behind the 2nd place runner in my division. I got a medal and everything. :)
It feels really good to have reached my goal. It was a great experience and I plan to continue running!

Picnic up Santaquin Canyon

2011-08-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

On Friday, my family decided to go up the canyon for dinner and s'mores. William and Lisa were down, so everyone was going. (Except Mike who had band camp.) We drove up in the camper to the picnic spot just a mile or so up Santaquin Canyon. It was fun to take Jack. He got to play by the water and try to throw rocks and sticks in it.

Uncle Dallas helped.

Jack even got to roast marshmallows. He had a good time. I love how serious he looks in this picture. It really takes a lot of concentration to cook the perfect marshmallow.

On the way home, we made up silly stories together and Jack got to eat a sucker and listen to Spencer's iPod. It was a fun night and I'm glad we got to spend it together.

Little Drummer Boy

2011-08-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

One day, during band camp, Mike and I were in his office. Jack came in from the band room carrying bass drum mallets.

He then took them out and played a bass drum that was resting on the floor. He loved it and played for quite awhile.

He played until the drummers came back in the band room, saw how cute he was, and started talking to him and trying to play the drum with him. He mostly just stared at them. (He's a little shy.)

Much to our dismay, Jack may someday be a drummer.

14 Months Old

2011-08-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Jack weighs about 27 lbs. So, he's gained back the weight he lost. He still wears size 18 month clothes, size 4 diapers, and size 4 shoes. (Yes, he sometimes wears shoes now.)
Jack has learned a few more words in sign. He now has signs for Aunt Jenni and his Davis uncles. He says thank you, fish, I love you, off, hot, out, shoes, socks, down, cheese, open, bath, mom, car. Most animals he signs as "dog".
He now says "I love you" (It sounds like just "you" while he signs love). He can also say hot, mom, dad, "I see you" (sounds like ee-oo), ew, shoes (oo), up, down (sounds like no), ball (ba), box (ba), balloon (sounds like boo), bubbles (bu), "oh no", blue (boo), book (/b/), vroom, out, tree, keys, cheese (ee), and open/close (he says /b/ for both of them). There are probably others, but I don't recognize them for what they are.
He gives high fives and fist bumps!
He has started doing some pretend play. For family night we all pretended to be tigers. We crawled around saying "Rarrr". (Mike asked Jack if he even knew what a tiger is and Jack said "uh-uh"). He really likes to pretend to eat things. When we read Winnie the Pooh he pretends to eat the honey.
He likes to walk on the treadmill. I can't be in the exercise room very long before he is begging me to help him walk on it.
He knows more body parts now. He knows where his toes, feet, hands, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, hair, head, and belly are.
Although he can walk on his own, he still insists on taking me most places.
He can go up the ladder and down his slide all by himself.
He loves the car. He signs "car" and then says "vroom". He likes to sit in the front and push buttons.
He is working on getting his 9th tooth.
He has been sleeping in until almost 8:00. (Until this tooth started to come in. Now he has a hard time going to sleep and wakes up while it's still dark.)
His favorite food is cheese. He loves macaroni and cheese.
He likes to feed the fish.
He is starting to protest being in this car seat and stroller.
He is a momma's boy and has started acting shy around non-family.
He likes to climb and is getting good at it.

This is for you, Uncle David.
He made me help him get all the way to the top several times.

Food Thief

2011-07-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Lately there has been no such thing as "my own food". Jack and I can have exactly the same thing, and he will want to eat out of my bowl.
This morning we both had oatmeal. When I sat down to eat mine, he reached for it and wouldn't eat his anymore. I put my bowl on his tray and he ate out of both mine and his. He eventually stole my spoon, too.

It makes him so happy

Wasps

2011-07-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

Jack wanted to go outside last night, so we went out on the patio. Jack loves the grill, and when it's not hot I let him cruise around it. While he was doing this, I was tying the strap back onto the grill brush. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a swarm of insects. My first thought was, "Where did all those grasshoppers come from?" Then when I finished turning my head toward them I realized they were wasps and they were all around my baby! I grabbed him and pulled him up to me as fast as I could. Then we ran in the house.
Jack was crying and moving his left hand by his right arm. I had seen one close to his head right before I grabbed him. I didn't think it had actually touched him, but it had.
Poor Jack was stung on the head and on the shoulder. I felt awful. I guess two stings isn't too bad considering how many wasps there were. It could have been much worse.

You can see the sting above his ear.

I sprayed Dermoplast on the stings. Five minutes after he was stung he acted like nothing happened and has been totally fine ever since.

Rice and Beans

2011-07-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Jack ate rice and beans for dinner tonight. He really likes them. He got so messy and was so cute, I just had to take a picture. He thought his belly was pretty funny looking with rice all over it.

Yes, he was posing for this picture.

Walking

2011-07-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

Jack has started walking! I think we are going to say July 15th is the official date. He walked across the room all by himself! We have a video of it, but for some unknown reason I can't upload it.
Today he stood up all by himself and walked several steps through a maze of Mr. Potato Head pieces to the coffee table. He was so proud of himself. It was adorable.

Davis Family Reunion 2011

2011-07-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

This year my dad's cousins had a reunion at Ruby's Inn by Bryce Canyon. Mike, Jack, and I were able to go for a few days. I was really looking forward to going camping. It has been a really long time.
After this experience, though, I think it will be awhile before we go camping again with Jack. He was great during the day. He liked walking around with whoever would hold his hand. I even let him get a little dirty. The nights, however, were awful. Jack had to sleep in his play pen, and it got really cold. The first night he woke up at about 3:00. He wouldn't go back to sleep. Mike ended up driving around with him for four hours so Jack could sleep. The second night, Jack woke up around 1:30. Mike was not looking forward to another night in the car. It took awhile, but I finally got Jack to sleep and he stayed asleep (in our bed) until morning. Even though we had fun during the day, I'm glad we were only there two nights.

"Cool Dude" in his Spiderman sunglasses.

On Wednesday, Jack and I went on a hike with the rest of my family and several of my dad's cousins. Mike stayed at the campsite to get some sleep after being in the car all night. We went on a hike to Mossy Cave. It's not in the park, but has some cool hoodoos and was really pretty.

The waterfall

Mossy Cave

Cute Boy

My Dad and Mom

Dallas standing at the top of the waterfall looking up at Jonathan and Benjamin who had climbed up a steep trail.

Hoodoos

Jack loved to "drive" the camper.

On Thursday, my whole family and most of the Davis family went on an archeological tour with my cousin Janalyn's husband, Chris. Mike and I decided not to go because it involved a lot of driving, and we already had four hours to look forward to that day.
Instead, we went into the park to do some hiking and sight-seeing. Mike had never been to Bryce Canyon. It was fun to do this as a family.
We drove all the way to the end of the road in the park. We went on a hike to see a really old tree. I know; it sounds riveting. It was actually a really nice hike and just the right length for me carrying a sleeping baby.

Jack and Mommy. Jack had just woken up and was about to go back to sleep.

Jack and Daddy

Family Photo at Bryce Canyon

Utah is so beautiful!

Jack has started to love climbing on everything. He really wanted to climb up and over to the other side of the fence.

"Natural Bridge"

As we were packing up the car, Jack toppled over in a camp chair. He got a scrape down his nose and forehead and a nose and mouthful of dirt and rocks. Poor baby. He didn't cry very long; he's a tough kid.

Poor scraped nose. (The red on his shirt in licorice, not blood.)

We had a great time. Thank you, Mom and Dad for letting us use your huge tent. And thanks to Stacie and Melissa (Dad's cousins) for organizing a wonderful family vacation.

Cookies

2011-07-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today I made chocolate chip cookies. Jack was pretty good to play on the kitchen floor so I could do it. After the cookies were all mixed, Jack got to lick the beater. I took the other one and sat down on the floor with him so we could lick the beaters together. I got one lick, and Jack stole my beater. He was so cute and loved the cookie dough so much, I just let him have both of them. I love these moments.

The best part of making cookies...

Funny Picture

2011-07-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

This was the funniest thing! I was taking a picture of Jack and I counted 1..2..3 and he pulled this face:

Only 1 year old, and he's already making goofy faces for the camera. He is definitely his father's son.

First 5k Race

2011-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today I participated in my first 5k race ever! I was nervous and had a hard time sleeping last night. I wasn't nervous about the actual race--I wasn't even thinking of being competitive. I was nervous about the stupid stuff like getting there on time, parking, finding where to line up, and not getting lost during the race. It's obnoxious, but I always worry about that kind of thing.
I got up at 5:45 to make sure I had plenty of time to get ready, get some water in me, and get to the right place. Mike and Jack were asleep downstairs when I left, so I kissed Mike goodbye and headed out the door. The race was in Mona at the Young Living Family Farm. It rained last night and the last few days, so the parking lot was muddy. I hated getting my band new shoes all muddy, but I guess it would have to happen eventually.
I got in line to get my packet. I was lucky number 13. :) They had these really cool chips you hooked onto your shoes to time your run. I put on my number and my chip. I found Molly Davis, who teaches 6th grade at my school. Her daughter was participating in the race, so I hung out with them until the start of the race. I also saw some other people from Mona. Diane Jacobsen (3rd grade teacher) was there and one of my parents from last year: Kristy Walker. (Kristy said her son misses me, and that made me feel good.)
They started the race with a loud gun shot, and we were off. It took awhile for the crowd to thin out. I swear by the time I got 50 yards, there were already people half a mile ahead of me.
I was able to jog the whole thing. The first mile was a little tough for me and my ankle muscles started to hurt. I pushed through it, though and after awhile I was fine. I paced myself and it was pretty easy. I think I could have pushed myself a lot harder the last mile, but it's okay that I didn't. I'm still really proud of myself just for jogging the whole thing.
My time was about 35 1/2 minutes (I didn't look too closely, I was just glad it was under 40 min.), I was 36th in my age group (out of about 40), and 295th overall (Not bad considering there were close to 1000 people there).
After the race they had water and food for us.
Mike was right: running is addictive. I can't wait to do this again!

