sick, healthy, sick, healthy...

the month of december has been a rough one for jack. he has literally been sick since thanksgiving...it started out as a cold, became and ear/throat infection and then out of no where 7 days into his amoxicillan he had a horrible allergic reaction to it. it was so scary, his whole body swelled up and he had these welts all over which then resulted in bruises because of the swelling. his feet were so bruised he couldn't even walk...it broke my heart! we finally got him on prednizone and it cleared things up. an experience that i hope i never have to encounter again. and just when you think he's getting better, he gets a fever again. where did my healthy kid go?

um, i'm not so sure about all this stuff you're putting on me...where exactly are we going?!

yup, i hate it, please save me dad!

whoa grandpa, dial down the flash, geesh!

merry christmas!

to put jack's growth into perspective, i found this picture from christmas last year. here he is with "santa" ....

2007

2008

what a difference a year makes!!

here are the 3 of us on christmas eve

christmas morning...

mmm...breakfast

not surprising, he found the ribbon more exciting than the gifts!

he got a whole bunch of new puppets and just loves to snuggle!

christmas was so much fun this year. it is easy to forget how much fun you had at the holidays as a kid, but having your own child allows you to re-live the fun through them. jack is so easily amused and amuses these days...always a character, and never a dull moment! i hope he is always a happy-go-lucky kind of guy:)

30 rock...

also known as rockefeller center, or one of mike's favorite shows! that's where we headed this weekend...in an attempt to both get into the christmas spirit and show jack the big tree. i mean who wouldn't be in the christmas spirit fighting their way through massive crowds of meandering people;) think national lampoon's european vacation; "look kids--big ben, parliament!" we did a drive by and then headed east far, far away from the crowds--lexington and 52nd for lunch!

here are some pics from the day:

it wouldn't be a trip without mr. duck these days!

i can't hear you mom...i am not amused!!

just hangin' eating some lunch

can you say...

bed head anyone?! this is how i found jack after his morning nap...this one's for uncle tim;)

he loves to gnaw on the lotion bottle, well he'll gnaw on just about anything these days with his 1 year molars making their way through!

totally over-exposed, but i loved his smile in this one

how about these ones ma?
he wants me to read him stories all day long!

nothing all that exciting going on here. i'm happy to report that jack finally had fun at the playground, he had been wicked clingy and only wanted me to hold him while we there for the last couple weeks, but yesterdy he was all about stealing all the kids toys and climbing the stairs to the slide! it was so nice to see him have fun!

fun at the train show

since jack & i have been cooped up in the house for 5 days, it was time to venture outdoors. that and he was way too excited to do the laundry yesterday...poor kid just needed a change of scenery!? we went to the train show at the bronx botanical garden. it was a lot of fun, and i think jack really enjoyed it...even if he spent most of the time talking (read yelling) at the ceiling fans!

he's still not feeling 100% and i am keeping a close eye on him because he has developed a little cough. with bronchitis going around, i'm hoping it will bypass us. he is still very clingy and will not let me out of sight, but i admittedly have taken advantage of all the extra snuggle time with him:) he's so independent most of the time, so it is a nice change. as long as it is a short-term phase...i can barely go take a shower without him freaking out!

below are a lot of pictures from the past few days;

our tree...still can't find a tree skirt i actually like so excuse its absence

he'll stay away for the most part, but every once in a while he tries to get away with it!

these pics were from this morning...you might ask "why is it so dark?" and i would reply "because it was 5:30 am!?"

i just like this one...it looks like he's raising his hand waiting to be called on!

his smile, makes me smile

no pictures, please!

here are a bunch below from the show...they're all different landmarks in nyc (boroughs included!)

yankee stadium...blech...

he was really having such a good time, even though it was freezing out!

gingerbread house

'tis the season:)

i was so looking forward to cutting down our tree this year. last year was fun, but jack was so little he didn't quite understand what was going on. i imagined this year that jack would get such a kick out of all the trees and watching mike cut it down, but alas jack was teething and not sleeping because of it so he of course fell asleep on our way there and slept the entire time. while jack napped, i hung out in the car and everyone else went and cut down trees!? oh well, i guess there's next year!

here are some pics from the day;

*disclaimer: i didn't take the tree pics with mike...heehee, he's probably going to kill me for posting them!? guess he'll think twice for being such a ham on camera next time;)

jack and mike putting on the tree topper

oooh...what's this?!

