So We've Been a Little Sick

Jack had his one year check up on the 17th, and much to my surprise when I took him in I found out he had a double ear infection, and apparently it was pretty bad. So they sent me home with a prescription for him, and Jack could not be happier. The reason I was so surprised to hear this was because Jack showed no symptoms. He was sleeping fine, no fever, nothing. I mean he did have a cough and a runny nose, but nothing that made me think his ears were infected. The funny thing is that Lucy was the one who had been complaining that her ear hurt for a couple of nights before this. So when Lucy asked to go to bed at 6:15 that night because her ear was hurting, we knew she was in trouble. The very next day I took Lucy in (of course I didn't get them both in on the same day, that would be way too convenient). She had a horrible ear infection, the doctor termed it as a "no brainer" which kind of made me feel dumb. Ear infections are a new thing to us. Lucy never had any when she was little, and when my nieces and nephews had them they were miserable. So yeah, I was so confused. So Lucy got an antibiotic for her ear infection, and then since she was wheezing they sent her home with some albuterol and a spacer and a mask. So we were a little over loaded on the drugs.

Jack's 12 months stats are:
Height: 29 1/2 inches, holding strong at 50%
Weight: 21 pounds 4 ounces and still 35%
Head Circumference: 45.8 cm 30%

Jack has learned to say "ball" this week, and he loves rolling the ball back and forth, and he demands 100% of your attention lately so he can have a conversation with you. If you make eye contact with him he will yak your ear off in his baby gibberish, and honestly, what could be cuter? He has also learned to wave, but it is more of a "come here" gesture then a wave, and he only does it when he wants something, like you to pick him up or roll him the ball.



These are actually pictures from Jack's birthday. As part of his actual birthday festivities I made some Valentines Day cookies for the kids to frost. They were actually intended for Valentines Day obviously, but I wanted to wait until Ethan was here to frost them. To be honest, that was a bit of a crazy week for me, so the only cookies that got frosted are the ones the kids are frosting in these pictures. That's right, out of 7 dozen cookies, we frosted 2.



And Lucy takes her cookie frosting very seriously.



After Jack had taken his meds for his ears for a couple of days, I figured he'd be ok to go pay in the snow. Jack loved it until he got stuck under our bench in our backyard and his glove came off. But he was so excited that he got to play with the big kids outside.



And this picture just had to be included because Jack is so cute.

Happy Birthday Jack!!!

So I really want to say that I can't believe that Jack is already one, but I can't say that because everyone says that, and that just wouldn't be creative at all! But seriously, he's one already? So real quick before I do that birthday festivity pictures, I'm going to do the year in review so we can watch him grow. It's more for me then you, just humor me.

February 16, 2009 2:55 am (or there about).

Jack at 2 weeks old. Such a little bruiser.

Jack at one month. Trying so hard to smile.

Jack's blessing day, 6 weeks old.

2 months old, smile mastered!

3 months old.

4 months: first taste of solids, a whole new world.

5 months and camping out.

6 months: Miami Beach bum. Learned to crawl.

7 months and only getting cuter!

8 months: Way too moble! First word: Mama!

10 months: Jack's first and very merry Christmas!

And finally Jack's birthday! We started the festivities by making a cake. Jack helped mix it.

Then we did presents of course. Jack was so spoiled, but really not by us. We only got him 2 presents. That is the bonus of having a party at Bob and Pam's when everyone comes home for a visit.

Then we did cake, the Hammond way. We have a tradition that on the first birthday, we make an entire cake for the birthday boy. Then we strip them down and let them go at it.

Singing first of course. But Jack had no interest in the cake, he just looked at it, until he saw Lucy make a swip at the frosting....

then he made a poke at it...

Then he dug in, literally. Excuse the drool, he wasn't feeling well that week.

He never took a single bit, just mushed things up with his fingers and stirred it up really good. He also stuck his foot in it. I tried giving him a bit of the frosting, but he just was not interested. He was just in HEAVEN demolishing the cake.

