Jack, 18 Months

Golly. It blows my mind that a year ago today, Jack was having his open heart surgery. How in the world could that have been an entire year ago?!?! I mean, I know so much has happened in that span of time, but it certainly doesn't seem like a year has gone by. I guess time does pass by quickly when you are a parent. It's strange and sad and rewarding all at the same time. So bizarre.  I mean, just look at what can change in the course of a year. This is a picture of Jack today, and the other picture was taken after Jack came out of surgery (on his 6 month birthday).

I still cry when I look at pictures from his surgery. I probably always will too... It's just amazing to me how healthy he is today, even after all he's been through. You would never, ever know that he had any kind of health issues at all. Truth be told, you can barely even see is surgical scar. We are truly blessed.



His 18 month stats were:
Weight..... 22 lbs 6oz (10th percentile)
Height...... 32 in. (50th percentile)
Head ........ 50 cm (95th percentile)

Jack is the funniest kid. He still loves to laugh, and will laugh at any joke you tell him.

He has zero inhibitions. He says "Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi..." at the top of his lungs to EVERYONE, and he'll say it as many times as it takes to get them to respond. Usually by the time they notice Jack is talking to them he's yelling, "Bye, bye, bye, bye" as we walk away, going about our other errands. Old folks drool over Jack, and he revels in their attention. He's a shameless flirt too. On more than one occasion I've caught him blown kisses, and telling women in the grocery store " I nee new" (which means I need you). This picture demonstrates what I'm talking about... our neighbors happened to pull up in the parking lot while we were taking pictures and Jack needed to say "Hi".

Jack is smart, as smart as they come. Every day he shocks us by saying a word we had no idea that he knew... just in the last few days we've heard: shirt, pillow, and computer. Every day it's a new one. He also likes to pretend to spell (even though he doesn't know his letters yet). When he sees a sign or a book or anything with letters on it, he'll say something like "E, e, i, a, u".

Jack is incredibly sweet. He loves to cuddle. Lately, he's been giving these incredibly cute hugs where he'll pat you on the back the entire time. It would melt anyone's heart, I'm sure. When he is feeling silly, he likes to give silly kisses where he opens his mouth big and wide and rubs his slobber all over your face. It actually is pretty funny, just picture that movie about the dog called, Beethoven.

Jack loves to play. I would say lately he has two favorite games. The first is "scary" or scaring you by being a "dino". He sticks his arms out in front of him and says "RAWR, RAWR!". That is when you are supposed to either 1) run away yelling, "Oh no! Please don't get me!" or 2) act completely surprised. Usually either reaction is pretty good with Jack. The game also works in reverse. Jack loves to pretend to be scared (his scared face is super adorable) and he loves to be chased. His other all time favorite game is sort of his version of hide and go seek. Jack will walk into another room (sometimes hiding, and sometimes not) and yell "where are youuuuuuu?" until he finds you.

Jack is obsessed with balls, pens, and phones these days. He calls phones "hellos", and pens "nines".

jack's favorite books are "Where the Wild Things Are", his picture Book of Mormon, "Mr. Brown can Moo can You?", "Goodnight Moon", and "Spots Big Book of Learning". He has an entire shelf full of books and he ALWAYS chooses one of those to read.

Jack likes to carry things and tells us how "hebby" (heavy) they are.

Jack is a great eater and will usually eat anything we put in front of him. His favorite food is still "noonuls" or noodles. He's getting better at using a fork and spoon, although he hasn't perfected that skill quite yet. He usually refuses to drink from a sippy, preferring a regular cup so he can feel "big"... and it's always water. This kid can really drink a lot of water.

We've finally stopped putting him down with a bottle of milk. Next thing to go will be his "binkie". That transition might not go as smoothly as eliminating milk before bed time did.

Jack is a BIG helper. He ALWAYS wants to be a part of whatever I am doing. If I'm cooking he wants to stir the pot, and he doesn't mind telling me so. If I'm cleaning, you better believe he's following me around the house squirting me with his water spray bottle and wiping things down with a rag. He loves to help sweep, and he LOVES to vacuum. His favorite is when I chase him with the vacuum cleaner.

Jack is terrified of doctors. I think he might have a little post traumatic stress from all of the poking and prodding he's been through in his life.

Jack is very strong willed. If he gets some idea in his head, he will not stop until the mission is accomplished. I'll be honest, there are times when this really tries my patience, but he's getting better at listening, and I'm trying my best to learn to be calm in these situations.

I think that Jack knows that his Lolly and Pop are on a mission. Lately, he has been talking about his Lolly a lot. Every woman with light hair gets called Lolly, and all of his pretend phone conversations are with Lolly too.

Jack is an incredible person. We are so lucky to have him in our family and to be blessed to watch him grow.