My Birthday

2011-07-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

My birthday was yesterday. Mike was awesome! He tried to clean the kitchen as a surprise, but I started cleaning it, so we ended up cleaning it together.
That afternoon we dropped off Jack at Aunt Jenni's and Mike took me to lunch at Tucanos in Salt Lake. We ate way too much because it was so good! You have to love a place where the waiters keep coming to your table and asking if you want more meat. :)
We had plans to go to the aquarium, but we only had an hour and a half before we had to head home so I could go to YW. So instead of going to the aquarium, we went to the mall to spend my birthday money.

I got a new pair of running shoes. (Thanks Mom and Dad.) I am so excited to wear them running!

These are my new Nike Free Run 2 shoes. They are awesome!

13 Months Old!

2011-07-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

Making "Alphabet Soup" 6/26/11

Jack is 13 months old, now. I can't believe how much he is still learning each month! It amazes me. Here are some things about Jack's development this month:

Jack actually lost some weight this month. He now weighs 25.8 pounds. He was able to wear a tie to church yesterday for the first time because I was finally able to button the top button without it choking him.
He is 29 3/4 inches tall. (They had to have mis-measured him at the doctor's last month.)
Jack can say a lot of words in sign. He says: doggy, light, more, all done/gone, music, water, eat, please, thank you (occasionally), fan, play, wash hands, telephone, sleep, milk, bath, brush teeth, aunt and car. He made up his own sign for Aunt Lauren and for hat. He signs dad, mom, grandpa, grandma, and uncle all like dad. He will try to imitate any sign I do. He has imitated hot and shoes really well, but he doesn't remember them. He has even started to sign phrases. He can say, "It's all gone. I need more, please." It's really fun to be able to communicate with him.
He is also starting to talk. He says no, uh-oh, mom, dad. Up and eww are his favorite words. He says, "up" for up and for down. He will often say the first sound or the last sound of the word he is trying to say. Mike and I are trying to teach him to say "psych" because he loves the theme song from the show Psych. For most things he either says /m/ or /a/.
He understands so much! He now nods a lot. I can ask him a question and he can nod, "yes" to me. He is so cute when he nods; it's a whole upper body movement.
He knows the sounds for elephant, lion, kitty, and dog. He usually has to be prompted for all the sounds except elephant. He loves that one.
He knows some of his body parts. He knows nose, ears, and belly really well. He usually gets mouth and eyes right. He even knows that his ears hear. When I ask him if he can hear the music, he points to his ear.
He has been spitting on things when he gets mad the last couple of days. He throws little temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. He usually throws whatever he can on the floor, or throws himself down, or crawls away "fake" crying.
He thinks he can get away with taking my glasses off my face if he gives me a kiss after.
He loves to be outside. He likes to take his puppy outside for a walk. He likes to fall asleep in the stroller when I take him jogging with me.
He has been having a hard time going to sleep for naps and at night. He used to be so good at going to sleep at night, but lately he cries and cries. He gets too distracted and doesn't want to stop playing even though he keeps telling me he wants to go to sleep.
He usually goes to sleep between 8:30 and 9:00 pm, and wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 am.
He hasn't been eating as much as he used to. I think he is too interested in playing to waste time eating. His favorite things to eat are suckers and popsicles, strawberries, peas and carrots, and chips. He also likes Mexican food. He really wants to eat salad, but doesn't have the molars for it yet.
He can blow his nose.
He can stand up by himself for quite awhile, but can't walk yet.
He loves toys. He especially likes to dump things out of their containers. One of his favorite things to do in his room in take all the books off the shelves. He likes to swim in his pool and go down the slide. He loves his puppies. He has even started to enjoy playing in the sandbox.
He is obsessed with music. It's the first sign he says when I pick him up out of his crib in the morning. If music isn't on, he will sign it until we play something for him. It's never quiet at our house.
His new favorite book is Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. It's about monkeys and drums. He requests it by hitting the arm of the rocking chair. It's the one book he will usually sit through while I read the whole thing.
My favorite thing is being able to play with my little boy. I'm so glad I have a job that lets me have 2 1/2 months every summer to be home and just be a mom!

Sondre Lerche Concert

2011-06-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

On June 22nd, Mike and I took Dad Larsen to see Sondre Lerche at the Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City for Father's Day. It was fun. I was a little nervous at first about it being in a club, but I really liked it. I liked how personal it felt because we were so close and there were so few people (compared to a stadium.) It was a great concert!

Disneyland June 2011

2011-06-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

Mike and I went to Disneyland for a week (June 13-17). Jack got to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house while we were gone. We missed him a lot, but were really glad we didn't have to put him through the car ride, the heat, or the lines. Plus we didn't have to deal with pushing a stroller through Disneyland. It was much easier to relax and enjoy the trip without him. We got to talk to him every day and even got to Facetime with him several times.
Here are some pictures from our trip:

Handsome Mike on the Mark Twain.

This is our favorite place to eat while at Disneyland. I love the Red Beans and Rice.

Mike getting ready to draw Dale from "Rescue Rangers."

We spent and evening and a day with our friends Justin and Cecily Bills. Mike works with Justin. Justin is the choir teacher at Salem Hills. It was so much fun to get to know them better.
We ate corn dogs and watched fireworks Tuesday night. On Wednesday, we got to the park early so we could get Fast Passes to the new Star Tours ride (Cecily went on it even though she is 7 months pregnant). Then we went on Peter Pan before heading to California Adventure to get in line for the new Little Mermaid ride. We had lots of fun eating and playing all day, and that night we saw World of Color.

We rode the omnibus down Main Street. It was pretty full, so we got to sit next to the driver. The driver kept calling me the wrong name while he talked on the intercom. He started calling me Ally, then Elly, and by the end of the ride I was Ella. It was pretty entertaining.

Main Street at night.

California Adventure is being remodeled. This is in front of the entryway in between the two parks. It doesn't look great, but we look pretty cute. I think this was the morning Mike and I got to the park early to be there when it opened so we could ride several rides while everyone else waited in line for Star Tours.

Waiting for the park to open.

In New Orleans Square.
My life is complete because I got Mardi Gras beads in Disneyland.

These guys were so funny. They came up behind me while Mike was taking a picture.

We had an awesome trip! The first few days were hot and the lines were long, but Thursday and Friday were nice. We got to do and see everything we wanted. I can't wait until our next trip!

Jack's First Birthday

2011-06-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

We planned to celebrate Jack's first birthday at Santaquin park. I had my first birthday in a park, and it is June. Plus our house is not suited for large groups, and we didn't want to clean it anyway. The day came and was super windy. I kept hoping it would warm up and the wind would stop, but no. It was the one day that week with bad weather. But, since we hadn't cleaned the house, we went to the park anyway.
I did a Winnie the Pooh theme because I couldn't decide and Wal-Mart had some cute decorations, so that's what we went with. I love Winnie the Pooh anyway. (I almost decorated his room that way.)
I saw on a blog or website an idea to put up a picture from each month to use as a decoration. I found a fun Winnie the Pooh "Happy Birthday" banner and decided to hang the pictures from that instead of buying 13 frames. (Hey, why not save some money?) I also thought it would be neat to put the things I wrote about him each month with the pictures. This took way more time to put together than I thought it would, but was well worth it. It turned out so cute and is now hanging in Jack's room. I can also use it for future children and just slip their pictures in the photo sleeves.

The bad thing was the wind blew it around like crazy and all the ribbons got tangled instead of hanging nice and neat so you could actually see the pictures in order. Oh well.

The banner hanging on Jack's wall.

Close-up of a part of the banner.
The white rectangles above a couple of pictures are the things about Jack each month.

I did two cakes: one for him and one for the rest of us. I also made cupcakes since we have a big family.
Jack's cake was decorated like a honey pot (or should I say hunny pot), or at least the top of one because that's as good as I can do. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Jack's cake. I didn't get a picture of it completely finished. When it was done, it had a bee made from yellow and black pipe cleaners and a numeral 1 candle.

The cake for everyone. I couldn't find black icing, so I used dark chocolate brownie frosting to make the beelines.

The cake for everyone when it was all the way decorated.

Jack was fun with his cake. It was too windy to light the candle, so we didn't. Jack had fun taking the candle off the cake and then putting it back in the same hole. Later, he decided to use the candle as a utensil. When he started to bit the wax, I traded him for a fork. How many one-year-olds want to eat their cake with a fork? Silly boy. It took awhile, but he ate a lot of his cake. I think he ate at least a quarter of it. (That's what happens when I don't feed him dinner first.) He also decided to share with Mommy and Daddy.