as i'm sure you can imagine, since putting up the tree last night, i've pulled an ornament out of jack's hand at least 10 times today!! he's kind of funny about it, he'll take one off and i'll tell him "no," then he walks over and hands it to me--cute, but still don't touch!

yikes!?

it has been a really long time since i've posted, but with thanksgiving, traveling, jack's tooth breaking through, it has been kind of hectic!

on another note, jack has caught a wicked cold...it has been such a bummer because he is miserable and i just feel so badly for him. he is so stuffy, doesn't want to eat and just wants to be held. at least his fever has subsided...

here's a funny picture from our ride back from thanksgiving...jack's take on being stuck in traffic--ahhh!

snack with an old friend;)

jack decided that mr. ducky was hungry for some snack today too! he insisted he come with when i put him in his highchair....while i am totally over the duck, jack continues to love him!?

as jack gets older he seems to be getting more attached to things. he has had his "lovey" in his crib now since he was about 6 months. he didn't actually attach himself to it, but when we "sleep-trained" we gave him one as it was suggested. anyways, he has recently started to take it with him when he gets up from naps/sleep and carry it around. it is pretty cute to see him snuggle up with something:) his ability to show affection to his "friends" and to actual people is so innocent and endearing....an unsolicited kiss absolutely never gets old!

dad, da, dad, dad....

just a quick video of the vocal stylings of the j-man;)




you'll notice he barely even notices me with the camera. he is so into climbing up on his chair and looking out the window. of course, various toys usually make their way up onto the chair as well!

so we moved!

hence the stagnant posting:) actually we moved to the apartment next to us, so it wasn't a BIG move, but we did upgrade some serious space--and since jack's toys are ridiculously large--it was much-needed space! we literally moved from friday night, all day saturday & then finished up a bit on sunday. of course because i'm kind of neurotic, i have since cleaned the new apartment 4 times! i think it finally feels "clean" and yes i'm aware i'm a bit crazy about clean, but when you have a child who puts everything in his mouth, it is a necessary evil;)

i haven't taken too many pictures in the last couple of days, but i did get the below shots during the move on saturday...jack decided that the bookshelf(on its side) looked like fun..he kept crawling in! by the way, he's in his pajamas and these pictures were taken at 4pm *gasp* admittedly, we were all in our pajamas the entire day...haven't done that in a long time!



quick tooth update: it is currently right there, i can see the tip of it poking through. this one is taking a long time to break through. poor kid has been so clingy and hard to get to bed each night because of it. i wish i could fast-forward all things teething related!

happy 13 months!

apparently jack doesn't think 13 months is all it has cracked up to be!

i couldn't resist taking that pic...he was so mad at me for making him try to sit for a nice pic. he sure showed me:)

and i kid you not, this was him about 30 seconds later...talk about crocodile tears!?

as suspected time does not slow down after 1 year. wasn't i just posting about his 1st birthday like yesterday!? he is "kind of" saying his first word, although he has yet to associate it with the right person...dad (figures i spend all day with him and THAT is his first word--haha). he walked around all day yesterday saying "dad" over and over again--too cute!

here's a pic of jack with my friend's 2 little ones (margaret & felix). this was the best one i could get...a 2 year old, 1 year old and 4 month old...that would explain why this was the best of the bunch!

happy election day!

as you can see jack is undecided on who to vote for...sporting both red and blue he's claiming to be swiss;) i say vote for change!! i'm sure that will ruffle some feathers...

not sure if you can see it in the 2 pics below, but he has a little bruise and nasty scrape above his lip. he took his first "digger" the other day at the playground. he definitely ate the pavement! poor kid, i'm sure it is the first of many unfortunately:(

please excuse the laundry basket in the background...it was laundry day. apparently jack was far more excited than i was about it!

the scene of the accident...imagine a face-plant about 60 seconds later...

i just like this picture...not sure what caught his eye.

nothing new to report. tooth number 8 is taking its sweet time and making for some bi-polar behavior...it is RIGHT there, but has yet to break through!? we've tried some new foods, hummus is a big hit, but pizza is not--go figure. he still will not eat whole veggies, but i can get him to eat them pureed, which is fine but more work for me as i'm still steaming and pureeing!? otherwise, he is doing great. a lot more sounds are coming out of him, which i know means that the words are on their way! unfortunately he has yet to learn a single sign. he knows what the word means and will "answer" you if that's what he wants, but he will not sign. oh well, i guess it just isn't his thing.