Jack's New Smile

I thought our little guy couldn't possibly get cuter but he has! Missing his tooth has only made him that much more irresistible, I mean yeah, I could be a little biased, but here, take a look for yourself and you be the judge:

a closeup of the missing tooth
and now some of the cutest smile ever!!!



What do you think? :o)

xoxo,
Jaime

15 months...So Big!!

We've made it 15 whole months already!! Where has this time gone? It's amazing to look back at pictures now of this time last year and see how small our little man once was.

Last Thursday (9/10) was one of the hardest days I've ever had. We brought Jack back to the dentist to have his tooth extracted and it was so hard to hold him with his arms down so that the dentist could do what she had to do. Luckily though we have a little champ on our hands and he really pulled through and showed us even more what a trooper he is. The dentist we have for him is amazing and i just wish there were dentists like her around when I was small, maybe then we wouldn't all (for the most part) hate going to the dentist. We went back to the dentist yesterday and she said the cut in his lip (from when he fell) is fully healed and his gums where the tooth was extracted is healing fabulously :o) I am so proud of our little man, he truly amazes us all the time.

We also had Jack's 15 month appointment yesterday. His stats say that he is now 26.8lbs which puts him in the 75th %tile for weight, 32"tall which puts him in the 90th %tile for height (which I like 'cause hopefully he won't be a shorty like his momma!) and 19" head circumference which puts him in the 75th %til for that. All in all it was a great appointment. Jack got 4 shots, one in each arm and one in each leg, and he did great with those too. We have to go back next month for round 1 of 2 of his flu shots and then again in November for round 2.

Next up I think we are going back to FL in 2 weeks for a little last minute vacation and I can't wait!

xoxo,
Jaime

The Worst Day

Saturday we were supposed to have a play date, Cindy and Matthew were coming over so we could spend the beautiful day outside by the pool, playing, eating & having a good time...wrong! Jack & I ran some errands before our company arrive and wound up returning home at the same time they were pulling up to our house. I took Jack out of the car and we walked over to Cindy's car to see if she needed any help with anything since she was bringing coffee. Well...Jack is such a big boy these days and loves to walk that I didn't think twice about letting him walk on his own (he's currently not a fan of hand holding). Next thing you know, as I am watching Jack walk next to me, it's almost as though it happened in slow motion yet too fast for me to stop it. Jack fell forward, on his knees, got his arms caught underneath himself and rocked forward on his mouth. I immediately grabbed him as he hit the ground and all I saw was blood. I ran in to the house and in to the kitchen with a screaming baby and that is where I saw what I feared had happened, he chipped most of his tooth out of his mouth :o(

I was able to get the bleeding under control though I was still shaking. Cindy was right there with me and helping me with towels and ice and was a great help. As soon as I could get the bleeding to stop a little I called Joe and told him what had happened, then I called the Dr. I left a message with the receptionist to have the Dr. call me and tell me if she wanted to see us or what my next plan of action should be. She called me back in about 5 minutes and said yes to come in so she could check him out and we could go from there. We ran there and she checked him out, he has a cut on the inside of his lip but other than that, medically, he was ok, a big purple fat lip but ok. She called the pediatric dentist she refers too and they said to come over, they were waiting for us so we did just that.

The dentist was very nice but Jack wasn't a fan of seeing yet another lady with blue latex gloves :o( Then I had to hear what I feared...the tooth can't be saved, it has to come out. Tears started to run down my face again, I felt like a huge failure, how did I let this happen to my sweet, handsome baby boy?