After his cake, everybody ate cake and ice cream. Grandpa Davis made the ice cream. He couldn't decide what kind to make, so he made chocolate and strawberry. AMAZING!! My dad makes the best ice cream.

After cake and ice cream, Jack opened presents. We almost came to our house for this part because it was so cold outside. Looking back, I wish we had. Even if everyone was packed in our front room like sardines, at least we would have been fun and probably enjoyed the experience more. Jack did a great job opening his presents. He got mad a couple of times when we took away a toy so he could open the next one.

Opening Presents

You can see the wind-blown pictures in the background.

Lil' Snoopy

Action Figures

In the sandbox with Daddy.

I'm going to do my best to remember all his presents and who gave them to him. Jack got:

a crab-shaped sand box from Grandma and Grandpa Larsen.
a pool and slide from Grandma and Grandpa Davis.
a cuddly brown bear from William and Lisa.
a Beatles shirt, puzzle, number book, and Play Dough from Jenni and Rob.
a super hero outfit, toy lawn mower, action figures, a Bumblebee Transformer, and a Lil' Snoopy pull-along dog from the Davis boys.
A toy laptop computer from Rebekah.
a ball, Little Critter books, I Love You Stinky Face, Duck Soup, Mega Blocks, and a bubble machine from Mom and Dad.

(I think I forgot something of someone.)

When we got home and unloaded the car, it was time for bed. I think Jack enjoyed his birthday. I had fun making it special.

Four Generations:

Grandpa, Jack, Mommy, Grandma, and Great-Grandma

1 Year Old!

2011-06-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

I am way behind on blogging. It's hard when my laptop won't connect to the internet at home and Mike is busy using his for work all the time. I decided while I have a few minutes, I should start getting caught up on June's events.

Jack turned one year old on June 2nd. I am so amazed at how quickly a year has gone by. It seems like he was just a tiny newborn that I had to feed every 2 hours 24 hours a day. He has changed and grown so much! Here are some things about Jack at 12 months:

Jack weighs 27 1/2 pounds, is 32 inches tall, and has a head circumference of 19 inches. That puts him in the 95th-97th percentile in everything.
He still wears size 18-month clothes and size 4 diapers.
He has started to drink less milk. I now feed him only about 5 times a day.
Jack said his first word, "hello", and says it all the time while holding his hand or something up to his face like a phone.
He signs "more" and "all done". He will sometimes sign "water" and "food".
He is so good and communicating.
He is a momma's boy. If he sees or hears me, he wants me to hold him. When I pick him up he grins.
He loves to clap his hands.
He blows kisses and waves "bye-bye". He will also wave "hello".
He likes to wake up early in the morning and sleep the rest of the night in mom and dad's bed.
He can stack several things on top of each other.
He has learned to throw things.
He loves to be outside and go for walks.
He likes to walk while someone holds his hands. He can even run that way.
He still sits right down if you try to get him to stand by himself, but he can stand alone for several seconds.
He loves keys, phones, remote controls, and toys.
He doesn't like being in his car seat very long.
He's fast at going up the stairs. We're still working on going backward down the stairs.
He has a new funny face Uncle Dallas taught him
Mike taught him to eat Cheerios without his hands.
He has a great sense of humor.

We love our little guy so much and think he is the cutest, smartest, best little boy in the world!

Jack's First Word

2011-05-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

Jack said his first word yesterday. (First if you don't count momma, dada, no, or uh-oh). We were all at Mike's parents' house and Jack, as he loves to do, held up something to his ear (or side or back of his head) pretending it was a telephone. He started saying "O". That soon turned into "Ho", and today he managed "hewo". That's right, his first word has two syllables. I am so proud! He is so cute and so smart! Every time the phone rings, he grabs whatever is closest and tries to "answer" it. I was changing his diaper in the bathroom when the phone rang, and he grabbed the bottle of hand soap, put it to the side of his head, and said, "hello".
While I'm bragging I have to brag about his awesome fine motor skills. Jack is able to get the headphone jack plugged into the iPod. How many one-year-olds can do that? We got him a peg board on Saturday and pulled it out last night to play. He could stack five or six pegs on top of each other. He once even did it in a pattern. (I don't think that was intentional.) And he took them off the peg board in order, going down a straight line.
He seems to have learned so much in just the last few days. He signed "more" and "water" to me yesterday. He claps at the end of prayers and songs and sometimes when he is laughing; just like his daddy. He has started to just blow kisses when he says bye-bye instead of waving. It's funny.
I can't wait until his first birthday on Thursday. He is going to be so cute!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

I guess this year was my first official Mother's Day.
Jack was a sweetheart and gave Mommy the gift of sleep. He slept in until 8:00, and so did I! Yahoo! I had a great morning playing with Jack-Jack. We had breakfast together and I got to bathe him, which he usually LOVES but yesterday he was tired and hungry.
We had a hard time making it to church. We missed sacrament meeting because Jack finally fell asleep five minutes before we had to leave. Then he didn't stay asleep, but we were already too late for the sacrament. He then tried to have another nap just in time for us to miss Sunday school. I was getting frustrated. I really wanted to go to church. We finally made it for 3rd hour, and Jack threw little tantrums the whole time because he was tired and wanted to put my watch in his mouth.
When we got home, Mike made lunch and then we got to have a nice family nap--my favorite!
Mike made dinner for me and it was delicious. He grilled chicken in the rain and made Grandpa potatoes. He was even thoughtful enough to get salad. (For anyone who doesn't know, Mike strongly dislikes salad.) For desert (after much trial), Mike made crepes with strawberries and frozen yogurt. We ate these together after Jack went to bed.
Mike was a real sweetheart. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who loves me so much!

In honor of mother's day here are some of my favorite things about being a mother:

Jack's smile and numerous funny faces. He has the best expressions.
I don't have to spend Saturday morning watching cartoons alone. :)
Snugly naps.
Jack's hugs and slobbery kisses.
Every time Jack won't go to anyone else when I'm around.
Being needed. I love being able to comfort Jack when he is sad.
Bedtime: I love singing to Jack and then watching him wiggle around in his bed until he finds just the right position for sleep.
Watching Jack learn new things.
Making Jack laugh.
Bath Time: I love to watch Jack get all excited and splash water all over. I swear he ends up with only half the water that he started with.
Reading together.
Just being with my boy.

Zoo!

2011-05-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

On April 13th I took my kindergarten students to Hogle Zoo for a field trip. Since Nebo School District was on spring break, Mike and Jack and my whole family came up, too. It was really fun for me to get to see them even though it was only for a couple hours.

Jack wasn't very interested in the animals. Part of this is because he had a hard time seeing them from his stroller. The other part is he was tired and an hour is a long time to be in the car. He did like the giraffes and the lemurs. Mike said he just stared as the lemurs ran back and forth.

(Mike has more pictures on his phone. I will have to post more after he uploads them onto the computer.)

The Larsens with the tigers.

Here's my boy happy to see his momma after the long car ride.

Jack and Uncle Dallas.

Since I'm writing about the trip to the zoo, I should share my testimony-building story that goes along with it.
I'm always nervous about the weather for field trips because I have to schedule the field trip months in advance, so you have to gamble with the weather. Last year we ended up with rain and freezing temperatures. It was not the best experience for my little ones.
As the date for our field trip this year got closer, the 7-day forecast showed the 13th to be a beautiful day after several stormy days. I was so relieved. As the week wore on, however, the forecast changed and the weather for the 13th looked worse and worse. It went from sunny, to cloudy, to rainy, to snowy. The day before the trip, I was panicked. I really didn't want it to snow on my little kindergartners or make traveling to Salt Lake unsafe.
All day and night I prayed and worried. At first I prayed that we would have good weather. Then I asked Heavenly Father that if it really needed to rain and snow that day, to let it wait until we were leaving the zoo. I prayed and exercised faith that he would take care of the weather if it was his will.
The next morning, field trip day, I anxiously listened to the weather report in the car on the way to work. When I heard the report for clear skies all morning and rain in the late afternoon I cried. At that moment I was so filled with gratitude and I knew that Heavenly Father loves me. I've never felt so loved and cared for. It really strengthened my faith that I am a precious daughter of God who loves me. He loved me enough to change the weather. Nobody else could do that for me. (Although when I told Mike about how cool it was that Heavenly Father loves me that much he sweetly and sincerely said, "I would do that for you if I could.")
As you can see from the pictures the day was perfect. You couldn't have asked for better weather. I even got a little sunburned.

11 Months Old

2011-05-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Jack turned 11 months old on Monday, May 2nd. Almost 1 year!

