Where did March go?

I feel like March came and went really fast this year and I forgot to document any of it, and with my pregnancy brain I just can't rememeber anything at all these days let alone think to take out my camera.  

If I remember correctly, the first week in March Hardy's basketball team was in the State Tournament so that kept us busy.  Then Jack and I went to Idaho to visit my sister Erin the following week while both Hardy and my brither-in-law were at the MWC basketball tournament. Jack loved hanging out with his cousin's and had a blast until Saturday morning when he woke up with a firey hot fever and sick as can be. Thankfully he did pretty well on the drive home despite his misery and got better within a few days, but they were a long few days.

Last weekend Hardy and I dropped Jack off at my mom's a took a fabulous, toddler free vacation. Grandma claims Jack was an angel the whole time which is such a relief because he was awful as soon as he saw me on Sunday.  I guess payback is fair.  On Monday he kept asking to "go see the fish" so Tuesday morning I loaded him up and we went to the Living Planet Aquarium (see photo above - it's about the only picture I took of him this month).  Jack spent most of the time pushing his stroller around rather than looking and interacting with the fish so when we got to the end and I told him it was time to go he was very upset because he had yet to "see the fish."  Maybe next time we will leave the sroller in the car to encourage a little more observation. Today he "helped" me put my new glider together for the baby's room rather than take a nap. That was awesome. :(

We are very much looking forward to the spring weather that is headed our way so I think we're going to the zoo on Friday with friends.  I bet we're not the only ones with that idea, so DON'T meet us there. ;)  I have no doubt it will be a zoo in more ways than one.

Urine Town

Can I just say how much I hate potty training?  We made great progress from Monday to Tuesday, but then he woke up sick on Wednesday and felt too yucky for me to push much potty time so today we seem to be back to square one. Blah. I'm hoping by next week at this time we will all be happy campers, but currently while we are in the trenches it sure seems tedious.  Anyone have any magic tips?  

Happy Valentine's Day!

January Adventures

We've been trying to keep busy this month, counting down the days until spring arrives and we can spend our days in the sunshine.  Any day we can find that it isn't totally freezing and snowy Jack insists that we go outside and swing until his lips turn blue, which usually doesn't take very long, but he sure enjoys it while it lasts.

We went to Hogel Zoo...

...and got to see the animals up very close and personal. It's amazing how much more active the animals all are when it's cold vs the summertime. 



That's one friendly gorilla

A week or two ago Jack, Hardy and I went to Discovery Gateway Children's Museum together.  It was our first time going there and it was so much fun. We will definitely go again. So many fun things to do.

Last week we went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point with several of Jack's buddies in the neighborhood. They had a marvelous time together.



Jack wanted to climb the fence to "ride" the shark. I said "no."





Jenna, Dominic, Jack and Caroline



We have been very brave this winter and I haven't quarantined Jack at all. I take him everywhere including the store, nursery, and even McDonald's playland a few times, none of which I have done the past 2 years.  He has weathered this winter marvelously so far with only a small cold and 1 ear infection. Granted, it's not over yet, and I'm still very careful if someone nearby starts coughing up a lung, and we sanitize as soon as we are through with anything, but it is so nice to not feel like we're living in a bubble and just be normal. Plus, I figure if he's going to start school next year he better build up some immunity.

Yes, I did just say he's going to be starting school next year. Preschool. Can my baby really be old enough for that?  Crazy. I've debated for a while since he is right on the cut off as he turns 3 in August and we've always talked about holding him back so he's the biggest in his grade rather than the smallest, but I've just decided that I think he is going to love it, so why not?  He already knows all his letters, the sounds they make, words that start with each letter, and he can pick out the first letter of most words you say to him. He counts everything and finds shapes everywhere we go. A whole class where he can play with letters and numbers will be heaven for him.   My neighbor also suggested that he will probably really love having something for himself after the baby arrives and I will enjoy having a few hours each week with just the baby. A very compelling argument.  Yep, we're all signed up and doing preschool next year. I can't wait.