We could not be more greatful to have this little guy in our family. He is so much fun. We are so lucky to have a girly girl, and a little boy who is all boy. So much fun. Happy birthday Jack!

Lucy's Latest

Lucy has picked up a new hobbie. As we all know, Lucy got a camera for Christmas. Why would I want to get a 3 year old a camera? So that she will stop stealing mine. I have to give it to her through, she is pretty good at taking pictures. These are a few pictures she took Christmas morning before we opened presents. Her model of choice on this day was her cousin Matthew. She must have snuck our camera when no one was looking.

She started her shoot with a close up, too bad she hasn't learned to turn the flash off. Then I can just hear her saying "Now go stand over by my bike and show me how you drive it."

Then she must have wanted a fireplace photo, and asked Matt to come stand by the couch, and to add the artistic touch, she told him to put his hand up on the arm.

After reviewing the picture, that clearly wasn't what she was going for, so she asked him to lean into it a little more.

Liking where this was going, but hating the sippy cup, she got rid of it. Since I can see the sippy cup in the back ground, I have a suspicion that Lucy must have taken it and thrown it because it was ruining her shot. Then she asked Matthew to lean into it a little more, and at last...perfection!

Then since she was on a role with that dramatic pose, she went for the more artsy hand shot. Oh the drama!

Since she got her own camera for Christmas, she has laid off mine a bit, but I still found about 15 pictures similar to this one on my camera last time I went to download pictures.

Another thing Lucy has started doing is picking out her own outfits. Keep in mind it was January at the time, and on this particular day it was snowing.

I had to get one from the back to show that she struggles a little with sweaters and jackets. It's so hard to know what side is going to end up on the top once it is on. Since Lucy has started picking out her own outfits I have truely realized that her favorite color is pink, and we may have an issue on our hands in the modesty department when she is a teen. I'll do what I can now, but that will be a bridge we will have to cross when we get there.

Time With the Smiths

At the beginning of every year, you wonder what is going to happen that year. This year on New Years, just after midnight, my mother-in-law asked this question. We were wondering who would get married this year, who would have babies, and just what the year would hold. We never even dreamed that 5 days later we would get one of those horrible phone calls informing us that one of Shawn's best friends from high school had just been killed in a motorcycle accident. Not a good start to the year. We were so heartbroken for his family. Matt Smith was absolutely an amazing father and husband, and anyone who knew him can't say enough about how genuine he was in everything he did. We were in so much grief at this news, and just hurting so much for his poor little family.

The Smith's have been living in Greensboro, North Carolina for the last year, so we weren't sure what their plans were going to be for funeral services. Tricia (Matt's wife) called us the next day to inform us that there would be two services, on out there, and one here in Denver where Matt would be laid to rest. She asked if Shawn would give the eulogy, and then asked if we would like to spend a day with her and the kids while they were out her. We were so happy that we were able to help out in any way, and still only wish we could do more. We did spend one day with Trish and her 3 kids, and I think that they had a lot of fun playing with Lucy.

Adam is the oldest, and he is 7. He is so smart, definitely and advanced student. I was impressed when I was playing "Play Nine" with Adam, and he was keeping score.

Lucy, as always was just so excited to get to play with "my friends!" She and Ashley hit it off so well, it was hard to have to leave and not know when we will see them again.

And this is Ashley. She is 4 and is such a mini Tricia. I met Trish while she was pregnant with Ashley and can't believe how fast the time has flown. Ashley and Lucy played so much that we really didn't see them the entire time we were there.

Tricia's baby is Lexi, and she was 6 months at them time. She is such a happy baby, and she looks exactly like Matt. Tricia says that Matt loved that little girl so much, when he got home from work everynight, he would do things one handed just so that he could hold her.

This was the last time we saw Matt and Tricia before Matt passed. We went to California for a BYU basketball game, and the whole Disney deal, and visited them on that trip since they were living there at the time. It's crazy to see how much the kids have grown in that time.

Matt was a man who definitely left a mark, and is sorely missed.