Jack weighs 27 pounds. He has really slowed down with his weight gain and is thinning out. He still wears size 18 months clothes and size 4 diapers. I think this is the longest he has stayed in the same size since he wore 0-3 months.
He likes to stick his letter magnets in between the fridge and the freezer. Yesterday, he tried to get one to stick to Daddy's leg. He thought he was so funny.
He has a great sense of humor. He even has a social laugh. He may not know what's really going on, but if other people are laughing he will too.
His favorite toys are the ones he's not supposed to have. He loves the tv and Play Station remotes (he accepts no substitutes. We gave him an old tv remote that lights up and everything, but he wants the one that works), our cell phones, cords (he's shorted out a couple of cords by playing with them), iPods, and keys.
He likes to put things in and take them out of boxes and jars.
He says, "Uh-oh" when, and sometimes before, he throws things on the ground and loves to watch you pick them up and then do it all over again. I can tell he's done eating when he starts throwing his food and cup over the side of his high chair.
He really likes to be outside, but hates the grass. A couple nights ago Mike left for a meeting and Jack sat by the garage door whining and kicking and hitting the door. (Mike took him outside when he got home.)
He is a momma's boy. If I'm holding him and Mike gets close, Jack will push him away. He loves and snuggles with his daddy when I'm not in the room.
He waves bye-bye and hello, claps his hands, and blows kisses (well, actually he puts his hand up to his mouth and says, "mmmm" and sometimes licks it and tries to wipe it on your face).
He seems to be signing! I think he signs "more", "all done", and "fish". They don't look quite like they're supposed to, but I'm pretty sure there is meaning behind what he's doing.
He has started hitting and throwing mini-tantrums. He likes to smack people in the face. I hate it when he does it while I'm nursing him. When he throws a tantrum, he arches his back and sometimes throws himself backward. If I'm holding him he'll push himself away from me. I'm so afraid he'll fall and hit his head one of these times.
He is a mover! He is getting to be a really fast crawler. He loves to walk. He has to have two hands holding on to something, though, or he won't go. Mike discovered if he puts something in one of Jack's hands he will walk holding onto just one of our hands. He can stand on his own for a few seconds. If he realizes what he is doing he will fall.
He gives hugs and kisses. These are rare, but adorable!

May 1, 2011--Osama bin Laden is Dead

2011-05-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of those days that will be important in history. I decided I had better document it. On Sunday, May 1 2011 Mike, Jack and I were visiting Mike's family in Ephraim when Jenni called to let us know it was on the news that Osama bin Laden had been found and killed by our military. It took me a minute to realize the significance and grasp the reality of what had happened. The man our military have been looking for for--how long?--a decade?--was gone.

I wasn't really sure how I felt about it. In some ways it brought relief and a sense of accomplishment. On the other hand, I really hate killing of any kind. I've been thinking about how I feel about it, and today I read a quote posted by a friend on Facebook. Martin Luther King, Jr. said exactly what I was feeling about this situation in a much more eloquent way:

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Jack's First Easter

2011-05-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

I was more excited for Jack's first Easter than he was. He had a good time, though.

We (meaning I) had to start the tradition of dying eggs together. It was almost Jack's bedtime, so he wasn't really interested in the eggs or smiling.

Here are a couple pictures of Jack's first time dying eggs for Easter.
*Fun fact I learned from Mike: in Romania, they only dye the eggs red. They're supposed to represent the drops of blood shed by Christ.

This was Jack's first Easter egg hunt. We went to the egg hunt in Salem because that is where Alex, Mike, and Stewie were going. We mostly went to see them. We were late, so the nice fireman threw a few eggs out for Jack to "hunt". He didn't really know what to do. I had to put the egg right next to him. After that, he picked it up and was pretty interested in it.

Here's my cute boy finding his first egg. Doesn't he look super cute in his overalls and tennis shoes?

Jack and Mommy at the Easter egg hunt.

Here's Jack on Easter morning. I was going to wait to give him his basket until after Mike woke up, but as soon as I put him in his high chair for breakfast he saw his basket and started pointing at it. I couldn't make him wait.

He was interested in his bunny and this blue egg in which the Easter bunny had put yogurt melts. Yum!

For Easter dinner, we went to Aunt Kathi's house. Jack had a lot of fun playing during dinner. He did a really good job finding eggs. He would even put them in his own basket and then look for another one to pick up and put in.

Grandpa, Mommy, and Jack

Jack with Daddy

Jack stood up by himself for awhile. This was right before I let go. It won't be long before he is walking.

What a cute boy!

Family Photo

10K

2011-04-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I set a goal to run a half marathon by the time I was 25. I didn't make it. This year I decided I was going to do it. I told Mike I wanted to run a half marathon and he said, "You know, thirteen miles is a long way. Why don't you start with something shorter. Like a 10K." It didn't take any more than that to convince me. I'm not a runner anyway. I thought 6.2 miles sounded like a respectable goal.
Last week I started training. I'm up to running 1.75 miles. I've only been running on the tread mill except once last Saturday when it was warm enough to go outside. I know it will be harder once I can go outside and jog on the road. I hope I'll be able to keep up with the training schedule. I should be ready for a 5K by the end of May and a 10K in July. Now I just have to stick with the training program that long and find a local 10K.
I'm really excited about this. It feels so good to be getting in shape.

On an unrelated note, Jack and I spent the day together while Daddy is away on band tour. For lunch I fed Jack some banana slices. After awhile he complained and pointed to the banana. I tried to give him a slice, but he wouldn't take it. He kept pointing to the banana. He was so happy when I gave him the whole thing. What a silly boy.

10 months old

2011-04-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's already time to do another monthly update on Jack! He has changed a lot this month.

Here are some things about my little man:

I don't know exactly how much he weighs. I think it's about the same as last month (26 lbs.) He is 28 inches tall. He still wears size 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers. He is starting to slim down now that he is more mobile.
He crawls on his hands and knees now. There is no stopping him anymore! He likes to follow me around the house.
He is fascinated by lights and electronics. His favorite things are Daddy's iPhone, the PS3 remote, the PS3, Mommy's and Daddy's computers, any cell phone, and digital clocks. Since Jack is so much more mobile and able to get to all these things easier than he used to, Mike has taken to hiding the PS3 remote under a blanket while he plays his games and I have to put a book in front of the clock in Jack's room while I sing him to sleep at night.
Jack's new thing is pulling the DVDs off the shelf. A couple days ago, he pulled all the DVDs off the shelf he could reach and tossed them to the side. All the DVDs except Kung Fu Panda. For some reason he looked at it, and then put it on top of the shelf. He later found it again, and threw it on the floor with everything else.
He loves to empty bags and boxes.
He is good at putting things into a container and then taking them back out.
He can take turns rolling a ball with me.
He has become a fussy eater. Not so much about WHAT he eats, but HOW. He likes to feed himself. He will refuse food until I let him do it himself. Sometimes the only way to get him to eat is to give him crackers with dinner so he can feed himself those while I use the spoon for the messier baby food.
He signed his first word other than "mom" or "dad" this month. We were eating dinner and he signed "more". He hasn't done it since, though.
He waved bye-bye for the first time yesterday.
He really likes to walk while we hold his hands. It's nice having a tall baby because I don't have to bend over and strain my back while he walks. :)
He understands "no" and thinks it's funny. When we stop him from doing something he's not supposed to do, he grins and shakes his head. Sometimes he even says the /n/ sound.
He is very social and loves people. He even made a new friend at church last week. She is the same age. They slapped the table together, and talked to each other, and she licked his head.
He has 8 teeth that are visible.
He is smart and has a fun personality!

Visiting Grandma

2011-04-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

We got to go to Ephraim this weekend to take care of Mike's Grandma. Jack got to show off his new crawling skills for her. He was also very well-behaved while he sat on her lap. (Well-behaved meaning he didn't throw his head back or try to crawl off. He's a big baby and I don't know that Grandma would be able to catch him if he was being rough.) The next morning we had to wake up Grandma to feed her breakfast. She was a little groggy until she saw Jack; she perked right up when she saw him. Jack played with Grandma's alarm clock and tried to empty her drawers while we visited with her. She loved every minute of it. When it was time for us to leave, we told Jack to wave bye-bye to Grandma. We always do this and try to get him to wave, but he never does. Well, yesterday, he waved bye-bye to Grandma! I was so excited! I hope he keeps doing it.
The last time we went to Grandma's house, we didn't take Jack because he was grumpy and his Aunt Jenni wanted to spend some time with him. Grandma missed Jack, but Mike and I were happy to get to visit with her and talk about politics.
Even though Grandma is getting old and having a hard time, she is always lucid and congenial with us. I think we are very fortunate. This is the way I want to remember her.

Nine Months Old!

2011-03-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

Jack is nine months old! I can hardly believe it; he's been out longer than he was in.

He weighs 26 lbs.
He wears size 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.
He is such a fun-loving, easy-going baby. We went shopping for prom shoes all day and he was a trooper. He barely fussed even though he didn't get his nap.
He loves his mommy. He buries his face in my shoulder when anyone gets close or tries to take him while I'm holding him.
He's army crawling. He goes up on his hands and feet sometimes. It's so funny.
He pulled himself up to his feet all by himself today.
He loves to spit and make a slobbery mess. We're trying to teach him not to do it while he is eating or in anyone's face.
He loves remote controls. He will point the remote at the Bose speaker and turn the music volume up or down.
He loves music and books. He's definitely mine and Mike's.

St. George

2011-03-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of February Mike, Jack, and I went to St. George. Mike had UMEA, so Jack and I went with him. Mike had classes all day, so Jack and I got a lot of time to ourselves to enjoy the hotel and go for walks. I found a nice bike/jogging trail behind the hotel and convention center. There was a cute bridge where we stopped to take pictures. Unfortunately Jack was pretty tired and ornery by the time we got there, so I couldn't get too many good pictures of him.

Ornery Jack with Mommy

Sleepy boy!

Jack also got to go swimming for the first time!

Jack in his "Cars" swimming suit before we went down to the pool.

