JackJack turns 1!

our cute little bean sprout turned 1 on the 7th!  we had a small-ish party with family and a couple close friends.

it’s hard to believe that we were just meeting him for the first time only a year ago…

and now look at our big big boy!

at his party we at lots of food,  enjoyed a very impressively decorated airplane cake that my mom made,

and opened presents!  Jack received some pretty fantastic gifts – all of which have immediately been put to use and greatly enjoyed (balls, blocks, trains, walker wagons, bath toys, etc).

my parents kindly hosted the event and zach’s parents were in town – so it was very special to have BOTH sets of grandparents present.

instead of cake, jack got a special birthday chocolate pudding…

…which daddy ensured got all over his face in lieu of frosting, etc. haha

these days, jack has quite the exciting life.  he loves hanging out with his daddy whether it be helping build things,

pointing out his buttons

or working on the computer.

he regularly empties the towel & tupperware cabinet and crawls around with a piece of tupperware in his hand:

he spends lots of time with mommy too…

and in his high chair seat:

speaking of the high chair seat… this kid LOVES eating solids and “real” foods!  and while he likes sweet potato and applesauce as much as the next kid, he has surprised us with his love of full-flavored, savory foods!  his favorite thing is hard boiled egg yolk mashed up with spicy red pepper hummus.  i’m not even kidding.  he gets very impatient and whiny while i’m mashing it all up because he wants it so badly!  and he will scarf down mashed black beans and mashed peas as quickly as anything else.  funny kid…

living in arizona, having kids that enjoy water fun and swimming is simply a necessity.  we have started him out young!  from bathtime…

to a baby pool on the back porch…

to the local public pool…

he has grown to LOVE being in the water!  we have also started him in infant swim lessons so he can learn survival skills and how to be safe around the water.  SO important with little ones and especially living in a state where swimming and pools are so prevalent!

it seems that jack has had an explosion of comprehension and development in the last 3-4 months.  he understands and remembers a lot of words, even if everything he says sounds like “bah!”  we have actually been a little startled to realize how much he understands and remembers.  if we say “jack, where’s your ___?” or “jack, go get your ____”, he knows “ball,” “books,” “walker,” “bear,” “snowy” (stuffed dog), “duckduck,” and “xylophone,” to name a few.  he can point to his hair, ears and self when we ask, and also sticks out his index finger when we say, “jack, how old are you?”

we have recently started to teach him a few sign language signs to help him communicate more.  he picked up “please” within 1 day and within 2 days was using it unprompted for multiple things we hadn’t tried yet!  and he has just started to understand how to use the signs for “more” and “help” (like for when a toy gets stuck under the couch and he can’t reach it, etc).

he has been “cruising” (walking while holding on to the couch/coffee table/etc) as well as walking with a little walker for a couple months now, and we were wondering when he would decide he wanted to actually walk on his own.  well, it just started happening over the last few days!  he has started to stand up on his own from a squat an independently takes quite a few steps to/from us, the coffee table, his walker, etc. – laughing the whole time!  he thinks it’s hilarious!  maybe it’s because of the way we cheer each time….

i don’t think a day goes by that i don’t pause for at least a brief moment in amazement at how much JOY i experience as a result of this child.  i knew i would like having kids.  i also knew it would be a lot of work.  but man, i was simply not prepared for the joy and delight that can be found in having a child.  it is truly beyond anything i had imagined.  caring for him and loving on him and watching him grow, learn, develop, play and live is wondrous.

jackjack, your mommy and daddy love you far more than you will ever know – and being your mommy and daddy is the happiest job we have ever had!  happy birthday, Bean Sprout!