Look Out

Jack is totally mobile now. Thankfully he figured it out the day after we moved. One minute he was a happy little lump on the floor. Now he can sit up, climb from sitting to standing, walk along the furniture, and do a pretty speedy little army crawl/sea lion leap down the hall. He's loving the freedom, and I'm glad he's got a little more space now to roam about.

Along with mobility comes a little mischief. Jack's new favorite game is "Don't Touch That!" It's hard to get too mad when he flashes that silly grin.

He also loves the new couch with the cup holders. He spends much of the day moving toys from one hole to the other.


As an added bonus, he also now has 2 tiny teeth which he loves to remind me are there by chewing regularly on my finger.

...'Til He's Blue in the Face

Jack just LOVES the water. He could splash and splash until he's blue in the face, and that's excatly what he did.

I don't know if it was the higher elevation or just way too much fun, but one day we went swimming during the family reunion and after about 30 minutes of serious kicking and splashing my sister commented that Jack was looking rather blue. I looked down and his lips and arms were a nice shade of purple. He was not ready to be done and wanted to dive right back in the pool, but we took him inside and gave him a warm bath and a nap so he could recover. Eventually he pinked back up, but it was definitely a reality check. He's been doing so well that sometimes I forget my baby is anything but whole and perfect. Instead we were reminded that his body just has different limits then other kids and even though he shows the desire and potential to be the next Michael Phelps, that is just not in the cards.

Family Reunion Fun

Finally, we're back online. It's amazing how dependant you become on the internet when you are used to having it. I've been going crazy not being able to look anything up. Seriously, how am I supposed to know when the onions in my new garden are ready to be picked if I can't google it? And phone numbers. You mean I have to use the actual phone book if I need to call someone. It's amazing we ever survived before the internet. ;D

Anyway...we continue to love the new house and each day we get a little bit closer to getting things the way we want them. Hardy has really impressed me with his zeal for the yard and is getting good at taking out big unwanted bushes. He is also now the proud owner of his very own tools rather than just borrowing mine. I love it.

We had a fun family reunion in Eden last week, hiking, swimming, going to the beach, and just spending time together. Between me and my sisters we have 5 kids 2 and under (plus a bunch of big kids) so it was crazy, but Jack loved it.

Cookies

Three little neighbor boys brought this over with 3 chocolate chip cookies the day after we moved in. It made my day. How can we not feel welcome after that? Loved it.

No, we haven't disappeared. We just moved and still don't have internet access. I'm crossing my fingers that we will get it all set up this week.

The move went fabulously and I LOVE the house and the neighborhood. Each evening I put Jack to sleep to the sound of kids playing in the streets and their parents chatting in their yards. I think we've had at least 8 people bring us plates of cookies to welcome and meet us, and the ward is just terrific. We are in heaven. I've even made zucchini bread with zucchini fresh from my new garden which they left fulled planted. So fun.

I'll update with photos and more info soon, but for now, know we are just a bunch of happy campers unloading boxes and settling into our wonderful new house.

Parade, Lagoon, and Family Fun

We had a fabulous 4th of July. Jack loved the parade and had so much fun, until he fell asleep.

He LOVED playing with his cousins and wishes he still had his fan club around to cheer at at all his tricks.

Even his older cousins (this is Jeff) got in on the action singing Jack his favorite song - Choo Choo the Big Train.

Jack also took his first trip to Lagoon. He got to ride the train with mom and dad, and got to cruise around in his stroller with Grandma while mom and dad went on the big rides.

Jack also got his first tooth last week, and another one is just popping through today. Farewell to that cute, gummy grin, but those little stubby teeth are pretty darn cute.

Adoring Fans

Uhh...do you think they like him?

Jack is so bored now that his fan club/cousins have all gone home. Mom is adoring, but not nearly as fun.

Happy 4th of July!

Water Baby

We took Jack swimming for the first time yesterday, and oh what a treat it was. He splashed and splashed and played for the longest time. When we finally pulled him out he kept trying to dive right back in. I got him this cute little contraption to keep him safe and it worked perfectly in the kiddie pool. His toes could just reach the bottom so he wandered all over and had the best time. We may have to make this a weekly activity.

Hurray for summer!

IHH Picnic

Saturday was the big Intermountain Healing Heart Family Picnic. We had so much fun. It was great to see all our heart buddies and have a reason to go to the hospital for a party instead of pokes and xrays.



I remember attending this picnic last year while I was still pregnant and scared to death of what the future would bring. We met so many amazing families and it gave me such hope to see kids running around everywhere and I couldn't tell which were the heart kids and which ones were healthy. I was glad that I could give a little something back to the group by organizing the party this year.



Jack got to play with his buddy Daxton who got a new heart last September. Last fall these two were so tiny and sick, and look at them now!




I bought Jack a cool "Chicks Dig Scars" t-shirt.

We had a heart shapped dessert contest, and people were SO creative. I loved seeing what everyone came up with. I wish I could claim that I was cool enough to have made this awesome cake, but uh, see that big, boring tupperware toward the back of the picture full of big boring heart shaped rice krispie treats? Ya, those were mine.

We had a fun little craft project.

Jack helped Grandpa who came to the party and made everyone snow cones.

Thanks to all who came. It was so good to see you.

Another highlight of the party was that we got to meet Brooke, a 23 year old HLHS survivor. She is married, graduated from college, and is one of the first people to have all three surgeries. She still has all her own anatomy, doesn't have a pacemaker, and they just got the go ahead to try to have a baby. Amazing! I told her that if she gets pregnant she had better start a blog and document it so we can all check in on her daily. It's pretty cool.

A Parade

I took Jack to his first parade on Saturday. Those who know me well know that I am a parade and festival junkie, so I'm trying to train him young so he'll want to come with me to fun events unlike his party pooper father (just kidding sweetheart! :) I had helped coordinate it for South Jordan this year, so I especailly wanted to go and it was great.

Jack fell asleep on our way there so he missed the first half, but then he woke up and had a pretty good time. As soon as the last entry went by he finally started to wave which made me laugh.

His favorite part? Yep - the candy. He liked the crinkly wrappers, tossing things around, and banging them together. I'm hoping he'll do better on the 4th when he's got cousins to show him how it's really done.

Other than that we've just been packing our house and getting ready to move. We're also trying to get things ready for the Intermountain Healing Hearts Family Picnic this Saturday. I'm in charge and hoping I've got everything ready. We can't wait to see all our heart buddies.

Ta Da!

If you can't tell what he's trying to do, it's this.

In addition to now being an excellent stander (while holding onto something sturdy), Jack's latest trick is that he has learned how to pivot. Sit him on his bum in the middle of a pile of toys and he can turn himself in circles to reach them all. He's also getting good crawling practice each day as I stack blocks or cups just out of his reach and he has to work hard to get close enough to crash them down then bursts into fits of laughter at how clever he is. I have no doubt that the day we are moving when we need him to hold still will be the day he decides to become mobile.