After we got out of the pool.

Even though it was windy and a little bit cold, Jack had a great time. The pool was just like a giant bathtub. He loved splashing around in it. It was so fun to play with him.

I took some cute pictures of Jack while we were hanging out in the hotel room. I love my adorable, blue-eyed boy!

Jack loves to pull off his socks.

Isn't he a cutie?

He really wanted the camera. He crawled across the bed until he was close enough to grab it and too close for me to take anymore pictures.

We had a lot of fun and enjoyed our trip. It was really relaxing even though Jack wouldn't sleep in the play pen, and woke up around 6:00 in the morning. We got to have snuggly naps to make up for it.

8 Months Old!

2011-02-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

Jack at eight months:

Jack weighs around 24 lbs. (This last month is the first time in his life he hasn't gained weight. He is getting longer and thinner.)
He wears size 18 months clothes and is transitioning into size 4 diapers.
He likes to dance, which involves flapping his arms and kicking his legs. He likes theme songs from TV shows, the Sky Hawk Fight Song, Sondre Lerche, The Who, and Dave Matthews Band.
He gives Daddy high-fives, or did. He has started ignoring Mike the last couple of days when he tries to get him to do it.
He can move forward! Crawling is in his near future. The first time he really moved straight forward was for a book. That's my guy!
He is really interested in Mommy and Daddy's food. It just tastes better if it's been on someone else's plate.
He got to try turkey for his first meat. He loved it! He also loves to eat saltine crackers, oatmeal cereal, carrots, squash, peas, green beans, bananas, applesauce, refried beans, and Mommy and Daddy's foods he isn't supposed to eat like ice cream, pudding, and hot chocolate.
He has three teeth and loves having his teeth and gums brushed with the finger toothbrush we bought for him.
His favorite toys are an old computer keyboard, "That's Not My Dinosaur" book, mirrors, his piano, his ball popper, paper he's not supposed to have, Mommy's (or anybody's) hair, remote controls, and Jumbles.
He loves the sun. I can't wait until it warms up so we can go for walks again.
He hates to wear socks. He gets really happy when he takes them off in the car on the way home with Daddy.
He has the cutest smile and amazing blue eyes. (He's had these for several months now, but I thought I'd mention them.)
He likes to razz and spit all over. It seems like he really likes to do it when I'm wearing my glasses. (I think he takes after his Grandpa Davis and will be a tease.)
He loves the bath and shower. He likes to sit up and splash in the tub. In the shower, he laps the water. Sometimes he gets a little too close and it gets all over his face. He doesn't care too much for that.
He loves himself. He loves to look at pictures and watch movies of himself.
He is a show-off and loves to get attention.
His mommy and daddy love him bunches! We love you, Jack, and are so happy to have you in our family!

These are just a couple cute, random pictures of my little cutie.

Jack and his penguin.

Mmmm...Peas

Dancing Baby

2011-02-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

Whenever this baby hears music, he just has to dance. He'll even stop eating to dance if the theme song for a TV show comes on.

Jack dancing with Daddy to Sondre Lerche.

Jack flapping his arms to the music.

Play-date

2011-01-29T22:19:00.000-08:00

Jack had his first play-date yesterday! My friend, Alex, and I decided we needed to hang out since we haven't in a long time. I got off work early on Friday because of parent/teacher/students conferences, so I picked up Jack and we went to visit Alex and her little guy. Her baby is 13 months old, but about the same size as Jack.

It's amazing the difference half a year can make. Alex's baby can crawl, eat real food, drink cow's milk, ride a tricycle, and gets possessive. Jack sits there and scoots inch by inch on his behind, eats mush, has to have mommy's milk, and is happy playing with anything he can put in his mouth.

It was so funny how possessive Alex's baby (S) was with Jack. I think it is partly because he doesn't know Jack, so he may have been afraid of him. S hogged all the barn toys, so Alex brought out a basket of toys for Jack. When S saw them, he pulled out one at a time, played with it as fast as he could, and then pulled out the next one. It was like he was saying, "I'm playing with all of these, so that baby can't have any of them." When S was playing with something else, Alex asked if Jack wanted to try riding the rocking dog. I put Jack on it, and as soon as S saw him, he was over there to claim his toy. He tried to pull Jack off, but when he couldn't, he dove onto the dog with Jack. It was so funny!

I think by the end of our afternoon together, S liked Jack okay. We'll see how he acts when they come to visit at our house. :)

It was really fun to get to spend time with Alex. She's so awesome! It's nice to have a friend.

Cute Baby

2011-01-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

Jack's new favorite book: That's Not My Dinosaur

Give me a kiss.

Jack was trying to grab the camera, but it looks like he was trying to give kisses.

Jack is wearing his Mickey Mouse shirt from Grandma. He is 100% Awesome.

I was trying to wake him up from his nap so he could go to bed. He wouldn't wake up, so I started taking pictures. Even the flash didn't wake him up. He was so cute! I love how his lips are all smooshed.

Some Random Thoughts

2011-01-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about several things the last several days and thought I should blog about them, but haven't done it until now. So these will just be some random thoughts. (Jack's trying to help me type, so I might not get thezm all wr5tten now and may haVe some strange typing erroarS)

Last week I taught my students about Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King is one of my favorite people. I admire him so much. Whenever I read about him and get to the part when he died, I feel very emotional. I have to fight back the tears, and I feel awkward because my students have no idea who this man is or how important the things he stood for are in our history and why their teacher is all choked up. Most of them have never heard of Martin Luther King until I teach them about him, so how could they understand? I am so glad a strong, charismatic man stood up for peace, love, and freedom. It's people like him who make me proud to be a human being.

*Funny side note. I finished reading a second book about Dr. King today that we didn't have time to finish last week. When I got to the end, the book said he was shot and died. One of my students, remembering that he died in the other book we read, said, "He died again!?"

Most of the other things I've been thinking about have to do with Jack. He has been so much fun. I love being a mommy! This weekend, Jack was sick. He was grumpy Friday and Saturday. He wasn't very interested in eating, and wasn't napping well at all. He had short (half-hour) naps, and would only sleep if I held him. We could distract him, but only for awhile. It was as if he wanted to play, but couldn't because something was bothering him. I figured he was probably getting more teeth and they hurt. I was wrong. On Sunday, he threw up all over me. When I had gotten him out of bed that morning, I noticed a bid wet spot in his bed and thought, "That's a lot of spit-up." It wasn't spit-up. No wonder he was so grumpy; his little tummy hurt. He is much better now.

Jack is starting to be a little momma's boy. Especially when he was sick, he wanted me to hold him all the time. Even when he is playing, he wants to sit on my lap while he plays. Sometimes, when I leave the room, he'll sit there whining and calling "momomom" until I come back and pick him up. Lauren babysat him last night, and said he was saying, "momomom" and looking around for me.

When I pick him up he flaps his arms, grins, and sticks out his tongue.

Jack has been interested in seeing how much spit he can produce and spray while razzing. It's gross and hilarious at the same time.

Jack is getting mobile. He can't crawl yet (thank goodness), but he gets around a little area pretty well. He sits and scoots himself to whatever he wants.

I wonder if we have already spoiled him too much. Maybe he's just being a baby. He whines really loud when he wants something and keeps doing it until he gets it or until we can distract him.

Jack and the Pig

2011-01-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

My dad said I needed to put this movie on the blog. This is one of my favorite things, ever! This is a video from December. I started singing "Old MacDonald" to Jack and when I sang about the pig, he just started laughing. We decided to put it on video right away. It's a good thing we did because Jack doesn't laugh at the piggy sound like this anymore.

Jack goes through phases of what he thinks is funny. We find something he loves and then use it over and over again until he gets tired of it. You never know what will get him laughing next.

While he loved the pig sound, I could ask him, "What does the pig say?" and he would start laughing before I even did the sound. I would ask him what other animals say, but he wouldn't laugh until I said "pig". I was impressed that he could discriminate between the word "pig" and other words at just 6 months.

Seven Months Old!

2011-01-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

My little man is seven months old. I can hardly believe how fast time flies. He is growing up too fast!

Jack weighs about 24 lbs.
He is growing his first tooth! It just poked through his gums a couple days ago. We bought him a finger toothbrush and he loves it when I brush his tooth.
He likes toys more and more. He really likes things that make music.
He likes to dance sometimes when music plays. He especially likes the theme song to "Psych".
He likes to play Peek-a-Boo.
He loves when somebody blows raspberries on his belly, feet, back, and neck.
He says dada and momom. He usually says dada when he is babbling and in a good mood and says momomom when he is tired or hungry.
He puts himself to sleep at night. He is getting faster at falling asleep. When I put him to bed tonight, he didn't cry at all.
He is working on crawling. He can get on his hands and knees. When he is on his belly he moves backwards and around in circles. He still can't go forward.
He likes to sit and stand (with support).
He loves to bounce and jump. When he gets restless and bored, we bounce on the exercise ball and he calms right down. This is really good because it has been too cold to go outside for walks.
He likes me to sit on the floor with him while he plays.
He still drools like crazy.
He likes to eat almost everything we have given him. He doesn't like prunes (Who can blame him?) and I don't know that he is very fond of baby food peaches.
He is a show-off. He likes to show off for the camera and for a crowd.
He can whistle and click his tongue.