Fetal Echo for Brother

Today we had a Fetal Echo for Jack's little brother at the Primary's Children's Extension in Riverton.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Month than to get the wonderful news we got, that everything looks in this kid looks NORMAL!  This little boy was kicking back the whole time as he got pushed and prodded which made the echo tech smile, but he was in perfect position for them to get beautiful pictures. They saw healthy valves, a good strong aortic arch, and four functioning chambers.  Dr. Su did give us the disclaimer that the heart is really only the size of a thumbnail at the moment so it's kind of hard to see everything, but as far as he could see it all looks great.

We haven't exactly been nervous since it just doesn't do any good to stress out and worry until there is something to worry about, but I do feel much better going forward to not have heart concerns in the back of my mind.  I look forward to everything hopefully being very different and normal when giving birth to this baby.  Only 17 weeks to go!

Hurray for Healthy Hearts!

Christmas Catch up

I admit it. I did a terrible job of taking pictures over Christmas.  I got Jack's whole Christmas morning on the video camera, and I may have to post him signing "Jingle Bells" because he is so good at it and signs it often...still.  Despite the lack of photo evidence, we did in fact have a great Christmas. It was great seeing lots of family and friends and spending time together as a family.

We went to see the lights at temple square in the rain. Jack had fun with cousins Breydon and Bethany and with Grandpa.

He got a great new U of U table which he is thoroghly enjoying and sues every day.  He got some paints, new socks, a memory game, sticker book, fish puzzle, comforter and sheets for his new big boy bed he'll be getting soon, and a stuffed ant eater. Yes, an ant eater. He loves it. He found it at Babysteals when I went in to pick something up and wouldn't put it down. For $6, how could I resist?  He saw it Christmas morning, squealed with delight and said "He's so cute!"  He calls it an elephant.  It especailly weird because he doesn't really like any other stuffed animals.  Just his ant eater. I'll have to get a picture one of these days.

After Christmas we spent lots of time driving to and from Davis County where all our families live. It was great seeing everyone, but I must admit that I am so glad it's January and life is finally back to normal. If it would just warm up above 20 degrees, I'd be so happy.

Cardiology Check up

The day after we got back from Disneyland we had Jack's semi-annual cardiology check up.  Dr Puchalski gave him and A+ and said to come back in another 6 months.   We thought we might start discussing the Fontan, but his sats were 83 (after he stopped crying long enough to take a breath) and Dr P said that as long as they are that high we can wait. He expects his sats will start to drop within the next few pounds that he gains so surgery could still potentially be late next summer, but as long as he keeps doing well they think we might even be able to push it off another year. Wouldn't that be nice!  He is now 28 lbs, so that is kind of the magic minimum weight they want kids to be before they do the Fontan, but bigger is better and it looks like we've got room and time to grow.

It's also really nice to have more time before we start planning his surgery because this summer is going to be a busy one for us as we are expecting baby #2 at the beginning of June.  If you ask Jack, he insists that he wants a baby sister. Not sure why, but we'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks. We're a little nervous but hopeful that things will be less stressful with this pregnancy than the last. And for those who have seen me recently and thought "Boy, she's overeating this holiday season," the answer is yes, yes I am, but thankfully I also have another good reason for my getting-fatter-by-the-day tummy.

Disneyland 2010

Last week we had the wonderful opportunity to go to Disneyland. We had the best time ever. I can't think of a single thing that would have made it any better.   Jack still asks every morning "We go to Disneyland?"

Thanks to recommendations from some of our heart friends we got Jack's stroller designated as a wheelchair.  That was fantastic. For some of the rides it let us go in the exit and skip the germ filled lines. For others it allowed us to take his stroller into the line with us so we didn't have to carry him the whole time.  The lines were really short on Wednesday and Thursday anyway, but this really made it possible for us to do everything we could have wanted while there.  He was still exhausted at the end of the day, but I know he made it a lot longer than he would have without it.

I wasn't sure what Jack would think about all the characters, but after meeting Pluto on our way into the park he was sold. Every time we would meet a new character he would ask me with a grin on his face, "I give them a big hug and Mommy take a picture?" It was magic.