We are scheduled for Thursday morning to have x-rays done, and then the extraction. I am beside myself about all of this. Jack won't have one of his front teeth now until he is 6 or 7. I am going through all of the what if's and beating myself up about all of this even though I know I shouldn't be, I just can't help it. As a momma, you never ever want to even see your child cry. When Jack was an infant and made the little sad face before he would cry (which was so rare) it would rip at my heart to see him like that. Then teething an frustration with learning new things would start and I would feel awful because there isn't much you can do for them to make it better. Now this, the worst thing to happen so far and I am trying to deal with it ok but it's hard! I know he is fine, running around, playing, laughing, like nothing happened the other day, well because he doesn't even remember it I'm sure. I wish I could be like that! Nothing in the world is worse then seeing something happen to your child no matter how big or little the 'happen' is. I wish Saturday never happened :o(

Random...

Just sitting here with a million things running through my head and I figured what better of a place to get some of it out than here :o)

First of all I would like to start by kicking, screaming and maybe throwing myself on the floor a la 4 year olds, because life isn't fair! Yes, yes, I know this is nothing new to any of us and I've known this for quite some time now but it just seems as though as soon as you leave that thought a lone for a little bit it comes back & slaps you in the face! So nice huh? Oh well, such is life I guess and we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try and continue on with life, even as hard as it might be sometimes!

Ok, I know all of that was totally random, mostly because I don't want to go in to detail really on a public form. On a brighter note...Jack is now 14 months old!!! What? When did that happened? Who let that happen to my baby? He has become so much more than a baby these days. He is now my buddy and it's awesome! He is starting to mimic little words here & there (or at least the sound the words make) so I guess it's time to start really watching what we say! He says 'yeah', 'this', 'daddy', 'momma', 'o' (for the dog), and I'm sure there are more things that I'm just not thinking of right now. He walks...no wait, he runs! Runs everywhere. It's as though he just can not get to the next step fast enough, it's hilarious! He gives kisses & hugs when asked, can show you where his nose is (but only if he really wants to) and loves to play with his trucks and make them fall off the table and laugh at them...I guess he's a real, true boy! Oh, and of course I think I saw a tear in daddy's eye the other day as Jack learned to catch the ball that is tossed to him for the very first time. I've seen daddy proud before but this was a whole other proud and it was very sweet!

Ok, I could go on & on forever about this little monster of ours but I will leave it off with this....my friend and I are trying to figure out what to dress the boys up as for Halloween. I am talking about Jack and his BFF Matthew and we plan on taking them trick-or-treating together this year and would possibly like to dress them up as a team. Maybe 2 superhero's or maybe Bert & Ernie. I even think 2 M&M's would be way too cute for words! So go ahead, leave a comment and suggest something for me. I can't wait to see every one's ideas!

xoxo,
Jaime

Oh Vacation...we love you!

Sorry this is so late! We went on our 2nd family vacation 2 weeks ago and boy was it fabulous! My in-laws have a house down in Ocala, FL that they/we use as a vacation house and it's so nice! What is even better is that it is only a little less than 2 hours from my mom's house so we get to visit her too :o)


Jack did better that great on the flights! On the way down he slept for about the first hour & half of the flight and then woke up to be the sweet little boy he normally is for the rest of the flight. Joe & I passed him back & forth and he stood between Joe's legs for a little bit & played with toys which worked out great because Joe's legs are so long that they just about meet the seat in front of him & Jack couldn't escape anywhere!

Once in FL we had a great time. We did a lot of nothing which is just what we wanted. We took Jack to the pool which he loved, ate a ton (Crackerbarrel was our #1 breakfast spot every morning though because we don't have it up here & Joe can't seem to get enough of their hashbrown casserole), relaxed and Jack napped better than he ever has, I'm talking 3.5 hour afternoon naps after he had already taken 1-1.5 hour morning naps!! Maybe we need to move to FL, maybe that's what he was trying to tell us!