Jack's First Christmas

2011-01-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas tree this year. Jack got to have his first ornament, Jack Skellington, on the tree. We (and Grandma) decided he will get to collect Nightmare Before Christmas ornaments. Mike's family has the tradition of getting an ornament for Christmas each year. That way, when they get married and have a Christmas tree of their own, they already have a set of ornaments. Mike and I decided we want to continue that tradition with our own children. Grandma got Jack's ornament this year; she just couldn't resist.

As we always do on Christmas Eve, we went down to Ephraim to Mike's grandma's house. We look forward to this each year. This year, Mike's mom made roast and potatoes and Lauren made rolls for dinner. Jack really liked sharing my potatoes and gravy. We shared dinner with all of Mike's family (Mom, Dad, us, Jenni and Rob, David and Kim, and Lauren), Grandma Doris, Aunt Sharon, Mike's cousin Andy and his wife, Mike's cousin Holly and her husband Steve, their son Kieren, and Mike's cousin Anna's boys Tommy and Colby. Jack really liked Colby.

We always try to get Grandma something funny for Christmas. This year we found a book called You Must Be a Republican/Democrat If and a book called You Betcha!: The Witless Wisdom of Sarah Palin.

Here are some photos of Christmas Eve at Grandma's:

Jack with Great Grandma Doris on Christmas Eve.

Jack and Daddy having a great time at Great Grandma's house on Christmas Eve.

After dinner and presents, we went to Mike's parents' house to open Christmas presents since we wouldn't all be there on Christmas Day. Jack got new clothes and a hoodie from Grandma, a fun piano from Grandma and Grandpa, and Jumbles from Grandma Pat and Grandpa Reg.

Jack playing with his new Jumbles. He wasn't sure what to do with them until Lauren put one in his mouth. Then he loved them.

Jack in his Christmas jammies with Aunt Jenni.

Jack playing with his new piano. He was intrigued with all the different noises he could make come out of it.

Uncle David showing Jack how it's done.

Christmas Morning!

We let Jack wake us up on Christmas morning. He woke up around 8:00, ate, got his diaper changed, and then woke up Daddy. We went in the front room to open presents. We really enjoyed spending our first Christmas morning at home together.

Jack under the Christmas tree on his first Christmas morning!

He's holding the Butt Paste he was playing with while I changed his diaper; he didn't want to let it go yet.

Jack opened this present first. It's a blow up penguin that makes noise and plays music when you try to push it over. Jack likes to try to eat the soft, colorful, flannel "hair" on top of the penguin's head.

Jack with most of his stuff from Christmas morning. He got the blow-up penguin, a shape-sorting turtle, three cloth books (he likes to try to eat books, so these are perfect for him), his first sippie cup, a new church outfit (khaki's, a button up shirt with guitars on it, and black socks), a Jack Skellington pin, a flying monkey, and his favorite: a candy cane full of M&M's he can't eat.

Jack and Daddy eating their Christmas presents. That's what you're supposed to do with stuff to show you really like it, right?

Mike and I really enjoyed the gifts from each other and Santa. Mike got a new electric razor, a Salem Hills cap (his UNT cap is so faded that instead of being navy it is purple), Parks and Recreation season 1, and The Simpsons season 13. I got a food processor, three of the Peter Pan books by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (I already had the first one), Toy Story 3, Earth, and Oceans. We got our family Christmas present a few days early. We got new phones! Mike got an iPhone. He has really enjoyed it.

After we opened presents, Mike and I made breakfast. We had a delicious Christmas breakfast. After breakfast we all had a nap before going to my parents' house for more presents and to see what everyone got for Christmas.

This is what Jack did while Mike and I made breakfast.

Mike cooking bacon.

Our yummy Christmas breakfast: muffins, eggs, bacon, peaches, toast, orange juice, and hot chocolate. We even got to use our Christmas china!

Jack opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa Davis's. He got lots of fun things. He got a Jack and the Beanstalk movie, a ball popper toy, a new church outfit (pants, button-up shirt, vest, and bow tie), a few books ("Jack and Jill", nursery rhymes, and a soft puppy book), and new socks and shoes.

Jack had a great day even though he wasn't really sure what was going on. He even kind of opened a couple of his presents. It was so much fun to get to spend this first Christmas with our baby boy.

SNOW!!!

2010-12-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

We got so much snow over the last two days. I got up at 6:00 to shovel the driveway so Mike could get to work, and after half and hour I only had two strips done and a sore back. I woke up Mike and told him he had to help me or call and tell them he couldn't get to work today. He came out to help, and before he got more than one shovelful, decided not to go to work. They cancelled school anyway, so I'm glad we didn't break our backs removing all that snow this morning. They didn't even plow our road until almost 8:00.

We couldn't let all that snow go to waste, so today was Jack's first time playing in the snow. We got him all bundled up in his puffer coat, mittens, hat, extra pants, and snow boots. He reminded me of the kid on "A Christmas Story" when he says, "I can't put my arms down."

Jack seemed to like the snow okay. Mike started a snowball fight. I even had Jack throw a snowball at daddy. Because the snow was perfect for packing, I had to make a snowman. I haven't made a snowman in years. It was so much fun! Jack sat on the porch and watched me. Then he and I shared a powdery snowball (to eat) while daddy helped our neighbor clear our driveway.

Jack and Daddy.

Jack and Mommy. I love how cute he is in this picture; he looks so grown up.

Can you believe the snow was this deep? This is the deepest because this is by the side of the driveway where we shoveled all the snow. The snow was up to our backdoor, and at least 20 inches deep.

Our whole family all bundled up after playing in the snow.

Mike helped Jack make a snowangel before we went back in the house.

We all had so much fun getting out in the snow!

Thank goodness for snow days! (The first one I've ever heard of in Nebo School District.)

6 Month Doctor Visit

2010-12-19T20:41:00.000-08:00

Jack went to the doctor on Friday. I am very happy to know that he does not have food allergies! Unfortunately, he has eczema. We thought it was allergies because his adventure in starting solid foods coincided with the weather getting colder and dryer, which triggered his eczema and looked like an allergy rash. We are working on getting his eczema under control, and in the mean time he is a happy eater. We tried pears this weekend, and he loves them!

Jack is 28 inches long, and weighs 23.3 pounds. He is in the 90th percentile for hight and head circumference, and off the charts for weight. I wondered when he would get off the charts. He gains about two pounds a month. I love my healthy, chubby, boy!

6 Months Old!

2010-12-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

Jack at six months:

Jack wears size 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
He weighs just over 23 lbs.
Jack can sit up. He tries to sit himself up from lying down, but his chubby little abs are not strong enough yet. He also sits up when I try to put him in his car seat.
Jack is too big for his infant car seat. I just ordered him a new convertible car seat.
He likes toys more and more all the time. His favorites are his jumper, his new Christmas train from Grandma Pat, and the tags on his stuffed animals.
He loves to eat paper. He cries when we take it away from him.
He has started eating solid foods. Officially, he has had rice cereal, bananas, and carrots. (Unofficially, he has tried many things including potatoes and gravy, ice cream, rice pudding, apples, pickles, and other things from mom's and dad's plates.) He is allergic to something though, so we are taking him off of everything except breast milk. We will start over and hopefully find the culprit.
He is the "Drool Master 5000".
We started letting him put himself to sleep a week ago, and he has been sleeping through the night ever since!
He is making more funny faces. I think he is definitely his daddy's boy.
He likes to watch Looney Tunes.
He copies Mike and says, "dadadadada".
He seems to be understanding some signs, like "milk".
He still likes to slap me while he eats.
He has the cutest smile.
He gave me a hug!

First Thanksgiving!

2010-12-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

I don't know if Jack really noticed anything special about his first Thanksgiving.

Jack woke up around 7:30, which was fine because I had to make rolls. Jack and I played while I put the rolls in the oven to quick rise. Then I turned up the oven to let the rolls cook and turned on the timer. Jack and I went downstairs so he could eat and fall asleep. I took Jack upstairs to put him in his bed and realized it smelled like smoke. When I went to check on the rolls, smoke was pouring out of the oven. It set off the smoke alarm and made Jack cry. I had to open the doors to air out the smoke, so our house got quite cold. I also had to start over with the rolls, and since the pans were burned I used cake pans instead of muffin pans. Fortunately this batch turned out great.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Davis'. Jack slept through most of dinner, so Mike and I actually got to eat. When Jack woke up, I let him try some potatoes and gravy. Then he had carrots. He really liked them, but he is allergic so he won't be able to have them again for a few months.

Mmmm...carrots

First mashed potatoes and gravy. He loved them!

Jack was trying to get to the yams. Maybe next year, buddy.

Jack and Grandma Davis on his first Thanksgiving.

This is his favorite face to make. I think he likes it so much because it makes everyone else smile (once they realize he isn't about to cry).

Five Months Old!

