God Made the Flowers

Jack showing his 1st art project!

Sitting in the basket...riding the bicycle (aka adult trike) is a favorite activity for Mom & Son!

Our beautiful 21 month old boy!

Jack did his first art project at church today. He picked flowers and taped them to a piece of paper...yes, he taped them. Of course, the tape was placed on his fingers and there were extra pieces of tape there too. The lesson...God made the flowers! He doesn't understand show & tell yet but a ride in the tricycle basket was the luring point.

1st Swim Lesson

Jack loved kicking...

Practicing reaching & pulling..

Jack & the instructor, Lyndsey

Jack had his first swimming lesson at the local community pool. First, he enjoyed taking a shower in the locker room. We arrived early to learn that there would be 12 kids (age 3 & younger) in the class. Well, half of them didn't even make it through the 1st half of the 30 minute lesson...yes, lots of sqwaking/terror cries...

Jack was all smiles! He loves water & was the happiest kid there! Swimming/diving with Daddy are definitely in his future!

Walk Now for Autism on Oct 3

Please join me, Tarheel88, in my fight to make a difference in the lives of the more than 1 million Americans living with autism today. This includes my nephew, Lance Sherbert, age 7 ½ and a second grader in Stedman, NC. I will never forget my sister April’s words, “Lance has autism” when he was only 3 years old. I researched countless articles and supported my sister as she navigated a complex maze of evaluations and therapies to help Lance. The pain and anxiety of this diagnosis can be overwhelming. Thankfully, with the support of loving parents and family, teachers, and therapists, Lance is thriving. Despite his high functioning, there will be future challenges for Lance to overcome. I would like to help change the future for all those, including Lance, who struggle with autism spectrum disorders.
This is the reason why I am participating in Walk Now for Autism in Seattle on October 3, 2009--to help find a cure for autism. Autism is the second most common developmental disorder in the United States affecting one in every 150 children born today. Despite some promising discoveries, the cause of autism is unknown and a cure does not exist. Research is crucial. Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases. More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined.
Every 20 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism. 1 in 94 boys are on the autism spectrum. 67 children are diagnosed per day. That means another family hears those words, “your child has autism”. Not only must we find ways to improve the quality of life for children and adults with autism, but we also must find a cure, and soon.
Walk Now for Autism is our chance to make a difference in the fight against autism by raising money for autism research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism and heightening public awareness and its effects on individuals, families, and society. Please join me in my fight as I raise money to help fund essential research.
You can donate to Walk Now for Autism by using the link below or by using the donation form and mailing a check made out to Autism Speaks to me. Help me reach my goal of $1000. With your support, we are one step closer!
http://www.walknowforautism.org/seattle/tarheel88
Thank you for taking an important step in the fight against autism. Let’s bring hope to all who deal with the hardships of autism.

Amazing Boy

Our amazing boy! Now 30 lbs!

Maybe a future tight rope walker!

The dog days of summer are here and Jack is busy learning new words every day. He can not only call us Mama & Daddy, he can call us Teresa & Chris! He has great balance & likes to practice by standing & rocking his nursery recliner. Yes, I'm trying to get him to take the book in the picture above...we were trying to get him to hold his book & "read" it to us. Sometimes, if the house is quiet (usually a sign of trouble), we'll find him sitting in the recliner, looking through his books. He's into dinosaurs now and can not only say dinosaur, he can even say "T-Rex".

Even though he has amazing balance and likes to practice it in daring situations, we're always close by!

1st Trip to the Zoo

This week, we had a day off during the week...so we took Jack to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium....his first trip to the zoo. It was a hot day(this is not a complaint!) and Jack was good for about 2 hours. His favorite animal was the reindeer...he actually whimpered when Chris strolled him away, so we went back for a second look. He was a typical 21 month old...running around from place to place....occasionally noticing a sleeping tiger, the back end of an elephant, the fish swimming by. He was also quite entertained by running up/down the paths/slopes, the fencing, rocks, and getting in and out of the stroller multiple times. We went to see the sharks being fed and took the picture above in a replica of a shark's mouth. He is so proud to stand in a shark's mouth...look at that posture, that smile! He was also interested in touching all the teeth and smiling at the children who were walking by.

He's putting more words together and is now saying, "Moo moo, peek a boo. I see cow." Yes, yes, I know...he can look out of any of the windows of the house, anytime of the day and see the cows in the pasture. But this actually is out of a book! He loves books and besides us reading multiple ones a day to him, he is looking through books for his own entertainment. He brought me a children's book about the human body and keeps bringing it back each day. Is is too early for anatomy?

Awaiting 09 UNC Basketball Schedule

Jack misses a "for sure" dunk but goes after his own rebound!

Perfect body positioning for receiving the Alley Hoop pass! Yes, Jack loves to dunk!

Yes, it's mid-August...the time when I'm constanting checking http://www.tarheelblue.com/ for the upcoming basketball schedule...This is the official site of the UNC Athletics & of-course, the Basketball team. We have the roster & I am saying the new names out loud to Jack as he is practicing with his Little Tikes basketball goal. Jack has mastered the dunk on the lowest height, so I have raised it up one notch. This is pretty good for being only (almost) 3 ft tall. We are still working with a non-regulation small ball. What do you expect from a 21 month old? His height has remained in the 90% (meaning he is taller than 90% of all other boys his age).

Do you think I could find Tyler Zeller's growth chart? He's our 7-0 forward..now a sophomore.

Grand Salami

Jack on his potty...yes, it's discreet..we have a "mommy-invented" shield!

All smiles!