We went & visited my mom and it was so great to see her with Jack. She hadn't seen him since we went down last year and he was 3 months old so it was a long overdue visit. We went to lunch at a place called 'Boondocks' which is right on the water & we were even able to feed the fishes the left over food we didn't eat and Jack found that fascinating. Then we went back to Gram's house and Jack got to see Aunt Justine & meet his cousins for the 2nd time. Here are a few pictures from that:

We ended our trip with Grandma & Grandpa meeting us down there so they could start their vacation. Jack loves having everyone around and loves even more playing with everyone in the pool. Here are a few more pictures...can't wait for the next vacation!!!!









xoxo,
Jaime

Wish List Wednesday

I have seen this in many blogs that I enjoy reading and since I am sitting here at work not doing too much I have decided that I will try and start doing this weekly :o) Here goes my first try :o)

I would like to win the lotto (who wouldn't!) because I hate having to leave my little guy once I get him down for a nap. With molars coming in and the crappy nights we've been having it would be great to just lay down & nap with him in the afternoon rather than coming here to my p/t job.
Next I would love a house and not just any house, a house in FL! I am so tired of living in NY and would really love to move south where the weather is warmer and you can have palm trees right on your front lawn! And hey, if I win the lotto I wouldn't have to work down there either!
To go with my new house I would love a Doberman Pinscher for Jack to grow up with. I had one growing up and believe they are the best dogs around!

And then one thing that is specifically just for me since my birthday is coming would be the Nikon D40 so that I can take even more & amazing pictures of my little monster :o)

Oh to wish!!!

xoxo,
Jaime

Missing Him

As we are getting ready for our 2nd family vacation I am excited but also a little sad. This Saturday will be 3 years since I lost one of the most important people in my life, my dad. I start to think about it as I am packing for our trip and the tears just start to flow. How has this happened and why? I should be getting ready to go on vacation and see him, to hug him when I get there and watch him as he plays with my son but that won't happen ever. He was taken from us way too soon and it's just not fair. I want to throw myself on the floor sometimes, kicking and screaming like a kid that didn't get their way because it's just not fair that he had to leave us when he did. It's not fair that I was planning a wedding and looked forward so much to having my dad walk me down the aisle and then I had that ripped from me 4 months before the date. It's not fair that I had my 1st child and will never see him hold my baby and play with him.

All of Jack's 1st have been so amazing, so great and there are some days that I wish I could call him and tell him because I know how excited he would have been to hear it all. He loved his grandchildren, it was fun to watch him with them because it showed me what he must have been like when we were small since I don't remember stuff like that.

Being daddy's little girl was always such a great thing. He was my best friend, my go to person, someone I could tell everything to and he was always so, so honest (sometimes a little too honest) and just always there. These days I think having been daddy's little girl has made it that much harder to deal with him not being here anymore. I just don't 'get it', I mean people tell me 'things happen for a reason' and things of that nature but I just don't get it. Why did this happen? What could possibly have been more important that he had to leave us and go up there rather than stay here and enjoy all that was to come?

I know I'll never have the answers to all of this but I still think about it sometimes. I try and tell Jack as much about Pop Pop as I can and Joe helps with things he knows too. Sometimes Joe says stuff and will turn to me and say 'your dad would have liked that one', usually about a joke or something and he's so right!

For now I will try my best to stay my usually positive self and have my dad live in Jack's life through stories and pictures and hope that Jack grows up knowing what an amazing man his Pop Pop was and how much he loves him even though he's not here to tell him himself.

Love & miss you more than words could ever say!!!

xoxo,
Jaime

4th of July...Then & Now

I was shopping around last month for something Jack could wear for the 4th of July this year (yes, a month seems early but when shopping for baby holiday clothes it really isn't, they sell out fast ). I wound up in Carter's because well 1)it's down the block from my house and 2) it's quite possibly my favorite baby clothes store..anyway, I was looking for something patriotic, something red, white & blue for Jack to wear and the only things I kept seeing were 'Baby's 1st 4th' clothes. I picked one up and then put it back down, maybe I'm a little slow, or I think Jack is still a baby and not a toddler, but I realized then that he's getting in to his 2nd year of everything. He's been through all of the holidays already and that was crazy to me because it made me feel like he's such a big boy now.