2010-11-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

Jack is so much fun! Here are some things about my baby boy at 5 months old:

He weighs about 21 lbs.
He wears size 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
He'll take breaks while eating so he can look around or talk.
Sometimes he'll cover his eyes when he's trying to go to sleep and the light is on.
He can sit up all by himself!
He loves rice cereal and likes to blow raspberries right when I get the spoon in his mouth.
He loves to suck on apples.
He loves to stick out his tongue and will keep it out for several minutes.
He learns a new trick and does it over and over for several days. (i.e. sticking out his tongue, making noises while inhaling, new facial expressions)
He can roll from front to back and from back to front.
He likes tummy time for longer periods of time. He can do a "girl" push-up.
He loves toys! His favorite toys are his jumper and his dog that attaches to his car seat. He also likes his Mickey Mouse because he can easily suck on its nose.
He likes to smack things.
He prefers chapter books to picture books and I have a hard time reading while I feed him because he wants to grab my book. He's also interested in tags lately.
He will reach up and grab whatever he can and put it in his mouth.
When you play "Peek-a-boo" with him he can pull the blanket off his own face.
He likes to stick his hand in Uncle Dallas' mouth.
He likes all kinds of silly voices.

First Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today was Jack's first Halloween!

Grandma got him a Jack Skelington outfit from Disneyland. It was perfect for his Halloween costume.

I took some pictures of him in the diaper cover because it's super cute, but I didn't use it as part of his costume. He was so cute!

This is his "GQ model" look.

Halloween costume!

He didn't like getting his face painted, but he didn't mind getting it washed off later. :)

Uncle Dallas got Jack a Sally doll to go with his Halloween costume. Jack immediately went for the hair and put it in his mouth.

Jack and Daddy

We started off the day with Jack trying his very first rice cereal. After church, we played, ate, and had a family nap. After our long Sunday nap, I dressed up Jack and took some pictures. We drove to Spanish Fork, visited Justin and Cecily, and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Davis' house to trick or treat. We stayed until Jack was tired and hungry. I think he had a good first Halloween.

Raspberries

2010-10-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Jack is so fun right now. I love this stage! He is getting really good at raspberries. He loves to practice razzing and makes a big drooling mess every time. Yesterday I discovered a new thing he loves. I started razzing on his cheeks. He loves it! He squeals and tries to eat my face. I ended up with as much drool on my face as he had on his. Baby drool on my face...something only a mother could love. :)

He also loves the sound of "dadadada". When Mike does it, Jack smiles and laughs. He even smiles in his sleep when Mike says it to him.

2010-10-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

Jack and I watched Nightmare Before Christmas today for his first time. I figured he should have some background knowledge of who he's going to be for Halloween. :) He was very interested in the movie. He liked hearing his name.

4 Month Doctor Visit

2010-10-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Jack went to the doctor today for his four month well child visit. His head is 17.5 inches, he's 26.5 inches tall, and weighs 19 lbs. 7.5 oz. That puts him in the 90th percentile for height and the 97th percentile for weight. The doctor was very happy to see that he is so healthy. He also said his congestion and rattling breathing is not in his lungs. I was vary glad to hear that.

The doctor told us we can start trying solid foods as soon as Jack shows interest. I'm so excited to feed him his first solid food! It will be fun to see what kinds of foods he likes.

Sadly, he also got shots today and has been ornery. I always feel so bad for him when he gets his immunizations.

Four Months Old!

2010-10-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

What my baby's like at 4 months:

Jack weighs just over 19 lbs.
He wears size 3 diapers and is growing out of 3-6 month size clothes.
He adores his daddy.
He can twist his tongue. (Mike can do this, but I can't.)
He likes toys. He loves to put everything in his mouth.
He likes the low growling voice of the Wolf from the Three Little Pigs and the Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk when Grandma Davis tells him those stories.
He loves to be kissed on his hands, cheeks, neck, and feet. He will even play a game where he puts his fist up to your mouth to let you kiss it. Then he pulls it away, and then puts it back up to your mouth.
He can squeal with delight.
He can roll over from his tummy to his back. He can go left or right; it doesn't matter to him.
He almost rolled from his back to his tummy. He gets as far as his side, and then he can't figure out how to get his hands out of the way.
He is ticklish.
He likes taking snuggly naps with Mom and Dad after work.
He likes to stand and can stand when barely being supported.
He can almost sit by himself, but still falls.
He gets excited when I say, "I'm going to get your belly!" and then blow on his belly.

Tuxedo

2010-10-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

Grandma Davis bought Jack a tuxedo. He hasn't had a special event to wear it for, but he had to wear it before he outgrows it, so he just wore it to church one week. Here's my cute little man in his tuxedo.

Jack and Mommy.

Our awesome little family.

Rolling Over

2010-09-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

Jack rolled over for the first time last Saturday! I had to finish my hair, so I put him down on his tummy in his crib to play with his panda for a minute. Mike walked in to see Jack and then yelled for me to come see because Jack had just rolled over! Sure enough, he was on his back. I was so bummed I missed it. Mike said, he rolled over so fast, Mike didn't have a chance to get me in to see it.

Fortunately, he rolled over for me on Tuesday. I was so excited! He just rolled right over without any effort. One second he was on his tummy, and the next he was on his back.

My mom got video of him rolling over yesterday. I will have to get a copy of the video and post it.

My baby boy is growing up!

Sleeping Through the Night

2010-09-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

Last night, Jack slept through the night for the first time in his life! He slept from 9:30 p.m. to almost 6:00 a.m. It was really weird for me. I still woke up around 3:00 and had a hard time sleeping the rest of the night because I kept expecting him to wake up and because I was nervous that something was wrong. Finally, around 5:00, I got up and checked on him. After that, I was able to get some sleep for half an hour before it was time to get up and shower.

He was starving when he woke up!

It will be interesting to see if he does it again. I would love to be able to get a whole night's rest again. It's been awhile.

Little Rock Star

2010-09-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Jack in his Rock and Roll shirt.

He also has some bath squirties shaped like rock instruments.

Oh yeah, you play that saxophone...or eat it.

Smiles!

2010-09-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Jack has the cutest smiles! He loves to smile and laugh a lot. I finally got a good picture of him smiling today.

I took him outside this afternoon. He kicked and laughed and smiled. He really enjoyed it. We didn't stay out long, though, because it was windy and that made it hard for him to breathe.

2010-09-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

September 2, 2010

Jack at 3 months:

Jack weighs 16.5 lbs.
He started wearing size 3-6 month clothes about two weeks ago. He is too tall to fit into the 0-3 month size anymore. He also wears size 2 diapers.
He can sleep through almost anything, including the marching band playing.
He likes to take a pre-bedtime nap around 7:00. Then, he wakes up in time to have a bath, get his pajamas on, eat, and go back to sleep from between 9:00 and 10:00pm to between 2:00 and 3:00 am. He then sleeps until just after 6:00 am.
He usually takes a morning and afternoon nap at Grandma Davis's, and a snuggly late afternoon nap with Mom and Dad when they get home from work.
He still eats about every 2 hours during the day.
He can keep his neck stiff when I hold his hands and pull him up to a sitting position.
He tolerates tummy time for about 2 minutes before he gets fussy.
He can sit up when only holding onto one of my fingers for balance.
He has gotten close to rolling over a couple of times, but can't do it yet.
He likes his bouncer, stroller, and carrier, but prefers to be held.
He likes to be held and bounced, especially on the bed or exercise ball. Sometimes this is the only way for anyone but Mommy to comfort him.
He takes a bottle well, and prefers mommy's milk to formula. (Grandma said it sounded like he said, "Yuck" once when she tried to give him formula.)
He smiles a lot!
He is very talkative and loves to laugh!
He loves light fixtures. The light doesn't even have to be on for him to grin and coo at the light fixture.
He still loves bathing, but hates getting dressed.
He is still the cutest baby ever, and I love him!

Some Randomness

2010-08-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures from August.

This is Jack's first time sitting in his Bumbo chair. I was impressed with how well he was able to hold up his head. Now, three weeks later, he can really hold up his head. He looks like a little king sitting in a thrown.

The next two were taken on August 6th during band camp.

I can't believe how big my baby is already!

Proof of Jack's first band camp.

Jack taking a nap in his crib. (He was supervised the whole time since there were stuffed animals, blankets and pillows in with him.) Jack started sleeping in his crib at night at the beginning of the month. He did really well. He didn't seem to mind the transition at all. I, on the other hand, missed my baby and checked on him frequently. Now I'm used to it.

I love this! This is one of my favorite things that Jack does. It's so cute!

Uncle Jonathan read Where the Wild Things Are to Jack on the kiva in my classroom while I was working on getting things ready for the school year.

All ready to go to Grandma Davis'.

Jack and Daddy.

Jack likes to lick his wrist and the back of his hand.

Jack sitting in his Bumbo at the end of August.

Sadly, he spit up all over his shirt just before I took the picture, so it is wet.

Spencer and Mandy's Wedding

2010-08-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

My brother Spencer got married on August 3rd. I'm really excited to have Mandy in our family. She is awesome! I thought I would finally post some pictures. (It's been a crazy month with band camp and school starting.)

This is my favorite picture that I took. They look so happy.

Spencer and Mandy with their parents.

During the ceremony, Dallas was in charge of Jack. When I went to get them from the waiting room in the temple, Dallas was asleep in a chair. I joking thought, "Yeah, what a great babysitter." It was fine, though because Jack had been asleep in his stroller the whole time. The poor baby woke up just in time to be hungry during pictures.

I kept Jack in the house as much as possible that day. It was really hot and everything was outside. The picture above is of Jack lying on the floor while his Uncle Dallas plays with him. Dallas loves playing with Jack. Jack loved it when Dallas would stick out his tongue. Jack stuck out his tongue and tried to lick the sleeve of Dallas's shirt. I tried to load a video of that, but I loaded the wrong one. There is one on Facebook. This one is cute, though. You can tell how much fun Jack is having.

