Summer Days

I've been a terrible blogger this month. We've been spending most of our days outside playing, swimming and picking berries. Jack absolutely LOVES blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. Oh and cherries too! We went cherry picking with some family and he sat in the backpack the whole time trying to reach and grab any little cherry he could get his hands on. We also picked blueberries and boy does that kid love blueberries. He ran around the whole field grabbing handfuls of those little blueberries and stuffing them in his mouth. I probably should have limited him on his intake (I paid for it later in his diaper) but I just loved watching his joyful face loving life with complete abandon. I wish I had more moments where I felt like that. Oh to be a kid again on a hot summer day...

We've been going to the park a lot to let Jack toddle around. I push my stroller and follow him wherever he leads. He stood for a very long time watching kids play in a water park. I love watching him watch other people. What is going through his mind? What is he thinking? Feeling? I can't wait for Jack to express himself with words but until then I am left to studying his face. Watching his little eyes move and his facial expressions light up. I love that I know those lines of his face best. They are truly a gift.

Hoopfest

For the past 3 years Michael has been playing in the nation's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament called Hoopfest in Spokane, WA. Last year, I stayed home with Jack who was only a few weeks old at the time. This year, I decided to venture out and make the 2-hour drive there and back with my mom. THANK YOU mom for taking this long, exhausting trip with me. Jack did okay but he definitely does NOT like to sit in his car seat for much more than 1/2 hour. So that makes a trip like this tough or any trip for that matter. I tried my best to sit in the back and keep him entertained but once he decides he's done, he's done. Oh bless my mother for being willing to help and walk around in huge crowds of people with a fussy baby and at-times grumpy mother. And she didn't even complain once. We cheered Michael on, played in the dirt, visited with some friends and then made the trip back home. You can see more pictures and a video of Jack clapping for daddy here.

*Pictures compliments of bf, Rochelle Maureen.

Noah & Moses

We bought this Noah's Ark set for Jack the other day at an antique store. The lady claimed that it had been hand-carved in Africa. Not sure if that part is totally true but nonetheless Jack has a lot of fun picking up all the animal pairs and carrying them all throughout the house. I sat down with Jack and was explaining what each animal was and who Noah was. He looked up at me with such an intense interest, it amazes me how he really acts like he understands what I'm saying sometimes. I wonder how much he really understood. One minor mistake of mine was lifting up the Noah character and falsely telling Jack, "This is Moses". Luckily, Michael was sitting close by and quickly corrected me with "Noah". Oops. :\ Maybe I need to reread my Bible stories.

I've been thinking a lot this week about raising Jack up to be a man after God's own heart. One verse that I read this week is Colossians 2:8.

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy , which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

There are so many opinions and family traditions based on what this world sees as good and right. Are the values of my home based on human tradition & the basic principles of this world or on Christ?

Jack turns 1!

We celebrated Jack's birthday last weekend with family & friends. Cupcakes, presents, playing with cousins. I don't think Jack could of asked for anything better!

The night before his birthday (June 10th), I lay awake remembering how I felt a year ago before his arrival. Our experience was a little different in that we knew we were going to have a baby at 7am on June 11th because of a planned c-section. Yeah, if I could not have had a c-section I wouldn't have. Jack had flipped upside down in the last few weeks of pregnancy, somewhere between 37-39 weeks. We tried to go in and get an external cephalic version, where the doctor manually tries to flip him around by use of hands & extreme tugging. Let's just say that Jack did not want to move and it was extremely painful trying to get him to do so! He was 8 lbs. 40z and would not budge. So we proceeded with a c-section.

I lay in bed remembering June 10th. I had no idea how much my life would change. I didn't know how many sleepless nights I would have. I didn't know how hard and trying it would be to be a parent. I didn't know how many dirty diapers I would change, owies I would kiss, songs I would sing, smiles I would cherish. I had NO idea how much love I would have for my little man. He is truly one of the best gifts of God's grace I could ever have. He has softened my heart, challenged me and forced me in many ways to turn to the Lord for strength.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17.

I think any parent can attest to this scripture. At least most days. :)

Exploring the Unknown

The season has arrived when Jack finds great happiness in opening every drawer, cabinet, box or trash can. It started off slow but now we are in full-on baby-proofing mode. I bought a few boxes of cabinet locks and proceeded to try to attach them myself. 2 hours later, I finished with one of our entertainment center drawers (the one where Jack seems to slam his fingers into daily). And yes, you did read that right, 2 hours! Let's just say that we now have about 5 extra drill holes in the drawer. Oops. And I found out afterward that I baby-proofed it so well that it is now ADULT-proofed because we can no longer open the drawer. Oh well, we don't watch any of our movies that much anyway.

The one area where we decided to not put any locks on the cabinets is in the bathroom. We figured we can just keep the door shut. Well, this works, except for when someone forgets to close the door or when we need to use the bathroom. For example, this morning I needed to get in there to grab a ponytail holder and the minute, I mean the MINUTE, I open that door Jack comes sprint-crawling across the living room yelling with excitement to get in there. The absolute joy he finds in throwing open the cabinet doors and grabbing our toothpaste, soap, brushes, feminine products (ahem, sorry) and other toiletry items is incredible. He doesn't really do anything with them except throw them across the room and make a huge mess. I was thinking about it this morning and I thought it must be like opening presents or exploring the unknown. Shoot, if I was him, I would probably enjoy pulling floss out of the box too!

Happiness can be found in the smallest of things. That is the lesson I have learned today.

Life in Pictures

Me and my bubs. Wouldn't you love to know what he's thinking as I'm taking the picture? Somehow I think it's something like this: "Come on, Mom, not another one."

Happy to be sitting in the highchair made by Grandpa Jon!

Nope, still not walking. He stands there and claps his hands but then just falls down when we try to get him moving. He gives me that look like, "Mom, I do what I want".

This is a current "favorite thing" of Jack's. To take everything out of his diaper bag or my purse. This does get old after a few times a day. However, we are pretty good team because he likes to take things apart and I like to reorganize and put them back together. :)

Yes, that's right folks. This is Jack reading "To Kill a Mocking Bird". Never mind the fact that he isn't actually looking at the pages while reading.

There he goes...