His favorite rides were #1) Pirates of the Caribbean. He would hold on for dear life down the hills, then ask to do it again. And he enjoyed searching for Captain Jack.  I think we went about 7 times.  #2) The Ferris Wheel with the swinging gondolas. He spotted the big Mickey Mouse ferris wheel at California Adventure and I agreed to take him on it, but I got in the wrong line and didn't notice until we got to the front that we were all set for a swinging car. I was a little nervous to take him up but he LOVED it.  The whole way around he would giggle with joy and say "Let's roll!"  #3) He also liked Small World and as we were going through the tunnels and the tune changed to "Jingle Bells" his face lit up and he exclaimed "I know that song!" So cute. #4) And Dumbo was a big hit. He was on it with Hardy and kept saying "We flying! This is so fun!"

On Saturday Jack's cousins came down to spend the day with us.  That made it lots of fun. Thanks for the fun day Matt, Gwen, Paige and Seth!  We will miss you at Christmas.

The first night there we went to World of Color. The next night we watched the fireworks and ejoyed the fake snow they do on the way out.  Both shows were great, but on the weekend all the shows moved to 9:00 which was way too late for Jack. It worked out though because we stayed at the California Grand Hotel and we could watch the fireworks from our balcony. He and I would snuggle in our pajamas, wrap up in a blanket and enjoy the show before bed. A perfect way to end an evening.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Super Letters

I know I'm biased, but I just think he's so darn smart.  He loves to point out letters whenever we are in stores or restaurants, but my favorite is when he sees letters in his food.  Mostly he finds the letter L when he takes a bite out of a sandwich, or if he eats from the edge it sometimes makes a P, but 2 bites makes an M. Such a clever boy. 

Halloween 2010

This year for Halloween Jack was a tiger. We had lots of parties and opportunities to wear his costume, but all I have is a million photos of the side of his head as he would run by, so this grumpy tiger picture is the best I've got.  It was warm, comfortable, and easy to put on so it was a perfect costume.

I did take Jack out trick-or-treating around the block on Saturday night with his best buddy Caroline. She embraced the holiday and would run from door to door knocking and grabbing handfuls of candy. Jack kept making me carry him between houses then would stare at people and couldn't have cared less about the candy.  Throw in some cold rain and the Utah football game playing at home and we didn't stay out too long.  Thankfully he's young enough that passing out candy is as much fun if not more so than collecting it.

Sunday night we had a Halloween party at my parents house with his cousins. The kids got to trick or treat from door to door in the house and got fun trinkets. Then my brother in law came up with a bunch of Minute to Win It games that were fun.  It was a good Halloween.

Boys will be Boys

Last night after dinner we were hanging out in the kitchen.  Hardy had something in his mouth and spit in the sink. Well, Jack thought that was great and with a big grin on his face immediately hocked a loogey on my floor. "No Jack! Daddy spit in the sink. We don't spit on the floor,"  I told him as shocked as could be. He promptly ran over to daddy, asked to be picked up and continued spitting into the sink for the next few minutes. Hardy and I could hardly contain our laughter. Seriously? Such a boy.

Some of my favorite things he says lately are, "Come out, come out where you are" when he's looking for me.

If I make a suggestion that he likes he happily exclaims, "Thassa good 'dea. Less do it!" (That's a good idea. Let's do it)

He surprised me a few weeks ago when he started counting by tens. Uh, where'd he learn that?

He also loves to sing really fast. "Baa, Baa black sheep" and Barney's "I love you" are his favorite in super speed mode. He also loves to sing the original Mickey Mouse song. So cute. I'm trying to catch it on video but he keeps wanting to watch before he gets done.

We are going to Disneyland in December and I know he is going to LOVE it. Last year was good. This year he is totally going to get it and have so much fun.  I'm already giddy with excitement.

The Utah State Fair

Last week Jack and I went to the Utah State Fair with HopeKids.  We had the best time. Who knew the fair could be so fun?   He kept asking to ride the cows and goats and thought they were really fun to pet (note the huge grin on his face below).   We also got ride passes and boy did we have fun. I wasn't sure if he would after his so-so performance at Lagoon. Well, he's a big boy now because he had a blast. He loved the fun house with the crazy fast slide at the end. He loved spinning in these weird dragons (kind of like tilt-a-whirl), and his favorite was a speedy little car ride that he kept asking to go on but I thought he would hate. Once we got on he refused to get off.   We even ran into our buddy Daxton. We run into them everywhere. :)  And thanks grandma for coming and taking photos.



I also had to throw in these cute pics of Jack and his girlfriend Caroline dancing at our Stake party the other night.  They were SO adorable.