Jack at Two Months

2010-08-08T21:32:00.003-07:00

Here are some things about Jack at two months old:

He smiles a lot. He likes it when people make faces and stick their tongues out at him. He has started to try to laugh. It's way cute.
He coos. He loves to talk and be talked to.
He's awake for longer periods of time.
He will go to sleep sometimes if I bounce him. (He doesn't have to be eating.)
He still eats every 1 1/2 to 2 hours for anywhere from 20 min. to an hour+.
He sleeps 4-5 hours at a time each night, eats, and then sleeps for 2-3 hours again.
He weighs 14.1 lbs. and is 24.5 in. long.
He wears size 1 diapers, but is starting to wear size 2.
He wears size 0-3 month clothes. He has a long body and short legs like his dad, so some of the 0-3 tops are too small and the pants are too big. Overalls don't fit very well.
He still spits up a lot.
He doesn't like tummy time, but will go for a minute or two without crying.
The Young Women love him.
He doesn't like being touched when he's going to sleep.
He stands on flat feet when you hold him up.
He's turning into a momma's boy. He smiles easier at Dad, but when he's tired he prefers Mom.

2 Month Doctor's Visit

2010-08-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

Jack just got done with his 2 month doctor's visit. We had to wake him up from his nap to go, so he was pretty fussy most of the time. He is 24 1/2 inches long and weighs 14.1 pounds, which puts him at the top of normal for both height and weight. (The doctor didn't tell us the percentile.) So he's big, but well-proportioned. His belly button is a little bit of an outie. The doctor said he has a small hernia, but it will go away on its own so we don't have to do anything about it. Everything else looks great. His head is just right without weird flat spots.

The sad part came at the end when the nurse came in and gave him his shots. When she gave him the first one his eyes got big and then he started to wail. When it was over, I picked him up and held my poor baby while we both cried. Mike stuck out his tongue to try to cheer up Jack, but it didn't work.

The doctor gave us permission to give him Tylenol, so we picked some up on the way home. I looked at the box to see how much to give him, and, on infant's Tylenol, the dosage for children 2 yrs and younger is "ask a doctor". So "infant" Tylenol is really for toddlers.

Mike said whenever he had to get shots as a kid his mom would get him a milkshake, so when we got home I bounced Jack a little while he drank his milk. It's not the same, but he can't have real milkshakes yet and he was very happy to have just plain milk.

Now he's asleep, so I'm going to bicycle his legs in hope of preventing knots.

Smiles for Dad

2010-07-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

I just have to write about yesterday morning. Yesterday morning at about 6:45, Jack woke up because he had spit up all over himself. I got him out of his bed so I could wipe him off and hopefully rock him back to sleep. (No such luck, by the way. He was awake for another hour, which meant I couldn't go back to bed.) While I was wiping the spit up off from the first and second eruptions, Jack tipped his head back, looked over my arm, saw Mike sleeping in the bed, and grinned at him. It was super cute, and I was super jealous. He smiles at Mike for no reason; just because he's there. The day before that, Mike walked into the kitchen while Jack was sitting in his bouncer watching me eat breakfast and talking to me, and Jack immediately flashed him two big grins! I have to work for my smiles by talking and playing with him. (It's a fun job, but still.) I have since been informed by two other mothers that dads are just more fun.

Disneyland with Jack

2010-07-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Larsen family in Disneyland

This week we went to Disneyland for the last time with our annual passes. We have been planning this particular trip for a long time. We decided we wanted to take Lauren with us this summer because everyone else in the family had a major thing happening this year. Jenni and David both got married and we had a baby. We thought taking Lauren on a trip would be fun, plus she'd get to spend a whole week with her favorite nephew. This was Jack's first time. I think he liked it. He handled everything like a champ.

The first ride we went on was "Pirates of the Caribbean". Jack was even awake to enjoy his first Disneyland ride! We went on this ride several times throughout the week. This is my favorite ride. I like it because the line is quick even when it's long, it's cool inside, and it's a long ride so it gives your feet a good rest. Plus it's just awesome!

In line for "Pirates"

Ready for a day in the park.

His hat is still a little bit too big, but I'm glad we had it.

I wish we had found him some tiny sun glasses for this trip.

I love Lauren. I'm so glad she came with us. One night Mike took Jack back to the hotel and Lauren and I closed the park. We went on the Matterhorn during the fireworks. We were like, "Ahhh...Oooo...Ahhhh," because we'd be screaming, then see the fireworks, and then go back to screaming. After that, we snuck popcorn onto "Haunted Mansion," another favorite ride.

We went on "Splash Mountain" and the line was really short. There were two boys in front of us that talked to us on the ride. When we got off, we had to get to "Space Mountain" before the park closed, so we took off at a very brisk walk. The boys, who were following us, said, "Hey, why are you walking so fast?" I turned and told them we had places to be. I should have told them I had to get back to my husband and baby. They said, "I think they hate us." Lauren turned to me and said, "No, we just don't know you and it's kind of creepy that you're following us." They stopped following us.

We had a blast on "Space Mountain". Lauren has the funniest scream/laugh. It made me laugh during the whole ride.

Lauren wearing her bug eyes for "It's Tough to Be a Bug" in California Adventure

She jumped so high when the wasps "stung" her! Hahaha

Aunt Lauren and Jack in line for "Haunted Mansion"

We went on "Haunted Mansion" several times because we love it and it was one Jack could go on. One time Lauren and I got in line while Mike went to the restroom. He came and stood in line right next to us. He got out his phone and called someone. The line moved while he was on the phone and we all moved, Lauren and I following Mike. Then Mike turned around, saw us and said, "Oh, there you are." He had no idea he had stopped right next to us. He was calling me to find out where we were. :)

The last time Mike and I went on "Haunted Mansion" together, I was listening to the instructions when you first get into the "doom buggy" and the man says to keep your hand inside, but he doesn't say inside what. I told Mike this, and said, "Maybe inside your nose." Then I pretended to try to stick my finger up his nose. Mike grabbed my finger and really stuck it up his nose. Eww. The next time on the ride, I did it to Lauren, but missed and my finger went in her mouth.

Mike and Jack in line for "Mickey's Ferris Wheel" in California Adventure

Mike and Jack on the Ferris wheel. Jack handled it better than I did. Every time we ride it, I get nervous when the car swings backward.

Lauren and Jack in line for "Pirates" again.

Jack threw up on Lauren's shirt during the ride. We didn't take a burp cloth on the ride with us, so she had a gross white spot on her until we got back to the stroller. Jack was hungry after making room in his stomach, so he and I went to the Baby Center so I could change his clothes (which got soaked with spit up) and feed him.

Jack and me in front of the Baby Center

The Baby Care Center is where Jack and I spent a lot of time this week. It's really cool that this place exists. I heard Walt Disney wrote in his notes about the park that he wanted a quite place for his youngest guests. It's been open since the day the park opened in 1955. They have changing tables, training potties, a nursing area, high chairs, and they sell baby products. There is one in California Adventure, too.

Jack really liked the changing area in the Disneyland Center. He would look around, smile, and talk to me while I changed his diaper.

I finally got a picture of Jack smiling!

Disney just opened their new "World of Color" in California Adventure last month. We were really excited to get to see it. On Thursday, we went to California Adventure pretty early so we could get Fastpass tickets to see the show. That night, Lauren stayed at the hotel with Jack so Mike and I could go see it. (Lauren had already seen it on the night if premiered, so she was more than okay staying and having some quality time with her nephew.) Our tickets were for the middle section. By the time we got there, the best spots in the middle of the middle were full so we'd have to stand behind people or go to the wet zone. Mike and I threw caution to the wind and decided we could handle getting wet in order to get a good view. We got to stand at the very front and just off center. It was awesome, and we barely got wet. I didn't take my camera, so I don't have any pictures of the show, but here is a youtube video of clips from World of Color.

Since we were already wet, Mike and I decided to go on "Splash Mountain". We sat in the front and got soaked. We decided to go again since the line was so short. They put us in the front again, and we got even more soaked. After we finished going on that time, the ride was closed and there wasn't anyone in line, so they let us just go one more time. After that third time, Mike and I had trouble finding dry spots on our clothes. We walked back to the hotel soaking wet. It was awesome!

Jack wearing Jack Skellington ears. (They fit better when he was in my belly.)

I wanted to buy him some ears, but they were all too big, so we just took a picture.

Jack with a "Jack" mug and Mike with a "Mike" mug. We almost bought them, but took a picture instead.

Jack and Mom in line for "It's a Small World"

Jack really liked "It's a Small World". He was alert and looking around through the whole ride. He didn't cry at all until the very end. I think it was his favorite ride.

It was a great week, and it went by too fast. I'll miss having these trips to Disneyland. (We decided it won't be worth it to get annual passes again for awhile because if it's just the two of us with Jack, we'd have to go alone on a lot of rides while the other person waited with the baby and Mike would be on his own every time I had to feed Jack.) It has forced us to take vacation trips instead of just staying home all the time. I'm glad we got to share this final trip with Jack and Lauren. We'll all have a lot of good memories. (Except Jack. I doubt he'll remember any of it very long.)