Anyway, although sad in some ways that my baby is growing up so fast, it's also fun because now I get to compare all the 1st to this year. It's amazing the difference a year makes...check this out:

Then:


Now:

Jack & momma doing our best cheese faces :o)

Daddy & Jack playing & being silly:

I hope everyone had a great 4th. It's crazy how fast time is flying by but I think it just gets better & better :o)

xoxo,
Jaime

Walk This Way

Jack has started walking. He took his very first 2 steps last Monday night and ever since he wasn't too crazy about doing it again. I think we might have scared him a little with all the jumping up & down that we did and kissing and hugging him. I am so happy he decided to give it another try though, maybe he realized that mommy and daddy and just a little crazy!

Wednesday night we gave him a bear to hold and tried to get him to walk between us (the bear so he wouldn't have his hands to throw right on the ground) and he did, he took maybe 4-5 steps between us twice. Again we jumped up and down and acted like fools but luckily this time it didn't scar him. Last night he walked all over the living room from one person to the next. It was so exciting!!! He is far from walking full time and still has to be encouraged to do it at all, won't do it on his own yet, but it's definitely a start.

We are so so proud of our little man!!!!! Here is a video from last night:





xoxo,
Jaime

Great Giveaway...sooo cute!!!

While I was pregnant I would frequent a website called thebump.com and met some really nice girls. A lot of us have since become very friendly and we talk through there, facebook, our blogs & sometimes even on the phone, lol!

A few of the girls are extremely talented too and have taken the things that they like for their children and come up with some cool stuff themselves. One of the girls who we call "Southern" made the most adorable little gummie dolls for girls & boys. These dolls have different fabrics and patterns and the kiddies seem to love them. She is doing a great giveaway now and I could only hope that Jack will be the lucky winner of a little boy gummie doll!

Please check out her blog and also her Etsy shop, she is so super talented, you will love her stuff!!!

Blog: southernsews.blogspot.com

Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7056380

xoxo,
Jaime

Houston...We Have a 1 Year Old!!!

Ok, ok, I'm a little late but keeping up with an almost walking TODDLER is not easy these days!

I have done so much thinking this past week. I remember holding Jack for the very first time and looking in to those sweet innocent little eyes and thinking that I didn't want to blink because I didn't want to miss any second of this amazing baby's life. Now, here we are a year later and he's a toddler already! I feel like I blinked and the time just flew past me.

I miss that little itty bitty baby so much, but Jack is so much more fun now! He gives hugs & kisses (ok, so they are open mouth & sometimes biting kisses, but kisses none the less), gives the biggest cheesiest smiles and is just hilarious when he is chanting Daddy...yep, you read right chanting! Joe thought it would be cute to teach Jack to chant daddy and now he does it 85% of the day!

On to the birthday celebrations. Jack's birthday was last Friday 6/12. We were trying to think of what we could do with a 1 year old that might be a little fun for him. I thought that maybe we could bring him to the mall by us since it has a carousel & a ferris wheel. I thought that would be fun for him but daddy thought Chuck E Cheese would be more fun...not so much though.

Before we did that though, we took Jack for his very first haircut and then we went to IHOP for breakfast. He loves all the waitresses there (we go about once a week) and so as soon as we walking & sit down they talk to him & he hams it up. He was wearing a shirt that said 'Birthday Boy' and so before we left the ladies brought over a bowl of ice cream & whipped cream with a candle in it & they sang happy birthday to him it, it was so sweet! After his afternoon nap we went to Chuck E Cheese and Jack just wasn't a huge fan, maybe next year it will be better.
Saturday was his birthday party and it was so much fun! We had family & friends at a nearby restaurant party room and even Elmo came & paid Jack a birthday visit :o) He had such a good time and so did we. We are so happy everyone who made it could and Jack got a lot of great gifts too.


Here are some more pictures from the weekend:'til next time :o)
xoxo,
Jaime