We are so in a great space right now. Jack is so fun and saying new words every day. Today he said birdhouse and called me Teresa twice. He's already been yelling "Chris" when he wants his attention (he is great at mimicking his mother)! He is happy & predictably busy but sleeps great at night (much to the delight of his tired parents)! Soon, he'll have 16 teeth all in, with only 2 yr molars to go. He loves to go outside and can go through fences in a flash! He loves books and can identify at least 20 pictures of animals. Chris taught him shark & he already knew fish but calls a shark a shark, so he knows the difference. Today we were working on zebra but half of the time, he still called it a horsey. But he said "stripes", so I was impressed.

I'm impressed most every day, actually. Today, was the 3rd day in a row that Jack peed on the potty before bath. I could go on & on about this, but I'm not trying to potty train him at all. I bought the potty after he started saying poop before he actually pooped and he was paying attention to the fact that he would pee in the tub every night. So, he's very happy with himself...especially with all my fanfare.

Having Jack is the best...we call him our grand slam (or salami)!

Love is in the House

Jessica & ChrisJess & Grandpa & Grandma California

Everyone is laughing...including Aunt Joan

Jack likes to swing!

Yes, yes, yes, I know that you've been impatiently waiting for more posts but actually, life & Jack take priority over the blog. We had Jessica (Chris' daughter) & his parents, Grandma & Grandpa California in for a wonderful visit & here are some pictures to prove it!

Love is in the house & the house is packed...so darn full, I've got the back door cracked! (These are lyrics from an older song that I love to sing!)

Calling the Horses

Jack loves the next door neighbor (the Campbell's) horses...one of this 1st words (after cow, of course) was "Hershey, the horsey"...now he can also call Tracker. Paco is a harder one, so we're working on that one. Kjersti taught Jack to click his tongue off the roof of his mouth--the universal way to communicate with a horse.

Now, back to my day...over the last few days, Jack has learned to go through the fence...even when there is a "weak" electric wire above his head...that he carefully avoids. So today, Jack decided that when the horses wouldn't come to him, he would start going toward them. Don't worry...just after the photos, he did come back to me before I had to go out & rescue him.

We're having fun!

Family Fun

Zackery, the Scarecrow...Big Boy Jack, Sweet Grace, Close-up of Tarheel88 & her special Mother, Beautiful Emmalee, April & Lance

The house is quiet because Jack is asleep. I can hear myself breathing. Usually, I run to bed in anticipation of gaining the energy that I know I'll need for tomorrow. There's so many great pictures & stories

about our vacation. Since I don't know where to begin, here's a few.

Love Fills the Air

When I see my family, it's like I'm inside a time machine. The kind of time machine that transports you back to the wonderfully familiar sights, sounds, & feelings of a happy time long-ago...complete with the people & places you love. Now, we're all grown up (at least chronilogically) and we all have our own families. Jack loved visiting NC, SC, the beach, his cousins, aunts/uncles, grandparents but we missed Da-Da, who had to stay home & work. Love filled the air!

Busy Jack Days

Jack loves the computer and especially Facebook! Meet up with his Mommy & Daddy & see even more pictures of him!

Blogging has taken a back seat to our busy days with Jack. He is lots of fun and lots of work. There are many opportunities a day to be a good parent. I read that if you do the right thing 70% of the time, you will succeed. I think I'm better than 7 out of 10, so I'm smiling.

Jack's last bottle was 5/5. It was by accident...he wanted to go to bed earlier than normal and he was holding his cup, so I rocked him to sleep without the bottle. I didn't cry like I thought I would...but it was a little sad when I came out of the room and told myself...my baby isn't such a baby anymore...he's a toddler! There's no time for sadness, b/c the next stages are just as fun.

Now Jack is learning new words daily. He climbs & dumps things out. He likes the computer & water. Poor Tucker...his water is hiding in the bathroom. He likes to feed our next door horses & call them in in the evening. He likes to sit in the back of the adult trike while Mommy rides him around. He can even name 6 body parts and many more pictures.

He's the best!

On the Road Again

Fun with Aunt Joan & Lola

Aunt Joan, Chris, & Jack...& Lola the dog

Mommy & Jack

We took a 2 night road trip to the eastern side of the state to visit Aunt Joan & family...we had lots of fun and Jack was great in the car seat for the long trip.

Jack Loves School

Bellevue Community College Baby Class 2009
We are standing, 3rd from the right. Here are the names: Grayson, Brook, Evan, Nate, Jack, Hannah, Ella (standing); Lucy, Terry, Izzy, Nico, Sarah, Kira (seated)

Tasting the crayon & drawing (aka scribbling)

Jack took over the boat!

Jack helps lead the class in music....he has this shaker at home and we play the game...shake, shake, shake, & we shake and we STOP. He actually gets the stop part.

Jack Does HI, Again

More pictures from HI...Jack smiles after his shoe fell off the 3rd floor balcony....Jack may be a future discus thrower...we'll be able to prove that he got his start with volcanic rocks!

Aloha...and Mahalo for Being Patient

Jack likes to climb now...a new trick...opening the oven door and climbing up to get some Cheerios.....

Jack loved swimming & jumping into the pool...we went to a black sand beach...Jack now loves rocks and wanted to stand beside a big one for a picture. His new love...picking up rocks, collecting rocks, and throwing rocks (we're working on that)...

So you can probably tell...we went to the Big Island again and had such a great vacation. I won't use the word relaxing & toddler in the same sentence but I did come back rested. I figure we'll have easier vacations when Jack is older. I love this stage anyway.

New words: fish, NO, good, hello, plane, bird...but if you ask Jack what something is and he doesn't know....he says...COW! His favorite word is cow and he likes to give hay to the cows when we visit them in the Big Red Barn. By the way, both Chris & I can recite the Big Red Barn book and we can even sing the words by heart!

Jack is getting the other 3 molars...ouch! He will be able to eat his favorite grilled chicken dipped in ketchup easier!